MBA Scholarships Awarded in Verney Case Competition

By Jacqueline Molik Ghosen

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A $500 scholarship was awarded to each member of the winning team in the University at Buffalo School of Management’s fourth annual Steven C. Verney MBA Case Competition.

The winners were Jennifer Gannon of Hamburg, Nikhil Honrao of Pune, India, Brandon Reich of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Nicholas Rhode of Canandaigua, Brian Sadonis of Liverpool and Sarah Wall of Buffalo.

All first-year MBAs at UB took part in the competition, which required them to read and analyze a Harvard business case and write a report recommending solutions for the company in the study.

The top four teams then presented their findings to a panel of judges in the event’s final round on March 19 at the Alfiero Center on UB’s North Campus.

The competition was created exclusively for first-year MBA students at the UB School of Management through a donation from Steven C. Verney, a vice president of Allstate Insurance Company in Chicago, who received his bachelor’s degree in 1980 and his MBA in 1981 from UB.

Members of the second-place team each received $250 scholarships.

In addition to Verney, the judges for the final round of the competition were Arjang A. Assad, dean of the School of Management, and Kenneth Fick ’98, director of forensic and litigation consulting at FTI Consulting in Washington, D.C.

The UB School of Management is recognized for its emphasis on real-world learning, community and economic impact, and the global perspective of its faculty, students and alumni. The school also has been ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report and The Wall Street Journal for the quality of its programs and the return on investment it provides its graduates. For more information about the UB School of Management, visit mgt.buffalo.edu.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB’s more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.