Respected Faculty

Our Faculty Members Bring a Passion to the Classroom

Prior to joining academia, all have had impressive business careers. In fact, some are still sought out by private industry and government organizations as consultants. One faculty member has published a college text book on selling strategies. Another has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Accounting Association’s Special Interest Group on Education. We have one faculty member who has worked on a multi-national joint venture and many who are routinely published in leading scholarly journals. They love what they do and enjoy shaping the future of tomorrow’s business leaders.

Yun Chu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Marketing

Chu received her doctorate in business administration from the University of Texas-Pan American, with an emphasis on international business and a functional area major in marketing. Chu has researched and published in the areas of retailing, cross-cultural business negotiations, and small business. In addition, Chu has served as a reviewer for several journals. Chu holds memberships in Academy of International Business, Academy of Marketing Science, American Marketing Association, Association for Chinese Management Educators, and Beta Gamma Sigma.

Corporate Connections: Chu worked in a multi-national joint venture.

Riza Emekter, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Finance

Emekter received a doctorate degree in finance from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and an M.S. in finance from Texas Tech University. Prior to teaching at RMU, Emekter taught at Sakarya University in Turkey, Missouri Western State University, and the University of Nebraska. Emekter has been published in leading business and financial journals, and is a member of the Financial Management Association.

Publications in Press: Pacific Basin Finance Journal and Applied Financial Economics, Journal of Business

Adora D. Holstein, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Economics

Holstein received a doctorate degree in economics from Pennsylvania State University. Holstein is a certified public accountant, and is a member of a variety of professional organizations including the Eastern Economic Association, the Pennsylvania Economics Association and the Economics Club of Pittsburgh. She has taught at RMU for more than 20 years, and is very active in research.

Research Interests: Economics of health care policy, bank regulation and international trade policy

Tanya Lee, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Accounting

Lee joined RMU in 2006. She teaches and conducts research in the areas of managerial accounting and accounting information systems. Lee has taught at both the graduate and undergraduate levels for over 10 years. She is interested in how firm information systems affect internal decision-making and how firms track environmental costs. Her research is primarily behavioral - how information and its presentation affect the people who receive it. She is a member of the Institute of Management Accountants, the American Society of Women Accountants, and the American Accounting Association. Lee's recent publications include Budget Adjustments in Response to Spending Variances: Evidence of Ratcheting of Local Government Expenditures in the Journal of Management Accounting Research (2007) and Research in Internal Control in the Extractive Industries in the Petroleum Accounting and Financial Management Journal (2007).

Corporate Connections: Johnston & Johnston, Gillette

Jill K. Maher, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Marketing

Maher obtained her doctorate degree in marketing from Kent State University. Prior to her academic career, she worked in the financial services industry where she developed marketing and sales programs for personal financial products. Her academic career includes teaching undergraduate and graduate marketing courses, specifically related to consumer research and marketing. She has conducted and published consumer-oriented research in a variety of publications including the Journal of Advertising and the Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, the British Food Journal, the Journal of Nonprofit Management and Leadership, the Journal for the Advancement of Marketing Education, and the Journal of Marketing Management, and has presented her research at several national conferences.

Research Interests: Advertising to child consumers, children and television, and obesity implications of food marketing initiatives targeting children

Dean R. Manna, Ph.D.
Professor of Marketing and Department Head of Marketing in the School of Business

Manna holds an MBA from the University of Cincinnati, and his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. His diverse client base gives him a wide variety of experiences from which to draw his seminar training and collegiate instructional activities. He has recently edited and published a complete instructional manual on professional salesmanship for use in the classroom. His quality of experience has resulted in the enhancement of the Continuing Education and Internship Program at Robert Morris University. He is past president of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Marketing Association and has instituted a continuing interaction with corporation executives from private industry as guest speakers and instructors in the marketing major. He conducts ongoing research in the area of emotional intelligence and marketing education.

Corporate Connections: Manna has been a consultant for private industry, government, and private organizations for 20 years.

Stanko Racic, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Finance

Racic received his Ph.D. and MBA in finance from the University of Pittsburgh. He teaches courses on international finance and finance principles, and has published multiple articles in publications such as the Journal of Business and Behavioral Sciences and the Journal of Financial Economics. He has been recognized for his teaching ability, and is a member of a number of professional organizations, including the American Association of Business and Behavioral Sciences, the Midwest Finance Association, Pennsylvania Economic Association and Beta Gamma Sigma.

Corporate Connections: 2005-2007: Blue Three Capital Group, LLC, Technical Advisor
2004-2007: iNetworks, LLC., Associate

Kamala Raghavan Ph.D., DBA, CPA, CFP,
Assistant Professor of Accounting

Raghavan has a doctorate in business administration from Cleveland State University. Prior to joining academia, Raghavan was a senior executive at three super-regional banking institutions. She is a certified public accountant and certified financial planner. Her research interests are in banking, accounting, finance, financial planning, and non-profit management. Raghavan publishes articles in leading journals in banking and accounting, serves as thesis advisor in the graduate program in non-profit management, and participates in regional and national conferences. She serves on the advisory boards of the Ohio CPA association’s journal and for the business school of a private university in the Cleveland area. Raghavan has taught both graduate and undergraduate courses in financial accounting, managerial accounting, accounting information systems, controllership and current accounting topics. Prior to joining RMU, she taught at Cleveland State University Ursuline College. She serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations in Cleveland, including Indo-American organizations.

Research Interests: Banking, accounting, finance, financial planning, and non-profit management

James E. Rebele, Ph.D.
Professor of Accounting

Rebele received his B.S., MBA, and Ph.D degrees in accounting from Indiana University. Prior to joining the RMU faculty in January 2004, Rebele taught at Lehigh University, Rutgers University, The University of Kansas, and the University of Rhode Island. Rebele has published articles in journals such as Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, Behavioral Research in Accounting, Issues in Accounting Education, and Advances in Accounting, and he has given talks on auditing and accounting education in the US, Europe, Hong Kong, and China. Rebele has served as editor-in-chief for the Journal of Accounting Education since 1998. Rebele served as president of the American Accounting Association’s Teaching and Curriculum Section for 1999-2000 and he was a member of the AAA Executive Council from 1998-2001.

Recognition: Received Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Accounting Association’s Special Interest Group on Education for "significant contributions to accounting education"
Courses: Auditing, accounting theory and forensic accounting

Alan Smith, Ph.D.
University Professor of Operations Management

Smith received two doctorate degrees – the first in engineering education/systems from the University of Akron, and the second in business administration (information systems/operations management) from Kent State University. Smith brings a diverse work background to his teaching position; prior to teaching operations management, he worked for many years as a geologist, and taught quantitative and natural sciences.

Publications in Press: Health services Quarterly, International Journal of Logistics and Supply Management, Oil, Gas, and Energy Quarterly, International Journal of Management in Education, Services Marketing Quarterly

Louis B. Swartz, J.D., B.S.
Assistant Professor of Legal Studies

Swartz received his J.D. from Duquesne University and his B.S. from University of Wisconsin. He has taught in the RMU School of Business for more than 20 years. As a working attorney, Swartz, draws from his professional experience when teaching. He is currently performing research to aid instructors in effectively teaching law online. Swartz is a member of a number of professional organizations including the Allegheny County Bar Association, the Panel of Arbitrators-American Arbitration Association and the National Association of Pre-Law Advisors.

Corporate Connections: Partner at Swartz, Lovejoy & Associates

Yanbin Tu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Marketing

Tu earned his doctorate degree from University of Connecticut. Prior to teaching, he worked for Bank of Shanghai in China. His work has appeared/will appear in International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Journal of Business and Economics Research, Communications of the ACM, International Journal of Value Chain Management and others. He has memberships in several professional organizations including American Marketing Association, Academy of Marketing Science, Direct Marketing Association, INFORMS and Administrative Sciences Association of Canada.

Research Interests: Internet marketing, database marketing, CRM, electronic commerce, investment management, banking management and financial markets