The associates of the Asper school of business celebrated excellence in research and teaching at its annual Associates Achievement awards celebration on Nov. 1.

The Associates Achievement award celebration is an event that brings together community members and members of the associates and the young associates of the Asper school of business to honour outstanding faculty contributions.

At this event, the associates offer research fellowships to encourage the intellectual contributions of Asper faculty members.

Each awardee earns the title of associates fellow and funding of $10,000 annually for three years to further their continued excellence in research, teaching and professional service.

In addition to the associates fellow award, the associates also presented Associates Achievement awards in teaching worth $5,000 to two recipients — Dan Shin and Sean Buchanan — for their exceptional teaching contributions. 

Four new associates fellows were honoured at this year’s Associate Achievement awards. 

The new fellows are Shiu-Yik Au, Narendra Malalgoda, Kiran Pedada and Wei Wang, as reported by UM Today.

 

Shiu-Yik Au 

Associates fellow in finance

 

Shiu-Yik Au is a professor in the department of accounting and finance. 

He expressed that this is wonderful recognition from students, faculty and donors to the school of business, and it is a great honour because there are not many similar awards.

Au completed his PhD in finance at York University, where he received numerous scholarships and awards and holds two MBA degrees — one from Cornell University and another from Queen’s University.

Additionally, he has a broad interest in research on corporate finance, equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), finance and innovation, social finance and financial ethics. 

His research on EDI investigates the impact of sexual harassment and discrimination on firm value and profitability.  His research on innovation includes investigating aspects that affect innovation, such as the number of patents that are being produced, the money spent developing new technology, automation and other things that might affect innovation. 

In terms of social finance, he explores how the social connections between various directors, areas and companies impact a firm’s performance. 

Narendra Malalgoda 

Associates fellow in supply chain management

 

Narendra Malalgoda is an assistant professor of supply chain management at the Asper school of business.

He earned his PhD in transportation and logistics, along with an M.Sc. in international agribusiness from North Dakota State University. 

Prior to his current role, he completed post-doctoral training at the U of M’s department of agribusiness and agricultural economics.

Malalgoda’s achievement as an associates fellow in supply chain management follows his earning of the associates fellowship for teaching award in 2022, further highlighting his continued dedication to academic excellence.

According to Malalgoda, this award has been one of his key targets in his career and receiving it signifies a new responsibility for him to achieve his project goals. 

He stated, “what it means to me is that I now have the responsibility of getting all our associates together and work as groups in terms of achieving the many goals that have been targeted through my projects.”

Malalgoda has also worked on various research projects, with his research interests involving transportation economics, logistics and supply chain management and rural transportation. 

His current research project explores agricultural transportation supply chains, which focuses on finding sustainable solutions in agri-food supply chains.

Wei Wang 

Associates fellow in leadership and ethics 

 

Wei Wang is an assistant professor in the business administration department at the Asper school of business. 

For Wang, this award is an opportunity to strengthen his connection with the associates’ community by leveraging his expertise in organisational behaviour. He said, “I think I can start some more research projects with them, continue getting their support and also return back to their business community.”

In 2019, he was recognized as the Society of Business Ethics emerging scholar, and in 2022, he received the Anne Tsui Dare to Care research award for his impactful research on employee well-being. 

Kiran Pedada

Associates fellow in marketing and inclusive business

 

Kiran Pedada is an assistant professor of marketing at the Asper school of business who was recognized for his teaching excellence. 

His achievements have earned him numerous awards, including the Teacher of the Year award at the Indian School of Business for two consecutive years and recognition as one of the MBA Professors to Look Out For in 2020 by BusinessBecause. 

Reflecting on his journey, Pedada shared that the Associates Achievement award is great motivation and encouragement to continue working on his interests, and he feels grateful that his work is being recognized. 

Pedada’s influence extends beyond the classroom. He has contributed case studies on marketing and digital transformation to Harvard Business Publishing, and his work has been featured in leading academic journals and highlighted by major media outlets such as Forbes and CNN. His recent research investigates the role of rural women micro-entrepreneurs in India and their impact on consumer value, underscoring the transformative potential of empowering women through entrepreneurship, suggesting that such initiatives can drive meaningful social change.

Dan Shin

Associates Achievement award in teaching

 

Dan Shin is an assistant professor in the department of supply chain management, who joined the Asper school of business in the fall of 2023. 

Shin expressed that this award is quite a surprise for him given the fact that he is a new professor. 

He stated it was a big honour to receive the Associates Achievement award in teaching. According to Shin, this recognition tells him that the content he teaches and their contexts are sticking to students.

Sean Buchanan

Associates Achievement award in teaching

 

Sean Buchanan is an associate professor in the business administration department, and he also holds the position of the associates fellow in business administration for 2022. 

His students praise him for his humour and ability to simplify complex concepts to create an enthusiastic learning environment, according to student testimonials.

This year, students voted for him to receive the Commerce Students’ Association Golden Shovel award for his significant impact on their education.

Additionally, Buchanan also coordinates a core bachelor of commerce course, which involves mentoring new instructors and supports graduate research as a committee member.