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The Hall

The Hall

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The West Virginia Business Hall of Fame posthumously honored coal industry billionaire and philanthropist Chris Cline and three other state business leaders who have led widespread growth.

The 2019 class includes Bill Bayless (pictured right), CEO of American Campus Communities Inc.; Judy K. Sheppard (left), CEO of Professional Services of America, Inc.; and Leo A. Vecellio, Jr. (center), chairman, president and CEO of Vecellio Group, Inc.

“Bill, Judy, Leo and Chris have made substantial impacts in their own respective business sectors, each getting their first involvement in business right here in West Virginia,” said W. Marston “Marty” Becker, chairman of the Hall of Fame Committee.

They were honored in August at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. go.wvu.edu/2019bizhall

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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A Big Four Dream

Lana Latif has already met her goal of securing a job with a Big Four accounting firm -- and she’s still in grad school. Latif will earn her master’s in accountancy in 2021 before heading to Pittsburgh to be an assurance associate at Ernst & Young. According to her mentor, Gary LeDonne, this is a great success story for Latif who came to WVU after living with her family in Palestine. 

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A Refreshing Experience

Mason Harp is not only a Chambers College marketing junior, but he is also WVU’s Coca-Cola Ambassador. In fact, he is currently ranked 1st on the leaderboard for Coca-Cola Campus Ambassadors. “I am extremely excited to be working with Coca-Cola. The chance to add a Fortune 500 Company to my resume will help make me more marketable when applying for internships and other future opportunities,” Harp said. 

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Feminine Appeal

After graduating magna cum laude in finance and economics in 2008, Nesha Sanghavi launched UG Apparel, collegiate sports fashions for women. As a varsity cheerleader for the WVU football and basketball teams, Sanghavi noticed the lack of feminine appeal in WVU clothing. So she did something about it. How successful has she been? Enough to donate $100,000 to establish an endowed scholarship and student enrichment fund in her name. She was named to the Roll of Distinguished Alumni in 2019.

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Economics, Gentrification and Crime

You often don’t think of gun violence, gentrification and drug crime when thinking about business education. But one recent economics alumnus found a research niche on that topic. 

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