Mays doctoral students awarded the Senator Phil Gramm Fellowship

Matt Josefy and Troy Smith, doctoral students in the Department of Management at Mays Business School, received the 2016 Senator Phil Gramm Fellowship for excellence in research and teaching.

The Gramm Fellowship was created to recognize the unique Ph.D. students who excel not only in research or in teaching, but in both. Nominees can be submitted from all doctoral programs at Texas A&M University, and six students are chosen.

Gramm, a retired U.S. Senator, now operates Gramm Partners, a public policy firm in Washington, D.C.

To be considered for the award, a nominee must display “outstanding mentoring skills and a reputation for ethical behavior” in their teaching and a “potential for scholarly impact” in their research, explained Laszlo Tihanyi, doctoral program coordinator in the Department of Management.

Tihanyi said he was proud that two students from Mays Business School were honored with this award, but said he was particularly delighted with the selection of Josefy and Smith. “Both Matt and Troy have been truly outstanding doctoral students in the Department of Management,” he said. Upon completion of the program, both will continue their teaching and research as assistant professors at Indiana University and the University of Nebraska.

Josefy holds a CFA charter and a CPA license, as well as a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s degree in financial management from Texas A&M.

Smith received an M.P.A. from the University of Georgia and two bachelor’s degrees from Utah State University – one in business and one in liberal arts and sciences. He said the faculty members at Mays have had a great impact on his academic journey. “The successes I have been privileged to enjoy over the past few years are a direct result of the high-caliber faculty in the Management Department,” he said.