2020
Volume 1
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN
Welcome to the spring 2020 issue of the College of Business newsletter! We find ourselves in challenging times. This spring, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic altered the way that we learn, work, and interact with each other. The rapidly evolving situation required us to respond quickly to ensure the health and well-being of our students, faculty, staff, and community at large. Throughout these uncertain times, our Eagle community demonstrated its resilience and commitment in the face of adversity. Administrators, faculty, and staff worked together to rapidly adjust schedules to move winter quarter finals. The Instructional Technology and Design team worked with faculty to transition face-to-face courses to an online format. Faculty and staff shared their knowledge and expertise to help each other adapt to the new environment. Departments from across the university found creative and innovative ways to support students and each other as we navigated the crisis together. In this issue of COB News, we celebrate some of our many student, faculty, staff, and alumni accomplishments. Our exceptional programs and students have been earning recognition at a national level. Students are engaged in service learning and are contributing their time and expertise in our local community. Faculty continue to impact their disciplines through their research publications and presentations. We have much to be proud of in the College of Business, and I am excited to share the good news with you! As always, I invite you to contact me if you have any comments, suggestions, or stories that you would like to share. Sincerely,
Jon Anderson, PhD Acting Dean, College of Business
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS LEADERSHIP UPDATE Ahmad Tootoonchi, PhD, recently announced his upcoming retirement as the dean of the College of Business (COB) and will be off-campus, taking some time off between now and the rest of the academic year. Jonathan Anderson, PhD, dean of the College of Social Sciences, is serving as the acting dean for the College of Business until a transition plan is developed and new leadership is identified. We would like to thank Dean Tootoonchi for his service to Eastern Washington University, our College of Business and its faculty, staff and students, and acknowledge his leadership in successfully attaining our AACSB accreditation.
ewu.edu/cob
EWU ENTREPRENEURSHIP NAMED TOP EMERGING PROGRAM
EWU Entrepreneurship has received the 2020 Top Emerging Entrepreneurship Award from the U.S. Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE). The national award is given annually to the top college entrepreneurship program that is in its first three years of development, or has undergone a major revision during the same period. Factors considered include the program’s innovation, boldness and student impact. Bruce Teague, the founding director of the EWU Center for Entrepreneurship, Gabriella Williams, senior, communications studies, and Rachel Anne Backell, senior, entrepreneurship, traveled to New Orleans to make the final presentation to the judges on Jan. 5. EWU competed through three rounds of evaluation to be named a finalist, ultimately beating out programs at Wake Forest University, Iona College and Florida Gulf Coast University in the finals.