Beacom School of Business Announces 2020 Award Recipients
“The recipients of this year’s awards are incredibly deserving of this honor,” said Venky Venkatachalam, Ph.D., dean of the Beacom School of Business. “Through their hard work and involvement, they have all contributed to the ongoing success of the Beacom School of Business, and I truly commend them. We look forward to celebrating them in person later this year.”
Honorees for 2020 include:
Outstanding Senior Award: Sophia Lima, B.B.A., student double majoring in accounting and finance from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. While at USD, Lima has been very active as president of Coyote Capital Management, director of finance for the Student Government Association, president of Financial Management Association, treasurer for the Union of African American Students, student representative on Beacom’s Diversity & Inclusive Excellence committee and fellow of the Ella Baker Institute. She was a member of Beta Alpha Psi and Beta Gamma Sigma, she has been recognized on the Dean’s list every semester, received a Top Performance award from the accounting & finance department and is also the recipient of USD’s Mickelson Scholarship and the PCAOB scholarship. Upon graduation, Lima will pursue her CPA certification and begin a career in public accounting with Deloitte as a tax consultant in New York City.
Outstanding Graduate Student Award: McKenna Golden, Master of Professional Accountancy student from Yankton, South Dakota. While at USD, Golden has been actively involved as vice president of Operations for Beta Alpha Psi, talent officer for Coyote Capital Management and Campus Crusade for Christ member. Most recently she is a published graduate assistant of the Beacom School of Business in an accounting journal. She has been recognized on the Dean’s List, received an SD CPA Society accounting scholarship and a Top Performance award from the accounting & finance department. Upon graduation, Golden will pursue CPA licensure and will be working with as a tax consultant at Deloitte Tax in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Staff Excellence Award: Kate Amundson, program assistant I for the Beacom Student Services. In her role in the student services office, Amundson is a primary resource for the students of the Beacom School of Business. She works closely with students to ensure they are prepared for advising appointments, have the necessary paperwork needed to make changes or adjustments to their plans, as well as assisting with admissions information and reporting. In addition, she is always the first person to assist her co-workers with events and additional needs throughout the school. Prior to joining Beacom, Amundson worked with her husband in their family trucking company and held various roles in Vermillion with the chief of police, city manager and working for a law firm.
Faculty Excellence Award – Teaching: Mandie Weinandt, is an instructor of economics, statistics and analytics at the Beacom School of Business. She completed her undergraduate degree and M.B.A. at the University of South Dakota. She joined USD in 2010, in a registrar role for the Graduate School and became full-time faculty in fall 2011. Weinandt designs her courses to be as interactive as possible and jokes that her classroom is an exercise in “controlled chaos.” She also teaches online frequently and recently took on the role of e-Learning Coordinator for Beacom. Weinandt also serves on a number of committees around campus.
Faculty Excellence Award – Research & Scholarship: Bart Hanus, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of decision sciences at the Beacom School of Business. He received his Ph.D. in business computer information systems and his master’s degree in information technology from the University of North Texas. Hanus also holds degrees in accounting and corporate finance which he received in Poland. Hanus joined USD in 2017 and prior to that taught at Emporia State University in Kansas. Hanus' work has been published in journals including Information Systems Management and The Data Base for Advances in Information Systems. His research generally revolves around information security, but Hanus is also interested in multidisciplinary projects.
