Faculty Farewells

Professor Sushil Bhatia, PhD, Executive in Residence

Management and Entrepreneurship

Professor Bhatia joined Suffolk in January 2005 to teach classes in the area of innovation and new product development as well as to leverage his significant business experience running his own company in the new product innovation area.

During his time at Suffolk, Professor Bhatia launched the New Product Innovation Competition, which was held for 10 consecutive years. During that time, the competition grew from 27 entries to more than 350, awarding from $5,000 to $100,000 in cash and services. Consistent with his work on innovation, Professor Bhatia built the “Innovation Hour” for Suffolk students, faculty, staff, and alumni to develop their entrepreneurial ideas. His work on innovation has been showcased on CNN, GMA, NBC Today, NECN, and local cable.

“I went to Dean O’Neill’s office and suggested that we should start a ‘New Product Innovation Competition’ at Suffolk because it would set us apart from other business schools. He listened to me, and within five minutes approved my idea, made the award money available, and told me to launch the competition. That was a proud moment for me.”

Professor William Driscoll, MBA, CPA

Accounting

Professor Driscoll was a member of the Suffolk University family for over 50 years. He earned his BSBA in 1972 and his MBA in 1973. He taught as an adjunct faculty member from 1977-2008 and then became a full-time instructor.

He was formally recognized for his teaching numerous times, including being voted Faculty of the Year in 2010 by Beta Alpha Psi (the accounting honor society), being nominated as Faculty of the Year by the Student Government Association in 2015, receiving the SBS Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence in 2017, and being selected Outstanding Teacher of the Year by the Massachusetts Society of CPAs (MSCPA) in 2017.

Professor Driscoll is a strong supporter of minority students. In 2011, he worked with the National Association for Black Accountants to help students understand where their degrees can take them after graduation. And in 2014, he secured a co-partnership with Inroads, a firm specializing in minority-based hiring from Suffolk. 

From 2015-2018, he coordinated with MSCPA to offer a half-day, on-campus program called “Is Accounting for Me,” during which local high school students from underrepresented populations learned about opportunities in the profession. Also, from 2015-2018, he served as liaison with Action for Boston Community Development, which recognized him in 2017 for his outreach efforts to secure jobs for minority students.

“When I was hired by Suffolk as a full-time professor, it was a dream come true.”

Professor C. Gopinath, PhD

Strategy and International Business

During his 24 years at Suffolk, Professor Gopinath spent over six years as chair of his department, including serving as the department’s founding chair. As director of undergraduate international programs, he helped design and launch the Global Business Program, a double-major in SBS that includes language and travel requirements.

Not only that, he amassed an impressive publication record: Out of 38 articles published in peer-reviewed journals, 23 were after receiving tenure. Of all his publications, 21 were in journals ranked as “top” or “quality” in the SIB department journal list. Topics have included strategic management, governance, leadership, environmentalism, globalization, and pedagogy. Most impressive, they continue to have an impact: four of the papers have received over 100 citations each.

“One of my memories is when all the SBS departments were in the Sawyer Building, you could walk down the hallways and get people to join you for lunch in the McCormack basement cafeteria across the street. It was an easy way to get to know all my faculty colleagues!”

Professor Lewis Shaw, PhD, CMA

Accounting

Professor Shaw joined the faculty in 1996 and has taught 11 different courses in the Accounting program. Colleagues point to his selflessness: He has published with 12 Suffolk colleagues, both within and outside of accounting.

From 2003-2006, Professor Shaw served as executive director of Suffolk’s campus in Dakar, Senegal, where he supervised faculty, staff, and students. He successfully took the campus through re-accreditation with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. When the Dakar campus closed, many students chose to continue their education at Suffolk Boston because they knew they’d be in good hands with Professor Shaw.

Professor Shaw’s course evaluations were consistently high, regardless of the level or modality he was teaching. Student comments typically focused on his strong communication skills, good pacing, and ability to make difficult material easy to understand, as well as his deep commitment to helping them succeed. His former students have not forgotten him. In fact, at his retirement party in December 2020, three accounting alumni—Dan Florian, BSBA ’01, Stephen MacDonald, MBA ’02, and Mark Melito, BSBA ’99—surprised him with a $125,000 gift: The Lewis Shaw Legacy Scholarship Endowed Fund for accounting students who demonstrate financial need. To donate to the fund, visit the Give page and select "Lewis Shaw Legacy Scholarship Endowed Fund" on the Gift Designation dropdown tab.

“What has a lasting impact on me is that my time at Suffolk allowed me to get to know many students very well, both inside and outside of the classroom, both during their time as students and as they began or continued their professional careers. It has been such a delight to see such professionalism, maturity, and technical skill develop and to help them achieve such exciting things in their lives.”