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Dean Moez Limayem Awarded Administrative Fulbright Scholarship

By Keith Morelli

TAMPA (April 2, 2018) -- Muma College of Business Dean Moez Limayem was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship that will send him to Japan in June.

"Your selection for a Fulbright award," said the March 16 letter signed by Jeffrey Bleich, chair of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, "is an achievement for which you can be justly proud."

Limayem joins seven Muma College of Business professors who have been recognized by the Fulbright program since 2015. He has been dean of the business college since 2012 and has implemented changes that not only emphasize analytics and creativity in business education, but also instill in students a sense of a global business village in which commerce is not restricted by borders. It may have been this sentiment that convinced the Fulbright board to award Limayem the honor.

"I believe a collegiate business education is more than just mastering accounting procedures or investment strategies," he wrote in his personal statement to the board. "I believe that business college graduates are destined to become global citizens, ones who carry the knowledge of the world's economy, the understanding and acceptance of people from all walks of life."

He has adopted the Global Citizens Project as the focus of the university's first Quality Enhancement Plan, an initiative designed to prepare students to lead meaningful and productive lives in a global society. To achieve these goals, he has begun exchange programs with five international institutions of higher learning and welcomed international students into the Muma College of Business. There are summer study-abroad programs along with the ongoing effort to share resources with universities in foreign countries.

Besides pushing a global outlook, Limayem also stresses engagement with the business community both in the Tampa Bay region and elsewhere. He often speaks to businesses and shares insights on the globalization of business.

"This creates more opportunities for our students to become involved with companies that stretch beyond our borders," he wrote, "and for us to create lasting partnerships."

Muma College of Business faculty who have been awarded Fulbright awards since 2015 include Tim Heath, marketing professor; Anol Bhattacherjee, with the Information Systems and Decision Sciences Department; Dan Bradley, professor of finance; Jerry Koehler, professor of management; Grandon Gill, information systems professor; James Stock, professor of marketing and Rob Hooker, also an assistant marketing professor. For some, scholarships lasted for years, others less.

Limayem's scholarship involves a two-week trip to Japan, where he will explore the Japanese higher education landscape and participate in briefings, campus visits, appointments with government officials, cultural activities and meetings with Japanese international education professionals in Tokyo and other cities.

"I am so honored and humbled to be chosen as a Fulbright award recipient," Limayem said. "I am proud to be joining seven of my colleagues, professors, who have been awarded Fulbright scholarships over the past three years.

"To be among the chosen few to foster communication between universities all over the world certainly will be among the top accomplishments of my life," he said. "I will work hard during my visit to Japan to knit together more tightly the students and faculty of the Far East with those of USF.

"This much is clear," he said. "Some of the best learning derives from understanding our differences and recognizing our similarities."