School of Business
Faculty, Students and Alumni News Bits
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.
