At this year’s Midwest Business Administration Association International Conference, Andrews University graduate students and faculty presented 17 papers and brought home five awards.
Faculty and graduate students at Andrews University’s School of Business Administration (or SBA) recently attended the Midwest Business Administration Association (or MBAA) International Conference, which is held in Chicago every year. While there they presented 17 papers and took home five awards. The MBAA International Conference is an academic gathering, bringing together scholars and professionals across many disciplines. This year over 6,000 people came together to create networking opportunities, share research, and to teach and learn from each other.
Andrews MBA students Frank Gondwe and Edna Kim were presented with the Best Conference Research Paper category award. Andrews professor of management and SBA graduate program director, Jerry Chi, was awarded two prizes in the Best Student Management category.
In an article posted on Andrews University’s website, Chi spoke about the stiff competition for the awards, saying that there were “hundreds or thousands of submissions … These awards are heavily restricted, sometimes granted to fewer than .25% of all accepted papers. Winning an award provides global visibility for the author's institution and research findings.”
The paper that earned Frank Gondwe his award is called “The Relationship Between Faith-Based Resilience and Academic Persistence Among Graduate Business Students.” He spoke about his motivations, saying, “I chose this topic because I have personally experienced how faith sustains perseverance. As an international student in Malawi, I dreamed of studying at a Christian university like Andrews. Despite financial challenges and not being able to obtain a student visa, I did not give up. I continued to trust God, and He opened a way for me to study remotely. That journey of faith inspired my research on resilience and academic persistence.”
Gondwe was also presented the Distinguished Research Poster Award for his project called, “Global GDP Growth, Economic Development, and Regional Disparities: A Three-Way Multivariate Analysis.” His poster showed analysis of 113 countries over a span of five years. It showed that "geographic continent” is the single biggest predictor of GDP growth, an idea that goes against current universal development models, but also supports region-specific economic policies.
Kim’s award winning paper is called, “Impact of Economic Size and Pandemic Period on Economic Performance: A 3×2 Factorial Design Across Five Years.” When asked about her work, she said, “This study looked at how a country’s economic size affected its performance before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic over five years. The key finding was simple: larger economies didn’t just handle the crisis better; they pulled further ahead over time … For policymakers, this research means that one-size-fits-all crisis responses don’t work. Understanding how size shapes recovery can help leaders design smarter, more targeted support for economies of different sizes during any future global crisis.”
Kim also works as a program operations and student success coordinator in the School of Nursing. She spoke about what winning the award represented to her, saying, “I am the only one in my immediate family who holds any type of degree in higher education. Winning this award feels like validation for every late night, every moment of doubt, and every time I had to choose between work, school, family and rest … This award isn’t just mine. It belongs to everyone who carried me here. I’m also grateful for Andrews University for creating space for students like me, working, parenting, trying to balance it all and to still be seen, still be challenged and still be celebrated.”
Gondwe echoed the sentiment, saying, “These awards are a confirmation that persistence and faith truly open doors. They represent the encouragement of my mentor, Dr. Jerry Chi, and the support of Andrews University.”
Chi was the coordinator of the Andrews University cohort at the conference and spoke highly of his students, saying, “These awards demonstrate the Andrews University School of Business Administration’s commitment to high academic rigor, impactful real-world application, and the development of both faculty and student research. Student and faculty research is critical because it bridges the gap between theoretical learning and real-world application. It actively solves pressing global challenges and directly trains the next generation of critical thinkers.”
The Andrews University School of Business Administration offers a range of both graduate and undergraduate programs, as well as various research opportunities and learning pathways for its students. The program not only participates in the MBAA International Conference, but also in the 2026 Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters conference.
Chi spoke about the offerings of the program, saying, “Our MBA curriculum in business research and quantitative methods and optimization modeling directly prepares our MBA and MSA students to influence top-tier business decisions and propels their future consulting, industry or academic endeavors.”
More information about the program can be found on its webpage, and more information about everything Andrews University offers can be found at the school’s website.