Posts under the ‘Alumni Spotlight’ category

The School of Business and Economics is resurrecting the tradition of the red tie. Previously, alumni who passed the CPA exam sent a red tie to Sam Tidwell, who taught accounting at Tech for many years. Approximately 140 made their way to Houghton, where Sam would regale the students with stories about the new CPAs.

Darrell Radson, dean of the School, wants to bring back the tradition. “In honor of Sam, and to keep connected to our alumni, we are reinvigorating it,” says Radson. “And we know [accounting faculty members] Larry Davis and Joel Touriniemi would love to continue this.”

We caught up with some veterans of the tie.

Paula (Kauppi) Seiter ’70 was the first woman to earn the CPA after graduating from Tech.

“I found Sam Tidwell’s enthusiasm for accounting contagious, and it inspired me to pursue a career in accounting,” she says. “I have fond memories of Sam; the enthusiastic professor, Southern gentleman, and all-around great person.”

“I still have hanging on my office wall a letter (a full page, before word processors) that he sent me at the completion of my freshman year,” says Dan Greenlee ’74, Tech’s chief financial officer. “He recognized my good grades and encouraged me to continue within the accounting major. He also invited me to stop by his office anytime and discuss where the accounting field could take me. His closing line always reminds me how he supported and encouraged his students.”

‘I believe that you have all the material necessary to make a significant contribution to the business world, through accounting.’”

Send your ties to Darrell Radson, Dean of the School of Business and Economics, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, Michigan 49931-1295.

This post was written by Dennis Walikainen, a Senior Editor for Michigan Tech’s University Marketing and Communications.

Robert “Bob” Carnahan, SBE National Advisory Board member and MTU alumnus was recently featured in the Michigan Tech Lode. Mr. Carnahan graduated from MTU in 1953 with a degree in Metallurgy. He has worked for the Navy, Honeywell, Aerospace Corporation, Universal Oil Products, Gould, and US Gypsum. When he saw a shift in company focus that may not have included his area, he changed his focus and opened a successful restaurant in Park City, Utah. That restaurant and another in Oregon are still owned and operated by the family.

His consulting work and entrepreneurial spirit lead him into venture capitalism and he become an early investor in Thixomat, an Ann Arbor company with a focus on injection-molding technology. He has traveled the globe marketing the technology.

Bob may be retired but he certainly isn’t idle. He and his wife Judy reside in Washington State where he now carves out time to pursue some of his other passions. He is an avid skier, paints abstracts of famous musicians, plants orchids in his backyard, and still continues to do consulting work. He remains active with Thixomat and is very involved in the university. He sits on several MTU advisory boards and is a strong supporter and contributor to the Enterprise Program.

Bob exemplifies an individual who has paid attention to his instincts, followed his interests, and not been afraid to grab opportunities when they presented themselves. And at 78 he is still going

Rich Schalter, a graduate of the SBE and President of Spartan Chassis, talks about how knowing your brand plays a key role in success of a product.

Q: What was your major and concentration at MTU?

A: My major was accounting and my concentration was focus on being a part of the MTU ski team. I skied everyday and went to classes most days. Due to the strength of my accounting education at MTU, I quickly passed the CPA exam and then received my CPA certification.

Q: Can you link any qualities of being in a student organization to being successful in business?

A: Absolutely. At Spartan, we are an innovative team focused on building lasting relationships. We consistently improve ourselves, our products and our processes through learning, sharing and implementing ideas. Just like being a part of the ski team, we make commitments to each team member and we work together to improve each others skills.

Q: Did you have any experiences or classes at Tech that helped you compete in the work force against other students?

A: The intensity of the class schedule to graduate in four years provided a spring board for developing the necessary study and organizational skills needed to drive success in business. Additionally, the openness of the faculty to providing direct guidance regarding the subject matter and the application to career choices broadened my perspective for my chosen profession.

Q: What is your current position?

A: After starting as the CFO of Spartan Motors in December 1996, I became the president of our largest subsidiary, Spartan Chassis, Inc., in March of 2002 and additionally serve as the executive vice-president of Spartan Motors, Inc. and a director for Spartan Motors, Inc.

Q: What are you main job responsibilities? What do you do on a daily basis?

A: My main responsibilities are the setting of the vision and strategy for Spartan, establishing the brand of Spartan and creating the culture necessary for growth in our markets. As a supplier to body builders of motorhomes, fire trucks and military vehicles, it is necessary to establish strategic relationships given the integration and dependence upon our products and our people.

Q: What does your company do?

A: We design and assemble custom chassis for vehicles in the emergency rescue, motorhome and defense markets. The company was founded in 1975 on the design and assembly of custom cabs and chassis for fire trucks and shortly after going public in 1984 expanded into motorhome chassis. We are proud of our current involvement in the production of MRAP vehicles, which are proving to save the lives of our men and women in theatre.

Q: On your website you mention your main focuses which are motorhome chassis and fire truck chassis. What are some of the advantages of focusing on fewer product lines than several product lines?

A: Basically this type of focus allows us to attack our competition collectively. We have great builder recognition and a reputation where people are asking for Spartan Chassis in the products they purchase. That doesn’t happen very often, especially in the motorhome business. Usually a buyer tends to look more at the body and features of motorhome living.

With our fire truck chassis, we service 60 builders and meet annually with fire chiefs to address their changing needs.

Another part of our company not mentioned on the website is our auto integration for military vehicles. In the 700-800 vehicles we have produced, there have been no casualties reported.

Q: Do you have any advice for current students in the School of Business and Economics?

A: Starting with the first day you obtain a position with an organization, get engaged to understand the global perspective, purpose, brand and operational focus of the enterprise of which you are an integral part. Know your personal brand, who are you, what do you do, why do you matter.

Q: Is there anything you wish you knew as a student that you know now as a business professional?

A: I would have to say knowing how to discipline yourself is important. Staying on top of your commitments and recognizing what is important. Knowing when and how to study can create more free time for yourself.

I would tell students to understand their own personal brand. Students should live according to how they want to be perceived. For example, when someone mentions your name, do you want to be known as a hard worker and someone who is reliable or someone who cannot be counted on?

Finally, I could have learned more from my professors in and out of the classroom. I was a quiet student who didn’t get involved in class discussions and I wish I would have engaged more.

In an effort to give accounting students in the SBE more hands on and real world experience, Dr. Larry Davis has established an ongoing working relationship with Kimberly-Clark.

SBE: Tell us about the project in detail.

LD: Students interact with the Kimberly-Clark Tax Center of Excellence to gain an understanding of the business processes within the Center of Excellence. This is done via office visits and conference calls. Students then prepare graphic and narrative descriptions of those processes with the objective of facilitating improvements in those processes. Part of the process involves Kimberly-Clark personnel coaching students both on the actual work being performed and on general appropriate professional behavior.

What the students get out of this is exposure to a real business process and to professionals, a realization that the accounting that they study in school is the accounting that real professionals perform daily - albeit at much higher level. They gain an understanding of what is expected of tax professionals both from the perspective of the quality of work performed and interactions with other professionals.

SBE: Are we working directly with any SBE alumni at Kimberly-Clark?

LD: Dave Bernard, the VP of Tax, was the major facilitator for starting this. We also work with Rich Beauvais. Both are MTU accounting alums.

SBE: Who came up with the idea to start the project? Has this been done in the past? Do other universities work on a similar project or is this experience unique for MTU students?

LD: I did. I have been looking to start an accounting consulting group ever since I came here. We have in the past done work for some of the engineering enterprises and local businesses to ‘get our feet wet.’

I would not say it is ONLY done here - but it is not done at very many places. I would say that it is fair to say that it is a distinguishing characteristic of our program.

SBE: Are only accounting students involved? How many total students are on this project? How did they get selected for the project?

LD: There are always accounting students involved, but we bring in folks from other disciplines as needed to form cross-disciplinary teams. So far the Kimberly-Clark project has always involved both accounting students and information systems students given the nature of the work. It is not clear if IS students will continue on this particular engagement or not.

We have had about 40-50 students work on the project. Students are selected via application to the faculty supervisor.

SBE: When will the project be completed? What is the biggest advantage for students who are on this project?

LD: From one perspective…hopefully never. I would like to see this as a permanently ongoing relation as projects arise. On the other hand, our initial work documenting their Tax area systems should be done within a year, if not sooner.