Albers Brief Fall 2023

Food, it seems, is everyone’s business.

We all think of what to eat several times a day. There is no shortage of opinions on the best burgers, pho, or barbecue joints. The kitchen island has evolved to become the main activity location for homes, whether it’s for food prep or entertaining.

For some Albers alumni, however, food is truly their business. This bumper issue of the Albers Brief features alumni for whom food is their livelihood, their calling, even their heritage.

Anthony’s Restaurants CEO Amy Burns, ’18 LEMBA, says no matter how times have changed, offering the best food, service, and value keeps the 34-location business relevant to new generations of diners. Read about how she continues to build on what her father started in Anthony’s: Leveraging Legacy.

By the time you read this, Magnolia’s Figurehead Brewing will have visited campus as our first Founder Friday guest of the academic year. Two of the three partners, Bob Monroe, ’10 MBA, and Jesse Warner, '09 MBA, met at an Albers leadership class and say they use the skills they learned in school every single day as they operate and grow their business. Read more about their journey in Figurehead Brewing: Craft Beer for Everyone, Not Just a Few.

You can say that Pagliacci Pizza is an SU restaurant through and through. Founder Dorene Centioli-McTigue, ’65 (Journalism), says her goals for starting it were “modest but radical”. Read about the early days of this revered pizza joint in Pagliacci 1.0: Selling Pizza by the Slice was ‘Heretical’ at the Time.

Pagliacci Pizza changed hands and is now run by Matt Galvin; current chair of the SU Board of Regents Michelle Galvin, ’98 MBA; and Pat McDonald. Find out how they are staying true to what Centioli-McTigue started and how cura personalis for their operation makes a difference in Pagliacci Pizza: Relationships are at the Heart of Good Business.

While all the preceding have rich legacies, some are starting their own. Aditya Bajaj, ’23 MBA, has launched an Indian grocery and deli that aims to create social good while generating profit. Learn more about his vision and what he aims to accomplish in Spice SPC: A Social Purpose Indian Grocery in Capitol Hill.

Albers Associate Dean Madhu Rao will be leaving Albers at the end of the year to become academic dean at Regis University’s Anderson College of Business and Computing. Madhu will be sorely missed by all. He joined our faculty in 2001 and has been serving as our Associate Dean since 2016. Madhu’s many contributions to the Albers and SU mission are too numerous to explain here. But more importantly, he has also been a trusted and reliable colleague, whose insights are always highly valued. Madhu reflects on his time at SU in Madhu Moves On.

We hope you enjoy this bumper issue of the Albers Brief. Bon appétit!

P.S. Have you always wondered how you can give back and support the future of Albers? Gifts to the Dean’s Fund provide flexible funding to allocate to the most pressing needs throughout the year. The Albers Alumni Scholarship provides financial support to selected Albers students with need. Or you can support any of our academic departments to support enriching out-of-classroom student experiences. Visit our Giving page to see the options, and thank you for supporting Albers!