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Photo of Eric Mason in town hall

A Mountaineer in Town Hall

A Mountaineer in Town Hall

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Some people take their business public. Chambers College alumnus Eric Mason took his business to the public. 

In 2020, Mason was named chief financial officer of Quincy, Massachusetts – his hometown, and a city with a population of over 101,000. He was 26 at the time, equipped only with an undergraduate degree in economics from the Chambers College. 

Four years later, Quincy's budget has grown to more than $500 million. Mason now manages the largest pension obligation bond in Massachusetts, and recently issued a bond via blockchain, a first for the American public sector. 

Between historic firsts and unprecedented success, Mason also found time to return to Chambers for his master’s degree in economics. 

"Being a public sector CFO by its nature requires many interdisciplinary skills to ensure that every public dollar generates the greatest return for the taxpayer,” said Mason. “The Chambers College curriculum's prioritization of specialization while contextualizing it within a broader business framework has been invaluable in my career.” 

Written by:

Leidos and the Future of Business

Leidos, a Fortune 500 science and technology leader, partnered with the Chambers College in October for the ‘State of Innovation: Top Emerging Technologies Poised to be Key Drivers of a Post Pandemic World’ seminar. The event was part of the Leidos “Future of Business” series, designed to explore disciplines that are disrupting the business world, including cybersecurity, data analytics, cloud computing and the world of fintech. 

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No Dessert - or Dinner

One of seven West Virginians don't know where or when they’ll get their next meal. Food deserts are defined by the USDA as areas that lack fresh and healthful foods, and these are found throughout the state in impoverished areas lacking grocery stores, farmers’ markets and healthy food providers. John Saldanha, Sears chair in global supply chain management, is addressing this West Virginia problem head-on with his supply chain technology students. Read more in an upcoming edition of our magazine.

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Trending

Twitter is more than rantin’ and ravin’ and snarky memes. It can influence stock returns, according to Alexander Kurov, professor and Fred T. Tattersall research chair in finance. Kurov and Chen Gu, a 2018 graduate of the finance doctoral program, found that firm-level Twitter content has information useful for predicting next-day stock returns, and that it is a stronger predictor of returns for firms with less analyst coverage. Their study, “ Informational role of social media: Evidence from Twitter sentiment,” is published in the Journal of Banking and Finance.

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Outstanding!

Each spring, the University honors selected faculty members with the WVU Foundation Awards for Outstanding Teaching. Jody Crosno, the Joseph E. Antonini Chair and professor in marketing, was one of five faculty to receive the 2021 award. The committee was impressed by her seamless incorporation of experiential learning and technology into the classroom, exceptional student engagement, and innovative classroom assignments that require her students to engage with customers and clients, such as Camp Virgil Tate, to gain real-world experience.

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From Business to Blankets

For over a decade, Mountaineers have become Blanketeers. 

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