Category: Faculty and Staff

Tidwell Outstanding Man and Woman in Business Selected

Sam B. Tidwell is a legend with former accounting students. Gifts given in his memory support the Outstanding Man and Woman of Business award.

Craig Storm and Megan Plis are the 2011-12 recipients of the Sam B. Tidwell Outstanding Man and Woman in Business.  This award is given to students who bring honor and pride to the School of Business and Economics through high scholastic achievement and involvement.  Students eligible for this honor went through an intense interview process that included an essay and interview with faculty.

Anne Warrington of the Undergraduate Scholarship Committee added, “Megan and Craig are two of the most competent, talented, and totally amazing students in the School of Business and Economics. They have everything it takes for professional success after graduation.  It has been a pleasure meeting and working with them in classes and student organizations.”

Outstanding Man in Business

Craig Storm is a senior in the School of Business and Economics who will graduate with his degree in Accounting this spring.  In his time on campus he has been affiliated with Kappa Sigma Iota Accounting Organization (KSI) and an International Business Ventures Enterprise team member while currently holding an internship with Lake Accounting.  Craig has a level of professionalism and maturity that he brings to the community and the classroom which made him a strong candidate and the recipient of this award.

When asked about receiving the award, Craig said, “I enjoy studying how companies function from an accounting and financial perspective. This was the biggest factor in choosing my major and where I want to go professionally. It is an honor to be selected for this award, and I look forward to representing the School of Business and Economics as I advance my career,”

Outstanding Woman in Business

Megan Plis is a senior, Business Management major and Spanish minor who will graduate this spring.  An extremely involved student, Megan makes time for a variety of extracurricular and leadership activities outside of the school environment.  She volunteers at her church leading the music at worship services and singing in the choir.  With three years of diverse sales and marketing experience at a Lolita’s Bridal Boutique, the Wooden Nickel, and River Valley Bank she has been able to put her education into action.

About the Award

The Outstanding Man and Women in Business is awarded annually and the School of Business and Economics is confident that this year’s selections represent the student body well with their efforts in leadership and extracurricular activities.  Undergraduate Scholarship Committee members Anne Warrington, Mari Buche, and William Breffle were heavily involved in the selection of this award.

“The Scholarship Committee has a challenging task to select these award recipients,” said Darrell Radson, Dean of the School of business.  “We, as a school, thank them for their continued commitment to recognizing students who excel in and outside of the classroom.”

When asked about the selection process, Buche noted “the selection process was very difficult this year.  All of the finalists were exceptional candidates: strong academic GPAs, demonstrated leadership skills, and clear commitment to the improvement of the school and Michigan Tech.” Other finalists for this year’s award included: Caitlin Pionke, Rhea-Ann Moses, Jordan Baker, Andrew Loucks, and Spencer Shandonay.

Distinguished Teaching Award: Vote for Lecturer Roger Woods!

Roger Woods, Lecturer in Operations Management

Lecturer in Operations Management, Roger Woods, has been nominated for the University’s annual Distinguished Teaching Award, selected by the Center for Teaching, Learning and Faculty Development (CTLFD). This award recognizes outstanding contribution to the instructional mission of the University.Show your support by sending your comments and voting for Woods through this form on the Center’s website.

Based on over 50,000 student ratings, ten finalists have been identified for the 2012 awards. The selection committee is soliciting comments from students, staff, faculty and alumni to aid in its deliberation. Woods has been nominated in the Assistant Professor/Lecturer/Professor of Practice category.

Comments on the nominees are due by Monday, March 30.

The process for determining the recipients from this list of finalists also involves additional surveying of their classes. The selection committee makes the final determination. The recipients will be announced in the fall.

Professor Gary Campbell quoted in Copper Investing News

Gary Campbell, Professor of Natural Resource Economics at Michigan Tech

Professor of Natural Resource Economics Gary Campbell was quoted in an article titled “Glencore’s Xstrata Takeover May Lift Copper Juniors’ Finances” that ran this week in Copper Investing News.

His comments focused on business companies looking to gain market share in the mineral market. Read the article.

THE Project Competition: Two School of Business and Economics Teams

When people hear the word “manager”, they think of a supervisor or someone in charge of making a schedule. Images of Bill Lumburgh from Office Space talking about memos and TPS reports come to mind.

However, in recent years, Project Management has grown into an important profession and Michigan has begun to take notice. Spectrum Health, Steelcase, Amway, the Grand Rapids Business Journal and other local businesses have partnered with the Western Michigan chapter of The Project Management Institute (WMPMI) to host an intercollegiate project management competition simply known as THE Project 2012.

Eight teams from six colleges and universities compete for $10,000 in cash prizes and paid internships at major corporations in West Michigan. Dana M. Johnson, Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management and Michigan Tech Champion, formed two team of four students each from the School of Business and Economics, Michigan Tech for the competition.

”This is a great opportunity for our students to apply what they learned in the project management course to a real-life situation. At the competition, students will not only be able to network with other teams, but gain valuable exposure to companies who are seeking to hire graduates through a reverse career fair.”

The student teams, along with their school, business, and PMP mentors, must create a project management plan for a business seeking B Corporation certification. B Corps permits and protects businesses in making social and environmental decisions. Instead of being accountable only to shareholders, B Corps businesses must also consider their impact on employees, their community, and the environment.

“B Corps certification allows a business to have a triple bottom line focus of profit, people and the environment,” Kelly Talsma, PMP, Vice President of Education at WMPMI, said.

The Project Management Institute recently released a study stating there were 90,000 job openings in the United States where businesses required or preferred PMP certification. Many colleges and universities have recognized this trend and have responded with several courses and degrees with a focus in Project Management.

THE Project 2012 wants to give students real-life business experience rather than a mere academic exercise. The winning team will have an opportunity to make their presentation in front of 500 business and academic leaders as well as members of WMPMI.

For more information on project management or WMPMI, go to www.wmpmi.org. To learn more about B Corporations, visit www.bcorporation.net.

iOMe Challenge Update: Michigan Tech Receives Honorable Mention

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G5J-p7ktbM[/youtube]

Four teams of Michigan Tech students competed in the 2011 iOMe Challenge, that builds awareness for ways that local organizations might engage the Y or Millennial generation to think about their own future, 40 years from now.  Three of the four MTU teams made it to the final round of judging and one team has received an honorable mention in the 2011 competition. Students were judged on a video submission (above) and an essay.  The team receiving the honorable mention was awarded $2,000 and was composed of:

  • Katie O’Connell, Economics major
  • Tianlu Shen, Environmental Engineering major
  • Adam Stigers, Economics major
  • Teddy Broe, Economics major
  • Walker Derby, Finance major

Lecturer in Economics, Emanuel Oliveira, was the academic advisor of the four teams competing in this year’s iOMe Challenge.  Commenting on the contest’s two components, Oliveira said, “The students put together an excellent essay that contained innovative policy recommendations, considerable statistical analysis, and it was very well written.”

Team leader of the winning team and economics major, Katie O’Connell, noted that it was amazing to find out that their group had received honorable mention in the iOMe Challenge.  Recalling her feelings prior to the competition and why she chose to compete she said, “I remember hoping to do well!  Receiving an honorable mention was great. I decided to compete in this challenge to get a closer look at how to encourage people to save money.  It truly is a challenge in an economy where interest rates are so low and there is no obvious and immediate reward. But it’s also critically important to the future of our economy, and even our society, to reverse the downward savings trend. I hope that our participation in this process will at least help to open discussion as well as spark ideas and interest in creating an America that saves more.”

Congrats to all of this years competitors and Dr. Emanuel Oliveira!

iOMe results from 2010-2011