9 minute read
Recent Events
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.”
Sport Leadership Summit
NOV. 11-12, 2021
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
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.
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, 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.
Cultivate Women’s Conference
APRIL 1, 2022
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
2021-22 UPDATE
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.
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.
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.
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.
