Academics

Penn State Smeal welcomes 12 new faculty members

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Smeal College of Business welcomes 12 new members to its faculty this academic year.

Larry Friedken has joined the Department of Accounting. 

Friedken, who will be a clinical associate professor, has been director of payroll and tax services at the University since 1998. He has been an instructor in accounting since 2001. Friedken holds a bachelor’s in accounting from Penn State, a juris doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh, and a master of law from the University of Florida.

Neil Fogarty and Jue “Kate” Wang have joined the Department of Management.

Fogarty, who will be an instructor, has taught previously as an online adjunct professor at the Kogod School of Business at American University, as well as an adjunct instructor at Penn State's Beaver, Greater Allegheny and New Kensington campuses. He holds a master of business administration from Penn State, a juris doctorate in constitutional law and a bachelor’s in political science, both from the University of Akron.

Wang, who is an assistant professor, earned a doctorate in management and organization from the University of Southern California. She also holds bachelor’s degrees in economics and mathematics from Renmin University of China in Beijing.

Brett Christenson, Sara Dommer, and Sotires Pagiavlas will join the Department of Marketing.

Christenson, a clinical assistant professor, holds a docatorate in consumer behavior from the University of Alabama. He earned a master of business administration from the University of Texas at Dallas and a bachelor’s in sports, sponsorship, and sales from Baylor University.

Dommer, an assistant professor, comes back to Smeal from Georgia Tech. She holds a doctorate in marketing from the University of Pittsburgh. Dommer graduated with highest honors from Smeal with a bachelor’s in marketing, and a minor in economics.

Pagiavlas, an assistant professor, earned his doctorate in business administration, with a marketing emphasis, from the University of South Carolina. He also holds a bachelor’s in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Eva Steiner and Amanda “Mandy” Hammell have joined the Department of Risk Management.

Steiner, an associate professor, joins Smeal after serving as assistant professor of real estate and a Torgalkar Faculty Fellow at Cornell University. She was previously an assistant professor of real estate at the University of Cambridge. Steiner earned her doctorate in land economy and a master of philosophy in real estate finance, both at the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Heilbronn, in Germany.

Hammell, an instructor, comes to Smeal from Prudential Financial, where she was a vice president and actuary. She is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries. Hammell holds a bachelor’s in applied mathematics from Penn State.

Ho Cheung “Brian” Lee, In Joon Noh, Wael Jabr, and Kevin Linderman will join the Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems.

An assistant professor, Lee joins Smeal from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He holds a doctorate in business administration, with a concentration in operations and information management, from the University of Connecticut. Lee earned a master of philosophy in systems engineering and engineering management from Chinese University of Hong Kong, and a bachelor’s in logistics management and engineering from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Noh, an assistant professor, earned a doctorate in operations management, with a minor in statistics, from Ohio State University. He holds a master’s in industrial engineering from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Daejeon, South Korea, and a bachelor’s in industrial engineering from Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea.

Jabr, an assistant professor, comes to Smeal from Georgia State University, where he was an assistant professor of computer information systems. Prior to that he was an assistant professor of management information systems at the University of Calgary. Jabr holds a doctorate in management science, with a focus on information systems, from the University of Texas at Dallas, where he also earned a master of business administration. He also holds a bachelor’s degree from American University of Beirut.

Linderman joins Smeal as department chair and the John J. Coyle Professorship in Logistics and Supply Chain Management. He was previously the Curtis L. Carlson Professor in Supply Chain and Operations at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management and the academic co-director of the Joseph M. Juran Center for Research in Supply Chain, Operations, and Quality. Linderman holds a doctorate and master’s in operations and management science from Case Western Reserve University. He has also earned a master’s in mathematics from Miami University and a bachelor’s in mathematics and philosophy from Minnesota State University Moorhead.

Last Updated August 31, 2020

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