SIGN OF OUR TIMES

The School of Business MBA Department is cleverly telling the world about our MBA program. This sign is at Chippenham and Midlothian. They were created in association with BarberMartin Agency and will be up through November.

GOOD LUCK TEAM POCKET DOC

They are on their way to New Delhi, India. The Microsoft Imagine Cup 2006 National Software Design Competition Winners: Team “Pocket Doc.” William Calder, Joanne Cunningham, A. Brooks Hollar and Brandon Saunders accompanied by Information Systems professor Jeff Babb, their coach. will be participating in competition August 5-12.

As part of their final preparations, they gave a rehearsal on August 2 in the School of Business. The rehearsal has proven to be a good warm-up to the real thing, according to last year’s School of Business Imagine Cup winners.

Team "Pocket Doc"

FOUR FACULTY MEMBERS HONORED FOR SERVICE

The Faculty Council has selected four faculty members to be honored this year for their service to the School of Business and the community. The Award of Excellence was presented to Dr. Gurpreet Dhillon, of the Information Systems Department faculty. Department Chair Richard Redmond, Ph.D. believes “Dr. Dhillon has never seen a service opportunity he didn’t like.”

Dr. Kweku-Muata Osei-Bryson, also of the Information Systems Department, was named Distinguished Scholar. His published research has focused on data mining, while at the same time he practices connecting traditional techniques to new problems in the information systems field. Dr. David J. Urban, professor of Marketing, was awarded the Distinguished Service Award for applying his business and marketing skills to public and private industries. Dr. Van R. Wood, Philip Morris Endowed Chair in International Business, received the Distinguished Teaching Award. Evaluations of his innovative teaching techniques. He also is currently working on a joint Executive MBA program with Helwan University in Cairo, Egypt.

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ACKLEY’S CLASS IDENTIFIES CULTURE

Dr. Jon R. Ackley, associate professor of Management, was profiled by reporter Ray McAllister in the June 15 Richmond Times-Dispatch for his honors class “Introduction to Intercultural Communications.” The first question Dr. Ackley asks students is “how many of you identify with a culture?”

” The course is about why people behave the way they do,” says Ackley. There were 39 students in the class. About 10 were from foreign countries with another 15-18 with international travel experience. Identifying and understanding the cultures of other countries were the goals/ One point that was emphasized is that the rest of the world views all of North America, Central America and South America as being the Americas

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SUMMER READING PROGRAM INITIATED

This summer VCU will be implementing an exciting program for new
and current students, faculty, staff and administrators - The VCU
Summer Reading Program. Although the central focus of the program
is first-year students, its success depends on the support of the
entire university community.
The objectives of the Summer Reading Program are to:

* Provide incoming students with a common academic experience;
* Provide a thematic student engagement experience;
* Raise the level of freshman expectations;
* Enhance the cognitive development of new students by encouraging
them to approach a subject from multiple perspectives; and
* Encourage scholarly discourse across the VCU community.

The book approved for reading is "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores The Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. During Welcome Week, students will exchange ideas on the book through small-group discussions led by a faculty or staff member, university administrator or upper-level student. Everyone in the University community is encouraged to read the book to ensure a successful program.

FACULTY MEET WITH PARENTS DURING ORIENTATION

Dr. Deborah Cowles, associate professor of Marketing and Dr. Margaret Williams, associate professor of Management, participated in several STAR sessions of the orientation program for parents. “We described the faculty’s expectations with regard to academics at VCU and talked about what parents can do to facilitate their students’ successful transition to the college classroom. Our participation was the result of efforts by the STAR staff to enhance faculty involvement in the orientation process,” said Williams. “We also introduced the new Summer Reading Program that focuses on the book Freakonomics which students will be reading this fall.

VIRGINIA BANKERS CONCLUDE LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

The inaugural Virginia Bankers Leadership Institute graduated 15 executive bankers in May, following completion of a seven-month curriculum designed by the faculty of VCU School of Business Center for Corporate Education in conjunction with the Virginia Bankers Association and representatives from member banks. “The mission of the Leadership Institute is to provide future bank leaders with an opportunity to further develop their professional skills and abilities, thus preparing them for increased levels of responsibility,”says Lee Sauvain, Managing Director, Education and Training, Virginia Bankers Association.

Key topics included strategic planning, performance management and coaching, sales and project management, media relations and presentations skills. Participants spent a day at the site of the Battle of Chancellorsville, where they discovered how the lessons learned from the famous Civil War battle are applicable in the business world today. This exercise was developed by Dr. Barker and Bill Miller. The students’ final challenge was to present banking-related case studies involving strategic components directly related to leadership to a panel of CEOs. Institute faculty included Dr. Randolph Barker, professor of Management, Dr. Randy Sleeth, professor of management, Dr. Bob Wood, professor of Management, Dr. Marianne Miller, professor of Human Resources, Bill Miller, Director of VCU MBA program and Wallace Stettenius, a Senior Executive Fellow at VCU and former Chairman of Cadmus Communications. For more information visit the Center for Corporate Education, www.bus.vcu.edu/cce.

DR. WETZEL RECEIVES SPENCER AWARD

Dr. James Wetzel, professor of Economics, has received funding for his research on “Progress Towards a College Degree and Social Opportunity” from the Spencer Foundation.

The Spencer Foundation was established in 1962 by Lyle M. Spencer. The Foundation is intended to investigate ways in which education, broadly conceived, can be improved around the world.

Sarah Hopkins Finley

SARAH FINLEY NAMED VCEE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Sarah Hopkins Finley was appointed Executive Director of the Virginia Council on Economic Education (VCEE) effective June 1, filling the position held by Kemper Baker for the past two years. She formerly was a partner at the Richmond-based law firm of Williams Mullen, and has significant experience in state and local government. Most recently she served Governor Mark Warner as Deputy Secretary of Education.

“ Sarah brings an impressive array of knowledge, skills and experience to the Council. She has a public policy record that will foster the Council’s state government education policy relationships,” said James Scott, VCEE Board Chairman. The VCEE is housed in VCU School of Business.

DRS. SPINDLE AND MILLER TEACH AT LITERACY INSTITUTE

Several School of Business faculty participated in the Economics and Financial Literacy Institute for Chesterfield County 12th grade teachers. The program was sponsored by the school district, Capital One and the Virginia Council on Economic Education. Suzanne Gallagher, Director of the Center for Economic Education. who both presented and helped organize the program, invited several speakers from VCU.

Dr. Roxanne Spindle, professor of Accounting taught a session on tax and Dr. E. G. Miller, Senior Associate Dean, taught about life and health insurance as well as social security. The School of Business Risk Management and Insurance Center arranged for Linda Mattis to speak on auto and homeowners insurance. Other speakers included Matt Horn from Scott and Stringfellow and Brenda Burke, VCU Associate Director of Scholarships, from the VCU Office of Financial Aid who talked about student scholarships, loans and grants.

The purpose of the Institute was to equip high school government teachers with the knowledge needed to implement an eight-week personal financial literacy unit for high school seniors. Teachers from Chesterfield, Henrico, and Richmond attended the Institute.

FOUR STUDENTS ATTEND BETA ALPHA PSI CONFERENCE

Four students were selected to attend the Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) national accounting meeting in Washington D.C. August 2-4. They were Mike Powers, Mickey Jones, Chris Budd and Shrestha. Dr. Edward Coffman, Accounting Department Chair and a regional BAP director, accompanied them.

Teachers from throughout Virginia attended the economic summer institute at Virginia Historical Society

TEACHERS STUDY EVOLUTION OF VIRGINIA’S ECONOMY

The VCU Center for Economic Education recently worked with the Virginia Historical Society on its annual summer institute for teachers. Suzanne Gallagher, professor of Economics and Center Director, provided the economics instruction for the institute which focused on the evolution of Virginia’s economy. The Center, working with the Virginia Council on Economic Education, also received a $62,000 grant from Capital One to provide training for the “Financial Fitness for Life” program for Richmond area 2nd grade teachers, students and their parents. Earlier in the year, the Center received other education grant funds for statewide workshops involving 80 elementary teachers and to host over 500 elementary students at the Siegel Center--with their entrepreneurial businesses for the Mini-Economy Market Day. The primary sponsors of that event were Ukrop’s and First Market Bank.

Dr. Carolyn Norman

NORMAN NAMED ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

Dr. Carolyn Strand Norman has been named associate professor of Accounting, with tenure. Dr. Norman joined the Accounting Department faculty in the fall of 2002 and teaches primarily in the area of Information Systems. She also teaches accounting doctoral seminars, and her research has been published in a number of leading academic and professional journals.

”She is a valuable member of the accounting faculty and we congratulate her on her promotion,” said Dr. Edward N. Coffman, department chairman. Dr. Norman received her Ph.D. from Texas A&M University and a BS degree and MSIA degree from Purdue University.

INTERNS FIND JOB EXPERIENCE VALUABLE

In today’s competitive job market, it is no longer enough to be an excellent student. Today, many employers require college graduates to have practical experience as well. This school year over 200 School of Business interns and co-ops worked with Richmond businesses from Fall 2005 into Summer 2006, according to Department Chairmen and VCU University Career Center records. This year 130 different companies participated in the internship program.

School of Business alumni Glenn Davis, President of BranCore Technologies, worked as an intern through the Career Center when he was enrolled in the School of Business. “This was one of my greatest experiences,” he told students attending a workshop that he taught for the Career Center. An internship generally lasts 13 weeks, the length of a semester. However, many interns are invited to stay on and become full or part-time employees. For information on hiring a VCU business intern or co-op, please contact Ken Blaisdell, Associate Dean of External Affairs, at (80) 828-1487 or kcblaisdelll@vcu.edu. For an overview of recruiting opportunities, visit www.students.vcu.edu/careers/employers.html.

FACULTY TRAVEL WORLDWIDE TO PRESENT PAPERS
Istanbul – Lisbon -- Helsinki – Copenhagen – Bonn

VCU School of Business faculty have been busy this summer making presentations around the world. Dr. Frank Franzak and co-researcher Dr. Van Wood examined “creativity as a country or regional resource, as identified by cultural characteristics”. Dr. Gurpreet Dhillon, challenged “managing information system security”. Dr. Michael Pitts researched “achieving excellence in global business education” and Dr. Peter Aiken delivered “Metadata strategies and fundamentals.” Dr. Leslie Stratton tackled the “effect of family structure on parents’ child care time” making presentations in Denmark. Dr. Michael McDaniel delivered papers on meta-analysis and situational judgment tests at conferences in Italy and The Netherlands.

Dr. Ross Tondkar and colleagues will present the research paper “The Impact of Corporate Social Disclosure (CSD) on Investment Behavior: A Cross-National Study” at the IFSAM Vll World Congress in Berlin, Germany in September. They also have presented the paper at an international research conference in China.

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