Five University of Delaware alumni from the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics received the 2013 Alumni Award of Excellence.
Honored during a reception and awards ceremony held Friday, May 31, in the Lerner Hall Atrium were Tevfik Aksoy, who received a master’s degree in economics in 1993 and a doctorate in economics in 1995; Gerard J. Emery, who received a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1986; Courtney Smith Goodrich, who received a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1983; Mary C. Suiter, who received a master’s degree in economic education in 1989; and Natalie D. Ramsey, who received a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1981. Ramsey was unable to attend.
Only 76 of 25,000 alumni have received the award, which was started in 1971.
Donna Fontana, honored in 2012 but unable to attend the ceremony that year, was recognized first.
In addition to his UD degrees, Tevfik Aksoy possesses a bachelor’s degree and an MBA in mechanical engineering from the Middle East Technical University in Turkey.
Currently, Aksoy is a managing director and the head of central Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa economics at Morgan Stanley. He is responsible for the macroeconomic coverage of Turkey and Israel.
Gerard J. Emery has more than 25 years of experience providing auditing, accounting and financial services to both private and public companies. He has provided assurance services to businesses in a broad range of industries, including technology, media and entertainment, telecommunications and industrial and consumer products. Emery is a partner at Ernst and Young LLP, where he serves three global clients that have operations in the majority of the significant international markets.
Courtney Smith Goodrich holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and a master’s degree in public administration, both from the UD. Currently the firm’s global technology resource manager, she works in the office of the chief information officer of JPMorgan Chase. She oversees the firm’s technology resource and location strategy. In addition, she also manages the strategic IT vendor relationships and oversees JPMorgan Chase’s technology training and university collaboration programs.
Mary C. Suiter earned a master of arts degree in economics and entrepreneurship for educator from UD in 1989. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a doctorate in teaching and learning, both from the University of Missouri St. Louis.
Suiter has been active in economic and financial education for 25 years. Currently, she is the economic education officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, where her team is responsible for developing online programming for use in high school classrooms and K-8 online lessons plans and interactive whiteboard applications.
Natalie D. Ramsey is the chair of the bankruptcy and corporate restructuring section, vice-chair of the corporate litigation section, and a partner in both the corporate and litigation departments at Montgomery McCracken Walker and Rhoads LLP. She is a corporate bankruptcy specialist, and is certified by the American Board of Certification.
Courtyard receives honor
The Marriott Courtyard Newark at the University of Delaware has received a certificate of excellence award from TripAdvisor, a travel website. The award, which places the campus hotel among the top performing 10 percent of all businesses worldwide on TripAdvisor, is presented to those businesses that consistently earn high rating from travelers.
“With over 200 million unique visitors each month, and more than 100 million reviews and opinions, TripAdvisor is the world’s largest traveler review website,” William Sullivan, managing director of the hotel, said. “More than 1.1 million hotels are listed on TripAdvisor, which enables travelers to plan their trips by reading trusted reviews from real travelers.”
Sullivan said that the website has been a key means for hotels to manage their online reputations and be represented in the best possible light.
“Direct guest feedback and third party comments are playing an ever-increasing role in the process of hotel selection,” Sullivan said. “I respond immediately to every posting on the site, and I share the comments with our staff as we strive for overall excellence in guest service.”
The certificate of excellence marks the second straight year the campus hotel has been recognized for quality service, Sullivan said.
