Week of June 15 – 20  Keeping you connected to COBA & CIT!

1.           Summer Term A ends

If you blinked, you missed it.  The first half of our summer school is now history and it sure seems like it passed in the blink of an eye.   Term A ended Thursday and Term B begins on Monday.

Congratulations to all students who dedicated themselves to five weeks of intensive studying and who successfully completed their courses.

And a big “thank you” to all faculty who kept the flow of graded assignments on track and who submitted their grades on time.

 2.       Curriculum news

We took two giant steps forward recently – one for CIT and one for COBA – at the University System of Georgia (USG) level.

As most CIT folks know, we developed a new master of science degree proposal in computer science (MS/CS).  This new degree is intended to be delivered 100 percent online, and the curriculum is focused in the database and knowledge systems areas.

During the past academic year, we guided the proposal through the curriculum approval process on campus and subsequently sent the “letter of intent” up to the USG office in Atlanta.

I am pleased to report that the MS/CS proposal has been posted on the USG web site and is currently in the first phase of system-wide review.

This may not sound like a big deal, but it really is!!  Associate Provost Amy Heaston has been diligent in responding to information requests from the system office.  She has pushed and advocated for us and now, finally, we are in the USG review process queue.

Thank you, Amy.

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The other big news concerns our Ph.D. proposal in logistics.  It too has been posted on the USG web site and is officially in the USG review process.  YEA!!

If approved, the doctoral degree in logistics would be Georgia Southern’s first Ph.D. degree.  Our university’s academic profile has slowly evolved over the first century from granting bachelors to masters to doctoral degrees.  While we still have a heavy emphasis on undergraduate education, the university is maturing into a “doctoral research university” and the Ph.D. degree in logistics is a natural step in this direction.

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Before anyone gets too far ahead, let me stress that there is still a long ways to go before either degree is approved.  And, just because these degree proposals are entered into the USG degree review process, it does not mean they will automatically be approved.

Still, we have put years of work into these proposals and waited a long time for this day.  It is finally here – our proposals are at the system level!

Congratulations to all the computer science faculty who had a hand in drafting the proposal, and congratulations to all the logistics faculty who did likewise.  Well done, team!

If you care to see the proposals on the USG web site, click on the following link:

http://www.usg.edu/academic_programs/proposals

 3.        Atlanta Journal Constitution

Michael Reksulak was recently quoted in the Atlanta Journal Constitution in an article about the relationship between consumer confidence and the economy titled “Consumers look to each other for subtle signs of recovery or decline:”

“In the end, confidence in itself cannot make the economy better or worse,” said economist Michael Reksulak of Georgia Southern University. “Confidence plays a role at the margin.”

Read the complete article at the link below:

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2009/06/16/psychology_consumer_confidence.html

  4.       Research roundup

Abbie Gail Parham and Tom Buckhoff’s article titled “Fraud in the Nonprofit Sector?  You Bet,” was recently published in Strategic Finance.  Congratulations!!

Abbie Gail received a complimentary email from a banker who read the article and subsequently invited her to submit a follow-on article for the Risk Management Association Journal.  Well done, Abbie Gail!!

 5.        Guest speakers

Jill Lockwood traveled to Brunswick last week to speak at the Brunswick Chapter of the Georgia Society of CPAs.  She discussed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

But Jill was not the only Georgia Southern entry on the program.  The Brunswick Chapter generously awarded scholarships to three of our accounting majors who accompanied Jill to the meeting.

Jill provided the following bio sketches for the students receiving the scholarships:

Josh Blanchard is a senior who is from Brunswick.  Fraud examination minor.  Notes from his resume: Military experience - U.S. Army, Ft. Bliss, TX; Awarded the Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, Army Certificate of Achievement (3X); Overseas Medal, Honorable Discharge; HOPE scholarship recipient; Beta Alpha Psi distinguished member, Spring & Fall, 2009.

Alex Lanier is a senior who is from Warner Robins.  Fraud examination minor.  Notes from his resume: currently a tutor in the departmental tutoring lab; Beta Alpha Psi; Habitat for Humanity; taught "Economics for Success" at a Statesboro Middle School for the GSCPA-sponsored Junior Achievement program.

Travis Williams is a senior who is from Waycross.  Fraud examination minor.  Notes from his resume: summer 2006, study abroad program -  Czech Republic, Austria and Italy; HOPE scholarship recipient; interned at Thigpen Jones & Seaton in Dublin; membership director of Beta Alpha Psi; VP of membership in Georgia Southern's ACFE student chapter; certified Dive Control Specialist; accounting tutor; American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity.

Congratulations to Josh, Alex, and Travis, and thank you, Jill, for traveling to Brunswick to spread the good word about our accounting program!

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Susan Roach welcomed several guest speakers to her introduction to business classes last week:

Erica Sellers, who works for Statesboro Magazine;

Jenna Adams, a Target recruiter from the Atlanta office; and

Ashley Ellis, from Blount Burke Wimberley and Hendricks in Statesboro.

Thank you, Susan, for coordinating the visits by Erica and Ashley.  Susan also wanted to thank Kathleen Gruben for arranging Jenna’s visit.

6.         SOAR

We held a couple more SOAR sessions this week and again our folks in the Student Services Centers were there to facilitate the information flow.

Thanks to Kim Robinson, Shantrelle Wilson, Bobbie Williams, Rashonda Bostic, Abby Lynes, Heather Worley, and Susan Williams who work the front lines, and Diane Reed and Caroline Brewton who provide back-office support.

I also want to thank chairs and faculty – Jim Harris, Art Gowan, Donna Fisher, Mark Yanochik, Cindy Randall, and Abbie Gail Parham for helping advise the incoming freshmen.

(SOAR stands for Southern’s Orientation, Advisement and Registration and is designed to facilitate the transition of entering freshmen and transfer students to Georgia Southern.)

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Parents who joined the weekly Update as subscribers recently include the following:

Samuel and Mary Mwangi                 Donna and Eddie Hellmann        Tom French

AnnWinkler                                         Jane Tolleson                                Louis Cureau

Kay Guediri                                         Lee Beaudrot                               Iris McLean

Steven Rachman                                  Kay and Rick Currie                    Kerry and Doug Coxworth

Lisa DeBlasio                                      Steve and Jenifer Overton           Mitchell & Susan Sepaniak

James and Maggie Bruce                     Steven and Lynn Peterson           Desi Straub

Terri and John Schraudenbach            Shawnee Zuber                            Mark and Lisa Sheffield

Cheryl Jones                                        Wanda Smith                               Heath and Amy Duffey

Linda & Charles Conner                     Kevin L. Barry                             Bill Thompson

Kristin Edwards                                  Frederick and Sharol Mathis        Elizabeth Crissy

Anne Mason                                        Robert and Tami Drukenmiller    Jeff and Andrea Ciupak

Mike and Kelly Anderson                   Scott and Sheila Rutherford        Susan Harrell

Kay Seiner                                           Richard and Laurel Blackinton    Sheila Ostrofsky

Benny and Beth Valle                         Babs Herman                               Brienda Prater

Eddie Baca and Cheryl Moore           Charlene Hiffa                              Chet and Kellie Jernigan

Nancy and Richard Grabe                  Helen S. Pond                              Daisy and Richard Godbee

Kathy Dill                                           Leigh & Bill Thompson               Henrietta Johnson

Fanny A. Youngblood                       David Swanson                            David and Amy Gaither

Judy Wolf                                           Joe and Melissa Magda                Marion Sayer

Dena Rodrigues                                  Maureen and Robert Barnes  

Rich and Amy Heyer                         Reneé and Dennis Lipham    

Sonja and Greg DeBolt                      Brad and Gloria Miller          

Lucy Hughes                                      Beverly Zinn  

7.                Bike Ride Across Georgia (BRAG)

We have several faculty members who are avid bicyclists, but as far as I know only one who recently completed the BRAG event from Hiawassee to Augusta.

Jim Harris, one of us “Boomers” who can’t say goodbye to his youth, decided to tackle the 400-mile mountain challenge this year.  He took his son along and the two of them rode all 400 hilly miles in one week.

Jim said his legs got a little wobbly on occasion, but when he got back to the flatlands (Statesboro), he suddenly felt stronger and faster zooming from home to school.

Congratulations, Jim!  Keep on pedaling!

 8.        Welcome new subscribers

§  Hamesh Kahn (’88 BBA in finance and ’94 MBA), who is an international economic and financial analyst for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC.

§  Justin Janney (’08 BBA in accounting), who is an accountant with Georgia Southern University.

Eagle Executive Society

Please consider joining – or renewing your membership in – COBA’s Eagle Executive Society.  For only $50 a year your contribution will support our annual funding needs that are not being covered by state dollars.  Corporate memberships are $250 per year.

Click on the following link now and sign up online!  Thank you.

http://coba.georgiasouthern.edu/eagleexecutive/eexsmembership.htm