Broad College celebrates faculty excellence at 2025 Recognition Dinner and Investiture Ceremony

The Broad College of Business gathered on Aug. 27 at the Henry Center for Executive Development to celebrate the achievements and impact of its faculty at the annual Faculty Recognition Dinner and Investiture Ceremony. The evening honored promotions, teaching awards, and endowed positions, underscoring how faculty drive Broad’s excellence in research, teaching, and service.

“Broad’s momentum is possible because of this combination: the gifts from donors that help leverage the sweat equity that the people in this room invest every day on behalf of the student experience and the pursuit of knowledge,” Dean David Souder said in his opening remarks. “Our emphasis on access, innovation, and preparing students to lead with purpose is well aligned with the needs of this moment.”

Recognizing faculty achievements

This year’s event honored several faculty promotions. Musaib Ashraf (Accounting and Information Systems), Stanley Lim (Supply Chain Management), and Wyatt Schrock (Marketing) were promoted to associate professor, while Lu Zhang (Hospitality Business) was promoted to full professor.

The ceremony also featured the presentation of the John D. and Dortha J. Withrow Awards. These annual awards, made possible through the Withrow Foundation, honor exceptional contributions in teaching and scholarship.

• Withrow Distinguished Teaching Awards: Kymm Hadlock, Department of Finance, and Raymond Pirouz, Department of Marketing. Hadlock is celebrated for her rigorous yet empowering classroom environment that deeply impacts students, while Pirouz is known for his dynamic, forward-thinking teaching across multiple programs.
• Withrow Emerging Scholar Award: Michelle Nessa, Accounting and Information Systems. Nessa has gained national recognition for her research in corporate taxation while excelling in the classroom and serving the academic community.

Additional Instructor of Excellence Awards were also presented across undergraduate, graduate, and executive programs, further highlighting Broad’s commitment to teaching excellence.

Honoring endowed faculty

The highlight of the evening was the investiture of two new faculty members into endowed positions, reflecting Broad’s ability to attract and retain leading scholars.

The A.J. Pasant Fellowship, established by A.J. (Tony) Pasant, founder of Jackson National Life and a 1949 MSU economics graduate, has long supported faculty research in finance. This year, the fellowship was awarded to:

• Alexander Chinco, who recently joined Broad with an accomplished record in behavioral finance and asset pricing. His scholarship has been published in top journals including the Journal of Finance and Management Science. Chinco also co-founded α (alpha) Due Diligence, where he leads research efforts, and his work has been supported by the National Science Foundation.
• Charles Nathanson, who joined Broad following his tenure at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. His research on housing markets, behavioral finance, and macroeconomics has appeared in journals such as the Journal of Political Economy and Review of Financial Studies. He has also received fellowships from the NSF and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

“These endowed positions recognize a high level of achievement and dedication to academic excellence,” Souder said. “They raise the bar for our competitiveness, and they make a long-lasting impact on the college and the university as a whole.”

Looking ahead

The evening was both a celebration and a reminder of the shared commitment that propels the Broad College forward. Souder pointed to the resilience and innovation of faculty in updating the undergraduate curriculum, advancing global partnerships, and earning international accolades.

“As business education evolves, Broad continues to be a leader,” he said. “Thank you for supporting each other, delivering excellence, and upholding our mission.”

That mission — to create and disseminate business knowledge through collaboration, developing global leaders who positively transform organizations and society — came to life through the stories and achievements recognized at the event.

As the college pursues its vision of cultivating excellence in the next generation of global business leaders through research, participative learning, and community engagement, the 2025 Faculty Recognition Dinner and Investiture Ceremony reaffirmed the central role of faculty in making that vision a reality.

More photos of the event can be viewed on the Broad College Flickr page.