Kent State Alumnu Sandra Volpe Named 2018 Spirit of Women in Business Award Recipient

KENT, Ohio - Feb. 2, 2018 - PRLog -- Sandra Volpe '89, senior vice president of strategic planning, communications and contractor relations for FedEx Ground and 1989 alumna of Kent State University, is the recipient of the 2018 Spirit of Women in Business Award.

Volpe earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Kent State University and a Master of Business Administration from the Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh.

Volpe joined FedEx Ground in 2000 with more than 10 years of experience in financial planning and analysis. She was promoted to vice president of finance in 2007, and her extensive knowledge of the financial world led to her promotion to Vice President of Strategic Planning in 2012. She assumed her current role in 2013.

Volpe is active in the industry and community, serving on the Board of Directors for Republic Services, Inc., an industry leader in U.S. recycling and non-hazardous solid waste. She is also a member of The Conference Board and has served as Chair of the Board to the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Heart Association.

As an accomplished leader, Volpe attended the FedEx Executive Leadership Institute in 2003 and participated in the FedEx Excel Leadership Program in 2012. She has also been honored with the company's most prestigious award, the Five Star Award, on three separate occasions, and the FedEx Ground Leadership Award twice.

"We are honored to recognize Sandy Volpe as the 2018 Spirit of Women in Business award recipient," said Deborah F. Spake, dean of the College of Business Administration at Kent State University. "Sandy has achieved both professional and philanthropic success and is more than deserving of this recognition."

Each year, the Spirit of Women in Business Award honors a Kent State business alumna who excels in her profession, while paving the way for women in business.

Volpe will be honored at the 2018 Spirit of Women in Business Conference on Thursday, March 8. The conference will feature New York Times bestselling author Liza Mundy as keynote speaker. Mundy's 2009 biography on former First Lady Michelle Obama, Michelle, has been translated into 16 languages. Her book The Richer Sex, published in 2013, explores the forces behind women's rising economic power and the way this impacts marriage, dating, sex and family life. Her latest book, Code Girls, is about the more than 10,000 women who served as codebreakers during World War II. Code Girls was released in October.

In addition to the keynote address, the conference will feature lunch keynote speaker Bec Pfeifer, the central market leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Pfeifer will present "Leading and Empowering Multi-Generational Teams." In her role at PwC, Pfeifer is responsible for providing leadership and driving PwC's people strategy across the market. Pfeifer is a certified executive coach and supports leaders to enhance leadership skills and achieve their goals.

Corporate and table sponsorships are still available for the event. For more information and to register for the Spirit of Women in Business Conference, visit http://www.kent.edu/business/swib

Kent State College of Business Administration
Kent State University's College of Business Administration is among the fewer than 1% of business schools worldwide to obtain dual AACSB accreditation in both business and accounting. The College enrolls more than 4,000 students and boasts 10 undergraduate majors, 13 minors and a Professional Sales Certificate program; master's degrees in accounting, business administration (MBA and EMBA), business analytics, and economics; as well as a Ph.D.  program with concentrations in accounting, finance, information systems, management and marketing.

The Kent State College of Business Administration ranks among the top 100 public business undergraduate programs in the 2018 U.S. News and World Report and 45th in 2016 by Bloomberg Businessweek based on an employer survey of how well schools prepared students for jobs. The College is ranked as one of the nation's Best Business Schools by Princeton Review. The College is committed to sustainability as an advanced Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) signatory and is recognized by the Sales Education Foundation as a top university for professional sales education.