News and Events
Barney News

Featured News
University of Hartford’s Barney School of Business Earns its AACSB Accreditation Extension
AACSB International (AACSB) announced that the University of Hartford’s Barney School of Business earned a five-year extension of its business accreditation as a global leader in business education.
2022 News Stories
- UHart Students Create Feasibility Plan for Wethersfield’s Kycia Farm
- Barney Students Provide CVS Health with Business Solutions to Health Disparities Problems in the LGBTQ+ Community
- Barney School of Business Hosts its 2022 Veru Symposium and Announces the Charles R. Canedy III Scholarship Recipients
- Barney Students Make Top 3 In The Future of Insurance Case Study Competition Sponsored By Deloitte
- Barney Students Make Top 8 In International Risk Management Competition
- University of Hartford’s Barney School of Business Named a Best Business School for 2022 by The Princeton Review
- Barney's Clinical Instructor Ken Goldstein Published in Top-Rated Connecticut Insurance Law Journal
- Barney School of Business Introduces First Student Club Q² Project in Quantitative and Qualitative Research
- Business Plan and Pitch Competition Award Ceremony Dec. 9.
- University of Hartford’s Barney School of Business Announces the Appointment of Three New Board Members
- Barney School of Business Board of Visitors Alumni Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
- Ten Outstanding UHart Alumni Honored with Anchor Awards
- Entrepreneurial Center and Women’s Business Center Honored with Polaris Award
- Bloomberg Names the Barney School of Business Experiential Learning Partner
- Dean Steve Mulready Interviewed Regarding Internship Projects at Barney by Hartford Business Journal
- University of Hartford’s Barney School of Business Earns its AACSB Accreditation Extension
- Professor Gantt Presents on Tulsa Race Massacre
- Barney Students Secure Summer Internships Through CVS Health Sponsored Learning Project
- Dean Steve Mulready Interviewed Regarding Online MBA Program by Hartford Business Journal
- Barney Risk Management and Insurance Students Win International Risk Management Competition
- 2021 Spring Hawk Hunt Business Pitch Competition Winners Announced
- Hawk Hunt Business Pitch Competition on April 15
- Two Barney Students’ Analysis Report was Published by the International Risk Management Institute
- Barney's Risk Management and Insurance Seniors Competitively Selected to Participate in Anita Benedetti Student Involvement Program
- 18th Annual UHart Business Plan Competition on Nov. 30.
- Hawk Hunt Business Pitch Competition 2020
- Two Barney Students Named Spencer Scholars for the RIMS ERM Virtual Conference 2020
- Barney Faculty Member Shirley Wang Won 2020 Award for Innovations in Teaching and Learning
- Five UHart Alumni Were Named to The Hartford Business Journal's 40 Under Forty 2020 List
- Women Business Center Encourages Female Entrepreneurs at Women Innovate Pitch Competition
- COVID-19 upends summer internship programs. Barney School Assistant Dean Kevin Sweeney, and UHart graduate Nate Carr '20, were featured in a Hartford Business Journal article about summer internships
- Leading in the Pandemic Workshop Led by Karen Hinds, CEO of Workplace Success Group LLC.
- Barney School's Online MBA Program Ranked in the Top 25 Nationally among Private Universities and Colleges
- Barney School of Business Ranked in the Eduniversal Evaluation Agency Best 1,000 Business Schools Worldwide
- Barney School's Online MBA in Supply Chain Management Program Ranked among the Ten Best in the U.S.
- The Barney School of Business Hosted the 17th Annual University of Hartford Business Plan Competition
- John Thomson, the Barney School Insurance Executive in Residence Interviewed on Captive.com
- Barney School Named a Best Business School by The Princeton Review
- University of Hartford’s Barney School of Business hosts Junior Achievement for the BE Entrepreneurial Challenge
- Barney School of Business Addition Opens
Annual Events
Each year, we bring accomplished alumni, successful business people, and community leaders to campus to share their stories and offer advice to students. We are still putting the schedule together for the coming academic year, so check back for a complete list. Here are examples of our annual events.
F.I.R.M. Executive Leadership of the Year

The University of Hartford’s Barney School of Business honored James M. Loree, chief executive officer of Stanley Black & Decker, Inc., at its 4th annual Finance, Insurance, Risk Management, and Manufacturing (F.I.R.M.) Executive Leadership of the Year Award Event on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. Proceeds from the event will benefit scholarships, career development, and programming at the Barney School of Business.
The F.I.R.M. Executive Leadership Award honors and celebrates an industry leader who has made significant contributions in the finance, insurance, risk management, and manufacturing sectors. The 3rd annual F.I.R.M. event in 2020 raised over $500,000 in proceeds that provided students with annual partial scholarships, and created numerous career development and leadership programs for Barney School students. To date over 110 Barney students have received scholarship funds through the support of this event.
Jim Loree is chief executive officer of Stanley Black & Decker, a leading $14.5 billion global diversified industrial. He leads more than 56,000 employees across 60 countries who make the tools, products, and solutions to deliver on the company’s purpose, "For Those Who Make The World." The company operates the world’s largest tools and storage company featuring iconic brands such as Dewalt, Stanley Black & Decker, and Craftsman; the world’s second-largest commercial electronic security company; and is a global industrial leader of highly engineered solutions within its engineered fastening and infrastructure businesses.
Under Loree's leadership, the company continues to gain recognition for industry leadership in advanced manufacturing, operational excellence, responsible business practices, and as a best workplace for innovators and diversity and equality.
To win in the 2020s, Loree is accelerating an ambitious 2025 growth strategy to deliver sustainable profit and societal good though its innovations and business model approach. To deliver on these goals, the company is focused on three priorities: continue delivering top-quartile performance, become known as one of the world’s leading innovators, and elevate its commitment to corporate social responsibility. The 2025 growth ambition also includes a heightened focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion; and new leadership and digital skills required for the future.
Loree joined the company, then Stanley Works, as CFO in 1999 when the company generated just over $2 billion in revenue. In that role, he led a massive restructuring of the business and began a re-architecting of the company’s portfolio. Since that time, he was promoted to COO, president, and then CEO in 2016, as the company generated significant growth both organically and through acquisitions to stand at more than 7x revenue today. Prior to Stanley Black & Decker, Loree held a successful 19-year career with GE, spanning a multitude of assignments and industries.
Loree is a director of Whirlpool Corporation, serves as a trustee of his alma mater, Union College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics, and is a director of the Jim and Rebecca Loree Foundation. He is a member of the Business Roundtable, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Fortune’s CEO Initiative, the WSJ CEO Council, and the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion. Loree is also a director of the National Association of Manufacturers.
He lives with his wife, Rebecca, in Connecticut and is the proud father to four young women.
Theodore D. Veru Symposium

The Veru Symposium brings to campus world-renowned business and public leaders, providing students, faculty, and friends with access to esteemed thought leaders. The event is sponsored Barney School alumnus Peter Veru, and is named in honor of his father, Theodore Veru.
Thursday, April 7, 2022
The Future of Finance: Digital Assets, Crypto Currencies, Decentralized Finance
Sponsored by: Peter Veru ’85 and Palisade Capital Management
Ellsworth Entrepreneurial Events
This lecture series promotes an awareness of and an appreciation for the American business system. It was created in 1979 by Ensign-Bickford Industries, Inc. to honor its former chairman, the late John E. Ellsworth.
Hayley Foster ’94, the founder and chief fostering officer of Foster Inc., was this past year's speaker.
Corine T. Norgaard Networking and Leadership Workshops

The Corine T. Norgaard Networking and Leadership Workshops are presented by the Barney School of Business in partnership with the Entrepreneurial Center and Women's Business Center, Office of Institutional Advancement, Presidents' College, and The Women's Advancement Initiative. Corine Norgaard was a beloved Barney School of Business professor, distinguished scholar, and dean who passed away in 2011.
The spring networking event will take place on March 30th and include a discussion focused on diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. The Keynote speaker is alum and Vice President of DEI at Sirius XM, Nicole Hughey.
Admission Events
More events are coming soon.
If you have any questions about UHart and Barney School of Business, or you would like to schedule a 1:1 virtual visit, please feel free to contact our admission team at admission@hartford.edu.