2022 Fall Academic Newsletter
A MESSAGE FROM THE
DEANS We are thankful to the entire Liberty University community for the tremendous success of our graduation this spring! Our residential and online School of Business administration, staff, and faculty work hard with alumni, Career Services, and others to support our students. Our LU Business Community App enables our students to connect with successful alumni from all around the world to mentor and hire our students. Our faculty and student leaders strive to make all feel welcome at Liberty. Our clubs and centers enable students to network and explore their callings as they meet weekly with transformational guest speakers throughout the year. The School of Business’s resources are designed to give our students practical skills and the foundation needed to help them enter highly competitive industries. We are excited to host the 2022 CEO Summit with 500 CEOs on campus this coming October. This event will lead to hundreds of new internships and hiring opportunities for our upcoming graduates, and it also facilitates relationships and networking business opportunities with world-class leaders whom we consider friends in faith. As our programs continue to grow, it is our amazing students and alumni who continue to drive and inspire the decisions we make together. Liberty stands as one of the world’s greatest Christian universities, and our unwavering mission is to train the best minds in business and to infuse all we do with core Christian principles that produce transformational Champions for Christ!
DR . DAVID BR AT
Dean
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DR . AN I TA S AT T ER LEE
Online Dean
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Recent Events
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Program Overview
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Faculty Spotlight
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Faculty Listing
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Accreditations
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Contributions and Donations
Alumni Spotlight
CALENDAR-ALT UPCOMING EVENTS O c t. 5 -7 — 500 CEO Summit O c t. 6 -7 — Fall Break O c t. 24 - 2 5 — Sport Leadership Summit
Oc t. 2 8-30 — Auto Show Nov. 2 1-2 5 — Thanksgiving Break D ec . 17-Jan. 8 — Winter Break
Marc h 13-17 — Spring Break A pr il 10 — Easter Holiday May 13 — Commencement
RECENT EVENTS
Networking the Nations Summit AUG. 10-12, 2021
In August, more than 300 CEOs from different countries, backgrounds, and industries gathered on campus for the Networking the Nations Summit. At this event, CEOs networked with students and participated in panels. They discussed new and emerging technologies, the direction of business capital investment, and how to profess Christ in their respective business environments. The astonishing three-day, faith-based gathering, powered by the Standing for Freedom Center, featured keynote speakers Ben Carson, the founder and Chairman of American Cornerstone Institute; Steve Green, the President of Hobby Lobby and Founder of the Museum of the Bible; and John Maxwell, a New York Times Bestselling author and speaker on leadership. The Networking the Nations Summit also hosted
a strong roster of female entrepreneurs and business leaders. These included Industry Chief Technology Officer at IBM and Liberty alumna T’Neil Walea, who spoke on the direction of artificial intelligence. Throughout the conference, these CEOs poured into students’ lives and offered advice on launching a brand and how to identify future industry trends. “The School of Business tries to be responsive to God’s call to work in His world and leading in areas of the greatest need,” Dean Dave Brat said. “Inviting the power of world-class business leaders into a room to work out the issues, as well as opportunities in Africa for the poorest of the poor, will continue to motivate us to Train Champions for Christ and Network the Nations. With God, all is possible.”
By Logan Smith – Liberty News (Office of Communications & Public Engagement)
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Sport Leadership Summit N O V. 1 1 - 1 2 , 2 0 2 1 The Hospitality & Sport Management Department hosted their second annual Sport Leadership Summit, in which they welcomed several panelists from surrounding universities and colleges to speak to students and give insight on their experience in the hospitality and sport industry. The panelists included professionals within the NCAA, sports analysts, directors of operations, athlete mental health specialists, and collegiate coaches. Additionally, students enrolled in SETM 415 (Research Methods in Sport & Hospitality Management) and SMGT 520 (Understanding Research in Sport, Recreation, and Tourism), both taught by Dr. Clark Zealand, presented their research proposals that they developed through a project completed in those courses.
NCAE Cyber Games Competition FEB. 12, 2022 Liberty’s new Cyber Competition Purple Team competed in the NSA Sponsored Cyber Games and finished in first place in the region. The cyber games competition tested teams on their ability to set up and route multiple computers to one network and secure it from being broken into by other teams. Team captain Joel Camplejohn, along with six other members, led the team to victory. These competitions are a way to get more practical real-world training in cybersecurity.
Dean Dave Brat says this type of learning is their goal for students. “So, at the business school, we want to teach students the full range of business but also have them participate in the world of technology. These students are … learning and applying their knowledge out in the real world. The job market could not be better for these students,” Brat said. The finals were then held on April 9, and the team tied for third place.
By Stephanie Haydon – Liberty Champion
School of Business
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Kingdom Advisors Trip FEB. 22-25, 2022 Professor Kurt Cornfield, Dr. Scott Ehrhorn, Dr. Stacie Rhodes, Eden Deanhardt (graduate student assistant, Center for Financial Literacy), and Nick Martin (graduate student assistant; accounting, finance, and financial planning) led the 12th annual trip of 48 students to the annual Kingdom Advisor Conference in Orlando, Fla., this past February. During the conference, our students had the opportunity to hear from distinguished speakers, including Lysa TerKeurst, Proverbs 31 Ministries; John Maxwell, author and leadership expert; Matt Chandler, The Village Church; Ron Blue, Kingdom Advisors; and Danielle Strickland, author and justice advocate. Additionally, the conference allows financial professionals, financial service organizations, students, and finance professors to connect with one another through spiritual refreshment and professional growth opportunities. School of Business Dean Brat was able to join our students and faculty at this year’s conference. Several CEOs from Kingdom Advisors will be joining us at the upcoming CEO Summit in October.
and distinguished guests heard from Robert Greenway, an architect of the Abraham Accords and moderator for the panel; Gilad Erdan, Israel Ambassador to the United Nations; Abdulla Khalifa, Bahrain Ambassador to the United States; and Yousef Al Otaiba, United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador to the United States. The panel was centered on how the Abraham Accords was created and its influence today as well as the various threats and opportunities that may arise in the future. But more than anything, the panel was a celebration of progress.
By Logan Smith – Liberty News (Office of Communications & Public Engagement)
Cultivate Women’s Conference APRIL 1, 2022
Abraham Accords MARCH 31, 2022 The School of Business and Helms School of Government hosted three ambassadors in the Montview Student Union, Alumni Ballroom, to assess peace in the Middle East and the effectiveness of the Abraham Accords peace agreements. Students, faculty,
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The first annual Cultivate Women’s Conference was hosted by the Women in Business Club in partnership with Independent Women’s Forum. The event welcomed over 100 students for the sole purpose of building connections through community with other women in the School of Business. Jovita Carranza, the 26th Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration for the Trump Administration was the keynote speaker. The success of this event is in large part due to the collaboration between Mariah Todd, the president of the Women in Business Club, and Patrice Onwuka, the director for Economic Opportunity for Independent Women’s Forum, as well as David Brat, the dean of the School of Business.
Department of Defense Cyber Scholarship Program 2 0 2 1 - 2 2 U P D AT E The School of Business and the Center for Cyber Excellence accepted applications for the 2021-22 Department of Defense (DoD) Cybersecurity Scholarship Program (CySP). The students selected as Cyber Scholars received a one-year, full-ride scholarship for the 2021-22 academic year that covered tuition, textbooks, required fees, a new laptop, and a $27,000 stipend for room and board. In addition, the scholarship provided internship opportunities and guaranteed employment with a DoD agency upon graduation. This opportunity allowed students to work on real-world problems and gain experience that could accelerate their career and help them to succeed in the field. The DoD CySP program is best suited for students who want to enter the cybersecurity field where they can work on circumventing national-level threats.
School of Business
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Cyber Defense Competition Team APRIL 21-23, 2022
The Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC) Team won regionals and headed to nationals for the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition! They competed against 24 other teams with 183 competitors from some exceptional universities in Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia to get to this point. Dr. Michael Lehrfield stated, “Amanda Jones, as the team captain, deserves a special shoutout for her actions during the competition — we came in first place for the ‘CEO Briefings’ for both days and achieved an overall 2-day ranking of first place for the business injects which she marshalled through. Our team was given a shoutout
on its professional performance for these and all other activities.” More than 170 CCDC teams compete in qualifier challenges throughout the year, fighting for a spot in their respective regional tournaments. Only regional winners and the wild card victor — 10 teams total — contend for the national title. Liberty did it all, first snatching victory in its Mid-Atlantic region, the most competitive of the nine regions, then waltzing out of the national tournament in San Antonio, Texas, April 21-23, with a sixth-place overall finish. Liberty’s squad established itself as one of the top collegiate cyber defense teams in the United States — while keeping Christ first.
By Logan Smith – Liberty News (Office of Communications & Public Engagement)
Greg Mankiw Convo Select APRIL 22, 2022 Author, researcher, and Professor of Economics at Harvard University Greg Mankiw participated in a panel discussion during a School of Business Convocation Select event. Mankiw served in the White House as chairman of the president’s Council of Economic Advisors from 2003-05. He is also a graduate of Princeton University and MIT and has contributed to academic journals like American Economic Review and the Journal of Political Economy, as well as the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal. He has authored multiple textbooks; Principles of Economics, his most notable, has sold millions and has been translated into 20 languages. Mankiw’s visit was made possible by Cengage, the book’s publisher. Dean Dave Brat led the discussion, which addressed a wide variety of economic topics, including self-interest, science, ethics, socialism, and the philosophy of economics. The event also welcomed Denay Chagor, a governor in South Sudan, to open the event in prayer. Chagor’s visit was in coordination with the School of Business’ upcoming Africa Center, which will serve Liberty’s growing population of African students.
By Logan Smith – Liberty News (Office of Communications & Public Engagement) 8
Auto Show APRIL 28-30, 2022
This past April, the LU Auto Club hosted Virginia’s largest outdoor new car auto show. The auto show was led by president of the LU Auto Club Asher Braatz and was 100% student-run. They had over $6 million in inventory over the course of the 2-day event with 24 vendors participating. In addition, there were more than 20 personal vehicles during the personal car show on Saturday, April 30. The auto show benefited from the support of President Jerry Prevo and Provost Scott Hicks, along with Dean Dave Brat.
School of Business
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PROGRAM OVERVIEWS
D O C T O R O F S T R AT E G I C L E A D E R S H I P ( D. S .L . ) Our 100% online Doctor of Strategic Leadership degree is designed to give you both theoretical knowledge and practical skills in leadership. The program focuses on a variety of leadership principles essential to effective business management, with courses culminating in an applied doctoral research project. The degree can equip you to lead as a business management professional. Through the program, you will learn how to direct organizational change, become an effective servant leader, and implement principles of executive management theory. With Liberty’s mission to Train Champions for Christ, you will learn new strategies for integrating a Christian worldview into your business practices.
A C C O U N T I N G, FI N AN CE, AN D FI N AN CI A L P L A N N I N G B A C H E L O R’S D E G R E E P R O G R A M S •
B.S. in Accounting & Data Analysis
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B.S. in Business Administration: Finance
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B.S. in Business Administration: Economics
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B.S. in Business Administration: Financial Planning
Our accounting, finance, and financial planning degree programs are designed to prepare our students to be effective leaders in business. Each program enables our students to be proficient in communication and computer applications skills needed to work with complex accounting and finance issues. Our faculty strive to help each of their students to master the financial skills that are critical for the business world. Students also learn to identify, analyze, and appropriately deal with ethical dilemmas from a sound moral and biblical perspective.
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ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Siblings Diana Rakine-Hteit (38), Hassan Ahmad Rakine (29), and Hussein Ahmad Rakine (27) graduated in May 2022 together with their Doctorates in Strategic Leadership.
CAMERA PHOTO TAKEN BY: HAYLEY ADAMS We are siblings from Lebanese immigrant parents who came to the U.S. back in the 1980s to New York City, and we were all born and raised in the U.S. Currently, we each live in Florida, a few blocks away from each other. All three of us went to Nova Southern University in Florida for our undergraduate degrees in business administration and for our master’s degrees in business administration.
felt success, and that is priceless to us. To prove to ourselves that we can do this despite everyone’s unique schedule was so inspiring. It brought us closer as siblings and brought out new qualities we didn’t know existed in each other. We will never forget this journey. – Diana Rakine-Hteit, Class of 2022
It was our dad’s dream to see us with our doctorates. After choosing the same college and degree for both our undergraduate and graduate school, we felt it would be a beautiful experience for all three of us to start our doctoral programs together. We chose to get our doctoral degrees at Liberty University because this school exceeds all other universities when comparing the pricing, program rigor, curriculum, and overall history. Our time at Liberty University was special because we did this together. The program was hard and challenging — difficult is an understatement — but our goal of starting and finishing together is what encouraged us along the way. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we couldn’t visit campus, but when we came for the 2022 Commencement Ceremony, we had 14 family members with us, and we were all so excited to be there and see how beautiful the campus and city of Lynchburg is. This experience meant the world to us. To see my two children see their mom and uncles’ accomplishments and success was heartwarming. Our parents sacrificed everything to raise us and give us better than they had. When we walked the stage, they
CAMERA PHOTO TAKEN BY: HAYLEY ADAMS
School of Business
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F A C U LT Y S P O T L I G H T D R . C H RIS HUSEMA N Dr. Chris Huseman is an associate professor in the School of Business with his discipline being marketing. He has taught marketing and business courses since 2003, offering students real-world experience in relation to course content. He developed many of the digital marketing courses offered at Liberty University. Dr. Huseman teaches courses from the undergraduate to the doctoral level, including Marketing, Marketing Research, Marketing Analytics, Consumer Behavior, Business Ethics, and more. Additionally, Huseman is the faculty sponsor of the Liberty University’s collegiate chapter of the American Marketing Association (LU AMA), which produces events for students to hear from leading marketing professionals, serves as a networking opportunity for marketing and sales students, immerses students in planning and promoting fundraising opportunities, and offers practical, hands-on strategic marketing applications through national case competitions. Each month, the chapter invites alumni and seasoned marketing professionals to participate on a panel to share their work experiences and identify trends in the marketing field and workforce. In addition, LU AMA serves in a sales/marketing-related capacity on behalf of various nonprofit organizations. On April 28, many outstanding student-athletes, exceptional coaches, and gifted spiritual leaders from Liberty University’s Club Sports Department were recognized during the annual Club Sports Choice Awards at the Center for Music and the Worship Arts, Concert Hall. During the night, Dr. Huseman earned the Academic Partnership Award for working with Club Sports’ Academic Research Liaison Dr. Jonathan Chung and former indoor and beach volleyball player Maribeth Kern, now an Academic Research graduate assistant, to integrate marketing and sales students into Club Sports activities. By Ted Allen
DR. DANIEL O’MALLEY Dr. Daniel O’Malley is the Residential Chair for the
Computer Science Department in the School of Business. He has spent two decades in the Information Technology industry with most of those years focused on healthcare. He previously held several director-level positions within IT, among other technical positions. Prior to joining Liberty University, he led the data warehousing teams at a large academic health system in Virginia. Dr. O’Malley is active both at the state and national levels in healthcare Information Technology. He is also a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Dr. O’Malley has been an influential professor and is an amazing asset to our computer science programs.
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RI C H A RD BA N SLE Y Richard Bansley is an Associate Professor for the Computer Science Department in the School of Business. Prior to joining Liberty University full time in January 2016, Professor Bansley taught as an adjunct professor and served as an online subject matter expert and instructor. Professor Bansley serves as the online program director for cybersecurity, as well as a professor for the residential network architecture, computer security, and information assurance courses. He is also a professor for the residential cybersecurity capstone courses within the Department of Computer Sciences. He provides continued instructor support for the online undergraduate information security and cybersecurity courses at Liberty University.
Faculty Listing DEANS Dr. Dave Brat – Ph.D., M.Div.
FACULTY CARET-RIGHT ACCOUNTING, ECONOMICS,
Dean of Residential Programs
FINANCE, AND FINANCIAL PLANNING
Professor Michael Floyd – M.A.
Professor Kurt Cornfield – M.S.
Dr. Melanie Hicks – D.B.A., M.B.A.
Dr. Scott Ehrhorn – Ph.D., M.B.A.
Associate Dean of Online Programs
Associate Professor
Associate Dean of Residential Programs
Associate Professor
Dr. Anita Satterlee – Ed.D., M.A.
Professor John Frichtel – M.B.A.
Dean of Online Programs
CHAIRS & DIRECTORS Dr. Alexander Averin – Ph.D., M.B.A. Online Chair
Professor Richard Bansley – M.S. Executive Director for the Center for Cyber Excellence
Professor Anthony Beckles – M.B.A. Online Chair
Dr. Roger Bingham – D.M., M.B.A. Residential Chair – General Business
Dr. Laura Hatfield – Ph.D., M.S. Residential Chair – Hospitality & Sport Management
Dr. Beth Koss – D.B.A., M.B.A.
Residential Chair – Accounting, Economics, Finance, Financial Planning
Dr. Nicole Lowes – Ph.D., M.B.A. Doctoral Programs Methodologist
Dr. Edward Moore – Ph.D., M.B.A. Director of Doctoral Programs
Dr. Daniel O’Malley – Ph.D., M.S.
Residential Chair – Computer Sciences
Dr. Jonathan Philebaum – Ph.D., M.B.A. Online Chair
Dr. Stacie Rhodes – D.B.A., M.S. Executive Director for the Center of Financial Literacy
Dr. Tiffany Towne – D.B.A., M.B.A. Online Chair
Dr. Jason Vranes – Ed.D., M.B.A. Online Chair
Assistant Professor
Dr. Tammy Brown – D.B.A., M.B.A. Associate Professor
Dr. David Duby – Ph.D., M.S. Professor
Dr. Christopher Huseman – Ph.D., M.B.A., M.S. Professor
Dr. Emily Knowles – D.B.A., M.S., M.A. Associate Professor
Dr. Collen McLaughlin – Ph.D., M.S., M.P.H.
Professor Charlene Geisler – Ph.D.
Professor
Professor Mechelle Lafon – M.S.
Dr. Brian Satterlee – D.B.A., Ed.D., M.S.
Assistant Professor
Professor
Dr. Andrew Light – Ph.D., M.A.
Dr. George Young – Ph.D., M.S.
Professor R.B. Martin – M.B.A.
CARET-RIGHT IT/IS/INFT
Professor
Dr. Jamie Stowe – D.B.A., M.S.
Professor
Associate Professor
Dr. David Holder – Ph.D., M.Ed.
CARET-RIGHT COMPUTER SCIENCE
Professor Angela Holt – M.B.A.
Professor David Donahoo – M.S. Associate Professor
Professor Amy Kalu – M.S. Assistant Professor
Dr. James McNicholas – Ph.D., M.B.A., M.S. Professor
Dr. Mark Merry – Ph.D., M.S. Associate Professor
Professor Maleah Mortorff – M.S. Assistant Professor
Dr. Festus Oderanti – Ph.D., M.B.A., M.S. Associate Professor
Dr. Melesa Poole – Ph.D., M.Acc. Associate Professor
Professor Terri Sipantzi – M.S. Associate Professor
Dr. Robert Tucker – Ph.D., M.S. Associate Professor
Dr. Jerry Westfall – Ph.D., M.A.
Associate Professor Assistant Professor
Dr. Mike Kipreos – D.B.A., M.B.A. Associate Professor
Professor Alison Pettit – M.B.A. Assistant Professor
Dr. Philip Schall – Ph.D., M.S., M.A. Associate Professor
Professor Virginia Zaffke – M.A. Assistant Professor
CARET-RIGHT HOSPITALITY &
SPORT MANAGEMENT
Professor Christopher Amos – M.S. Assistant Professor
Dr. Phillip Blosser – Ph.D., M.S. Associate Professor
Dr. Lance Hatfield – Ed.D., M.S. Associate Professor
Professor Dana Howard – M.A.
Professor
Dr. Vicky Martin – Sc.D., M.S.
CARET-RIGHT GENERAL BUSINESS
Dr. Clark Zealand – Ph.D., M.A.
Professor Professor
Professor Kristin Boyce – M.B.A. Assistant Professor
School of Business
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A C CREDITAT IONS
Liberty’s School of Business is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). ACBSP accreditation encompasses both resident and distance learning programs, as applicable.
Accredited Programs include: •
A.A. in Accounting
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A.A. in Business
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A.A. in Information Systems
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B.S. in Accounting & Data Analysis
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B.S. in Business Administration
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B.S. in Information Systems
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M.S. in Accounting
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Master of Business Administration
Liberty’s B.S. in Computer Science is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET.
The following sport management degree programs at Liberty University have received specialized accreditation through the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA):
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B.S. in Sport Management (Residential)
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M.S. in Sport Management (Residential and Online)
USER-PEN
CO N TRI BUTI NG AUTHORS Ted Allen – Club Sports Staff Writer Professor Richard Bansley – Executive Director for the Center of Cyber Excellence Dr. David Brat – Dean Dr. Tammy Brown – Associate Professor and Faculty Sponsor of Women in Business Club
Dr. Laura Hatfield – Residential Chair, Hospitality & Sport Management
Dr. Anita Satterlee – Dean of Online Programs
Stephanie Haydon – Liberty Champion
Logan Smith – Liberty News (Office of Communications & Public Engagement)
Diana Rakine-Hteit, Hassan Ahmad Rakine, Hussein Ahmad Rakine – Alumni
Sarah Young – Resident Faculty Support Coordinator
Dr. Stacie Rhodes – Executive Director for the Center for Financial Literacy
DONATE
DONATI ONS School of Business General Scholarship Fund Hospitality & Sport Management Scholarship Fund
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