UW-RF Home > Public Affairs Home > This Month's News Releases

University Communications

For more information contact news@uwrf.edu.

College of Business and Economics Names Outstanding Faculty

OCT. 30, 2009 | The College of Business and Economics at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls has recognized three faculty members with awards for teaching, research or advising.

The college presented faculty members Hamid Tabesh with the Outstanding Teacher Award, Dawn Hukai with the Outstanding Adviser Award, and Joy Benson with the Outstanding Research Award.

“I am very proud of the faculty chosen for these awards,” said Glenn Potts, dean of the College of Business and Economics. “The teaching and advising awards are chosen by our graduates from two and four years earlier, so it is a great honor to have been selected by our students.”

Benson, of Spring Valley, is an assistant professor of management and marketing, who joined UWRF in 2006. She holds a Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. She has authored numerous articles on management, organizational behavior and decision-making that have appeared in journals such as Management Decision, Annual Advances in Business Cases, and the International Journal of Teaching.

“Joy Benson’s award as outstanding researcher of the year reflects the CBE faculty recognition of the great research effort she has made in addition to her teaching,” said Potts. “In the 2008-09 academic year, she had five refereed journal articles and two refereed presentations, which is an impressive accomplishment.”

Benson also has given numerous presentations at international, national and regional conferences. She has performed service to UWRF through assignments on faculty search and screen, program and assessment committees. She is the editor of the Journal of Critical Incidents and served as a past vice president and program developer for the Society for Case Research. Benson is a recipient of the Lynda Goulet Outstanding Case Journal Reviewer Award and two creative teaching awards from UW-Green Bay.

“My research is in the areas of learning dynamics and decision-making,” says Benson. “I enjoy developing ideas that enhance student engagement in their learning as well as those that link academic and practitioner communities. Receiving this award helps to validate my role as a teacher-scholar and its contribution to the college’s mission and values.”

Hukai, of Woodbury, Minn., is a professor of accounting and finance and an associate dean of CBE who joined UWRF in 1998. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota and is a Certified Public Accountant. Her articles and papers have appeared in the Academy of Accounting and Financial Studies Journal, the Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies, the Journal of Management Development and Accounting Educator.

“It is an honor to receive the 2009 CBE Outstanding Advising Award,” Hukai says. “I enjoy helping students choose the academic and career paths that are right for them.”

Hukai has served the university as advisor of the Accounting Society and on search and screen, curriculum, assessment and program/policy committees plus as chair of the Academic Standards Committee. She is currently a member of Faculty Senate. Hukai has served as a moderator/facilitator at numerous academic conferences and a board member of the Institute of Management Accountants, the PRJ Editorial Review Board and other associations. She has received two faculty publication awards from the college as well. She is a board member of the St. Croix Economic Development Corporation.

“Dawn Hukai is a great advisor and is always available to help her students to prepare for the next semester and for their careers,” says Potts. “She works long hours in the interest of our students, and they appreciate it.”

Tabesh, of River Falls, is a professor of economics who joined UWRF in 1988. He holds a Ph.D. from Iowa State University, where he previously taught. Tabesh’s articles have appeared in the Journal of Business Strategy, International Journal of Business Research, Review of Business Research, Journal of Economics and others. He has presented papers at regional, national and international conferences.

Formerly director of the Center for Economic Research and currently chairperson of the economics department at UWRF, he has served the university as a member of scholarship, search and screen, promotion/tenure, awards, curriculum and recruitment/retention committees. He is also a past director of the master’s degree program in agricultural economics.

“Hamid Tabesh is an excellent teacher who makes learning fun for his students,” says Potts. “He is a good economist and is able to help his students understand difficult concepts in a friendly environment.”

Tabesh’s service to the profession includes presentations at numerous seminars here and abroad as well at regional economic development forums. In 1995 he was a consultant to the Central Bank of Iran. Tabesh has received the college’s faculty publication award numerous times and the Gold Quill Award from the Journal of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.

“This award gives me a good feeling to know that I have had a positive and lasting impression on my students. It encourages and motivates me to continue doing my best,” Tabesh said.

The primary mission of the College of Business and Economics is to meet the needs of its stakeholders with high quality undergraduate programs, a Masters of Business Administration program, and business outreach services to the St. Croix Valley region. Its programs are grounded in the liberal arts tradition and include the application of business and economics knowledge through the integration of the classroom and the community.

-30-

Last updated: Monday, 02-Nov-2009 12:04:00 CST