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Week of February 16 – 21 Keeping you connected to COBA & CIT! |
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1. Renew or join EExS – win Braves tickets!! Before March 1, if you renew your membership in the Eagle Executive Society (EExS) or join as a first-time member, you will be entered into a drawing to win two free box tickets to an Atlanta Braves game this summer. Thanks to the generosity of alumnus J.T. Marburger who donated the tickets to a box at Turner Field, we will conduct a drawing from 2009 members of EExS. EExS is the COBA booster organization that helps fund activities, especially student-oriented activities, that otherwise would go unfunded. EExS is set up as a membership society with annual dues of $50 for individuals and $250 for businesses/organizations. Please help us help our students! JOIN today! See the link at the bottom of this Update for more information. |
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2. Economic development forum Thursday evening Donna Fisher and her regional economic development students hosted a panel of five key figures in economic development at an economic development forum in the CIT auditorium. The panel included: Chris Clark, Georgia Department of Natural Resources Peggy Jolley, Georgia Power Stacey Watson, Georgia Ports Authority Peggy Chapman, Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce Ron Tolley, Development Authority of Liberty County Panelists explained to those in the audience what their organizations were doing to help our regional economy survive the economic downturn. Mr. Tolley’s presentation was particularly insightful as he summarized the recent activity in attracting manufacturers to Liberty County and gave us a preview of buildings available and what to expect in the near future. Here is a big THANK YOU to Donna for organizing the event and to Jamie Lane for helping with the publicity and “day-of” arrangements. For a look at a promo in the Savannah Morning News, click on the following link: http://savannahnow.com/node/674435 |
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3. The Journal of Forensic Studies in Accounting and Business Congratulations to Leslee Higgins and the accounting faculty on the first edition of their new journal, The Journal of Forensic Studies in Accounting and Business! Folks, this is a major accomplishment. We – Georgia Southern University’s School of Accountancy – launched a new academic, peer-reviewed journal that will publish the latest research from the finest minds in the fraud and forensic accounting field. Leslee has lined up “name” reviewers and editors from all over the country to help her screen submitted papers so that only the best and clearly original papers are accepted for publication. There are but a handful of journals devoted to forensic accounting and ours is well on its way to becoming a well-known entity in the field. This was the brainchild of Lowell Mooney back in 2003 when he was the accounting director. And now it is a reality. Our forensic accounting initiative parallels the three expectations of faculty members – teaching, research, and service. In teaching we created an undergraduate curriculum of five courses in fraud examination and a graduate curriculum of five courses in forensic accounting. In service, we created the Center for Forensic Studies in Accounting and Business, which has an outreach mission. And now in research, we have created a journal devoted to advancing the frontiers of knowledge. Accounting faculty – take a bow – you did it!! Congratulations! |
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4. Tek Lan 4 recap You might recall that last Friday night I boldly ventured into the unknown – into a computer gaming event known as Tek Lan 4. I was clearly a fish-out-of-water as I was the only one in the lab dressed in a tie. Contrast this with a room full of mostly 20-somethings in tee shirts, personalized headphones, hunched over their keyboards, firing at random targets and “enemies,” all the while swilling Red Bull, Monster Energy, and Full Throttle. Tek Lan 4 was the fourth edition of “a free lan party that hosted popular FPSs like Nexuiz, Warsow as well as licensed games like Call of Duty4, Day of Defeat…” as reported in the George-Anne. The best way I can describe it is going to the local neighborhood bar and playing trivia against all the other patrons in the bar. Only in this case, the students went to a computer lab to simultaneously play computer games against every other person in the lab. Oh yes, we did NOT serve beer. Let me thank Chris Kadlec who stayed until the bitter end (3:30 a.m.!!) as his students reconfigured the lab computers by taking the games off the lan and re-installing more traditional applications like Office, etc. |
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5. Savannah Morning News Might there be a hidden gem in the stimulus bill that we haven’t heard about? In his Free Enterprise column titled “Stimulus funding could improve broadband,” Michael Reksulak says students in his Public Finance and Public Policy class … “ …perk(ed) up when we were analyzing sections of H.R.1, known as the ‘stimulus bill.’ Specifically, the fact that the bill allotted a whopping $7 billion for the ‘broadband technology opportunities program’ caught my students' attention. That part of the heroically titled American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 aims at increasing the availability of broadband connections throughout the United States, but especially in rural areas.” Why might this be important? “According to 2008 numbers collected by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the U.S. finds itself in 15th place among 30 industrialized nations in terms of broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants,” according to Michael. Fifteenth??! Hooray! Maybe some good will come out of this stimulus bill. (Aside to non-campus readers: Did you notice that Michael and his students were digging into the stimulus bill? Linking current events to classroom discussions is what you can expect from faculty in our Colleges of Business and Information Technology.) Click on the following link to read Michael’s complete column: http://savannahnow.com/node/672559 |
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6. Savannah Business Report & Journal Our book review this week was contributed by Jackie Eastman who reported on “Buyology: Truth and Lies about Why We Buy” by Martin Lindstrom. Jackie writes: “If you ever wondered if anti-smoking ads work, does sex sell, and why organizations use fear appeals, this book provides insights into why these and other techniques either work or fail through discussing the science of neuromarketing.” One of the things that work, according to Jackie, is fear because “… fear exerts a powerful effect on the brain, particularly in terms of the insecurities people have about themselves ….” What doesn’t work? You’ll have to click on the link below and read her full review to find out: http://coba.georgiasouthern.edu/pdf files/jackie_eastman_buyology.pdf ++++++++++++++++++ Bill McCartney’s monthly Lessons in Leadership column is titled “Let’s Talk About Motivation.” Bill addresses his remarks to leaders, bosses, and managers who face challenges at work in motivating a scared and nervous workforce in today’s economy. “Do your employees want the same things from their jobs that you want from yours? Are they all motivated by the same rewards? The answer to these questions is complex and depends greatly on the number of employees involved, where they are in their career path, and their personal and professional aspirations.” Bill’s advice is right on the mark: “I believe that leaders, if they were so disposed, could worry less today about employee motivation and satisfaction than they have in the past due to the current economic climate.” For more, click on the following link: http://coba.georgiasouthern.edu/pdf files/bill_mccartney_talk.pdf |
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7. CIT and Georgia Southern in the news The latest edition of The Datacenter Journal featured news about our virtualization initiative in the Department of Information Technology. Click on the link below to read the full article: http://datacenterjournal.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2449&Itemid=40 ++++++++++++++++ Continuing with more information about virtualization, this news item was contributed by Art Gowan: "Thursday, February 12th, Dr. Timur Mirzoev, assistant professor of IT, was the primary presenter in a web conference to faculty from 15 different schools and programs interested in joining VMware Academy. As an instructor of one of the first of 10 members of the VMware Academy and one of the first faculty members to actually deliver the VMware Academy curriculum, Dr. Mirzoev reported on lessons learned. He also introduced Mr. Steve Hyser, Services Director of Canvas Systems, who made the recent donation of equipment to the Department of Information Technology. Dr. Mirzoev has been working with Mr. Hyser to develop a standardized computing lab package that would support delivery of the VMware Academy curriculum which has been well received by both VMware Academy members and VMware. This work is part of the IT program's IT disaster recovery initiative." Well done, Timor, and thank you, Art! ++++++++++++++++ And in the Land Next to the Land Down Under (a.k.a., New Zealand), our intrepid marketing professor Morgan Miles continues to make news. This time he was interviewed on TV 3 in Auckland, New Zealand about “entrepreneur burnout.” Click on the link below to watch Morgan’s television debut in NZ: |
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8. Guest speakers Mary Hazeldine was tapped again by Ogeechee Technical College (OTC) to serve on their 2009 GOAL Selection Committee. You might recall that last year Mary served as a judge to pick OTC’s top student. That student went on to win the regional competition AND the state competition. Sooo, they asked Mary to again help them pick their top student. Congratulations, Mary, and thanks for contributing your time and keen eye for talent! +++++++++++++++ This following news notes are compliments of Luke Pittaway “We are very grateful to Rachel Edwards a 1998 COBA graduate and joint owner of the local law firm Wright & Edwards P.C. Rachel talked to Dr. Luke Pittaway's Entrepreneurship class on Monday 16th February about the different legal forms of business ownership and discussed the issues involved in owning and managing a small legal practice. Thank you Rachel!” And … “We would like to thank Seth Michalak, marketing director of internet based start-up Balaya, and Allen Muldrew,executive director of Statesboro Downtown Development Authority and former serial entrepreneur, for being involved in a question-and-answer session about the challenges of business start-up. Both Seth and Allen attended Dr. Luke Pittaway's Entrepreneurship class on Wednesday 18th February.” Good show, Luke!! |
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9. Welcome new subscribers § Allison Mair (’07 BBA in marketing), who is territory manager for Mohawk Industries in Knoxville, TN. § Tess Hynes (’02 BBA in marketing and ’04 MBA), who is events/member services marketing manager for the Effingham County Chamber of Commerce in Springfield. § Jeffrey Ligon (’01 BBA in finance) and Lauren (Moody) Ligon (’06 BS in child and family development). Jeff is deputy director of division sales for Sanofi Pasteur in San Diego, CA. § Brandon Palmer (’05 BBA in management), who is customer service representative for Park Avenue Bank in Statesboro. § John Parham (’93 BBA in management) and Tina (Warnock) Parham (’94 BBA in accounting). John is vice president of Parham Printing in Acworth. |
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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 New members!! J Michael R. Calhoun Rev. William S. McLean, II Mona F. Schofill Brian E. Snell (Correction from last week, I misspelled Carlos Aviles. Sorry!) |
