UpFront: Faculty Excellence

Robert F. Scherer, Dean

Hello! I hope the fall semester has been great for you thus far. We’re already into the middle of the semester which is usually a very busy time for our faculty and students. As we continue to improve and reshape the Nance College of Business, one of our goals is to engage and continue to build the faculty and administrative team necessary to meet programmatic needs.

This semester, the Nance College of Business is pleased to have added an additional eleven faculty members to our team. We believe that these talented professionals will be a great asset to the college. The addition of these faculty is a positive step in fulfilling our goal of recruiting the best and brightest students in the region. We believe that talented faculty attract talented students.

In this issue of Dialogue, we introduce you to our new faculty members. Please join me in welcoming them to the Nance College of Business.

Nance Global Business Center is named "Nonprofit Exporter of the Year" by the Ohio Department of Development

Presenting the award to Dr. Scherer are Lisa Patt-McDaniel, Director, Ohio Department of Development; and Richard L. Moore, Grand Commodore, Association of Ohio Commodores

The Nance College of Business has been awarded an Ohio Governor's Excellence in Exporting Award for helping local companies, such as Hyland Software and Vita-Mix, increase their global exports. Among this year's 20 recipients, CSU was named the Nonprofit Exporter of the Year.

The GlobalTarget program, designed to help local businesses expand into international markets was created through the college's Global Business Center. This year, the state recognized Nance for its efforts in assisting more than 35 companies in northeast Ohio increase global exports.

"This has been an extremely successful program not just for CSU but for the participating businesses and for the regional economy, which benefits from this activity," said Dean Robert Scherer. "We are pleased to share this recognition with our partner organizations, FedEx and U.S. Commercial Services, and the program mentors who help make it a success."

GlobalTarget is known regionally, and now nationally, as an innovative and trusted program that served over 35 companies in expanding their global footprint. This program is unique because it leverages the talent of experienced international business practitioners from such companies such as Bird Technologies, ERICO, First Knight, INDUS International, and Swagelok as mentors with knowledge and resources of partners FedEx and the U.S. Commercial Service and other affiliate organizations, such as the International Trade Assistance Center. Armed with applied research and other GlobalTarget resources, current and recent member companies are expanding into various markets including Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, India, and Korea.

In April 2010, the Nance College of Business received the Certificate of Appreciation for Achievement in Trade from the U.S. Department of Commerce for the GlobalTarget program and its role in increasing exports.

For detailed information of the GlobalTarget program, please visit http://www.csuohio.edu/business/global/target/

Featured Alumni Ronald Van Johnson, Jr., BBA '95

Ronald Van Johnson, Jr.

Question: what do you get when you combine an undergraduate business degree in finance, an MBA degree, a law degree, and triplets who were born in the middle of law school? Answer: Ronald Van Johnson, Jr. Ron is currently Vice President & Associate Counsel, Law Group at KeyBank. He graduated from Cleveland State University with a BBA in finance in 1995 and is this month's featured alum.

Ron was born in Brooklyn, New York and moved to Cleveland as a small child. He grew up near Shaker Square and graduated from Shaker Heights High School. Ron was in the inaugural class of the LINK Program, designed to increase the pool of talented minority students. The LINK Program increases student participation, specifically in the fields of business, engineering, and the liberal arts and social sciences. Consistent with the mission of the Career Services Center, LINK prepares its students with corporate awareness and career development skills that promote success in today's competitive job market. Ron credits LINK with giving him an opportunity to higher education and much of his success.

Through the mentoring program with LINK, he connected with an executive at the Federal Reserve Bank, who eventually hired him for an internship, which led to a full time job. Due to this opportunity, it took Ron seven years to earn his BBA. While at the Federal Reserve Bank, Ron began an MBA program at Baldwin-Wallace College.

After ten years with the Federal Reserve Bank, Ron accepted a position at KeyBank managing payment operations at their automated clearing house. Nearly $1 trillion in payments came through his operation each year. While at KeyBank, Ron was accepted to the University of Akron School of Law and graduated in four years.

Upon graduation, Ron moved to the corporate counsel office and began supporting Key's wealth management line-of-business, working on trusts, tax issues and real estate, among other things.

Ron feels "duty bound to be involved" and volunteers with several non-profit and community organizations, including Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, The Phyllis Wheatley Association, The Fenn Educational Fund at Cleveland Foundation, Cleveland Bridge Builders, Cleveland Leadership Center, and is currently President of the Norman S. Minor Bar Association, the largest organization of African-American lawyers in the State of Ohio.

For all of his efforts, Ron was named one of the "Top 40 under 40" by Crain’s Cleveland Business in 2008 and a "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers in 2009. Ron and his wife, Concetta, live in South Euclid with their eight year old triplets.

Featured Student: Chuck Springmyer III

Chuck Springmyer III

Chuck Springmyer III, project engineer at Gilbane Building Company is this month’s featured student. Springmyer is currently enrolled in the Executive MBA (EMBA) program which provides a unique learning opportunity for highly-motivated business executives, managers, and professionals to earn an MBA degree in 19 months without interrupting their careers. He chose the Nance EMBA program because of the small classes, selective admission, scheduling convenience, and the quality of the professors. Chuck expects to complete his degree in April 2011. Prior to coming to the Nance College of Business, Chuck earned his Bachelor of Science in Construction Management from the University of Cincinnati.

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Chuck was exposed to the field of construction at an early age, as his grandfather owned and operated a construction company. When it was time to choose a major in college, the Construction Management program at UC was highly recommended and very interesting to him as a high school student.

Making the most of co-op opportunities, Chuck worked with Centex Rooney Construction in Ft. Myers, FL as a project engineer for seven months. He then worked as an assistant quality control manager in Raleigh, NC and subsequently as an assistant superintendent in the Bethesda, MD.

In 2004, Chuck started working at McCarthy Construction Company in Williamsburg, VA as a project engineer on a Regional Medical Center. After a two year stint at the company, he moved on to work at Gilbane Building Company as area superintendent of OSFC Galion City School District in Columbus, Ohio. Still employed by Gilbane Building Company, Chuck has since moved twice within the state of Ohio taking on new projects; first to Concord, and then to Cleveland where he is currently working on Phase II of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Being an engineer is only one of Chuck's important job descriptions, he is also a full-time husband, and father of three wonderful children. He has two sons, Carson and Jackson, and one daughter, Madison; being a father, he admits is his most satisfying personal achievement. His supportive wife Julie has committed to raising the kids to allow the family to travel as his career requires. Chuck enjoys playing with his children, golf, water sports, and philanthropy in his spare time; all of which he admits have taken a back seat to work and school commitments.

As for professional achievements, Chuck feels a strong sense of satisfaction in seeing TriPoint Medical Center in Concord completed. This project was quite a success, he poured a lot of heart and soul into it. He was one of the first persons on the job and also one of the last to remain until completion.

Nance Staff Member Establishes the Gary J. Louie Scholarship

Jeannine Louie and her late husband Gary Louie.

Jeannine M. Louie, budget manager for the Nance College and a dedicated alumnus, demonstrated her commitment to CSU by endowing a scholarship in honor of her late husband, Gary J. Louie. Mrs. Louie graduated from the Nance College of Business in 1983 with a concentration in accounting and has remained a vital part of the CSU family for over thirty years. Mrs. Louie established the Gary J. Louie Scholarship with a donation of $25,000 because she “wanted to give back.”

The recipient of the Gary J. Louie Scholarship shall be a student of the Nance College of Business with an associates degree from a community college and a 2.5 GPA or higher. Preference will be given to graduates of the Berea City School District, where Jeannine and Gary Louie’s children attended school. Their son Shawn graduated from Midpark High School in 2008, and their daughter Rachel will be graduating this school year.

The Nance College of Business is honored to have such exemplary commitment to our College from a member of our staff. We encourage each member of our team to consider a donation to the Gary J. Louie Scholarship in the annual Faculty/Staff Appeal. Members of the broader Nance community can also donate by contacting Eric Stephens at 216.687.9356.

Nance Adds Eleven New Full-time Faculty

Sara E. Bennett
Sara Bennett is a Visiting Instructor of finance. She is currently working on her dissertation "The Order Book, Order Flow, and the Impact of Order Cancellations on Equity Index Futures" at Kent State University. She holds a BBA in accounting and an MBA from Augusta State University. Her areas of specialized knowledge include corporate finance, derivatives, and market microstructure.

Richard Reed, Ph.D.
Dr. Richard Reed is a Professor of strategy in the Department of Management & Labor Relations. He received his Ph.D. in strategic management from University of Bradford in the UK. Most recently he held the position of James Huber Chair in Entrepreneurial studies at Washington State University. His areas of expertise include strategic management, competitive advantage, innovation management, and corporate governance.

Vickie Coleman Gallagher, Ph.D.
Dr. Vickie Coleman Gallagher joins CSU in the fall of 2010 as an Assistant
Professor in the Department of Management and Labor Relations. She has a Ph.D. in management specializing in organizational behavior from Florida State University. She earned both a master's degree in consumer-industrial research, and a BBA in marketing from Cleveland State University. Her areas of specialized knowledge include organizational diagnosis and employee opinion surveys, stress, politics, social influence, political skill, and person-organization fit.

Christine M. Dickinson
Christine Dickinson is a Visiting Instructor in the Department of Marketing. She holds two MBA degrees in international business; one from Purdue University and the other from ESCP-EAP (Paris, France). Her teaching areas include international business, global marketing, and fundamentals of marketing.

Raymond M. Henry, Ph.D.
Dr. Raymond Henry is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer & Information Science. He received his Ph.D. in information systems from the University of Pittsburgh, a Master of Science in information systems from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a Bachelor of Arts in english and economics from University of Virginia. His areas of expertise include IT governance, systems development, knowledge management, project management, and human computer interaction.

Ji Eun Park (J.E.), Ph.D.
Dr. Ji Eun Park is an Assistant Professor of marketing. She obtained her Ph.D. in marketing and international business from Saint Louis University, her MBA from KDI School of Public Policy and Management in Seoul, South Korea and her Bachelor of Science, Law from Chung-Ang University in Seoul, South Korea. Her areas of specialized knowledge include international marketing, international business, cross-cultural consumer behavior, animosity, ethnocentrism, and website localization.

Laura K. Rickett
Laura Rickett is an Instructor in the Department of Accounting. She is in the final stages of completing her Ph.D. in information systems with a minor in accounting from Kent State University. She holds an MBA in accounting from the University of Akron and a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Bowling Green State University. Her areas of specialized knowledge include accounting information systems, financial accounting, investor behavior, and value relevance of IT.

Robert P. Schumaker, Ph.D.
Dr. Schumaker is a Visiting Assistant Professor of computer and information science. He received his Ph.D. in management from the University of Arizona, an MBA degree in management and international business from the University of Akron, and a Bachelor's of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of Cincinnati. His areas of specialized knowledge include business intelligence, artificial intelligence, ecommerce, and knowledge management.

Paul Schwin, MBA, CMA, CFM
Paul Schwin is a Visiting Instructor in the Department of Accounting. He earned both his MBA in accounting & finance and his Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Pittsburgh. His areas of specialized knowledge include managerial accounting, financial accounting, and advanced managerial accounting.

Robert G. Stoll, DBA
Robert Stoll is a Visiting Instructor in the Department of Operations and Supply Chain Management. He earned his Doctorate of Business Administration in operations and supply chain management from Cleveland State University, a Master of Science in mechanical engineering from Case Western Reserve University, and an MBA and a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology. His areas of specialized knowledge include collaboration, innovation management, new product development, operations management, production management, strategic purchasing, and supply chain management

Haodong Wang, Ph.D.
Dr. Haodong Wang is an Assistant Professor of computer and information sciences. He received his Ph.D. in computer science at College of William and Mary. He also holds his Master of Science in electrical engineering from Penn State University, and Bachelor of Engineering in electronic engineering from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. His areas of expertise include security and privacy, wireless sensor networks, IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN, embedded systems, and pervasive computing.

Global AMBA Students Visit Spain & Portugal

AMBA Students at Winery in Madrid, Spain.

The Global Accelerated MBA (AMBA) program is a fast-paced weekend program for management track professionals. It is structured aggressively to enable students with the necessary first-year MBA prerequisites to earn an MBA degree in only 12 months. Included in the program is an international study tour, which saw the current class visiting Spain for ten days in September accompanied by program director; Elad Granot and Associated Dean Raj Javalgi.

Their week began in Barcelona at one of Spain’s largest law firms, Acebo & Pombo Abogados for an overview of the Spanish economy. In the afternoon the group visited an assembly plant of SEAT, an automobile company owned by the VW group. They finished the day at a Champion’s League soccer match between Barcelona FC and the Greek champion Panatinaykos at the world famous Camp Nou stadium.

The following day, they visited one of Spain’s most successful advertising agencies–SCPF where they heard about the work they do with global clients such as IKEA and BMW in Spain. Later, they visited the Barcelona Business School campus, where Dr. Granot gave a presentation on the American concept of luxury as compared with the traditional European concept.

The group travelled to Madrid, stopping at one of Spain’s largest vineyards, where they received a tour and a comprehensive overview of the industry. In Madrid they visited Santander City, the headquarters of the world’s tenth largest bank. They then went to the globally ranked IE Business School for a presentation on sports marketing and a tour of the campus.

Cristian Saracco, a branding expert, presented to the group on the similarities and differences between brand enthusiasts in Spain and the US. Later on, they took a guided tour of Madrid, and the evening was free for the students to enjoy the city before heading off to Salamanca and Lisbon, Portugal.

In Salamanca the students met with Dr. Angel Losada, the director of communication for the region of Salamanca, and then took a restful bus ride to Lisbon, Portugal. The students had a free evening to get rested for the final day of the trip.

To conclude the international study tour, students visited the Lisbon offices of Leo Burnett, one of the world’s leading advertising agencies, where its head of strategy gave a presentation about user generated content. Later on, the group went on a guided tour of the city, and then enjoyed a farewell dinner and Fado show.

Schumaker Publishes Sports Data Mining Book

Dr. Robert P Schumaker, Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer & Information Sciences, along with his co-authors Osama K. Solieman and Hsinchun Chen has recently published a book entitled "Sports Data Mining".

In previous times according to the authors, "sports organizations relied almost exclusively on human expertise" when making predictions regarding performance. The idea of sports data mining is now being accepted as an efficient tool to predict both player and team performance.

Interested readers can find this publication on amazon.com.

Student Passes CFA Exam Level I

Once again, the Nance College of Business is pleased to announce the success of one of our students on the Level I Chartered Financial Analyst exam. Lacy Sharratt recently achieved the first step toward earning the CFA designation, which is the highest level of certification possible for finance professionals. The exam itself is a difficult process and less than 40 percent of people who take it pass the first time.

Lacy gives much credit to the CFA Level I review course offered at CSU. She is now qualified to proceed to the Level II exam. "The amount of material covered for the exam is extensive, but the course did a very good job of breaking the material down into manageable chapters," Said Sharratt. "After seeing the exam questions, I realized that I had been well prepared."

Nance offers the CFA Level I Review Course (FIN 473 and FIN 673) for academic credit in collaboration with Stalla, a division of Becker Professional Education. For complete information about CFA review course, please visit the Nance College web site or contact Dr. Chenchu Bathala, Chair and Professor in the Department of Finance at (216) 687-4715.

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