
HERD BUSINESS
Marshall University Lewis College of Business
Alumni & Friends Newsletter
Volume 1, Issue 1
September 2017
Huntington, WV
Email: lcob@marshall.edu
Website: www.marshall.edu/cob
Location: 1 John Marshall Drive, Huntington, WV, United States
Phone: 304-696-2316
Facebook: facebook.com/marshallcob
Twitter: @herdbusiness
From the Desk of the Dean
Welcome to the inaugural issue of the Marshall University Lewis College of Business (LCOB) e-Newsletter. There are many exciting events and programs happening in the LCOB.
I am honored and delighted to be selected as dean of the Lewis College of Business and am truly excited about this new leadership opportunity. What especially attracted me to Marshall is the strong legacy, the visionary leadership of President Gilbert, successful alumni, a symbiotic town-gown relationship and the ‘We Are Marshall’ school spirit.
As an alum or friend of the LCOB, you are an essential part of our future success. This newsletter will keep you up to date on all of our new developments. We have excellent business students at Marshall, and they rely on your support to provide internships, jobs, scholarships, and other opportunities. While the commitment of our faculty and staff provides the foundation for excellence, your support provides the margin of excellence that separates the Marshall Alums from the rest.
Please consider becoming an annual donor to the Lewis College of Business. No matter how large or small your donation, as more alums support the LCOB this inspires our faculty and students to greater levels of excellence.
If I have not had the opportunity to meet you I would love to do so. If there is anything that the MU LCOB can do for you or your business, please let me know by emailing mukherjeea@marshall.edu or calling (304) 696-2659.
Dr. Avi Mukherjee, Dean
BB&T Continues Support
The check presentation ceremony took place July 12 at the Brad D. Smith Foundation Hall on Marshall’s Huntington campus.
Representatives of BB&T including David L. Helmer, Senior Vice President and Regional Corporate Banking Manager; Bobby Blakley, Community Banking Regional President; and Spencer Murphy, Huntington Market President; presented the latest check of $100,000 to Dr. Ron Area, CEO of the Marshall University Foundation Inc., and Dr. Avinandan Mukherjee, dean of the Lewis College of Business.
“The BB&T Foundation continues to invest in the BB&T Center for Advancement of American Capitalism, which is essential for student success,” Area said. “The partnership with BB&T is instrumental to our entrepreneurship program, as well as to Marshall University.”
New Leadership Appointments
Jeffrey Archambault, Ph.D.
Deanna Mader, Ph.D.
Two New Department Chairs
Elizabeth Alexander, Ph.D.
Nancy Lankton, Ph.D.
Simpson to lead BB&T Center for the Advancement of American Capitalism
Robert "Bob" Simpson, MBA
Simpson earned his M.B.A. from Ohio State University in 1970 and his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Miami University in 1969. He is the recipient of the 2016 Robert Bruce Hayes Award in Teaching Excellence for the Lewis College of Business. He has also received honors as an Outstanding Accounting Educator and was given the Life Membership Award and Distinguished Service Award, all from the West Virginia Society of CPAs. He served as President of the West Virginia Society of CPAS from 1981-1982 and was a board member for seven years. Simpson was also the chairman of the West Virginia Roundtable, an organization of West Virginia business CEOs.
California Dreamin'
Marshall University and Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU) hosted the first Innovating for Impact event on April 26, 2017, a month-long program in which Marshall University students and faculty experimented to create potential solutions for West Virginia’s most pressing problems.
The challenge included seven teams that received training on innovation from Intuit leadership and applied key principles to three specific challenges facing West Virginia today: providing educational opportunities for youth in rural communities, battling substance abuse and creating technology-based jobs in the state.
Award-winning actress Jennifer Garner, NFL football legend and Marshall alumnus Chad Pennington and Intuit CEO Brad Smith coached and selected the three teams during a finale event held at Marshall’s Joan C. Edwards Playhouse.
“At Intuit, our mission is to power prosperity around the world, and youth are a large part of building a more prosperous future. By sharing our tried-and true Design for Delight innovation principles with some of the bright, young minds at Marshall, we are
taking a step forward to make a lasting impact in this community. ” said Smith.
Set to the style of popular reality TV show “Shark Tank,” the celebrity and business leaders coached the Marshall students and selected three groups who showed the most developed innovative ideas.
Marshall University President Jerome A. Gilbert said, “By arming Marshall’s most forward-thinking young scholars with Intuit’s techniques, mindsets, and skills for developing breakthrough ideas, the event builds capabilities for the students to learn innovative techniques and make an impact on their community and the world.”
The teams presented their ideas to Garner, Pennington, and Smith, also a Marshall alumnus, who then evaluated their focus on the problem, their creative thinking and the ideas they considered while trying to solve the problem. The coaches then
selected three teams to continue with their work based on their progress.
The three selected teams traveled to Silicon Valley and San Francisco this Summer,
where they experienced a two-day immersive experience by exploring some of the top technology companies including the headquarters of Google, Apple, Facebook and of course, Intuit. These students gained hands-on experience collaborating with an Intuit Design for Delight team and received additional coaching.
Marshall students included Mary Day, Aniruddhsingh Rathore, Justin Hurt, Deena Dahshan, Hunter Barclay, Liz Adams, Mike Waldeck, Lauren McComas, Shah Hassan, Devin Gragg, Allison Cook, Morgan Whitt, Corey Tornes, Evan Robinson, Rowan Robinson and Katie Cowie. Faculty members included Jonathan Day-Brown, Ralph McKinney, Cong Pu, Sara Davis, Olen York, and Kristen Lillvis.
Alumni Spotlight: Michael Moe Myint
Mr. Moe Myint, Michael is Founder and serves as Chief Executive Officer at Myint & Associates Co., Ltd. Mr. Myint has over 30 years working experience in the field of aviation, aerospace, and energy, both in Myanmar and overseas. Mr. Myint serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at MPRL E&P Pte Ltd. and also the founder of Asia Drilling Pte Ltd.
After leaving the aviation industry, he served as the Vice-President at Interaero Inc. He returned to Myanmar in 1989, where he became a Consultant for Shell International Petroleum during its negotiations and start-up operations in Myanmar. He is a member of the Board of the Myanmar Industrial Development Bank. He qualified as a commercial pilot and spent thirteen years with the national flag carrier of Myanmar.
For 20 years, he has been the sole sponsor of sailing in Myanmar as the President of the Myanmar Yachting Federation, the Past Commodore and Honorary Life Member of the Yangon Sailing Club, Founder and Patron of the Myanmar Optimist Dinghy Association, and a member of the Myanmar National Olympic Committee.
Recently, Mr. Myint was featured in the Passing the Leadership Baton Series and was inducted into Lewis College of Business Hall of Fame. His life story and insights on leadership are truly inspirational.
Faculty & Staff Notes
Faculty
Dr. Marc Sollosy has been appointed director of the MBA program. Sollosy, an associate professor in management, will oversee the on-campus MBA as well as the future online degree program. Additionally, three new coordinators of graduate programs have been appointed: Dr. Susan Lanham for Accounting, Dr. Kent Willis for Health Care Management, and Dr. Ralph McKinney for Human Resource Management.
Dr. Nancy Lankton recently published "Incorporating trust-in-technology into Expectation Disconfirmation Theory" in The Journal of Strategic Information Systems. In January 2014 the journal was recognized as one of the 25 most cited articles published and is widely recognized as a Tier 1 MIS journal.
Ms. Sara Davis, a marketing instructor, has been named the new Director of Recruitment & Retention. Prior to her current position, Davis was the recruitment and retention graduate assistant for the College. She holds a degree in marketing and an MBA from Marshall and is active in the community. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Huntington Board Of Realtors.
The Lewis College was a partner for the International Conference on African Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Sustainable Development, hosted by Nnamdi Azikiwe University (Unizik) in Awka, Nigeria. Dr. Uyi Lawani represented us in the conference, and presented a paper titled “Innovative Approaches to Organization Science: An analysis of ‘Alliances and Networks’ Research Using Deetz’s Contrasting Dimensions.” We will actively pursue opportunities for collaboration with Unizik, Nigeria and with the University of West Indies, the other two partners of the conference.
The Academy of Management Annual Meeting is one of the largest congregations of management scholars in the world. Marshall was represented this year in this Atlanta mega-event by Dr. Avi Mukherjee and Dr. Margie McInerney. Dean Avi spoke on a panel on “Social Innovation at the Interface of technology, entrepreneurship, and economic institutions” along with researchers from the Kauffman Foundation, UC Berkeley, NJIT, etc. Margie was a part of the Academy of Management PDW called “Management Education for Responsibility and Ethics: An International Perspective.” She presented a workshop titled “How Do We Teach Responsibility to Business Students More Interested in Profit?”
Staff
This past May, Ms. Sharon Jenkins, Administrative Secretary Sr, was honored at the Staff Recognition Luncheon for 10 years of service to the University. Jenkins coordinates the administrative services in the Marketing/MIS/Entrepreneurship and Management Divisions.
Congratulations to Ms. Brittany Kelly, Program Assistant for the Academic Advising Center, for earning her Bachelor degree this past Spring. May graduation be the beginning of many more wonderful achievements to come.
As the Director of Stakeholder Engagement, Mr. Glen Midkiff's role has expanded to include marketing and public relations. Midkiff will: 1) increase public awareness of the College, 2) enhance the College image, market position, and brand identity, and 3) cultivate positive, mutually beneficial relationships with the media, community, alumni, students, donors, and friends.
Herd on the Move
Cody Hatten
Mr. Cody Hatten, BBA marketing alumnus, and MBA graduate student has been named the director of the Lawrence County Convention and Visitor's Bureau. Hatten plans to push for a stronger digital presence when promoting the county and its local events,
Hatten is scheduled to begin the position later this month, according to Bill Dingus, executive director of the Lawrence Economic Development Corporation and the Greater Lawrence County Area Chamber of Commerce.