GIVing at the merage school
2020-21 Annual Report
Dear Merage School Community,
As the new dean of UCI’s Paul Merage School of Business, I’d like to personally thank you for your support. You are our alumni, board members, corporate partners, students, faculty, staff and community members. We are fortunate to have partners like you, who generously support the next generation of business leaders.
At The Paul Merage School of Business, we strive to deliver a premier business education to our students as they pursue their version of the American Dream. Because of you, we can provide access to a world-class education to a larger number of students.
Thanks to your generosity, our future is full of promise and possibility.
Best,
Ian O. Williamson, Dean
UCI Paul Merage School of Business
Your gifts matter. Your philanthropic investment allows our students to be Brilliant and lead in an ever-changing, digitally driven business world and influence communities across the globe. Your support directly impacts our students and faculty. The figures below reflect the support from our philanthropic community during July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021.
Total Dollars Raised During FY21
Gifts from Merage School Alumni Community
%
Funds Raised to Support our Student Body
%
Funds Raised Supports Innovation and Research
Total Donor Count
Total Dollars Raised Towards the Brilliant Future Campaign (as of June 2021)
Germaine Chen MBA ’16 Shines as a Business Strategist at Pacific Life
Chen leveraged her MBA from the Merage School to switch from corporate finance to business strategy.
Getting An Idea Off the Ground: Jordyn Weaver MIE ‘21
Weaver began her journey as an entrepreneur with the Summer Institute for Emerging Managers and Leaders (SIEML), an experience that led her to the MIE program at the Merage School.
Three Times an Anteater: Vivian Cai BA ’18, MPAc ’19, MFin ’20 Joins Accounting Firm MaloneBailey, LLP
After receiving her bachelor’s degree in business administration, Cai returned to the UCI Paul Merage School of Business to earn her Master of Professional Accountancy degree and then again to earn her Master of Finance degree.
Scott William Wollack, EMBA ’19 Hopes Digital Technology Can Help Save the Planet
Wollack wears newly launched Covalent AirCarbon sunglasses, featuring technology powered by blockchain.
Living up to His Name: Justice Turner, J.D., MBA, ’20
Justice Turner, J.D/MBA ’20 is an attorney at Geragos & Geragos and addresses social justice issues in his video series “Is that Justice?” produced with MeidasTouch.
Bradford Fellows Fund Announced at Inaugural Black Management Association Conference
The Bradford Fellows Scholarship was endowed by Professor Tonya Williams Bradford and Professor Kevin Bradford.
TikTok’s Nick Tran MBA ’11 Named Chair of Dean’s Leadership Circle
Tran’s marketing expertise and passion for advancing the goals of the Merage School will help take the organization to new heights.
Rachel Tsui FEMBA ’22 Awarded LD Reyer Scholarship
Tsui is a first-generation immigrant to the United States and a first-gen college student in the Fully Employed MBA program at the Merage School.
Philanthropic Leader Melissa Beck EMBA ’12 Named Chair of the Dean’s Advisory Board
Beck, president at Anonymous LLC and former CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County and the Inland Empire will also serve as president of the UCI Alumni Association this year.
ALPFA is the first national Latinx professional association in the United States and has an active network of over 95,000 members.
The Black Management Association (BMA) for Students and Alumni Launches at the Merage School
BMA is the newest campus organization at the Merage School and aims to bring students, faculty and alumni together to promote a culture of inclusion.
Alex Banos, MPAc ’18 has found success in the accounting world and wants to use their voice to elevate others (pronouns: they/them/theirs).
“La Familia,” or Latinx Scholars in Management, is building a family of scholars united by their Latinx identity and intellectual pursuits.
Endowed chairs and fellowships attract and retain renowned educators, enabling them to pursue their professional goals and make lasting contributions for our students and community. Our School’s reputation is built in large part by the success of our faculty members. Because of donor generosity, we have hired and retained key faculty, boosted research funding, trained the next generation of economists, and solidified our position on the vanguard of culture research.
Professor Bradford was selected as one of five inaugural inclusive excellence term chair professors for UCI. In alignment with the University’s Black Thriving Initiative, she will be researching Black wealth and business.
Three esteemed faculty at The UCI Paul Merage School of Business retired over the summer. Mary Gilly, Mort Pincus and Rick So have provided a combined 64 years of teaching, research and service to UCI.
Every business – like it or not – is now a competitor on the digital playing field. Technologies such as AI, IoT, blockchain and 5G are already transforming organizations, but success accrues only where leaders understand how to evolve and align the strategy, business model, investments, competencies and organizational culture to address the new competitive demands. With this reality in mind, the Merage School has specifically redesigned our curricula, course content, delivery modes and co-curricular programs to create unparalleled learning experiences with a single goal: preparing you to propel your career and lead your organization to success in our digitally driven world.
Dr. Daniel Chow is co-director at the Center for Artificial Intelligence in Diagnostic Medicine at UCI Medicine.
Greg Mignano was recognized as UCI’s Nurse Manager of the Year and also is the recipient of 55th Anniversary Scholarship at The Paul Merage School of Business.
THANK YOU
You make the Merage School experience possible.
