Family Donates AED in Memory of Georgia Southern Student
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The College of Business Administration (COBA) at Georgia Southern University has been given an automated external defibrillator (AED) by the family of Cory Wilson. The junior business major collapsed in class and died on January 17.
Kenny and Lisa Wilson of Savannah made the donation in memory of their 21-year-old son. “I can’t explain to you the importance and need for awareness to learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation and how to use an automated external defibrillator,” said Lisa Wilson, Cory’s mother, who is a school nurse. “It is our hope that this defibrillator placed here in Cory’s memory will one day serve as a lifesaver for another student, parent or staff member.”
The AED is a portable electronic device that can be used by people without medical training when there is a cardiac emergency. The defibrillator automatically diagnoses and provides a brief electroshock when needed in potentially life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias and provides simple visual and audio commands for the user to follow.
“We are here today because of a tragedy that the Wilson family has worked to turn into something positive,” said Bill Wells, Ph.D., dean of the College of Business Administration. “They are looking forwards instead of backwards. The hope is that in the future this AED could help save a life.”
“This donation is the embodiment of Eagle Nation,” explained Brooks Keel, Ph.D., president of Georgia Southern. “It means this University is a family. When tragedy strikes a family, we come together to support each other and raise awareness about an issue that affects the family. We have come together to take action to hopefully prevent this from ever happening again.”
The Wilsons worked with Mike Castleman and Rob Williams, a Georgia Southern alumnus, of Cardiac Science and Janet Prince of School Health to secure the donation of the AED.
Georgia Southern University, a Carnegie Doctoral/Research University founded in 1906, offers 125 degree programs serving more than 20,500 students. Through eight colleges, the University offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement. Georgia Southern is recognized for its student-centered approach to education.
Georgia Southern Online Programs Ranked Among the Nation’s Best
Georgia Southern University has once again been recognized by U.S. News & World Report for giving students flexible and quality online options to earn their college degrees. Four programs have been ranked on the list of “2014 Best Online Programs.”
U.S. News evaluated nearly 860 online programs at colleges and universities across the country. Here are the rankings for the four Georgia Southern programs:
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Best online graduate computer information technology programs (#15)
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Best online graduate education programs (#21)
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Best online graduate business programs (#34)
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Best online bachelor’s program (#105)
“The ranking is just one indication of our commitment to the College of Education’s online graduate programs and our work to continuously improve and expand the options available to best serve our students, many of whom are already working within the state’s educational system,” said Tom Koballa, dean of the College of Education. “Our online programs allow these students to continue teaching and serving while growing and developing as educators at all levels.”
“The ability to take all classes online while working full-time has been a major draw for working professionals,” said Bill Wells, Ph.D., dean of the College of Business Administration. “The WebMBA provides the flexibility they need. This AACSB accredited program is recognized for its quality and continues to grow.. This is a reflection of the outstanding work by our faculty and staff.”
According to U.S News, only degree-granting programs offering courses that are 100 percent online were considered for the rankings. They were assigned an overall numerical rank based on student engagement, faculty credentials and training and students services and technology. Admissions selectivity also factored into the rankings for all online master’s degree programs, and academic peer reputation was included in the calculations for engineering and business program rankings.
See the list of “Best Online Programs” by visiting: http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education.
Georgia Southern University, a Carnegie Doctoral/Research University founded in 1906, offers 125 degree programs serving more than 20,500 students. Through eight colleges, the University offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement. Georgia Southern is recognized for its student-centered approach to education.
GSU student wins runner-up at the 2013 FastPitch Competition
by Natalie Demarko
Freshmen students walking around Georgia Southern University’s campus are always easy to spot- aimlessly wandering and asking for all types of directions. Surprisingly, this actually happens to students other than just freshman. Even as a junior, marketing major Jason Roe found himself struggling to find his English 1101 class in a remote part of campus receiving all kinds of misguided directions.
After going through the experience as a junior, Roe and friend Taylor Trapani (pictured left Taylor Trapani, Richard Murray, and Jason Roe) had the idea to create UNav mobile application, a navigation tool that incorporates maps, virtual tours and points of interest of GSU’s campus.
Roe and his team were the runner-up for the fourth annual Savannah FastPitch entrepreneurial competition on Thursday, March 28 at the Savannah Morning News Auditorium in Savannah, Ga. Organized by GSU, Creative Coast and ATDC, the FastPitch is a one-day competition designed to give students and local entrepreneurs a chance to pitch their innovative ideas to potential investors.
Roe’s innovative navigation application was judged best of the student category and second best overall of 19 other concepts presented to a 12-member jury by local entrepreneurs. “The connections I was able to make far surpassed the cash prize,” Roe said. “Panelists and investors gave us insight that we would not have been able to learn on our own for many years.”
Roe’s team includes COO Richard Murray, CFO Taylor Trapani, partial owners and IT consultants Marcus and Malcolm Howard, graphic design intern Rocky Roarke, and IT intern Tyler Stephens. Together the team is working to have GSU experiment UNav in combination with freshmen orientations this fall. “It took a long time for us to find the right team of graphic designers and computer programmers because we had very little initial start-up capital,” Roe said. “The first year we started this project all we had was a vision to keep us going.”
UNav includes maps, virtual tours and points of interest. Although it was designed for college campuses, the platform is appropriate to other destinations, such as shopping malls and theme parks. “Initially it was for new and current students to help them find their way around campus,” Roe said. “It has evolved into more of a benefit to visitors who would like to see the campus on or off-site and save people time and money.”
The team is scheduled to meet with Vice President of Economic Research and Development Dr. Charles Patterson, Vice President of Information Steve Burrell, and Assistant Administrative Director of Enterprise Application Services Ron Stalnaker on April 16 to discuss the future of the business venture. “Our goal is to have a finished product available for the school this upcoming fall, pending a successful closed test this summer,” Roe said.
Roe and his team weren’t the only success of the FastPitch. Tarah Roe (no connection with Jason Roe), and her toddler hand washing device, scRIBBIT the frog, took home first prize overall and the $6,000 cash prize. Tarah (pictured right with Charles Patterson, left and Jason Roe, right) was inspired to create scRIBBIT after she experienced frustration with efficiently washing her toddler’s hands. scRIBBIT is a device shaped like a frog’s head. A child simply puts their hands in the frog’s mouth, and inside soap and water is dispensed with a collection basin at the bottom. Rubber bouncing balls in the liquid help hold the toddler’s attention allowing for a more effective hand washing. Tarah has secured a trademark and has a patent pending for scRIBBIT.
Other presentations at the FastPitch included concepts for a web and software development tools, pet products, games, and landscape planters. “Each year the competition continues to build on its successes,” Director of the Entrepreneurship Zone at GSU and one of the organizers of the competition. “The introduction of a question time panel was a definite improvement which helped clarify the entrepreneurs’ ideas. It was wonderful to have such great sponsors which helped us to award greater prizes.”
Next year, the FastPitch will take place in Savannah once again. “I was on cloud nine,” Jason Roe said. “There were so many other great ideas and presentations it was a shock to win in my own division, let alone second overall.” As for the future, Roe has high hopes for UNav. “We hope that UNav will be a huge success at GSU and we will continue to expand our operations into universities and malls in the upcoming months.”
See the original article here: http://eagle-entrepreneur.com/2013/04/09/gsu-student-wins-runner-up-at-the-2013-fastpitch-competition/
Professor Profile: Constance Campbell
by Quaniqua Epps
With her warm personality and her love for “Casablanca,” Led Zeppelin and jewelry from around the world, it’s no wonder why Georgia Southern University professor of management Constance Campbell is adored by students.
The eastern Kentucky native attended Oklahoma Baptist University for her undergraduate degree. She began as a piano performance major but soon discovered it was not for her.
“I began college as a music major, specifically piano performance, and although I enjoyed playing piano, I did not enjoy having to practice for four hours per day all alone in a room,” she said.
Campbell says that one member of her family in particular has influenced her throughout her life.
“My grandmother has had the biggest influence on me. Part of the reason is that she was a wonderful person — she was very positive, and she never complained. In her early 50s, she became paralyzed, but she ended up teaching herself how to walk again. She never said what she couldn’t do, she just lived life as it was.”
When she’s not in front of her students or in her office, there is one other place on campus Campbell can be found.
“My favorite place on campus is the Botanical Garden. I like the whole atmosphere. It’s a place where you feel relaxed and reinvigorated,” she said.
See the original article here: http://www.connectstatesboro.com/news/article/4142/
Atlanta hosting forensic accounting conference
ATLANTA (AP) – Some of the county’s top forensic accountants are slated speak at the upcoming Fraud and Forensic Accounting Education Conference in Atlanta.
Speakers from the FBI’s Atlanta bureau, the Securities and Exchange Commission and other agencies are expected to keynote discussions on white collar crime at the event, scheduled for May 16 through 18 at the J.W. Marriott.
Event spokeswoman Terri Thornton says the conference is designed to help accountants, educators, investigators, auditors and attorneys hone their skills. The event is being hosted by Georgia Southern University’s Center for Forensic Studies in Accounting and Business.
The conference will cover technology-related issues, like using data analytics to fight crime, hacking and other cyber threats. Thornton says fraud trends in real estate financing, bankruptcy filings and intellectual property will also be covered.
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