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Finance Club Experiences Chicago

Published March 23, 2012

Finance Club enjoying a tour of the Chicago Board of Option Exchange.

On Wednesday, March 14^th, Michigan Tech’s Finance Club traveled down to Chicago for a whirlwind tour of financial organizations. Their first stop? The Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE) for a tour of their trading floor.

Students were able to go down on the floor of the exchange and get right next to the pits where they were trading securities with the old open outcry method.

Club President, Dan Eskola noted “It was a great experience to get down on the floor and see the open outcry auction pits trading. Many of these jobs have disappeared due to more efficient computer based trading and so it is good to see them before they go away.”

After the tour the group ventured to Peak 6– a proprietary trading company– where they had lunch. The students had the opportunity to speak with the Chief Technology Officer, Danny Rosenthall, and one of the head traders.

Finance club members were able to view their impressive trading room located in the CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) building. Students were grateful to speak with these professionals who explained their business in honest, frank language. The trip is an excellent opportunity for students to understand careers suitable for finance and accounting majors as well as ask questions about the financial industry.

The group also toured the Chicago Mercantile Exchange during their trip, where a lot of the financial transactions take place for commodities. “It was a great experience to see both of their huge trading floors as well as the fixed income securities,” added Eskola.

This trip was organized by the Finance Club that is advised by Assistant Professor of Finance, Howard Qi, in the School of Business and Economics.

Michigan Tech Students Break for Silicon Valley

Published March 15, 2012

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While many college students spent their spring break on sandy beaches, Michigan Tech students escaped 130 inches of snow (a mild winter) to tour high-tech companies in Silicon Valley.

Thanks to Brocade, which sponsored the trip, the Michigan Tech students immersed themselves in all things tech as they toured several leading companies. A Michigan Tech alumnus, Dave House, is on the board of directors at Brocade. The students arrived Monday and began with a tour of Kyocera and Autodesk.

“The trip has been eye-opening for the types of industries that are really booming,” said Kelsey Waugh, a materials science and engineering major. “It’s giving us a picture of where corporate America is heading.

Eli Karttunen, an economics major, agreed. “We saw a diverse array of successful companies with different management styles. It showed us what is possible for our future career opportunities.”

Touring google with Michigan Tech alumnae, Danielle VanDyke.

Cisco Systems and Plug and Play were toured before a meeting with another alum, Danielle VanDyke ’06 at Google and a visit to Brocade in San Jose, finishing the high-tech portion of their whirlwind tour.

“Seeing the different atmospheres and productivity showed me what companies do to support creative, productive engineers and employees in their working environment,” said electrical engineering major Josh Lehman. “This trip gave us the opportunity to see and network with west coast companies.

As the trip’s exclusive sponsor, Brocade wrapped up the students’ week-long Silicon Valley Spring Break Experience with an executive panel discussion, data center tour, and hosted a networking social where students were able to interact with Brocade employees, including reps from human resources, some with immediate opportunities for these top students.

The students also toured the Computer History Museum in Mountain View before flying back to the snow banks of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on a redeye at midnight Friday, to continue preparing to make a little high-tech history of their own some day.

Their California adventure wasn’t all tech-related—another Michigan Tech alumnus, Tom Porter, arranged a tour of his Porter Creek Vineyard led by his son, Tim, in the Napa Valley, Cal. area. The 17,000 square foot underground wine cave is unusually sophisticated with an environment completely controllable by iPad. Tim Porter toured the students through the technological complex and hosted a social gathering in the cave itself.

At Porter Family Vineyards, owned by Tom Porter a Michigan Tech alumnus.

The late Michigan Tech School of Business and Economics Professor Bob Mark started the Silicon Valley trip last year. The 2012 trip was organized by the School of Business and Economics and the Office of Innovation and Industry Engagement. View more photos from the trip on Facebook.

DECA Chapter Attends State Conference

Published March 5, 2012

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Members of Michigan Tech's DECA Chapter at 2012 conference.

During the first weekend in February, the Michigan Tech DECA chapter made their way to Battle Creek, MI for the State Career Development Conference. DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management in high schools and colleges around the globe.

Being the only chapter from the Upper Peninsula, it was a long 10 hour drive, but well worth it. Competing in various events, four of the six participating members took away medals and plaques!

Michigan Tech Award Winners:

Brittany Barry, a third year Accounting major took 3rd place in the accounting competition.

Sarah Ochs and Gilbert Ramirez, third year marketing majors, both received medals, and were finalists for Marketing Management.

Cory Rokes, 5th year marketing and management major received a medal being a finalist in sales management.

Thank you to all who participated. Way to represent our school, we couldn’t be more proud! You are a testament that student’s from Michigan Tech’s School of Business and Economics can apply all the necessary business skills they learn in the classroom into real-world scenarios.

Distinguished Teaching Award: Vote for Lecturer Roger Woods!

Published February 28, 2012

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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.

Alum Randy Isaacson Visits Michigan Tech

Published February 14, 2012

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Randy Isaacson ('86) on campus as part of the Scott Pattullo Visiting Executive Speaker Series.

Randy Isaacson (’86) will be on campus March 1st and 2nd as part of the Scott Pattullo Visiting Executive Speaker Series. Join our School in welcoming Randy at one of these opportunities:

Thursday, March 1, 2 – 4pm: Student Networking Opportunity
MUB Alumni Lounge A
Free forum with students in enterprise, entrepreneurship, business, and engineering.
Thursday, March 1, 6 – 7:30pm: Campus Presentation
MUB Ballroom A
Presenting on The Biology of Business.
Friday, March 2, 1:30 – 3:30pm: Student and Faculty Discussion
Academic Office Building 101
Meet with faculty and students of the School of Business and Economics.

Biography

Randall E. Isaacson graduated from Michigan Technological University in 1986 with a BS in Biological Sciences and an MS in Rhetoric and Technical Communication in 1988. His master’s thesis studied language patterns in small group communication during simulated scientific problem solving.

He began his career as a medical copywriter at Roche Pharmaceuticals in New Jersey, and later joined VICOM/FCB, a medical advertising agency in New York. After moving to Chicago in 1990, Randy worked as a copy supervisor at Frank J. Corbett, before joining a new agency, Williams‐Labadie, in 1992. Since then, Randy has risen through the ranks as copy supervisor and creative director, and is now executive vice president at Williams‐ Labadie.

Randy and his team have won numerous awards in healthcare advertising, including recognition from Medical Marketing and Media for creating the best pharmaceutical advertisement in 2003 and the best professional digital campaign in 2007. His multidisciplinary background in biology and technical communication was excellent preparation for a very successful career in healthcare marketing and advertising.

He has maintained an ongoing relationship with Michigan Tech by providing strategic marketing guidance for the School of Business and Economics and the University, and financial support for Rhetoric and Technical Communication graduate students. He has also taught classes in the School, and hosted students for a half‐day seminar on healthcare advertising at his office in Chicago. He has developed a reputation in the industry for his ability to transform complex scientific concepts into simple, compelling marketing campaigns.

Category: Seminars and Events