Coggin Faculty Impacted by Fiji Trip

The Coggin College of Business has always emphasized the importance of our study abroad programs for students, but what kind of impact does teaching abroad have on our faculty? Dr. Jeff Michelman traveled to the Fiji islands to teach at the University of the South Pacific (USP), and found it to be an enriching experience.

Dr. Michelman taught Management of Information in USP’s MBA program last summer. He was joined by three guest lecturers: Howard Serkin, Dana Zukierski and his wife, Maureen Michelman.

“Traveling to Fiji to teach at USP was truly enlightening,” said Dr. Michelman. “Not only did I have the opportunity to share my knowledge with students, but I had the incredible experience of working collaboratively with the lecturers who joined me in teaching at USP.”

A UNF Foundation board member, Howard Serkin is the President of Business Valuation of Jacksonville, Chairman of Heritage Capital Group, Inc., and a former Business Advisory Council member for the Coggin College of Business.

“This was a wonderful experience,” agreed Serkin. “As a business executive in the First Coast area, rarely do I have the opportunity to lecture abroad. This trip especially emphasized the impact and scope of globalization in the business world.”

Dana Zukierski holds both a BBA ’93 and an MBA ’95 from UNF, and also accompanied Dr. Michelman as a lecturer. She is currently a Senior Manager with Ernst & Young in Nashville. Maureen Michelman, Jeff’s wife, took a hiatus from her job as Director of International Finance at Medtronic and shared her knowledge of Information Management, also as a lecturer.

Established in 1968, USP is a unique institution in the world. It is jointly owned by the governments of twelve island countries: Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Samoa. The University has campuses in all twelve member countries. The main campus, Laucala, is in Fiji, which is where Dr. Michelman and his colleagues spent time.

Always dedicated to collaboration, Dr. Michelman facilitated an exchange agreement with the Business School at the Auckland University of Technology in Auckland, New Zealand during a two-day stop over on his way to Fiji. Once in Fiji, Michelman taught day and evening classes to a student body that was made up of students from many of the 12 nations that constitute USP.

TOP: Howard Serkin and Dr. Jeff Michelman

BOTTOM: (from left) Dr. Jeff Michelman, Maureen Michelman, Ambassador Vitusagavulu & his wife Silina, Dana Zukierski, and Howard Serkin