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Stan Veliotis: I am the Gabelli School

Profiles | Feb 18, 2021 |

“I am the Gabelli School” celebrates the people, moments, and events that provide us with pride and joy. Twice a month, we will feature a brief Q&A with a different member of the Gabelli School community, speaking in their own words about what the school means to them.

Since arriving as a faculty member at the Gabelli School in September 2007, Stan Veliotis, associate professor of accounting and taxation, has taught courses for accounting majors in the undergraduate program and, on occasion, offered tax courses for students in our MS programs.

How did you initially join the Gabelli School?

I graduated from Fordham Law three decades ago, and when I was thinking of where to teach after receiving my Ph.D. in 2007, my family and I weren’t sure if we wanted to move back to New York City after living in Connecticut. When the opportunity came up, I couldn’t resist being back at Fordham. I remember looking out the window during my interview, and it felt so good to see my old law school right across the plaza. We ultimately moved closer to the city so I could teach at the Gabelli School.

Before academia, it was difficult for me to find any time to mentor and guide the staff that were coming up behind me. Since being here, I’ve loved working with young people – especially giving them career advice. I have such frequent opportunities to help students improve their chances of career success. I truly enjoy being asked for advice, even years after a student has graduated.

What makes the Gabelli School stand out among other business schools?

Our students. So many of them are hard-working, and they pay great attention to detail. Many of my tax students go on to big consulting firms, and I know that a lot of their success comes from caring about deadlines and meeting client expectations. It’s often not rocket science; it stems from caring and putting in the time, and I think the Gabelli School is an environment that instills those values in each student.

If you could tell someone one thing about the Gabelli School community, what would it be?

I find myself consistently impressed by how loyal our alumni are. For example, in 2018 and 2019, I took students to visit business, academic, and cultural sites in Zurich and Athens. We had the chance to meet with so many influential and knowledgeable industry professionals at both locations, and students really got to see first-hand how accessible our alumni are. Our alumni were the ones who were instrumental in arranging many of these visits – they are really a powerful and impressive network of people around the globe that want to help us in our mission.

Which member of our community has inspired you the most?

Meghan Keough, BS’ 20, comes right to mind. She was one of our Honors Thesis students and she had a great topic – empirically exploring whether budgetary effects can explain a lack of presidential executive orders on substantive tax matters. Meghan became interested in this topic as she took my tax courses and after engaging in a tax competition, and she showed a natural talent for engaging prior research and writing her thesis.

Meghan Keough, Gabriel Garrido, Tinglan (Shirley) Du, Siyao Wang, and Benjamin Haney.

When did you feel most proud to be a part of the Gabelli School?

I’m proud of every team we send to the annual tax competition that Deloitte sponsors. Each year we typically send two teams, and they often advance to compete at the national level. In the lead up to the 2020 competition, I knew that one of our teams, in particular, had a good shot to win it all. Even during rehearsals with myself and Prof. Kimberley LaMarque Orman, it was obvious that they knew their material like the palms of their hands and would be able to handle any last-minute questions the judges could throw at them. In the end, they won first prize at the nationals.

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