Newsletter

July 2022

Message from the Dean

As we look forward to the new academic year, I want to talk a bit about strategy. Long before I returned to Georgia Southern to be dean of the Parker College, I was a strategic management professor. I earned my Ph.D. in 1993 and spent the next 20 years conducting research, teaching courses, leading seminars, and consulting with companies, all over the world, focusing on various facets of strategic management. It’s fair to say, then, that I think about the topic often.

So, over the course of the coming year, I will use this commentary to discuss my strategic philosophy along with some of the ways we are applying that philosophy and the principles of strategic management to move the College forward. To get started, I’m going to offer an unorthodox premise. Specifically, if the Parker College were a publicly traded corporation, its “stockholders” would be its alumni. Now, we are not a public corporation, nor do we truly have stockholders; our assets and liabilities are owned by the state of Georgia. So, I don’t want to push the metaphor too far. Still, it makes sense strategically, to think about our alumni as stockholders and our degrees as units of shared ownership. Why is it useful to think this way? I can offer at least three reasons, all of which are fundamental to our success. First, viewing our alumni as stockholders keeps us aligned with the interests of the marketplace. We are in the business of researching important questions and then applying our answers to equip students for future success. If we do that well, then our graduates will be sought after, our quality will be recognized, and students will choose Georgia Southern because of the potential we offer them. So, by focusing on the value of our degrees, we remain in step with the market. Second, this perspective keeps our focus on the long term. Students are on campus for a season, but alumni hold their degrees for a lifetime. And every day that our degrees increase in quality, attractiveness, and marketability, that value is compounded, across time and all of our alumni. Just like a share of stock that you buy and hold, the compounded growth in value is worth many times the original price. Seeing our alumni as stockholders and our degrees as shares keeps us focused on the long term. Finally, it’s important to remember that we have more than 27,000 alumni, working in and leading companies across Georgia and around the world. And those numbers grow every year. Enrollments will ebb and flow; programs and majors will grow and decline in popularity. Whole industries will rise and fall over the course of a long career. Trying to predict and time these changes is like chasing the wind, but focusing on underlying value and on the degrees or the ownership shares that our alumni hold, keeps us focused on the magnetic north of our true value proposition.

And, so, as we talk in the coming months about strategy and the Parker College, remember that we are here to create and serve a growing alumni base whose careers and lives are changed and empowered by the value of their degrees. As we do that, along with the things that enable it, we best serve all of our various constituents across our state, region, and world.

June 2022

Message from the Dean

What does it mean to be purpose driven? I’ve pondered this question for some time and thought about the implications for the Parker College. As background, the phrase, “purpose driven” gained popularity following two books by Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in California. The books, The Purpose Driven Church (1995) and The Purpose Driven Life (2002), focus on the value of one’s overarching purpose or mission in guiding, organizing, and motivating action. You can imagine how quickly this idea spread through the business press as well. From leadership to entrepreneurship to social activism, Amazon has hundreds of books that include purpose driven in their titles or descriptions.

Reflecting on this led me to think about the Parker College, our overarching purpose, and how it impacts the way we do things each day. Our stated mission is to “produce career-ready professionals…” by creating “a learning environment characterized by inspired teaching, relevant research, and meaningful service.” Like most mission statements, it’s hard to argue with the basic ideas. Every school claims to be preparing the leaders of tomorrow and to be tackling the world’s problems. The question is, does form follow the function? Are we really applying our purpose to prioritize, organize, and drive the things we do? I believe we are, and, so, I’d like to give you some examples.

To begin, notice that our mission includes three imperatives—teaching, research, and service. All are fundamental to our identity. So, we invest heavily in recruiting faculty who are true scholar-teachers. It’s not enough just to publish articles or teach classes; we want faculty with world-class expertise, who can also translate their knowledge into impactful educational experiences. Attracting and retaining such quality people takes intentionality and effort. But it’s key to our purpose that we build a world class faculty, with nationally recognized experts who are also committed instructors. Or, consider the phrase, “career-ready.” If we really mean that, then we must be able to track and follow student outcomes. So, we have painstakingly built a process of surveys and follow-ups, designed to measure placement, starting salaries, and signing bonuses. We’ve collected these data for three years and can report that 84% of our graduates have professional positions within six months of graduation. The average starting salary is $52,296 for undergraduates and $72,001 for graduates, and 15% of our graduates receive signing bonuses. Finally, we must provide an education that extends beyond the classroom and prepares students to impact the global marketplace. So, we’ve invested in Business Abroad and Business Away courses, taking nearly 100 students each year to places like Wall Street; Silicon Valley; Washington, D.C.; Costa Rica; Greece; and Portugal. It takes effort to organize and coordinate these trips and classes, but it’s key to producing world-class graduates.

So, what does it mean to be purpose driven? Ultimately, it means having a clear sense of your rationale and motivation. It means understanding how to translate that motivation into action. And it means having the confidence and conviction to put your time and treasure behind the priorities your purpose demands. For the Parker College, our purpose is to produce graduates who will one day change the world for the better. And that’s what we’re doing—one day at a time.

Alumni Spotlight: Michael Johnson
Michael Johnson (MBA, 2007)
Michael Johnson (MBA, 2007) has worked for Norfolk-Southern Railroad in various positions for the past 14 years. Currently, he serves as market manager over dimensional and military shipments in the commercial area of the firm’s industrial products group. In this role, Michael interacts daily with multiple customers, fellow railroads, and a host of internal groups involved with moving freight. He says it is these trusting relationships that make movement of freight possible. In his time with Norfolk-Southern, Michael has been able to see some really cool things. He has travelled throughout the U.S. and been inside an Apache helicopter. He was even able to watch one being assembled. While at a port, Michael was able to see a million plus pound generator one of his customers had manufactured being made ready to ship overseas. Though these things are fun, the best part of his job is knowing that the professional relationships he has worked so hard to build are the key to getting his job done.
While working on his MBA at Parker, Michael felt his approaches toward issues and people change in a positive way. He remembers having struggled for years with accounting until Abbie Gail Parham’s, assistant professor emerita of accounting, cost accounting class. Using the example of the hidden costs of an order of McDonald’s fries, the class began a discussion of the farm-to-consumer supply chain and opened Michael’s eyes to the necessity of incorporating the full A–Z spectrum of business and the importance of covering all stakeholders. The most useful MBA course for Michael was leadership principles. Before the class, he had been told to “treat everyone the same.” It was in this class that he learned the fallacy of that idea. Instead, he says, we must “treat everyone FAIRLY” because everyone is different, and our interactions with them should be different to match. Working with people every day, Michael already knew that personalities differed, but building solid, trusting relationships to get things done only reinforces what he learned in leadership principles. Finally, as part of “Team DeLoach,” Michael found a home and an awesome social crowd leading him to make a life-long friend, MAcc student Bryant Hosch.
Although spare time is a luxury in a busy life, Michael looks forward to spending time with his family at night and on weekends. He also enjoys golfing and fishing off the Georgia coast along with his association with First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta. Michael encourages his fellow Parker alumni to “Work hard…Play harder… Be a Servant Leader…[and] give and financially support OUR Parker College of Business.”

Parker Accounting Students Make First “Eagles on Pennsylvania Avenue” Trip
by Danielle Smith
This year marked the inaugural trip for the new “Eagles on Pennsylvania Avenue” program offered for students in the School of Accountancy. Over the course of a week from May 15–21, 2022, a group of 18 MAcc and BBA students spent time in the nation’s capital with Profs. Stephanie Hairston and Gloria Stuart to visit with a variety of government agencies, non-profit groups, and public accounting firms. A major goal for the group was to engage with individuals and organizations that utilize accounting backgrounds to provide services for the public and private sectors and to learn more about the broad spectrum of career opportunities that exist for students who earn an accounting degree. During their visits, students learned a great deal about how auditing, in particular, plays a major role in the day-to-day world of governance. The full week’s schedule included presentations and tours at the FBI, GAO, Committee of Inspector Generals, Pentagon/DOD, LMI, Capitol Hill, and KPMG. And, of course, the group also took in the sights of the city by touring major monuments and museums while enjoying the variety of global foods for which Washington, D.C., is known. The College is already planning for next year’s visit and will make this program part of the permanent rotation of travel offerings for students.

Alumnus and Colleagues Open NYSE
Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE: NIC) Rings The Opening Bell® on May 24, 2022, in celebration of its listing. Photo courtesy of NYSE.
Phil Moore (ACCT, 1984), who worked for the CPA firm Porter Keadle Moore (PKM) based in Atlanta for more than 30 years, eventually becoming managing partner of the firm, and who remained with the firm as southeast market leader after Wipfli, a CPA firm based in Wisconsin acquired it in 2019, is now CFO of Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. On May 24, 2022, Nicolet moved from NASDAQ to the NYSE. In celebration of its listing on the NYSE, Phil, along with colleagues, Mike Daniels, president & CEO, and Hope Jarkowski, general counsel, were invited to the trading floor to participate in the ceremonial ringing of the opening bell. “It’s not every day that one of our alums is on the floor of the NYSE,” commented Chuck Harter, SOA interim director.
Over the years, Phil has been a great supporter of Georgia Southern and Parker College. While at PKM, he was instrumental in setting up two endowments for the School of Accountancy that were funded by Georgia Southern who work at PKM and were matched by the firm. He has also been very supportive of Georgia Southern athletics and is the former chair of the athletic foundation.

Business Abroad Program Takes Students to Costa Rica
by Danielle Smith

The return of Business Abroad is in full swing, and a group of Parker College students spent the last week of May 2022 in Costa Rica. Taking advantage of the country’s natural resources, the activities and business visits for this program focused on the business of sustainability. This is one of the country’s primary economic drivers to promote a healthy environment and sustain the ecotourism-dependent services sector industry. In this trip led by Rick McGrath, students had the ability to interact with, among others, government officials at Procomer, tour the production center of major regional dairy company Dos Pinos, and spend time in the free trade zone at one of three global service centers operated by 3M. But, in Costa Rica, not all business takes place in the office. The group also spent time outdoors at Arenal National Park, Laz Paz Waterfall Gardens, and Doka Coffee Farm to understand wildlife biodiversity in Costa Rica and the emphasis on how conserving the natural environment is part of Costa Rica’s national economic strategy. These trips continue to serve as invaluable learning experiences that help Parker College students enhance their degree programs by gaining comparative perspectives about the global business environment.

Savannah Doctor Completes MBA
Dr. Timothy Connelly
by Benjamin Tankersley
When seeking their Master of Business Administration degrees, many people are doing so to move up in the business world, whether that be through a new job or a pay raise. That was not the case for Timothy Connelly (MBA, 2022). “I did not [get my] MBA to look for a different job, a better job, a higher paying job. I went for it to do a better job,” Timothy said. “And I have already seen that start to pay off as early as after the first few classes.”
Timothy, who works as a teaching doctor at Memorial Health Center in Savannah, has always had that sort of determination about him. Though medical school was not in Timothy’s picture initially, he attended school to become a physician’s assistant. While there, he lived frugally, saving up to attend medical school. After five years, Timothy was finally able to attend medical school and become a physician. He came to Savannah for his residency and loved it so much he never left.
According to Timothy, seeking an MBA after already being a teaching doctor was natural. After receiving certifications in areas related to clinical informatics, he became a utilization review doctor, who reviews clinical information and insurance coverage for patients to determine eligibility for treatment. “I came to a crossroads where once we were acquired by HCA—which is a for-profit healthcare system—I wanted to better understand how I could improve patient care, and, at the same time, be mindful of the business environment and how businesses work,” Timothy said.
In searching for an MBA program, he looked for one that had the right balance of flexibility, reputation, and cost effectiveness, as well as one that would allow him to share what he learned with the doctors he was teaching. “I wanted something that would give me a good amount of training so that I could take patient care to another level and make it more available and more cost effective when possible and provide the highest value care that I can for the patients I care for,” Timothy commented. “And, in doing so, being a teaching doctor, I also want to teach that to the resident physicians I train, so that they are not just effective at being doctors, but they are effective in a three-dimensional way,” he added. Timothy’s search brought him to Georgia Southern’s in-person MBA program offered in Savannah, which offers night classes two nights a week. Since he joined the program right at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Timothy shifted into the online program, which ended up being a good thing as he was shifted into an ICU doctor role.
“I was basically a Covid doctor,” Timothy remembered. “I would work 12 hours and spend a couple hours working on my MBA. Fortunately, the professors needed everything completed every other week, so I either got it done a week and a half early or right on the verge.” Once in the program, the professors were more than willing to accommodate Timothy’s busy schedule. “The corporate finance class was extremely difficult, but the professor would always find time to meet with me at odd times, go online and do problems with me, so I could work towards the A,” Timothy remarked. “The marketing professor—Dr. Eastman—would meet on a Sunday, late in the evening to accommodate our team,” he continued.
For more information about Georgia Southern’s MBA program, please contact the Parker College of Business Graduate Programs Office at 912-478-5767 or mba@georgiasouthern.edu. The Parker College of Business also offers a Master of Accounting and Master of Science in Applied Economics as well as a Ph.D. in Logistics and Supply Chain Management.

Faculty/Staff News
Chuck Harter, Ph.D., acting director and professor of accounting, Paula Mooney, MAcc, lecturer of accounting, and Gloria Stuart, MAcc, senior lecturer of accounting, have received a Georgia Southern Faculty Service Grant in the amount of $1,605 for their work in the VITA program. Well done!
Errol Stewart, Ph.D., associate professor of accounting, was recently honored as Student Organization Professor of the Year at the University’s annual Eagle Excellence Awards ceremony. Congratulations, Errol!

May 2022

From Dean Amason

For quite some time now, we’ve been hearing a lot about sustainability. In fact, we’ve heard the word used so often that I fear we’re becoming desensitized to the issue itself and to the principles underlying it. So, I decided to start at the beginning and with the basic definition. According to Merriam-Webster, sustainability is defined as “relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged.” That seems so simple and straight-forward that it is almost commonsensical.

As we know, though, nothing is ever quite as simple as it seems. For example, suppose the resource in question is of unknown quantity. If we don’t know how much of the resource exists, we can’t very well know how quickly we are depleting it. Or, suppose overuse of the resource is a necessity. No one thinks about conserving water when fighting a fire in their own house or of conserving gasoline when driving a loved one to the emergency room. So, sometimes urgency trumps sustainability. Yet, against these sorts of harsh realities is an equally harsh truth about resources: virtually all are finite and limited, especially in the short term. The California gold rush, which began in 1848, was largely ended by 1859 because most of the gold had been harvested. Similarly, from 1800 to around 1880, the population of American bison on the Great Plains went from roughly 30 million to barely more than 300, dangerously near extinction, because of over-hunting. These are old examples, I’ll grant and so they may be hard to relate to modern day. Think about the principle, however. Once resources are gone, they are gone for a long time, perhaps forever. And just as that is true of things like gold or bison, it is also true of intangible resources, like a trustworthy brand, a good credit rating, or a reputation for reliability. These resources are also finite, difficult to quantify, and easily subordinated when confronting urgent need. And, just as we value clear air and clean water, we also need a foundation of trust, reliability, and familiarity on which to transact business and build an economy. Once those things are gone, they, too, could be gone for a long time.

At the Parker College, then, we strive to promote thinking that is truly sustainable. Of course instances of exigency, when urgent need trumps all else will occur. Of course, debate around supply, alternatives, and the pace and timing of use will be ongoing. That is all the more reason for thinking about and planning for such uncertainties in advance. We must understand that every resource is finite and so guard against the temptation to simply take the money and run. How do we do business in a way that renews our key resources? How do we renew ourselves through innovation, so as to adapt to inevitable change? And how do we do all of this while building trust and reliability with our customers and suppliers, as well as within our organizations and communities? These are big questions with no simple answers. But these are the questions that the faculty and staff of the Parker College embrace and that we believe are key to the future of business education. Get this right, teach the right materials, instill the right principles, and reinforce the right messages with the power of our example, and we will graduate generations of leaders who will change the world!

In-Person Accounting Day Resumes
by Dwight Sneathen
The School of Accountancy hosted its 32^nd Annual Accounting Day on Wednesday, April 27 in person for the first time since 2019. Accounting Day is always a special event in which we get to gather our students, recruiters, and faculty to celebrate our outstanding students. The event began with a career fair attended by 28 recruiting firms and corporations. This is the largest group of recruiters to attend our Accounting Day career fair and included several first-time attendees like Norfolk Southern, Graphic Packaging, and Johnson & Lambert. Students were able to network with professionals and discuss opportunities for summer leadership programs, Internships, and full-time positions.
After the career fair, we moved into the Performing Arts Center Ballroom for our Scholarship and Awards Banquet. Students, faculty, and recruiters enjoyed a great meal prior to our awards ceremony. During the ceremony, more than 50 juniors, seniors, and graduate students were recognized for scholarship awards totaling more than $100,000. This is the largest scholarship total that we have ever recognized at Accounting Day, and we still have students who are being considered for additional scholarships.
The School of Accountancy appreciates the recruiting firms that support our students and our programs. The new firms are joining others that have recruited Georgia Southern students for decades, and we hope to continue those relationships. Special thanks to members of the Office of Career and Professional Development who helped to put on the career fair and organize the event through Handshake. Finally, Dining Services did an outstanding job with the banquet. It was a wonderful event, and we look forward to “Meet the Firms” on August 31.

Parker College Marketing Students Give Back to the Boys & Girls Club of Bulloch County
by Travis Brickey

A collection of the best and brightest students from the Georgia Southern University Parker College of Business Department of Marketing volunteered their time to help raise awareness and support for the Haunted Forest, an annual fundraiser benefitting the Boys & Girls Club of Bulloch County. The marketing and sales management majors, many of whom are members of the national co-ed fraternity Pi Sigma Epsilon, were tasked to develop a strategic marketing plan that would make the Haunted Forest more appealing to the Generation Z demographic. The Haunted Forest annual fundraiser is one of the most significant philanthropic fundraising events held by the local Boys & Girls Club each year.
The Parker College students who volunteered their time and expertise in the development and presentation of the marketing plan included Nathan Albrecht, Ansley Atkinson, Michael Bland, Alex Cimmerer, Brennan Craig, Kurt Devine, Anna Gilbert, Kelly Mueller, Brandon Onuschak, Courtney Simon, Tyrone Singletary, Eric Tweet, Lisandra Velez Vidal, and Hank Weldon.
The primary goal of this student-led initiative was to raise awareness and increase attendance of the upcoming 2022 Haunted Forest fundraiser among the Bulloch County Generation Z population. The plan included a comprehensive SWOT analysis, primary data collection via a market research survey, a three-part strategic plan with target objectives, and a detailed action plan outlining recommendations for paid, earned, owned, and social media platforms. On April 27, 2022, the students presented the proposed plan to the board of directors and chief executive officer of the Boys & Girls Club of Bulloch County. Also in attendance were representatives from Willingway, the longtime presenting sponsor of the Haunted Forest, and administrators from the Parker College of Business.
“I was truly impressed with the students’ approach in reaching the target audience, knowledge in addressing the identified challenges, and their well-executed plan for obtaining data to support their recommendations,” said Mike Jones, chief executive officer, Boys & Girls Club of Bulloch County. “Most impressive of all, I appreciate their willingness to volunteer their time when I know they have many competing obligations at the end of the semester. I sincerely appreciate their involvement and intentions!”
Georgia Southern hosted the Haunted Forest, first started by “Mouse” Blankenbaker as a class project in 1980; however, when Professor Blankenbaker retired in 2003, the tradition ceased operations until community volunteers brought the fundraiser back to life in 2009. Despite serving as a longstanding Halloween tradition to generations of Georgia Southern alumni, once the Haunted Forest returned and relocated off-campus, support from the University’s student body began to wane. A general lack of awareness and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic proved to be obstacles that kept students away from the turnstiles.
“When I first attended the Haunted Forest in 2021, the crowds were great, but I was surprised to see how few college and high school-aged individuals were in attendance, despite being held only a few minutes from the …[Georgia Southern] campus,” explained Travis Brickey, lecturer of marketing, Parker College of Business. “When I got back to campus the next day, I polled nearly 200 of my students in class, and the vast majority had no awareness [of the event], despite many being interested. What better way to raise awareness and market to a Gen Z audience than to recruit a group of Gen Z students who best understand the generation’s media habits and appeals, making the Haunted Forest a go-to Halloween event in October.”
Part two of the service project will be to tactically execute the plan and put into motion some of the recommendations presented to the organization’s leadership. Some of these recommendations included the development of a dedicated Haunted Forest website, increased social media presence, use of influencer marketing, and re-establishing an affiliation with Georgia Southern with Pi Sigma Epsilon becoming a formal partner.
“Being a part of Pi Sigma Epsilon, it is important that we live by our motto, ‘people helping people succeed.’ We found an opportunity to do so by helping the Boys & Girls Club of Bulloch County with their Haunted Forest marketing plan,” explained Courtney Simon, a senior marketing & sales management major. “Working on this extracurricular activity was not only a terrific learning experience, but it felt great knowing we were putting our knowledge to work and helping raise awareness and money for such an important organization in our community.”Support from the Haunted Forest helps the local club provide the youth of Bulloch County with a safe, constructive, supportive environment where all children have a place to go after school or during the summer months. In 2021, the Boys & Girls Club of Bulloch County had a total of 21,786 visits and served 26,655 meals to area youth. The club would not be able to do this without the community’s generosity. To learn more about the Boys & Girls Club of Bulloch County and how to support its efforts, visit BGCbulloch.org.

Beta Alpha Psi Holds Induction Ceremony
by Paula Mooney

On Monday, April 25, 2022, the Zeta Delta chapter of Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) held its spring initiation dinner ceremony in the “alley” on the downtown city campus. Twelve students were initiated into the international honor organization for financial information students and professionals. Becoming a member of BAP is not an easy feat and these students were required to have near-perfect attendance for the semester’s meetings in addition to service requirements and other obligations. Becoming lifetime members of this distinguished organization not only recognizes their academic excellence, it also provides opportunities for self-development and encourages a sense of ethical, social and public responsibilities.
This year BAP hosted 22 professional meetings presented by our Leaders of Tomorrow (LOT) sponsors who represent accounting firms and companies. BAP also provides community service and this year’s activities included donating school supplies to Langston Chapel Elementary, donating over 150 pairs of socks to a local homeless shelter, and working over 550 hours with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program to prepare about 200 tax returns for the community.

Professor of Logistics and SCM Selected by International Society for Distinguished Service Award
from Sushil Gupta, Executive Director, College of Business Administration, Florida International University
Jerry Burke, professor, Department of Logistics & Supply Chain Management, is the unanimous choice of the selection committee for the 2022 Sushil K. Gupta Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his sustained and outstanding service to the Production Operations Management Society (POMS).
POMS is a premier, international professional organization representing the interests of more than 2,000 academic and practitioner members residing in more than 50 countries across world. Its namesake journal, Production Operations Management, is included in the BusinessWeek top 20 and Financial Times top 50 business journals.
Burke served the Production and Operations Society as vice president for Colleges (special interest groups) from 2015–2018, during which time he collaborated with leadership of POMS Colleges and the POMS board of directors to support and help execute dozens of activities including mini-conferences, paper competitions and site tours. Under his leadership, the number of POMS Colleges grew from seven to eight with the formation of the College of Operational Excellence in 2017. Most recently, Burke served as vice president of Meetings and served on the POMS executive board throughout the dynamic and challenging times from 2018–2021. During this time, his contributions to POMS members centered on activities connected to annual conferences in Houston, TX (2018), and Washington, D.C. (2019), as well as Minneapolis, MN (2020), until cancellation in April 2020 due to pandemic lockdowns. Through 2020–2021, Burke’s expertise contributed to contract renegotiations to move venue obligations for the POMS 2020, 2021 and 2022 annual conferences forward to subsequent years greatly benefitting POMS and its hospitality partners.

Parker MBA Program Holds Its Inaugural MBA Convocation Ceremony
Arsh Kahlon (MBA, 2022) and Dean Amason at the MBA Convocation
by Benjamin Tankersley
Earlier this month, the Parker MBA program held its inaugural MBA Convocation Ceremony, recognizing the achievement of the 104 graduating MBA students in the in-person and online programs for spring and summer. The ceremony featured several MBA alumni, including Ava Edwards (MBA, 2019), Trey Scrudder (MBA, 2011), and Trip Addison (MBA, 2009), who gave the Convocation Address.
The idea of having a separate convocation ceremony for the MBA students came from another MBA alumna: Andi St. Pierre (MBA, 2020). She and her classmates wanted to have a more personal ceremony for their class that could be held at the Armstrong campus. “We had some students that were not familiar with the campus in Statesboro, so we wanted to do something smaller at the Savannah campus,” Andi stated. “Then, we heard that our graduation was going to be in the middle of the week, in the middle of the day, and so a lot of our family wouldn’t be able to attend. It was really important to us that most of our class and family members could get together and celebrate our achievement because of what a tight-knit group you become in the MBA program here at Georgia Southern.”
After this idea sparked, Andi took the initiative to see what needed to happen to put this kind of ceremony on. She polled her classmates and discovered that about half of them had not planned to attend the Commencement Ceremony in Statesboro. From there, she went to meet with the MBA Program Director Lowell Mooney, Ph.D.
“I remember I had run the idea by him [Mooney] to see if it was something the school would be interested in doing,” Andi said. “Upon hearing that, he said that he had already wanted to do some sort of convocation, but, after hearing the poll, he definitely wanted to make sure that our opinions and voices were heard.”
Unfortunately for Andi’s class, the Covid-19 pandemic prevented a formal convocation ceremony from being held. “We didn’t even think we were going to have graduation, but last minute, they were able to do it outside on the field, socially distanced” Andi commented. “That was a driving force as to why a lot of us—I think—went to graduation.”
Though Andi had graduated from the program, the idea for an MBA Convocation persisted. As the first cohort of the re-envisioned Parker MBA program approached graduation, Mooney reached out to Andi to create a task force to plan the event for the graduating class. The task force consisted of Andi, Mooney, Debbie Hilton, Parker College’s events coordinator, the Graduate Programs Office staff, and two members of the graduating class—MaLinda Williams (MBA, 2022) and Alexis Rooks (MBA, 2022).
In the year leading up to the Convocation, this task force convened several times, talking through the details, finding a speaker, and making sure the event became a special opportunity to recognize the graduates. “I really loved attending Georgia Southern, and I think that it’s important that the MBA program recognize the Savannah campus as being special and being a great addition,” Andi remarked. “The environment that it fosters is really close.”
This kind of environment is what Mooney strives for with the MBA program, and it is made evident to the students and graduates, like Arsh Kahlon (MBA, 2022). “Dr. Mooney was incredibly personal throughout the program,” Arsh said. “He would make sure he would try every kind of way to help you and just really take in what you were saying and really feel like he cared about your success and wellbeing. And, now, he told me to call him on a first name basis, so now Lowell and I are friends, and that was very personable.”
Arsh applied to the program at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and had to choose between Georgia Southern and a program offered at Georgia Tech that would have required him to have class in Atlanta one weekend a month. “None of it was on a weekly basis like we have at Georgia Southern, and the cost was five or six times what I would be paying,” Arsh noted. “That did not sound appealing to me because it seemed like, well, what am I paying for? Am I just paying for the name? So, my decision was to apply to the Parker College of Business.”
Now an alumnus, Arsh still carries his Georgia Southern pride daily in the form of a branded Parker MBA padfolio he was gifted at the ceremony. “[The padfolio] is sitting on my work desk,” Arsh stated proudly. “I have walked into work with it every day, and I walk into every meeting with it. I put it down and am reminded that this is what I went to school for.” Applications for fall admittance into the in-person and online MBA programs are being accepted through July 15. For more information about the program, please call the Graduate Programs Office at 912-478-5767 or email mba@georgiasouthern.edu.

Entrepreneurship Students Donate Profits to Local Charities
The overall best team was Statesboro Custom Apparel. Pictured are (from l-r) members Alexa Reid, Christian Pollard, Baylor Bumford, Kalyse Sandoval, and Brittney Arrington.
by Steve Stewart
Fourteen teams of entrepreneurs in Steve Stewart’s, Ph.D., associate professor of management, intermediate entrepreneurship course this spring started and operated businesses that raised profits of more than $2,800, which were donated to two local Statesboro charities. Each team of students started with $50-investments and were challenged to start a business from scratch and run it through the semester. Every single one of the teams generated profits, ranging from a little more than $30 to more than $400. The return on investment ranged from 67% to greater than 700%.
The students were challenged at the beginning of the semester to use the course content from their fundamentals of entrepreneurship (introductory) course AND their current intermediate entrepreneurship courses to start businesses, create business models designed around selling a product or service, and then execute the models. Students also had to design brand logos with identity meanings and keep financial spreadsheets showing their progress along the way. Businesses ranged from custom designed tee shirts and clothing, pet services, paracord bracelets, delivery services, selling firewood, creating customized executable task calendars, and customized water bottles, among others.
The 2nd best performing team was BoroBites. Pictured are (l-r) members Brayden Looney, Cody Bennett, Harry Lashmar, Kimberly Harper, and Will Middleton
The purpose of the exercise was to teach students how business models work while exposing them to the many different unpredictable forces that act upon a new business and the difficulties of starting and running a new venture intentionally and successfully. Students had to manage the administration of the business, like ordering and, sometimes, manufacturing, and record keeping and financial management. At the same time, they had to deal with the unforeseen and uncomfortable. Throughout the semester, students encountered challenges ranging from problems sourcing raw materials to working with partners who operated at different speeds than they did to dealing with seasonal forces like weather to learning that different customer segments find different values in the same product or service.
Baylor Bumford, a Georgia Southern volleyball player and management major with an entrepreneurship and innovation concentration, said of her experience, “this project for intermediate entrepreneurship gave great insight on all the truths behind starting a business. I think, as entrepreneurial students, we see … the running a business as our dream and get excited about all the opportunities that will give us to truly own something. This project is the first time that I truly got to see how many things have to … come together and work fluidly to achieve a successful business. I learned a lot of communication and time management through the project, and I feel like I have a better understanding and appreciation for local business owners now.”
Paracord Bracelets
The top three performing teams across the two sections of classes were Statesboro Custom Apparel, which produced and sold custom clothing; BoroBites, which sold dog treats; and ParaWare, which produced and sold custom paracord bracelets. Students agreed in the beginning of the semester that any profits would be distributed to local charities. At the end of the semester, students donated more than $2,800 in profits to the Humane Society of Statesboro & Bulloch County, and to Safe Haven.
For more information about the Parker College of Business’s entrepreneurship program, please contact the Department of Management at management@georgiasouthern.edu. To learn more about the Humane Society of Statesboro & Bulloch County or Safe Haven, go to statesborohumane.org/ or safehavenstatesboro.org/, respectively.

Faculty/Staff News
The editorial team at the Journal of Applied Psychology (JAP) has partnered with IOatWork to begin a new program that identifies high profile articles with strong publicity potential as targets for “translational summaries,” along with a brief “teaser” to create interest in the article. Recently, Management Department Chair Steve Charlier, professor of management, along with co-authors Maria Kraimer, Margaret Shaffer, Mark Bolino, and Olivier Wurtz, were notified that a summary of their paper, “A Transactional Stress Theory of Global Work Demands: A Challenge, Hindrance, or Both?” has been posted on IOatWork’s website. It will also shortly appear on JAP’s “The Editor’s Corner” website on the “Science to Practice” page.

Contact Info

Parker College of Business

July 2022

Message from the Dean

June 2022

Message from the Dean

May 2022

From Dean Amason