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Beauty and the Least (Paid) $$$

Beauty and the Least (Paid) $$$

Football was never intended to be a beauty pageant. A study led by economics professor Brad Humphreys backs it up. In fact, if you’re a handsome heartthrob coaching an NCAA Division I team, you might get a penalty flag when it comes to pay.

Using a face recognition and machine learning approach, researchers found that head coaches with a more aggressive appearance earned a salary premium. More attractive football coaches, on the other hand, faced a salary discount.

And, because you’re probably already wondering, Neal Brown ranked among the top quarter of attractive coaches.

Former WVU football coach Dana Holgorsen was ranked “substantially less attractive.”

“One explanation for the attractiveness discount and aggressiveness premium may stem from that fact that American football is a very aggressive sport, and an unattractive face might signal mental and physical toughness, viewed as a desirable characteristic in this market,” Humphreys said. Tackle more at go.wvu.edu/footballbeauty.

When Life Hands You Lemons

In September 2019, our CEO Club donated the money from its Lemonade Day, which was held spring 2019, to WVU Medicine Children’s. Not only did local Morgantown kids learn how to run a profitable lemonade stand, but they were also able to support a great cause that will go on to help other children in our community.

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The Gavel Strikes 20

2023 marks the 20th year of law firm Steptoe & Johnson’s participation in the FAFE (Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination) graduate program’s Moot Court exercise. This capstone experience puts students’ skills to the test by having them investigate mock cases based on real-world financial crimes, culminating in a trial where they must testify as to their findings.  

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Roll Call

Four Chambers College alumni who trailblazed their way to success in the business world joined the 2020 Roll of Distinguished Alumni class. They include Tina Bigalke, chief diversity officer of PepsiCo; Glenn Carell, managing director of Global Trading Systems Designated Market Making Operations; Dan D’Arrigo, former executive vice president and chief financial officer of MGM Resorts; and Albert Lewis, owner and chairman of Glass Inc.

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Tipping Points

Here’s a tip for New York City taxi drivers seeking bigger tips: Pick up tourists. Adam Nowak, associate professor of economics, and Amir B. Ferreira Neto, ’19, PhD Economics, studied data on yellow taxis in the Big Apple to see if tourists tipped more than locals. They do. Furthermore, theatergoers tip more than non-theatergoers, based on their findings that zeroed-in on drop-offs and pickups near Broadway. These differences between tourists and locals may affect the allocation of taxis throughout the city, conclude Nowak, Neto and Amanda Ross, of the University of Alabama.

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Hockey, Sticking

Question: What do hockey and entrepreneurship have in common?

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