BA Newsletter October, 2014 Volume 10, Issue 1 Dr. Daniel Gilbert, Editor (423) 746-5280 dgilbert@twcnet.edu MBA Program Begins! Dates of Note: Oct 27 Nov 7: Spring Advising November 3-7: Spring Registration November 4: Phi Beta Lambda November 11: Assessment Day November 26-30: Thanksgiving Break December 2: Last Day of Classes December 4 9: Final Exams December 10: Mini Term begins Dr. Martha Maddox, Associate Dean and Chair of Business Administration, is pleased to announce that classes have started for the Tennessee Wesleyan College Master of Business Administration (MBA) program with a concentration in. The new MBA program launched on September 15 with 13 students. Our MBA program offers a new, relevant and up-to-date 10-course curriculum with six core MBA courses and four courses in the concentration, explained Dr. Dan Gilbert, who is serving as the Director of the MBA Program. Two new MBA courses are scheduled every 7.5 weeks. The student does not have to wait until August or January to begin. For example, a busy manager taking MBA classes on a part time basis can complete a 7.5 week course, take the next 7.5 weeks off, and then register for a class again the following session. It is very flexible for working adults, and students can attend at the pace that works best for them. MBA STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 Dr. Martha Maddox, Associate Dean and Chair of Business Administration, discusses MBA course materials with Dr. Dan Gilbert, Professor and Director of the MBA Program. New Business Faculty December 12: Commencement All students are invited to join Phi Beta Lambda. For membership information, contact Ms. Stacy Swafford or Dr. Anca Traian. Dr. Jemal Alston Dr. Martha Maddox, Associate Dean and Chair of Business Administration, recently welcomed two new faculty members to the department: Dr. Jemal Alston and Dr. Edwin Quinn. Dr. Edwin Quinn NEW BUSINESS FACULTY STORY CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
(continued from page 1) New Business Faculty (continued) Dr. Jemal Alston Biographical Sketch: Dr. Jemal E. Alston is a native of Columbia, SC. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Allen University in Business Administration with a minor in Economics in 1999, Masters of Business Administration in from Webster University, and a Doctoral of Business Administration in finance from Walden University. Dr. Alston has also taken continuing education class in Human Resources, Project, and Economics. Dr. Alston has taught both at the undergraduate and graduate level curricula at Strayer University, South University, and Mackie Brown College. He brings several years of retail, finance, recruitment, and management consulting experience to the position. As a member of Chapel Memorial AME Church, he has served as Vice President of the Young People Division and President of the Young Men s Usher Board. In his spare time, Dr. Alston acts as an Honorary Den Father with both of his daughters Girl Scout Troops. He also enjoys playing basketball, bowling, tennis, and video games with his son. He is a professional bowler and hopes to bowl a perfect game someday. Dr. Edwin Quinn Biographical Sketch: For the past decade, Dr. Edwin Quinn, Jr. served as a student affairs administrator in several aspects of student development including: leadership, student orientation, residential life, judicial affairs, diversity services, veteran services, student government, Greek affairs and policy development at the University of Mississippi, Mississippi College and Jackson State University. He previously served as the Academic Program Coordinator/Assistant Professor of Business Accounting for Claflin University s Center for Professional and Continuing Studies Program. His contributions include increasing adult students enrollment in evening, weekend, and online degree programs. At Strayer University, he served as the Onsite Dean and Professor of Business for Strayer University at the Verizon Wireless Call Center. His role ensured access to post-secondary degrees from Strayer University to the 700 Verizon Wireless employees and maintained an academic atmosphere conducive to improve students persistence. While at Jackson State University, he served as Dean of Students responsible for the overall management of five departments with an annual budget of $1 million and the development of over 9,000 students. Some of his accomplishments included: establishing four student organizations; receiving the Thurgood Marshall College Fund SERV grant for student veterans; implementing online voting procedures for the student government association and class council elections; and creating campus-wide diversity and leadership initiatives. The Jackson, Mississippi native received a Doctorate of Business Administration with an emphasis in from Argosy University Atlanta Campus with his dissertation: Demographical differences in perceptions of leadership practices for department chairs and job satisfaction of faculty members at a historical black university. He also holds an Advanced Professional Graduate Business Certificate in Accounting from Argosy University, Master of Science in Communication with an emphasis in Public Relations and Corporate Communications and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Accounting from Mississippi College. Dr. Quinn completed a Bachelor of Liberal Arts in Anthropology and Minor in Social Work from the University of Mississippi. In 2012, Dr. Quinn was selected to the Institute for New Senior Student Affairs Officers affiliated with NASPA Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education for professional development in organizational performance, entrepreneurial leadership, and achieving systemic, transformational change. When Dr. Quinn is not working, he enjoys traveling to places like Gatlinburg, TN, Destin, FL and Cancun and always learning more about the exciting world of business. Dr. Quinn is married to Renika McNair Quinn and they are the proud parents of two dogs, Sebastian - a Pomeranian, and Penelope - a Havanese. Please join us in welcoming Dr. Alston and Dr. Quinn to the Tennessee Wesleyan College family!
Notes from Stefanie 3 Notes from Stefanie MBA Program Ms. Stefanie West, Director of Admissions for Evening and Professional Studies It is with great pleasure that I announce that Ashley Willis Cox has joined TWC as a part-time Admission Counselor for the ME Evening and MBA Programs. We are looking forward to growing these programs with her contributions! Ms. Ashley Cox Ashley is a 1993 graduate of the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science. She has a vast background in leading fundraising and charitable events in our local community. In addition, she has previous experience in admissions as the associate director for a private school in Chattanooga and in marketing/public relations for a local manufacturer. Her most recent position yields experience working in the healthcare field with physician offices. She has a huge desire, eagerness, and enthusiasm to promote TWC which will be a tremendous asset. Please join me in welcoming Ashley to the TWC family.
Continued from page 1: MBA Program Begins (continued) For the student interested in attending on a full time basis, the MBA can be earned in about a year. It is a 30 hour program with each course worth 3 hours of graduate credit. Each course is offered at least once per year. A part time student can earn the MBA in about two years, depending on how many courses the student elects to complete during a semester. All classes are 100% online. The courses are taught in an asynchronous format, meaning the student does not have to be online on a certain MBA day or at a certain time. Weekly deadlines must be met, but there is no requirement to be logged on a particular day or hour. Those students with a bachelor s degree who did not major in business can also earn a MBA degree from Tennessee Wesleyan College. This MBA candidate must show that they have completed one undergraduate course each in management, marketing, finance, and accounting. TWC offers these four foundation courses in an online format. The non-business major can complete the four foundation courses in one semester and enroll in the MBA program the following semester. TWC MBA Curriculum Number Course Title Course Type BA 501 Business Research Methods MBA Core BA 502 Accounting of Organizations MBA Core BA 503 Theory MBA Core BA 504 Marketing Theory MBA Core BA 505 Financial of Organizations MBA Core BA 521 Production and Operations BA 522 Corporate Sustainability BA 523 Leadership in a Global Economy BA 524 Human Capital BA 560 Strategic MBA Core
TWC Students Recognized at National Conference 5 More than 1,700 of America s best and brightest college students traveled to Nashville, Tenn., to participate in testing designed to measure their business expertise. By doing so, they had the opportunity to win over $50,000 in cash awards. Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA-PBL), the largest and oldest student business organization, held its National Leadership Conference in Nashville from June 24 28. Participants from colleges and universities across the United States and two countries were in attendance for this exciting conference, hoping to sharpen their core business skills, expand their networks, and participate in more than 55 business and business-related competitive events. Tennessee Wesleyan College students Whittney Stowe, Kelsey Stewart, and Ramon Rivera received national recognition at the PBL Awards of Excellence on June 27. Rivera competed in Marketing Analysis and Decision Making and placed fifth nationally. Stewart and Stowe competed in Business Law and placed sixth and ninth, respectively, in the nation. Front row, left to right: Kelsey Stewart; Ramon Rivera; and Whittney Stowe. Back row, left to right: Ms. Stacy Swafford, Advisor; Kristen Camp; Mr. Tony Bryant, Advisor; Caleb Bryson; Michelle Guerra. The awards were part of a comprehensive national competitive events program sponsored by FBLA-PBL that recognizes and rewards excellence in a broad range of business and career-related areas. For many students, the competitive events are the capstone activity of their academic careers. In addition to the competitions, students immerse themselves in educational workshops, visit an information-packed exhibit hall, and attend motivational keynotes on a broad range of business topics. Six TWC students made the trip to Nashville after qualifying by earning top scores on their state-level exams. Other TWC national competitors included Michelle Guerra (Sports and Marketing), Caleb Bryson (Project and HR ), and Kristen Camp (Business Communications and HR ). Accompanying the students to the conference were Tony Bryant and Stacy Swafford, TWC assistant professors of business administration and PBL co-advisers. The trip was made possible thanks to the support of Tennessee Wesleyan s Student Government Association. As the TWC PBL chapter enters its fourth year this fall, the students will once again work toward expanding their business skills. Next summer s conference will be held in Chicago, IL.
Phi Beta Lambda Officers for 2014-2015 PBL Officers for 2014-2015: (from left) Tanner Bivens, Vice President; Whitney Stowe, Secretary; Jenna Riemenschneider, Reporter; Gad Azulay, President; Kelsey Stewart, Treasurer; Caleb Bryson, Parliamentarian; and Tyler Fee, Historian. Study Abroad Summer 2015 Dr. Martha Maddox, Associate Dean and Chair of Business Administration, and Anne Montgomery, Assistant Professor and Director of the Athens Evening Program, will host a Study Abroad educational experience for interested students during the Summer 2015 semester. Participating students may earn three hours of credit for BA 399r Study Abroad while touring London, Paris, Italy and Greece from June 30 July 14, 2015. Informational sessions were held during September 2014, and more sessions are planned for the future. Students interested in participating in this once-in-a-lifetime educational experience should contact Dr. Maddox or Ms. Anne Montgomery.
Fall Business Workshop Series for the Community 7 In the months of September, October and November, Tennessee Wesleyan College s Business Administration Department will be offering a series of business workshops that will be open to the public. The Successful Business Planning Workshop: How to Win at Monopoly for Real will be offered for eight Thursdays throughout September, October, and November. To be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on select Thursday evenings, the workshops can be purchased for $199 for all eight sessions. The workshops are funded partly by a United States Department of Agriculture grant. TWC Business Administration faculty designed this workshop series for business and community leaders, to provide guidance and assistance to existing and prospective small business owners on the essentials of business. John Alpers, Instructor of Business Administration and USDA Grant Coordinator The workshop series schedule is as follows: Date Topic 9/25 Business Introduction & Creation of a Business Plan 10/2 Communications 10/9 Panel Discussion with Area Business Leaders 10/16 Legal & Marketing 10/23 Information Technology 10/30 Human Resources 11/6 Finance 11/13 Budgeting & Accounting The goal of this program is to assist start-up and existing businesses in the area with the basics needed to start and maintain a thriving business, said John Alpers, TWC Instructor of Business Administration and USDA Grant Coordinator. TWC has over a hundred years of combined experience on staff that we feel can assist these groups. INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE Contact Mr. Tony Bryant, Assistant Professor, about several internships available during the Spring, 2015, and Summer, 2015 semesters: abryant@twcnet.edu or (423) 746-5246.