On April 17, the Grossman School of Business at the University of Vermont (UVM) was pleased to induct new members into Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS), the international honor society for business schools that are accredited by AACSB International. This year recognized 31 new inductees to the society and also presented cords to 30 senior members of the BGS society to wear during the commencement ceremony in May.
After warm opening remarks from retiring Dean Sanjay Sharma, the BGS audience welcomed guest speaker Kurt Hall ‘82. A native Vermonter, Hall had a professional baseball career as a catcher for the minor league affiliates of the Detroit Tiger and the New York Yankees before returning to UVM to complete a degree in accounting and finance. Hall spoke with passion about the human connections that have been essential to the kind of healthy business culture he strives to create.
“I came up with this theory that the CEO’s job is to create an environment for people to succeed,” shared Hall. “If you do that, if you create that environment, that culture in the company, everything else will take care of itself. People will be happy, people will come closer, and that becomes very powerful. With AI and all the other stuff that's coming down the pipe now, and all of it built around technology, there will be a lot more isolation and not as much human interaction. I think as the business leaders, the executives that you guys will become, you have got to really think about that.”
In addition to recognizing the student honorees, the local chapter of BGS was recognized with Highest Honors, which allowed for the presentation of a $1,000 scholarship to be awarded to Avery Bellavance, who was also inducted into the society at the ceremony. BGS chapter president Caroline Canney presented Professor Michael Tomas with the BGS Professor of the Year award. Lastly, Associate Dean Barb Arel made a dedication to retiring Dean Sanjay Sharma in the form of a newly acquired statue of the Beta Gamma Sigma key – a symbol that represents the honor, wisdom, and earnestness that are the guiding principles of BGS. The statue, which was given through the generosity of a donor, will eventually be on permanent display in Kalkin and Ifshin Halls on the UVM campus.
New inductees into the Beta Gamma Sigma society were Hunter Acostamadiedo, Addison Auletta, Sawyer Beck, Avery Bellavance, Grace Berry, Pieter Bultman, Pierce Cattier, Arianna Clark, Oskar Gillberg, Lillian Girod, Kate Henning, Noor Jerath, Luke Nelson, Lucy Parker, Myra Shalaty, Benjamin St. John, Miranda Versweyveld, Sydney Vollmert, Emerson Warren, Emma Warren, and Madison Williams.
Congratulations to all of the new inductees to the Beta Gamma Sigma society, the Grossman School looks forward to seeing seniors proudly wearing their honors cords at this year’s commencement.
