Share, Honor, Unite at Petersheim Academic Expo 2019  

Interim Provost Karen Boroff

The 23rd Annual Matthew Petersheim Academic Exposition 2019: Share, Honor, Unite will take place Tuesday, April 23, through Friday, April 26, in celebration of the scholastic accomplishments and academic interests of the entire Seton Hall University community, including both undergraduate and graduate students.

"During this special week the entire University joins together to communicate the scholarship and the research of our students in a community learning environment, showing how these lessons can be put to use on a professional level. We celebrate our students accomplishments and what great minds can do when working together to create a bright future for our University, our nation and our world," explained Petersheim Committee co-chairs Sulie Lin Chang and Jose Lopez.

The Petersheim Academic Exposition is a university-wide event that celebrates the scholarly achievement of hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students through the sights and sounds of academic knowledge and its application. The EXPO is aligned with the University mission in several ways, honoring the innovative spirit of Matthew Petersheim, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry, who passed away in 1998.

The deadline for student submission forms is Friday, March 22. Students can register to attend a poster design workshop on the South Orange Campus, Walsh Library Space 154 on March 20 from 1 to 2 p.m. and at the IHS Campus, Room 1513 on March 21 from noon to 1 p.m. To learn more about poster presentations and print shop coupon discounts, view the Petersheim website »

The University community is invited to the Opening Ceremony and Reception from noon to 2 p.m., on Tuesday, April 23, in the Main Lounge of the Bishop Dougherty University Center. There will be a Welcome Address by Interim President, Dr. Mary Meehan. This year's keynote speaker will be Interim Provost Karen Boroff, and her presentation is titled "Curiosity: Share, Honor, Unite." Please RSVP for the opening ceremony luncheon.

Chang and Lopez shared, "The vision and legacy of Matt Petersheim, associate professor of chemistry and expo founder, remind us of his deep engagement in this enterprise and his desire to get students involved. This year we are excited about the opening address by Interim Provost Boroff on curiosity. We know that is will prove an inspirational start to the University community and will highlight this special celebration of scholarship and innovation."

Dr. Karen Boroff has served as Interim Provost and Executive Vice President since January 1, 2017. In this capacity, among other accomplishments, the University implemented a comprehensive undergraduate leadership program and a new cyber-security undergraduate certificate. She has worked with the University's Faculty Senate to pilot new curriculum offerings, including an M.S. in Physics and in Applied Behavioral Analysis. She has implemented merit compensation for faculty and likewise has overseen several projects to advance the stewardship of the University's resources, in every way.

Boroff joined the faculty in the Department of Management at the Stillman School of Business in 1989. She was promoted to Associate Professor in 1995 and then to Professor in 2000. From 2000 to 2010, she served as Dean of the Stillman School. During that time, the School dedicated its focus to transforming concepts into practice and advanced its reputation, including the rankings of U.S. News & World Report and Business Week/Bloomberg. The School's Trading Room was built, propelling the School's prowess into preparing students for careers in finance, and Stillman students began earning first place awards at prestigious finance competitions. Relying on the many excellent alumni in the field of accounting, the School developed its stronghold in Entrepreneurship, with dedicated scholarships for students, its annual Pirate Pitch competitions, and its Hall of Fame dinner. The Sharkey Sports Polling Institute was founded, enabling students to hone their market research techniques in this discipline while advancing the Stillman and Seton Hall brands. The School's newspaper, The Stillman Exchange, also began. International relationships were expanded, especially in China. Beyond this, the School continued to maintain its accreditation status with the AACSB and, as well, earned the specialty Accounting Accreditation by that same agency. The School earned "best in class" its strong assessment programs by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation in 2008. The School developed more pipeline scholarships for its students, and established Integrity and Professionalism hallmarks. Boroff spearheaded the creation of the NJ Business Honor Society, a statewide honor society for undergraduate students studying business in the State's 2-and-4 year colleges. With NJPRO, she created the state-wide Bright Idea Award, recognizing the scholarship of the faculty in business in the Garden State. She served as President of the Middle Atlantic Association of Colleges of Business Administration, and was on the boards of the New York Society of Security Analysts and Beta Gamma Sigma, the international honor society for business students.

Boroff returned to the faculty in 2010. As a professor, she earned the University's Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award. Her research has been published in the Industrial and Labor Relations Review, the Labor Law Journal, Labor History, the Case Research Journal, the Armed Forces Journal, and Army Magazine and she has been cited in the media on topical issues in management and labor relations. In October 2016, she and Major Matthew Pratt co-authored a paper, earning the Gold Award for Best Case at the North American Case Research Annual Meeting. This same case earned Best Published Case in the Case Research Journal's awards ceremony in 2018. In 2017, she earned the Outstanding Reviewer for the Case Research Journal. She has been a visiting professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point, the Management Center Innsbruck, in Austria, and Anhui Normal University in Wuhu China. Boroff has served with several volunteer associations; she currently volunteers her time at her local parish, St. Patrick in Chatham, NJ, where she is a Eucharistic Minister and teaches religious education to elementary school children.

Boroff earned her undergraduate degree from Cornell University, an M.B.A. from Lehigh University and her Ph.D. from Columbia University. She is married to Joel Boroff and has two children, both who are captains in the United States Army.

The Petersheim Academic Exposition steering committee encourages faculty members to support the academic exposition by incorporating student presentations within their courses this semester. Faculty sponsors are encouraged to support students to present their work in research symposia, poster sessions, presentations, panel discussions, theatrical performances, art exhibits, debates, concerts, and more. The steering committee encourages the incorporation of honorary ceremonies, discipline-specific speakers or other programming that may take place during and around the time of the academic exposition.

Honoring all the presenters, the 2019 Petersheim Closing Ceremony will take place on Friday, April 26 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., in the Amphitheater of McNulty Hall (SC 101). Refreshments will be provided. To RSVP for the closing ceremony, please visit here. For more details on the EXPO program and activities, please visit the Petersheim Academic Exposition website.