School of Business

Faculty, Students and Alumni News Bits

Spring 2010

In March, the Hospitality and Tourism Club took Amtrack to Seattle, WA where they attended the Northwest Service Food Show and visited various restaurants near Pike's Place Market.

 

 

 

 

 

Beginning September 2010, leaders and managers in the Roseburg area can earn a masters degree without leaving their day jobs. Southern Oregon University's Master in Management (MiM) program is coming to the UCC campus. Designed for working professionals, this program focuses on best practices and current trends in management and leadership. At UCC, courses will be offered face-to-face on Friday evenings and Saturdays, providing a rich, dynamic learning environment.  The 45-credit MiM program will run from September 2010 through June 2012.

 

Beginning Fall 2010, the SOU MBA program will be offered in two formats to meet the needs of busy working professionals:

• Full-Time MBA Program
  • Classes are offered weekday evenings at the Ashland campus.
  • Program may be completed in one calendar year
• Part-Time (Saturday Cohort) MBA Program
  • Classes are offered Saturdays at the RCC/SOU Higher Education Center in Medford.
  • Program may be completed in 18-21 months (6-7 consecutive quarters)

 

 

Winter 2010

Several local media outlets highlighted the increased demand and success of the accelerated baccalaureate program at SOU, which allows students to graduate in three years instead of four. Management Professor, Dr. Curt Bacon, is the director for this program.

 

Over winter break, students from the Hospitality and Tourism Club traveled to Southern California. While there, they visited   and observed several large hospitality organizations, including Disney, Warner Brothers and Knotts Berry Farm, where they received behind-the-scenes insight into the operations.

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Donna Lane, Associate Professor of Management and MBA Program Coordinator, and Karen Clarke, Instructor, helped coordinate DECA's regional skills competition held on the SOU Ashland Campus on January 27, 2010. Students from North Medford, Crater, Klamath Union and Phoenix High Schools participated. Many School of Business faculty and students helped judge the DECA competition. In addition, School of Business faculty have "adopted" local high schools and plan to visit them during spring and fall terms to discuss the world of business and to answer questions about going to college.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Accounting Student Association hosted a presentation on success in business and in the public accounting industry by Lou Miramontes, a partner from KPMG. Mr. Miramontes was the managing partner for KPMG in San Francisco and now serves clients on the entire West Coast.

  

The SOU School of Business strives to take an active part in the local community. On February 16, 2010, business professors, Dr. Curt Bacon and Dr. Kip Sigetich, joined economics professor, Dr. Dan Rubenson, to conduct a community forum on the economic outlook for the Rogue Valley.  Curt Bacon noted it was exciting working with local businesses and his colleagues to help assess the direction and prospects of the local economy.

 

The School of Business is proud to announce the creation of a new degree path, the Bachelor of Applied Science in Management. This program, spear-headed by the School of Business Degree Completion Program Coordinator, Dr. Joan McBee, is open to students who have previously earned an associates degree of applied science in a technical field. Up to 124 quarter hours may be transferred into the Bachelor of Applied Science program; the remaining courses may be completed at SOU.

 

The Master in Management program at the Uniersidad de Guanajuato is now a dual degree program. Graduates receive degrees from both Southern Oregon University and the University de Guanajuato.

 

Fall 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The School of Business welcomed a new Dean, Raj Parikh, Ph.d., CMA, CFM, CFA. Prior to joining the  Southern Oregon University faculty, Raj was the Chief Executive Officer of the Ras Al Khaimah Education Company (EDRAK) in the United Arab Emirates. EDRAK's mission was to attract international universities to the UAE to bring quality education to the residents of the UAE and surrounding region. Raj served as the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Business School at Delaware State University in Dover from 2004 to 2007. He has extensive experience in higher education and private industry at many institutions including Wilmington University in New Castle, Delaware, St. Bonaventure University (New York), and Buena Vista University (Iowa).

Eight new foreign students arrived at SOU to participate in the exchange programs offered by SOU. The School of Business welcomed these students and all new and returning business students at the annual Welcome Back Barbecue sponsored by Fire Mountain Gems.  The School of Business students, faculty and staff enjoyed the beautiful weather and great food prepared by School of Business Chair, Dr. Rene Ordonez, MBA Program Coordinator, Dr. Donna Lane, and other faculty and staff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The accounting program welcomed a new instructor, Philip Smith. He is a CPA and worked for Deloitte & Touche and several private companies before coming to Southern Oregon University. Philip will be a great addition to the strong and growing accounting program.

 

The School of Business coordinated and hosted several forums, discussions and networking events Fall term:

• Business After Hours ~ a career networking event held at the Ashland Springs Hotel in October.
• International Student Panel ~ a panel presentation and discussion about studying abroad.
• Direct Marketing/Interactive Marketing Partners Panel ~ Dr. Charles Jaeger organized this panel of executives and managers from Musician's Friend, Fire Mountain Gems, Lithia Motors, Harry & David, and Motorcycles USA, who talked about their interactive marketing practices.

School of Business students, Kala Bernhardt and David Parker, attended the 2009 Babson Entrepreneurship Forum in Fall 2009. These students were sponsored by Cropper Medical, Inc., an Ashland company. In January 2010, the two students shared highlights of the conference and discussed advice provided by the conference presenters.

 

Fall 2007

Brett Borders graduated in spring of 2007 with a Certificate in Interactive Marketing and e-Commerce (CIMeC). He moved to the Denver, Colorado area and was able to set up several job interviews within the first week.  He is now working full-time as a search engine optimization (SEO) consultant at a Web development firm in downtown Boulder.  Bitten by the "entrepreneurial bug," Brett is now working late nights and weekends to grow Copy Brighter Marketing, his own Denver SEO & Internet marketing company.  " The demand for people with both marketing and web skills is exploding right now.  I encourage SOU business students who love the Internet to get the CIMeC certificate, or to take as many multimedia and computer science classes as possible.  Things like blogs, video, social networking and HTML are becoming an integral part of business communications.  They're also creative and fun," says Brett.

 

Congratulations to Assistant Professor Dennis Slattery  for receiving the Ashland Chamber of Commerce 2007 Honorary Life Member of the Year award for his 25 years of exemplary leadership, community collaborations and service to the Ashland Chamber.

Summer 2006

On Thursday, Sept. 21, Steve Schein was the guest speaker at the Grants Pass Rotary club. His talk included three topics:(1) Findings from the recent EDA research on economic development in the Rogue Valley, (2) Latest developments at the School of Business at SOU including the planned reintroduction of the MBA Program in Fall 2007, and (3) his leadership development framework and teaching.

The Terry Gaston Scholarship Fund Drive Professor Terry Gaston suffered a brain aneurism and passed away in 2003. A vibrant and active member of the SOU faculty and a driving force behind the School of Business international programs, Terry’s unexpected passing was a huge loss. As a lasting memorial to their friend and colleague, the faculty of the School of Business, with the blessing of Terry’s family, organized to raise monies to fund a perpetual scholarship in Terry’s name. Faculty members have contributed just over $17,500 toward our goal of $25,000 needed to fund the scholarship.

Recently, we invited our alums, whose lives Terry touched in so many ways, an opportunity to contribute to this lasting tribute. We received our first check from Adam Wedemeyer of Ashland’s Full Circle Real Estate for Buyers. Thank you Adam! If you remember Terry, and would like to make a lasting contribution in his name that will help SOU business students travel abroad, please contact us. You may email Professor Curt Bacon at bacon@sou.edu or you can write checks to THE TERRY GASTON SCHOLARSHIP FUND, C/O Curt Bacon, School of Business, Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR 97520

Meredith Reynolds attended (early August) a conference in Washington D.C. in her role as the coordinator of the TIES Grant at SOU. The Chronicle of Higher Education published an article that references the HED Synergy in Development meeting. In particular, SOU's experience was highlighted. 

Spring 2006

The 2005-2006 Academic Honors and Awards ceremony was held on May 17, 2006. Over 200 student awardees, parents and guests were in attendance. This year, the School of Business faculty and staff proudly honored the academic and service accomplishments of over 150 business students. Among the honorees were students who are active officers of the three Business student organizations - Accounting Students Association, In-BiTs, and the SOU Nonprofit Student Organization, students inducted into the National Honor Society of the Phi Kappa Phi, students who were listed in the President and Dean's Honor Lists in fall 2005 and winter 2006. The highlight of the event was the honoring of and recognizing the outstanding students in the different business concentration areas and certificate programs. A reception and silent auction capped the event.

On May 13, the Oregon Society of CPA's held their annual "Circle of Excellence" dinner to honor accounting students throughout the state. The annual event recognizes academic excellence and those who have achieved the major milestones of the industry (passing the CPA exam and gaining certification). Students of the Year are selected by each college and university and are presented at the dinner. This year our recipient was Alyse Ringrose who was accompanied to the dinner by her mother, Laurel. Also in attendance was the School of Business representative accounting professor Dennis Slattery and his wife Sandra, Kerry Chestnut, president of the Accounting Students Association club, and Maryann Wood. Alyse is graduating this spring and will be working for Moss Adams in Medford, a position that is the result of her internship with the company. Congratulations Alyse from all of us in the School of Business.

Congratulations to Donna Lane for completing all the requirements for her PhD. She will officially be conferred the degree in June 2006. Great accomplishment, "Dr. Lane!"

Five business faculty members were granted tenure and received promotions effective fall 2006. Andy Dungan (Management) is promoted to full professor, Donna Lane and Katie Pittman (management), Joan McBee (Marketing and BDCP) , and Al CAse (accounting) are promoted to associate professor. Congratulations to these five individuals.

Winter 2006

Professor Dennis Powers and Assistant Prof. Steve Schein of the School of Business, and Associate Prof. Garth Pittman of the Communication department were presenters at the February 24, 2006 "Making Connections" seminar-workshop held at the Rogue Valley Manor. Over 40 management level, human resource-connected attendees engaged with the presenters on topics that included The Seven Perspectives: A Continuous Improvement Guide for Leadership Development, Optimizing Group Work: The Quality is in the Process, and Personnel and the Law: Cutting Down On Court Appearances. The first of its kind, the event illustrates the type of employee development programs the University is offering to the business community. The event was co-sponsored by the SOU School of Business, the Mail Tribune, The Chamber of Commerce of Medford/Jackson County and the Rogue Valley Manor.

Congratulations to business alums John North (Postbaccalaureate Certificate in Accounting, 2005), Sara Frank (Accounting, 2005), Matthew Garboden (Accounting, CAFE, 2005), and Eula Rath (Postbaccalaureate Certificate in Accounting, 2005) for passing the CPA exams.

Also, congratulations to Connie Burns (Management), who recently passed the Professional of Human Resources (PHR) certification exam. HRCI is the credentialing body for human resource professionals and is affiliated with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the world’s largest organization dedicated exclusively to the human resource profession. Burns is expected to graduate in June with a bachelor’s degree in management, a minor in psychology, and a certifi cate in management of human resources.

Anne Jenkins (SOU Business alumna), a member of Medford's Visitors and Convention Bureau staff for the past seven years, has been named senior vice president. Details

Lithia Motors Inc. named Bryan DeBoer president and chief operating officer. Detail

Jeanne Pickens has been named member relations manager for Rogue Federal Credit Union’s Ashland Branch.