Thanks to your continued support, the Fowler College of Business is building incredible momentum. Both our undergraduate and MBA programs are now ranked among the top 50 public university business programs by U.S. News & World Report.
This year, a generous gift led to the renaming of our career center—now the Partrick-Clayes Center for Career Development—and expanded our career and professional readiness programming. We launched an executive-in-residence program to connect graduate students with industry mentors and hosted workshops, networking events, and career fairs for undergraduate students. We also created a "Passport to Professionalism" program for freshmen and provided free business attire through our “Executive’s Closet.”
Experiential learning continues to thrive, with more students engaging in internships, business consulting projects, and team competitions. Student interest in entrepreneurship is driving some newer experiential initiatives, including the San Diego Angel Conference and a Southern California Social Venture Challenge.
Together, we're shaping the future of business education.
Dan Moshavi, Ph.D. Thomas and Evelyn Page Dean Fowler College of Business
Propelling the SDSU Community Forward
Partrick-Clayes Center for Career Development Endowment
The Fowler College of Business received a challenge gift to establish an endowment to signifcantly enhance our ability to prepare students for professional success through expanded career readiness initiatives in perpetuity. In recognition of the gift, the college's career center was renamed the PartrickClayes Center for Career Development
Gary Bezer and Lise Fleury PATH Academy Endowment
The endowment will empower the Fowler College of Business to launch a career and professional readiness program for business students who are also part of the Guardian Scholars or Project Rebound programs.
Social Venture Challenge Fund
The fund supported student awards for the 2025 Social Venture Challenge, where teams from colleges across Southern California pitched sustainable solutions to improve nutrition and food security.
Class of 2025 Graduates
Thriving in the Aztec Experience
Evelyn Arredondo, Class of 2025
Class Level: Undergraduate Student
College: Fowler College of Business
Major: Management Information Systems
My experience in the Fowler College of Business has been truly transformative. I’ve grown both professionally and personally through programs and resources supported by philanthropy. From engaging courses to leadership opportunities, FCB has helped me build a well-rounded skill set I feel confdent bringing into the workforce.
One resource that had a major impact on my journey is the Partrick-Clayes Center for Career Development. Their résumé workshops, mock interviews, and networking events made me feel more prepared and empowered to pursue career opportunities. I also benefted from participation in student organizations, including leadership roles that let me apply classroom learning to real-world situations.
I’m especially thankful for the emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship within FCB. Programs like the ZIP Launchpad and Lavin Entrepreneurship Center have inspired me to think creatively and consider how I can make a meaningful impact through business.
I’m incredibly grateful for the donors and supporters who make these opportunities possible. Their generosity has opened doors and helped shape my path in ways I couldn’t have imagined when I frst started at SDSU.
FCB has helped me build a well-rounded skill set I feel confdent bringing into the workforce.
Celebrating Shared Success
Recent Rankings
The U.S. News & World Report named the undergraduate program at the Fowler College of Business at San Diego State University among the best 50 public university programs in the nation for 2025.
Fowler ranked 49th among public undergraduate business schools (up from 51st in 2024) and 77th overall. Our entrepreneurship program placed 14th among public schools (35th overall), and our international business program, in partnership with the College of Arts and Letters, ranked 6th among public schools and 13th overall.
Statistics of Interest
Fowler College of Business is the fastest-growing college on campus over the past fve years. Undergraduate enrollment has grown over 40% in the last decade (5,300 to 8,000+), graduate enrollment rose from 300 to 500+, and the online BSBA program now serves 600+ students. The Top 10 Degrees for 2025 list features fve Fowler College of Business majors: No. 3 Finance, No. 4 General Business, No. 6 Marketing, No. 9 Management, and No. 10 Information Systems.
Recent Highlights
Management lecturer Michael Sloan and accounting lecturer James Vogt were named the 2024 Glazer Outstanding Fellowship Endowment recipients for their outstanding teaching and service to San Diego State University and the Fowler College of Business.
Launched the Executive in Residence Program to connect students with top executives for realworld insights and mentorship. Terri Funk Graham and Dan Skiles served as executives in residence for 2024–25, helping students advance from “professionally ready” to “executive ready.”
Launched the San Diego Angel Conference at SDSU to empower angel investors with training, networking, and investment opportunities. The program includes workshops and events, culminating on June 5, 2025, with startups pitching for investment.
Congratulations to the companies of SDAC 2025:
Recoup Beverage – $237,000 investment, team: Susan Buckwalter Hartman, Siwat Siengsanaoh, and Scott Hartman
Organic sparkling prebiotic beverages infused with ginger, maple water, and electrolytes to support gut health and hydration. Just launched nationally in Sprouts!
Veera – $119,000 investment, team: Tina John
Veera’s fagship product allows mothers to overcome obstacles in breastfeeding using deep tech and smart data to give moms and clinicians eyes on the breastfeeding journey.
Ciconia Medical – $60,000 investment, team: Roni Cantor-Balan
An AI-powered device that replaces manual vaginal exams during labor with accurate, less invasive digital measurements.
Transforming Lives
Achievements:
Beth Chung, Ph.D.
Title: Department Chair/Professor, Management Department
College: Fowler College of Business
Management Professor Beth Chung was named the recipient of the Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Faculty Contributor from the Fowler College of Business for 2024.
Chung’s nomination for the award was based on “consistency, rigor, and excellence in her teaching,” an “extensive professional development record,” and her dedication to “making her department, her college, her university, and society a better place by doing meaningful work in diversity/inclusion and leadership in all aspects of her professional life.”
Achievements:
Carlos Paternina, Ph.D.
Title: Assistant Professor, Management Information Systems Department
College: Fowler College of Business
Carlos Paternina, Assistant Professor, in the Fowler College of Business, received the Outstanding Global Educator Award. Paternina has focused on international education and global networks related to smart logistics and global supply chains. With decades of experience in Colombia, he received a grant aimed at strengthening academic ties between the U.S. and Latin America.
Faculty Achievements
Achievements:
Shira Cohen, Ami Doshi, and Nita Umashankar, Ph.D.
Title: Professors
College: Fowler College of Business
Three faculty members from SDSU’s Fowler College of Business were awarded the College’s annual Teaching Excellence Award for 2024
Professors Shira Cohen, Ami Doshi, and Nita Umashankar were honored for their outstanding skill in the classroom and for their dedication to student learning outcomes. All award recipients are selected by the college’s Faculty Development Committee based on a set of criteria.
The award includes a $10,000 honorarium, recognition, and the opportunity to share teaching tips with Fowler faculty.
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Congratulations to Professors Cohen, Doshi, and Umashankar— recognized for their exceptional teaching and dedication to student success with the 2024 Fowler College of Business Teaching Excellence Award!
Centers and Institutes
Lavin Entrepreneurship Center
SDSU's Lavin Entrepreneurship Program is ranked #14 (public) by U.S. News & World Report.
This year, the program opened to all undergraduate and graduate majors, fostering diverse collaboration, and shifted to a more intensive one-year format to boost engagement.
The Corky McMillin Center for Real Estate (TCMCRE)
Hosted the annual Real Estate Financial Modeling (REFM) class on campus, with over 60 students earning REFM certifcates after a weekend session.
Held a 4-module TCMCRE Accelerated Analyst Program of campus over a month, certifying 25 students in real estate fnance covering construction, bridge, permanent, and investment sales strategies.
In January 2025, hosted a sold-out Industry Insights panel featuring senior executives from Goldman Sachs, Prudential, Bank OZK, and PCCP, attended by students, professionals, and community members.
At the academic year’s end, the Center and Real Estate Society hosted 20 industry professionals for a 3-hour career fair at the Alumni Center, attracting strong participation from real estate, fnance, engineering, and accounting majors.
Wendy Gillespie Center for Advancing Global Business (WGCAGB)
Led the Summer 2024 MSc Global Business Development capstone in Romania and secured FY24–25 funding for Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), managing its webpage, hosting an evaluator, and leading advocacy and professional development.
Hosted a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) training, a Global Risk Forecast webinar, and co-hosted the 2025 Global Economic Outlook, drawing 200+ attendees. Organized events like a Kendal Floral tour and WD-40’s “Hot Of the Press.”
Collaborated with the WGCAGB Advisory Board to recruit members, raise fellowship funds, hold strategy sessions, and planned a cultural trip to Oaxaca with President de la Torre.
Lavin students attending a Qualcomm company site visit to gain insights on the latest technology and past inventions.
Centers and Institutes
Corporate Governance Institute (CGI)
The Lowe’s Goes High: The Aftermath of Investor Activism event was held April 24, with activist investor David Batchelder and Lowe’s Lead Director Rick Dreilling serving as speakers, and David Katz, corporate partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, serving as host. More than 90 students, faculty, and local businesspeople attended the on-campus event.
CGI Research Team Roundtables: Over the 2024–25 Academic Year, the CGI Research Team held steady at nine scholars working in the Corporate Governance area. Faculty from management, fnance, and accounting came together two to three times per semester to “workshop” a team member’s work in progress.
James Silberrad Brown Center for Artifcial Intelligence
Collaborated with a senior capstone team from SDSU’s College of Engineering to design and build "Asher," a humanoid robot for secure, private, and emotionally intelligent interaction. This yearlong efort culminated in a successful debut at SDSU’s Design Day 2025, showcasing a modular, edge-based system requiring no cloud or internet. The project brought together student engineers—Lucas, Chloe, Britton, Joseph, and Riley—and our AI researchers, blending hardware, software, and interaction design into a human-centered platform. After graduation, Joseph and Lucas continued development with the Center. An invention disclosure has been fled, and a technology transition proposal is underway to commercialize Asher as an open, campus-integrated humanoid platform.
We also developed and launched MIS 429: Artifcial Intelligence for Business—now ofcially in SDSU’s 2025–2026 catalog as an MIS elective. The course reimagines business education for the AI era and refects the Center’s leadership in bringing cutting-edge AI research into the classroom.
MIS 429 gives students practical and ethical foundations for AI-enhanced workplaces. Topics include large language models (LLMs), retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), emotion recognition, complexity theory, and AI agent design. Continuously updated to refect real-time trends, the course concludes with a capstone project exploring the economic and ethical dimensions of AI systems—including costs, trade-ofs, and surveillance risks in commercial AI.
Debut of Asher demoed at Engineering Design Day 2025 at Viejas Arena
Social Impact Programs
Brightside Produce
Brightside Produce operates over 20 produce stands located in various underserved communities around San Diego, only a 10minute or less walk from the areas most in need. Brightside partner stores more than doubled the number of residential areas located within a quarter-mile of a fresh produce retailer and reduced public transit travel times to a fresh produce retailer for an estimated 34,038 people—over half of National City’s residents.
Social Venture Challenge
Hosted the third annual Social Venture Challenge, a cross-campus competition aimed at solving pressing societal issues through entrepreneurship. This year’s theme focused on food security, drawing eight interdisciplinary teams from fve Southern California colleges and universities to pitch innovative solutions addressing food access in the region and beyond.
Second Course, a team led by Daniel Self, a Lavin Entrepreneurship Student, and Gavin Bartow earned third place ($5,000) for their app redistributing untouched leftover food from campus venues to address student hunger and reduce food waste.
Women in Leadership
The ninth annual Women in Leadership Conference was held on April 10, 2025, with the theme "What will you be?" The conference drew 990 total registrations for presentations, panel discussions, and networking opportunities that focused on issues facing women in the workplace. Conference feedback was exceptionally high, underscoring the immeasurable impact of the annual conference and workshops on the lives of our students.
Araya Williams, a conference attendee, commented, “Great environment ... I felt welcome and taken care of. The event was informative and really supportive. You could tell it was designed with the students' growth in mind.”
Brightside Produce Stand on the SDSU campus.
Career and Professional Readiness
The Partrick-Clayes Center for Career Development serves over 9,000 students in the Fowler College of Business, playing a critical role in cultivating the career and professional readiness of our graduates. Through the Center, students have access to businessfocused resources and experiences that provide them with practical, hands-on learning opportunities.
The inaugural Executive's Closet event, hosted in Fall 2024, provided students with access to professional attire at no cost. Over 400 students had the opportunity to "shop" for clothing while a stylist helped them put together an outft to wear to job interviews.
Students visited Qualcomm's engineering development center Company site visits provide valuable frsthand insight into the inner workings of major companies like Qualcomm.
The new Passport to Professionalism program equips Fowler students with the skills and tools necessary to be career-ready upon graduation. Launched in Fall 2024, participants are provided with clear, actionable goals and metrics for each year of their studies at SDSU.
The passport booklet includes action items for every year at SDSU to prepare students for a successful career after graduation
Site visit to Qualcomm headquarters
Students going through clothing racks at the Executive's Closet event
Supporting Aztecs in Perpetuity
New Endowments
Gary Bezer and Lise Fleury PATH Academy Endowment
Hoose Family Scholarship Endowment
Jelinek Family Scholarship Endowment
Partrick-Clayes Center for Career Development Endowment
Stuhley Family Scholarship Endowment
Walter A. and Marian K. Turner Accounting Scholarship Endowment
