At Emory University and Goizueta Business School, the tradition of honoring faculty and staff who exemplify dedication, innovation, and excellence continues to be a cornerstone of our academic culture. Each year, we proudly recognize individuals whose contributions—whether through transformative teaching, impactful service, or behind-the-scenes support—elevate the Goizueta experience for students, colleagues, and the broader university community.
“These awards highlight the extraordinary commitment of our faculty and staff,” says Dean Gareth James. “Our faculty drive innovation in the classroom and through their groundbreaking research, while our staff provide the critical support that enables every member of the Goizueta community to thrive. Together, their dedication shapes the student experience and amplifies Goizueta’s impact on business and society at large.”
This year’s honorees represent the best of what Goizueta and Emory stand for: passionate educators and visionary leaders who make a meaningful difference every day. Join us in celebrating the 2025 recipients of our most prestigious faculty and staff awards.
Keough Staff Award
Associate Dean of Full-Time MBA Programs and Goizueta Global Strategy & Initiatives Brian Mitchell has been selected as our 2025 Keough Staff Award for Excellence recipient. Brian is recognized for going above and beyond his formal responsibilities through servant leadership, deep student engagement, and tireless mentoring. He has established safe, supportive spaces for students, championed curriculum innovation, including inclusion-focused coursework, and played a pivotal role in integrating one-year and two-year MBA cohorts to foster unity and shared purpose.
Brian’s long-term impact includes driving strategic enhancements to the MBA program and expanding Goizueta’s global partnerships. He is known for his creative and innovative leadership, applying both corporate and academic expertise to reimagine curriculum design, experiential learning, and cross-disciplinary collaborations.
The Keough Award is named after Don Keough, a legendary former President of The Coca-Cola Company, and a symbol of business excellence. This award honors a long-term contributor to the school who has made a significant impact and a sustainable contribution to Goizueta Business School.
Emory Williams Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award
Assistant Professor in the Practice of Marketing Marina Cooley has been named our 2025 recipient of the Emory Williams Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award which recognizes a faculty’s outstanding commitment to undergraduate teaching.
A Goizueta 2012 MBA alumna and Assistant Professor in the Practice of Marketing, Marina is known for her innovative teaching, student engagement, and course development—including the highly popular Content Marketing elective. Her teaching emphasizes “sticky ideas,” storytelling, and the power of curiosity-driven innovation.
Beyond the classroom, Marina is conducting research on work/life balance and helped launch the Life Design program as part of our BBA curriculum redesign.
The Emory Williams Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award is presented to faculty members from each of Emory’s four undergraduate schools during commencement every year. “The award celebrates the pinnacle of teaching excellence, honoring faculty who have profoundly impacted their students’ academic journeys,” says Wei Jiang, vice dean for faculty and research and Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Finance. The award was established by Emory Williams, a 1932 Emory College alumnus and longtime trustee, to recognize a record of excellence in undergraduate teaching.
Provost’s Distinguished Teaching Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Education
Associate Professor in the Practice of Finance Kevin Crowley has been selected as Goizueta Business School’s 2025 recipient of the Provost’s Distinguished Teaching Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Education.
Kevin, an associate professor in the Practice of Finance, is celebrating his 20th year at Goizueta. With a distinguished background in investment banking at Deutsche Bank and J.P. Morgan, he brings invaluable real-world expertise to his teaching. He has consistently received strong teaching evaluations, receiving high marks for his emphasis on applied theory, practical skills and real-world context. Kevin brings theory to life by incorporating relevant transactional (deal-making) experience into the classroom.
Students report that Kevin is always available outside of class to support their understanding of the course material. In addition to his strong teaching capabilities, last year Kevin served on the MBA Curriculum Re-design Committee.
The Provost’s Distinguished Teaching Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Education recognizes outstanding scholars who excel as teachers within formal and informal educational settings. “This award honors exceptional teaching and recognizes those who guide their students with passion and expertise,” says Alicia Sierra, director of human resources and diversity.
One faculty member in each of Emory’s seven graduate and professional schools receives the award in recognition of the important role of exceptional teaching in graduate and professional education.
2025 Roberto C. Goizueta Award for Leadership Recipients and their Honorees
2025 Roberto C. Goizueta BBA Recipient
25BBA Saanvi Sood exemplifies inspirational leadership through her dedication to empowering others and making a tangible impact. She spearheaded a fundraising campaign in honor of EIIG’s 10-year anniversary, successfully raising over $150K to support microloans and consulting services for underserved entrepreneurs in Atlanta. Under her leadership, EIIG engaged over 240 analysts in the past fall semester, making it the largest student organization at Goizueta. Despite her significant contributions, Saanvi consistently redirects praise to others, ensuring that those around her feel valued and empowered.
Saanvi repeatedly looks for ways to help students at all levels of educational success. For the highflyers, Saanvi organized a case competition trip to New Zealand. When her case competition team qualified to go to New Zealand, Saanvi was able to leverage her network to find a way to get enough supplemental funding to allow the team to travel to New Zealand. She looks for ways to turn no into yes.
The strongest evidence of the excellence and integrity others see in Saanvi is demonstrated by her leadership roles at Goizueta. In addition to being elected president of EIIG, she led the Data Science Club, served in three TA positions and was selected as the head BBA CMC coach (over 24 other BBA seniors who are coaches). She was also a Robson Program Fellow, as a Business and Society/Social Enterprise Fellow and was one of only two students on the QTM alumni Council Steering Committee. She is viewed by all as exemplary across every aspect of leadership embraced by Mr. Goizueta.
BBA Faculty Honoree: Jeff Rosensweig, Associate Professor of Finance
Professor Jeffrey Rosensweig, or as his students lovingly call him, “Dr. J”, is dedicated to advancing the intersection of business and government, while keeping student mentorship at the heart of his work. Passionate about shaping the leaders of tomorrow, he is not only an invaluable guide, but also a lifelong advocate, role model, and friend. Whether it be major professional guidance or personal life advice, he is always just a phone call away. Despite his vast network of esteemed economic and political leaders, he will always make time for his students.
“This past year, Dr. J supported a team of myself and three other Goizueta students to compete in the World Case Champion’s Trophy in New Zealand, giving us the opportunity to represent Goizueta on a global stage and create our most memorable college experience,” says Saanvi. “His support is a testament to his commitment to student advancement, as well as his confidence in the Goizueta curriculum and experience.”
2025 Roberto C. Goizueta MBA Recipient
25MBA Sasha McNair has inspired her peers through her commitment to academic excellence and student leadership. As Co-President of the Goizueta Consulting Association, she has mentored and guided countless students, helping them navigate the competitive consulting recruitment process. She’s done it with a mind for development and community that the club was sorely lacking. She’s always put the students she serves first and leads with humility, empathy, and a strong vision, making a lasting impact on the Goizueta community.
Under Sasha’s leadership, the Goizueta Consulting Association expanded its reach and resources, introducing new initiatives such as structured interview boot camps and alumni engagement programs. She also contributed fresh perspectives to the Black MBA Association and GWIB, encouraging cross-club collaborations that enhanced the student experience.
Known for her authenticity and integrity, Sasha fosters an environment of trust within her teams. Her peers admire her for her open communication style, ensuring that all voices are heard in decision-making. She leads with honesty and accountability, strengthening the cohesion and credibility of the organizations she serves.
MBA Faculty Honoree: Ama Ampadu-Fofie, Director of Culture, Inclusion & Belonging
“Ama has been one of the most impactful staff members throughout my MBA journey,” shares Sasha. “Not only has she shown up for me at crucial moments in my Emory career, but she has also been a listening ear when I needed it most.”
“During our first interaction, I told Ama that I felt a tinge of imposter syndrome. She looked at me with surprise and said, Why? And now I know why she was so surprised. She helped me build back up my confidence and I’m leaving here a stronger professional, student, daughter, and friend. I can’t thank her enough for how she poured into me and continues to pour into many of the Black women and men in our program. Having her as a visible part of the school administration not only empowers us in spaces that could make us feel small but also provides a safe place to land when we need to talk to someone who just understands.”
This Roberto C. Goizueta Award for Leadership is the highest honor given to a graduating student in the BBA and MBA programs. It is presented to the graduating student who best exemplifies six criteria: a love of learning, inspirational leadership, creative thinking, courage and commitment, transparency and trust, and excellence and integrity. In addition, this award recognizes the key role Goizueta faculty and staff play in students’ development. The selection criteria reinforce the already existing BBA Creed and MBA Core Values practiced daily at Goizueta Business School. In sum, the goal of the Award is to recognize the brightest minds who can solve the biggest problems with integrity, ingenuity, and grit. After being selected for the Award, each recipient will identify the faculty or staff member who has had the biggest impact on them during their time as a student at Goizueta.
Goizueta Program Faculty Teaching Awards
Emory and Goizueta also award those exceptional faculty who exhibit academic excellence in each department. These awards go to individuals who represent their departments with outstanding education and lead the professionals of tomorrow. We would like to recognize them here.
- BBA Distinguished Educator: Shankar Ramachandran, Associate Professor in the Practice of Finance
- Evening MBA Distinguished Core Educator: Rod McCowan, Associate Professor in the Practice of Organization & Management
- Evening MBA Distinguished Elective Educator: Klaas Baks, Professor in the Practice of Finance
- Executive MBA Distinguished Educator (Core): Shehzad Mian, Associate Professor of Finance
- Executive MBA Distinguished Educator (Elective): Kevin Crowley, Associate Professor in the Practice of Finance
- Master of Finance (MF) Distinguished Educator: Kevin Crowley, Associate Professor in the Practice of Finance
- Master of Finance (MF) Distinguished Educator: Nicholas Valerio, Professor in the Practice of Finance
- Full-Time One-Year MBA Distinguished Accounting Educator Award: Usha Rackliffe, Associate Professor in the Practice of Accounting
- Full-Time Two-Year MBA Distinguished Accounting Educator Award: Suhas Sridharan, Associate Professor of Accounting
- Full-Time Two-Year MBA Distinguished Finance Educator Award: JB Kurish, Professor in the Practice of Finance
- Full-Time One-Year MBA Distinguished Finance Educator Award: JB Kurish, Professor in the Practice of Finance
- Full-Time MBA Distinguished Information Systems & Operations Management Educator Award: Steve Walton, Professor in the Practice of Information Systems & Operations Management
- Full-Time MBA Distinguished Information Systems & Operations Management Educator Award: Wenjun Gu, Associate Professor in the Practice of Information Systems & Operations Management
- Full-Time One-Year MBA Distinguished Marketing Educator Award: Marina Cooley, Assistant Professor in the Practice of Marketing
- Full-Time Two-Year MBA Distinguished Marketing Educator Award: Ryan Hamilton, Associate Professor of Marketing
- Full-Time Two-Year MBA Distinguished Organization & Management Educator Award: Rod McCowan, Associate Professor in the Practice of Organization & Management
We are immensely proud to celebrate the accomplishments of our faculty. Through their transformational work, they push industries forward, prepare the next generation of business leaders, and solve today’s toughest business problems.
