EMBA Class Honored at Graduation Dinner

For release:  May 12, 2011

The Executive MBA Program hosted their annual EMBA Graduation Celebration held for the graduating EMBA Class of 2011 on Friday, May 6th at Frank Grisanti’s Restaurant located in the Embassy Suites in Memphis, Tennessee.  Attending the event were the graduates, their guests; Fogelman College of Business & Economics Faculty/Staff and their guests; FCBE Dean, Dr. Rajiv Grover; and FCBE Associate Dean, Dr. Jasbir Dhaliwal.  The evening was an opportunity to honor the graduates and to celebrate their achievement of obtaining their MBAs.

During the event each year, two awards are given.  Dean Grover presented the Dean’s Academic Achievement Award, which goes to the individual(s) with the highest grade point average.  This year’s award went to Mr. Kevin Bourquin, Prepress Manager for Cyber Graphics, who had a perfect 4.0 GPA.

The other award given each year is the Kurt A. Christoff Outstanding Executive MBA Student of the Year award. Several years ago, the EMBA Program established an award to honor Kurt A. Christoff, from the EMBA Class of 1993.  Kurt and his wife, Beth, were fatally injured in an automobile accident shortly before the beginning of his final semester in the program. Kurt was a student who thrived on academic challenges.  In addition to being recognized for his excellent academic performance in the program, he was known for his positive outlook on life.  He spent many hours helping his classmates, was a class leader, and served as a very positive force in the EMBA program.  The Kurt A. Christoff Award was established to honor his memory.  The nominations for this prestigious award are based on the following characteristics:  1) academic performance; 2) leadership ability; 3) enthusiasm for the learning process; and 4) commitment to the success of fellow students and the EMBA program.   

This year, the nominations received resulted in a tie between two of the students, Ms. Lauren Ferrera, Senior Marketing Specialist & Product Manager for FedEx Services, and Mr. Darin Gerlach, Group Manager for New Product Development at Smith & Nephew.

We congratulate each of the award recipients along with the entire class of Executive MBA graduates and look forward to working with them in the future as alumni of our program, the FCBE, and the university.  Congratulations EMBA Class of 2011!