Honors Society Taps Radford’s Top Business Students

Twenty-one Radford University students and a professor were inducted this week into Beta Gamma Sigma, one of the highest honors bestowed by the university’s College of Business and Economics (COBE).

More than 100 faculty, guests and family of the inductees attended Wednesday’s ceremony, which was followed by a banquet with Axel Grossmann, assistant professor of finance, as keynote speaker.

“As long as there is a future, there will be uncertainty,” Grossmann said in his speech. He advised students who might be anxious about their futures to remember that immigrants to America were inspired because they saw it as the land of opportunity, not uncertainty.

In addition, eight students received the Flame of Honor as outstanding COBE students: Lesleigh Craft, accounting; April Taylor, finance; Brandon Groseclose, economics; Charles Funderburgh, marketing; Jessica Folk, management; and Derek Opincar, Kaschia Hogan and Rocio Barrueta-Enriquez, MBA.

Inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma were juniors Emily Besse, Mrunal S. Bhome, Briana Cochran, David Criner, Heather Mahala, Robert Pearce, Hannah Pope, Paige Reese, Nicholas Salcetti, Hannah Scheren, Leah Taylor. COBE seniors inducted were Jessica L. Anderson, Mandy Basham, Lesleigh Craft, Meghan Stott and Rose Syengo. Graduate inductees were Catherine Butler, Tim Felts, Rushdat Kunle-Sanni, Katia Sabate and Jeremiah Woolwine. The RU chapter also inducted Iain Clelland, associate professor of management.

Membership in the society is limited to COBE juniors and seniors who rank in the top 10 percent of their class or MBA students in the top 20 percent. The international honor society recognizes academic excellence at business schools accredited by AACSB International—the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Since its founding in 1913, the society has established more than 480 collegiate chapters around the world and has inducted about 625,000 students into membership.