50th Annual Accounting Awards Banquet Honors the Past, Present, and Future

“Many things have changed over the years, but one thing that hasn’t is our commitment to our students,” said Department Chair Bradley Bennett at the 50th Annual Accounting Awards Banquet on Thursday, May 1. “We are so happy to celebrate their excellence and achievements tonight.”

The landmark event, which took place at the Log Cabin in Holyoke, MA, attracted more than 200 attendees, including students, faculty, and alumni, who convened to celebrate both the accomplishments of current students and the impact of the program and its alumni over the years.

John F. Kennedy, who received the Accounting Alumni of the Year Award, completed an MS in accounting from Isenberg in 1976 and went on to lead a long career as a successful entrepreneur and CFO of several companies. One of his most notable accomplishments was co-founding Nova Ventures, where he also served as president and CFO. His leadership of Nova helped take the company from a startup to an established organization with revenues of over $180 million within a decade.

In his remarks at the banquet Kennedy shared that he would never have had the opportunity to co-found Nova had he not been fired from his previous role. “I look back at the day I got fired today and think of it as the best day of my life—not the worst,” he said. “How else would I have gotten the opportunities and the successes I did afterwards?” Kennedy closed by urging attendees to look forward, not backward, and to have faith in themselves.

Also honored were Richard Dieter ’66 MS, who received the Lifetime Service Award, and Nicole Melton, PhD, professor and chair of the McCormack Department of Sport Management, who was honored with the Inclusive Leadership Award. An incredible 53 students also received various awards and scholarships, further underscoring the talent and impact of Isenberg’s accounting community. “Our students don’t just excel in the classroom,” Bennett said. “They are also active, engaged members of the Isenberg and UMass Amherst communities. We enjoy seeing everything they do here on campus, and we look forward to hearing about their impact on their communities in the future.”

View the full gallery of photos from the event here.