Haslam College of Business - Haslam Celebrates Inaugural EMBA-SL Fellows Cohort

On Friday, May 1, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business celebrated the inaugural Executive MBA – Strategic Leadership (EMBA-SL) Fellows cohort at a reception in Nashville.

The EMBA-SL Fellows program recognizes alumni who continue to invest in the program through mentorship, recruitment, alumni engagement and leadership

Throughout the evening, fellows and other alumni engaged with the latest EMBA-SL class, sharing insights from their leadership journeys and offering perspective on how to maximize the EMBA-SL experience. Bringing together alumni and current students, the evening reflected one of the program’s defining strengths: connections across cohorts and a shared commitment to leadership that extends far beyond graduation.

Alumni-Driven Fellowship

According to EMBA-SL director Mike Grojean, the EMBA-SL experience doesn’t end after graduation.

“It continues through the relationships you build and the impact you make,” he says. “Our fellows exemplify what it means to lead with intention and to invest in others, and they play a critical role in strengthening the alumni community and its impact.”

The EMBA-SL Fellows program was shaped in part by alumni leaders, including Cory Schulz (EMBA-SL, ’23), Lewis Runnion (EMBA-SL, ’24) and Elizabeth Million (EMBA-SL, ’25), who helped bring it to life.

Schulz sees the Fellows program as a natural evolution of the EMBA-SL experience.

“My degree has had a lasting impact on how I lead and how I think about investing in others,” Schulz says. “The Fellows program is about continuing that momentum, and creating opportunities to stay engaged, support current students and strengthen the network that means so much to us.”

Runnion agrees, emphasizing the importance of building a legacy of connection.

“We wanted to create something that recognized alumni who are actively giving back and helping move EMBA-SL forward,” says Runnion. “The strength of EMBA-SL has always been its people, and the Fellows program is a way to ensure those connections continue to grow.”

Inaugural Fellows

The inaugural EMBA-SL Fellows cohort includes:

• Erin Culver (EMBA-SL, ’22)
• Mark Furrow (EMBA-SL, ’23)
• Mike Gwinn (EMBA-SL, ’24)
• Matthew Heimberger (EMBA-SL, ’24)
• Amanda Hoefling (EMBA-SL, ’22)
• Bryan James (EMBA-SL, ’21)
• Eric Johnson (EMBA-SL, ’21)
• Jenny Koltnow (EMBA-SL, ’23)
• Elizabeth Million (EMBA-SL, ’25)
• Eugene Naughton (EMBA-SL, ’22)
• Lewis Runnion (EMBA-SL, ’24)
• Cory Schulz (EMBA-SL, ’23)
• Cody Wilson (EMBA-SL, ’20)

As EMBA-SL continues to grow, the Fellows initiative serves as a cornerstone of alumni engagement, fostering deeper connections across cohorts and ensuring the program’s culture of leadership, service and community continues to thrive.

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Author:

Christie Knapper, program manager – business development, christie@utk.edu

Contact:

Leah McAmis, senior editor, leah@utk.edu