quick - widener university and alyson smith on monday, april 23, 2012, the sba welcomed over forty...

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Undergraduate News

SBA News

Graduate News

Highlights and Upcoming Events

In this issue...

Widener University School of Business News

Quick Takes

Message from the Dean

Special Points of Interest:

Dean ’ s Message Student Project Day Talluto ’ s on Campus Widener SHRM Senior Lunch Waffle Palooza Scholarship Recipient HCM Anniversary Hedge Funds and Beyond Teaching Award Faculty Accomplishments Retirees GMAT Prep Course HCM Anniversary Party GMAT Prep Course Graduate Open House

Volume 23, May 2012

Greetings: I hope this message finds you all well.

On May 12th we had our 2012 commencement ceremonies. This year 50 graduate and 132 undergraduate diplomas were presented to the graduates. We are very happy that this year’s class Valedictorian was Michael Forese and the class Salu-tatorian was Jaqueline Beers, both accounting majors. We are very proud of Mi-chael and Jacqueline.

Once again, many of our undergraduate students represented our school in na-tional meetings and competitions. In Atlanta at the National Collegiate Sales Competition, Brittany Harper progressed to the Quarter Finals. At the Pi Sigma Epsilon Regional’s held at Widener, Mike Schaeffer placed second in the Pro-Am Sell-a-thon. At the national’s in Indianapolis, Joe Camacho and Alyssa McGill won the President’s Award for Special Merit. Joe also won a $1,000 scholarship. Our Chapter, Zeta Eta won the first place in the Boss Games which is marketing simulation. In addition, Ashley Mitchell, a management major, has won two awards in the Philadelphia ISACA Scholarship Award contest. One of her papers earned the first place with a $2,500 scholarship and the second earned the third place with a $1,000 scholarship. We are very proud of our students’ accomplish-ments.

During the University Student Project Day, seven teams of our senior students presented their projects all of which were results of real life case studies. Each team had a business sponsor and an SBDC advisor.

I wish all of you a wonderful summer.

Best Wishes,

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Undergraduate News Widener University

Student Project Day On Friday April 13, 2012 School of Business Administrations students participated in Widener University's Senior Project day. This capstone experience prepares our seniors for the real world. By working in teams, getting pres-entations ready to deliver and coming up against road blocks, they quickly learn how difficult business solutions can be. Each team tackled a different business and worked together to create marketing and business plans that were innovative and dynamic. Students such as Samantha Fouhy, Niholas Fluharty, Mark Gale and Channing Phil-pott designed an innovative business plan for the "Community Sports Broadcasting Network." Working with Jim Turner, an entrepreneur, and Comcast, the business’s objective was to film high school sports games. These films could then both air on Comcast, and be used to have highlight reels created for high school students looking to play college sports. Another group, which consisted of Lauren DelBorrello, Adam Fisher, Ryan Fuehrer and Ryan Shewell worked with T. Frank McCall, and Kimberly Clark. This group’s goal was to do a field test on campus for healthier, more sustainable products such as hands-free soap dispensers. Suzanne Sears, vice president at Kimberly Clark, came to watch the group present. We congratulate each group on a job well done!

Shauna Liu and Amy Vodzak Samantha Fouhy presenting Nick Fluharty with his mom

Channing Philpott with his parents

Nick Fluharty, Samantha Fouhy, Channing Philpott and Mark Gale

Ryan Shewell, T. Frank McCall, Lauren DelBorrello, Professor Porter, Ryan Fuehrer and Adam Fisher

Dean Vike, Trey Severs, Andrew Aurilio, Dan Flanagan and Saa Lebbie

Richard Jones ,Kevin Huelster, Mark Kane, Gareth Coo-per and Alyson Smith

Brittney Becker, name, Aimee Wilder, name and name Nicole Chin, Joe Camacho, John Casey and Nathalie Carril-King

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Talluto’s on Campus

Society of Human Resource Management

The Widener Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management or SHRM as it is better known has been very busy this semester. In February, five group members went to a networking event hosted by Widener’s sponsor Chapter, Greater Valley Forge SHRM. At this event, students not only obtained business cards, but one student had two internship offers from companies he met there. The president of Widener’s SHRM, Brittney Becker, encour-ages students from every major to join the group. “You don’t have to be in human resources to benefit from these events,” she says, “people in human resources know of job openings in all depart-ments.” At the networking events the group attends, Brittney says that what separates Widener from other schools is that the Widener students don’t sit together. While other schools sit as a group, Widener students take advantage of the opportunity presented to them and sit at a table where they don’t know anyone so they can network. Widener SHRM has ended another successful semester and plan on growing and attending more events next year! Please contact Brittney Becker at [email protected] if you are interested in joining Widener SHRM.

The group attending a meeting on site at Talluto’s Top Row: Richard Jones ,Kevin Huelster and Mark Kane Bottom Row: Alyson Smith and Gareth Cooper

Talluto’s On Campus is a student-run business that started as a senior project 3 years ago in Professor Porter’s Management 451 class and ended this year as a new business on campus. The management 451 group consists of Alyson Smith, CEO; Rich Jones, CFO; Gareth Cooper, Operations Manager; Mark Kane, Director of Sales & Mar-keting and Kevin Huelster, Director of Research and Development. Together as a team, they made Talluto’s, a family-run Italian food company, a known name on campus. As the group quickly learned, running a business is “not as easy as it looks.” They ran into several obstacles including finding a location and gaining a faculty, staff and student customer base. They worked through these difficulties as a team and came up with creative solutions like delivering food, in order to attract more customers. Every member of the team learned several valuable lessons including how to run a small business, how to retain customers, and how to make the Talluto’s brand stick within the market. The greatest lesson they learned is that teamwork is the key to success. The group is hoping Talluto’s On Campus will continue to develop and grow as a student-run business on campus, leaving it as their legacy at Widener University.

Leah Nelling, Brittney Becker and Rachel Williamson

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Senior Lunch

Valentina Mandzhieva and Fatma Kul Saa Lebbie, Mark Gale and Brittney Becker Tom Hoopes and Nick Fluharty

Jacqueline Beers, Valeri Boyle, Aimee Wilder and Cassandra Latsios

Anna Geeter, Professor Shoemaker and Maria Incollingo

Carmen Imbalzano, Sean Schoppy, Jessica Ca-paldi and Alyson Smith

On Monday, April 23, 2012, the SBA welcomed over forty seniors to a lunch featuring a taco bar. The purpose of the lunch was to gather and talk about their plans and also encourage them to attend alumni events in the future. We want our students to be aware of opportunities at the graduate level and also be cognizant of the importance of networking and staying connected. During their lifetime, research shows they will probably change jobs seven times and we want alumni to stay connected to Widener University. Congratulations to all of our seniors!

Waffle Palooza

Anna Geeter, Aimee Wilder, Channing Philpott, Philip Dehaven and Ron Buckenmyer

On Monday, April 23, 2012, Professor Larson and his Sport Management students held another successful Waffle Palooza. This end of the semes-ter tradition is a great way for students to start their day, and have relief from the stress that comes with the end of the semester. Professor Larson along with his students, Anna Geeter, Aimee Wilder, Channing Philpott, Philip Dehaven and Ron Buckenmyer, came in early and prepared a free breakfast for students including waffles, pancakes and home-made blue-berry syrup. Waffle Palooza serves as a great way to take students minds off of finals and bring a sense of community to the SBA. The food was delicious!

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Widener Sales Team

Bob Cavanaugh at Victaulic Bob Cavanaugh and Stephanie Smith at Victaulic

Brittany Halpern, Andrew Aurilio and Mike Schaeffer at NCSC

Andrew Aurilio, Professor Shoemaker, Brittany Halpern and Mike Schaeffer at NCSC

The School of Business Administration’s Sales Team, led by Professor Shoemaker, had a very busy and accom-plished semester participating in the following events:

National Collegiate Sales Competition

Brittany Halpern, made Widener proud as she finished in the quarter finals at the National Collegiate Sales Compe-tition, or NCSC, in Kennesaw, Georgia! The early March event brings over one hundred of the best sales students from all over the country to compete in a role play of a Netsuite sales call. Mike Schaeffer came in third in the first round of competition. Andrew Aurilio provided strong support for our competitors as an alternate. The three seniors traveled to the competition with their “Sales Coach” Professor Mary Shoemaker.

Pi Sigma Epsilon National Conference

Alyssa McGill, Joe Camacho, Mike Schaeffer, Tripp Horn, Chelsea Sullivan and Professor Mary Shoemaker trav-eled to Indianapolis, IN to attend the Pi Sigma Epsilon, National Professional Fraternity for Sales and Marketing, National Conference in mid March. The SBA team competed in the Pro-Am Sell-a-thon, the Marketing Case Com-petition and the BOSS (Business Simulation) Games. They brought two trophies home to Widener. Joe Camacho was awarded the Vector Marketing Outstanding Sales Student Scholarship.

Pi Sigma Epsilon Spring Semester Networking Event

With the best turnout yet, forty-four students and thirty professionals interested in sales and marketing spent two hours connecting at the “speed” networking event organized by Andrew Aurilio. The professionals included sales and marketing executives, sales recruiters, and sales alumni. Please contact Professor Mary Shoemaker if you would like to join us next semester at [email protected].

Victaulic Site Visit

Seniors Bob Cavanaugh, Andrew Aurilio, and Mike Schaeffer traveled to Easton, PA to tour the Victaulic manu-facturing facility and interview for sales positions with Victaulic. Stephanie Smith, from Career Services, and Pro-fessor Mary Shoemaker accompanied them.

Chelsea Sullivan, Joe Camacho, Trip Horn, Mike Schaeffer and Alyssa McGill

Joe Camacho and Sarah Andrews Baker from Vector Marketing

Chelsea Sullivan, Mike Schaeffer, Joe Camacho Trip Horn and Alyssa McGill

mailto:[email protected]�

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School of Business Administration News Widener University

Scholarship Recipient Ashley Mitchell, a successful senior, has been awarded the Philadelphia IS-ACA scholarship. The Information Systems Audit and Control Association, or ISACA as it is better known, is an international professional organization, which “provides practical guidance, benchmarks and other effective tools for all enterprises that use information systems.” Ashley, a member of the Philadelphia ISACA chapter, is a Management Information Systems major. Along with her application, Ashley had to submit a 1,000 word essay on a relevant MIS topic. She wrote about mobile device security, which earned her third place scholarship of $1,000. In fall, 2011, Ashley won first place Philadelphia ISACA scholarship of $2500 writing about how to use IT for internet reporting and response programs. Ashley graduates in May and al-ready has a job offer from Independence Blue Cross. Congratulations to Ashley on this great achievement!

HCM Anniversary

Ashley Mitchell

Professor Proenca

Professor Carpenter asking trivia questions. Professor Rosko and Shauna Liu

Widener’s Health Care Management Program recently celebrated its 35th anniversary with an elegant dinner on campus followed by two panels comprised of program alumni who discussed current issues in the health care field. More than 100 alumni, faculty and Widener staff attended the event.

Widener’s MBA-HCM program has much to celebrate. It is one of only three programs of its kind in the Greater Philadelphia region accredited by two prestigious organizations: the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME). Alumni surveys reveal that the MBA-HCM program has a positive impact on the job performance and career ad-vancement of graduates. The vast majority of survey respondents felt that the program had enhanced their perform-ance on the job (90%), improved their opportunities for advancement (96%), helped them in obtaining salary in-creases (78%), and brought them greater professional recognition (96%).

Vincent Gordon, and John Dorsey Cathy Warren, Janet Webb, and Maureen McCoy

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Hedge Funds and Beyond

Professor Mansur

The Professor Frank C. Lordi Endowed Fund for Pedagogical Innovation and Teaching Excellence’s purpose is to “encourage the faculty to develop new state-of-the art pedagogical techniques.” This year’s recipient was Dr. Den-nis Laker, whose unique teaching methods have helped his students develop career-related skills and behaviors. Dr. Laker utilizes his position as a professor to influence his students to get out of their comfort zones. For exam-ple, Dr. Laker has them design and print their own business cards and distribute them when attending professional meetings. This and many of the other tasks Dr. Laker assigns his students allows them to develop their own net-work of professionals, something that later helps them find internships and jobs. One of the greatest successes Dr. Laker achieves through his innovative teaching is that the students develop greater self-efficacy. This is that the students believe in their ability to interact with other professionals, an invaluable skill for young students preparing to enter the work world. Congratulations to Dr. Laker on this great honor!

Teaching award

Dr. Laker teaching Dr. Laker teaching

On Wednesday, April 11, 2012 the School of Business Administration welcomed our industry partner TD Bank and guests to a reception in Lathem Hall. Dr. Iqbal Mansur, a professor of finance in the School of Business Admini-stration, was selected to deliver the lecture. With the focus of much of his research on asset valuation with particu-lar attention given to the behavior of asset risk, he focused his lecture on a topic near and dear to his studies: “Hedge Funds and Beyond.” While hedge funds are obviously capable of posting spectacular gains, they are not for everyone, Mansur said. In fact, he explained that individual investors must have a net worth of $1 million and $250,000-500,000 ready to in-vest in the fund. Mansur defined a hedge fund as a lightly regulated pool of money managed by an investment manager who has flexibility in choosing the fund’s invest-ment strategy. Unlike mutual funds, hedge funds have little transparency as they are not required to register with the SEC. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection bill addresses a number of these issues. Hedge funds often seek to attain absolute return by using a variety of meth-ods. Among the most common of these methods is short selling, which is the act of selling assets that have been borrowed from a third party with the intention of buying identical assets back at a later date to return to a lender.

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Faculty Accomplishments

Professor Dennis Laker has been nominated for the Fitz Dixon Innovation in teaching Award. Professor Laker began his tenure at Widener in 1986. He earned his MA and PhD in industrial-organizational psychology from Hanover College. Professor Laker teaches a variety of courses at the undergraduate and graduate level, including Human Resource Management, Labor Relations, Training and Development, Organizational Behavior, and International Human Resources. Professor Laker’s work has been pre-sented widely and published in journals such as Business Education Digest. The Fitz Dixon Innovation in teaching Award recognizes an individual who has designed and implemented an innovative or experimental teaching or learning project. Congratula-tions to Professor Laker on this accomplishment!

Professor Kenn Tacchino has been nominated for the Widener University Outstanding Researcher Award. Professor Tacchino began his tenure at Widener in 1991. He earned his BA from Muhlenberg College, his JD from Western New England College’s School of Law and his master’s degree in legal letters from Widener University School of Law. Professor Tacchino teaches at the undergraduate and graduate level in the fields of busi-ness law, taxation, and financial planning. Professor Tacchino’s research focuses on re-tirement income and financial planning and has been published in journals such as Bene-fits Quarterly. The Widener University Outstanding Researcher Award recognizes a fac-ulty member who is acknowledged nationally for research and scholarship, quality of scholarly work, contribution to the profession/discipline, and contribution to promoting the university’s mission and vision. Congratulations to Professor Tacchino on this ac-complishment!

Professor Laker

Professor Tacchino

The group preparing The group learning archery Jakub Valdner learning how to shoot an arrow

Professor Larson

On April 18th, Dr. Larson took Widener School of Business students to Middletown Archery where they met US Olympic Archery coach, Cindy Bevilacqua and got a chance to learn to shoot a bow like an Olympian. Coach Bevilacqua talked to the students about the sport of archery, its rise in popularity since the release of so many blockbuster movies featuring he-roes using bows, and her international travel experiences. Following her presentation, the attending Widener students were fitted with equipment and taught the basics of the ancient sport. They then practiced on the shooting range where they tested their skills.

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Retirees On April 26, 2012 the School of Business Administration honored two of our faculty, Dr. Eric Brucker and Dr. Germaine Saad, who have chosen to retire after 15 and 26 years respectively at the SBA. Dr. Hamid Zangeneh amd Dr. Joseph Hargadon with the help of Lisa Mc Menhamin and Naydeen Marino transformed room 108 into an elegant room where the festivities were held. We will miss these faculty members and former Dean and wish them well in the future.

Eric Brucker has a Ph.D. from Duke University and a B.A. from the University of Delaware. He came to Widener from the University of Maine, where he served as Dean of the College of Business, Public Policy and Health. He also previously served as Dean of the College of Business and Economics at the University of Delaware, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Trenton State College and the Dean of the School for Management at the Univer-sity of Michigan-Dearborn. Dr. Brucker has published extensively in top Journals in his field: The American Economist, The Journal of Finance, The Southern Business Review, Journal of Aging and Social Policy, Public Budgeting and Finance. Since returning to the faculty he has been the principal investigator for the Widener Elder Pennsylvania Survey- - funded by a $350,000 grant from the State. He was the lead author on 6 separate WEPS reports and published five referred articles and one monograph in the area of economics of aging. Eric has received several honors and awards including: University of Delaware, Ford foundation Southern Studies Fellow 1965-66; Lerner College Alumni, Omicron Delta Kappa; and Award of Excellence, 2003 Phi Kappa Phi.

Germaine H. Saad has a Ph.D. and M.A. Degrees from Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. She joined the Faculty at Widener University in 1986, is currently a Professor of Management at the University, and will retire at the end of 2012 academic year. Dr. Saad is the author or coauthor of seven Textbooks, and has published over 55 refereed articles in top journals in her field. Her publications appeared in: Production and Operations Management (POM), Journal of Operations Research Society (JORS), The International Journal of Production Research (IJPR), The International Journal of Operations Management (IJOM), Business Process Management Journal, The Inter-national Journal of Technology Management, Review of Business Studies, The National Productivity Review, Jour-nal of Resource Management and Technology, Journal of Advances in Management Studies, The Productivity Re-view, among others. Dr. Saad has received numerous awards and recognitions both nationally and internationally including The North-East Scholar Award of Phi-Kappa-Phi National Honor Society for the triennial 2001-2004, an award which is given only once every 3 years. Each University nominates one Faculty member for this award, and the Phi-Kappa-Phi Committee selects one winner from the entire Faculty nominated by their respective univer-sities.

Both Dr. Brucker and Dr. Saad have made a tremendous impact at Widener University and will be truly missed by their Widener family.

Dr Brucker and his wife, Sharon

Dr Saad and her husband, Ayoub

Professor Hargadon and Dr. Saad

Dr. Brucker and Dr. Zangeneh

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Graduate News Widener University

GMAT Prep Course

SAVE THE DATE! GMAT PREP COURSE

$100.00 Fee (non-refundable). ONLY $50 for SBA students! Textbook Included! Maximize your score!

Now is the time to get prepared for the GMAT exam! Our GMAT Prep Course re-views each of the different sections and provides you with the opportunity to prac-

tice the different questions.

Fall GMAT Prep Course– 2 Sessions Saturday July 14, 2012 9:00-3:00 Verbal Session Sunday July 15, 2012 9:00-3:00 Math Session

Conveniently located in Quick Center 109. Coffee, bagels, and lunch will be

provided. PLEASE REGISTER IN ADVANCE. You may pay by check, Visa, MasterCard, or

cash.

Graduate Open Houses

School of Business Administration Open House

Thursday June 28, 2012

6:00pm

Quick Center Room 108

Widener University Graduate Open House

Wednesday July 25, 2012

6:00pm

Quick Center Room 108

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Highlights and Upcoming Events Widener University

Business Summer Camp

For High School Students

When: July 9-12 or

July 16-19

8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Where: Widener University

Quick Takes is the Widener University School of Business Administration Newsletter. The School of Business Administration sends Quick Takes to Widener University School of Business alumni, students, faculty, staff, and other friends of our community. If you know someone who would like to begin receiving Quick Takes or would like to change your contact information with us, please e-mail: [email protected].

Editor, Jessica Hoopes Layout and Design, Julie Tacchino

THE DEAN’S AWARD Michael P. Forese

THE PENNSYLVANIA INSTITUTE OF

CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCCOUNTANTS AWARD Jessica Capaldi

THE ACCOUNTING PRIZE Jacqueline M. Beers

Michael P. Forese

THE SARTOMER MANAGEMENT

LEADERSHIP AWARD Annalicia K. Geeter

THE MANAGEMENT PRIZE Rachel Williamson

THE FINANCIAL EXECUTIVES

INSTITUTE MEDALLION AWARD Mark A. Gale

THE GEOFFREY NEARING PRIZE Jacqueline M. Beers

THE H. EDWARD HANWAY PRIZE Nathalie Carril-King

THE FINANCE PRIZE Mark A. Gale

Cassandra E. Latsios

THE MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS PRIZE Nicholas J. Beaton

THE SAP CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION

Michael B. Angelo Jr., Ralph J. Cavaliere, Gareth J. Cooper, Evan Duncan, Adam William Fisher, Elizabeth Jane Keesler, Alison Marisa Lake, Andrew R. Livingston, Valentina Mandzhieva, Andrew Michael Marion, Richard McDonald Mulgrew, Joshua Scott Wetzel

APPCO’s SPORTS WORLD

OUTSTANDING MARKETING STUDENT PRIZE Brittany Halpern

APPCO’s SPORTS WORLD OUTSTANDING

SPORT MANAGEMENT STUDENT AWARD Andrew Channing Philpott

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On a beautiful Saturday on May 12 the School of Business hosted a graduation breakfast for our graduates, families, friends and faculty Over 80 of our student graduated on a picture-perfect day. We wish all our graduates continued success and hope they stay in contact with their family at the SBA!

Graduation, May 12


Martha Philpott,Tony Pontello,Channing Philpott, Kevin Kmett President Harris, Analicia Geeter, Channing Philpott, Emily Shumaker

Cassandra Latsios and her parents Dean Özatalay and Tony Pontello

Michael Bivins and Professor Yvonne Antonucci Lauren Sorbello, Brittney Becker and Professor Frank Lordi

quick - widener university and alyson smith on monday, april 23, 2012, the sba welcomed over forty...

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