The Opus College of Business prides itself on the quality of its faculty. In keeping with this pride, two awards are presented annually to recognize faculty achievement.
The Julie Hays Teaching Award is given to an OCB faculty member for exemplary achievement in the classroom in the previous academic year. More than 30 faculty were nominated for the hays award this year, a sign of the passion our faculty have for teaching and engaging with their students.
Awarded since 2010, the Hays Award was presented today to Dr. Heino Beckmann. Beckmann announced earlier in the day his plans to retire after 28 years teaching in St Thomas’ Finance Department.
“As someone who views himself as a coach and mentor rather than a professor, Professor Beckmann pushes students intellectually, morally, and philosophically,” one student wrote. ”One of the most interesting people I have ever met, he draws on his past experiences to not only teach us the subject, but to teach us how to become the best people we can be.” (more…)
![robert-barnett[1]](http://blogs.stthomas.edu/opusmagnum/files/2013/05/robert-barnett1.jpg)
How does one successfully navigate the process of moving from an individual contributor or team member to a first-time manager and leader? Which leadership characteristics and competencies promote positive and authentic leadership and which practices or attitudes can detract from an individual’s leadership potential? Moreover, how does one learn or develop leadership capabilities?
Earlier this week, friend, colleague and fellow blogger 
It has long been known that experience is the most powerful teacher. Leaders learn and grow when they immerse themselves in challenging situations. Yet, such situations involve considerable risk as well. New strategies must be invented. New paths charted. And leaders must overcome many obstacles – some external and some internal.
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last month, you know that a new pope was selected. As a business school at a Catholic University, we wondered how Pope Francis’ challenges as head of the Catholic Church relate to the challenges of any new CEO. “One of the things the new pope will have to deal with is a classic business mess — a multi-billion dollar conglomerate that has stumbled and is losing money and relevance,” noted Planet Money. We asked some of our faculty to weigh in and got some surprising answers, and discovered that UST has a direct influence on what the Church says about the “Vocation of the Business Leader.”
Kennedy noted that UST professor 
The Weigh-In: Why Does Cyprus Matter?
Wednesday, April 17th, 2013The European Union is once again facing a significant financial crisis as Cyprus has pushed Greece, Portugal, Italy and Spain from the headlines. How can such a small country – with fewer than one million citizens – have such a large impact on the global economy? The answer is complicated, much like the March 25 bailout agreement between the troika – the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank (ECB).
The agreement with the Cypriot government paves way for Cyprus to receive a €10 billion bailout. In return, Cyprus has agreed to downsize its large financial sector and undertake a macroeconomic adjustment program that will require fiscal consolidation, structural reforms and privatizations (among other concessions). In return, the ECB will continue to provide emergency liquidity assistance to Cyprus banks.
Read the rest of this post in the UST Newsroom…
Lalith Samarakoon is professor and chair of the Department of Finance in the Opus College of Business. As a financial economist, Samarakoon has two decades of advisory experience in financial sector reforms and development, and public debt management. He teaches Global Finance Issues and Policy: Eurozone Debt Crisis.
Tags: cyprus, debt, finance, Lalith Samarakoon
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