Last Friday, we had our end of the academic year All School Meeting at the Isenberg School of Management at which milestones were celebrated, announcements made, and both faculty and doctoral students were recognized for their professional contributions.
It was wonderful to see Dana Hassani, one of my PhD students in Operations Management at the Isenberg School, receive the 2026 Outstanding Doctoral Teacher Award. Dana has been in our doctoral program since late January 2022. I enjoyed writing the nomination letter for Dana for this award and thank the Selection Committee for their hard work.
The award was presented to Dana by Associate Dean and Isenberg PhD Program Director Fousseni Chabi-Yo. Dana, for several semesters now, has taught the required course, OIM 240 - Business Data Analysis, for our undergraduates. OIM 240 is a math heavy and technical course, which can become boring or confusing for students. Dana reviews core course concepts multiple times to ensure that every student has a strong grasp of the material. He also integrates lectures with real-world examples tailored to students’ interests, highlighting the applications of the content and making concepts more engaging.
Dana has shared with me how he regularly uses datasets from the sports industry (e.g., NBA and WNBA franchises and soccer clubs) or social media platforms. Students very much appreciate Dana’s extra effort, with many reaching out after class to discuss the applications in more depth.
Excellent teachers can also be great researchers. Dana was recognized by the Isenberg School with the Outstanding Doctoral Student Research Award both in 2025 and in 2024. Dana has had 3 journal articles published and 1 book chapter and recently submitted another paper to a journal.
And, after the All School Meeting, was our Barbecue for Graduating Seniors, right outside of the Isenberg School.
I thank Professor Muzzo Uysal for taking the photo below before we headed out to eat and chat and meet with our soon to be graduates.
It is important to celbrate wonderful students and their achievements as they work towards their goals. Dana hopes to become a professor soon.
My post on Dana's 2025 Research Award can be read here: https://annanagurney.blogspot.com/2025/05/congratulations-to-dana-hassani-on.html
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