School of Business Gazette > June 2004

Printable Version - School of Business Gazette, June 2004

Four from School of Business Named Wisconsin Idea Fellows

Four faculty and staff members from the School of Business were among 100 faculty and staff from across the state named “Wisconsin Idea Fellows.” The new designation honors public service contributions to local communities and the state and help in furthering job creation in Wisconsin.

The four Wisconsin Idea Fellows are:

  • Larry Cox, director, Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship, and a faculty associate in Management and Human Resources

  • James E. Hodder, Wisconsin Distinguished Professor, department of Finance, Investment and Banking

  • Neil Lerner, director of the Small Business Development Center, a joint initiative of the School of Business and UW-Extension

  • Urban Wemmerlöv, director of the Erdman Center for Operations and Technology Management and Wisconsin Distinguished Professor

The designations were made by the University of Wisconsin System.

In announcing the inauguration of the fellows program, Board of Regent President Toby Marcovich noted that public service is a hallmark of the University of Wisconsin.

“Throughout the state’s history, our university faculty and staff have been dedicated public servants,” said Marcovich, “from the earliest county agents who helped farmers grow more productive crops, to today’s cutting-edge research faculty who are spinning off new Wisconsin companies. Virtually every one of our employees is helping in some way to improve the quality of life in the state.”

UW-Madison Executive Education Programs Ranked Among World's Best

The School of Business has made the Financial Times' annual list of the world's top executive education providers for the third consecutive year.

In its May 17 business education section, the London-based Times ranked executive education programs throughout the world. UW-Madison was ranked 17 th in the U.S. (32nd in the world) in the publication's overall ranking.

For open enrollment programs, UW-Madison was ranked 17 th among the top providers in the U.S. and 29th in the world. For custom executive education programs, UW-Madison was ranked 19 th among the U.S. schools and 44 th in the world.

The Fluno Center, where most UW-Madison executive education training is held, was ranked first in the world for food and accommodations in custom programs.

Ted Beck, associate dean for executive education and corporate relations, said, “We have been working hard to deliver quality and value in our traditional public programs and newer upper-level and custom programs. We have been ranked in the top 20 of U.S. schools in all three categories for the third year, which speaks to our growing success in these areas.”

UW’s International Business Center Honored for Assisting State International Trade 

The Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) has been honored for promoting education and best practices among Wisconsin businesses that export. CIBER received a Governor’s Export Achievement Award at the 40 th annual Wisconsin International Trade Conference on May 18.

In cooperation with the UW-Madison Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy (WAGE) and other partners, CIBER has presented more than 40 workshops and conferences that address a wide variety of real-world international business and economic activities each year. The depth and breadth of its offerings have increased since CIBER was established at the School of Business in 1998. In 2002, the organization received renewed and increased funding from the U.S. Department of Education.

The Governor’s Export Achievement Awards are presented annually to state organizations actively involved in export trade. Six awards were presented this year at the Wisconsin International Trade Conference held at the Italian Community Center in Milwaukee. Criteria include degree of export-related growth, innovative techniques and approaches that result in the companies’ successes and demonstration of extra effort in capturing worldwide markets.  

BUSINESS BRIEFS

  • The Wisconsin Public Utility Institute (http://www.wpui.org/) and the Family Business Center (http://www.uwexeced.com/fbc) have moved from the third floor of Grainger Hall to the third floor of the Fluno Center.

  • The Office of Human Resources and Employment Relations reminds supervisors of academic and classified staff to please continue to turn in the completed annual evaluations for academic and classified staff.

Faculty-Staff News  

Terry Warfield , associate professor in the Department of Accounting and Information Systems, is president-elect of the Financial Accounting and Reporting Section of the American Accounting Association. He will begin his one-year term as president in August 2004. Following his term as president, Warfield will serve as chair for the Section's mid-year research conference to be held in January 2006.

Assistant Professor Holly Ashbaugh, Accounting and Information Systems, was awarded the Evening MBA Class of 2004 Outstanding Teaching Award. She has taught Analysis of Financial Reports. The award will be presented at the Evening MBA graduation luncheon at Monona Terrace following the Evening MBA graduation ceremony at the State Capitol on July 10.

Senior Lecturer Rod Matthews, Real Estate, was awarded the Beta Gamma Sigma Alpha Chapter Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence during the Chapter's awards breakfast in April. Student officers in Beta Gamma Sigma vote on the award. Membership in Beta Gamma Sigma is the highest recognition a business student can receive in an undergraduate or master’s program at a school accredited by the AACSB–The International Association for Management Education. 

Carol Aspinwall , associate director of the Erdman Center for Operations and Technology Management,was recognized as the Madison APICS Chapter Board Member of the Year for contributions to growing the UW-Madison student chapter, presenting at professional development workshops and actively participating in the National APICS conferences for the past two years. She also made a presentation to the Madison Chapter of American Production and Inventory Control on conflict resolution in the workplace and presented a workshop for Middleton High School students on summer job search strategies.

Associate Professor Mason Carpenter, Management and Human Resources, received a $20,000 grant from the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) to compare corporate governance metrics. Greg Reilly, a Ph.D student in Management and Human Resources, is also involved in the project.

Julie A. Wood joins the Small Business Development Center this month as an outreach specialist. She is the coordinator for the SBDC Business AnswerLine (BAL), a statewide, toll-free business hotline Previously, she was director of operations of the Madison office of Oriel Incorporated. Wood also worked as a financial software consultant for Suby, Von Haden & Associates. She has a B.S. in Education from UW-Madison and is working on a master’s degree in Educational Technology, also at UW-Madison.

Linda D. Davis will join the Small Business Development Center in August as an outreach specialist. She will be an SBDC business counselor serving in Dane, Columbia and Sauk counties. She also will mentor start-up entrepreneurs enrolled in the Entrepreneurial Training Program. She has been president of Virtual Management Solutions since 1994 and has worked part-time as a business counselor for the SBDC since 1995. She has a B.A. from Miami University and an MBA from Old Dominion University.

Retirement Celebration Held

On May 13, School of Business faculty and staff gathered to celebrate the accomplishments of employees who have retired or are retiring between June 2003 and July 2004. Between them, Chris Christensen, Janet Christopher, Sandra Ihle, Gary Lovelace, Don Schwab and Barbara Seffrood have contributed 143 years of service to the School of Business. On hand to accept honorary plaques from Dean Michael M. Knetter (center) were (l. to r.) Gary Lovelace, Janet Christopher, Sandra Ihle and Barbara Seffrood.

Accounting Students Recognized for Community Service

Students in Beta Alpha Psi, the accounting honorary society, were recognized for their community service by two different organizations. During the spring semester, Beta students received special recognition plaques for service to the East Madison/Monona Coalition for Aging and to the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.

Over the past several semesters, Beta members and pledges have helped elderly residents clean up and repair their homes, rake leaves, and raise money by working concessions at Kohl Center events. As VITA volunteers, students had tax return preparation training and assisted low-income and elderly taxpayers prepare their tax returns at the South Madison Community Center.

According to Terry Warfield, associate professor of Accounting and Beta faculty advisor, this student group is very active in community service. Service activities were planned and coordinated by community service chairs, Becca Wallace and Laura Griffin, and involved participation by 116 members and pledges, who contributed more than 800 hours of time to these events. Other organizations served during the year included the YMCA, Salvation Army, Mendota Elementary School, Epilepsy Foundation of South Central Wisconsin, and the Madison Parks Division. Beta members also provide free tutoring during the semester to students in introductory accounting classes.

In the News…

In past weeks, several UW-Madison School of Business faculty, staff and initiatives have been in the news:

  • The school’s executive education program was the subject of a feature article in the May 17 Financial Times as part of its annual ranking of executive programs.
  • News of a $1 million gift to the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship given in the name of local entrepreneur Dan Neviaser by his son Bruce made the local papers and was the subject of an editorial on WISC, Channel 3 on May 4.
  • On May 21, director of the Business Career Center Karen Stauffacher was quoted in an article in the Wisconsin State Journal about after-graduation plans for UW-Madison students.
  • Susan Huber Miller was interviewed by WIBA radio in conjunction with an award the CIBER program received at the 40 th annual Wisconsin International Trade Conference on May 18.
  • Assistant Professor Divakaran Liginlal, Operations & Information Management, was featured in the “faculty corner” section of the May 2004 issue of UW-Madison’s Computing magazine.
  • One of the start-up companies created as a result of participation in the Burrill Technology Business Plan Competition—eMetagen—was featured in the May 6 Capital Times.
  • A May graduate, Donnel Thompson, was featured in the May 19 Capital Times. Thompson interrupted his college career to play for the NFL for four years. After a serious knee injury, he decided to return to UW-Madison to get his degree.
  • Executive Education’s Economic Outlook conference—which featured four well-known experts presenting local, regional, national and international economic forecasts—received coverage in state and local media.
  • Associate Professor Mason Carpenter, Management and Human Resources, was quoted in the April 26 Wisconsin State Journal article on CEO pay.
  • Professor Kerry Vandell, Real Estate and Urban Land Economics, was interviewed on Fox 47 about the Affordable Housing Conference that the Center for Urban Land Economics Research co-sponsored.

 

STUDENT NEWS

  • In May, graduating MBA students Evan Smestad and Lance Mikus were named Outstanding Graduate Students for 2004 by the School of Business. Smestad was an MBA student in Supply Chain Management and Marketing and Lance Mikus was an MBA student in Entrepreneurship (WAVE Program) and Marketing.
  • Two returning MBA students in Product Management, Becky Foster and Carrie Stern, received a Jerred Service Award of $2,000 for the first schoolwide School of Business Golf Outing for Junior Achievement, to be held on October 1 at University Ridge Golf Course.

  • Reanetta Hunley, an undergraduate in Risk Management & Insurance/Finance who graduated in May, received the INROADS- Chicago Intern of the Year Award. She served as an intern at Chubb Insurance in Itasca, Ill., through INROADS, a national organization working to increase the number of people of color in corporate management in the U.S.

CIBER NEWS

CIBER Globalization Seminars

The Wisconsin CIBER will co-sponsor a two-day seminar series in June at the University of Memphis CIBER. Experts from the business and academic communities will participate. The Globalization Seminars are designed to help U.S. business faculty bring international context into the classroom and to expand teaching, research and grant writing skills. The seminars will address the following topics: international business and finance, global e-business, global supply chain management, and international management and marketing. Mason Carpenter, associate professor in Management and Human Resources, will teach the international management session. Please visit the CIBER Web site ( www.bus.wisc.edu/ciber) for complete event information.

Spring 2004 CIBER Grants Announced

Congratulations to the following individuals from the School of Business who were selected to receive CIBER support during the spring 2004 grants competition:

Yan Gong, Ph.D. student, Management and Human Resources. Gong received funding to attend the Annual Doctoral Workshop of International Entrepreneurship hosted by the Georgia Institute of Technology CIBER in May 2004. The workshop provides insights and interactions with scholars in international entrepreneurship.

François Ortalo-Magné, associate professor, Real Estate, and Rod Matthews, senior lecturer, Real Estate, received funding to support eight MBA students’ attendance at Expo Real in Munich, Germany, in October 2004. Expo Real, the preeminent international commercial real estate exposition, allows UW-Madison students to interact with global real estate professionals.