the culverhouse college of commerce executive magazine - fall 2008 edition

the

executiveCulverhouse College of Commerce Magazine

Fall ’08–Winter ’09

inside this issue: New programs in the College

Hall of Fame profiles

Distance-learning students find where there is a will, there is a way.

On-Line Learning is Growing>>

For more information about our graduates and how they contribute to your success, contact Linda Johnson, director of employer development and relations, at 205-348-3455 or e-mail [email protected].

Our Students. Your Future.

Keith Hanson will be a driving force in the economy of the future.

Keith Hanson graduated from The University of Alabama with a master’s degree in operations management, a bachelor’s degree in operations management and a bunch of job offers, as you might expect for an honor student. He chose BMW Manufacturing Co. in Spartanburg, S.C. The plant produced 157,530 cars last year. Enthusiasm for new ideas is at the core of BMW’s success. That is why the company recruits students like Keith — students who are as innovative as the automobiles Keith helps produce. BMW employees say the quality of the product they build is a primary motivation for excelling in their careers. For them, building the “ultimate driving machine” provides the ultimate employment experience. BMW announced in March it would spend $750 million to expand its production plant and create another 500 jobs.

The company must have seen Keith coming.

The University of Alabama • Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration • 35 Bidgood Hall • Box 870222 • Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0222

F a l l ’ 0 8 – W i N t e r ’ 0 9 C b a . u a . e d u 1

2 Dean’s Message

4 Mobile’s First Lady C&BA alumna has strong work ethic.

6 Rollin’, Rollin’, Rollin’ Culverhouse graduate returns home to run

family RV business.

8 Video Celebrity Accounting professor takes passion for

fiction writing in a new direction.

10 A Love of Basketball and a Winning Record UA graduate is using skills to make Atlanta

Dream come true.

12 On-Line Learning is Growing Distance-learning students find where there

is a will, there is a way.

18 International Issues in Istanbul Students get firsthand look at a dynamic

emerging market.

22 Ashley Mac’s Culverhouse graduate combines love for

cooking with marketing degree.

24 Annual Real Estate Conference RSA’s Bronner is scheduled to deliver

keynote address at event.

26 Creating a Balance Between Work and Pleasure Marketing graduate spreads the word about

state’s folk artists.

28 Real World Sales Lab Program prepares business students for

future careers.

30 The Alternative Spring Break Business school students forego beach trip

in order to shadow mentors.

34 New Programs in the College

36 In the News C&BA faculty provide insight and expert opinions.

38 Campaign Update PricewaterhouseCoopers and Reznick Group

each make pledge to School of Accountancy.

43 Faculty and Staff News Read about awards, appointments and

other items of interest.

46 Alabama Business Hall of Fame Outstanding group of five inductees added

to distinguished list.

52 Alumni on the Move Six graduates assume new leadership roles.

54 Where Are They Now? Here are more news and updates on

C&BA alumni.

Fall ’08–Winter ’09V o l u m e 1 3 • I s s u e 2

The Executive is published twice annually, in the spring and fall, for alumni and friends of the university of alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and business administration.

Dean:J. Barry Mason

Editor:William R. “Bill” Gerdes

Graphic Design:Tori NelkoOffice of Design and ProductionThe University of Alabama

Contributing Writers:Carmen Shea BrownTiffany FountainBill GerdesAaron MillerCarolyn M. Rhodes

Contributing Photographers:Zack Riggins, Laura Shill

Office of Development, Alumni, and Corporate Relations:Charlie Adair, Lindsey Blumenthal, Kathy DeShazo, Diane Harrison, Amy Henderson, Laura Rector

CulverHouse College oF CoMMerCe aNd busiNess adMiNistratioNbox 870223tuscaloosa, al 35487-0223

CoMMeNts, suggestioNs, questioNs: [email protected]

the university of alabama is an equal-opportunity educational institution/employer. MC7835

E x E c u t i v E c o n t E n t s>>

o n t h E c o v E r

Distance-learning students find where there is a will, there is a way.

12

the

executiveCulverhouse College of Commerce Magazine

2 C u l v e r H o u s e C o l l e g e o F C o M M e r C e

J. Barry MasonDEan anD thomas D. russEll ProfEssor

of BusinEss aDministration


As we approach the end of another year, the Culverhouse College of Commerce faces a number of challenging issues: less money with which to operate, higher enrollment, new leadership, accelerating faculty salaries, and of course, higher expectations as our student quality increases. But these issues bring opportunities. Through collaboration with other colleges we have developed programs and initiatives that will make us all better students, teachers and citizens. For example, we have developed a campuswide certificate program in ethics and social responsibility that is open to all students. Likewise, we have developed, with the College of Arts and Sciences and Auburn University, a minor in natural resource protection and management as part of our ongoing effort to address the “greening” issue. I am also happy to report that our entrepreneurship program is once again ranked in the top 20 nationally by Entrepreneur magazine. We have established a campuswide entrepreneurship council that is raising the awareness level of entrepreneurship across campus. As you will read elsewhere in this publication, we have opened a state-of-the-art sales lab that has proven

to be very attractive to high-profile firms looking for quality students in the field. In the context of nontraditional market opportunities, we are now offering an online course in finance to high school seniors that can count for three credit hours at both the high school and college level. Our overall numbers in online education continue to increase as our world becomes more and more technically oriented and students find computer courses much more compatible with their busy lifestyles, not to mention the pressure applied by the increasing cost of commuting. And as you read this, we will likely be within $15 million or so of our capital campaign goal, a challenge to be sure, but with your help, one we will surely reach. I recently had the occasion to meet six first-generation students, each with a scholarship to The University of Alabama, thanks to the generosity of Energen Corp. and James McManus, its chief executive officer. The stories of these accomplished students are touching and inspirational, and their faces are the faces of our future. I hope you will consider a year-end gift to your college to help us round out this capital campaign. The students you help educate and the teachers you support are keys to the future.

Challenges Bring OpportunitiesCollaborative efforts will keep us moving forward.

D E a n ’ s m E s s a g E>>


Damson is now the chairman and CEO of Long’s Human Resource Services in Mobile, a company started by her father in 1948 and based on the idea of providing work for people who want to work. “My father instilled a hard-line work ethic in me at a very early age,” Damson said. “He had seen far too many people lose their way in life and made it his mission to help them.” She was well aware that she would have a career in the business world from an early age, because her father told her she would. “I had applied to several other colleges,” Damson said. “My father came to me and told me that I could apply to as many as I wanted, but that I would be going to The University of Alabama.” Damson came to the Capstone in 1964. The University and the business program in particular were quite different than they are today. Men outnumbered women by a staggering majority, and Damson was one of the few women breaking the mold. “I remember there being a lot of men in the program at the time, and it was very rare to see a woman go into a field that was predominantly male,” Damson said. Damson, however, took well to the business school and its teachers. She was awarded the coveted Austin Cup, the business school’s highest award, and excelled in and outside of the classroom. “I was never in student government, but I was in the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and the president of the Panhellenic Council,” Damson said.

She believes that having access to professors and other administration members is the most important thing about college. “Being able to talk to professors was something I was always happy about,” Damson said. “Nowadays you hear many students say that they have never met their professors and feel as if they are just a number, and I was happy I never had that problem. No matter how disinterested a student becomes, it is important that students and teachers always have an open dialogue, and this is often overlooked in undergraduate.” Damson said that her favorite and most useful class in college, besides economics, was business letter writing. She believes that this is a skill that is often overlooked at many colleges today. “I see people every day that simply cannot write a letter expressing in a polite matter exactly what it is that they want,” Damson said. “To me this is a very important skill to have.” Damson, who has strong family ties with the M.B.A. program at the Capstone, said she wishes she had stayed more involved with the University but is grateful for meeting so many wonderful people there. “I am really proud of the strides that the University is making in leadership and accepting and attracting excellent students,” Damson said. Damson has taken all of the lessons she has learned inside the classroom and out and applied them to her everyday life in business. Long’s Human Resource Services has a wide variety of positions for

Mobile’s First Lady C&BA alumna has strong work ethic.

By aaron m illEr

Sarah Long Damson has been called chairman, chief executive officer, volunteer and role model, but of all of the titles she holds her most beloved is that of mom and grandmother.


>> a l u m n i f E a t u r E

outplacement and redline groups that have been put out of work. “Life is something that gives you credibility, and you should center yourself on what you can influence,” Damson said. “You are really only as good as the last interaction that you have had with a person.” Volunteer work has always played an important role in Damson’s life. She has tried to help other people and enjoys knowing that she has made a difference in someone’s life. “My father and mother encouraged me constantly to take part in helping people in the community,” Damson said. “Volunteering for groups has been one of the highlights in my life, and I am fortunate to have met many outstanding people in the process.” Damson was hooked on volunteering after she had received Junior League training. The Junior League is an organization that promotes women to become trained volunteers to allow them to reach out into the community and make a difference through charitable work. “After finishing my league work, I decided to join the United Way,” Damson said. “Through working with the United Way I have been able to meet so many people that have influenced my life.” Damson, who has worked with and chaired several positions with Carl Jones, Anne Jones, Edith Wilcox and Doris Claire Stein, credits them with being people who have had a great influence in her life. “They have always challenged me, and I have always admired them for their strong integrity and ethics,” Damson said.

She has recently slowed down in her volunteering efforts to focus on work and on her grandchildren. “When people start thinking that you are working for them,” Damson said, “it is time to change your stance as a volunteer.” Now she is more focused on engaging some of the new models that her company has just recently adopted. Damson still finds time to help out at her church and do some other volunteering on the side. “I enjoy mentoring young women,” Damson said. “I love watching the next generation of women grow more successful.” For all of her accomplishments in volunteering and in the business world, the Mobile chapters of Beta Sigma Phi have bestowed upon Damson the title of “Mobile’s first lady.” “It is such an honor to receive an award for doing what you love,” Damson said. “I love this area, and I am very appreciative of this honor.” Damson looks forward to her work and her grandchildren. She is also trying to connect with old friends who have fallen out of touch. “I love my work, and I want to be more of a presence in my grandchildren’s lives,” Damson said. “I am planning on connecting with some of my old friends and making those relationships even stronger.”

Aaron Miller is a senior majoring in journalism.

“I love watching the next generation of women grow more successful.”

E

sarah long Damson


“A family business can be a great experience for someone. It’s not always easy, but it can be very rewarding.”

JamiE DoDD


E

Rollin’, Rollin’, Rollin’ Culverhouse graduate returns home to run family RV business.

By t i ffany founta in

Jamie Dodd has fond memories of his time spent at the Capstone, especially in the fall, when those RVs rolled into town for a Crimson Tide football game. When Dodd graduated from The University of Alabama in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in management and marketing, he knew going into the family RV business one day was a possibility. But life took Dodd in a different direction. Following graduation, he worked four years for an automotive group. But his career path led back home to Virginia in the summer of 2000, and he began six months of training at the family business, Dodd RV. By January 2001, he became general manager, and after earning his master’s degree from the University of Florida in 2002, he bought the dealership from his father. With his two sisters, Susie Shiflet and Jennifer Moore, working by his side, Dodd has built the business into the most successful RV dealership in its market. When Dodd joined the business, Dodd RV was at the bottom of the rank in its market share. Now, with 45 employees in two locations, it has grown to No. 1 in the East and has held that designation for the past four years. How Dodd, a Virginia native, ended up at The University of Alabama is a testament to the business school’s 20th-ranked entrepreneurship program and its attention to the owners of small businesses. Dodd was a distance runner at a junior college in Asheville, N.C., and traveled all over the Southeast for competitions. As he traveled, he looked at a number of four-year institutions to transfer to, but few offered the classes he wanted. “Sure, many of them had general business programs, but Alabama had a great small-business program,” Dodd said. Dodd said he attributes much of his success to lessons learned from professors in the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. Dr. Mark Weaver, now director of Louisiana State

University’s Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute, was one such professor. “Dr. Weaver gave me a lot of ideas when I was 21, 22 years old,” Dodd said. Classes on operating small businesses were rare at that time, Dodd said, but Weaver taught several classes during which students worked at real-world jobs. Dodd said it was helpful for him and fellow classmates to see the actual challenges of running a small business. “Once we went through those classes, our batteries were charged,” Dodd said. Dodd said he learned the importance of studying the competition and its business strategies, and that in order to succeed, one must look for ideas from other successful businesses. When Dodd took over Dodd RV, he started to observe companies like Starbucks and Home Depot. “We copied it all,” he said. Dodd said success did not come easily. His ideas clashed with those of his father. But Dodd said he relied on a lesson he learned in college. “Conflicts will come up in a family business. Take the effort to learn from them,” Dodd said. Despite the economy and rising gas prices, Dodd said he thinks RVs remain an economical way to travel. “By the time you pay for your lodging, food and entertainment, you come out significantly cheaper owning an RV.” And while his dealership has seen a drop in the sales of large motor homes, the sales of pull-behind and smaller campers have remained steady. Dodd said there are many students in college contemplating going into their family business one day, and he offers this observation. “A family business can be a great experience for someone,” he said. “It’s not always easy, but it can be very rewarding.”

Tiffany Fountain is a junior majoring in journalism.



Early in life Dr. Mary Stone, director of the Culverhouse School of Accountancy, wanted to be a fiction writer. Since then she has found another way to earn celebrity status of a sort — she appears in accounting instructional videos. “I always wanted to be a fiction writer,” Stone said. “While I was looking for inspiration in my writing, I took an accounting class and it just seemed right.” Stone graduated from Central Florida University with a bachelor’s degree in English and then returned to the university to earn her master’s in accountancy. She later received her doctorate in accountancy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Stone has been doing the standards videos for the past 10 years and prepared for her first video by going to Reese Phifer Hall to practice in front of a camera. “I wanted to make sure that I was used to being on camera and using a teleprompter,” Stone said. “It really

did help me to prepare for the video, but I was still extremely nervous.” Stone scripts all of the videos and travels to Jersey City, N.J., every year to produce the videos so that they can be distributed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. “I am honored that they keep asking me to be a part of the videos each year,” Stone said. “The explanation that they provide to me gives everyone, including myself, a better understanding of the standards.” Stone said doing the videos helps her to better prepare for classes and allows her to help her students better understand accounting as a whole. “Every year I learn about new standards and have others explained to me before the new textbooks are out,” Stone said. “I take everything that I learn and relay directly back to my students.” Stone said that the videos have made her more recognizable when she is traveling around.

Video Celebrity Accounting professor takes passion for fiction writing in a new direction.

By aaron m illEr


>> f a c u l t y f E a t u r E

“It doesn’t happen that often,” Stone said. “But occasionally people will approach me in the airport and ask where they know me from, and it is usually from the videos.” She remembered an encounter several years ago, when the videos had a segment on “cooking the books” with a very memorable line. “The line in the video was ‘abracadabra the books are cooked,’” Stone said. “A few people in the airport were coming up to me and saying, ‘abracadabra.’ It was pretty funny.” While making these videos, Stone has been able to work with some of the most brilliant professionals in accounting. “All of the people that I have encountered while working on the standards videos have been amazing,” Stone said. “Ben Neuhausen has been a really important influence on me professionally.”

Ben Neuhausen is the chairman of the Accounting Standards Executive Committee and is well known throughout the accounting community as one of the best. “He is extremely knowledgeable and has a great understanding of business transactions,” Stone said. “He is great at translating the topics into understandable terms.” Stone said that she hopes she will be able to do more of the videos in the future but loves being at the University and teaching. “I really enjoy teaching students and working with such great people,” Stone said. “I still love writing, but now I am writing about business topics instead of fiction.”


“While I was looking for inspiration in my writing, I took an accounting class and it just seemed right.”

E

Dr . mary stonE

1 0 C u l v e r H o u s e C o l l e g e o F C o M M e r C e

A Love of Basketball and a Winning Record UA graduate is using skills to make Atlanta Dream come true.

By aaron m illEr

Bill Bolen, president of the Women’s National Basketball Association’s Atlanta Dream, is using his marketing skills and experience in working with start-up companies to make the Atlanta Dream come true. “Working for the Atlanta Dream is different than anything I have ever done before,” Bolen said. “The first game is the set date that we start up, whether we are ready or not.” Bolen earned a degree in marketing from the Culverhouse College of Commerce, where he also received the Austin Cup, the business school’s top academic honor, and the Ramsey Award. He graduated from the University in 1991 and later earned his master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University in 1996. Bolen, who tried out for the basketball team at the University, has taken his love of the game and his winning record in business to help bring a fresh perspective to women’s basketball. “It requires building a brand, staying true to the brand and simply applying the basics of marketing to

make the team successful,” Bolen said. “The team’s talent and athletic ability are helping break the stereotype of women’s basketball and transform the way people think about gender and the sport as a whole.” The team’s opening home game, against the Detroit Shock, was last May at Philips Arena in Atlanta. The Dream played to a sell-out crowd with 10,039. Unfortunately, the team did not win on the court that evening, but it did win over the people of Atlanta. “We are through the tough times and take every game one at a time,” Bolen said. “We have a remarkable staff, players with talent and positive attitudes that are unmatched, and fantastic personnel.” Bolen said he goes to as many practices as he can and tries to build a strong relationship with the team and coaches. “I was lucky to have very strong mentors,” Bolen said. “Dean Barry Mason and the late Dr. Morris Mayer were influential in helping me with decisions in my academic career, and I learned how to be a well-rounded professional from them.”

F a l l ’ 0 8 – W i N t e r ’ 0 9 C b a . u a . e d u 1 1

Bolen, who remains in contact with Mason, said he believes the connections made at the University and the people he knew helped him academically and as a whole. “The people I encountered while I was there helped me to realize the importance of service to the community,” Bolen said. Bolen said the late Dr. Mayer inspired him to find his first internship, which in turn led to his first job with Dow Chemical. “I never even considered working for Dow in any capacity,” Bolen said. “Dr. Mayer came and asked me why I hadn’t applied for the internship with them for the summer. After talking to him about it, I decided to go for it, and sure enough I got the position.” “The quality of education that you receive at the University is remarkable,” Bolen said. “Any person who graduates from the University is equipped with the skills to succeed anywhere in the world.” From that internship, Bolen moved on to work with McKinsey & Company, a global marketing and management firm, and later opened his own firm,

the Divinci Group. He has worked with many young companies to help take their products and ideas to the next level of success locally, nationally and internationally. He left the Divinci Group for the Atlanta Dream expansion team and has not looked back. Bolen said working with the community, doing local service projects, is one of the most critical aspects of the team and is in sync with the overall mission of the team. The team has been involved in many community service action programs, from holding camps for young girls to support for the community food bank. “I love the aspect of an exciting new challenge, and the city of Atlanta is a great place with wonderful people,” Bolen said. Bolen, his wife, Stacey, and their two children, Ansley and Will, live outside Atlanta in Kennesaw.


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“Any person who graduates from the University is

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LearningisOn-Line


Distance-learning students find where there is a will, there is a way.By carmen shea Brown

Stephen Smith could have easily given up. “After I graduated high school, my intent was to go to college, graduate and get a job,” Smith said. “It didn’t exactly work out that way.” Smith was a senior majoring in engineering at Auburn University in Montgomery when he took a job with Select Ticketing, a computer company based in Syracuse, N.Y. He tried finishing his degree at Syracuse University, but the job required large amounts of travel, which made achieving his educational goals difficult. In the mid-1990s, his job took him back to Birmingham, where he tried taking evening classes at The University of Alabama at Birmingham to finish up his degree. This plan also did not work out. “Then I saw an ad for distance learning at UA, which is where I’d really wanted to go to school in the first place,” Smith said. It happened at the right time. Smith, 40, said he was ready to explore another aspect of his career. “I’m at a place in my life now where I’m very forward thinking,” Smith said. “I really don’t need a degree for what I’m doing now, but I’m thinking about five or 10 years from now — what certifications and skills will I need. I didn’t need anything else technical. I needed to get the business side of my career down.”

( c o n t i n u E D o n P a g E 1 4 )

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( c o n t i n u E D f r o m P a g E 1 3 )

After meeting with Nina Smith and other staff at UA’s College of Continuing Studies, he decided to enroll in the online bachelor’s degree program in general business, otherwise known as the B.S.C.B.A. program. Smith now works as an engineer at SISCO, which also keeps him on the road. But thanks to the online program, he said, he will complete his degree in two to three semesters. “It has been a very positive experience,” Smith said. “And this is coming from someone who had less than positive experiences in the past.” Leah Peterzell, 29, also knows what it is like to be held back from the finish line. After attending the University of Tennessee for three years and majoring in retail management, she accepted a job with Edward Jones and relocated to Auburn, Ala., where she lived for four years. After considering other schools such as Auburn University and Troy University, she heard about the general business online degree at The University of Alabama from one of her friends. “She put me in touch with Jennifer Humber, and she looked at my transcripts from UT and helped me determine the path I should take,” Peterzell said. “I’ve received just as much attention online as any students in the classroom.” Peterzell moved to Atlanta, Ga., in May to complete an internship at LSI Corp., where she plans to become a regular employee upon graduation in December. Mountain Brook native and former UA baseball center fielder Emeel Salem Jr. was close to completing his bachelor’s degree in marketing when fate threw him a curve. Salem was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the summer of 2007, just two semesters before he expected to graduate.

“I got drafted and I knew I had to go, but I wanted to finish my degree,” Salem said. While staying in Hudson Valley, N.Y., he took GBA 490 Strategic Management online. Salem, 23, said that online learning was so conducive to his schedule that he took another class and an online independent study last fall to complete his degree. Success stories like those of Smith, Peterzell and Salem would not be possible without the ongoing partnership between the College of Continuing Studies and UA’s College of Commerce and Business Administration. Two complete online degree programs launched in fall 2005 to serve nontraditional students wishing to complete their degrees. The Bachelor of Science in commerce and business administration and a Master of Science in operations management, a specialized degree that targets people who work in supply chain and logistics. Jennifer Humber, academic adviser for the online general business degree program, said she is excited and proud of the rapid growth and popularity of distance learning. “When I accepted this position a couple of years ago, we had less than 40 students enrolled in our online classes,” Humber said. “As the program continues to grow, we strive to add courses and resources to meet the students’ needs and concerns. While an online program can be very challenging, our students typically respond with the confidence and satisfaction that the hard work

“While an online program can

be very challenging, our students typically respond with the confidence and

satisfaction that the hard work and sacrifice was

definitely worth it in the end.” —Jennifer Humber


and sacrifice was definitely worth it in the end.” Allan Guenther, program manager for the College of Continuing Studies, said that the partnership between CCS and the College of Commerce and Business Administration continues to grow. A third online degree program in the making is the Master of Arts in management. Guenther said the degree is cutting-edge because of its global emphasis. “By fall 2009 we expect to have all of the courses developed in the online format and we expect our enrollments to be significant as our marketing efforts increase,” Guenther said. “What’s neat about this third program is its broader appeal. We have students who want to work in another country, and even people who stay here often work in corporations that have a global impact.” Guenther said students interested in applying to the online degree programs come into it with lots of questions. “Can I do this? Do I have the time? Am I too old? Does what I took many years ago still count?” Guenther said. “Another question I used to get a lot is, what will my degree say? And I tell them it is exactly the same as the traditional business degree. It will say the exact same thing.” But the questions do not stop there. Even after being accepted, distance students have to juggle family, work and life in general, Guenther said.

“We don’t do advising, but we can provide support through our libraries, directing them to the right person in financial aid or the Career Center,” Guenther said. “Our philosophy is that there’s nothing out there that our campus students have that they shouldn’t have. Access to resources should be the same and the quality of the degree is the same.” Guenther said that addressing the educational needs of the adult student goes back 70 to 80 years when independent study courses using mail-in assignments began. In the early 1990s, videotaped lectures, known as the QUEST program, were developed. The late 1990s saw many individual courses offered online, and after the year 2000, UA hit the ground running with online degree programs and courses. What has changed in recent years, however, is that as online classes become more popular, instructors are using technology to mirror a real classroom experience. For instance, many faculty in the business college, particularly EC 110 and EC 111 instructors, have recently used Wimba collaborative learning technology in the classroom. Wimba has revolutionized online learning by using a Web conferencing format in which students and instructors can participate in live chats on a regular basis to discuss course content and assignments that could otherwise only be accomplished in a real classroom. Dr. Louis Marino, associate professor of entrepreneurship and strategic management, uses the Wimba to facilitate his GBA 490 online course. “When one student talks, everyone hears them,” Marino said. “If I talk, everyone can hear me. This has been particularly effective with our case study assignments, which otherwise would be challenging

Emeel salem Jr. took online classes to complete his degree after being drafted by the tampa Bay Devil rays.




to do with an online format. Let’s say someone does a great job on a financial analysis. I can send them a virtual token, which is like a share link, and if they accept it they can use it to share their assignment with the other students.” Marino also uses the Wimba technology toassist with his regular M.B.A. classes. “What’s neat is I’m bringing technology from online to the classroom, whereas before instructors were implementing classroom activities into an online format.” Guenther said that this cutting-edge technology and the superior quality of the academic unit and faculty shatter the negative image that online learning may have had in the past. “We have at least 40 online instructors, and more than 50 if you include the master’s programs, and I would put our business school instructors up against any of the other programs in the country,” Guenther said. Dr. Tom Downs, associate professor of finance, teaches three different versions of Finance 302: face-to-face, traditional online and a new hybrid version that consists of a blend between face-to-face meetings and online class assignments. FI 302-901, the traditional online course, is conducted strictly online and has no attendance requirement. FI 302-001, the hybrid version, has a weekly lab attendance requirement and four exams. Downs said although the hybrid version is less flexible than the traditional online course, it has the highest enrollment and appears to be the most effective form of learning for students. “The glue that holds this together is the 30 digitized lectures available online, and we also have quizzes online for all three sections,” Downs said. “The spillover effects from the online videos to the classroom

are amazing. Students who take the regular course do not have to watch the videos, but many of them do so anyway, and it has helped them to learn better.” Guenther expects the trend toward hybrid courses to continue. “I think there’s always going to be that campus component there,” Guenther said. “But I think we’re going to see an expansion of online courses and even more of these blended or hybrid courses.” Improvements in distance education have given new meaning to the concept of a UA community. Guenther said that CCS research has almost always found a connection between The University of Alabama and the distant student. “They usually live in the same state or the same region, and then some live in other parts of the country,” Guenther said. “There’s always some kind of connection to UA there. It’s like we’re one big family.”


“We have at least 40 online instructors,

and more than 50 if you

include the master’s programs, and I would

put our business school instructors up against any of the

other programs in the country.” —Allan Guenther


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Online instructors have also used new technology to curb plagiarism and cheating. Marino said online instructors use several versions of the same test to administer to students online. Many of them also utilize the Web site http://turnitin.com in which they submit papers online and compare them to other students in the class and to papers on similar subjects that were submitted online. “Some people see this as a punitive tool, but it’s not,” Marino said. “It can help them learn about what exactly constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it.”

Online B.S.C.B.A. Program• Over2,600onlineC&BAcourseenrollmentsin

the 2007–08 academic year, campus and *distance enrollments combined, with over 900 of these enrollments being distance enrollments

• Over200*distancestudentscurrentlyadmitted in the online B.S.C.B.A. program, with an estimate that the number of distance students will be close to 300 by the spring 2009 semester

• Over600applicationsfrom*distancestudentsfor admission to the online B.S.C.B.A. program since 2005, the year of the program’s launch

*Students who are pursuing their degree completely online

Online M.S.O.M. Program• Over70onlineM.S.O.M.enrollmentsinthe

2007–08 academic year, with most all of the students in the program being *distance students

• Atotalof14studentscurrentlyadmittedinthe online M.S.O.M. program

• Over60applicationsforadmissiontotheonline M.S.O.M. since 2005, the year of the program’s launch

*Students who are pursuing their degree completely online


In 2008, the Republic of Turkey celebrated its 85th anniversary as a republic and 555 years of independence, and there is no question that this overwhelmingly Muslim country has come a long way. Turkey is a dynamic emerging market at the crossroads of the world trade routes and in close proximity to the developing energy-producing regions of the Caspian Sea and Central Asia. All of which makes Turkey an ideal site for the Culverhouse College of Commerce’s Interim summer overseas group program called “International Issues in Istanbul.” “Turkey is an historic crossroads between East and West, Asia and Europe, Islam and Christianity, with emerging and developed economies,” said Dr. Glenn Richey, associate professor of marketing and supply chain management at The University of Alabama and faculty director of the school’s Turkish study abroad program. “It is the best opportunity I can think of for teaching students how to be open-minded about the future of business. Plus, it is a heck of a conversation piece on any student’s résumé,” Richey said. While the Silk Road used to link West and East through what the Romans called Asia Minor, modern Turkey in the post-Cold War era finds itself a literal bridge between these two worlds. No other country is simultaneously a member of such diverse organizations as NATO and the Islamic Conference Organization. Even today Richey has been asked by companies such as Georgia Pacific about best practices for land distribution from Europe to the Middle East and Far East. His reply?

“There still isn’t an answer.” On the economic side, economic principles that were adopted more than two decades ago have created a fully functioning market economy. Many structural reforms enacted along the way increased the strength and resilience of the economy. Today, Turkey ranks 17th in the world in terms of the size of its gross national product, which was $658 billion last year. It is the largest economy in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Black Sea basin, the Caspian Sea basin and the Middle East. In 2007, the per capita income rose to $9,300 while the trade volume has reached an all-time high of $277 billion. About two years ago, Richey attended the invitation-only Consortium for International Marketing Research conference as a guest speaker at the prestigious Koc University in Istanbul. He earned the best reviewer award and is now a regular at the conference that will convene in Beijing, China, in 2009. Over time, Richey has maintained relationships with business leaders and educators from the region, which has opened doors for Alabama students to study business in a country that facilitates Middle Eastern Islamic trade. The goal of the coursework is to tie related business concepts and tools to both European and Asian (especially Islamic) real-world situations, preparing students for dynamic decision making in their careers. The course incorporates lectures; class discussions; guest speakers across history, culture and law; videos; and team presentations.

By carolyn m. rhodes

International Issues in IstanbulStudents get firsthand look at a dynamic emerging market.


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Study abroad programs attract a diverse group of students. Some have never left America, while others have never left Alabama. Some are undergraduates, others are graduate students, and a few are already business managers looking to improve communications within a competitive world marketplace. Dr. Chad Hilton, director of international programs for the Culverhouse College of Commerce for more than 20 years, has lectured on many trips overseas and has accompanied students to countries such as China, Korea, Italy, Spain and France. “It’s a collective team effort,” Hilton said. “Capstone International is our first connection.” The Capstone International Center supports UA’s international efforts on campus as well as throughout the state and the world. The center coordinates the University’s international endeavors; facilitates the development of a global perspective campuswide; and supports students, faculty and staff in global outreach, teaching and research. “We simply could not get off the ground without Capstone International’s academic programs, as far as their implementation of the hardest part – the administrative and advertising,” Hilton said. “Capstone International encouraged me to outsource all the logistical issues related to my trip to Turkey. … You would think a supply chain professor would have known to do that. They made the trip a success,” Richey said. Dr. Jane Stanfield, director of Capstone International, and Angela Channell, director of overseas study, have been the driving forces, and their coordination is vital to the success of the trips, Hilton said. Richey worked closely with Capstone International throughout the planning phase of the trip to Turkey. This collaboration started the ball rolling, along with his communication with top Istanbul educators

and business professionals from the international community in Turkey. As Istanbul program director, Richey coordinated lectures with Dr. Matt Tokman, a native of Turkey and a graduate of the marketing doctoral program at UA, who is now employed at James Madison University. Dr. Banu Elmadag, who recently earned her doctorate in marketing, joined the group. She teaches marketing and supply chain management at Istanbul Tech. Tokman and Elmadag, both international students from Turkey, helped the American contingent understand the Turkish perspective and helped the Turks understand the Alabama view. Mustafa Bayraktar, who received his undergraduate degree in finance at UA, had dinner with Richey on his visit. Mustafa is the chief executive officer of multibillion dollar, family-owned businesses. He directs the operation of an automotive trading company and a company that operates a sunflower crushing and refining plant with operations in Turkey, Romania and Azerbaijan. The guests included Michael Baldwin, managing director of an Islamic Finance Company. Baldwin graduated from C&BA in the 1960s. “Michael watches UA football games on the Web in the middle of the night. I promised I would send him any info that I get on the team,” Richey said. The cultural linkage was cemented with presentations by Gil Alic, strategic manager of Sony Eurasia, and Vivek Pandi, Koc professor and director of an import-export law firm. While most of the lectures were held at Koc University, tours and site visits were led by Richey and a local tour guide. Istanbul is a city of artifacts and architectural wonders, Western retailers, trendy bazaars and street festivals, and folk music and dance.

“The more our students can learn about different

cultures and different systems of business the

better, and for that reason Turkey is great.”

—Dr. Chad Hilton



John Watkins, a graduate of UA’s M.B.A. program, said, “Turkey seems to live a dual life as a Western yet Islamic nation even though the government is secular. It’s a fascinating duality.” One of the students, Shani Phillips, spent her out-of-class time taking lessons in belly dancing and enjoying a massage at the Turkish baths. Undergraduate management student Ben Salida said he was impressed with the people he met. “I would recommend this trip to anyone who wants to see a culture that is moving towards a Western lifestyle. Traveling the countryside of Turkey and the visit to Cappadocia’s rock mountain caves and the dinner cruise were some of my favorite experiences on the tours, besides the lectures and presentations.” Jackie Freeman, an accounting major, said, “Understanding the history and current culture is essential. The preparatory class was important. Knowing the current political and socio-economic state of Turkey prepared me to process things. I personally was absorbed in the presentations and eager to learn more.” A highlight of the trip was a dinner cruise through the historic and strategically positioned Bosporus strait. The Bosporus divides the Asian and European sides of Istanbul and connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. Watkins said the trip altered his business perspective of the world. “The Bosporus strait is important on many levels. It is symbolic of a dividing line of Europe and Asia, where the Bosporus river bridge connects two continents, Asia and Europe. Throughout history it has played a crucial military role as a natural barrier. Today, it is the lifeblood of Istanbul as it serves as a busy hub for fishing boats, ferries and tankers. Russia’s Black Sea ports like Odessa also connect with the Mediterranean, a vital outlet for Russian oil.”

M.B.A. student Jill Hickman, whose brother is serving in Iraq, said, “Turkish students don’t have all the privileges we have in America. Sometimes we take our freedom and privileges for granted as Americans. Many of the Turkish students wish they had the opportunities we have here.” Rachel Smith, a spring 2008 graduate with a degree in marketing and an interest in supply chain management, said she felt the trip was invaluable to her new position as a district manager with Aldi. “The program has given me a greater understanding of international business and what drives a consumer’s needs and wants in an expanding marketplace.” According to Hilton and Richey, the College is starting an exchange program between The University of Alabama and Koc University. “The more our students can learn about different cultures and different systems of business the better, and for that reason Turkey is great and we’re planning the next trip,” Hilton said. “We also need to expand to areas such as India and Brazil. Next July, 2009, we will bring students to Australia.” Richey said Hilton takes the management side of the trip and he takes the marketing side. “The connection is very tight,” Richey said, adding that he will be speaking and teaching in Spain, Cuba, China, Turkey and Australia for fall 2008 and spring 2009. “Many people don’t recognize the influence the college of business has on world economics. I hope what we are doing with global supply chain management will make that more apparent.” E

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By aaron mil ler

Ashley Mac’sCulverhouse graduate combines love for cooking with marketing degree.

Ashley McMakin, a 2002 graduate of the Culverhouse College of Commerce, has taken her marketing skills and combined them with her love for cooking to develop the perfect recipe for entrepreneurship. “I was sitting at work one day, talking to a friend about cooking,” McMakin said. “That is how we came up with the idea to start a catering service.” McMakin and her co-worker began working out of their kitchens to get the business started and have never looked back. “The business began growing like crazy,” McMakin said. “It became so big, that we had to quit our jobs.” McMakin, who was working at an advertising company, had to buy her partner out after her partner decided to leave. McMakin has stayed with the catering service and parlayed it into a thriving business. “I always knew that I wanted to be in food,” McMakin said. “My mother was a great cook, and she is the one that really turned me on to cooking.” The business has expanded so quickly that her husband, Andy McMakin, quit his job to help her with the still-growing business. He handles most of the business from the couple’s home. “My husband’s experience as a CPA (UA, accounting, 2003) has been extremely helpful in dealing with the business end of everything,” McMakin said.

McMakin has just completed her first year in the store at 759 Shades Mountain Plaza in Birmingham but is finishing her third year after having worked two years out of her house. McMakin’s store, dubbed Ashley Mac’s, mainly caters to businesses, private parties and customers who want dinners to go. She also offers quick take-out snacks and box lunches. “I like doing the business meetings and private parties,” McMakin said. “I want to try and stay away from the wedding crowd as much as possible.” Ashley Mac’s is also in the early stages of shipping brownies and eventually cakes. “We have already started to ship brownies,” McMakin said. “We still haven’t quite figured out how to ship the cakes to ensure freshness and to make sure there is minimal damage.” McMakin also plans to open a new store in Cahaba Heights. The business delivers throughout Birmingham and some surrounding cities. Available products can be seen online at http://ashleymacs.com. “I am doing what I have always wanted to do since college,” McMakin said. “I love cooking and serving homemade food.”


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The Alabama Center for Real Estate at The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration has had a busy year, and 2009 promises to be just as eventful. The Ninth Annual Commercial Real Estate Conference will be held Jan. 30, 2009, at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, which includes the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel. David Bronner, chief executive officer of the Retirement Systems of Alabama, will be the keynote speaker. The RSA in June provided pension benefits to more than 100,000 retirees or their survivors and paid out $2.035 billion in fiscal 2007. According to Grayson Glaze, executive director of ACRE, the conference will include sessions on networking, professional development, the real estate outlook for 2009 and technology trends in the real estate profession. ACRE also recently teamed with the Home Builders Association of Alabama to collect, analyze, store and disseminate a new comprehensive monthly report on the state’s home building industry. The new report was introduced in August. “This is truly an exciting partnership with HBAA,” Glaze said, “and we expect it to have a significant impact on the housing industry in the state as well as consumers.” Since 1999, ACRE has partnered with the Alabama Association of Realtors and continues to produce monthly reports that provide useful information

associated with existing home sales and housing affordability, Glaze said. “The new construction report will complement this report, allowing the center to provide even greater coverage for our real estate stakeholders and consumers in every corner of the state.” The real estate program has also seen a large increase in student enrollment, Glaze said. The program has revived Rho Epsilon, the real estate fraternity, which now offers presentations by real estate professionals and other business people. “Our core curriculum now includes real estate finance, management, appraisal, development, investment analysis, and real and personal law,” Glaze said. “In addition, our Real Estate Career Assistance Program offers help in finding internships as well as permanent employment assistance. This past spring we placed 16 interns and found permanent positions for eight students who had completed the real estate curriculum.” ACRE is located in Room 127 of Bidgood Hall on the UA campus. The ACRE Web site provides housing statistics, construction statistics, information about educational events, student résumés, employment and internship opportunities, information about the ACRE staff and board of trustees, and an online store where interested persons can order a number of real estate publications. For more information visit the Web site at http://acre.cba.ua.edu.

Annual Real Estate ConferenceRSA’s Bronner is scheduled to deliver keynote address at event.

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“This is truly an exciting partnership with HBAA and

we expect it to have a significant impact on the housing industry in the state as well as consumers.” —Grayson Glaze


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Doug McCraw is the founder and president of Peregrine Partners Group Inc., a real estate development company in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. But McCraw, a University of Alabama graduate with a degree in marketing, now splits his time between Fort Lauderdale and Birmingham, Ala., where he has a loft and gallery filled with contemporary art. Over the past 20 years, he has balanced his heavy work schedule with his passion for art and has amassed a substantial contemporary art collection. McCraw was born in Tuscaloosa. Following graduation from UA, he founded Data Archive Services Inc. in 1981 and sold it in 1996 to Iron Mountain Group, a national records management company. That allowed more time and focus for returning to his Alabama roots, where he is exploring new projects and other business interests. But now, McCraw said, he is refocusing his business interests on some new opportunities. He said he feels Alabama in the next five to 10 years will be one of the top business markets for domestic growth, and he wants to be a part of it. “Coming home to my roots in Alabama

and The University of Alabama feels great,” he said. Much of McCraw’s time and energy will be spent making people aware of Alabama’s folk artists and their rich heritage. McCraw spends much of his time with Birmingham’s Alabama Folk Art Museum project, which features and celebrates the rich history of the state’s folk art. The Smithsonian National Museum Web site will soon be exhibiting the 82-piece collection of artist and photographer Hank Willis Thomas. The collection is jointly owned by McCraw and his sister, Becky Patterson, and is currently on display at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta as part of the exhibit titled “After 1968: Contemporary Artists and the Civil Rights Legacy.” The collection will move from the High Museum to the Smithsonian in November 2008 and then on to the West Coast. McCraw said he wants to get the word out nationally that Alabama has a large concentration of some of the country’s most influential and talented folk artists. McCraw has been a steadfast supporter of the University. He serves on the President’s Cabinet and is

Creating a Balance Between Work and PleasureMarketing graduate spreads the word about state’s folk artists.By carolyn m. rhodes


a past chairman of the business school’s International Business Advisory Board. Additionally, McCraw has funded scholarships for students who wish to study abroad, because his internships abroad to Holland and Sweden while he was a student changed his perspective on his business and personal goals, he said. Dr. Chad Hilton, director of international studies at the business school and a longtime McCraw friend, said, “Doug contributed significantly to the advisory board’s focus on entrepreneurship and the tech sector. His contacts resulted in successful liaisons between Culverhouse and business leaders in our community. Doug is a great friend to the business school, its international business programs and the University. He has energy and enthusiasm the board greatly appreciated, and he’s a great collaborator. He has a heck of a serious contemporary art collection, too.” “Doug is an interesting guy,” said Pam Parker, vice president for advancement at UA. “His connections are broad and deep within his Tuscaloosa roots, and his commitment to this University is immeasurable. He has connected others to us who would not have ordinarily

become involved with our University.” McCraw refers to his collections as “a bit of serendipity” — eclectic, culturally diverse and covering a broad range. His private collection includes works of many Alabama artists, such as Lonnie Holley, the sandstone artist who exhibited his work at the White House during the Clinton era; Thornton Dial, famous for his Picasso-like self portraits; Charles Lucas, who works through the medium of mosaics, tiles and sculpture; and the famous Gee’s Bend Quilters. McCraw said he believes that art is genetic and that all artists, whether trained or with little formal education, share a common thread: “a genius for art.” McCraw speaks fondly of childhood memories of family trips to Moundville Archaeological Park and his family’s strong ties to UA. His mother, Ina, graduated in 1956; his sister Becky graduated in 1963; brother Bob graduated in 1968; and a younger sister Jan graduated in 1983.

“He has energy and enthusiasm the board greatly appreciated, and he’s a great collaborator. He has a heck of a serious contemporary art collection, too.”

—Dr. Chad Hilton

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Doug m c craw


Nervous students dressed in business attire anxiously paced the corridors of Bidgood Hall. They were not awaiting the results of their latest exam but were about to dive headfirst into the first of three job interviews on this busy day. The interviews were not real job interviews, but they were close. The role playing the students were experiencing is the vision of Dr. Lenita Davis, assistant professor of marketing in the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. A year ago, she envisioned a real-world lab to prepare business majors for future careers. Now, with the help Dr. Rob Morgan, head of the department of marketing and management; Dr. David Mothersbaugh, associate professor of marketing; and J. Barry Mason, dean of the business school, Davis expects her sales lab to be constructed by Christmas and fully functioning by the spring semester. After graduation, students face daunting job

searches and interviews, Davis said. In a professional sales lab, students learn skills that will help sell themselves to prospective employers and that will prove useful for the rest of a student’s career. “Our vision is to be the best in the U.S.,” said Davis, who is already running her sales lab on a small scale. With the new lab, she wants to add larger student sections, additional staffing, more corporate involvement and more activities, such as opportunity fairs and executive boot camps. Davis also envisions having at least eight cameras to film the mock interviews and help students review their progress. The professional sales lab will have its own customized, secure Web site. “The idea is to get the students to really open up,” Davis said. “I also want to create an environment where it is safe to make mistakes.” Students will have complete control over the release of anything on the Web site.

Real World Sales LabProgram prepares business students for future careers.By ti f f a n y f oun t a i n

Dr . lEn ita Dav is


Students attending Davis’ classes say they feel she prepares them well for the real world. “She keeps you busy,” said Leslie Brewster, a senior majoring in marketing. “Dr. Davis encourages you to get as much hands-on experience as possible.” Last year Davis also helped create Pi Sigma Epsilon, a sales fraternity. The University had the largest founding chapter of PSE, with 78 members in the fall of 2007. Trace Gallant was the fraternity’s first president. Gallant graduated in May and now assists Davis with the role-play exercises. PSE holds a number of activities for its members, including etiquette dinners hosted by well-known corporations, picnics, résumé workshops, bowling nights and dinners on the Bama Belle cruise ship. All the occasions offer business students the opportunity to network with major corporations. Davis drew ideas for her lab from Eli Jones, a

professor at the University of Houston. “Eli runs a wonderful sales lab program,” Davis said. Jones also wrote the textbook Davis uses in her classroom. Davis took cues from successful methods Jones used, such as professional selling classes, advanced sales classes and sales management classes, replicating and improving as she went. Davis said she hopes the sales lab will eventually be open to all UA students. Davis said she feels the skills learned in this type of lab could benefit any student, no matter what their degree. Nicholas Esposito, a senior marketing major who will graduate in December, said, “In Dr. Davis’ class you learn a lot about yourself. You really learn confidence, how to think off the top of your head, and how to stay calm in a real-world situation.”

Tiffany Fountain is a junior majoring in journalism.

“In Dr. Davis’ class you learn a lot about yourself. You really

learn confidence, how to think off the top of your head, and

how to stay calm in a real-world situation.” —Nicholas Esposito

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Last spring, business school students Patrick Gross, Rigo Flores, Michael Toulomelis and David Ruberg decided they had had enough of the beach and the traditional spring break. Instead, they decided they would take another approach, one with practical and useful side benefits: They would arrange a spring break that would allow them to shadow four successful businessmen in four different cities. Using family contacts and friends, the four business school honor students arranged to spend part of this past spring break in Memphis, Tenn., with City Gear; in Knoxville, Tenn., with Morgan Stanley; in Atlanta, Ga., with Chick-fil-A Inc.; and in Norcross, Ga., with Allen-Orton. “These guys are really instigators,” said Dr. James Cashman, professor of management and director of the honors program. “They said there has to be a better way to spend spring break than going to New Orleans or the beach.” Cashman said he and the administration at the Culverhouse College of Commerce are looking into institutionalizing “The Alternative Spring Break.” “We want to capture what they have started and grow the experiment using more business school honors students,” Cashman said. “But we want to leave it as much as possible in the hands of the students.” Flores, a 4.0 junior from Lubbock, Texas, majoring in finance and economics, said he has done some research and so far has not found another university that has a formal program for students who want to use their spring break in similar fashion. “This is certainly something we want to look at,” said J. Barry Mason, dean of the business school. “These students are some of our best and brightest, and they would be great ambassadors to the business community. They, in return, would be exposed to best

The Alternative Spring Break Business school students forego beach trip in order to shadow mentors.




l E f t t o r i g h t: D av i D r u B E r g , m i c h a E l t o u l o m E l i s , Pat r i c k g r o s s a n D r i g o f l o r E s


practices from some of the nation’s most respected and successful companies.” David Turner, senior director of field operations for Chick-fil-A, said the four students were “very well prepared and professional in the way they approached our time together. They were very inquisitive and were prepared with some good questions. This was obviously something they wanted to do versus just an assignment.” “When we started brainstorming about shadowing top executives in top companies around the Southeast, I got pretty excited about the opportunities that this experience was going to open for us.” Flores said. The group’s first stop was Memphis, where they spent the day with Mike Longo, president and chief executive officer of City Gear and Marty’s Men’s Store. “He is a charismatic and charming person, who treats everyone with respect and practices what he preaches,” Flores said. “One of the main things I got from Longo is that to be a great leader, you have to know how to delegate. With great power comes great responsibilities, but no one can work by himself. He knew how to delegate and take care of things.” The second stop was in Knoxville, where they stayed with Paul Green, a financial adviser and senior vice president at Morgan Stanley. “We spent the day with him at his office, where we saw him perform under pressure,” Flores said. “Bear Stearns had just been acquired by JP Morgan, and the stock market was hitting rock bottom. This made our experience more exciting and productive because we learned many different things about the market and how to work under pressure.” Flores said Green, who has been in the industry for the past 28 years, stressed maintaining the right attitude at all times. “He also shared with us the five F’s in life,” Flores said.

“The first F stands for family. Family should be your most important asset in life, and you should never forget that family comes before anything. The second F was for faith. Have faith in the Lord and he will take care of you. The third F was for friends. When everything else fails, make sure you are surrounded by the right people. Friends come and go, but those who stick with you, those are the friends I’m talking about. The fourth F stands for fitness. Take care of your body and mind. Exercise is a good way to open the mind and soul and release the pressure that everything else brings. If you are in shape, then you are ready to give your best at all times. Finally, the fifth F stands for finance. If you already took care of the first four F’s, then the last one comes by itself. You would not have to worry for money if you follow the first four F’s.” The group left Knoxville and headed for Atlanta and a day at Chick-fil-A. “David Turner of Chick-fil-A told a story that changed the way I will operate as a student, businessman and person for the rest of my life,” Gross said. Gross, an honor student from York, Pa., is a junior majoring in entrepreneurship and small company management. “From the position of a controller at Chick-fil-A, Turner is responsible for firing unethical restaurant operators and sees store owners lose their stores because of their lack of ethical principles,” Gross said. “The story that affected me most was not about a store owner, but about an M.B.A. student who applied for $100,000 a year job at Chick-fil-A fresh out of grad school. This job applicant graduated at the top of her class. Needless to say, she was more than qualified for the job. Turner explained to us that Chick-fil-A spent thousands of dollars on the training interview processes required to see if she would be a good fit. Everything seemed to be perfect, and what she thought was a sure thing most likely turned out to be a life lesson for



her. The last thing Chick-fil-A does before preparing an offer letter is cross-reference college transcripts with the potential applicant’s résumé. Unfortunately, the applicant had a 3.8 GPA on her résumé and her transcript read 3.6. This was a fatal mistake for her, and in the eyes of Chick-fil-A, an obstruction of its core value, integrity. She would have no further affiliation with Chick-fil-A,” Gross said. “The lesson I learned from Turner is that integrity is key to being successful in all business. Before experiencing Chick-fil-A, my definition of integrity was a little different than the real definition. After hearing David Turner’s story about telling the truth every way possible to the highest degree, I believe it is the only way to function if you want to be successful. It is easy for a lot of people to be focused on the short term and to lie or burn bridges for personal benefit. Hearing Turner speak convinced me to think long term and always act with integrity.” Toulomelis, an accounting major from Powder Springs, Ga., said the trip turned out to be an eye-opening experience he did not expect. “Before the trip, I was thinking about what a great thing this would be to put on my résumé,” he said. “I mean, four college guys organize an entire week of shadowing prominent businessmen and no one told us to do it? We sacrificed spring break to better ourselves, and that was something you could really sell on a résumé.” Toulmelis said the visit to City Gear, the Memphis company operated by Mike Longo, taught him to look at business differently.

“To start with, I knew nothing about how a retail clothing store was run. We walked through the main warehouse and the offices and learned how they were organized, how they shipped products and how they kept up with inventories,” Toulmelis said. “I learned from Mike Longo that you cannot do everything yourself. You have to rely on different people, but you have to make sure those people know what you want them to do. Another valuable lesson was that business is not always just to make the huge amounts of money but also to give people you employ a meaning and purpose.” “This trip was an attempt to improve our knowledge of what business in the real world is like,” Ruberg said. “While a college education is vital in getting a good job, we felt there is a lot of experience and knowledge that universities fail to provide students with.” Ruberg, a marketing major from Lexington, Ky., said the four students had six goals when they embarked on the mentoring trip. “We wanted to understand why these men are so successful at what they do, find out how they got to where they are, see how top executives conduct business daily, seek advice from these men to promote ourselves as students and business people, gain an edge on others entering the job market, and learn how to become a leader early in our careers. “Without a doubt, the trip was a huge success for us. What we gained from it will benefit us throughout our careers, as well as the rest of lives, in and out of the business world.”

For more information about the corporate mentoring program, contact Dr. James

Cashman, professor of management, at 205-348-8940 or [email protected].

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“We wanted to understand why these men are so successful at what they do ... seek advice from these men to promote ourselves as students and business people, gain an edge on others

entering the job market, and learn how to become a leader

early in our careers.” —David Ruberg



New Programs in the CollegeSupply Chain InstituteCollege creates program to meet growing need.

The oversight of materials, information and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer has taken on added importance in this day of high fuel costs and tight financing. Supply chain management involves coordinating and integrating these flows both within and among companies. The purpose of the Supply Chain Institute at the Culverhouse College of Commerce is to promote research, education and industry outreach in the field of supply chain management. “The tremendous growth in the academic field of supply chain management and in the manufacturing, distribution, procurement and logistics activities within the state make it imperative that the University establish a means for promoting its expertise in SCM and for capitalizing on these growing opportunities,” said Dr. Charles Sox, University Chair of Manufacturing Management and professor of operations management. The Supply Chain Institute was established by Sox and Dr. Alexander Ellinger, professor of marketing and supply chain management, to promote supply chain research activities and collaboration between faculty, students and industry. “The institute will provide oversight for all supply-chain-related academic and educational programs as well as promote networking and job placement support for students in these academic programs” Ellinger said. “The institute will also facilitate networking between supply chain management professionals and the exchange of expertise and knowledge among professionals, faculty and students.” Sox said “the college’s supply chain management

curriculum provides M.B.A. students with the analytical and managerial foundation needed to satisfy the needs of business partners and the ultimate consumer to ensure that the right product, in the right quantity, in the right condition is delivered to the right customer at the right place, at the right time, at the right cost.” The college also recently launched a four-course undergraduate specialization in supply chain management that can be integrated into any existing business major.

Actuarial ScienceProgram for students with quantitative bent is 1 year old.

The actuarial science program at the Culverhouse College of Commerce is a year old, having been made available Nov. 1, 2007. The program was developed by a team of professors led by Dr. William Rabel, professor of insurance and financial services at the business school. A cooperative venture between the mathematics department and the business school, the actuarial science program is designed to attract gifted students with a quantitative bent to come to The University of Alabama. Initially, Rabel will be responsible for administering and marketing the program. The program in actuarial science is part of the quantitative finance major. Students who complete the curriculum will meet all preparatory course requirements and be prepared for two actuarial examinations. An actuary is a business professional who analyzes the financial consequences of risk, using mathematics, statistics and financial theory to study uncertain future events, especially those of concern to insurance and pension programs. Most actuaries work in the insurance industry, although a growing number work in other fields.


Minor in Natural Resources ManagementProgram aimed at protecting wildlife, environment.

A revised curriculum focused on protecting and managing Alabama’s natural resources, which leads to a minor in natural resources management, has been developed at The University of Alabama. “Our state has an abundance of natural resources, which have played a unique role in the history and economy of the state,” said J. Barry Mason, dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. “This curriculum will help preserve those natural resources and provide students who choose this path an opportunity to develop an understanding of the importance of environmental issues in decision making in both profit and not-for-profit settings.” Mason said the idea for the program came from Riley Boykin Smith, former president of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, and Tim Gothard, executive director of AWF. Smith and Gothard called on Dr. Robert Olin, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Dr. Dick Brinker, dean of the School of Forestry at Auburn University, for help in developing the program. The minor, which is offered through the College of Arts and Sciences, is available to students majoring in either UA’s College off Arts and Sciences or the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. It was created from existing courses in biology, geological sciences and geography, along with advanced courses focused on water, timber, landforms and ecological relationships. “Many UA students are from rural backgrounds, or their families may own large parcels of land, be weekend farmers or simply have a passion for outdoor activities. The common thread is a love of the land as a renewable resource,” Mason said. The minor is designed for students interested in protecting wildlife habitat and the environment while meeting the ever-growing human demand for wood products, clean water, outdoor recreation and scenic beauty. In the College of Commerce and Business Administration, Mason said, “the usual path for such students is a major in finance with a concentration in real estate, and as such, they would benefit from a minor that allows them exposure to a body of material that provided

an enhanced framework for decision making and an appreciation of the unique role of natural resources in the history and economy of Alabama.” “For students in the College of Arts and Sciences,” Olin said, “the natural resources management minor dovetails beautifully with our majors in biological sciences, geological sciences, chemistry, geography and others.” The focus of the minor is interdisciplinary and practice driven with students having hands-on experiences, field trips and working internships — all of which will supplement what they will learn in the classroom. Students will serve internships and study at an approved biological station, where they will be exposed to real-world natural resources management scenarios, such as forest management, wildlife management, recreation and aesthetics management, and sensitive flora and fauna management and protection. Experts in the field will share professional and practical land management considerations with students and will share best practices and philosophies commonly used on Alabama’s rural lands. Tanglewood, The University of Alabama’s J. Nicholene Bishop Biological Station and a family homestead of 480 acres in Hale County, part of the College of Arts and Sciences, will be used to further undergraduate and graduate research in biodiversity and environmental processes. Students who complete the natural resources management minor will be prepared for professional opportunities in environmental monitoring, such as endangered species and wetland delineation, restoration of disturbed land and management of forested lands. Students may work for federal, state, and local land management and planning agencies or non-governmental organizations and legislative bodies concerned with land-use policies and laws. All courses presented for the minor must be passed with a grade of C or better. For additional information in the College of Commerce and Business Administration, contact Dr. David Heggem, associate dean of student services, at 205-348-4537 or [email protected]. In the College of Arts and Sciences, contact John C. Roboski, director, natural resources minor, 205-348-5972 or [email protected]. E



In The News C&BA faculty provide insight and expert opinions.

Media Worldwide

Dr. Benton Gup, professor of finance and the Robert Hunt Cochran/Alabama Bankers Chair of Banking, has been in demand for commentary lately by media around the world following the fall of Lehman Brothers, the problems faced by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the $85 billion government loan to AIG and general turmoil on Wall Street. Gup’s latest book, “Too Big to Fail: Policies and Practices in Government Bailouts,” is getting a lot of attention as well. Gup has been interviewed by CJOB Radio in Winnipeg, Manitoba; by a reporter with Folha de Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest newspaper; and several U.S. publications, including both Newsweek and BusinessWeek. This from Newsweek: “If the government envisions that a failure will have a serious adverse consequence on the economy, it’s going to step in.” Gup was also contacted by the Los Angeles Times for input into a Sept. 21 article headlined, “Takeovers of AIG, Fannie and Freddie raise business and political questions.” The history of federal bailouts has been generally good, Gup told the Times, noting that the government even turned a $313 million profit on stock options it received when it provided $1.5 billion in loan guarantees to automaker Chrysler Corp. in 1980.

The Birmingham News

Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford has proposed that his city make a bid to host the Olympics in 2020. The games would positively change the image of the city, he said. But winning the games is a complex process of competing against other cities and making one stand out as the best. “The primary obstacle is having the sufficient infrastructure to support the Olympic Games,” Louis Marino, associate professor of strategic management at the Culverhouse College of Commerce, said,

“Could it happen? Yes. Is it likely to happen? No. But that shouldn’t stop one from dreaming.” Infrastructure including upgrades at the Birmingham International Airport, mass transportation improvements and additional hotels are all needed to support the games, he said. The costs are high and money is tight, Marino said. “Given the time frame that we’re shooting for, I don’t think it’s one that we could really achieve,” he said.

Florida Today

“Clearly, Florida is growing and banks must either grow or die,” said Benton Gup, a finance professor at The University of Alabama, when asked for comments about bank mergers in Florida. Gup, who has closely followed RBC Centura’s acquisition of Alabama National Bankcorp, said the move makes sense. Gup also downplayed the notion that Canadian snowbirds might find Royal Bank of Canada attractive for nationalistic reasons. Snowbirds, Gup said, are looking for the best banking deals — loans, fees, etc. — like most consumers. And he added that you rarely see RBC Centura promoting its Canadian roots. “I don’t think snowbirds care one way or the other” about RBC Bank being part of a Canadian bank, he said.

The Gadsden Times

“Clearly as countries like China and India develop their demand for fossil fuel and their economies are moving up, we have to compete globally for those fossil fuels,” Robert Brooks, the Wallace D. Malone Jr. Endowed Chair of Financial Management at The University of Alabama, told the Gadsden Times. “It’s something we’re not used to, and it’s not going away.” Brooks said it’s human nature to be mad at high gasoline prices and search for someone to blame — a foreign government, maybe oil company profits. “Whenever there are uncertain times, we tend to prefer getting angry rather than trying to understand what’s going on,” Brooks said.

Faculty and staff are often called on to share their expertise with the media. Here are a few selected examples.


“It’s my observation there are still an enormous number of people traveling on the highways, and I’m not that persuaded people are changing their ways that much,” Brooks said.

CFO.com

Professors who regularly bring in corporate executives to speak to students say finance chiefs often have a tough time being understood in the classroom. “Often, CFOs fall down because they just get too detailed,” said William Petty, a former corporate controller who’s now a full-time instructor at the University of Alabama. “Or they have blinders on, rather than getting students to open their eyes to what’s out there.” That’s particularly unfortunate, he says, because students are predisposed to like visiting finance chiefs, and want to listen intently to their presentations. “They know you’ve got that knowledge and they want to pick your brain,” he says. But if the style of presentation is off- base, students often zone out, despite the enthusiasm they brought with them to the classroom about what they might learn. Many corporate finance chiefs, for their part, also love the idea of talking to classes, notes Petty, who regularly arranges for people from the business world — often Alabama graduates — to make appearances. But desire, of course, is not enough to make a good lecturer. Petty’s advice to visiting finance executives in Alabama’s Operations Management class — at least for their first appearances there — is to avoid the temptation to dig deep into specific corporate or finance-department problems. Take a step back and present a simpler, bigger picture, he recommends. “Let the students know what your company is and what it does. And let them know what’s really expected of a person in the finance department.”

Montgomery Advertiser

Is there a sports car in the future of Montgomery’s Hyundai plant? Industry analysts and economists think so, but the South Korean automaker isn’t commenting. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama now produces the Sonata, a sedan, and the Santa Fe, an SUV, but isn’t running at its 300,000-vehicle capacity and could handle a third model. A good fit, experts say, would be a front-drive sports car. Strong sales for a new front-drive sports model would raise production at the Montgomery plant closer to capacity, numbers show. Professor of management Dr. James Cashman thinks the Montgomery plant needs to operate closer to capacity. Manufacturing plants should run at a minimum 90 percent capacity, he said. “That is not desperation time,” he said of the plant’s production level. “It is not a red-light issue, but it is a yellow light.” One solution to Hyundai’s excess manufacturing capacity would be a front-drive sports car, Cashman said. To me, it would sound like an excellent match for the plant,” he said. Cashman has no doubt the Montgomery plant could handle a third model. “You have all kinds of flexibility there,” he said. “They can do things like adding shifts or adding hours. They just have to keep the quality good.”

The Tuscaloosa News

“It’s statistical magic,” Annette Watters, at the UA Center for Business and Economic Research, said of the population estimates through 2007 released July 10. Watters told the Tuscaloosa News, “The farther away you get from the last census, which was in 2000, the rockier the estimates get because you are always standing on the stool of the last census. The farther up you get up on that stool, the shakier it gets.” E

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The international partnership of PricewaterhouseCoopers, the largest accounting firm in the world, has made a $1 million pledge to The University of Alabama to support accounting in the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. The contribution will be used to support three permanent funds, each named in honor of PricewaterhouseCoopers and its chief executive officer, Samuel A. DiPiazza Jr., who received a dual degree in accounting and economics from The University of Alabama. One of the three funds, the PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP/Samuel A. DiPiazza Jr. Accounting Endowed Faculty Support Fund, will be used to attract and hire nationally ranked faculty to the Culverhouse School of Accountancy. Another of the funds will be used to support full-time doctoral students in the school of accountancy, and the third will be used primarily to fund doctoral research and publication. “The shortage of doctoral students and faculty in accounting is one of the greatest challenges facing

accounting education and the accounting profession,” said UA President Robert E. Witt. “This generous contribution will greatly enhance our efforts to attract qualified doctoral candidates and faculty.” Dr. Mary Stone, director of the Culverhouse School of Accountancy, said the contribution will also be particularly useful in furthering the research in accounting now being conducted by doctoral students and faculty members. “This will give our doctoral students an even greater opportunity to develop their research skills, to present their results at academic conferences and submit their papers for review for publication in leading academic journals, while at the same time raising the profile of the school of accountancy,” Stone said. The support comes at a crucial time for accounting education and the Culverhouse School of Accountancy, Stone said, noting that the combination of increasing accounting enrollments, aging professors and the increasing cost of doctoral education has created a situation in which the nationwide supply of new

PWC Pledges $1 Million to UA to Support School of Accountancy

Campaign Update

samue l a . D iP i a z z a J r.


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accounting faculty for 2005–08 will be less than half of the demand. Stone said the shortage is most acute in the specialty areas of auditing and tax, adding that of the 187 students nationwide expected to receive doctoral degrees in accounting this year, only 22 expressed interest in teaching in those two areas. The contribution was announced by David M. Pickett, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP managing partner, on behalf of the company. DiPiazza has served as CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited since 2002. Previously, he led the PricewaterhouseCoopers U.S. firm as chairman and senior partner, and he was a member of the Global Leadership Team. DiPiazza joined PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1973 and became a partner in 1979. He was elected to the Firm Council in 1986, and he headed the Birmingham and Chicago offices before being named Midwest regional managing partner in 1992. Two years later he became the regional managing partner of the New York

Metro Region, with a dual role as client service vice chairman. In 1998, he was named the Americas Leader for Tax and Legal Services, and in 2000 he was elected chairman and senior partner of the U.S. firm. DiPiazza is a trustee of the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation, chairman of the World Business Council on Sustainable Development and an executive committee member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum. He is also chairman of the International Business Leaders Advisory Council to the mayor of Shanghai and has served as a trustee for the Financial Accounting Foundation. In addition, he is a member of the executive committee and the immediate past chairman of the board of trustees of The Conference Board Inc. DiPiazza has served on the UA President’s Cabinet, the UA National Advisory Board and the Culverhouse College of Commerce Board of Visitors.

“This will give our doctoral students an even greater opportunity to develop their research skills, to

present their results at academic conferences and

submit their papers for review for publication in leading

academic journals, while at the same time raising the profile of the school of accountancy.” –Dr. Mary Stone

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Reznick Group P.C., a national accounting firm, has pledged $125,000 to The University of Alabama in support of the Culverhouse College of Commerce and its Culverhouse School of Accountancy. Ranked among the top 20 public accounting firms in the nation, Reznick Group employs approximately 1,500 people. The firm maintains 10 offices nationwide, including a full-service office in Birmingham. The Reznick Group Endowed Support Fund for Faculty Excellence will be used to attract and retain a faculty member in the school of accountancy who will coordinate the master of accountancy program. “In today’s business climate, a master of accoun-tancy degree is almost essential to an accountant’s suc-cess,” said Dr. Mary Stone, director of the Culverhouse School of Accountancy. “The Reznick Group Endowed Support Fund for Faculty Excellence will allow the school of accountancy to continue to provide students the academically rigorous course of study needed for success in today’s competitive business environment.”

UA’s master of accountancy degree program is a fifth-year professional program and is designed to provide students with a greater breadth and depth of understand-ing of accounting and business than is possible in an undergraduate program. The program prepares students for careers as professional accountants in financial institu-tions, government, industry, nonprofit organizations and public practice. Graduates are prepared to research various databases related to troublesome accounting problems and to exercise judgment in making account-ing-related decisions by drawing on their integrated, comprehensive body of accounting knowledge. “We are very excited about being a financial partner with The University of Alabama,” said Eddie Lusk, principal in Reznick Group’s Atlanta office and a UA alumnus. “For several years now we have recruited from the nationally recognized school of accountancy and have greatly benefited from the talented professionals it produces. We are proud to be a part of the bright future of the University.” E

Reznick Group P.C. Pledges $125,000 to UA School of Accountancy

Campaign Update

“We are proud to be a part of the bright future of

the University.” —Eddie Lusk, principal in Reznick Group


The University of Alabama Energen First Scholarship winners are pictured, left to right, with Dr. Barry Mason, dean of UA’s Culverhouse College of Commerce, and James McManus, Energen CEO: Marc Skipwith, from Ramsey High; Kristian Lincoln, from Sylacauga High; Monica Kirk, from Walker County High; Mason; McManus; TraVon Howard, from Ramsey High; Colby Burttram, from Southside High in Gadsden; and Shauna Myers, from Oak Mountain High.

“When you start here, you can go anywhere,” said James McManus, chief executive officer of Energen, which awarded six scholarships to first-generation business school students. “I am very excited to be able to offer these scholarships from Energen,” McManus told the students. “It gives me a great feeling to be able to meet you and tell you that your opportunities are limitless. As a graduate of The University of Alabama, I found my way as a student here. While a student

here, I had to decide what field of study best suited me, and I was able to find my place in the job pool and work my way up. I encourage you as winners of the Energen First Scholarship to keep your grades up to maintain this assistance. I’m delighted to meet each of you, and I wish you all the best of luck. As the first winners of the Energen First Scholarship, you are indeed a special group of students.”

Winners of the Energen First Scholarship

“As the first winners of the Energen First Scholarship,

you are indeed a special group of students.” —James McManus

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0096 Planned Giving (C&BA).indd 1 9/30/08 8:57:07 AM


Faculty and Staff NewsThe Culverhouse College of Commerce

Read about awards, appointments and other items of interest.

CBER’s Addy Named to Alabama Waterfront Access Study Committee

Dr. Sam Addy, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research and associate research economist, has been named to the Alabama Waterfront Access Study Committee. The committee was created May 18, 2008, by a resolution approved by the Alabama Legislature. The resolution was a result of efforts by the Alabama Working Waterfront Coalition, a group of working waterfront stakeholders facilitated by the Auburn University Marine Extension and Research Center/Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium. The committee, which includes representatives from the state legislature; state and federal agencies; the commercial and recreational fishing industry; local government; and other relevant sectors, will “study the degree of loss and potential loss of the diversity of uses along the coastal shoreline of Alabama and how these losses impact access to the public trust waters of the state.” The committee will be chaired by the director of the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Program. “This study will help us make the best use of one of our natural resources and is one of many forward-looking activities in Alabama,” Addy said. The Legislature charged the committee with five specific tasks:•Gatherinformationaboutlocalland-

use management and zoning, current shoreline development trends and local tax rates, including tax assessment trends for shoreline properties.

•Collectresearchandinformationfrom Alabama and other states and jurisdictions regarding incentive-based techniques and management tools used to preserve waterfront diversity.

•Assesstheapplicabilityofsuchtools and techniques to the coastal shorelines of Alabama.

•Prepareadraftreportwithastatementof the issues, a summary of the research and recommendations to address issues of diversity of waterfront use and access in Alabama.

•Holdatleastthreepublicmeetingsto present the draft report and recommendations to the public and user groups.

The committee’s final report is due in 2010. An interim report is due at the beginning of the Legislature’s 2009 Regular Session. Several other states have formed similar waterfront access study committees.

Paper Co-authored by UA’s Schlesinger Awarded Best Article by Decision Analysis Society

Dr. Harris Schlesinger, professor of finance and the Frank Park Samford Chair of Insurance at The University of Alabama, has received an award from the Decision Analysis Society of the Institute for Operations Research and Management Science, known as INFORMS, for the best decision analysis article or book published in 2006. The paper, “Putting Risk in Its Proper Place,” is co-authored with Dr. Louis Eeckhoudt, a professor at the Catholic University of Mons in Belgium, and appeared in the American Economic Review in March 2006. The

award was presented at the INFORMS annual meeting in Washington, D.C., in October. “This is the sort of recognition that has earned Dr. Schlesinger his much-deserved international reputation as one of the world’s foremost scholars and researchers,” said Dr. J. Barry Mason, dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. Both authors attended the meeting to discuss the paper, which examines preferences toward particular classes of lottery pairs. “Risk aversion has long played a role in analyzing decisions under risk,” Schlesinger said, “but higher order concepts also play an important part in the analysis. However, except for technical properties, these concepts have been little understood. We show how these higher order properties can be characterized by preference relations over certain types of simple lotteries.” Schlesinger and Eeckhoudt have collaborated on a number of papers and books on risk and its impact on modern economics. Their book, “Economic and Financial Decisions under Risk,” jointly authored with Dr. Christian Gollier, a professor at the University of Toulouse, and published by the Princeton University Press, had recently won the 2007 Kulp-Wright Book Award. Schlesinger has been at The University of Alabama since 1987. He has been on sabbatical leave as a visiting professor of mathematical finance and economics at the University of Munich in Germany.



4 4 C u l v e r H o u s e C o l l e g e o F C o M M e r C e4 4 C u l v e r H o u s e C o l l e g e o F C o M M e r C e

Agrawal Paper Now No. 6 Among Most Accessed Papers Appearing in Journal of Law and Economics

A paper co-authored by Dr. Anup Agrawal, professor of finance and the William A. Powell Jr. Chair of Finance and Banking, is listed as the sixth most accessed paper ever published in the Journal of Law and Economics. The paper, published in 2005, was co-authored with Sahiba Chadha, a Culverhouse College of Commerce 2004 doctoral graduate in finance who is now with a hedge fund in Boston. The paper examines whether certain corporate governance mechanisms are related to the probability of a company restating its earnings. The study examined a sample of 159 U.S. public companies that restated earnings and an industry-size matched sample of control firms. The two researchers then assembled a novel, hand-collected data set that measures the corporate governance characteristics of these 318 firms. “We find that several key governance characteristics are unrelated to the probability of a company restating earnings,” the authors wrote. “These include the independence of boards and audit committees and the provision of non-audit services by outside auditors. We find that the probability of restatement is lower in companies whose boards or audit committees have an independent director with financial expertise; it is higher in companies in which the chief executive officer belongs to the founding family. These relations are statistically significant, large in magnitude, and robust to alternative specifications. Our findings are consistent with the idea that independent directors with financial expertise are valuable in providing oversight of a firm’s financial reporting practices.”

Dean Mason Named Tuscaloosa Civitan Club’s Citizen of the Year

As he looked over the program for the ceremony during which he was named

the Civitan Club’s Citizen of the Year, Dr. Barry Mason said he began to realize the company he was in and the significance of the award. “There were names like George Denny and Paul Bryant and many other distinguished people from The University of Alabama and the Tuscaloosa community. I thought, my, this is really something,” said Mason, dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce. Mason was the 75th recipient of the award, which honors those who have made extraordinary contributions to their community. In 2006 Mason was inducted into the Tuscaloosa County Civic Hall of Fame and was recently recognized by the West Alabama Community Foundation as a Pillar of West Alabama for sustained contributions to the betterment of West Alabama. Susan Hathorne, president of the Tuscaloosa Civitan Club, said Mason was chosen for his work with the Boy Scouts, The University of Alabama and Junior Achievement, which benefits children by providing educational materials for the classroom and teaches children how the business community affects their lives. Mason, who is also the Russell Professor of Business Administration, hasserved as dean since September 1988. Mason’s leadership experience spans more than 30 years at the University. In addition to serving as dean of the business school, he has served as a department head and as interim president of the University. Under his leadership, the College of Commerce has moved to No. 29 among public business schools, and the College’s endowment increased from $6 million in 1988 to more than $80 million today. Mason is past chairperson of the board of the 40,000 member American Marketing Association and past president of the Southwestern Marketing Association and the Southern Marketing Association. Mason is a past winner of The University of Alabama National Alumni Association Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award,

the Burnum Award and the Western Electric (now AT&T) Award for Outstanding Innovation in Business Education. He was the recipient of the first Educator of the Year Award established by the Academy of Marketing Science. Mason received the Wayne A. Lemburg Award for Distinguished Service from the American Marketing Association; was named a Distinguished Alumnus by his alma mater, the Louisiana Tech University College of Administration and Business; and was recognized in Marketing Educator as one of the top 100 most productive marketing scholars in the last 20 years. In 1994 he was designated a Distinguished Fellow of the Academy of Marketing Science for exemplary services to the academy and outstanding contributions to the marketing discipline. He was awarded the Leavey Award for Excellence in Private Enterprise Education by the Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge “for outstanding efforts to help young people better understand the function and benefits of private enterprise and free market economics.” Mason earned his bachelor’s degree at Louisiana Tech and his master’s degree and doctorate at UA. Mason and his wife, Linda, have a daughter, Michelle, who also resides in Tuscaloosa.

New Faculty Members Join the CollegeInformation Systems, Statistics and Management Science

Marcus Perry Ph.D., Industrial Engineering, Florida State University, 2004M.S., Manufacturing Systems, Southern Illinois University, 2000B.S., Industrial Technology, Southern Illinois University, 1998Minor: Management

Dr. Marcus Perry has been named assistant professor in the department of information systems, statistics and management science.



He is a former assistant professor in the department of industrial and systems engineering at Florida International University. He conducted undergraduate- and graduate-level lectures and seminars in the area of quality engineering, including statistical process control, design and analysis of experiments and response surface methodology. Prior to FIU, he was an assistant professor of operations research at the Air Force Institute of Technology. In 2004 and 2006, he was recognized by the AFIT Student Association as an outstanding teacher and was awarded the Instructor of the Quarter Award for a course in response surface methodology. Perry has published several papers in scholarly journals, including IIETransactions, Quality and Reliability Engineering International, International Journal of Production Research, Quality Technology and Quantitative Management, and International Journal of Reliability, Quality, and Safety Engineering. He is active in various professional societies, including the American Society for Quality, Institute for Operations Research and Management Science and the Institute of Industrial Engineers. He has five years of industry experience as a plant engineer at Material Service, a subsidiary of the General Dynamics Corporation.

Dung ChauM.B.A., 1998, The University of Alabama B.S., Accounting, 1997, The University of Alabama

Dung Chau has been appointed as a clinical faculty member. He is the former president of Chau Group LLC, a consulting company that assists clients in improving business processes and technologies. For seven years he was the chief operating officer of Strategic Metrics Inc., of Tuscaloosa, where he increased the company’s annual revenue from $400,000 to more than $3.5 million in four years.

From 1998 to June 2000, he was employed as a consultant with Accenture in New York City before returning to Tuscaloosa. He has worked with major clients, including BellSouth, several major banks and credit unions, Allstate Insurance, Best Buy and Ford Motor Company.

Accounting

Susan JurneyPh.D., Accounting, University of Oklahoma, 2008M.B.A., University of Notre Dame, 2002B.B.A., Accounting, Oklahoma Christian University, 1998

Dr. Susan Jurney has been named an assistant professor of accounting. She lists as her academic and research interests judgment and decision making, non-professional investors, reliability and credibility of the financial statements, and teaching income tax and financial accounting. Jurney taught a variety of courses while earning her doctorate, including income tax accounting and financial accounting. Her work experience includes employment as a financial analyst with Global Logistics, Integrated Supply Chain, IBM in Boulder, Colo.; a senior tax associate with Arthur Anderson LLP, in Oklahoma City; and a gas revenue intern with Chesapeake Operating Inc., in Oklahoma City.

Economics, Finance and Legal Studies

H. Shawn MobbsPh.D., Finance, Vanderbilt University, 2008M.B.A., University of Georgia, 2003M.S., Electrical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1994B.S., Electrical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1993

Dr. H. Shawn Mobbs has been named an assistant professor of finance. He lists as his academic and research interests corporate finance, executive compensation, corporate governance, capital markets and investments.

Mobbs has taught corporate governance to M.B.A. students and courses on mergers and acquisitions, international finance and introduction to finance. He has received a number of awards and scholarships. His work experience includes financial analyst and corporate financial planning at FedEx; manager and engineer, and supply chain and control systems at Procter and Gamble; and a global positioning system analyst with the United States Air Force, where he obtained the rank of captain.

Two Faculty Members Retiring

Kathleen R. Bindon, associate professor and Arthur Anderson Faculty Fellow of Accounting

Walter Misiolek, professor of economics and Dwight Harrigan Endowed Faculty Fellow in Natural Resource Economics

Cowles Joins College as Senior Career Consultant

Susan Cowles has joined the business school as a senior career consultant. “Susan has solid experience in working with the business community and the many organizations that recruit on campus each year,” said Linda Johnson, director of employer development and relations. Cowles formerly was assistant director for operations and technology at the UA Career Center. She has worked for the University for seven years. She received her undergraduate degree from Sweet Briar College and her master’s degree in business administration from Troy University.


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Alabama Business Hall of FameOutstanding group of five inductees added to distinguished list.

Five of the state’s leading business and civic leaders were inducted into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame recently at a black-tie dinner at the Bryant Conference Center on The University of Alabama campus. This year marked the 35th anniversary of the Hall of Fame, sponsored by the Board of Visitors of UA’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. The five inductees exemplify hard work and determination as well as a commitment to excellence and the betterment of their community. More than 125 prominent business leaders have been inducted into the Business Hall of Fame, and their likenesses are em-bossed on plaques that line the walls of the Hall of Fame Room in Bidgood Hall on the University campus. The 2008 inductees are Aubrey Derrill Crowe, of Birmingham; Nimrod T. Frazer, of Montgomery; James R. Hudson, of Huntsville; Benjamin Russell, of Alexander City; and James Thomas Stephens, of Birmingham. Their biographies follow.


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For most of Dr. Aubrey Derrill Crowe’s medical career, he balanced a successful medical practice with building one of the largest medical malpractice insurance companies in the United States. As a practicing urologist, Crowe was chosen by the State Medical Association in 1976 to lead a group of physicians in developing a plan to form a malpractice insurance company at a time when most Alabama physicians faced the prospect of practicing medicine without liability insurance. The situation led Crowe and his colleagues to form the Mutual Assurance Society of Alabama. Their strategy was to defend every case in which there was no negligence. At that time, the national trend was to settle most cases, which spawned a large number of frivolous malpractice suits, resulting in the depletion of insurance company reserves. Mutual Assurance was one of many policyholder-founded companies derisively called “bedpan mutuals” by insurance industry experts who predicted most of them would not survive, a prediction that proved true. This was not the case for MASA, and by 1985, it had paid off both its $5.5 million bank loan and the direct $2.5 million capital loans from physicians. At that time, the company had expanded through the provision of dental liability insurance and hospital liability insurance. Under Crowe’s leadership, the company continued to prosper. Mutual Assurance demutualized and began trading on the Nasdaq system in September 1991. Policyholders received stock valued at $10 per share and the company’s market capitalization was $69 million. In 1993, Crowe retired from the active practice of medicine to lead the company. In 1994, Mutual Assurance moved outside Alabama and acquired insurance companies in West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio and Missouri while changing the company name to MAIC Holdings. By 1996, MAIC Holdings moved to the New York Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of $129 million. Expansion continued throughout the Southeast and Midwest. In 2001, MAIC’s merger with Professional Group, a Michigan-based insurer of similar size, was completed. The merger created ProAssurance, a New York Stock Exchange company with a market capitalization of $450 million. Today, ProAssurance is the fourth largest medical malpractice company in the United States, and its market capitalization is approaching $2 billion. Over the past 30 years since its founding, written premiums have grown from $8 million to approximately $550 million in 2007. The company insures more than 30,000 physicians with more than 35,000 policies in force.

In the 1980s, Crowe also led two revolutionary advances in Alabama health care. He helped develop the first freestanding, physician-owned outpatient surgery center in Alabama, and he initiated outpatient treatment of kidney stones by extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy. Crowe was born in Troy, Ala., the son of Minnie Lee and Aubrey Glen Crowe. He did undergraduate work at

Howard College (now known as Samford University) in Birmingham. He completed his graduate medical education at Medical College of Alabama in 1962. He completed his internship in 1963 and a surgical residency in 1964 at Lloyd Noland Hospital in Birmingham. He completed residency training in urology at The University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1967. Crowe is also a 1990 graduate of the Owner/President Management program at Harvard Business School. Throughout his career, Crowe has been active in organized medicine, serving his colleagues and the Medical Association of the State of Alabama in many positions, including the Board of Censors and the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners. He

was also a member of the Jefferson County Medical Society. In early 1985, he was asked to serve as the chairman of the Alabama Certificate of Need Board. Crowe sits on the board of advisers at Samford University and was the commencement speaker for Samford’s 1996 graduation. Crowe was honored by the Birmingham News as CEO of the Year for 2004 for his role in establishing ProAssurance as a leader in Alabama and the nation. In March 2008, Crowe was elected to the Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame, which honored him for his work in medicine and at ProAssurance. Crowe has four children from a previous marriage, and his wife, Cameron, has two from a previous marriage. The couple has two children together.

Aubrey Derrill Crowe, M.D.(1936–) Founder, Mutual Assurance Society of Alabama

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Nimrod T. Frazer has been working since the age of 14, when he got a summer job on a farm in Wilcox County and learned to drive a truck. That job morphed into a wartime school bus driver along with other duties at the age of 15. The son of William and Margaret Frazer, he was born in Montgomery and continues to live there now, but he has come a long way from his farm workdays. Most of Frazer’s business career has been spent in the financial services industry. He was a broker for Sterne, Agee & Leach, served as executive vice president at Thornton, Farish & Gauntt, and from 1976 to 1996, he was chairman of the board and co-founder of The Frazer Lanier Company, a regional investment banking firm in Montgomery that deals in corporate and municipal securities. His business creed was established early in life at Huntingdon College. As a sophomore at Huntingdon, Frazer learned a life’s lesson from a family friend: Act ethically not only because it is the right way to do business, but also because doing so will lead to financial success. Frazer had already established a reputation as a highly successful businessman and financier, but it was his successful resuscitation of Enstar that earned him praise and respect around the globe. Enstar formerly did business as a holding company for KinderCare Inc., a day-care-center company founded in Montgomery. In 1989, Enstar was disassociated from KinderCare but found itself deeply in debt and facing bankruptcy. In 1990, Frazer was elected to the board of The Enstar Group Inc. He later accepted the role of chairman, president, and chief executive officer and resigned from Frazer Lanier, taking over Enstar when it had a $100 million negative net worth. His job was to put the company into bankruptcy, do what he could for the creditors and shareholders and shut it down. Almost no one dared to hope for survival. Frazer took on the challenge. He divested assets, collected judgments from executives and repaid creditors. He transformed the company into a holding company of financial assets and entered the insurance and reinsurance world. Eventually the company, whose shares were worthless when Frazer arrived on the scene, repaid all its creditors 100 cents on the dollar, resurrected its shares and returned them to the original owners. Under Frazer’s leadership, Enstar increased its net worth by more than $400 million and increased its market capitalization to nearly $1.5 billion. Enstar invested in troubled property and casualty insurance companies, helping to set them straight and get them out of trouble. Frazer’s reputation for ethics and doing things the right way spread throughout the financial services

industry. In an interview with “Ethics Newsline” in 2006, Frazer said, “Our ethical profile is a corporate asset.” In 2007 Enstar merged with Castlewood Insurance, the company moved to Bermuda and Frazer retired as CEO. Frazer has also been active in the industrial real estate business in the Montgomery area. Through the partnership of Industrial Partners, the company constructed numerous

high-quality industrial facilities, most built on a completely speculative basis. These buildings played a huge role in Montgomery’s industrial development success, providing product to lure great industrial and manufacturing companies and providing much-needed jobs. The company today continues its mission under a new generation of leadership while Frazer has constructed and purchased buildings under his current ownership of The Jobs Company LLC. He serves on the boards of several financial and insurance companies in the United States and abroad and has been active in economic development associations throughout the Southeast. Frazer has been involved with numerous civic and charitable

organizations. He was chairman of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, a member of Leadership Alabama, president of Lurleen B. Wallace Cancer Foundation, chairman of the Montgomery Water Works and Sanitary Sewer Board, and was a founding director of both the Landmarks Foundation of Montgomery and the Montgomery County Historical Society. His trustee service includes the Alabama Department of Archives and History; Atlanta International School; Albright Institute for Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, Israel; Huntingdon College; and Hughston Sports Medicine Foundation. He received his undergraduate degree from Huntingdon College in Montgomery in 1954 and his master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School in 1956. After entering the Army as an enlisted man, he was commissioned at Officer Candidates School. He served in the Korean conflict as an Army lieutenant, tank commander and tank platoon leader. He received the Silver Star for gallantry in action, U.S. Presidential Unit Citation, Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, a Letter of Appreciation from the 37th Infantry Regiment of the Republic of Korea, and the U.S. Parachutist Badge. He has also written about his experiences in Korea for military magazines. He is a member of both the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. Frazer and his wife, Lee Martin Frazer, have been married for 51 years and have five children and nine grandchildren.

Nimrod T. Frazer (1929–) Retired Chief Executive Officer, Enstar

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James R. Hudson is the founder and president of the Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology, a nonprofit research institute that uses biotechnology to improve human health, stimulate economic development, and inspire the next generation of scientists. Hudson grew up in Huntsville, the son of James R. and Mattie May Ellis Hudson. He graduated from Huntsville High in 1960. He received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a master’s degree in physics from The University of Alabama as well as a master’s degree in biology from The University of Alabama in Huntsville. Prior to beginning his professional career, Hudson served as an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1967 to 1970. During his tour of duty in Vietnam, Hudson flew many missions over North Vietnam, where he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross. Hudson’s business acumen was nurtured by his father. The senior Hudson, together with sons, Jim and Gary, operated Hudson Metals, a Huntsville foundry. Hudson Metals became the most productive small foundry in the Southeast before it was sold in 1982. After selling Hudson Metals and earning his biology degree, Hudson founded Research Genetics with an initial investment of $25,000. While conducting research that required a piece of synthetic DNA, Hudson was appalled when he learned it would take up to four weeks to receive his order. It took only four hours to produce DNA but his order was behind many others, being produced by a single machine. “In that instant, I knew exactly what my business model would be,” he said. “I was going to have enough machines that I was going to ship tomorrow everything ordered today.” Launching from that initial business model, Research Genetics became a biotech business icon. Research Genetics was a chief partner in the Human Genome Project, the international effort coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health to identify the sequence of the DNA found inside human cells. Hudson served as chief executive of Research Genetics until 2000, when he sold the company to Invitrogen for more than $130 million. “Having the capital (from Research Genetics) opened a lot of doors to help biotech gain a foothold in Huntsville,” he noted. Hudson has advised and incubated six successful biotech companies. He is co-founder and served as the first president of the Biotechnology Association of Alabama. Hudson and his wife, Susie, have initiated a number of projects to revitalize Huntsville and entice young

professionals to the city. His vision and passion have brought new art venues, restaurants and a greatly enhanced after-hours scene. The Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology today continues the work Hudson started at Research Genetics. The mission at Research Genetics was to find the latest tools to accelerate research and make the findings of that research

available to the rest of the world in an expedient and cost-effective manner. Hudson raised $80 million in private donations to establish HudsonAlpha. The state of Alabama subsequently matched the private donations with a $50 million commitment. Together these monies will create over 900 new jobs. Hudson’s initiative is positioning Alabama to become a worldwide leader in biotech research and one of the premier places in the nation for high paying jobs that cannot be exported overseas. HudsonAlpha’s new four-story, 270,000 square-foot facility, which opened in November 2007, will initially provide accommodation for 12 for-profit biotech companies. HudsonAlpha’s nonprofit

research will be led by Richard Myers, previously the chair of human genetics at Stanford University, where Myers directed one of the nation’s largest genome research centers. Hudson serves as adjunct professor at UAH and is a member of the College of Science Advisory Council and the board of directors of the UAH Foundation. He is a member of the Huntsville Rotary Club and the Committee of 100. Hudson and his wife, Susie, are co-founders of CityScapes LLC, which focuses on downtown revitalization. Hudson serves as vice president. The couple has four children.

James R. Hudson(1942–)Founder, Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology

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Born in Alexander City, Benjamin Russell began his career with summer jobs at Russell Corporation, a textile and apparel firm founded in 1902 by his grandfather. After attending Mercer University and The University of Alabama and following active duty training in the Air National Guard, he was employed by Russell Corporation as a management trainee. In 1970, Russell was asked to assume leadership of a small family-owned farm and timberland company. Russell Lands Inc. has since become a diverse corporation with over 500 employees and eight operating divisions. Russell set in place a much earlier dream of his grandfather’s. Russell had accumulated thousands of acres, comprising hundreds of miles of shoreline during the construction of Lake Martin in the early part of the 20th century, specifically for the creation of a world-class recreational lifestyle in south central Alabama. Over the past 35 years, Russell has seen this dream come true with the development of 15 residential communities consisting of some 1,500 lots on Lake Martin. Russell Lands also manages over 300 leased properties on Lake Martin. More than 1,000 first and second homes are also managed by Russell Lands Real Estate Inc., and the division’s non-corporate transactions capture the area’s largest real estate market share. Willow Point Golf and Country Club, one of the top golf courses in the state, is another Russell Lands venture. Renovated in 2003, the club has recently hosted the 2008 Alabama State Seniors Championship and the 2008 Alabama State Amateur Championship. Other Russell Lands operating divisions include Russell Marine, which operates four sales and full-service marinas on Lake Martin. Russell Marine was recently recognized by Boating Industry magazine as the ninth ranked boat dealer in the world. Another division operates nine building supply facilities affiliated with Do it Best Corp. A $4 billion cooperative with over 4,000 members, Do it Best recognized Russell Lands as its fourth largest member in 2007. In the 1970s, Russell formed the Energy Conservation Company to promote the use of wood energy in industry. This effort has led to the consumption of over 5 million tons of waste wood to replace some 5 million barrels of oil. ECON has also led the way in research and development for a practical wood gasification power system for vehicles. A related business also specializes in the processing of forest products residue for landscape products. Almost 30 years ago, Russell crossed the country in a conventional automobile powered entirely by wood. ECON’s

continuing research in vehicular and small-scale gasification has proven to the world that today’s automobile can be powered solely by gases produced by the partial combustion of wood in the event of a national emergency. In 1987, Russell founded, and still chairs, the first statewide fundraising campaign for CARE, the world’s largest private relief and development agency. CARE

Alabama has raised more than $9 million for the people of developing nations. In 1989, Russell founded Children’s Harbor, a not-for-profit organization with the mission of “strengthening children and families.” Framed in a classic New England style setting, the Children’s Harbor campus is located on the shores of Lake Martin. The campus has recently undergone an $8 million expansion to serve an even greater number of Alabama’s children and families. In 1998, Russell also made a significant financial commitment to Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, which resulted in the construction of the Children’s Harbor wing that houses

the Children’s Harbor Family Center. This collaborative effort with the hospital provides counseling to chronically ill children and their families. In 2008, Ben and Luanne Russell made the lead commitment toward the Benjamin Russell Hospital for Children, an entirely new Children’s Hospital facility to be named in memory of Mr. Russell’s grandfather and mentor. Russell was named Philanthropist of the Year in 2000 and Outstanding Philanthropist in Alabama in 1994. He is a member of the 1997 Alabama Academy of Honor and received the first CARE World Humanitarian Award in 1990. In 1975, Alexander City named him Man of the Year. He and the former Luanne Radney have one daughter, Adelia “Dedie” Russell Hendrix, and a grandson, Benjamin.

Benjamin Russell(1938–)Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Russell Lands Inc.

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James Thomas Stephens has spent 46 years as an employee of EBSCO, the company founded by his father, Elton B. Stephens, in 1944 to sell magazines and other items to the military. Stephens is chairman of the board of EBSCO Industries Inc., one of the most highly diversified companies in the world and one of the top privately held companies. EBSCO manufactures items from duck decoys to fishing lures while maintaining its position as a leading subscription service. Stephens was born in Birmingham, the son of Elton Bryson Stephens and Alys Varian Robinson Stephens. He married Julia McDonald in 1970. They have four children, Bryson David Dudley Stephens; Trent McDonald Stephens Lloyd; Bart William Robinson Stephens; and Alys Fay Stephens; and six grandchildren. He was educated in Birmingham public schools and graduated from Yale University in 1961 with a degree in history. He earned a master’s degree in business administration at Harvard in 1964. His career with EBSCO began Sept. 1, 1962. He served as president from Oct. 30, 1970, through June 30, 2005, and has been chairman since 2002, through the company’s major growth to its status as a worldwide company of over 6,000 employees at 76 locations in 22 countries. EBSCO is a widely diversified corporation with businesses in distribution, manufacturing, real estate development and services. The company has annual sales of more than $2 billion and has subsidiaries located around the world. EBSCO Information Services is the largest subscription agency in the world serving libraries. EBSCO Publishing, through its online platform, EBSCOhost, is the world’s largest provider of online research databases to libraries. EP licenses content from over 75,000 publications and offers over 250 research databases to schools, public libraries, colleges, universities, hospitals, corporations and government agencies. PRADCO, a division of EBSCO, is the largest manufacturer of fishing lures in the United States with such brands as Rebel, Cotton Cordell, Heddon, Bomber, YUM and Arbogast. EBSCO is developing two “traditional neighborhood developments” at Mt Laurel in Shelby County, Ala., and Alys Beach on the northern Florida Gulf Coast. EBSCO donates 5 percent of its pre-tax profit to charity. Each $1 donated to the United Way by EBSCO’s employees is matched with $1.50 from EBSCO. EBSCO’s employees

share in the profits as 15 percent of EBSCO’s pre-tax profit is returned to the employees through the EBSCO Savings and Profit Sharing Trust. Stephens is a United States Army veteran and served as an infantry lieutenant, airborne qualified. He has been an active supporter of education and is a past president of the board of trustees at Highlands School,

Altamont School and Birmingham-Southern College, where he also served as chairman of the academic affairs committee and vice chairman of the board. He is a past chairman of the board of the Boy Scouts of America Greater Alabama Council, a Distinguished Eagle Scout and a recipient of the Silver Beaver Award. He sponsors the James T. Stephens Eagle Scout Scholarships. His public service includes being a board member of The University of Alabama Health Services Foundation and The University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System. He is chairman of the Alabama Symphony Endowment Board. The University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences

inducted Stephens into its Hall of Fame in 2003, and Birmingham-Southern College awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Laws in 2000. He also received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from UA in 2007. He is a major contributor to the Elton Bryson Stephens Science Laboratory Center and the Welcome Center at Birmingham-Southern College; the Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center at The University of Alabama at Birmingham; the Alabama Symphonic Association; and the Boy Scouts of America. He is a member of the United Way’s Alexis de Tocqueville Society and served as chair of the fundraising campaign for The University of Alabama’s School of Information Sciences in the 1990s. He also chaired the Campaign for Character for the Greater Alabama Council for Boy Scouts of America and the 2007 fundraising campaign for Big Brothers Big Sisters. He is a member of Canterbury United Methodist Church and enjoys traveling, horseback riding, and reading history and international relations.

James Thomas Stephens(1939–) Chairman of the Board, EBSCO Industries Inc.

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Lockheed Martin Appoints UA Graduate Marillyn Hewson President of Lockheed Martin Systems Integration-Owego

Marillyn A. Hewson, a University of Alabama graduate and a member of the Culverhouse College of Commerce Board of Visitors, has been named president of Lockheed Martin Systems Integration-Owego. Lockheed Martin Systems Integration-Owego provides technology products, services and systems integration solutions to defense, civil and commercial customers worldwide. Principal capabilities include helicopter systems integration, fixed- and rotary-wing modernization and sustainment, ground vehicles and distribution technologies. With major facilities in Owego, N.Y.; Patuxent River, Md.; and the United Kingdom, the business employs about 4,000 individuals. “With her strong operational focus, orientation toward action and results, proven track record in domestic and international pursuits and diverse experience within Lockheed Martin, Marillyn Hewson is superbly qualified to lead our talented Owego team to perform at new levels,” said Christopher E. Kubasik, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin’s Electronic Systems business area. Hewson, 54, formerly was executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company in Fort Worth, Texas. She joined Lockheed Martin in 1983 and advanced through a series of leadership positions in two of the corporation’s four business areas and led several major functions at the corporate headquarters. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in economics from The University of Alabama.

James Dixon Named Senior Managing Director of Private Client Group for Sterne Agee

James Dixon has been named senior managing director of Private Client Group for Sterne Agee. Dixon joined Sterne Agee in 1994; he has worked in Equity Trading, Fixed Income Trading and the Private Client Group. Prior to his new position, Dixon was

involved in the management of the Birmingham Private Client office. Dixon’s new responsibilities will include recruiting and extensive development of the Sterne Agee Private Client Group. Dixon graduated from The University of Alabama, where he also earned a master’s degree in business administration. He earned a certificate in financial planning from Florida State University and completed the Securities Industry Institute at the Wharton School. Dixon is a graduate of the Branch Manager Development Program at the Security Investors Association. Roger Hobby Named President of Wilmington Trust FSB, New England Roger Hobby has been named president of Wilmington Trust FSB, New England. Hobby joined Wilmington Trust after 19 years with Fidelity Investments, where he served as president of Fidelity’s Family Office Services group in Boston. Hobby is responsible for managing Wilmington Trust’s Boston office and leading the development of wealth advisory services for clients throughout the northeastern United States. These services include private banking, investment services, fiduciary services and family office services. Hobby began his career as an investment broker for Fidelity in 1989. Later he was responsible for integrating Fidelity’s national call centers and branch network to help generate additional business and improve clients’ overall experience. In 1997, he was promoted to senior vice president of sales and business development for all Internet, call center and branch activity. In 1999, Hobby became senior vice president and national head of the “core” retail group, helping to bring new relationships and a significant level of new assets to Fidelity. In 2003, Hobby became senior vice president and market manager for Boston. He helped build the company’s local market manager structure in which he managed 10 branch offices with 60 vice presidents. In 2004, Hobby joined the Family Office Services group; he was named president last year. Hobby earned his undergraduate degree from The University of Alabama and completed the Harvard Business School’s General Manager Program.

Alumni on the MoveSix graduates assume new leadership roles.


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Culverhouse Doctorate Holder to Head UCF’s New Real Estate SchoolRandy I. Anderson, who earned a doctorate in finance from The University of Alabama in 1996, has been selected to lead the University of Central Florida’s new real estate school as it prepares to expand in one of the nation’s fastest-growing regions. Anderson was chosen the first to hold the Howard Phillips Eminent Scholar Chair in Real Estate at the Orlando university, the nation’s sixth largest, with more than 48,000 students. Anderson, who owns a boutique investment bank in Winter Park that does debt and equity financing for real estate, previously taught real estate finance at Florida International University in Miami before forming his own investment company. Now he will direct a research-and-education institute in the Dr. P. Phillips School of Real Estate, which is in UCF’s College of Business Administration. The program, which started in 2006, has nearly 200 students majoring or minoring in an undergraduate real estate program. He was the Ryder Eminent Scholar Chair while at FIU and during that time was chief economist and director of research for Marcus & Millichap Investment Services.

Southern Company Names Jim Miller CEO of Southern Nuclear

James H. “Jim” Miller III, a 1971 graduate of the Culverhouse College of Commerce, has been named president and chief executive officer of Southern Nuclear Operating Company. Miller formerly served as senior vice president, compliance officer and general counsel at Georgia Power. Miller joined Southern Company in 1994 as corporate counsel for Southern Nuclear after achieving partner status with the Birmingham, Ala.-based law firm of Balch and Bingham. Since then, he has held roles of increasing responsibility, including senior vice president of external affairs for Alabama Power and senior vice president of the Birmingham Division of Alabama Power. Additionally, Miller served as senior vice president, general counsel and assistant secretary for Southern

Company Generation and Southern Power, where he had responsibility for legal issues surrounding the wholesale generation business, as well as external issues relating to the operations of the power plants. Miller has been involved in many community activities, including board membership of the Lakeshore Foundation, a nonprofit organization that trains people with disabilities in athletic endeavors. He also serves on the boards of Fidelity Southern Corporation, Fidelity Bank, the United Way and Farrah Law Society. Miller spent three years in the U.S. Navy and later reached the rank of lieutenant commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve. He earned a juris doctor degree from The University of Alabama in 1977 and is a graduate of the Advanced Management program at England’s Oxford University and the Nuclear Reactor Technology course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Culverhouse Graduate Named Dean of Southern Mississippi Business School

Lance Nail, a Cullman native who earned his undergraduate degree in finance in 1989 at The University of Alabama, has been elected as dean of the business school at the University of Southern Mississippi. Nail, a graduate of Cullman High School, began studying finance at Wallace State Community College, where he enrolled in a pre-business program. Nail transferred from Wallace State to The University of Alabama. After graduating from UA, Nail worked for three years with Ernst & Young, an accounting consulting firm with an office in Birmingham. Nail left the firm to attend the University of Georgia, where he earned a doctorate in finance. After earning the doctorate, Nail began his career at The University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he was on the faculty for 12 years, including five years as chairman of the department of finance, economics and quantitative methods.

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1956William A. Renz has retired as president of Cincote Industries in Cincinnati.

1958James R. Azar, senior vice-president of planning for Alfa Mutual Insurance, was featured in the Alabama Alumni magazine for his 50 years with Alfa.

1965Richard T. Darden was recently listed as one of the “Heavy Hitters in Commercial Real Estate” in Birmingham Business Journal.

1967Lewis M. Steward Jr. was recently listed as one of the “Heavy Hitters in Commercial Real Estate” in Birmingham Business Journal.

1969Robert L. Holman has been elected to serve on the YMCA of Metropolitan Birmingham’s corporate board of directors.

1970Lewis R. Cabe (M.A. ’70, Ph.D. ’71) has retired from the CNA Corporation after 26 years. CNAC is a Virginia-based nonprofit organization that provides research and analyses for government organizations. He is also a retired Army officer and previously served on the faculty of the Naval Postgraduate School.

1971Frances Trott Jordan has joined W.R. Taylor & Co. as treasurer.

Gilbert C. Steindorff has joined Compass Bank as senior vice president and manager of commercial marketing for the Montgomery Market.

1973William E. Pearson Jr. has joined Smith Barney in Birmingham as a financial adviser.

1974Lewis A. Metzger has been recognized as one of the top 10 outstanding advisers in the United States by Registered Rep. magazine.

Joseph E. Sandner III was recently listed as one of the “Heavy Hitters in Commercial Real Estate” in Birmingham Business Journal.

1975Clayton R. Lee II was named chief credit officer at Peoples Bank of North Alabama.

1976Keith B. Arendall was recently listed as one of the “Heavy Hitters in Commercial Real Estate” in Birmingham Business Journal.

Carey P. Gilbert was recently listed as one of the “Heavy Hitters in Commercial Real Estate” in Birmingham Business Journal.

1977William B. Eyster Jr. was recently listed as one of the “Heavy Hitters in Commercial Real Estate” in Birmingham Business Journal.

1979Sherrie D. LeMier has been appointed corporate treasurer at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama.

1981Joni F. Blakney has been promoted to benefits director in the human resources department at Children’s Health System in Birmingham.

Keith Hazelrig was recently listed as one of the “Heavy Hitters in Commercial Real Estate” in Birmingham Business Journal.

Carol D. Mackin (M.B.A.) has been named vice president of planning and assistant corporate secretary for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama. She is responsible for coordinating the company’s planning process.

1982Randall W. Jordan has been appointed regional president at Wachovia.

Greg Rayburn (M.Acc. ’84) has been named interim chief executive officer at Sytex-Brillian Corp., a leading manufacturer and marketer of LCD HDTVs, digital cameras and consumer electronic products.

Where Are They Now? Here are more news and updates on C&BA alumni.


Randall Self (J.D. ’86) recently received a master’s degree in German literature from Vanderbilt University.

1986Edward K. Aldag Jr. was recently listed as one of the “Heavy Hitters in Commercial Real Estate” in Birmingham Business Journal.

1987Adolph Weil III (M.B.A.) has been appointed director for the National Cotton Council and Cotton Council International.

1989Jesse A. Lewis Jr. has recently moved back to Alabama after being appointed marketing director for Education Corporation of America.

1991J. Christopher Atkinson (M.T.A.) has been named vice president of finance for Coventry Workers Comp. Services.

Jerry Malone Dent Jr. has been selected as one of the “Top 40 Under 40 for 2008” by Birmingham Business Journal.

Katie M. Hosemann is an accounting manager with World Omni Financial Corp. in Mobile.

Bryan C. Hunt has been promoted to managing director of Wachovia Securities.

1992Seletha Rochell Butler has joined Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough LLP in its Atlanta office as “of counsel.” Butler is an experienced corporate attorney who focuses on mergers and acquisitions; strategic commercial matters, including technology and outsourcing arrangements; and matters involving small business ownership and operations and entertainment contractual arrangements. She earned her juris doctor degree from Harvard Law School, where she was a member of the Harvard Black Law Students Association.

Christopher J. Van Steenberg has been senior vice president and director of card products and ATMs in the retail direct USA division.

Scott A. Stewart has joined Donaldson, Holman & West P.C. as a professional manager.

1993Matthew T. Edwards (J.D. ’97) has joined W.R. Taylor & Co. as vice president of corporate finance.

Charles Barry Poole has been promoted to manager at Way, Ray, Shelton & Co., P.C.

Michelle C. Robinson has received the President’s Club Award for 2007 at Synovus Mortgage.

Stephen A. Stabler has joined the Bank of Tuscaloosa as a senior vice president of commercial banking.

Pamela D. Thomas has been promoted to plant controller at Wolverine Tube Inc.

Derek L. Weaver was recently listed as one of the “Heavy Hitters in Commercial Real Estate” in Birmingham Business Journal.

1994Leigh Davis has been selected as one of the “Top 40 Under 40 for 2008” by Birmingham Business Journal.

Tonya L. Formby has accepted a position as an executive recruiter for accounting and finance professionals with Sunbelt Search Partners.

Gregory D. Hess was recently listed as one of the “Heavy Hitters in Commercial Real Estate” in Birmingham Business Journal.

Padmanabhan Menon is working as an Oracle Applications Production support analyst in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.

1995John N. Coleman was recently listed as one of the “Heavy Hitters in Commercial Real Estate” by Birmingham Business Journal.

Franklin Delane Myers has been selected as one of the “Top 40 Under 40 for 2008” by Birmingham Business Journal.


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1996Sam Jones Carroll IV has been selected as one of the “Top 40 Under 40 for 2008” by Birmingham Business Journal and was also listed as one of the “Heavy Hitters in Commercial Real Estate.”

1997Kelly Bratschi Thompson has been selected as one of the “Top 40 Under 40 for 2008” by Birmingham Business Journal.

1998Christa Pettway Carter (M.S. applied statistics; Ph.D. applied statistics’ 02) has been appointed fair lending research manager at Wachovia Bank.

1999Brendan Knowles, CPA, (M.T.A. ‘00) has been promoted to manager with Way, Ray, Shelton & Co.

Felicia K. Uhlir (M.T.A. ’00) has been promoted to tax manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

2000Shelly E. Ciarella has been promoted to assistant vice president and marketing manager for KeyBank Alaska.

2001Bradley Moore is corporate controller for PivotHealth LLC in Brentwood, Tenn.

Brandon D. Sparks has been named assistant vice president and relationship manager for Compass Bank.

2003Eric W. Hoffman has been named chief operating officer and director of business development for Hoffman Media LLC.

Trenton P. Shepard (M.Acc. ’04) has been promoted to senior accountant at Way, Ray, Shelton & Co. P.C.

2004Lauren H. LeCroy (M.Acc. ’05) has been promoted to senior accountant at Way, Ray, Shelton & Co., P.C.

Rachel R. Mims (M.T.A. ’05) has become a member of the Young CPA Board.

2006Sonja Marie Burrage has joined Way, Ray, Shelton & Co. P.C. as a staff accountant.

Russell W. Chambliss Jr. (M.B.A.) has been promoted to vice president of administration at Mason Corp.

Matthew R. Shields has joined Pearce, Bevill, Leesburg, and Moore P.C. as a new staff accountant.

Talon Cole Woods has joined the audit department at Donaldson, Holman & West P.C.

2007Andrew J. Knight (M.Acc. ’07) has joined the audit department at Donaldson, Holman & West, PC.

Megan Young has joined Pearce, Bevill, Leesburg, and Moore P.C. as a staff accountant.


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culverhouse college of commerceand Business AdministrationBox 870223Tuscaloosa, Al 35487-0223

CHANGE SERVICE REqUESTED.

NONPROFITU.S. POSTAGE PAID

BIRMINGHAM, ALpermIT no. 2400

T- S H I R T S F L E E C E P U L L O V E R S S W E AT S H I R T S G O L F S H I R T S G O L F A C C E S S O R I E S M E M O R A B I L I A

Show your pride in the Culverhouse College of Commerce. Display the Culverhouse name through top-quality apparel and gifts.Shop in person on the fourth floor of Alston Hall when on campus, or order online.

M i n d y o u r b u s i n e s s

the culverhouse college of commerce executive magazine - fall 2008 edition

Documents

business students

keith students

istanbul students

company recruits students

keith hanson

new programs

business administration

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