2019
Volume 2
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN
Welcome to the fall 2019 issue of the College of Business newsletter! This year brings a new era for our college, as we have recently streamlined our program offerings and adopted a new name to reflect our focus on our AACSB-International accredited business programs. Effective July 1, the Department of Economics and the Department of Planning and Public Administration, which were outside of the scope of our AACSB accreditation, have moved to the College of Social Sciences. These programs are traditionally housed in Social Sciences, so after conversations with Dean Jonathan Anderson and the faculty of both colleges, we initiated the request to move the economics, urban and regional planning, and public administration programs to CSS. Now, all College of Business programs are accredited by AACSB. The College of Business currently offers undergraduate degrees in accounting, business/data analytics, entrepreneurship, finance, international business, management-general business option, management – human resources option, management information systems, marketing, and supply chain management. Additionally, for the first time in the history of our college, we are offering our MBA program in an entirely online delivery mode, while continuing our evening MBA in a face-to-face format. This fall, we will also offer our newly developed Music and Technology Entrepreneurship major, which is a result of collaborative efforts between the faculty of business, engineering and music. All of our programs are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business —arguably the most prestigious accreditation body that grants accreditation only to business programs. With input from our college advisory board, we have begun the process of updating our college’s strategic plan to reflect our renewed focus on our business programs. Over the next several months, we will be refining our plan with input from our faculty, students, alumni and stakeholders. I look forward to sharing our new college mission, vision and goals with you in the near future. This is an exciting time for our college! As we welcome faculty and students back from summer break, we do so with a renewed sense of purpose and dedication to serving our students as they develop the skills and experience to become future leaders in our business community. I hope that you enjoy this issue of COBNews. As always, I invite you to contact me if you have any comments, suggestions, or stories that you would like to share. Sincerely,
Ahmad Tootoonchi, PhD Dean, College of Business
ewu.edu/cob
PROTOTYPING AND WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS GRANT
The Center for Entrepreneurship recently received a grant from the Herbert B. Jones foundation which will provide about $140,000 that will largely support student prototyping and customer discovery research. It will also provide money to support our women in entrepreneurship initiative for at least three years. This grant will fund acquisition of a broad base of prototyping supplies that range from low resolution, early concept development materials, up through electronic prototypes (raspberry pi’s, sensors, cameras, etc.), to 3D printing. The highlight of this grant is a new industrial caliber 3D printer that is capable of producing working, pre-production prototypes. Finally, this grant will create an annual $8,000 fund for our pitch competition semifinalists to draw upon as they develop their ideas. Our Technology Commercialization Academy will also now have strong customer discovery and prototyping support.
MICROSOFT’S GLOBAL SUMMIT Two years ago, EWU announced a partnership with Microsoft to integrate the Microsoft Professional Program into our BS Data Analytics degree. This past spring, we were featured at the Microsoft Global Summit in three sessions: 1) On a panel about the Employability pilots, 2) Customer-led briefings, and 3) On a panel about Gigwork and MicroInternships.
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ALUMNI SUCCESS
NEW FACULTY AND STAFF
Sherry Carbary was named president of Boeing China in February 2019. She serves as Boeing’s senior in-country executive in China, in charge of leading companywide activities and government affairs, implementing Boeing’s China strategy, strengthening new business and industrial partnerships, supporting community engagement projects and expanding Boeing relationships with stakeholders. Carbary holds a master’s degree in business administration from Seattle University and bachelor’s degrees in finance and economics from EWU.
Shuming Bai, PhD Associate Dean, College of Business Shuming “Sherry” Bai, PhD, joined the College of Business as Associate Dean in September 2019. Bai has a PhD in Business Administration with a major in finance and a minor in international business from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Bai previously worked at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, where she was professor of finance and served as chair of graduate business studies and interim department chair for the Department of Accounting, Finance & Economics in the College of Business. Bai has received many honors and awards including the Outstanding Research Award, Outstanding Teaching Award, and Jack Ladd Fellow in Business. Bai was also elected to the Board of Directors for the Southwestern Finance Association.
Jason Clerget, ’07 BAB marketing, has updated his position at Propaganda Creative to principal, founder and CEO. Clerget was previously managing partner. Katelyn Hougen, ’18 BAB management, was hired as a Customer Service Specialist at Brand It Advertising Arisa Ishiguro, ’19 BAB finance, was hired by AOKI Laboratory America in Chicago, an engineering company with ties to Ishiguro’s hometown in Japan. Christie Bolstad, ’19 BAB professional accounting, was hired as a staff accountant at Dingus Zarecor & Associates, PLLC (DZA). Marissa Elsinghorst, ’19 BAB human resource management, was hired as a sales support specialist with Volt Workforce Solutions. Conner Irvin, ’19 BAB management, was hired as a project specialist at Engie Insight in Spokane, and plans to pursue his MBA at Gonzaga University. Jeremy Loe, ’19 BAB professional accounting and finance, was hired as an assistant state auditor 1 at the Office of the Washington State Auditor. Justin Kubesh, ’19 BAB professional accounting, accepted a full time summer position as an intern at Northwest Farm Credit Services.
Jean Ryberg Bradley, PhD, CPA, CISA Assistant Professor, Accounting Jean Ryberg Bradley earned her PhD in Accounting from University of Texas at San Antonio. She holds a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification from Illinois and is a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA). Bradley most recently taught as a clinical assistant professor at Texas State University, and previously served as a teaching/research assistant and adjunct professor of accounting at University of Texas at San Antonio. Bradley has also worked as director of finance in nonprofit and corporate organizations. Bradley’s research interests include the intersection of accounting and public policy, with a special interest in internal controls and governance in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Christine Kuglin, JD Assistant Professor, Accounting Christine Kuglin earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in Corporate and Commercial Law. She also holds a post-JD Master of Laws degree (LLM) in Taxation as well as a Master of Professional Accountancy. Kuglin recently served as a graduate legal teaching assistant at the Sturm College of Law, and as Professional in Residence and accounting instructor at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She currently serves on the leadership team for the Western American Accounting Association annual conference. Kuglin’s recent awards include winning the 2019 American Bar Association LLM Tax Competition, and was the recipient of the Best Teaching Paper at the International Small Business Institute conference in 2016. Michael Megaard, JD Lecturer, Accounting Michael Megaard earned his Juris Doctor from University of Washington and his Master of Laws degree (LLM) from Georgetown University. Megaard is a member of the American Corporate Counsel Association and the Washington State Bar Association. Megaard served as an adjunct instructor of business law in the College of Business prior to being hired in a visiting lecturer position this year. Nikki Schroeder, MBA Lecturer, Accounting Nikki Schroeder earned her MBA from Eastern Washington University, and served as an adjunct instructor of computer applications for accountants and certification testing coordinator in the College of Business prior to being hired in a full-time lecturer position this year. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Schroeder serves as the coordinator for the Master of Professional Accounting (MPAcc) program and is the faculty advisor for Beta Alpha Psi, the international honor organization for financial information students and professionals.
COB SERVICE LEARNING
EnVision Spokane/ Spokane Resource Center In spring quarter 2019, the inaugural capstone DSCI 490 course was comprised of the first group of graduates earning BAB degrees in business analytics. During the quarter, students provided outreach services to Envision Spokane/Spokane Resource Center in an effort to examine the relationships between pro bono service providers and customers of the Envision Center. Focus groups with service providers were developed and implemented by capstone students during the 11-week quarter in efforts to examine the efficiencies and disconnects between providers and service recipients. Participants were divided in three service groups and queried as to the strengths and weaknesses associated with their relationships with the non-profit Envision Spokane. David G. Lewis, HMIS Administrator Community, Housing & Human Services Department City of Spokane, and EWU MPA graduate assisted with focus group mapping and was an essential intermediary between EWU and Envision Spokane. Focus group results were reported by students to City of Spokane officials and Envision Spokane administrators. Results from the study were utilized by Elizabeth Tipton, PhD, in the data visualization courses. The focus groups identified the fact that services were being underutilized. Using this information, Tipton’s students built a “dashboard,” or a visualization to present the data taken from the point-in-time count up through 2018. The students are able to use the data to look at factors such as racial disparities in homelessness, or analyze how funding for homeless services correlated with the city’s homeless population. Lewis says that a major value of the partnership is that students can help identify gaps in city services. Additional, follow up research projects are planned for spring 2020. The goal
of these outreach projects is to gain understanding and to assess the services provided to Spokane’s homeless. According to Director Teresa Sanders, the collaboration between the City of Spokane and EWU is essential to realizing this goal and thereby providing the most efficient use of limited resource in a fashion that best assists Spokane’s homeless and marginalized population. Read more: https://www.inlander. com/spokane/new-ewu-data-analyticsprogram-works-with-spokane-tobreak-down-homelessness-data/ Content?oid=17694711 Spokane County United Way VITA Program Three IRS-certified student volunteers from the EWU chapter of Beta Alpha Psi contributed 75 hours at the Spokane County United Way – Volunteer Income Tax Assistance tax site. Thanks to their contribution and an active community of 176 volunteers in Spokane County, the program prepared more than 4,985 returns for low to moderate
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income individuals, families and seniors. This past year, the program resulted in bringing $5.8 million in returns back into our community, including $1.4 million in Earned Income Tax Credits.
X-Culture Graduate and undergraduate students in Abrahim Soleimani’s international business courses will be participating in the X-Culture program this fall and winter quarters. The X-Culture program provides students with the opportunity to experience working in an international team to prepare an expansion proposal for a real-life company. Each team consists of 6-7 members, each from a different university. Usually 6-7 countries are represented on each team. Teams choose a client from a list of companies that want to expand their business to foreign markets, and prepare an expansion plan for that company. Soleimani’s students have participated in the X-Culture project each year for the past 7 years, learning the challenges and best practices of international business consulting in a real-world environment.
MINDS-i/Altek Manufacturing Fellows from the Technology Commercialization Academy visited MINDS-i Education and Altek Manufacturing to tour their facilities and get feedback on their robotic arm project and STEM kit market. The student’s received valuable insight into how the manufacturing businesses are run and managed.
NEW MUSIC TECHNOLOGY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP MAJOR We are pleased to announce our new Bachelor of Arts in Music Technology and Entrepreneurship. This new program is designed to provide professional training for students who aim to succeed as creative entrepreneurs, performers, songwriters, engineers, and producers in the music industry. The program includes a contemporary music curriculum that addresses the dynamic and changing landscape of the music profession.
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COLLEGE OF BUSINESS HONORS AND AWARDS On June 13, 2019 we celebrated our outstanding students and faculty at our annual Honors and Awards Program. STUDENT HONORS AND AWARDS Beta Gamma Sigma National Honor Society in Business Inductees: Nicholas Brown, graduate, business administration Crista Calderon, graduate, business administration Joseph Indahl, graduate, business administration Gabriel Minchow, graduate, business administration Candy Stutzke, senior, professional accounting David Watts, graduate, business administration Eric Weaver, senior, management Master of Business Administration Honors Recipients: Nicholas Brown Crista Calderon Joseph Indahl Gabriel Minchow David Watts Frances B. Huston Award Recipients: Jennifer Beal, professional accounting, management information systems Nicole Salmi, marketing Dean’s Leadership Endowed Scholarship Recipients: Tori Copley, senior, data analytics Candy Stutzke, senior, professional accounting Business Scholarships: Robert G. Schwartz Scholarship, Spencer Carver, junior, entrepreneurship Bi-Mart Scholarship, Evan Briggs, senior, management information systems Arnie Carlson Scholarship, Julia Jasa, junior, professional accounting John O’Neil Scholarship, Chance Garrett, ’19 marketing Cheney Realty Scholarship, Gabriel Romana, junior, finance Principal Financial Scholarship, Alex Wells, senior, finance
FACULTY HONORS AND AWARDS Outstanding Teaching Award, Jeff Culver, senior lecturer of decision science Outstanding Research, Arezoo Davari, PhD, assistant professor of marketing EWU Foundation Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship, Bruce Teague, PhD, professor of management and founding director of the Center for Entrepreneurship Professor Emerita Recognition, Nancy Birch, PhD, professor emerita decision science
GLOBAL EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROGRAM
The mission of the College of Business Global Experiential Learning program is to assist students in developing a sense of global citizenship and increasing their capacity to participate effectively in global business environments. We strive to do this by providing a variety of opportunities for students to expand their global awareness, knowledge and engagement through participation in high quality, appropriately rigorous global experiential learning activities. Our focus will be on promoting the growth and development of our faculty and staff in order to improve the quality of the instruction, service, research and other work performed within the college. We introduced this new program recently at a reception hosted by EWU Alumni 1973 Jim DeWalt and Associated Industries at Dry Fly Distillery. College of Business alumni, faculty, staff and members of the College Advisory Board were present to learn about the new program. Dean Ahmad Tootoonchi spoke about his vision for the Global Experiential Learning Program, followed by Chantal Slider, who spoke about her experience studying abroad in Schmalkalden, Germany while in the MBA program at Eastern. The reception was a tremendous success, with over $17,000 raised in support of the Global Experiential Learning program. To make a gift to the Global Experiential Learning Program, please visit us online at ewu.edu/cob/support-cob/ or contact Ken Tucker, College of Business Director of Philanthropy at ktucker10@ewu.edu or 509.220.1899 (cell).
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PROMOTIONS
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Congratulations to the following faculty and staff members who earned promotions this year.
TECHNOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION ACADEMY This summer, students from across the university participated in our Technology Commercialization Academy (TCA). The TCA, under the leadership of Yanxin Liu, PhD, is open to all EWU students, is funded by a grant from the Herbert B. Jones Foundation and a donation from Wells Fargo. Those who are accepted into the rigorous summer program can earn a $1,500 scholarship in addition to valuable experience in developing a business idea. Students who complete the program are designated Technology Commercialization Fellows of EWU. This year’s TCA consisted of 15 students, who organized into four teams, and, in seven weeks, learned to grow a business from a product idea, to development and testing, and then to marketing and commercialization. The program culminated in a pitch presentation, where each team presented their business idea before an auditorium filled with mentors, classmates and judges from local businesses. The four teams included: Magpie, who developed a local tourism app designed to help users better navigate and explore the city using data curated by input from local users. Team Magpie is currently in talks to partner with Visit Spokane to promote the possible launch of the app. Northwest Predictors, Inc, who developed a data collection and activitybased prediction service for homeless shelters. The team’s product is designed to collect and analyze data that can help the directors of homeless shelters with allocating resources and applying for funding. The team is working with Catholic Charities
and the City of Spokane on possible implementation of their data-collection system in some Spokane area shelters. reFilter, who utilized a protein-based nanofiber that was engineered by a WSU materials science professor to develop a biodegradable filter for smoking tobacco or cannabis that removes carbon monoxide, formaldehyde and unhealthy particulate matter. The team partnered with local cannabis dispensaries to test their product with consumers and obtain feedback. STEM-ing Stones Education Program, who developed a robotic arm that teachers in K-12 could integrate into their STEM programs-from simple projects like playing a game with the robot, to more advanced tasks like programming for the robot. The team is currently working with Spokane Christian Academy to utilize the robotic arm in their curriculum. Team reFilter won the distinction of Most Promising Business of the 2019 Technology Commercialization Fellowship program. Team members Ryan Van Meter, Tanner Cunningham and Lloyd Dees will now compete in the Global Conference and Pitch Competition organized by the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization in Tampa, Florida. In addition, reFilter and Stem-ing Stones Education Program were selected to participate in the highly competitive WSU National Science Foundation I-Corps Site Program. The NSFI-Corps program gives each team up to $2,500 in funding and provides the students the opportunity to meet with industry experts and potential customers as they improve their products. Congratulations to all of our 2019 TCA Fellows!
Dean Kiefer, PhD, promoted to professor of finance Bruce Teague, PhD, promoted to professor of management and elected chair of the Management Department and recognized as the EWU Foundation Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship William Martin, PhD, promoted to tenured associate professor of marketing and elected chair of the Finance and Marketing Department Wensheng (Vinson) Cai, promoted to senior lecturer of finance Lorene Winters, promoted to MBA Program Specialist 3
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MBA ONLINE
BETA ALPHA PSI
This fall EWU College of Business will launch our 100 percent online MBA program. Recognizing the needs of the modern learner, EWU is one of the only schools in Washington to offer an MBA program that is 100 percent online. Tuition for the online program is $14,880, making it one of the most affordable MBA programs in the Northwest, and many students can complete their degree in 11 months. The curriculum includes core courses in data-driven decision making, corporate finance, marketing management, leadership and ethics, operations management and advanced accounting. Students also complete a capstone course that builds on knowledge acquired during the program and strategic-thinking abilities. Students may choose the online MBA with a concentration in general business, finance, accounting or global business. To learn more about the online MBA program, visit our website at https:// online.ewu.edu/programs/mba.aspx
Student officers from Beta Alpha Psi traveled to Chicago, Illinois this summer to participate in the 100th year Beta Alpha Psi Annual Meeting. The theme of this year’s conference was Inspiring Future Leaders to Leave a Legacy of Excellence. Beta Alpha Psi hosted their annual Summer BBQ at Manito Park. Students, faculty, staff and members of the accounting community enjoyed networking in a casual environment as they prepared for the start of the new academic year. Students will have the opportunity to explore employment opportunities and interact with industry leaders in accounting and finance at this year’s Meet the Professionals event on October 1. To learn more about Beta Alpha Psi, visit our website: www.ewu.edu/cob/ beta-alpha-psi/
IN THE NEWS College of Business programs, faculty and students have been recognized recently in the media. The EWU Entrepreneurship Program was featured by Hacking Washington, in their article Entrepreneurship Outside the Box, at hackingwashington.com/stories. The Inlander featured EWU’s data analytics program and their partnership with the City of Spokane to examine homelessness data. https://www. inlander.com/spokane/new-ewu-dataanalytics-program-works-with-spokaneto-break-down-homelessness-data/ Content?oid=17694711 Amy Shadd, Editor Eastern Washington University College of Business
WHO IS CRISTA CALDERON? MBA student Crista Calderon appeared on the television game show Jeopardy! Calderon won 2nd place. Congratulations!
SERVICE MILESTONES
50 Years Syed M. Jameel Hasan, Professor of Management
35 Years Susan Megaard, Professor of Accounting
30 Years David Eagle, Professor of Finance
Patricia Nemetz-Mills, Professor of Management
20 Years David Terpstra, Professor of Management
5 Years Heidi Connole, Assistant Professor of Management Yanxin Liu, Assistant Professor of Management
William Martin, Associate Professor of Marketing and Finance & Marketing Department Chair
College of Business 668 N. Riverpoint Blvd. Suite A Spokane, WA 99202 COB-191001/10.2019