One of the most exciting pieces of news that I am honored to share with you is that we received the #1 Undergraduate Business Programs designation from the U.S. News & World Report for public regional universities in Georgia for 2025. Georgia College & State University continues to rank among the elite top 20 universities in the Regional South in U.S. News & World Report's 2025 Best Colleges guide. Our College of Business & Technology is ranked #1 among public regional South universities in Georgia and #281 nationally. Our Computer Science program ties for first place for the Regional South in Georgia and is in the top 500 nationally. We are so proud of our faculty, staff, and students who play a role in our accomplishments that are nationally recognized!

Georgia College & State University held Constitution Week, a collaborative campus effort that hosted sessions on checks and balances, innovation and entrepreneurship, and important issues in democracy. A business law faculty member, professor Jehan El-Jourbagy, led a critical role in the success of Constitution Week. You can read her remarks and learn more about this program in FrontPage.

A great benefit of our liberal arts education is the ability to provide collaboration with businesses and executives so students receive real-world and hands-on learning opportunities. This past month, we took a group of 15 students to tour Fouts Bros. facilities and learn more about internships as well as hosted numerous individuals on our beautiful campus.

We appreciate the visits from business leaders and companies who have joined us on campus. Some who have joined us this semester are:

• Evan Karanovich, Principal Lead to the Chairman at Chic-fil-A
• Attorney Mark Dehler
• Alex Gregory, Former CEO of YKK
• Carr Riggs Ingram
• Aprio
• Grant Thornton
• Hancock Askew
• Roedl & Partner
• TTI

This month, we are highlighting the accomplishments of our Department of Information Systems & Computer Science (ISCS), where we are embracing technology and artificial intelligence. I recently attended the International Information Management Association Conference in Scotland where the focus was on AI and ethics, so it is exciting to highlight this department for October.

I invite you to join me in celebrating our college's recent successes.

Sincerely,

Dr. Tanya Goette

Interim Dean, Professor of Management Information Systems

Each month we seek to celebrate and highlight the accomplishments of one of our four departments. The Department of Information Systems & Computer Science (IS/CS) offers a range of programs designed to prepare students for exciting careers in the rapidly evolving field of computing. The Department of Information Systems & Computer Science offers the following degree programs: Computer Science, Data Science, Management Information Systems, and Master of Management Information Systems.

Computer science and management information systems students Yash Jasani, Jared Reese, Nicolas Cecerebenedetti, and Christian Davies attended the Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Conference in San Diego. The goal of the Tapia Conference is to bring together undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, researchers, and professionals in computing from all backgrounds and ethnicities to connect, engage, and be inspired. We especially appreciate Dr. Gongbing Hong for serving as the faculty advisor and for traveling with the students.

The ISCS Department is getting ready to take 23 of our ISCS female students to the 2024 Grace Hopper Celebration in Philadelphia, PA, from October 8-11.

The Grace Hopper Celebration is the world's largest gathering of women and non-binary technologists. It's a conference that highlights the research and career interests of women in computing and is named after computer scientist Grace Hopper. The GHC is organized by the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, a nonprofit that aims to build technology for the people who use it.

We had a fantastic lunch preparing our students for the conference with guidance and mentorship from both Madison Farmer and Sundari Parekh. We thank our IT Advisory Board and friends of the College of Business & Technology for making this opportunity available and accessible to our students. You can support our women in technology students through our foundation's giving page.

Dr. Ward Risvold, director of the AI Lab presented “AI and the State of Higher Education” at the SRC Annual Conference and The Citadel in South Carolina. His current projects include a Writing Tutor Bot, a Project Management Bot, and working with Orcawise. He is also in the process of developing two new courses, International Leadership in AI and AI Prompt Engineering and Fine-Tuning.

Dr. John Huang’s extended abstract, “Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) Techniques to Uncover Fundamental Drivers of Academic Success,” was selected for the International Association for Computing Information Systems Conference.

Dr. Bryan Marshall worked with two of our undergraduate students, Emily Chambers and Kathleen Mistretta on a paper titled, “"AI Use Among University Students and GPA: High-Performing Students Use AI More Often and More Effectively"” which is accepted for a conference presentation and publication in the Issues of Information Systems Journal.

Our new Data Science Assistant Professor, Dr. Daniel Wu, is already working to create a service-learning project for his Data Mining course. We cannot wait to see all the amazing things he will do for our program and students.

Dr. Eric Kobbe recently celebrated his second year as a lecturer in the Information Systems & Computer Science Department at Georgia College. He spent eight years before that teaching part-time for Georgia College. He is a true liberal arts faculty member, teaching across degree programs and serving outside the classroom to support engaged learning for students.

Dr. Kobbe is a three-time graduate of GCSU as well as a graduate of Valdosta State University. He is also a licensed insurance agent and serves on several college and university committees.

Although he is a lecturer in information systems, Dr. Kobbe also mentors in the area of finance, serving as the faculty mentor along with Dr. Brent Evans, for the Student Managed Investment Committee. Together they support students on the committee as they actively research and manage a $100,000 endowment.

Dr. Kobbe brings thirty years of finance, insurance and technology experience to the classroom, and he has also paved the way for the partnership with Fouts Bros. Fouts Fire builds fire trucks and delivers them fast, including fire pumpers, fire tankers, and quick attack fire trucks that are available immediately. and more. The rapidly-growing company is based in Milledgeville, providing an incredible opportunity for our students and faculty.

As part of Georgia College & State University’s first ever Memorandum of Understanding with Fouts Bros., Inc., Dr. Kobbe led a group of interns this past year. Dr. Kobbe consulted with Fouts on a variety of technology projects and mentored three Georgia College of Business & Technology students, Patrick Morris, Landon McCart, and Grant Motley. As part of their internship, these three students could work full time at Fouts and involve themselves with a variety of operations projects including Quality Control advancements by enhancing Fouts proprietary QC app. In addition, they worked with eMpulse and their programming team in India, by providing detailed analysis of their Build of Materials as well as many other programming projects designed exclusively for Fouts. They were able to work with Southern Company Gas and Atlanta Gas Light in joint efforts to streamline many processes at the heart of the Fouts very successful operations.

The partnership between Fouts and Georgia College & State University is a complete success. All three students remain employed at Fouts and continue working on their projects by providing new and innovative ideas. According to Grant Motley, who served as Operations Project lead in his role to re-launch Smyrna’s Manufacturing Execution System, in both Milledgeville and LaGrange, Texas locations, “This internship has allowed me to learn and grow under a team of experienced leaders from various fields; helping to solidify a foundation for my career.”

This month, we're spotlighting Hayden Helms, the senior endpoint support analyst for the Office of the President and the Office of the Provost at Auburn University. Hayden's role involves ensuring the technological needs of the university's top executives are met while also collaborating with various departments to leverage technology effectively. We sat down with Hayden to discuss his experiences and time at Georgia College.

Transitioning from Georgia College to Auburn University, Hayden began his career at Core Technologies before joining the Office of the Provost. His dedication and hard work have led him to his current position, where he serves as a technology champion for the institution. As Hayden continues to advance in his career, he's closely following industry trends like cloud migration and generative AI, recognizing their potential impact on the future of technology.

Hayden keeps in touch with several Georgia College professors, including Mr. Brad Fowler, Dr. Joy Godin, Dr. Tanya Goette, and Dr. Bryan Marshall. They all had a significant impact on his education, especially Dr. Godin and Dr. Marshall, who taught him key courses that helped shape the MIS curriculum. He also appreciated the mentorship he received from Dr. Elder, his AIS faculty advisor.

He chose the MIS program at Georgia College because he wanted to learn how technology impacts businesses. The program's blend of technology and business courses gave him a unique perspective on how technology can be used to improve organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Georgia College was perfect for his interests in technology and business, as it offers a well-rounded education.

Hayden's education at Georgia College played a pivotal role in shaping his career path. He credits the MIS program with providing him a strong foundation in technology, business, and management. The courses he took, such as database management and programming, directly contributed to his current work. Hayden also fondly recalls his involvement in the Association for Information Systems Club and the Dean's Student Advisory Board, where he gained valuable leadership experience.

If you know a Bunting College of Business & Technology alum we should chat with, please email: collegeofbusiness@gcsu.edu

• Dr. Sandria Stephenson recently published an article in the International Journal of Education and Development Using ICT 20, (1). She also presented at the 2024 American Accounting Association Conference in Washington, D.C.

• Marjorie Carter received our Outstanding Service Award. She works at McNair, McLemore, & Middlebrooks. The Accounting Advisory Board, under her leadership, planned and executed last year's inaugural and this year's Accounting Day on Front Campus.
  

• Accounting Day! is October 8 on Front Campus from 11-2PM. Business undecided majors, accounting majors, and any other student interested in accounting are welcome to enjoy a delicious lunch, play games, win prizes, and meet practicing accountants from 16 sponsoring firms. No dressing up. No resumes. Just food, fun, and conversation.
  

• Recent GCSU grad and current Ole Miss Ph.D. student, Will Moffatt, published an article in Economics Bulletin. The article, "The impact of childhood epilepsy diagnoses on adult religiosity" was co-authored by faculty member Brent Evans.
• Liam Baldwin, current economics student, completed a highly competitive internship with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. He worked closely with a senior research economist and met with Federal Reserve Chairman, Jay Powell.
• Dr. Donghun Kim will present his research on "Natural Disasters, Covenant Violations, and Bank Loans" on October 19 at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Financial Management Association (FMA) in Grapevine, TX.
• Dr. Brent Evans' paper, "NFL quarterback development—the role of competing quarterbacks, rookie playing time, and team quality" was accepted by The American Economist. The work was co-authored by Mississippi College professor, Josh Pitts, and two recent GCSU graduates—​Colin Adams and Donavan Lingerfelt.
• Dr. Brent Evans' paper, "Show me the money! The immediate impact of name, image, and likeness on college football recruiting" was accepted by the Journal of Sports Economics. The paper is co-authored by Mississippi College professor, Josh Pitts.
• The Center for Economic Education hosted the Teaching Highschool Personal Finance and Economics workshop for area teachers. Associate Director, Rui Kang, welcomed nine teachers as they spent the day with Chris Cannon from the Georgia Council on Economic Education to learn how to teach the revised 9-12 grade Georgia standards in personal finance and economics.

• The Elevator Pitch takes place from October 1-4. Approximately 600 students compete to give their best 60-second personal marketing pitch and answer the common prompt of “Tell me about yourself.” The top 20 finalists will then face off in an in-person competition judged by a panel of volunteers from our sponsors.

• Dr. Mary Rickard and co-authors received the best paper in track award at the 2024 Atlantic Marketing Association (AtMA) conference in Charleston, SC.

• TTI worked with Dr. Rickard's professional selling classes and sales management classes.

• Dr. Ginder attended the 4ATL: Creativity & Belonging in Atlanta Conference hosted by the Atlanta Council of the American Association of Advertising Agencies on September 17th. Speakers from multiple Atlanta companies and advertising agencies, such as Coca-Cola, BBDO, and Publicis, presented.

• The Marketing and Advertising Club hosted an informational meeting and a professional development workshop with guest speakers from TTI who covered topics such as resume writing, interviewing, and networking.

• Drs. Karl Manrodt and Stephen Rutner attended the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals conference in Nashville.

• Dr. Ania Rynarzewska published articles alongside co-authors in Psychology & Marketing and the Marketing Education Review.

• Drs. Mehrnaz Hedayati and Mohsen Mosayebi participated in the High Impact Practices Summer Institute 2024 at the Center for Teaching and Learning where they presented their redesigned course structure, pedagogy, and implementation plan to future and current faculty members. This innovative course and curriculum is a great example of their leadership across campus.
  

The Master of Management Information Systems is offered as a Double Bobcat program. This allows students to take graduate classes that count toward both their undergraduate and graduate degrees.

This degree positions students for a position in designing, implementing and managing corporate information resources or serving as a liaison between a functional area and a centralized IT office. Students in this program take courses such as Intro to Enterprise Systems, Business & Technology Project, and IT Strategy & Governance.The MMIS program blends technology skills in such areas as SAP and SQL with soft skills in analysis, project management, and strategic planning. Apply today.

Considered the gold standard of certification, the Scrum Alliance CSM course is an interactive and engaging learning experience. Certified ScrumMaster® training gives you hands-on skills that you can immediately apply in the real world and expand your career opportunities. Once you complete the course, you will have everything you need to take and pass the CSM® exam and much more. November 2-3 from 9am-5pm. Cost: $650. Register here.