Business and Economics

A graduate University of  Scranton, where she also earned the Masters in Business Administration, Professor Brown has taught at Elmira College since 1978.   She is licensed to practice as a CPA in New York and Pennsylvania.

Before entering college teaching, Professor Brown was a staff accountant for Price-Waterhouse in New York City.  She is a member and past chair of the Scholarship Awards Committee of the New York State Society Certified Public Accountants, past member of the Board of Directors, New York State Society Certified Public Accountants, past member and vice-chair of the Promoting CPA Careers Committee, New York State Society Certified Public Accountants, and continuing member of numerous other professional organizations.

At Elmira College, Professor Brown regularly teaches Principles of Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Corporation Finance, Tax Accounting, in addition to other Accounting courses, and (in Term III) Accountants as Whistle-Blowers.

In Cleveland, Dr. Hoffman studied at Teshe Rabinical College in Wickliffe, Ohio, and at the Hebrew Theological College Skokie, Illinois.  He earned the BA  in Economics from Roosevelt University and the MA and Ph.D. in Economics from Case Western Reserve University, where his doctoral dissertation was titled, The Process of Urban Economics Development in Cleveland  1827 – 1920.

At Elmira College, he teaches Micro and Macro Economics, both at the basic and intermediate levels, as well as International Economics, Public Finance, and Money and Financial Institutions.

Dr. Hoffman’s publications include World Paper and Paperboard and, with Stephen Brobeck, The Cleveland Bank Book and The Bank Book, as well as several articles and professional presentations.  His primary research interest is issues in consumer banking.

Professor Hurdle earned his M.B.A. at Cornell University and has held several marketing positions, most notably as the CEO of a Boston-area advertising agency, before joining the Elmira College faculty in 1998. 

His research interests include the relationship between customer expectations and satisfaction in the service sector and, in particular, in the area of higher education. He has presented a considerable number of academic papers at national marketing conferences and has developed and taught five new courses in the field of marketing while at Elmira College.

Professor Hurdle regularly teaches Marketing Research, Consumer Behavior, and Marketing Planning in addition to a variety of Term III courses, including Sports Marketing, Service Marketing, and Advertising. He is a member of the American Marketing Association and past-president of the College’s chapter of Sigma Beta Delta, the International Honor Society for Business, Management and Administration.

Born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, Dr. Khawar earned the bachelor’s degree in economics and computer science from Knox College.  She then earned the M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from Johns Hopkins University.  She joined the Elmira College faculty in 1997 as a specialist in development and international economics. 

Courses she regularly teaches include Principles of Micro and Macro Economics, Intermediate Macroeconomics, Development Economics, and Topics in International Economics.   She is the advisor for Omicron Delta Epsilon, the economics honor society. 

Dr. Khawar’s research interests lie in the area of development economics.  Her current research explores the links between climate, geography, institutions, and underdevelopment. She regularly presents her research at the annual WEAI (Western Economic Association International) conferences and has published several papers on the links between foreign direct investment and economic development.

Her husband, three children, large dog and small cat leave her with little time to pursue other activities, but she enjoys traveling, photography, good food, reading and entertaining.

Professor Mullen teaches courses in Operations, Human Resource, and Strategic Management.  Prior to joining the faculty in 1999, he spent twenty-two years as a professional in the supply chain management field, in his last position having managed production planning, procurement, distribution, and information technology as Vice President of Supply Chain Management for Toshiba Display Devices. 

He holds undergraduate degrees in Business Administration from Rochester Institute of Technology and Elmira College, the MBA from Syracuse University and an MPS in Human Resource Management from Cornell University.   Jim is active in and holds professional certification from APICS, the Association for Operations Management and the Institute for Supply Management and has published articles on effective negotiation in Inside Supply Management magazine and on inventory management in APICS magazine. Jim serves on the board of directors of the Chemung ARC, a not-for-profit organization that serves over 700 people with developmental disabilities in the Elmira area.

Professor Samit has been a successful entrepreneur and business executive guiding one start-up to rapid revenue growth, international recognition, and IPO; building another start-up to acquisition; and establishing the computer business division for a Fortune 500 company.  His activities have included work with Apple Computer, Hewlett Packard, Eastman Kodak, the Polaroid Corporation, Astro-Systems, and Houston Instruments. 

While active professionally, Professor Samit taught at many institutions including universities in France, France, and Copenhagen.  He has presented papers at professional conferences in the U. S. and abroad.

At Elmira College, he teaches Principles of Management, Strategic Management, International Business, Entrepreneurship, and Organizational Behavior.

Professor Samit earned the BA from Temple University and the MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.  After retirement from the business world, he has completed his formal doctoral studies at Florida Atlantic University, and is currently completing his dissertation.

Professor Savash earned the MBA with a concentration in Finance from Ohio University after earning the B.S. in Accounting from Canisius College.   He is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Government Financial Manager.  Professor Savash worked for Seidman and Seidman as a public accountant, for the Village of Depew as a Village Treasurer, and for Ohio University and Miami University as a full-time instructor. 

Professor Savash teaches a variety of classes in accounting and finance, his favorite two being Principles of Government- and Non-Profit Accounting, and Introduction to Investments, and is Co-Advisor to the College Republicans, and advisor to the business honor society, Sigma Beta Delta.

Professor Savash serves on several committees for the State Society of Certified Public Accountants and the State Government Finance Officers' Association, of which he is also a member of the Board of Governors.  He has authored three articles for The Trusted Professional, a monthly newspaper for the State Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Dr. Sharma earned the Ph.D. in economics from the University of Cincinnati.   A native of India, he had earned the B.A. (Honors) in economics from Ramjas College, University of Delhi, and the M.A. in economics from the Delhi School of Economics.  He also earned the M.A. in economics from the University of Cincinnati. 

Dr. Sharma’s research interests include Internet Search Engines, International Factor Mobility, and Gender and Economic Development. His teaching interests include Money & Finance, Labor Economics, Industrial Organization, International Trade Theory, International Economics, Urban Economics, Game Theory, Microeconomics, and Macroeconomics. 

Before joining Elmira College, Dr. Sharma was an economics faculty in the Farmer School of Business, Miami University, where on several occasions he was recognized for outstanding teaching by various student organizations.

Dr. Sharma is one of the faculty advisors to the newly formed Elmira College Cricket Club.

Alison M. Wolfe is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Elmira College, where she teaches courses on marketing, such as Business-to-Business Marketing, Marketing Research, Marketing Planning, Retailing- A Strategic Approach, Sales Management, and International Marketing. Her corporate career includes numerous positions in marketing –management and sales leadership for Corning Incorporated’s Steuben Glass division, and Kaplan Inc, a Washington Post subsidiary. She holds an MBA from Binghamton University and an MA from Elmira College as well as an undergraduate degree in marketing from King’s College, where she later taught marketing for two years prior to returning to the corporate world.

Prof. Wolfe's research and teaching interests center around bringing real-world business experiences into the marketing classroom, including the use of guest speakers and field trips to major business organizations. Additionally, Prof. Wolfe has been involved in travel courses including the United Kingdom-History, Peoples & Institutions, and Global Village - Habitat for Humanity International.

She has published numerous journal articles on marketing education and student perceptions of teaching quality, and her paper “Differences in Student Perceptions of Service Quality and Classroom Environment for Excellence in Teaching” received the award as the best marketing education paper at the Spring 2005 Marketing Management Association Conference in Chicago, Illinois. She also received the Josef Stein Award at the 2009 Elmira College commencement in recognition of teaching service and scholarship.

Prof. Wolfe's campus activities include an appointment by Elmira College's President as Faculty Athletics Representative. She also serves as faculty representative for the Student Senate, academic advisor for the Elmira College Marketing Management Club and Habitat for Humanity Club, the chair of the Arts and Lectures Committee, and a member of the Advising Committee. She is a professional member of the American Marketing Association and Marketing Management Association.

Outside the classroom, Prof. Wolfe serves on the board of the Southeastern Steuben Habitat for Humanity affiliate as well as events chairperson for their Hammer it Home event. She is also a public-lector as well as a triathlete who is a certified spinning, X-biking, and AFAA exercise instructor, and is a biking/spinning instructor at a local health and wellness center. Her other interests include art and photography.