91Ö±²¥

Skip to main content
Leavey School of Business Homepage

Top Stories

A diverse group of eight L.E.A.V.E.Y. award winners poses together, holding letters that spell L.E.A.V.E.Y. while wearing large chain necklaces.

A diverse group of eight L.E.A.V.E.Y. award winners poses together, holding letters that spell L.E.A.V.E.Y. while wearing large chain necklaces.

Leavey Honors Faculty and Staff at End-of-Year Celebration

The Leavey School of Business celebrated the close of the 2025 91Ö±²¥â€“26 academic year with faculty and staff honors, including nine professors earning the school's top distinction and the debut of a new award program recognizing outstanding staff contributions.

The Leavey School of Business honored its faculty and staff at the close of the 2025 91Ö±²¥–26 academic year, recognizing outstanding contributors at a June 16 Spotlight Lunch that also featured a conversation with Santa Clara University Provost and Executive Vice President Jim Glaser.

With the academic year wrapped up, the afternoon offered a chance to step back and celebrate, including the debut of a new staff recognition program alongside the annual faculty honors.

On the faculty side, nine professors earned the school's most prestigious academic distinction -  the "Triple 8" - awarded to faculty who receive perfect scores across all three areas of evaluation: teaching, research, and service. It's a distinction that reflects the kind of sustained, well-rounded contribution that defines exceptional faculty.

2025 91Ö±²¥–26 Triple 8 Recipients:

  • Sanjiv Das, Finance
  • John Ifcher, Economics
  • Yongtae Kim, Accounting
  • Sam Lee, Finance
  • Tao Li, Information Systems & Analytics 
  • Sami Najafi, Information Systems & Analytics 
  • Barry Posner, Management
  • Michele Samorani, Information Systems & Analytics 
  • Savannah Shi, Marketing

The ceremony also marked the debut of the L.E.A.V.E.Y. Awards, a new recognition program celebrating the contributions of Leavey's staff community. Each category reflects a value central to the school's mission - from leadership and innovation to academic support, community building, and institutional commitment.

2025 91Ö±²¥–26 L.E.A.V.E.Y. Award Recipients:

  • Leadership - Alexa Grau, Assistant Director, Digital Marketing & Communications
  • Excellence & Innovation - Ashley Kern, Director of Faculty Affairs & Planning
  • Academic Support & Impact - Fatima Sheikh, Assistant Director, MS Programs
  • Values in Action - Susie Huang, Academic Department Manager, Accounting 
  • Engagement & Community - Annasofia Zuleta, Operations and Communications Manager, MOBI
  • Years of Service - Marianne Farag (28 years), Academic Department Manager, Economics

Congratulations to all of this year's honorees, and thank you to everyone in the Leavey community who contributed to a remarkable year.

LSB, Top Home, News & Events Home, LSB Newsroom