Messages from the Deans

Celebrating Excellence: CBECA's Year of Achievement - 2026 

Greetings from the College of Business, Engineering, Computing & Analytics (BECA)! This has been a year of strong growth, deepened partnerships, and recognized excellence across our departments, and I am proud to share a sampling of what our faculty, staff, and students have accomplished. 

A Crowning Achievement: National Science Foundation (NSF) EPIIC Grant 

The year's signature achievement was Frostburg's award of a 3-year, $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, part of a larger $2 million national collaborative initiative — one of the largest NSF research investments in FSU's history and the first of its kind in more than 20 years. The project, Advancing Regional Innovation through Sustainable Engagement (ARISE), is led by Dr. Xunyu Pan (Computer Science) as principal investigator, with me privileged to be serving as co-PI. ARISE will launch the Appalachian Innovation Institute (AI2), a university-wide research and innovation hub targeting AI, robotics, cybersecurity, and advanced manufacturing, and will connect FSU's research capacity to major innovation corridors from Washington-Baltimore to Pittsburgh. It's a milestone that reflects the caliber of research happening across our college. 

Faculty Excellence 

Our distinguished faculty continue to set the standard for academic achievement: 

Awards and Recognitions 

  • Wenjuan (Wendy) Xu (Professor, Computer Science & Information Technologies) received the 2026 Faculty Achievement Award for Teaching 
  • Xunyu Pan (Professor, Management) received the 2026 Faculty Achievement Award for Academic Achievement 

Research & Publications 

  • Jamil Abdo (Engineering) and Tariq Masood (Engineering) had a landmark year, publishing two books on smart-grid and micro-grid protection systems with Wiley-IEEE Press and Springer Nature, presenting multiple conference papers on hydrogen production and production risk management at the North American IEOM Conference, and Jamil leading a new $120,000 Maryland Industrial Partnerships grant for AI-enhanced additive manufacturing. 
  • Rebecca Chory (Management and Marketing) published research in the Academy of Management Learning & Education and two edited handbook chapters, while continuing to serve on five editorial boards. 
  • Oleg Kucher (AEF) presented his energy-pricing research at the Southern Economic Association meeting, where he also chaired a session and served as a graduate student discussant. 
  • Chelsea Schrader (AEF) published a qualitative study on small-business tax software adoption in the Journal of Finance and Accountancy while chairing her department. 
  • Michael Monahan and Amit Shah (Management) co-authored "Competitive Scholars: An Analysis of Division II Business Majors and their Sport" for AIMS International, and presented companion research on student-athlete mental health and enrollment strategy at the SOBIE and Northeast Decision Science Institute conferences. 
  • Sudipto Sarkar (Management and Marketing) presented his research on brand fit and sponsorship at the Society for Marketing Advances and will chair a track at the ACME Conference in 2026. 

Program Highlights 

Our 4+1 Business Administration-MBA program continues to serve as a promising pathway for undergraduate students.  

Our Mathematics continued to offer a robust Learning Assistant program that placed roughly 20 LAs across all eight ACHIEVE sections and logged nearly 200 tutoring visits. Department Chair Marc Michael served as an application evaluator and manuscript reviewer for the Maryland and National Councils of Teachers of Mathematics, while colleagues supported the department's Kappa Mu Epsilon honor society chapter and helped run the region's MathCounts competition, extending outreach to roughly six local middle schools. 

CSIT students set a new record with 19 presenters at the department's Research Symposium, fielded 19 students at HenHacks, and saw Google Certificate completions top 90%. Our Backdoor Bobcats cybersecurity team placed 3rd of 30+ teams at the Maryland CTF, and roughly 40% of our May CSIT graduates had jobs confirmed before graduation. The department's annual Showcase drew 60+ student presenters alongside alumni and an IBM director, and Dr. Michael Flinn helped organize the Bobcat Innovation Launchpad, bringing together 80+ students from 20+ majors to develop solutions for rural community challenges. CSIT is also developing two new AI programs — an undergraduate AI track and a Master of Applied AI & Analytics — targeting a Fall 2027 launch. 

Engineering and Sustainable Technologies advanced a new CPDAM manufacturing project series, launched its first student design competition, and gained approval for ENES 200 starting Fall 2026. 

Global Partnerships 

Our China partnerships had a landmark year: our new Hubei University of Economics (HBUE) program launched with 181 students in economics and business analytics, bringing in considerable international prestige and institutional revenue, while our Hunan University of Technology and Business (HUTB) partnership graduated around 85 students in the Economics program.  

Accreditation Progress 

BECA accepted AACSB's invitation to serve as a voluntary pilot school under the new 2026 Global Standards for Business Education, with a Peer Review Team pre-visit planned for this fall and a full review visit set for spring 2027. Our Engineering programs likewise underwent ABET review in Fall 2025 and received favorable feedback. 

Looking Forward 

None of this happens without the sustained effort of our faculty, staff, and students, and the continued support of FSU leadership and our exceptionally invested advisory partners. As always: Onward and Upward! 

The College of Business, Engineering, Computing & Analytics continues to build on its foundation of excellence, preparing students for success in an evolving global marketplace while contributing meaningful research and service to our communities. 

Dr. Sudhir Singh, Ph.D.  
Dean, College of Business, Engineering, Computing & Analytics 

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