Letter from the Director
As our spring semester and academic year come to a close, we would like to reflect on another successful year for the Strategic Human Resource Management (SHR) Center at the Wisconsin School of Business. In our winter newsletter, we shared highlights from the fall semester; in this edition, we are pleased to showcase several recent accomplishments of our Center and its students.
On, Wisconsin!
Tanya Hubanks, SHRM-SCP
Reflections on Spring 2026
2026 SHRM Certification Exam Takers Achieve a 100% Pass Rate!
Seven students in the SHR MBA Class of 2026 passed their SHRM-SCP and SHRM-CP exams to become SHRM-certified professionals, as did HR BBA student Diana Rico.
SHR Trek to Chicago on March 19-20, 2026
We extend our sincere thanks to our host companies, WTW, Cisco, Molson Coors, the Chicago Bulls, and McDonald’s, for helping make this year’s trek a success. We are also grateful to the alumni and friends who joined us for our networking social at AceBounce. Our annual trek would not have been possible without your generous support.
Interested in learning more about the SHR trek? Check out blog posts by our students below.
The Many Faces of Strategic HR: Reflections from the SHR Chicago Trek
Bringing Strategic HR to Life: Reflections from Our Spring Trek to Chicago
Class of 2027 Mentorship Program Kicks Off
This past January, we launched our 2026 mentorship program with the support of many of you. First-year SHR MBA students are paired with a mentor for the full calendar year and receive guidance on a range of topics, including summer internships, career readiness, and leadership development.
Thank you to our Class of 2027 mentors!
Marcus Alston, Cisco
Maren Berge, Pretium
Kendra McAdams, Wells Fargo
Brett McGovern, Accenture
Dave Pegorsch, Molson Coors
Colleen Scheibel, Northwestern Mutual
Heather Wollerman, Stillwater Talent & Leadership Partners LLC
Consulting Practicum
Students partnered with alumni-founded company, Fat Brain Toys, to tackle a real-world business challenge focused on expanding to new consumer segments. Throughout the spring semester, they developed and refined their recommendations, ultimately presenting their solutions to a panel of judges.
FT-MBA Awards Ceremony
In April, the FT-MBA program hosted the annual Awards of Excellence ceremony to spotlight outstanding Class of 2026 students. Multiple SHR MBAs were nominated and the below students were awarded for the impact they have made in the Wisconsin MBA program.
Ja’Nieka Forward – Leadership Award
Hannah Goldberg – Leadership Award
Calli Moraska – Academic Excellence Award
Tara Marley – Experiential Learning Award
Where Are Our Students Headed?
SHR MBA Class of 2026 Graduation
Congratulations to our ten SHR Center MBA students who graduated from the Wisconsin School of Business in early May! We’re proud to share that 100% of our Class of 2026 graduates received full-time offers of employment. See where each of them is headed below.
- Adam Barton received a full-time offer from the organization where he interned last summer and continued working throughout the academic year, but has chosen to explore new opportunities in Nashville, Tennessee. He brings a wealth of experience in operations, sales, and business strategy to his next role. We encourage you to connect with Adam if you are interested in discussing potential opportunities with him.
- Ty Day, AbbVie in Chicago, Illinois
- Ja’Nieka Forward, Microsoft in Dallas, Texas
- Hannah Goldberg, Tennant in Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Megan Howard, Microsoft in Seattle, Washington
- Tara Marley, Alcon in Fort Worth, Texas
- Calli Moraska, Cottingham & Butler in Madison, Wisconsin
- Laura Peck, Cigna in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Eshani Singh, Citi in Tampa, Florida
- David Wilson, WalMart in Little Rock, Arkansas
SHR MBA Class of 2027 Internship Placement
Our SHR MBA Class of 2027 accepted internship offers for the summer. See a student in your city? Connect with them on LinkedIn!
- Blad Avilez, AbbVie in Chicago, Illinois
- Baylee Close, Land O’Lakes in Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Chloe Harper, Citi in New York City, New York
- Janani Iyer, Amazon in Seattle, Washington
- Ashleigh King, ScottMadden in Atlanta, Georgia
- Ellen Varhol, Citi in Tampa, Florida
- Ethan Wise, EY in Chicago, Illinois
Congratulations to the HR majors in our BBA Class of 2026
The SHR Center is proud to announce that our Human Resources BBA graduates are heading to outstanding organizations, including Kohl’s, Aflac, EY, McKinsey, Ascension, and Pentair. Congratulations and best wishes to our BBA alumni!
Interested in learning more about our students?
Read their stories on our SHR Center Blog page.
Janani Iyer, rising second-year SHR MBA, discusses her first year in the FT-MBA program and her role as the Graduate Business Association (GBA) President. Janani helped expand the GBA to a place of belonging, ocercoming challenges and helping team members along the way.
Megan Howard, SHR Class of 2026 grad, reflects on her MBA career as she prepares to move into her full-time role at Microsoft in Seattle, WA. In her blog, she writes about her move to the Midwest and how the Wisconsin School of Business MBA and her internship helped her prepare for the next step.
Management & Human Resources Department Faculty & Staff News
Faculty Spotlight: Jirs Meuris
2026 Best 40-Under-40 Business Professors
Jirs Meuris was named one of the 2026 Best 40-Under-40 Business Professors from Poets & Quants.
He is the V. Duane Rath Professor and an Associate Professor of Management and Human Resources at the Wisconsin School of Business. He currently serves as the faculty director for Leadership Skills and holds a courtesy appointment in the UW-Madison Department of Sociology and is an affiliate of the Institute for Diversity Science, Institute for Research on Poverty, and Center for Law, Society, and Justice.
Read more about Jirs, his background, and his research on the Poets & Quants website.
Staff & Faculty Awards
Two members of the Management and Human Resources Department were recognized at the Wisconsin School of Business All Staff Meeting in early May. These awards are based off nominations and selected by a committee within the School. Congratulations!
Mahina Adams, Assistant Director of the Strategic Human Resource Management Center, was awarded the Staff Community Engagement Award.
Stav Atir, Assistant Professor in the Management and Human Resources Department, was recognized with the Mabel W. Chipman Outstanding Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching.
The following faculty were recognized for named faculty recognitions:
- Stav Atir – John and Anne Oros Term Professor
- Martin Ganco – M. Keith Weikel Distinguished Chair in Leadership
- Florence Honore – Robert Pricer Chair in Enterprise Development
- Jirs Meuris – V. Duane Rath Professorship.
Papers & Media Mentions
Fleeting generalization: How unstable belief updating keeps people overly pessimistic about talking to strangers, published paper co-authored by Stav Atir.
People tend to underestimate how much they’ll enjoy small talk, new study finds – MHR Assistant Professor Stav Atir quoted.
Best States for Working from Home (2026) – MHR Assistant Professor Anyi Ma listed as an expert.
Inside the AI-Powered Classroom: How WSB Instructors Are Transforming Learning – MHR Deputy Department Chair and Teaching Faculty John Surdyk shares how he uses AI in the classroom.
Change minds at Christmas dinner, keep it civil – MHR Assistant Professor Michael Kardas quoted.
Advisory Board News
The Strategic Human Resource Management Center Fall Advisory Board meeting will be held on Friday, September 24, 2026 at Union South in Madison, Wisconsin. Board members will also be invited to a connection event the day after on Friday, September 25. Meeting invitations and details will be shared soon.
Spring External Advisory Board Meeting
The spring SHR External Advisory Board meeting was held on Friday, April 17, in Madison, Wisconsin. Thank you to our EAB members for braving the storm and taking the time to connect with our Center staff and our BBA and MBA students. Your continued engagement is vital to the ongoing success of the SHR Center.
Welcome to our newest board member, Kelly Konkol!
Kelly Konkol is a human resources leader with over two decades of experience partnering with business leaders to build strong organizations and high-performing teams. In her role, Kelly helps shape global talent strategy, organizational effectiveness, and HR operations. Throughout her career, she has held HR leadership roles across both manufacturing and consumer packaged goods organizations, including Harley-Davidson, Keurig Green Mountain and Briggs & Stratton.
Kelly is a proud University of Wisconsin-Madison alum and met her husband, Steve—also a Badger—while they were students in Madison. They now live in the Milwaukee area with their daughter. Kelly enjoys staying connected to the UW community and is honored to support future HR leaders through her service on the board.
We are excited to partner with her as we continue to shape the next generation of strategic HR leaders. Welcome to the board, Kelly!
Supporting our SHR Center
SHR Center Seeks Increased Enrollment
Please connect us with your colleagues or others in your network who may be interested in obtaining an MBA with a human resources career focus. We would love to speak with them! The Class of 2028 applications close on June 25, and the Class of 2029 admission process opens in September.
Engage with us on LinkedIn and Instagram
Follow our pages on LinkedIn and Instagram to stay up to date with SHR news. Check out our new alumni, student, and speaker spotlight series to read about the people who are part of our work. If you are interested in being a featured alumni, let us know!
Hire Our Students or Be a Mentor
Interested in hiring one of our SHR MBA graduates? Interested in mentoring a SHR MBA student? Email our team at the link below to discover ways to be involved or to learn more about the either the hiring process or mentorship experience!
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