Michigan Tech’s Academy of Business honors outstanding leaders in business and civic affairs, as well those who have contributed significantly to the growth and development of the College of Business (COB). On October 7, 2022, in the Alumni Lounge of the Memorial Union Building, COB welcomed four new members to this esteemed group.
Dean L. Johnson, currently the James and Dolores Trethewey APMP professor and founding director of the Applied Portfolio Management Program, has been named Dean of the School of Business and Economics. The announcement was made by Jackie Huntoon provost and vice president of academic affairs.
Johnson has been serving as interim dean since January of this year. Huntoon said “I thank the search committee for their efforts in assembling an outstanding slate of candidates for on-campus interviews. Despite the quality of the other candidates, Dr. Johnson rose to the top and I look forward to working with him in the future.”
Johnson earned his PhD in finance from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He joined Michigan Tech in 1996, with an initial appointment at the rank of instructor. He was promoted to the rank of full professor in 2012 and served as assistant dean from 2014-2016. Johnson has also held a visiting faculty position at the University of Wisconsin for the past twenty years.
Huntoon says Johnson has a reputation for creating unique academic programs, offering engaging learning opportunities for students, partnering with key stakeholders and working with accreditors.
His research focuses on fictional asset pricing and has been recognized through awards for best paper. His teaching has earned him recognition as the 2012 Michigan Professor of the Year by the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan (now the Michigan Association of State Universities).
On his appointment, Johnson said, “It’s an exciting time to accept this position. Technology has become the driver of the global economy. Michigan Tech is an exceptional STEM university that provides the School with a unique ability to bridge business and technology. I am looking forward to working with the stakeholders of the University and the School of Business and Economics to fulfill this unique role.”
Faculty, academic staff, students and an alumnus comprised the search committee that made recommendations to the provost regarding selection of the new dean. Johnson succeeds Gene Klippel, who retired this year. Johnson will begin his duties immediately.
by Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Tech Today
Each year the School of Business and Economics recognizes two students who bring honor and pride to the School 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. This year 8 men and 11 women applied. We are pleased to announce our winners: James Sturos, Accounting and Hailey LaFleur, Marketing and Management!
The Outstanding Man and Woman in Business award is sponsored by Peter Negro of Negro and Associates, CPAs.
Michigan Technological University’s School of Business and Economics has been approved for an accreditation extension to 2021 by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools Business.
The AACSB is the longest-serving global association dedicated to advancing management education worldwide. Michigan Tech’s SBE is among 746 business schools across 51 countries and territories accredited by the organization. The accreditation was approved by the Continuous Improvement Review Committee of the AACSB.
Dean Johnson, interim dean of the School of Business and Economics, says the accreditation renewal is an affirmation of the job the SBE is doing.
“This extension is the culmination of five years of diligent effort by the SBE faculty and staff, combined with the essential support from the University administration,” Johnson says. “Since our initial accreditation in 2001, the SBE faculty has delivered high quality experiential programs and assured our students are achieving critical learning goals. I thank each of them for their service.”
The School of Business and Economics offers undergraduate majors in Accounting, Economics, Engineering Management, Finance, Management, Management of Information Systems and Marketing. Graduate degrees include an MBA, a Master of Science in Accounting and a Master of Science in Applied Natural Resource Economics.
Johnson explained why AACSB accreditation is important. “As the premier accrediting body of business programs, AACSB has strict standards of excellence for curriculum development and faculty qualifications, research and teaching. The output of this excellence is seen in our students. For example, students from AACSB programs score 9 percent higher on the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exams. It also documents that our educational programs are innovatively responding to the ever-changing demand of the business world and employers.”
AACSB provides internationally recognized, specialized accreditation for business and accounting programs at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels. The accreditation standards challenge educators to pursue excellence and continuous improvement through their business programs.
April 1, 2015 – With a GDP of over $17 trillion dollars, the U.S. is the largest economy in the world. Despite the 2008 financial meltdown, the US dollar has, and continues to be most trusted currency throughout the globe; helping to make the US financial markets the place where investors turn to for security. As APMP students look to enter the world’s largest and most trusted financialsystem it’s important to venture outside the classroom and learn from professionals first hand. This past week APMP seniors Joel Florek, Yi Yuan, and Yinan Chen when to Detroit, MI for Engage 2015 to do just that.
ENGAGE is a two day international investment education symposium. The goal at Engage is to help provide a level of insight into our financial system that students can’t learn from sitting in classrooms. To accomplish this goal Engage brought in some of the top financial professionals in the industry to host Q&A discussions.
For example, Dennis P. Lockhart, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and a 2015 voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee spoke on the Fed’s economic policy decisions from the depths of the 2008 economic meltdown to today. Chaired by Janet Yellen, the FOMC decisions significantly impact not just the US economy, but the global economy. Ultimately Mr. Lockhart made the argument that the actions of the FOMC will be seen as vital to turning around the US economy. He added that within the next 6 to 12 months the FOMC will begin to ease out of its current actions which have been taken to prop up the US financial system. One unique comment from Mr. Lockhart was his cautioning of high US government debt. Due to low interest rates the US has had the ability to borrow high quantities of short term debt requiring small interest payments. As these debts mature, the US will be forced to refinance at higher interest rates hindering its ability to pay off debts.
Additional keynote speakers include Jeffrey Kleintop, the Chief Global Strategist for Charles Schwab and Co., Fred Tomczyk, the President and CEO of TD Ameritrade, and Scott Powers the President and CEO of State Street Global Advisors, which oversees $2.4 trillion in traded funds. Students learned their trading strategies, ideas on the direction of the economy, and career advice to help direct students into the right career paths.
The second day of conference allowed students to break up into smaller sessions that provided more Q&A opportunity. For example, students were able to learn about the CAN SLIM trading strategy, venture capital, hedge funds and received targeted career advice. Thinking back on the Engage experience, Joel Florek said he realized the field of finance is constantly evolving and there is no clear definition as to what one will be doing as a finance professional. Florek said “there is significant room to constantly be learning and changing within the profession. Ultimately, as a finance student ready to go into industry the Engage conference helped to make the lessons learned in the classroom more real, and gain exposure to the flexible ideology that exists amongst professionals.”
This article was written by APMP members Yinan Chen, Joel Florek, and Yinan Chen.