STRCTLY BUSINESS (FALL 2016) Issue 16-1

STRCTLY BUSINESS

(Fall 2016)

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION & ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT NEWSLETTER IN THIS ISSUE

Another semester is fully underway and West Hall is once again bustling with activity as

students and faculty engage in the transformation of students to successful graduates and onto successful careers. As the current chair of the Business & Economics

Department I want to challenge each and every one of our students to make the most of your time with us. Faculty in this department have extensive experience and all of them want to help you succeed. Use them wisely!

To our numerous alumni, I just wanted to express my deepest appreciation for your help throughout the years and in many cases your generous donation to Roanoke College’s Business Administration & Economics Department.

Your support has allowed us to provide more financial support for our students and has helped us to continue our efforts to provide a great learning environment for our students.

In the past few years, we have put in place several new initiatives in the area of Experiential Learning and each semester

student’s display many of their projects at an event held at the Business & Economics Department in West Hall. Last semester’s event will be on Thursday, December 1, 2016. We will let everyone know about our Spring Showcase so you can stop by for a few minutes and talk to some of our students about their experiences.

We have also put in place several initiatives that focus on students’ academic performance as well as preparing them for life after college. These initiatives include creating a “Business Connection” course to introduce incoming students to the basic concepts of business, mentoring program involving Alumni and Upperclassmen, creating Student E-Portfolios, creating a new Entrepreneurship Program and revamping of the “Center for Leadership & Entrepreneurial Innovation,” creating a distinguished Speaker Series to include alumni and business leaders, and extensive Internship and Study Abroad Opportunities.

Your help and contribution will support these and many other programs and will help us maintain the high quality education that has placed us among the top schools for Business and Finance.

One final note: The fall was my last semester of service as the Chair of the department. Starting in Spring 2017 Professor Sharon

Gibbs will assume the chair duties. Please join me in wishing her great success.

The Fed Challenge Page 2

Welcome Dr. Sweet Page 2

May Term in China Page 3

New Internship Director Page 3

Farewell to Prof Hutkin Page 4

The Center Page 4

Student Managed Fund Page 5

Dreama’s 20th Anniversary Page 6

Student Showcase Page 6

Fast Facts Page 7

From the Chair by Dr. Ali Nazemi

STRCTLY BUSINESS (FALL 2016) | Issue 16-1 2

The Fed Challenge is a competition between colleges and universities across the country where students analyze the economy and make policy prescriptions to the Federal Reserve. Teams are composed of six members with five members speaking during the presentation and one operating the slide show. At the regional level, students present for 20 minutes and have 10 minutes to answer questions. At the district and national levels, the presentation time is only 15 minutes. During the presentation, teams discuss a number of economic topics such as GDP, inflation, unemployment, and consumer confidence. After the presentation, the team is asked two questions common to all teams and anything the judges want to ask about. In preparation for the presentation and question period the

Roanoke College team researched the topics mentioned above and practiced answering

potential questions for the first half of the semester.

Dr. Sweet is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration and oversees the Human Resource Management Concentration. Dr. Sweet has her Ed.D. in Human and Organizational Learning from the Executive Leadership Program at The George Washington University, an M.B.A. from East Carolina University, and B.A. from UNC-Wilmington. She is a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR, SHRM-SCP) and has over ten years of experience as a human resource professional in the healthcare industry. Dr. Sweet has taught with East Carolina University, the University of Maryland University College, and Campbell University. Her research interests are focused on psychological capital, self-authorship, motivation, and learning organizations. Dr. Sweet teaches Human Resource Management courses, Women in the Workplace, and Organizational Behavior.

“I am excited to be part of the Roanoke College family! Roanoke College is a great career fit for me because of its rigor in teaching and research, and the collaboration and synergy developed with other students and faculty. I am committed to the success of each student and have high expectations of myself and others. I am personable and approachable and believe strongly in the journey of lifelong learning!”

THE SOCIETY FOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (SHRM)

The Roanoke College Student Chapter of SHRM is an affiliate of the SHRM’s Professional Chapter in the Roanoke Valley. Dr. Sweet is the faculty advisor for the chapter and Stephanie Whitecross is the current president.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Dr. Johanna Sweet – sweet@roanoke.edu

Stephanie Whitecross – snwhitecross@mail.roanoke.edu

The Fed Challenge by Ryan Dill, ‘17

Welcome Dr. Johanna Sweet

STRCTLY BUSINESS (FALL 2016) | Issue 16-1 3

This past May I traveled to China to study its cultural difference in business practices. While in China we traveled to three different cities, Shanghai, Beijing, and Hangzhou. These are some of the most well know cities in China. They all were amazing in different ways, similar to major American cities like New York, D.C., and Boston.

The city of Hangzhou is similar to Boston. It is focused around history and culture yet has a modern aspect within the ancient historical feel. Hangzhou was my favorite city out of the trip. Additionally, the people within the city were extremely polite and respectful of foreign visitors.

Mountain Travels We got to Hangzhou by train from Shanghai. Immediately from the train station, we took a bus to the famous Buddhist temple Lingyin. Within the temple compound, I explored both the temple grounds and the seven rising buildings of the temple.

First, the temple grounds where both dangerous and amazing. China does not have the same safety standards as America. The temple is built on one side of a valley, where monks over the years have built hundreds of

statues along the other side of the valley. This has resulted in multiple paths leading up the mountainside to the peak of the mountain. Additionally, it was at this spot that, Huili, the founder of the Lingyin temple said “This is a small peak in Lingjiu Mountain in India - when did it arrive here? It looks like a resting place for fairies in the time of the Buddha.” During a normal day, it is a challenging hike up to the top of the mountain along the trails. All of the trails are right on the side of the mountain where a wrong step can send you sliding down the side of the mountain grabbing for trees and vines to stop your fall. Additionally, to furtherly complicate a hike, there are normally tree roots or

vines running across the trail that the hikers will have to climb over in order to continue up the mountain. Overall, it was a challenging hike but worth it for the views going up and at the top of the mountain.

Eventually, the bus came and we drove off into the sunset so to speak. At this point, I hardly remember the trip, because I was filled with adrenalin from the climb and now my body was so exhausted. I crashed as the bus sped around the mountain roads, listening to a couple of Chinese songs I recently downloaded.

I woke up when we got to the train station, and I quickly got all of my stuff ready as we departed from the bus. The security checkpoint was interesting but we still made it through without having our faces on the most wanted list. We walked around the station for a bit, looking at all of the different shops. Eventually, we found our way to the terminal where we waited for the train.

As I was sitting there in the station I could not help but looking back on the past couple of days, and they were fantastic. I believe that I have just visited the most tranquil places in the world. Not just because of the nature or the beauty of the sights, but because of the calm feeling and culture that the entire area had. Saying that Hongzhou is simply an amazing place is an understatement. I would highly recommend visiting China and specifically Hongzhou. I hope to eventually return to the city on the lake and climb up all of those stairs again. The person who went up those stairs was not the same who came down, seeing the city from the trail was truly life changing.

Business May Term in China by Cameron Thompson, ‘17

STRCTLY BUSINESS (FALL 2016) | Issue 16-1 4

As anyone who has had me for a class learns in my first day

introduction, I am an electrical engineer with a first career in engineering and engineering management at GE Company. As a manager, I was often a “teacher” to employees within my organizations and enjoyed that role very much. On the outside, I coached little league soccer for 10 years and again acted as the team’s “teacher.” I suspect teaching was in my blood. When I received my MBA degree, a fellow student was Dr. Larry Lynch and we stayed in contact after we each graduated. With my wife working in admissions here at RC, I had a strong affinity for the school and the people. It was a wonderful environment. For a few years, I served as an adjunct teaching one evening class in global management while I worked at GE. In 2003, I had the opportunity to retire from GE and then it all happened. The business and economics department under chair Dr. Lynch needed a full time lecturer for quantitative methods and operations management and I got the call. It was perfect. I would teach what I had worked at for my whole career at GE. I could combine the book material and my experiences and found that students enjoyed those experiential teachings more than anything. My retired friends always asked me why I am working. The answer was always because it is fun, I enjoy the closeness of the faculty and staff, and the interaction with students keeps you active, but now it is time to leave. I had worked at GE for 36 years and Roanoke College will be 14 years. My wife and I think that is enough and time to pass the baton to others. I will miss my colleagues and the students but will always support Roanoke College.

The Center for Leadership and Entrepreneurial Innovation (CLEI) is a co-curricular program focused on developing talented young students of all disciplines into leaders and entrepreneurs. While CLEI was formulated and initially designed in the BUAD/ECON department, it has expanded to a multi-disciplinary center that serves the entire student body. Through a number of innovative programs, students learn new skills, create new contacts and prepare themselves for pursuing their passions. These exciting programs include the following: • Seven-week business plan development

program known as The Roanoke College Innovation Challenge (RCIC)

• Student idea generation competition known as The Pitch (modeled after Shark Tank on NBC)

• Experiential business opportunities with ongoing, for-profit businesses (e.g. Main Street Maroon Projects), non-profit organizations (e.g. Matthew’s Child) and entrepreneurial centers (e.g. Co-Lab and RAMP)

• Freshman designation of Entrepreneur Fellows, a program designed to attract and retain highly-competitive freshman (involves a $1000/year scholarship)

• Co-sponsorship of the Pi Lam/CLEI Speaker Series, an event that draws more than 250 people each year

• Regular workshops/panels open to the entire campus (2 in Fall 2016; 3 scheduled in Spring 2017)

• Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO), our student entrepreneurship club on campus. The student club alone hosts several speakers and workshops each year,

as well as makes visits to local businesses/entrepreneurism development centers in the Roanoke Valley.

The most significant initiative in Fall 2016 was the creation of a Multi-Disciplinary Faculty Advisory Panel. The purpose of this initiative is to attract students from non-BUAD/ECON backgrounds. This is rooted in the principle that we believe Roanoke College has future leaders and entrepreneurs on campus, but we don’t see them in the business department because they are too busy now studying and learning the skills necessary to ascend to leadership roles or to create revolutionary innovation in their chosen fields. Our belief and desire is that we can help those students

during these formative years by offering opportunities that allow them to learn about the importance of various commercial principles, and be exposed to real-life

business scenarios involving their anticipated area of expertise. Further, we know that many of us do not end up working in the field we studied in any event! Finally, this program will help our business students gain the skills necessary to lead in various industries and the communication skills required in the multi-dimensional world of commerce in the 21st century. The Advisory Panel will help us understand what their students need as leaders in these industries and career fields with which we have limited experience (e.g. Biology), and how best to provide them opportunities consistent with their core education.

The future is bright for CLEI and for Roanoke College. We continue to ascend in almost every ranking published. We continue to attract and retain very bright students of a diverse background. We have a number of student business projects that have real potential to make it to market. Going to market is not easy,

Farewell

Prof. Hutkin

The Center for Leadership and Entrepreneurial Innovation (CLEI)

by Steve A. Baker, Esquire, Director of CLEI

STRCTLY BUSINESS (FALL 2016) | Issue 16-1 5

but our students are investing their time and energy to develop core skills that, in time, will

pay huge dividends. Our current plans for the future include, inter alia, the following:

a) Relocation of the Center to its own standalone facility for advanced student development;

b) A student-operated business conducted through the curriculum and involving a number of BUAD/ECON classes each semester;

c) Publication of student research;

d) A legacy panel of Investors to fund student start-ups

We don’t think these plans are possible – we know they are. Roanoke College has, for nearly 175 years, developed the best and brightest leaders in the Roanoke Valley, in Virginia and in our nation and even abroad. I am confident that this program has the support of the BUAD/ECON department leadership, as well as Senior Administration on Campus and the Board of Trustees. It is an exciting time to be at Roanoke College and in the Roanoke Valley, as both undergo a major renaissance dedicated to the promotion of intellectual development through science and innovation. The Roanoke Valley’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is rapidly evolving – with one commentator recently wondering aloud if “Roanoke was the next Silicon Valley.” We must be proactive in getting swept into this storm. That is what fuels our passion in the department and we hope that this small glimpse into CLEI helps remind you of your experiences at Roanoke College, and how those experiences made you who you are.

We would love to hear your story, to know how you are doing these days and anything else that might help us guide young people toward success. If you have time and want to speak with students, or judge presentations, please let us know. If you want to support CLEI financially, we are always looking for contributions of all sizes. There would, of course, be the opportunity to endow scholarships, professor- ships or even the Center, should you be so inclined. However, I am mostly interested in letting you know that Roanoke College continues to strive diligently to prepare young people to meet the challenges beyond “these hallowed halls.”

Thank you for your interest.

Overview and Goals The Student Managed Fund (SMF)

was created in 2004 by Dr. Larry Lynch

The SMF was originally funded with $500,000 from the college’s endowment

Unlike traditional portfolio simulators, the SMF challenges Roanoke students to use their skills, innovation, and teamwork to responsibly grow a real investment portfolio

Expectations of Students Students are each given a sector of

the S&P 500 to monitor

Each class, every student provides a report on their sector’s performance, as well as any changes they want to make in the investment strategy

As student analysts, all buying and

selling decisions are made by the student members, but are approved by the faculty advisor, Mike Smith

Benefits of SMF

Students learn how to conduct fundamental analysis on equity investments and present their findings

SMF provides invaluable “Real World“ experience in the investment industry

SMF increases students’ marketability in the competitive financial job market

By defending student-conducted research, SMF increases confidence in making professional presentations

SMF Achievements The SMF fund has increased 84.2%

since 2004, growing from $500,000 to approximately $925,000 today

The fund has $600,000 invested in equities, $220,000 in cash, and $100,000 in fixed income

Biggest gainers to date:

PSX: $8,690

NKE: $8,225

HD: $6,888

BUD: $5,920

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Please Contact the Director of CLEI

PROFESSOR STEVE BAKER sabaker@roanoke.edu

TO SIGN UP

Talk to your academic advisor and ask about BUAD 322 or contact

PROFESSOR MIKE SMITH cmsmith@roanoke.edu

Student Managed Fund by SMF Class of 2016

STRCTLY BUSINESS (FALL 2016) | Issue 16-1 6

Dreama Poore

Dreama’s 20th Anniversary @ RC

It is with extreme pleasure that we write this regarding Dreama. Dreama has been the steady hand and the smiling face at the Business & Economics department for the past 16 years. Although the department has had 3 chairs during that period, everyone knows that Dream is the “Real Boss.” Her friendly disposition and her open arms have been the best PR for the department and our alums always remember her and ask about her years after they have left the college. She is still in touch with many of them.

Dreama’s work ethic is second to none and the department can always count on her to be there, to do her best, and to help in any way possible. Dreama’s knowledge of inter-workings of the college which expands from Food Services to Print Shop to Buildings and Grounds to Business Office and Academic Affairs has served the department well.

She can often get complex issues resolved with a simple phone call. She seems to know everybody on the campus, and on good terms no less!

In addition to her duties as the Administrative Coordinator, Dreama works closely with faculty and students during Roanoke College Innovation Challenge’s summer program and is the major organizer for the Management Institute’s leadership education program. She does all this work with utmost grace and without a single complaint.

We appreciate all she has done for the department, it’s faculty, and for practically every student that has gone through our programs in the past 15 years. Please join us in congratulating her on her 20 years of distinguished service to the college and hope that she does not have any immediate plans to retire.

Because, frankly, she is irreplaceable!

“The Heart of Business Administration & Economics Department”

New Internship Director Dr. Michelle Hagadorn, Ph.D. is an associate professor in the department of Business Administration and Economics at Roanoke College. She teaches upper level accounting and finance courses. Recently, she has taken over as the Internship Director for the department. Prior to joining the faculty at Roanoke College in the fall of 2004, Dr. Hagadorn worked for Carilion Clinic in various capacities from 1991 to 2004. Dr. Hagadorn’s most recent position prior to leaving Carilion was the Director of Finance for Carilion Medical Center where she was responsible for overseeing the financial planning and budgeting activities. Dr. Hagadorn received her Ph.D. in Financial Management from NorthCentral University, M.A. from Virginia Tech and B.B.A. from Roanoke College. She is also a certified public accountant. Her research interests focus on the financial literacy of young adults.

STRCTLY BUSINESS (FALL 2016) Issue 16-1

FAST FACTS

Scholarship Funds Business Administration & Economics Department offers several endowed scholarships to outstanding students in Business and Economics. These include:

• Business Advisory Board Scholarship

• Daryl Lowry Scholarship in Economics

• Richard deOlazzara Award in Marketing

• Larry Lynch Scholarship in Finance

• Robertson Scholarship Award

• John & Lela Spitz Endowed Scholarship

• Spitz Award in Business Analytics

If you wish to contribute to any of these funds, please visit:

http://roanokerising.com/scholarships

225 The number of declared Business & Economics majors.

100 The percentage of senior business majors who passed the Major Field Test.

94 The number of student graduating with a Bachelors in Business Administration (BBA) in May 2016.

37 The number of business and economics majors who did an internship in 2015-16 academic year.

33 The number of student with concentration in Marketing and the same number in Finance, our two largest concentrations.

19 The number of full-time faculty in the Business Administration & Economics Department.

7 The number of concentrations available to business and non-business majors.

STRICTLY BUSINESS

Newsletter of Business Administration & Economics Department

West Hall Roanoke College

Salem, Virginia

Co-Editors: Stephanie Whitecross, ’17 Ali Nazemi, PhD