In November 1997, the Rinker School of Business MBA Association originated the Dr. Joe J. Eassa, Jr. MBA Endowed Scholarship. At that particular time, the Association established a goal in the principal sum of $10,000 (the minimum principal sum which qualifies for a PBA-endowed scholarship).
Currently, October 1, 2024-2025 our principal sum is $442,403. This phenomenal growth is in large part explicitly due to outstanding and generous benefactors like yourself who regularly gift this fund. Our MBA scholarship is the largest in the namesake of a faculty member at any college or university within the State of Florida.
As of 2024-25 the remarkable result is that 137 qualified MBA students have received a scholarship, each one totally funded by the yield from this endowment.
The principal sum will always remain unimpaired and intact.
So that we continue to grow our scholarship assistance to qualified MBA students I respectfully ask that you now make a gift to this fund.
Indeed, I pray that you are affirmative and make your gift now.
Gratefully,
Joe Eassa
In order for each of us to sustain ourselves in today’s workforce during this rapidly changing technological era, it is necessary to maintain the appropriate educational and experiential qualifications.
A PBA-MBA degree will give one a competitive edge.
Dr. Eassa founded the PBA-MBA program, the University’s first graduate program, and it was launched in August 1989. In November 1997 the Rinker School of Business Association established the Dr. Joe J. Eassa, Jr. Endowed Scholarship in honor of Dr. Eassa, Professor of Graduate Business Studies, and the Alexander Proudfoot Skills Professor of Business. Since then, the income on the investment for this scholarship has been awarded to qualified MBA students.
He, now, is Professor Emeritus of Graduate Business Studies and the Alexander Proudfoot Skills Professor of Business.
Innovation
Dr. Eassa was invited to join PBA in the 1970s as an adjunct professor. In January 1977 he accepted full-time employment. Since that time he has served as Assistant to the President, Acting Executive Vice President, Dean of Administrative and Financial Affairs, Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, and Interim Dean of the Rinker School of Business.
He received the Ann Gold Distinguished Professor Award in 1988.
By invitation, he is included in the book, entitled, “Great Teachers We Have Known” (Sailfish Press).
Among his numerous accomplishments, here, he played a major role in the formation of the University’s annual American Free Enterprise Day; also, he served as a Professional Management Consultant for Philips Company for three years (Fortune 500); as Professional Management Consultant for nearly 35 local entrepreneurs, which included business, legal, dental entities; and is a past member of the Advisory Board for both Bethune-Cookman University and Florida Southern College. He was also interviewed as an integral one for the feature piece by the national television program Truth That Transforms to provide a Christian perspective that led to the ethical breakdown of the investment house collapses of 2008 as well as their precursors such as Enron and World.com (aired throughout the U.S. and abroad in 2011). He served as a Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Management and Entrepreneurship, is a Sustaining Member of the Presidential Counselors (1984-2001), served as Co-Chairman of the Faculty-Staff Capital Campaign (1994), served as Chairman of the Faculty Gift’s Division (1986), and since 1977 has served as Chairperson, Discussant, and Reviewer for the Leadership, Managerial Consultation, Management Education, and Management History divisions of the Academy of Management and as a Chairperson for the Organizational Behavior division of the Southern Management Association in 2011.
He also:
- Was appointed and served as The Session Chairperson for COOPERATION IN INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT, STEWARDSHIP and SCHOLARSHIP for the ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT 72nd Annual Conference, August 3-7, 2012 in Boston, Massachusetts.
- Was appointed and served as the Session Chairperson for ANTECEDENTS AND OUTCOMES OF PAY DISPARITY
- Was appointed and served as the Session Chairperson for SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENTS AND INTERNATIONAL ETHICS
- Was appointed and served as Session Chairperson for GETTING THE JOB AND LIFE AS AN EMPLOYEE; these three appointments were for the Annual Conference of the SOUTHERN MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION held at the Westin Beach Resort & Spa in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, October 30-November 3, 2012 and each were sucessfully completed.
- Was appointed and served as the Session Chairperson for A LOOK INSIDE THE PARADOX OF CONGLOMERATE SUCCESS: JACK WELCH’S EFFECTIVE STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP for the Academy of Management 73rd Annual Conference, August 9-13, 2013 in Lake Buena Vista (Orlando, Florida). There were approximately 8,300 participants from 88 countries throughout the world.
- Was appointed and served as the Session Chairperson for STRATEGY: CEO and DIRECTOR COMPENSATION AND TURNOVER for the SOUTHERN MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION November 5-9, 2013 meeting, which was held at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, Louisiana.
- Was appointed and served as Chairperson for COOPERATION, MOTIVATION, AND RECOGNITION IN DIFFERENT CLIENT SETTINGS AND SYSTEMS at the 74th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, which was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 1-5, 2014 involving over 1,900 activities and more than 9,500 persons from 88 countries around the world.
- Was appointed and served as Chairperson for AN HISTORICAL EXAMINATION OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
- Was appointed and served as Chairperson for the RESEARCH SPEED DATING: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY session at the Annual Conference of the SOUTHERN MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION, founded in 1947, held November 11-15, 2014 at the Hyatt Regency in Savannah, Georgia. Presently the SMA membership consists of approximately 1,000 management professors, doctoral students, and executives representing more than 200 colleges, universities, and business firms in 43 states and several foreign countries.
- Was appointed and served as Chairperson for the (1) BUSINESS POLICY AND STRATEGY DIVISION, (2) MANAGEMENT CONSULTING DIVISION, AND (3) HUMAN RESOURCES DIVISION at the 75th Academy of Management Annual Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on August 7-12, 2015.
- Was appointed and served at the SOUTHERN MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION 2015 CONFERENCE in the TradeWinds Island Resort, St. Petersburg, Florida, October 27-31, 2015 as the SESSION CHAIR for the following events:
- STRATEGY DIVISION: ALL IN THE ATTITUDE: TMT COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND ITS IMPACT
- INTERNATIONAL DIVISION: INTERNATIONALIZATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES
- ENTREPRENEURSHIP DIVISION: OUTSTANDING ISSUES IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Was appointed and served at the 76th Annual Meeting of the ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT in Anaheim, California on August 5-9, 2016 as the SESSION CHAIRPERSON for the following events: (This is the premier conference of the world’s top management scholars of which there will be over 10,000 scholars from 84 countries in attendance).
- MANAGEMENT EDUCATION DIVISION: WORKPLACE DEVELOPMENT
- PUBLIC AND NON-PROFIT DIVISION: SOCIAL ENTERPRISES IN INTERNATIONAL CONTEXTS: Solving International Problems
- PUBLIC AND NON-PROFIT DIVISION: CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN SMART CITIES, SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND COLLABORATIVE URBAN FRAMEWORKS: Meaningfulness of Engagement
- NEW APPROACHES TO INDIVIDUAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE
- UNDERSTANDING DETERMINANTS OF EFFECTIVE CHANGE AND FIRM PERFORMANCE.
Was appointed and served in the Strategic Management Track as the Session Chairperson for CEO HIRING, FIRING, AND RETENTION at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Management Association, Marriott City Center, in Charlotte, North Carolina, October 25-30, 2016.
Distinctive Recognition Award
On Tuesday, March 21, 2017, Dr. Eassa received the PRESIDENTIAL MEDALLION plaque in recognition of meritorious service to the Kingdom of God from Toccoa Falls College located in Toccoa, GA (founded in 1907); only one of ten such recipients in the 110 year history of this institution.
A native of West Palm Beach, Dr. Eassa in his early career served as:
President of Eassa and Associates Mortgage Banking
Senior Vice President for New Business Development for Central Bank of Palm Beach County
Village Manager for North Palm Beach (received Village Council’s award for outstanding service)
Acting City Manager for the City of West Palm Beach
City Clerk and Insurance Administrator for the City of West Palm Beach (received City Commission’s award for excellent achievement).
Criteria
The Dr. Joe J. Eassa, Jr. Scholarship is the largest scholarship for MBA students in the State of Florida created in honor of a College or University faculty member. Minimum requirements for the award of this scholarship are as follows:
- Students must be enrolled in the MBA program and be in good academic standing.
- Scholarship funds are awarded to students who have successfully completed at least six credit hours per semester.
- Remarkably, over the years 137 qualified MBA students have received this scholarship, each one funded by the yield from the endowment.
Contributions to this scholarship fund are invested into Palm Beach Atlantic University’s permanent endowment fund. The principal is retained and income from this investment is the total source of funds for the award of each scholarship.
For each annual award ceremony for the awarding of this scholarship, principal speakers have included James Broadhead the former Chairperson of the Board of Florida Power and Light Company; David Hernandez the Founder and Chairperson of Liberty Power Company, which is the fastest growing Hispanic firm in the U.S.; Karl Watson, Jr., President of the U.S. Division of CEMEX; Robert Garvy, Chairperson of Intech, which is one of the most prominent investment management firms in the U.S.; Dennis A. Tito, Founder, CEO and Chairperson of Wilshire Associates, Inc. (tourist aboard the Russian Soyuz spacecraft); Diego Asencio, former U.S. Ambassador and President of Ascencio & Associates; Karl Watson, Sr. former President of Rinker Materials, Inc., and now consultant to Cemex; and on December 2, 2013 Kenneth R. Kennerly who is Executive Director for The Honda Classic, Senior Vice President and Director of the North America Event Group IMG Golf, a division of IMG Worldwide, Inc.; Alan Crowetz, President and CEO for InfoStream whose firm provides consultation to clients for computer and networking systems; also, design solutions and educate clients on alternatives, Mark Campbell, Chief Financial Officer for Family of Farms, and Paul Donahue, President and CEO Centerra Group, LLC.
Investment
Dr. Eassa believes when a student invests in the pursuit of a PBA-MBA degree, he or she is also investing in the assurance of one’s future.
“In the total time horizon of one’s career I am convinced the results of obtaining this degree are immeasurable,” he says.
By contributing to the Joe J. Eassa, Jr. Scholarship Donation Fund, you too can invest in the careers of socially responsible and enterprising business leaders.
A Word from A Graduate...
David Hernandez, CEO of Liberty Power and former student of Dr. Eassa, expresses his gratitude for the impact that Dr. Eassa has on both his professional and personal life for Dr. Eassa’s retirement celebration in March 30, 2017.