JMU College of Business and Hart School Celebrate Graduates

More than 850 new graduates of JMU’s College of Business and its affiliate program, the Hart School of Hospitality, Sport and Recreation Management, celebrated their successes with family and friends on Friday, May 5. The ceremony was part of JMU’s 108th Commencement exercises. Additionally, over 73 graduate students earning MBA and Master of Accounting degrees and nine doctoral students were honored on Thursday, May 4.

The ceremony included speeches by Class of 2017 graduate Brooke Robertson, a marketing major with a concentration in European business, and Theresa Clarke, the Wampler-Longacre Eminent Professor in the Department of Marketing. A recipient of the Otto Brenner Outstanding Teaching Award, Clarke received the State Council for Higher Education of Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Award, the Commonwealth's highest recognition of faculty at Virginia's public and private colleges and universities.  

Brian Hogan, a 1986 graduate and president of the Equity and High Yield Division of Fidelity Management & Research Co., was the keynote speaker. A member of the CoB’s Board of Advisors, Hogan also is the father of 2017 CoB graduate Kaitlyn Hogan. While everyone faces variable circumstances throughout their career, Hogan encouraged graduates to take control of those factors whenever possible. “You are in charge of your destiny, and you determine your legacy,” he said.

Gleaning from lessons learned throughout his career, Hogan offered four pieces of advice:

• Figure out what you are good at, and focus on it. Pour your energy into developing your skills and talents.
• Accept that you will make mistakes along the way. “You are going to make mistakes, but you can turn them into learning opportunities.”  
• Be trustworthy. Produce reliable results so that your colleagues feel that they can trust you. “That means, do your job and don’t take shortcuts.”.
• Be relevant. “This means to be involved and to be engaged. Be part of the solution.”