Summer 2004 School of Business Reports

VOL 23, SUMMER 2004 SCHOOL OF BUSINESS REPORTS UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN INDIANA Employers recruiting new grads MBA students impress community groups give the nod to interns, co-ops with leadership, service For many School of Business students, preparation for a career starts not only in the classroom but also in the University’s Office of Career Services and Place- Leaders of local community ment where students learn about internships and co-operative programs in their and campus organizations are field. Others find internships or part-time work through personal networking or wowed by the leadership skills of pick up valuable career tips from business leaders who serve as willing mentors. students in USI’s Master of Busi- From summer 2003 through spring 2004, more than 100 School of Business ness Administration program. students completed internships or co-operative programs with 55 employers. Nancy Kovanic, assistant profes- These experiences give students an sor of management and marketing, edge. They apply classroom knowledge assigned students in an MBA and find out what is in store for them in course to complete service-learn- the workplace once they receive a diplo- ing projects that would demon- ma. In the profiles that follow, recent strate their leadership skills and School of Business graduates tell how give back to the community. “I they made the transition from student to wanted it to be applied in nature,” intern/co-op student/part-time employee she said. to full-time employee in a desirable job. Working in five groups, the students exceeded expectations. The assignment required students Part-timer stays the course to identify a need, research and for full-time opportunity execute the project, and prepare a paper and an oral presentation. Nathan Willis ’04 They were required to spend at Applied computer science least six out-of-class hours on An entry-level position as a student service learning. Instead, they Elizabeth Courtney-USI was the proverbial foot-in-the-door that averaged 15 hours. opened wider opportunities for Nathan Nathan Willis ’04 is a system engineer for One group collected food and Willis, an applied computer science Deaconess Hospital in Evansville. supplies for Archibald’s Food Clos- major. et, a campus program administered As a freshman, Willis heard from an aunt about a temporary job with Tri-State by the Office of Student Wellness Medical Management, which was setting up a new group-practice management for students in need. Jeannie Kue- system for Deaconess Hospital. Willis got the job, glad to be involved in a position bler, administrative assistant in related to his major. He worked about 30 hours a week in data entry to help get the Student Wellness, said, “It was system going and then provided support once it was in place. unreal the things they brought in After a year-and-a-half, Willis and other employees with Tri-State Medical here — things we don’t usually get Management became associated directly with Deaconess. Willis worked about 20 like cases of spaghetti and Alfredo hours a week on the hospital’s help desk, coming to the aid of employees who need- sauce and paper products. We’ve ed assistance with computer functions. Because the hospital is a 24-7 operation, got lots and it’s wonderful.” Willis often worked the third shift on weekends, which kept him alert from 7 p.m. The amount of food collected Saturday to 7 a.m. Sunday and again from Sunday night until Monday morning. exceeded available storage space. Now the freshly minted USI graduate is a system engineer at Deaconess. He has Rakhi Agarwal, a full-time turned over the part-time help-desk duties to another USI student in applied com- MBA student, worked on the puter science, Adam Bertram, who applied for and got the job. See MBA students, page 6 See Jobs, page 4 Dean’s letter school to manage and expand this important program. I can speak with some knowledge Year in review: fast start, successful finish about the value of a co-operative/ internship experience as part of the Faculty, students, advisors actively engaged; educational process. As an undergradu- School to build on intern/co-op program ate at the University of Cincinnati, I spent four years as a co-op student with NCR, then known as The National By Dr. R. Eugene Klippel Cash Register Company. This was a wonderful educational experience, and It is difficult to believe that a year our students after graduation I joined NCR on a has passed since I assumed duties as actively engage full-time basis. dean of the School of Business. It has in these organi- The co-operative/internship pro- been an exciting time and, I believe, zations. Student gram is not a program where students a successful period in the life of the groups partici- are the only beneficiaries. True, stu- Klippel school. pating in com- dents learn many lessons that cannot During the 2003-04 academic year, petitions this be simulated in the classroom. How- the school enjoyed a successful faculty year included the Accounting and ever, faculty benefit since they are recruiting effort. In a very competitive Professional Services Club, student presented with students who can better and difficult marketplace, the school members of the Association of Infor- relate to the materials being presented, hired three outstanding new faculty mation Technology Professionals as well as pursue lines of inquiry that members. They are Dr. Gary Black, (AITP), and the student chapter of the were not possible before. Firms also assistant professor of production/opera- Society for Human Resource Manage- benefit by having talented and capable tions management; Dr. Margaret ment. It also is important to recognize individuals as employees. This also can Chen, assistant professor of finance; those students who gave of their time be an effective screening and recruiting and Dr. Alan Hunt, assistant professor and talents by participating in the tool for the firm as many of their co- of accounting. They will be profiled in Volunteer Income Tax Assistance ops/interns are offered full-time the next School of Business Reports. (VITA) program. employment after graduation. At a recent meeting of the Board Other activities which continue to Given the dynamics of the current of Visitors, a motion was made to elicit positive feedback are the school’s business environment, the ability of change the name of the group to the Executive-in-Residence and Alumni- today’s students to gain a co-operative/ Board of Advisors. The feeling was in-Residence programs. The last issue internship experience may be more “Board of Advisors” more accurately of this newsletter highlighted the visit important than in decades past. With reflects the role of this group. The to campus by Charles Storms, chair- this in mind, I plan to allocate appro- motion passed unanimously. In addi- man, president, and CEO of Red Spot priate resources to ensure the contin- tion, seven business and civic leaders Paint and Varnish Co., Inc. Profiled in ued success of this program. were nominated and approved for this issue is Kelly Dillon, a 1992 gradu- Needless to say, we would welcome membership to the board. This expan- ate of the School of Business, and a the participation of additional firms in sion broadens the board’s representa- member of the management team at this program. Please contact us if you tion of key constituencies and provides Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana know of firms or not-for-profit organi- additional perspectives useful to the (TMMI). Both of these individuals zations that may be interested in estab- school. The listing and profile of these contributed greatly to the educational lishing such a relationship. new members also will be provided in experience received by our students. In summary, I have enjoyed my the next issue of the School of Business As reflected by the focus of this first year as dean of the School of Busi- Reports. issue, the School of Business strongly ness. I do believe we are off to a suc- Student groups and organizations supports the University’s co-operative cessful start and, with your continued have been extremely active during this and internship program. The school support, look forward to an exciting academic year. They, too, have enjoyed also is fortunate to have the service of and productive 2004-05 academic year. considerable external recognition for Janet L. Johnson, career coordinator, As always, we welcome your their efforts and, while this is impor- USI Career Services and Placement thoughts and comments regarding the tant, the real success comes in seeing Office. She works directly with the School of Business. For information about the USI School of Business, the quarterly Business Outlook Survey, and the Evansville Factbook go to http://business.usi.edu/ 2 University of Southern Indiana School of Business School of Business briefs Three promoted; One granted tenure Three School of Business faculty members — Dr. Eva Jermakowicz, Dr. Leslie Nunn, and Dr. Jennifer Williams — have been promoted. Jermakowicz, promoted to professor of accounting, earned a doctorate at Warsaw Technical University in 1982 and joined USI in 1987. She was on leave during 2003-04 to complete a Fulbright fellowship. (See page 9.) Elizabeth Courtney-USI Nunn, promoted to associate Faculty members recognized for excellence professor of business law, has been associated with the School of The School of Business has recognized three faculty members for excellence during the Business since 1983. He completed 2003-04 academic year. The award winners are Dr. Leslie E. Nunn, assistant professor of a Juris Doctorate at University of business law, excellence in teaching; Dr.

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