The CoBA Connection

Grit, Grace, and Giving Back: Meet Ashley Gibson

In 2025, Ashley Gibson hit a wall that would have broken most people. She faced a career crisis, navigating the good, bad, and ugly of job loss and personal upheaval. But for a Saluki, a wall is just another obstacle to climb. Today, Ashley is not only back on her feet, she is reaching back to pull the next generation of students up with her. Her journey is Saluki Grit in its purest form, coming full circle from a student in need to a donor who refuses to let a scholarship be just a check. 

The Psychology of a Pivot 

Ashley’s journey at SIU did not begin with a ledger. It began with a fascination for the human mind. Starting as a psychology major, she eventually felt the pull toward accounting. While many would see a mid-degree major change as a setback, Ashley used it as a springboard. Working as a student assistant in the Graduate Catalog office, she learned the university’s internal systems so well that she navigated the process to graduate with her accounting degree in just three years. “It shows the importance of being present in any capacity,” Ashley reflects. Whether she was filing paperwork or supporting the Graduate School, every role built the discipline and confidence she needed to move faster. 

It was also during this time that she found her village: Dr. Marcus Odom and the Dean of the college at the time. Their mentorship, combined with her leadership in the Accounting Society and her role as a teaching assistant, helped transform a first-generation student into a formidable professional. 

The Full Circle: From Recipient to Provider 

Ashley still remembers receiving her first scholarship. It was not only financial support, it was validation that she belonged in the room. Now, through her own endowment at the College of Business and Analytics, she is working to ensure that feeling is not rare for others. But Ashley is clear: her scholarship isn't a "Willy Wonka Golden Ticket" that you simply get and forget. “I told the college, look, this is not just about a scholarship,” Ashley says. “I want to foster a relationship. If you receive my scholarship, you get mentorship for my life, however long I live. It is an open-ended offer for guidance, coaching, and advocacy.” 

Advocating for Women in a Demanding Field 

Ashley knows firsthand that the corporate world, and accounting in particular, can be hard for women. She has seen the ceilings, the assumptions, and the barriers that rarely make it into job descriptions. Her mission is to ensure the women who follow her have a coach in their corner, someone who can provide objective guidance and steady support. She also points to what she sees as a clear priority for students entering the workforce: staying current with artificial intelligence. Her advice is to embrace the tools shaping the future while building the emotional intelligence and resilience that technology cannot replace. 

The Legacy of the Saluki Spirit 

Ashley Gibson’s story is a reminder that at SIU, we do not just graduate, we evolve. We take the hits, we pivot, and we pay it forward with purpose. “It doesn’t have to be this hard,” Ashley notes, reflecting on her career. By bridging the gap between financial support and lifelong mentorship, she is making the path smoother for future Salukis. As she continues to visit her parents in nearby Carterville, her presence remains felt in Rehn Hall, not only as a name on a donor wall, but as an active advocate for every student who has ever felt alone in front of a wall. In Ashley’s world, the scholarship is the introduction, but the relationship is the real prize.

30 Years. Thousands of Students. One Indelible Legacy.

He sat in the back, eyes glazed, seemingly miles away from the lecture on organizational behavior. For an entire semester, Dr. Steven Karau, the man whose research on group motivation has been featured on ABC’s 20/20 and in the Wall Street Journal was certain he had failed to reach him. “He looked completely disengaged,” Dr. Karau recalls. “I would ask questions, try to pull him in, but on the surface, it looked like pure boredom.” Years later, a chance encounter at a professional event revealed a different story. The former student approached him, not with a complaint, but with a confession: “Your course was my favorite. That personality training we did? I used it to understand myself build my confidence, and it’s the reason I am successful today.” That moment, the visible transformation of a "bored" student into a confident leader is a great example of why Dr. Karau, a Professor of Management at the College of Business and Analytics (CoBA), has been named the 2025 CoBA Graduate Teacher of the Year. 

A Researcher’s Lens, A Teacher’s Heart 

To the academic world, Dr. Karau is a titan of Social Psychology. With a PhD from Purdue and over 50 published articles in elite journals like the Psychological Review, he is the codeveloper of the Collective Effort Model and Role Congruity Theory. He is arguably the world's leading expert on "social loafing" —the phenomenon where people slack off in groups. But if you ask Dr. Karau what fascinates him more than a high impact journal citation, he will tell you in an instant it is the people in the room. "Human behavior is an endless puzzle," he says. For Karau, the classroom is an ongoing experiment. He does not just teach abstract concepts; he tethers them to the lived experiences of his students. Whether he is using real world activities to explain motivation or tailoring his pedagogy to meet the diverse learning styles of both undergraduates and doctoral candidates, his goal is singular: seeing a student reach "mastery level" in just sixteen weeks. 

The Saluki Blueprint for Success 

Dr. Karau has taught at institutions such as Clemson University and Virginia Commonwealth University, he deliberately chose SIU for something harder to quantify but impossible to miss once you experience it: collegiality. There is a supportive, relaxed environment here that makes high level research possible while also creating space for genuine student connection, he said. 
For CoBA students, faculty, staff, and alumni, the honor reflects more than one professor’s excellence. It reinforces what the college stands for: teaching that stays relevant, research that informs practice, and mentorship that continues well beyond the classroom. Dr. Karau also emphasized that he does not just teach business content. He teaches soft skills that are often the hardest to master. For the next generation of Salukis, he highlighted a practical toolkit. 

• Emotional intelligence: understanding the why behind people’s actions.
• Effective communication: the bridge between a good idea and a great result. 
• Curiosity as a superpower: stay curious, because the moment you stop wondering is the moment you stop growing. 
• Adaptability and flow: go with the flow and keep your coping resources one step ahead of the challenge.   

The Legacy of the "Small Piece" 

In a world of viral trends and short attention spans, Dr. Karau’s teaching style is a masterclass in sustainability. He views himself not as a sage on a stage, but as a mentor who provides "a small piece" of the puzzle in a student’s larger life story. As we celebrate his 30 plus year career and this prestigious award, Dr. Karau reminds us that teaching is not about the lectures that are heard today; it’s about the lessons that resonate a decade from now. "Success isn't always loud," Dr. Karau says, thinking back to that student in the back of the room. "Sometimes, the most impactful thing you can do is simply stay flexible, stay curious, and wait for the light to turn on." 

From TV producer to GA Teacher of the Year: The Sunder Regmi Story 

In the world of academia, the leap from professional television production to a Ph.D. in Economics is rarely a straight line. But for Sunder Regmi, the 2025 Graduate Assistant Teacher of the Year, the transition was fueled by a singular, powerful realization: whether you are behind a camera or at the front of a lecture hall, your primary job is to capture the audience's imagination. “I used to produce advertisements and edit videos on Adobe Premiere” Regmi recalls, reflecting his media background. Today, he is not selling products, but he is selling the complex, often intimidating world of economic theory and his students are buying in. 

The Educator as a Game Designer 

Most students' approach economics with a sense of dread, fearing a semester of dry charts and abstract equations. Regmi saw this as a design challenge. Instead of leaning on traditional lectures, he has become a pioneer in "gamifying" the classroom. By turning economic concepts into interactive challenges and competitive activities, he transforms passive listeners into active participants. “Teaching is about making the content interactive,” Regmi explains. By rooting his pedagogy in engagement, he ensures that students don't just memorize the laws of supply and demand, they live them. His goal is to lead every student to a "mastery level" where the math disappears and the logic of the world takes its place.  

The Architecture of Time - A “Chunking method” 

Behind every “natural” teacher is a rigorous strategist. Regmi’s success is built on a disciplined approach to time management that has become a blueprint for his peers. He relies on a deliberate “chunking” method to balance the heavy demands of being a PhD candidate. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are reserved exclusively for research, when his focus is fully devoted to his dissertation and scholarly writing. “Tuesdays and Thursdays are exclusively for my students,” he explains are days dedicated entirely to teaching, grading, and mentorship. Weekends serve a different purpose altogether, allowing space for unfinished tasks while preserving time for family. This clear structure especially the strict protection of research days enables him to remain a high-performing scholar without compromising the quality of his instruction. 

Economics in the Age of AI 

Regmi does not just teach the future; he researches it. While many in the social sciences viewed the rise of Artificial Intelligence with hesitation, Regmi leaned in. His doctoral dissertation is a cutting-edge fusion of traditional economics and modern technology, implementing Natural Language Processing (NLP) to analyze central bank communications. “I realized I needed to keep up with technology like AI,” Regmi notes. His research explores how the sentiment and specific phrasing of speeches from the U.S. Federal Reserve impact policy and economic stability in countries like Canada, UK, and Euro Area. By analyzing over half a million sentences, he applies sentiment analysis to capture shifts in the global economic narrative.

A Memorable Legacy 

Sunder Regmi’s journey from a media station to the winner’s circle of the College of Business and Analytics is a testament to the power of adaptability. He is a teacher who refuses to let his curriculum grow stale and a researcher who is not afraid to let a machine help him read between the lines of a policy speech. As he prepares for the next chapter of his career, Regmi leaves his students with the same philosophy that earned him this award: embrace the tools of tomorrow and never be afraid to turn a difficult lesson into a game worth winning. 

Balance Sheets & Bragging Rights: Centralia High School Takes Top Honors at SIU’s 28th Accounting Challenge

“I have never seen a room of high school students so excited,” said Dr. Randy Davis, Interim Director of the School of Accountancy. He was not talking about a pep rally or a championship game but he was talking about the 28th Annual Accounting Challenge. On a cold January morning, the SIU Student Center was transformed into a high stakes arena.

Part academic gauntlet and part collaborative "think tank," the event brought hundreds of students from across state lines for a firsthand taste of university life, teamwork, and the professional thrill of competition. 

The Anatomy of the Challenge 

The event was a carefully engineered two-part experience designed to bridge the gap between high school classrooms and the dynamic world of collegiate business. While the morning was dedicated to the precision of the balance sheet through a rigorous individual exam, the afternoon turned into a test of physics and "out-of-the-box" engineering. 

Students were challenged to construct a structure out of nothing but paper and tape with one critical mission. It had to hold a metal washer as high as possible while remaining robust enough to survive a winding obstacle course. This activity served as a powerful metaphor for the accounting profession. Just as a single weak joint could cause a paper structure to buckle under the weight of a washer, a single overlooked detail can jeopardize a financial audit. For the winning teams, the secret was not just in the construction, but in the communication. 

"There wasn’t just one person in charge," noted Lorren Niederhofer from Centralia High School, the team that took home the top honors. "It was the collaboration of a bunch of different ideas and listening to each other." It was a vivid reminder that in business, the strongest structures are not built of paper or steel but they are built of teamwork and trust. 

“Outreach is always important,” Dr. Davis noted. “It gives the community a sense of what we at SIU are all about as a smaller campus. Many high school students are not familiar with how exciting university life can be, and this gives them a fantastic taste of that learning.” 

The Engine Room: 40 Students, One Mission 

While the high schoolers were the stars, the event’s heartbeat was an army of CoBA student volunteers and staff, the challenge was a "massive team effort" that began months in advance. Lexi Lingle, a Teaching Assistant and volunteer, spent countless extra hours ensuring the back-end systems were ready and exam sheets were printed. “We probably had 40 or 50 students volunteer today,” Lexi said. “From preparing the exam to providing the helping hands needed to feed hundreds of students, we would not be able to do this without the support of faculty and student volunteers.” 

Benna Williams, Assistant Director of the School of Accountancy, emphasized the accessibility of the program: “Because of the support from the Illinois CPA Society, the SIU School of Accountancy, and the Accounting Circle, the event remains free for every participant. This ensures that the path to a business degree is open to everyone, regardless of their background.” 

The Saluki Blueprint 

As the 28th year comes to a close, the Accounting Challenge stands as a pillar of SIU’s commitment to experiential learning. It is not just about balancing books, it’s also about balancing technical mastery with human connection. The hundreds of students who walked through the doors of the Student Center did not just leave with awards and scholarships but they left with the realization that accounting is about leadership, innovation, and a community that has their back.