InReview Spring 2023

THE IMPORTANCE OF

DEAN, COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

Dr. Brenda Flannery

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Director of Marketing and Communication, College of Business

Jen Cucurullo

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Senior Director of University

Marketing & Communications, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Sara Frederick

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Vanessa Knewtson ’13

COVER ILLUSTRATION

James Mackey

WRITERS

Amanda Dyslin ’03, ’15

Drew Lyon ’12

Sarah Asp Olson

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Jen Cucurullo

Vanessa Knewtson ’13

Steve Woit

MARKETING INTERNS

Olivia Anderson

Josie Sandford

Emilee Thomas

PRINTER

Corporate Graphics

PROOFREADER

Joe Tougas

The mission of In Review is to inform and to connect the reader to the College of Business community. In Review welcomes story ideas supporting this mission.

In Review is copyrighted in its entirety. This volume and all articles, images and photographs within may not be reproduced in any form without written permission of the executive editor.

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

120 Morris Hall, Mankato, MN 56001 507.389.5420 | cob.mnsu.edu

Each organization and community has a story of place that defines its character and uniqueness. It is a story that reflects its unique dreams, history, economy, culture, and character of its citizens as expressed through its aspirations, accomplishments, challenges, and possibilities.

Leading Through Stories of Place)

An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity University. This document is available in alternative format to individuals with disabilities by calling the College of Business at 507-389-5420 (V), 800-627-3529 or 711 (MRS/TTY). BUSC131NE

– Michael Jones (2015,

Dean’s Message

Dear Friends,

Peter Drucker—the father of modern management—has been one of my most important teachers these past 30 years although I never met him beyond the pages of his books. His 1954 classic “The Practice of Management” and 1985 “Innovation and Entrepreneurship” were trade books I incorporated into the courses I taught early in my teaching career. When I started administrator roles in 2006, many of his ideas guided me as I put into practice my academic disciplines of management, leadership, and innovation. My time as an administrator became an opportunity to test in action the many theories, practices, and insights I valued. Big Ideas, Real-world Doing.

During these past 12 years as a dean, I learned so much from a wide range of wise people: energetic students; generous business leaders, alumni, and donors; and committed faculty and staff. Utilizing this collective strength allowed us to create and lead an ambitious time of innovation in the College of Business. Over 12 new and relevant signature programs have been launched including the United Prairie Bank Integrated Business Certificate program, the Master of Accounting degree, 100% online Bachelor of Business Administration degree, Business Analytics Certificate, and the Agribusiness and Food Innovation BS degree—and more on their way such as the Professional Sales Certificate and Center for Financial Well Being. Real-world and high-engagement experiences and programs like the Stangler Internship Initiative, Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Big Ideas Challenge, the Henze Ag Innovators, Maverick Investment Fund, Student Executive Team, and Introduction to Business Careers (BUS295) are now part of the MavBiz student experience. During the past 12 years, the College of Business grew annually from 1,800 to 2,300 degree seekers, from $100k to $300k in student scholarships, and from a small handful to hundreds of industry partnerships. Literally thousands of hands and minds have joined together to create this level of innovation (see pages 29-35).

It has been one of the greatest honors and privileges of my professional life to serve as the sixth dean of the College of Business. Given the level of talent and vision now found in the College of Business and across the University, along with incoming dean Dr. Seung Bach (see page 6 for his introduction), I am confident of continued success and growth. My path will take me deeper into new areas of innovation such as sustainability and experiential executive education, and I look forward to being of use in new roles, including as a professor in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship. What won’t change will be my love for this PLACE my husband and I call home. It is a place rich with history, opportunities, and stories of people making a positive difference. I hope you enjoy this In Review magazine and are inspired by the Maverick spirit!

With deep gratitude,

Brenda Flannery, Ph.D. Dean, College of Business (2011 – 2023) Professor of Management

It has been one of the greatest honors and privileges of my professional life to serve as the sixth dean of the College of Business.

2022–2023 COLLEGE OF BUSINESS Leadership Team

The College of Business Leadership Team includes 12 high-impact professionals who put students first.

Allen

Brenda Flannery Dean and Professor of Management

Marilyn Fox Master of Business Administration (MBA) Director, AACSB Director and Professor of Management

Ann Kuzma Marketing and International Business Department Chairperson and Professor of Marketing

Kathleen Dale Management Department Chairperson and Professor of Management

Angelica Nolan Executive Assistant to the Dean

Byron Pike Master of Accounting

(MAcc) Director,

Lenzmeier Accounting Professor of External Partnerships and Associate Professor of Accounting

Jen Cucurullo Director of Marketing and Communication

Linda Meidl Student Advising Director

Samantha Campa Internships and External Partnerships Coordinator

Oksana Kim Accounting and Business Law Department Chairperson, Allen Lenzmeier Professor of Leadership and Diversity and Professor of Accounting

Bryan Hoffman Director of Technology

Yilin (Leon) Chen Finance Department Chairperson and Professor of Finance

MBA student Michelle Reinhardt named David C. Olson Scholarship Recipient

The David C. Olson scholarship is awarded to an MBA student each year. In addition to $9,000 toward the cost of their education, recipients are granted an internship with a Minnesota Chamber of Commerce member organization. This year’s recipient, Michelle Reinhardt, worked with the Brainerd Lakes Chamber of Commerce on its goal of implementing a new Young Professionals Program. In her role, she conducted extensive market research on employment trends and needs for young professionals, which involved facilitating focus groups and interviews with chamber members and young professionals. The data she collected resulted in the creation of documentation on program best practices and a marketing plan for the rollout of the Chamber’s new program. Reinhardt was truly honored to be part of the passionate team and says “I have gained so much from the internship and have been amazed by all the things I’ve learned about how chambers support businesses and their communities.”

Learn more about the David C. Olson scholarship at cob.mnsu.edu/olsonscholarship

Dr. Seung Bach named Dean of the College

Dr. Seung Bach has been named dean of the College of Business, effective July 1, 2023. “Dr. Bach brings a commitment to student success and equitable outcomes for all, and a strong foundation in teaching and learning, academic leadership and community engagement,” said Provost David Hood. “His broad base of experience in administrative roles, and faculty appointments ranging from private institutions in Ohio to leadership roles at large state universities, has provided him with knowledge of the many challenges and opportunities influencing higher education today.”

Welcome to the MavBiz family and Minnesota State Mankato, Dr. Bach!

United Prairie Bank Integrated Business Experience (IBE) wins a 2022 Greater Mankato Growth Award

The Brian Fazio Business Education Partnership award recognizes partnerships that enhance education and business in Greater Mankato and the 2022 award recognized the College of Business and United Prairie Bank.

Dean Flannery’s acceptance speech included major key accomplishments of this signature College of Business program.

• Over 15 faculty have been involved since 2010 in envisioning, teaching, and continually evolving the IBE Program. Ten different faculty have taught in the program since its beginning.

• The first cohort included 12 students; 900 students have been part of 43 company teams since then.

• Student companies have never defaulted on a loan… paying back every cent of the $150,000 in loans from United Prairie Bank.

• $106,000 in profits have been donated to 21 different regional non-profits.

• Those 900 students also volunteered for 10,200 hours with non-profits

Thank you and best wishes to retiring faculty

The new Professional Sales Certificate is designed for students seeking to develop the necessary skills to enter the sales industry.

Learn more at cob.mnsu.edu/sales

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS 2023 – 2025

Strategic Plan Framework

PROGRAMS RESOURCES PARTNERSHIPS

High quality, real-world, and equitable business programs for the educational and career success of all learners.

Diversified resources to expand engaging, innovative, and impactful learning.

Partnerships to accelerate educational access, thought leadership, and societal impact in the region.

We are a regional, AACSB-accredited College of Business committed to learner-centered education, applied research, and high-impact partnerships.

MISSION

We engage in collaborative research to advance knowledge of business practice, student learning, and business theory.

The clear business school choice for real-world learning experiences.

We are committed to equitable undergraduate business education with expanding opportunities in graduate education and continuing professional education.

We create relational partnerships to benefit learners, business, and society.

Marilyn Fox Professor of Management, MBA Program Director, AACSB Director

Christine Brown Mahoney Professor of Management

Vicki Luoma Professor of Business Law

place THE

IMPORTANCE OF

BY DREW LYON

The beauty of the Mankato area lies in its geographical and cultural diversity. This river city supports parks and prairies; rich farming soil and fine arts; top-notch athletics; and world-class education. Whether you’re looking for an out-of-print print classic at a used bookstore or a quiet stroll on a nature trail, the Mankato region has you covered.

For many Mavericks, the bond with the area mirrors their love for the University. The memories run deep. Some Mavericks found true love on campus – and later, their career callings in Mankato – while others met lifelong friends and discovered delicious homegrown foods on the city’s streets. Their affection for the people of the University and the places of Mankato combine to create a sense of place that feels like … home.

Photo by Jacob Boomsma

Food for Thought

Beloved professor emeritus in COB finds his sense of place at the Farmers Market and KMSU

There are a few certainties in life. Sure, we know the first two – death and taxes – but the third? Timothy Scott, Ph.D, has it covered.

For the past four decades, the former Minnesota State Mankato professor spends every Saturday morning (and some Wednesdays) from early May through October visiting with dozens of vendors while searching for the freshest, locally sourced produce at the Mankato Farmers Market.

“It’s the best food in town, and you get to see your neighbors,” says Dr. Scott, professor emeritus in the College of Business (COB). “I know all the vendors.”

You can practically set a clock to it. Rain or shine, come Saturday morning, Dr. Scott will be walking the aisles at the Best Buy parking lot, the local Farmers Market’s longtime home. Since the Mankato Farmers Market first opened on Riverfront Drive in the mid-1970s – not long after Scott moved to Mankato – he estimates his absences rank in the teens.

“If I’m in town, I go there,” Scott says. “We’re not the Twin Cities, but we’re really good for what we have.”

Dr. Scott, a St. Paul native, remembers his mom taking him on street cars to the local Farmers Market. He’s continued the tradition in Mankato with his family. Along the way, Scott has learned a few tricks. For one, the early bird gets the worm.

“I’m there at 8 a.m. to get the best stuff,” he says.

COB Dean Brenda Flannery, says Dr. Scott’s affinity for the Mankato Farmers Market and local cuisine reflects his deep affection for the area.

“Tim shows his love for this place through community events like the Farmers Market,” she says. “This region is his home.”

Right size, right place

During a storied 42-year long career, Dr. Scott taught across the country, from Virginia to California. But no higher educational institution topped his 37 years teaching strategic management in the COB at Minnesota State Mankato.

“The school is the right size, and our classes are smaller compared to others. We have good faculty,” says Dr. Scott, who retired in 2011. “All that helps, and I was extremely well-treated my whole career.”

He first visited the University in spring 1974 while attending a national conference in Minneapolis. Intrigued by the city’s proximity to the Twin Cities, Dr. Scott came to the University in the fall of 1974 and taught on the lower campus. After a stint teaching at the University of Iowa, Scott returned to Mankato for good in the early 1980s.

“I came back because I discovered this is a really good place and we picked up lots and lots of quality faculty,” he says. “We’re as good as anybody, especially in teaching.”

Over the next 30 years, Dr. Scott instructed and molded thousands of students. His legacy includes overseeing (with others) the COB’s trailblazing laptop program in the late 1990s that led to the University activating one of the nation’s first wireless networks on a college campus. Minnesota State Mankato’s COB was the sixth campus in the nation to set up a campus wireless network.

“It was fun. I miss the students a lot,” Dr. Scott says. “They kept me young and knew a lot about technology.”

Dr. Scott is also proud to have chaired the search committee that recommended hiring future COB Dean Flannery.

“Dean Flannery is awesome. If she isn’t the best hire I ever made, I don’t know who is,” Dr. Scott says. “She is literally as good as they come. The students, faculty, and staff love her.”

The professional and personal admiration is mutual, Dean Flannery says.

“Tim is like family to me,” she says. “I adore him.”

Community connections

Dr. Scott remains tied to both the University and the Mankato community. He supports Maverick athletics, still uses resources at the campus library, and sponsors the Timothy W. Scott Scholarship that awards funding to COB students with a military background. For more than 35 years, the self-described “jazz freak” has volunteered at KMSU Radio as the longtime producer (and sometimes host or co-host) of “Ms. Lona and Jazz Tonight,” his wife’s Monday evening program.

“I’m a big supporter of the station and

Maverick Matrimony

Mankato business leaders and COB alum, Mass Comm alum celebrate 25 years of marriage

Before attending their first classes at Minnesota State Mankato, Ryan and Jennifer Spaude (née Eibs) coupled with each other— and the campus – in ways that lasted far beyond their academic careers.

“We met at a social gathering before we started school in the fall,” says Jennifer, who, like her husband, transferred to the University in 1995. “And the rest is history – we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary (in 2022).”

Jennifer majored in mass communications and took full advantage of the professional development opportunities offered by the University. She wrote for The Reporter, assisted with pledge drives at KSMU Radio and worked at University Advancement, all while juggling offcampus jobs. Ryan, a finance major, spent most of his undergraduate years hunkered down in Morris and Armstrong Hall, the Centennial Student Union and hit the books at the campus library, where he studied alongside Jennifer.

“We were both pretty focused on getting school done and having some fun, too,” says Jennifer, who was raised near Arlington, Minn. “We enjoyed campus life and Mankato.”

Though their finances at the time didn’t afford many opportunities to splurge around town – “We were broke,” Jennifer says with a laugh – the couple would scrounge together enough cash to patronize diners near campus, go to a movie or cheer on their fellow students at Maverick sporting events.

It wasn’t until after college that the Spaudes, who now live in upper North Mankato with their dog and two children who are both experiencing college life themselves, started roaming the area’s range of nature trails. Today, Ryan hunts and has a keen eye for observing trail cameras.

“We both enjoy the outdoors, and that’s a big part of our life now – exploring Sakatah (State Trail), Minneopa, Red Jacket and other area trails,” says Ryan, a

native of Gibbon, Minn. “We definitely love to get outside.”

Real connections

The Spaudes married in 1997, after Jennifer graduated and months before Ryan earned his degree in spring 1998. The couple didn’t envision setting down roots in Mankato, but their professional trajectories led the way. After graduating, Jennifer earned a marketing job at Taylor Corporation and later began to work for the Mankato-based telecommunications company HickoryTech. Through a series of promotions and acquisitions, she now oversees 23 states in her role as senior vice president of corporate communications at Consolidated Communications, a top 10 fiber provider in the U.S.

“Jennifer is so consistent and effective in her work,” says COB Dean Brenda Flannery. “She’s one of the top business leaders we have – male or female.”

After receiving his diploma, Ryan became a Certified Financial Planner, which eventually led to a partnership at Eide Bailly, a nationally renowned CPA firm with 40 offices across the country.

sits on the COB’s Executive Committee and regularly speaks to the College of Business Finance Club, helping recruit and mentor Maverick interns to assist Eide Bailly during tax season.

“I have a passion for the College of Business since I went through the program,” he says. “I received a great education and I wanted to give back. … And at Eide Bailly, we support the College of Business and help students get opportunities for internships and employment down the road.”

Flannery lauded the Spaudes’ ongoing commitments and service to the University.

“It’s awesome that they met here and are both leaders,” she says. “They’ve both given back a tremendous amount to the University. Jennifer is so integral to the Foundation Board and supporting College of Business scholarships, and Ryan is always there to help; he’s extraordinary. I just think the world of them.”

It wasn’t evident when they first stepped

MANKATO MADE

BY AMANDA DYSLIN

Every year the College of Business (COB) sends bright new graduates out into the world, and so many of the very brightest choose not to go far.

Mavericks can be found at the helm of Greater Mankato Area businesses large and small – from real estate to publishing companies to banks. They also hire each other, recruiting the next generation of Minnesota State Mankato alums to usher in fresh talent and ideas.

The result is a community absolutely infused with the Maverick mindset and spirit – entrepreneurial, innovative, and constantly evolving. The centerpiece of our issue features alumni businesses who embody this very spirit and who remain connected in numerous ways to the University and vice versa.

COB at the Core

Just the mere mention of the antique National Cash Register on display at Abdo CPA firm in Edina, Minn., elicits a smile from Jay Abdo. Nostalgia will do that.

That cash register symbolizes so much for the Abdo family, whose now robust and varied businesses got their start with a little neighborhood grocery store, Abdo Grocery, on James Avenue in Mankato.

“My Grandma Fadwa Abdo was a Lebanese immigrant, and she had a neighborhood grocery store in a Lebanese neighborhood in Mankato, and both my father and I worked there as kids, mostly selling penny candies,” said Jay, a 1974 accounting major who made change from that cash register too many times to count. “Later, she loaned my father her life savings of $13,000 to start his CPA firm in 1963. That little lady started most of what we’re doing today.”

The Abdos – the late Joe Abdo, his wife Meredith, and their seven children, including Jay, the oldest – never lost that

sense of place when it came to Mankato. From Joe’s solo CPA practice in the early 1960s to now multi-million-dollar businesses in the accounting, publishing and banking industries, this community has remained the heart and soul.

“Do I ever have a connection to Mankato. It’s my hometown. Mankato has really, really been important to us,” said Jay, who also emphasized the importance of the University to his father and the College of Business (COB) where he got his start.

Throughout the years and in every division of the Abdo family businesses, COB alums have held leadership positions, working alongside three generations of Abdos and fostering the family’s homegrown, personal work culture, despite the enormous growth.

“Going all the way back to 1963 when Joe was working with local businesses in the Mankato region, the focus was to help business owners,” said Chris Powers, partner and owner at Abdo. “Today, we

still have some of those locally owned family businesses as clients who are the fourth generation of their businesses.”

How it all began

Born in Mankato in 1930, Joe was the youngest of 13 children and attended Catholic school before serving during the Korean War and then joining the National Guard. He pursued his love of numbers at then-called Mankato State College on the GI Bill and majored in accounting. He was married with children, so he worked at Schwickert’s while in school, and that company became his first client after graduation. (Three generations later, they still are clients.)

It took Joe eight years to finish college, and his

Jay Abdo ’74 is proud to have the Mankato community and Minnesota State Mankato at the center of the successful Abdo family businesses, which now stretch across four generations.

wife and first five children attended his graduation. All five of those kids, plus two more who followed, would end up in Abdo family businesses that stemmed from that day and that degree.

“Yep, I was there that day. I must have been about 12 years old,” said Jay of Naples, Fla.

Joe had already passed his CPA exam before graduation (the first person in the country to achieve that feat), and he

started his solo CPA practice in Mankato in 1963, building a client base largely through word of mouth. Jay and his childhood friend, Gerry Eick, joined the firm in the 1970s, which was the start of the firm’s tremendous growth.

“We passed the CPA (exams) together and joined dad’s firm. When we started, it was called Abdo Abdo & Eick. I had an interest in taxation, and he had an interest in auditing, so we were a really great team,” Jay said. “Eventually we continued to grow and hire great people. The growth has really just been mind-

Now called Abdo, LLP, the company has about 200 employees over three locations in Mankato, Edina, and Scottsdale, Ariz. Jay said the firm has been connected in numerous ways with the COB during its entire history.

“Our 60th anniversary is coming up, and we’ve been so integrated with the college over that time,” he said. “Because we were alums, we did a lot of recruiting at Minnesota State Mankato. Our best people come out of the college. It’s been a great partnership.”

Powers, a 1998 accounting graduate, is one of those alums. She had met Eick through a University alumni event and initially started at the company through an internship in 1997. She said the Abdo family’s values and work culture are part of why she’s stayed all these years.

“Right away with the internship I took here, everyone was so helpful,” she said, adding that the company only had about 30 employees at the time. “I liked the people I worked with. It truly was a family business. I could offer a suggestion to the partners, and they would think about it and say, ‘Yeah, that’s a good idea. Let’s go with it.’”

Witnessing and contributing to the growth has been amazing, she said.

“It feels almost like it’s a different place as it’s grown,” she said. “But we have worked very hard to keep that same culture.”

Venturing OutABDO Publishing

Joe had been on the board of Children’s World book company, which also was a client of his accounting firm. He had invested in the company and made a good profit when it sold. So, upon his retirement in 1981, Joe decided to put the money into starting his own children’s book company, Abdo and Daughters Publishing, with his daughters, Jill (Abdo) Hansen, Lynne Abdo, and Melody (Abdo) Borth. Now called Abdo Publishing, sons Jim and Paul Abdo joined the company in the 1990s.

Chris Powers

The business went from a garage operation to a national company with more than 100 employees and the rights to 6,500 titles. The company has an editorial and marketing office in Edina, and a 30,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Mankato and is a leader in educational publishing for schools and libraries.

“The next generation is coming in,” Jay said. “We started a new sub-division of Abdo Publishing, called Abdo Kids, and they’re actually in charge of that. They’re coming up with great content for new books.”

Venturing OutBanking

The banking and finance business is the newest venture for the Abdos, which began by starting BankVista in 1999. Joe and Jay had always been interested in getting into banking and had been invited to invest in startup community banks over the years.

Banks were near the top of referral sources at the CPA firm, which led to them becoming serious about starting their own.

“We thought, ‘Maybe we should start a bank and own our own referral source,’” Jay said. “Dad was very supportive. The bank has done really well, and we’ve got locations in Mankato, Sartell, Minn., and Chaska, Minn. We work strictly with family-owned and closely held businesses.”

Jay credits Christina Bohlke, president of the Mankato market of BankVista, for more recent growth and success. Bohlke earned her finance degree from Minnesota State Mankato in 2001. She left U.S. Bank in 2015 to come to BankVista.

“The opportunity at BankVista gave me the chance to ‘run a business’ versus

being strictly a commercial lender,” she said. “One of the big draws was the leadership opportunity at BankVista.”

Bohlke also appreciated the company culture of supporting small businesses and having programs available, as a preferred lender, through the Small Business Administration (SBA) that allows businesses to qualify for lending that wouldn’t traditionally be available. Even though they’re incredibly growthfocused, the Abdo family is also committed to their core, family-friendly and community-centric values.

“They’re great people to work for. You can feel how much they care,” Bohlke said.

Jay is happy their employees feel that way. It goes back to his grandmother’s work ethic and his father’s integrity when it came to business. Those traits have been infused in the fabric of their businesses.

“The most important thing is my dad was one of the most ethical people I’ve ever met,” Jay said. “He was never greedy. He didn’t live beyond his means, and he taught us to save and reinvest in our company so it would grow. … You just keep reinvesting in your company, and you end up making good money, but it’s also really good for the staff because they have the opportunity to grow with us as well.”

Mavericks Giving Back

The Abdos, their partners, and businesses have given back to the Greater Mankato community in numerous ways over the years.

They give to Minnesota State Mankato, Loyola Catholic School, the SCHOLA Foundation (founded by Joe Abdo and provides scholarships to Loyola students), the Salvation Army, and Thomas More Catholic Newman Center, among other charitable organizations.

They have served on boards for Mankato Area Foundation, Greater Mankato Area United Way, the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota and MRCI.

“The relationship between the Abdos and the college goes back really far, and I love the legacy of that family,” said Brenda Flannery, Ph.D., dean of the College of Business (COB). “We’re so grateful for the scholarships their family started, which go back such a long time ago. Their companies have stayed connected to the college in many ways over the years, including hiring many of our alums, which is great to see.”

Empire Family Business

COB alum Mark Davis ’63 helped build a family business empire in Southern Minnesota, starting as a milk truck driver in the 1950s.

Humility is probably not a common trait for those who have made the Forbes list of Richest Families. But nonetheless, Mark Davis ’63 would likely be the last to brag about his business success.

On building a family empire from scratch that has included owning Davisco Foods International, Cambria countertops, and Sun Country Airlines and refusing to retire: “I don’t believe in retirement. I can’t imagine it. I get my grass mowed without missing any work, and I have a walk-behind.”

On choosing to continue to live north of St. Peter when so many peers choose a warmer climate this time of year: “Oh, I like the weather, like this morning,” Davis joked about the 18 inches of snow that fell in late February. “I’ve always lived here except for a very short period of time. Our businesses have been headquartered here. Our families have been here since the 1850s.”

And on donating $250,000 to the College of Business with an agriculture and food focus over the last 10 years: “Well, I’ve got several bad habits,” Davis joked. “Why give? I just do. I make donations on an annual basis to organizations that I like to support.”

“He is so down to earth, so common, and yet what he has accomplished is so extraordinary,” Dean Flannery said. “There’s been so much impact on our region by Mark and so many business leaders who have been mentored by him.”

Davis, who graduated from Minnesota State Mankato in 1963 with a degree in business administration, said it’s always been important to him to stay connected to the University, where he’s maintained strong connections with University presidents (past and present), as well as COB leaders like Dean Flannery.

Dedicating his giving to agriculture and food has to do with his family’s business roots, he said – roots that run deep and wide in Southern Minnesota.

In 2001, the Davis family began Cambria in Le Sueur; they purchased Sun Country Airlines in 2011, which they later sold; and they operate Davis Family Dairies (which is in the process of being sold). All of this led to the family making the 2015 Forbes list of richest American families. The magazine listed the family’s net worth at $1.7 billion.

And yet, Davis still mows his own lawn and blows his own snow.

Dean Flannery said these surprising nuances about Davis have been fun to learn during the course of their long friendship. She remembers visiting him and finding him surrounded by stacks of books and old family photos and wearing beat-up old Birkenstocks.

“He’s been a really important teacher to me. He’s taught me a lot about ag and food. He’s taught me a lot about Southern Minnesota,” Dean Flannery said.

The Davis family has given back to the community in numerous other ways. Davis has been a board member of and donor to the Minnesota State Mankato Foundation, has been a major donor to Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Minnesota Historical Society, and Camp Cambria (for children with juvenile arthritis), among others; and has provided millions of dollars in scholarships.

The scholarships that go toward the education of young men and women entering the food and ag workforce are especially meaningful to Davis, he said.

“We’ve got to have good, capable, qualified people (in these fields), and that’s through education,” he said.

Truly exemplifying the philosophy of “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps,” Davis was selected as a 2016 Horatio Alger Award winner. The prestigious award honors leaders who have faced adversity and yet succeeded, and who are committed to philanthropy and higher education.

The following year Davis was the keynote speaker for the COB’s Richard Schmitz Food Entrepreneurship Series, which he said was especially meaningful. With many of his family members sitting in the front row, Davis’ down-to-earth nature engaged the crowd as he talked about the early days of driving a milk truck at his father’s creamery and how they built such successful family businesses together in the decades that followed.

From left to right, Mitch Davis, Dean Brenda Flannery, Minnesota State Mankato President Edward Inch, Lee Allex, and Mark Davis

Young Entrepreneur

Business alum Wes Otto is the owner of several businesses before even reaching his 30s.

Passionate about business. Involved in his community. Dedicated to giving back. Wes Otto, a College of Business alum and Mankato entrepreneur, embodies all of these qualities.

The word “passion” is especially apt. He loves his work and his community, and it shows in numerous ways. At the University, he’s been a speaker for the Marketing and Entrepreneur Club, he’s worked with students in the Integrated Business Experience (IBE) class, and he’s invited students to tour his business, Otto Media Group (OMG).

He’s also on the board for Greater Mankato Growth (GMG) and Hospitality Minnesota, and he’s served on the Public Safety Advisory Committee for the City of Mankato, the Community Impact Board for Greater Mankato Area United Way, and on committees for Loyola Catholic School, among others.

And he manages to do all of this while owning and building several businesses before even hitting the ripe old age of 30. The business most commonly known

to Mankatoans both past and present is undoubtedly Zanz Mexican Restaurant –the home of the famous cheese chilito, for which Otto is constantly begged for the recipe.

“Even at 10, 11 and 12 years old I was doing small jobs around the restaurant,” said Otto, who studied marketing in the College of Business until 2016 when his parents had serious health issues, and he took over operations to protect the livelihood of the family business. “My parents met and got married because of that business in the 1980s when it was Zantigos. I literally wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for that business.”

These days, Otto’s sister, Molly Otto, runs Zanz, which frees up Otto for his two other ventures.

In January 2016, he began OMG with his business partner Mike Sargent (who later left to pursue other ventures). They started by focusing on managing social media channels for businesses, but demand for other services widened their scope.

“We said, ‘Let’s help businesses do a better job of envisioning what they could be in the future and then executing that from a marketing standpoint,” Otto said. “Now we’ve got a really cool creative shop on North Riverfront and a dozen talented contractors on the agency side specializing in websites, logos, video production and photography.”

In January, Otto bought Connect Business Magazine. He said he’s grateful that the contractors who handle all the operations, from editing to design, have stayed on through the transition.

“The magazine fits perfectly with what we do with (Otto Media Group), and both Zanz and OMG are community focused like Connect,” Otto said. “We envision taking that existing team, expanding it and trying to model something more like a business journal. But we want to continue to tell really great community-focused business success stories.”

Art by Laura Sonnek

Indigenous Entrepreneur

Megan Schnitker is the owner of Lakota Made, founder of the Mahkato Revitalization Project, and a frequent contributor to American Indian events at Minnesota State Mankato.

Megan Schnitker can be found every year at American Indian Night at Minnesota State Mankato, an event that celebrates both traditional and contemporary American Indian values and culture. An Indigenous entrepreneur herself, she’s been a panelist, helped coordinate presenters and events behind the scenes, and had a booth for her business, Lakota Made of Mankato.

“I like helping promote the American Indian programs and events. It helps bring the community and students together,” said Schnitker, who is also the founder and executive director of the Mahkato Revitalization Project, a nonprofit that promotes indigenous arts, culture and education. Schnitker’s business in Old Town hosts American Indian interns and volunteers from the University who get the experience of learning plant medicine from

an Indigenous herbalist and longtime teacher of Dakota and Lakota culture. Schnitker studied plant medicine under family members while growing up in Ta Sanpi Oyanke (Milks Camp) of the Sicangu Oyate in South Dakota, as well as under Lakota elders as an adult.

The results of her lifelong learning can be seen on the tables and shelves of Lakota Made, which sells salves, tinctures and teas made from locally harvested plants from area fields. She has worked with farmers and the Department of Natural Resources to identify areas to harvest. She’s the first Lakota woman to own a store in Old Town.

Mankato Land Acknowledgment:

We acknowledge that we live and thrive in Mahkato (mah-KAH-toh), the traditional homeland of the Dakota (dah-KO-tah) Nation and other Indigenous Peoples.

holds significance as a cultural and spiritual place for the Dakota Peoples and connects to their vibrant cultures, traditions and ways of life.

we are

Megan Schnitker

The land

on

Updates Alumi Business

United Prairie Bank

COB alum takes leadership position at United Prairie Bank, reflects on family history and future vision

Melanie VanRoekel, a 1995 Accounting graduate, was named board chair of United Prairie Bank in 2021, taking over the position from Stuart J. Sneer, a 1985 Finance major, upon his retirement. VanRoekel has served on the board since 2019.

Sneer led the board starting in 2006, taking over for his father and company founder James G. Sneer who began the bank in 1973. VanRoekel is the first non-family member to take the leadership position, and Sneer said those family values and community focus are at the core of their business.

“When interviewing VanRoekel for United Prairie’s board chair position, it was important that I knew she understood the particular nuances of the role. Having worked for two other large companies in a somewhat similar role, it became very evident she does understand this unique dynamic very well,” Sneer said.

Vetter Stone

member and COB alum as president.

Ben Kaus, a 2006 institutional finance graduate, was named president of Vetter Stone Company and subsidiary Alabama Stone Company in 2020. Kaus has been with the company since 2014.

“Using her education, past career experience and ability to lead people has proven to be very effective. Moving the needle of forward progress isn’t always easy, and yet she has.”

“I love working with their family. We have the third generation of Sneers coming through the bank now,” VanRoekel said. “I enjoy helping these families see how they can maximize their returns and plans for the future.”

Sneer said VanRoekel’s leadership style is defined with “professionalism, diplomacy and poise.”

“Her forward thinking is carefully thought out and clearly delivered,” he said. “Her emphasis on a goal-oriented teamwork style of leading has proven to be quite robust. As the owner I feel privileged to have Melanie in the chair’s role leading United Prairie into the future.”

Sneer has remained on the board since VanRoekel took over as chair. Scott Bradley is president/CEO of United Prairie Bank (the title sponsor of Integrated Business Experience), having joined the bank in 1991.

Kaus is just the fourth president in the company’s history and the first non-family officer and leader since it was founded in 1954. Previous leadership has been within the Vetter family: Paul J. Vetter Sr., Howard Vetter, and Ron Vetter. Ron Vetter has remained in his role as CEO and took on the role of chairman of the board.

“It was definitely unique for us. It had been 64 years with only having family members leading the company, and it took a lot of thought and care in the transition,” Ron Vetter said. “But it’s been a really good change for the company and proves you don’t have to have a certain last name to get to the top position in the company.”

Vetter Stone appoints first non-family

Away From Far

COB alum George Massad is the owner of Massad Real Estate and storage facilities.

Two adjectives that come to mind when describing Massad’s personality are observational and extremely hard-working, both of which were evident in his post-secondary academic journey that began at age 18 in 2007.

Just like the other students, he was acclimating to college life, a journey that would lead him through a business administration degree in the College of Business. But he was doing it with the added challenge of learning English.

“I spoke a little bit of English, but I wasn’t as proficient in it. During college I kind of caught onto it,” Massad said. “TV helped tremendously, as well as talking to other students and trying to figure out their accents.”

Massad had grown up in Lebanon and came to Mankato to attend college. He earned his associate’s degree from Bethany Lutheran College before transferring to Minnesota State Mankato.

Massad wasn’t sure what he would do with his business degree. He wanted to open a bar or night club for a while, but in the meantime, he worked at his family’s restaurants, Olives and Massad’s. (John

Paul J. Vetter Sr. and his four sons had a simple philosophy when founding the company in 1954: to provide customers with a quality product and to ensure superior customer service. Today, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren are helping to carry on his legacy. Kaus is, too.

Ron Vetter said it was very important that the person leading the company carry on

and Najwa Massad were the owners, and Najwa and George’s dad are first cousins.)

Massad was Olives’ manager in 2015 when he and his colleague Bruce Tanhoff made their first big independent business move. They bought Courtland Mini Max Storage in Courtland, Minn., (which they later sold) and shortly after bought My Mankato Storage in Mankato (which they still own).

“I wanted to buy some real estate, and a commercial realtor advised us that storage units are a safe investment and recession proof,” said Massad, who also now owns A-1 Storage of Mankato with Tanhoff.

Massad decided to get his real estate license and leave Olives to form the George Massad Team under True Real Estate in Mankato in 2018. Tanhoff got his license as well and joined the business, and they did residential and commercial real estate and gained experience while building their brand.

“At that point we had been in business a couple of years with the storage and rental properties, and I saw that we had a good thing going. It was a no-brainer,” Tanhoff said about leaving to join Massad. “We work well together and complement each

the family values that have always been a part of Vetter Stone.

“That was a critical piece, and he’s doing absolutely amazing,” he said.

Kaus is committed to honoring the company’s legacy as he looks to the future.

other’s personalities. We both balance each other by enhancing our strengths and minimizing our weaknesses.”

A couple of years later, the team left True to start their own company, Massad Real Estate. Massad said while some agents get a bad reputation by being “transactional” and focusing on rushing to the sale, Massad’s philosophy is the opposite, focusing on being “relational” and serving the community. They hold a coat drive every year and are big supporters of Greater Mankato Area United Way.

“We’re there to serve our clients and put their needs first, no matter what, and to make sure they reach their goals,” Massad said. “We’re their advisors. We want to make sure they are satisfied at the end of the day.”

Tanhoff said Massad is dedicated to his clients.

“He’s fiercely loyal,” Tanhoff said. “In a business setting, he’s always working toward gaining your trust and vice versa.”

“My vision for the company is to continue strong growth focused on our attention to quality, efficiencies and building strong relationships with our customers,” Kaus said.

Real estate business owner came to college from Lebanon still learning the language

Maverick Community Leaders

John Kind ’79, Accounting major CEO of Mankato Family YMCA

The College of Business accounting department has been a big part of the lives of both Clint Kind and his son, John Kind, in more ways than one. Clint served as department chair for 27 years and on the faculty for 30 years, and John earned his accounting degree from the program in 1979 during his father’s tenure.

“But I never took a class from him,” John said. “I always used my dad as an excuse and told my professors that my dad made me clean the garage, which is why I couldn’t get my homework done.”

president, with 10 company presidents reporting to him.

“One of the things that Glen really stressed was we have to give back to the community,” said John, referring to owner and chairman Glen Taylor.

With Taylor’s support, John served on several community boards, including the Greater Mankato Area United Way and the YMCA.

“When the job came open at the Y, I just really felt that was the place I could make a difference,” said John, who was hired as the CEO of the YMCA 14 years ago and will retire this summer. “I had Glen Taylor as a reference, and he was then and is now the biggest financial supporter of the YMCA. I owe a lot of the success I’ve had to Glen.”

John is proud of many accomplishments during his tenure, including the Chesley Skate Park project; the $3 million renovation of the locker rooms; new programming, such as the Y School Based Mentoring program and STRIDE running program for boys; and coming through the COVID-19 pandemic financially sound.

and it’s a fitting tribute to a man who was a mentor to so many students, including Kirsten Rosacker, Ph.D., associate professor of accounting.

Dr. Rosacker was a first-generation college student when she came to Minnesota State Mankato as a transfer student in 1987, and Clint gave her advice on doing some exploration of careers and different classes before deciding on a major.

“He listened, and he provided gentle, kind advice that was also very good advice, and it stuck with me,” said Dr. Rosacker, who has done her best to emulate Clint’s mentoring style with her own students.

The Clinton Kind Family Accounting Scholarship Endowment

After graduation, John worked at Coopers and Lybrand in Minneapolis before switching career paths to teach accounting at vocational-technical schools in Faribault and North Mankato. Most of his career (23 years) was spent at Taylor Corporation, where he worked his way up from assistant controller to corporate vice

“I’m just really proud of how we’ve served the community,” said John, who also has served various roles on the Minnesota State Mankato Foundation Board and the COB Advisory Board.

The Clinton Kind Family Accounting Scholarship Endowment is another way John and his four brothers have given back to the community and the department their father loved. The Kind brothers established the endowment to offer scholarships to accounting students,

In late 2004, the five sons of Clinton and Joan Kind – Arn, Chuck, Dan, John, and Steve – came together to fund an endowment in their father’s name over a five-year period. The goal was $50,000, enabling the College of Business (COB) to award accounting scholarships.

Clint Kind was a professor of accounting at Minnesota State University, Mankato from 1963 until his retirement in 1995. He served as the chair of the accounting department from 1971-1994.

John will retire from the Mankato YMCA this summer.

Jessica Beyer ’04, ’08 Business Management

and MBA

President & CEO of Greater Mankato Growth, Inc.

By the very nature of her job, Jessica Beyer is one of the most connected community leaders in the region – connected to businesses, community organizations and government bodies.

She can be found in board rooms, at ribbon cuttings, at public meetings and at community events furthering the great work of Greater Mankato Growth, Inc. (GMG), which aims to support and promote economic growth and vitality as a regional chamber of commerce and economic development organization.

Collectively, Beyer leads the integrated work of GMG, Visit Mankato, City Center Partnership, and GreenSeam. As president and CEO, she multi-tasks daily on initiatives ranging from business growth and development, to regional livability, to advocacy of the marketplace.

“I think partnerships are the key to the future of our organization,” Beyer said. “I’m really excited about the future of Greater Mankato Growth, but also about the future of our community and region.”

The variety of GMG’s work is a big part of what she enjoys most. For example, one of many GMG programs is Greater Manka-

to Young Professionals, which connects 21- to 40-year-olds through community networking and professional development opportunities. Brenda Flannery, dean of the College of Business, was excited to work with the young people in the Young Professionals group this year. She was a mentor and hosted several groups in the University dining hall for 90-minute lunches in the fall.

“That’s what’s exciting about the role. I get to be out in our incredible community. I get to work with a number of organizations and support businesses. And I get to work with such talented and amazing people,” Beyer said.

Beyer was a 2004 graduate with a double major in mass communications and business management and earned her MBA with an emphasis in organizational leadership in 2008, both from Minnesota State Mankato.

Before coming to GMG in 2019, Beyer worked for various companies in the private sector, including Coughlan Companies (now Capstone), in addition to spending more than a decade in county government at Blue Earth County and most recently as Waseca County Administrator.

Attending Minnesota State Mankato was “the best decision ever,” she said, and she’s enjoyed staying connected to her alma mater through her work, whether that be mentoring COB students or representing

the community in participating in the University’s Destination 2030 planning.

Dr. Flannery, who had Beyer as both an undergraduate and graduate student, said Beyer’s role may even be more challenging than heading up a major company because instead of having one business’ best interests to consider, she has numerous to juggle at once.

“She has an extraordinary number of stakeholders to consider,” Dr. Flannery said. “She embraces that role with so much grace. And, also, just think about how quickly the community has been growing. To have the relationships she has across the community and with her own board, it’s a more challenging role than, I think, being the CEO of your own company.”

In 2021 Greater Mankato Growth (GMG) hosted an MBA David C. Olson scholarship recipient, Qamr Khanam. The College of Business (COB) partners with Olson’s family, friends, business associates and the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce to offer an annual scholarship to an MBA student with an interest in business, community and public affairs leadership. The award includes an internship with the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, a local

Minnesota Chamber, or the national Office of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Marilyn Fox, Ph.D., said Khanam’s work focused on researching and surveying area businesses related to workforce challenges and opportunities, including a wages and benefits analysis in the manufacturing sector.

“Qamr made significant accomplishments considering the vast portion of the work

was done remotely due to the pandemic,” Dr. Fox said, adding that the scholarship allows for a firsthand look at the critical role that chambers play in bringing business perspective to public policy. “The intern also has the opportunity to form connections that will help them wherever they go. This includes meeting the governor of the state of Minnesota and attending various chamber events.”

GMG hosted David C. Olson scholarship recipient

College of Business Food & Ag

President and owner of Maud Borup, Christine Lantinen ’98 headlined the annual Richard Schmitz Food Entrepreneurship lecture series

Christine Lantinen grew up in Le Center, Minn., which has a population of about 2,500 people. She’s a U.S. Army veteran, having served 10 years as a reservist, even while she was a marketing and public relations double major at Minnesota State Mankato.

When Lantinen got her first big promotion with Target in her 20s – a promotion that would take her overseas working with major corporations – she remembers not even having a passport or a credit card with more than a $500 limit.

She’s also a fifth-generation farmer’s daughter, a wife of 14 years to Randy, and a mother of two middle-schoolers.

How are all of these little tidbits relevant to her being the 2023 featured speaker of the Richard Schmitz Food Entrepreneurship Lecture Series? Because many students in the College of Business have similar backgrounds, and that makes it easier for them to envision experiencing the same success that she has now: as the president and owner of Maud Borup, a wholesale manufacturer specializing in gourmet candy, confections and snacks that is on track to surpass $50 million in sales this year.

“We’ll be at $100 million in a couple of years,” she said.

The path to candy land

After graduation from Minnesota State Mankato, Lantinen worked as a Target Sourcing Services account manager in Minneapolis for two years before moving on to a food gift company in the Twin

Cities as a sales and marketing director for four years.

In 2005, the opportunity to purchase Maud Borup came about. The owners were a chocolate supplier she knew from the past.

“I loved the story of Maud. It has such a rich history. I loved that a woman started the company in 1907 in St. Paul. There was all this legacy I wanted to hold onto and preserve and continue,” Lantinen said. “I met the owner for coffee on a Saturday, and I saw an opportunity to bring higher-end chocolate and confections into the seasonal space, which was a growing area in stores. I walked away with a handshake agreement to purchase the company that Saturday, and on Monday I was contacting buyers that I was going out on my own.”

Lantinen took all of the sales, sourcing and marketing knowledge she’d learned over the years, as well as the numerous contacts she had made in the industry, and applied it to her new venture. She took a company that had $100,000 in revenue and achieved $2.5 million in sales that first year by shifting the focus to wholesale and selling products to Whole Foods, Sam’s Club and Target, among other retailers and brands.

“I learned a lot about myself in that first year of business. I heard ‘No’ a lot being a

young female out asking banks for close to a million dollars with no business plan,” said Lantinen, who only got the loan she needed to fill her orders after a friend of the family put up land as collateral.

But Lantinen stuck to her plan to keep Maud Borup privately owned and to trust that the business relationships and commitments from customers that she had would prove fruitful.

It worked. On average the company has experienced 30% growth each year since 2005. What began with two staff – Lantinen and Karen Edwards, chief communications officer, in the basement and garage has grown to 350 employees, which includes Lantinen's husband and mom, across three facilities. Their factories in Le Center (opened first in 2013 to honor her hometown roots), Plymouth, Minn., and Delafield, Wis., manufacture chocolate-enrobed and molded items, cotton candy and soft candies.

“With our facility in Le Center, we’ve done three additions on it, and we still own six acres of land to continue doing expansions,” Lantinen said.

Challenges and victories

As with any company, there are challenges. Maud Borup struggles to hire the staff it needs to operate at full capacity. Lantinen purchased the facilities in Delafield and Plymouth to break into new markets with fresh employee pools to draw from. They’ve also introduced automated production processes to help address the worker shortage.

The company is also continuously working on the important goals of maintaining a diverse and inclusive workforce and achieving zero percent landfill waste.

“About 80% of our workforce is made up of underrepresented groups,” Edwards said. “The majority of our employees are women, with many holding management positions.”

Lantinen is proud the company achieved B Corp certification, which evaluates a company’s social and environmental performance. Only 27 companies in Minnesota and 5,000 companies in the world are B Corp certified.

Lantinen’s awards over the years are numerous and include: 2019 Minnesota Small Business Person of the Year, Small Business Administration; 2019 and 2022 Fast 50 Companies, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal; 2021 Dream Big Small Business of the Year Award Finalist, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; 2022

Entrepreneur of The Year Heartland, Ernst & Young; and 2022 ACG Minnesota Bold Award, Association for Corporate Growth.

Lantinen also enjoys giving back and working with students. She and Edwards partnered with Shane Bowyer, Ed.D., on his entrepreneur class and worked with students on “The Great Candy Challenge.” They identified the “next big candy” and worked through ideas for design, produc tion, packaging and market strategies.

With 150 candies that Maud Borup brought to market itself this year, one might think it would be hard for Lantinen to choose a favorite sweet treat. But that answer is an easy one.

“I like dark chocolate the best,” she said.

College of Business Food & Ag

Richard Schmitz ’65, namesake of the annual entrepreneurship lecture series, has a rich history in food retail.

According to Richard Schmitz himself, Christine Lantinen epitomizes the purpose of the Richard Schmitz Executive Lecture series – to provide real-world examples of entrepreneurial thinking in the food and agricultural industries.

To be successful, students can’t all pursue the same path, Schmitz said. They have to create a path that works for their individual talents and interests. That’s what he hopes students take away from the annual lectureship.

“I hope they can gain the ability to think for themselves and get into a business that

suits them and drives them,” said Schmitz, a 1965 accounting and business major. Schmitz himself has spoken about his career and shared food-retailing insights over the years as part of the series, which was endowed and created by Schmitz and his wife, Mary. A few years ago the lecture became focused on food entrepreneurship, which celebrates the legacy of food and agricultural leadership demonstrated across Southern Minnesota.

Schmitz’s career in food retail began when his wife’s uncle, who owned a grocery store, took him to a buyer’s event in Minneapolis, Schmitz networked

with people in the industry. The grocery business seemed fast-paced and customer-centric, which Schmitz liked. So, when the opportunity came up to buy a Red Owl grocery store in Olivia in 1973, he jumped on it.

“It’s a very active business,” said Schmitz, who lives in Woodbury, Minn., and Bonita Springs, Fla. “I just liked the interaction with the people. The great majority of the people were fun to be with, and I’ve still got lasting friendships with people I’ve met over those years.”

Left to right: Richard Schmitz with daughter and son-in-law, Pam and David Olson.

Schmitz bought and ran half a dozen other stores over the years in Duluth, Minn., Hudson, Wis., and Wausau, Wis., before retiring in 2003. In the meantime, he’d made a name for himself in the industry, being recognized as Business of the Year in Hudson, Wis., in 1992; serving as chairman of the Wisconsin Grocers Association; and serving as the president of the Chamber of Commerce in Olivia.

“We really focused on taking care of the customers. We provided a drive-up service for their groceries. We were friendly with people. We got to know people. We put in hard work, day in and day out,” Schmitz said. “I always wanted my employees to know you don’t have to satisfy me as an owner. You have to satisfy the customer. They’re the driving force in keeping our business alive.”

Schmitz was named a Distinguished Alumni of Minnesota State Mankato with the Harold J. Fitterer Service Award in 2002. Giving back to his alma mater has always been a priority for Schmitz, he said, including founding The Richard R. and Mary L. Schmitz Endowment for Opportunities in Food Entrepreneurship in 1999. The endowment’s purpose is to provide scholarships and support for the annual lecture series.

Schmitz has been impressed with many of the speakers over the years from food processing, retailing, wholesaling and agricultural industries.

“I’m glad the endowment creates money to make that happen every year,” he said.

We really focused on taking care of the customers.... We put in hard work, day in and day out

Photos of Richard in Red Owl

Richard Schmitz Food Entrepreneurship Event featuring Christine Lantinen ‘98

BY AMANDA DYSLIN

Balance was one of the most prominent themes during the 2023 Richard Schmitz Food Entrepreneurship Series flagship event, the fireside chat featuring the owners of Maud Borup seasonal and everyday sweets, snacks and food gifts.

Christine Lantinen and her husband, Randy, were on the stage of Ostrander Auditorium being interviewed by Brenda Flannery, Ph.D., dean of the College of Business, with their two children, Miia and Bishop, in the front row, as well as Richard Schmitz himself.

Questions from Dean Flannery and the audience illuminated the hard work it takes to strike the delicate balance of running a fast-growing, successful family-run business: the balance of family time and work time, the balance of not growing too fast too soon, the balance of quality control and sustainability vs. profitability within the company.

There was a lot of ground to cover in a company that skyrocketed from $100,000 in revenue to one that’s on track to surpass $50 million in sales this year.

It was good for students – and frankly, adults – to hear that even very successful entrepreneurs don’t have all the answers.

“Your work does spill into home,” Christine said.

Dr. Flannery asked them why they didn’t just reach a point where enough growth was enough? Weren’t they afraid to lose the “family feel” at a certain point?

Quoting his wife, Randy said, “You’ve got to push to grow all the time. If you stagnate it can be the kiss of death for a company.”

Similarly, they talked about growing the company to sell it, which many businesses do. But that was not the path for them.

“There are so many amazing family-owned businesses in the candy world, and we’ve found our sweet spot,” Christine said.

When the audience was invited to ask questions, a student asked what would be the one piece of advice they would give

Outside Ostrander Auditorium Maud Borup candies were being given out to attendees of the Richard Schmitz Food Entrepreneurship Series event, including 1-pound gummy bunnies, enormous gummy game controllers, and hot cocoa bombs that the company has trademarked.

Three teams of students were also giving away samples of chocolates, the flavors of which they developed themselves at a Maud Borup facility. They were competing against one another for the coveted People’s Choice Award, and while all the flavors were delicious, the winning flavor announced was from the DIY Sugar High team: strawberry and rose.

Dr. Shane Bowyer and student Christopher Montgomery

Left to right: Randy and Christine Lantinen and Dean Flannery

You’ve got to work hard to get what you want out of life

- CHRISTINE LANTINEN

students entering the work force today.

Randy said Maud Borup is looking for employees with fortitude, grit and the

“Let good managers (or a mentor) guide

“You’ve got to work hard to get what you want out of life,” Christine added.

Karen Edwards, Maud Borup chief communications and sustainability director, said the spring event in Ostrander was the culmination of an eight-month partnership between the company and COB that both have enjoyed very much. It all started when the idea was struck between Christine and Dr. Flannery.

“When two people with creativity and passion get together, look out,” said Dr. Shane Bowyer, emcee of the event.

“This has been amazing,” Dr. Flannery said. “I have to thank our friend, Dick Schmitz, for sponsoring this event for over 20

At the open house in the Johnson Alumni Room that began the day’s Richard Schmitz Food Entrepreneurship Series events, Maud Borup staff, coined the “candy crew,” were scattered throughout the room to meet with College of Business students and answer any and all questions they might have, ranging from appropriate work attire and a typical day on the job to diversity in the workplace.

A student asked Nathan Walker, director of sales, if his job skills always came easy to him.

“No. I have just always worked in the right room with the right people,” he said, adding that in high school he was an introvert and his confidence grew in his career over time.

At the door greeting guests, Marketing and Events Team students Olivia Anderson, Josie Sandford, and Emilee Thomas said planning the day’s activities had been challenging, but also rewarding to gain real-world event-planning experience. Plus, the Richard Schmitz event is always the most fun of the year, so they were excited to participate.

“It’s my favorite event,” Sandford said. “It’s the best one.”

A few minutes later, Schmitz walked in and shook the hands of a few students with a smile on his face.

“It’s great to see them,” he said. “Happy to be here.”

Entrepreneur and Innovation student Christopher Montgomery

Project winners

DeanBrendaFlannery

Dean

Brenda Flannery: A Legacy of Love and Innovation in the College of Business

BY SARAH ASP OLSON

When you’ve dedicated 12 years of your life to a job — 27 years to an institution — you can’t help but think about your legacy. And while anyone could look at Brenda Flannery’s list of accomplishments over the course of her decade-plus career as dean of the College of Business and see a legacy of growth, innovation and connection, she looks at her legacy as something less tangible, though no less real.

“My legacy? Maybe it's just that I really loved the college,” she says. “I just love this place.”

This summer, Flannery will step away from her role as Dean of the College of Business, but she has no plans to leave. Flannery will rejoin the faculty as a professor of management. In truth, it’s not so much a return as a continuation. It was Flannery’s commitment to her discipline that gave her the push to go into leadership.

“When I started as an administrator, I remember thinking, ‘okay, my discipline is management, leadership, entrepreneurship, this role will allow me to practice and see how theories work in the field.’ I used it all the time,” she says. “The last 15 years as an administrator have been an opportunity for me to test the theories in the field.”

It’s an unusual move, she admits, leaving an upper administrative role after so many years and staying put. But when it came down to it, she just wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the place where her kids grew up — where she grew up — or to what she’s built here.

“This place — the University, Mankato, our home — for both me and my husband it feels like a part of us.”

So, instead of saying goodbye, the College and the community get to keep Flannery’s energy, innovative spirit and love for her work. And the College will continue to reap the benefits of her time as dean as the programs and processes she’s put in place live on.

Here, we’ll look back at all Flannery has accomplished (though she’s quick to point out everything she has done has been a true team effort) and look forward to the next chapter in Flannery’s life in this place.

A Decade of Success

In 2011, Flannery made history when she was hired as the first female dean of the College of Business after a national search. Over the years, she has worked tirelessly with her team to make a lasting impact on the College.

2011 2012

Started as first female dean of College of Business after national search

“Dean Flannery is a visionary and an entrepreneurial spirit,” says Marilyn Fox, director of the MBA and AACSB and Flannery’s longtime friend and colleague. “She has high standards yet believes in transparency, inclusion, sharing information, and collaboration.”

From launching new programs like the Master of Accounting degree (MAcc) and Entrepreneurship and Innovation minor to securing AACSB accreditation and overseeing Morris Hall’s renovation, Flannery has been at the helm of numerous transformations. Her dedication to growth and innovation has fostered an environment that encourages faculty and students to strive for excellence.

12 NEW PROGRAMS IN TWELVE YEARS Masters (MAcc)

• Masters of Accounting

• Integrated Business Experience Pilot (12 students)

• MRKT 494: Fair Trade Study Abroad in Belize

• Launched College of Business In Review magazine

• Added first COB IT Director

• Launched Richard Schmitz Food Entrepreneurship Lecture Series

3

Graduate Certificates

UNDERGRAD CERTIFICATES

1 6 2 NEW High impact signature courses

Undergraduate Degrees (BBA and Agribusiness & Food Innovation)

2013

• Actuarial Science minor (joint with Mathematics and Statistics)

• Added first COB Communications and Marketing Director

MINORS

100% ONLINE DEGREES

• AACSB Accreditation Visit

• Minnesota State IBE Award

• Glen Taylor as the Morgan Thomas Executive Lecture

• Renovated Morris Hall with Finance Lab (MH208) and Student Commons Areas

COB team at the Richard Schmitz Event in 2023

30 / COLLEGE OF BUSINESS IN REVIEW

A Timeline of Innovation

2012

• United Prairie Bank Integrated Business Experience Launches with 12 students.

• Launched Richard Schmitz Food Entrepreneurship Lecture Series

2014

• Greater Mankato Growth Business Education Partnership Award (with Taylor Corporation)

2015

• Launched Big Ideas Challenge with gift from alumni Craig and Pat Lloyd

• Launched COB Research Day

2016

• Launched David Olson MBA Scholarship and Internship Program

2017

• Launched the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in renovated space in Hubbard Building

2018

• Glen A Taylor Foundation Bold Futures Camp

• Launched Curt and Julie Stangler Internship Initiative with a $1 million gift

2019

• Henze Ag Innovators Program and Gift

2020

• Pandemic initiatives to pivot quickly to online learning, including a fully online Big Ideas Challenge and IBE.

2021

• Agribusiness and Food Innovation Program

2022

• Undergraduate Integrated Business Experience Certificate

• Greater Mankato Growth Brian Fazio Business Education Partnership Award (with United Prairie Bank)

• Launched Tenorio Research Lecture Gift and Series

Innovating for the Future

• Entrepreneurship and Innovation Minor

• Greater Mankato Growth Business Education Partnership Award (with Taylor Corporation)

• Added first COB Internship and Partnership Coordinator

Flannery has always pushed for innovation. New opportunities like the United Prairie Bank Integrated Business Experience (IBE), the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Henze Ag Innovators program have provided unique opportunities for students to engage with the business world in Mankato and beyond.

“A lot of the role of the dean is to be scanning the environment,” says Flannery. “We’ve done a lot of program innovation based on what we’re seeing in the business world.”

For example, when AACSB accreditation standards changed, Flannery embraced diversifying the faculty by hiring professors with years of industry experience, even if they held master’s degrees rather than a traditional Ph.D. Scanning the industry landscape has also led to innovations like the IBE, which has become the College’s signature program; the Master of Accounting degree; and the Big Ideas Challenge, which has launched dozens of student-led startups.

“We’re constantly rethinking our curriculum to align with our vision of being the clear business school choice for real-world learning,” she says.

Dean Flannery with the GMG Young Professionals group

President Inch, Dean Flannery and various COB faculty at the spring 2023 commencement ceremony

• Graduate Tax Certificate

• Launched BUS397 Integrated Business Experience Practicum

• Launched BUS295 Professional Preparation for Business Careers

• Launched Big Ideas Challenge (gift from Craig and Pat Lloyd)

• Launched COB Research Day

• First staff member (Linda Meidl) to receive MnSCU Board of Trustee Professional Excellence Award.

• Development of 2015-2020 College of

Leading by Example

Flannery is quick to point out that nothing happens without the support of a team of talented and dedicated colleagues. Throughout her tenure as dean, she’s been committed to collaboration. Accordingly, she’s created a culture within the College of Business where all voices — students, faculty and staff — are heard and valued.

“Dean Flannery encourage[s] faculty to follow their interests and push themselves,” says professor of business law, Wade Davis. “She’s a tireless advocate of the College’s students, programs and faculty.”

“Dean Flannery is a beacon of positivity, support, and encouragement for the students of the College of Business,” says finance student Aidan Ryan. “She listens to student concerns, provides endless support and guidance, and has curated a wonderful and welcoming atmosphere at the College of Business. As students, we will always be eternally grateful for everything she has done in her tenure.”

Growing the Ranks

Flannery oversaw hiring of 27 new probationary faculty and 13 new staff, including the College’s first Communications and Marketing Director.

“Through her leadership, Dean Flannery was creative in establishing a work environment in which many of the traditional roles in the COB were transformed into new positions that allowed for more collaboration and new leadership roles within the faculty and staff,” says Dr. Shane Bowyer, director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the AgriBusiness & Food Innovation Program.

Operational Excellence

In 2019, Flannery implemented an Administrative Assistant Team Specialist model within the College. Instead of administrative assistants performing general duties for a single department, Flannery and team rewrote job descriptions, redefining administrative roles as specialists within teams. This move enhanced cross-training opportunities and facilitated better staff relationships, ultimately elevating the overall student experience.

• Launched David Olson MBA Scholarship and Internship Program

• Launched Second Year Business Learning Community

• Renovated Morris Hall adding new COB Student Center and McCracken Conference Room

• Undergraduate Business Analytics Certificate

• Launch of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in renovated space in Hubbard Building

• Supplemental Instructor Program Launch in Accounting 200

• Beta Alpha Psi Nu Chi chapter installation

• First COB faculty member (Dr. Byron Pike) to be a recipient of the Douglas R. Moore Faculty Research Award.

Dean's List Reception

COB staff members celebrate homecoming in 2013

• 100% Online Bachelor of Business Administration

• Agribusiness and Food Innovation Minor

• MGMT 360 AgriBusiness in the Modern Economy course

• Allen Lenzmeier Endowed Accounting Chair Gift ($1 million gift)

• University’s Sesquicentennial Celebration

• AACSB Accreditation Visit

• Glen A Taylor Foundation Bold Futures Camp

• Curt and Julie Stangler Internship Initiative ($1 million gift)

• $135,585 Minnesota State Multi-Campus Grant

Community-Wide Collaboration

Flannery’s time as dean has also been marked by her ability to forge strong partnerships with organizations and businesses in the community — a boon for the College and its students. By collaborating with groups like Vetter Stone, United Prairie Bank, and Taylor Corporation, she has created valuable opportunities for students to learn from real-world experiences.

“Dean Flannery was always looking for ways for business leaders to mentor our students,” says Davis. “Based on her efforts, Ron Vetter, the CEO of Vetter Stone, graciously cooked four of our students dinner at his home. He continued to guide and advise those students as they moved toward graduation.”

Partnerships like these have not only enriched the college but also contributed to the growth and prosperity of the Mankato community as a whole.

“The college is going to miss a true modern-day pioneer in how education is looked upon, engaged in and delivered. I really mean that,” says United Prairie Bank President Stuart Sneer. “She has shown me her visionary and entrepreneurial side multiple times. Each time is something new, exciting and always with the thought of enhancing student education. She will stand out amongst the many other visionaries who’ve walked the bricks on that campus.”

At Home in Mankato

Flannery has served beyond the University campus on a number of regional boards, including GreenSeam, Mayo Clinic, the YWCA, and as one of the founding board members of the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota.

• COVID-19 pandemic

• Agribusiness and Food Innovation B.S.

• MBA 100% Online

• COVID-19 pandemic

• Graduate Business Leadership Certificate

Launched Accounting Abstract magazine

• Added National Association of Black Accountants student chapter

• MAcc 100% Online

• AGBZ 496 Internship (first program with required internship course)

• Launched Student Executive Team

Scholarship Banquet

The Next Chapter

As Flannery looks forward to her sabbatical and return to her faculty roles, she remains dedicated to the College of Business, the University, and the region. For her, it’s less about stepping away and more about stepping into what’s next: an interdisciplinary focus on education, innovation, and sustainability. What will that look like? She’s not sure just yet.

Undergraduate Integrated Business Experience Certificate

• Greater Mankato Growth Brian Fazio Business Education Partnership Award (with United Prairie Bank)

• Launched Tenorio Research Lecture Gift and Series

withstudents

“I’ve always tried to be someone who scans the environment and helps bring opportunities to the College,” she says. “I hope to be of use — to the college, the University, and the region — in whatever I do. In the big picture, I feel I owe it to myself to think freely for a bit about what it means to be entrepreneurial in this next chapter. My aspiration is to just keep innovating.” 2022 2023

• Undergraduate Professional Sales Certificate

• Undergraduate Accelerated Certificate in Accounting

• Graduate Certificate in Assurance

• Undergraduate Entrepreneurship & Innovation Certificate

• Undergraduate Business Law Certificate

• Development of 2023-2025 Strategic Plan

• AACSB Accreditation Visit

Dean Flannery

Dean Flannery and 2019 leadership team

My

legacy? Maybe it's just that I really loved the college...

Thank you to the Glen A. Taylor Foundation and Taylor Corporation CEO, Charlie Whitaker, for their generous support of the Student Executive Team for the 2022- 2023 academic year.

Business Students Thrive

BY AMANDA DYSLIN

Beemnet Gebremariam

Marketing and Management double major and international student extraordinaire

Beemnet Gebremariam, an international student from Ethiopia, has such a bright, engaging spirit that it inspired Kyle Ward, Ph.D., to do a pretty cool thing.

“When I found out where she was coming from and her background, it helped me get more involved as one of the campus advisors for the Ethiopian student organization, Tigray,” said Dr. Ward, professor and director of social studies.

That’s Gebremariam for you – so full of life, personality and fortitude that she inspires others. Dr. Ward saw this firsthand when Gebremariam was a student worker in the history department, serving as a temporary office manager.

The respect was mutual, she said. “I don’t have words to explain how much I respect him,” said Gebremariam, who has had one main goal during her time studying and working in Mankato: to take all that she learns and bring those lessons back to her home country of Ethiopia.

“I want to own my own company and offer different kind of opportunities for Ethiopians back home,” Gebremariam said. “Here in America, there are different opportunities and ideas, and I want to gather all those different ideas and bring them back to Ethiopia.”

Gebremariam is a sophomore double major in marketing and management. She chose Minnesota State Mankato because she has a cousin who attends the University and told her how welcoming the community is to international students. Gebremariam found that to be very true and successfully encouraged her brother, Tinsay Gebremariam, to leave Ethiopia to study here, too.

Gebremariam is a lead dispatcher in University Security, she’s involved with the Ethiopian Students Association, and she joined

the College of Business Student Executive Team (SET) to help international students like her.

“When I first came here to Minnesota State Mankato, I was having many difficulties because, as an international student, I didn’t know what was going on here on campus, or how to con nect with different faculty,” she said. “So, when I saw that there was a position on the SET team, I wanted to be part of it because I wanted to engage with students who had those same questions and be more involved in the College of Business.”

Gebremariam hopes to land an intern ship in marketing at a large company, and she’s keeping her options wide open on her field of choice. After graduation she hopes to work in marketing in the United States to gain as much knowledge as possible before moving back to Ethiopia to be an entrepreneur.

“I want to work here for some time and gain a lot of experience and take this knowledge to my home country and make a difference,” she said.

Andrew Kienholz ’22

Marketing graduate and role model for resiliency

Bright in spirit, confidant, approachable – this is how people describe Andrew Kienholz now, and that’s certainly how he presented himself at the podium delivering his commencement speech in December 2022.

Meeting him today, you’d never imagine he would have described himself the following way as he entered university life just a few years ago:

“I was lost, I was uncertain, but most importantly I was afraid to ask for help,” Kienholz wrote in his graduation speech in December 2022. “I convinced myself, based on my performance, that I was too dumb for college – that I must not be cut out for higher education. So, I joined the Army eager to find success somewhere else.”

Kienholz had received an academic warning due to what he described as poor performance. He had needed help and hadn’t asked for it, and the result was a somewhat meandering path through school. He attended Minnesota State Mankato for a year, which didn’t go well academically. That’s when he joined the Army National Guard and was deployed to Egypt for a year. Afterward, he went back to the University, and then he was deployed again to Africa his senior year.

“My path through college was definitely unique,” he said.

During the middle of that journey, however, Kienholz had managed to turn things around with his academic performance. About six months after he returned from his first tour, “on a cold day in December just before Christmas,” he attended a presentation by his platoon sergeant whom he described as one of the “scariest individuals that I’ve ever had the honor of knowing.” The talk changed Kienholz’s life.

“This champion of a man spoke to us on a topic that he entitled, ‘Mind Traps’: a mental state of entrapment where self-perception of our capabilities is skewed by past mistakes and failures. And he shared stories of his personal struggles with failure and selfdoubt, but he said, ‘Your failures don't define you! But what you learn from them, that does.’”

That lesson became a connective thread through the rest of his academic career and beyond. It’s OK to fall down, he told the commencement audience. Get back up and ask for help. And that’s what he did.

The faculty at Minnesota State Mankato were more than willing to offer guidance once he reached out for it. He became a mar-

keting major in the College of Business and got heavily involved in activities. He was a founding member of the College of Business Student Executive Team (SET) and became chairperson the second year. He was also in the Marketing Club, Entrepreneur Club and the Professional Selling Club, and he took his coursework seriously.

“I had a lot of help and a lot of support through my entire career in college, and SET gave me the opportunity to help other students,” said Kienholz, who began working as a payer relations manager at United Health Group in Minneapolis in February. “I really loved being part of the team. There’s a lot of value being involved in extracurricular activities. You get to practice what you’re learning and set yourself up for success.”

Shane Bowyer, Ed.D., had Kienholz in the United Prairie Bank Integrated Business Experience (IBE) class and the Henze Ag Innovators program, which is a select group of students who are interested in developing leadership skills and exploring food and agricultural careers. Bowyer witnessed firsthand Kienholz’s personal growth.

“In IBE, he came in a little quiet, a little unsure. But by the end of the semester he was starting to become a leader, and then in the next few years he really took off from there,” Dr. Bowyer said. “Then in Henze Ag Innovators later, he just blossomed and really became a leader across campus.”

Today, the young man Kienholz described himself as in the first part of his speech is unrecognizable.

“He’s one of those guys who’s so approachable. He’s always got that smile on his face,” Dr. Bowyer said. “He’s truly engaging. He listens, he’s very curious, and he asks a lot of questions – good questions – and that invites you in to engage with him even more.”

Andrew Yogei

Accounting major and soon-to-be J.P. Morgan markets analyst

Andrew Yogei, a senior majoring in accounting, knows exactly where he’ll be after graduation, and he’s pretty excited about it. He’ll be starting a full-time job at J.P. Morgan on Wall Street.

Well, they call it “Wall Street,” Yogei said, but really it’s Midtown Manhattan, and it’s a place he’s already familiar with. Last summer Yogei landed an extremely competitive internship with J.P. Morgan, a global leader in financial services.

“I thank God for the opportunity,” said Yogei, who was born in Liberia and grew up in Plymouth, Minn. “I took a shot in the dark. I threw in an application for the internship and said, ‘God can have it,’ and it worked out my way.”

The internship experience was invaluable, he said. He got firsthand experience helping with the financials of a merger between two hospital systems. He also had an up-close view of an extremely volatile time on the trading floor as the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates.

“Last summer was the craziest,” Yogei said with a laugh. “Volatili ty creates opportunity. The markets came alive.”

While a student at Minnesota State Mankato, Yogei played Mav erick football and recently won the Fred Statz Character Award, given to the player who demonstrates high character. He partic ipated in the College of Business Student Executive Team (SET) to do what he does best: network with as many students, faculty and business professionals as possible to absorb knowledge and build opportunities.

Steven Johnson, DBA, associate professor of accounting, first

encounters with Yogei, Dr. Johnson was struck by his personality. “I can't say enough good things about Andrew,” Dr. Johnson said. “Andrew is special in so many ways. Not only is he a great student, he's a great individual. He's an excellent listener, a superb communicator, caring, and has an infectious laugh and sense of humor.”

Yogei took a second class from Dr. Johnson in person and was a joy to have in the classroom, he said. “He's always engaged, respectful of other students, and asks great questions,” he added. Reflecting on his college career, Yogei said he enjoyed learning from so many different people from different walks of life.

“College is to help you think beyond what your normal thinking capacity is. I like to learn from a lot of different people. You can learn from everyone – from the person next to you – and you can add a piece of them to you,” said Yogei, who is also a mentor

While “Wall Street” is the current focus, the ultimate goal for Yogei will likely take him elsewhere. He wants to achieve senior-level management at a Fortune 500 company, and he wants to start his own agribusiness, taking after his maternal grandfa-

Dr. Johnson isn’t surprised at all that Yogei’s career is already off

“He will excel at whatever he chooses to do, and I'm excited to watch him continue to make such a positive impact on the world,” he said. “He deserves all the happiness and success he

Emilee Thomas

Marketing and Business Management double major and active volunteer

Simply put, Emilee Thomas is involved on campus and in the community – with volunteerism, with clubs, and with organizations.

The senior double major in marketing and business management hit the ground running her first year with her many endeavors by joining a sorority, Gamma Phi Beta, and she loved their mission of building strong girls. YWCA Mankato’s Girls on the Run program is the sorority’s philanthropy partner, so Thomas has been working with girls in grades 3-5 for most of her college career. The mission of the program is to inspire girls to be healthy and confident and integrates running and creative activities into the curriculum.

“It includes character and life lessons, and we go into activities with them that incorporate running, like tag or relay races,” said Thomas, of Waterford, Wis. “I really enjoy it. I’ve worked with the same group of girls the past six seasons.”

Last year Thomas was even named the International Coach of the Year for Girls on the Run.

Thomas has also held leadership roles in her sorority throughout college, including serving as philanthropy chair, public relations vice president, administration vice president, and personal and chapter enrichment chairwoman.

“I’ve learned a lot about communication and talking to people and being professional and networking,” she said.

Within the College of Business, Thomas has been involved in the Student Executive Team (SET) and also on the Marketing Team as a marketing and events coordinator. Through her marketing role she has helped run COB’s social media channels, oversee marketing campaigns, and coordinate the College’s main events.

“Emilee has been a leader on the COB marketing team for three years,” said Thomas’ supervisor, Jen Cucurullo, director of marketing and communication for the COB. “She took pride and ownership of the creative work she was doing and took each

Matt Long '10

Matt Long, a 2010 business management graduate, remembers well what it was like being a broke college student.

That’s why he has so much fun every year when he gets to give back in a pretty incredible way to members of the College of Business Student Executive Team (SET). Every fall, about a dozen team members

project one step further. She will be greatly missed after she graduates.”

Recently, Thomas joined a brand new club on campus, Letters of Love, a nonprofit organization that sends cards and letters to children in hospitals. And on top of everything else she manages to find time to work at the farmto-table restaurant Nolabelle Kitchen + Bar in Mankato, which is good experience for what she might want to do as a career one day.

“Before I even added marketing as my second major, what I wanted to do was open a small business – maybe a coffee shop or a boutique,” she said. “I’ve worked at several small busi nesses – a tanning salon and several small restaurants – and I like how you get close to your coworkers.”

Thomas said she plans to return to the Milwaukee area after graduation and hopes to work at a marketing firm to promote downtown small businesses. Once she gains a few years of ex perience, she said she’ll consider starting a business of her own.

Suited for the role COB Business Management alum and generous benefactor

come into his family’s store, J. Longs in Mankato, and he gives them business dress clothes so they “look the part” of business professionals.

Matt – who also talks to classes in the College of Business (COB) and has served as judge for the “Big Ideas Challenge” –really likes working with students and

staying connected to the COB. It’s just one more bonus of choosing to stay in his hometown and become part owner of the family business, J. Longs.

FACULTY LEADER: MARILYN FOX, Ph.D.

BY AMANDA DYSLIN

Marilyn Fox, Ph.D., has worn so many hats in the College of Business — professor, chair of the management department, interim dean (twice), director of the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program, and director of Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation. Unofficially, she’s been a mentor to hundreds of students and a friend and confidant to numerous colleagues.

It’s hard to imagine she’ll be taking off some of those hats for good in May when she retires.

“There’s no question I’ll miss the students the most. It’s the students who keep you going. It’s the students who give you the positive motivation to do your best,” she said. “Having said that, over the years, I have worked with the most amazing colleagues as well.”

A Springfield, Mo., native, Dr. Fox was initially hired as a fixed-term faculty in the management department in 1983 before leaving to earn her Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She returned to Minnesota State

We asked Dr. Fox about life as a Maverick all these years both, inside and outside the classroom.

What were your research interests?

Stress and health. For my dissertation, I did a major study in a medical center (St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Lincoln, Neb.) where we measured cortisol, the stressresponse hormone, through saliva. It was the first study ever done that way and was published in the Academy of Management Journal. I got famous real quick.

I kept that string going, and I’ve done a lot of work in that area, including research in leadership and personality differences.

Talk about a moment in a class that made you smile.

If you weren’t a professor, you would be:

I was involved in many sports growing up and into adulthood including softball, volleyball and tennis and often thought I might want to be a college coach someday.

In the summer, you like to:

I catch up on research a lot because I have time then. I also like to get outside, and I like to hike. My partner, Tina, and I hit about 20 state parks in past summers. I like to be outdoors as much as possible, have people over, barbecue, that kind of thing.

Favorite spot on campus:

What has been your teaching philosophy? How do you approach your relationship with students?

I was blessed with a personality, almost genetically, that is somewhat social. My relationships with students are extremely important. I learn from them as much as they learn from me. It’s a reciprocal relationship, and a trusted one, because we’re in this together.

I’ve got knowledge to give to you, but you do, too, so it’s an exchange. I design classes so the exchange is 75% of the class.

In one of my MBA classes several years ago, a student walked in and said, “Marilyn, I’m about to have a baby. It could be really soon.” I said, “Really? OK! You better go!” But she said, “I think I can make it through class,” and two hours later she finally decided she’d better go, and she went to the hospital and had that baby.

Did you have a favorite teacher growing up?

My fourth-grade teacher was a big influence. She was amazing. She was like a little grandmother. We used to have parent-teacher conferences, and I remember her telling my parents, “You just wait. She’s going to amount to something.” I also had amazing mentors in my Ph.D. program at the University of Nebraska.

The Hearth Lounge. It’s a place to sit and reflect.

Besides the students, what else will you miss about being a Maverick?

I’ll miss my colleagues, but then I’ll still see them. I appreciate them more than I could ever say. I think we’ll still be really close because we already are.

RESEARCH BRIEFS

Faculty Research Day

Dr. Ryan J. Wilson

Title: Exploring the role of taxes in shaping firms’ investment and operating decisions

Dr. Wilson discussed his own research and other notable studies into how tax enforcement influences firms’ investment location decisions and pricing strategies. He also discussed insights academic research provides into tax authorities examination process. There was a discussion on some of the key takeaways from recent research on the interaction between financial accounting and tax rules and recent proposals from lawmakers to use GAAP (book) income as an alternative tax base.

Dr. Nguyen Nguyen Department of Finance

Title: Does technology make you happier? Online budget planner and financial well-being

Dr. Chandrasekhar (Chandu) Valluri Department of Marketing and International Business Dr. Kyle Nash Department

of Management and Entrepreneurship

Title: The Marketing of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity (DEI): A Mission and Vision Statement Analysis

In recent years, there has been an increasing emphasis on promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace. Drs. Valluri and Nash seek to determine how proactive organizations are in the marketing of their DEI commitments by analyzing DEI language in their mission and vision statements. By utilizing popular publication rankings like “Fortune Magazine's Great Places to Work list,” they will obtain further insights as to how DEI components are communicated through an organization’s mission and vision statements

In an era when rapidly evolving financial innovations make financial markets and instruments more complicated, it has been challenging for households to make sound financial decisions. Online budget planners have become increasingly feasible and affordable alternatives to traditional financial advising services. The availability of these options is especially meaningful for low-income households who need financial advice but cannot afford such services. This study investigates whether adopting online budget planning platforms (e.g., Goodbudget, Mint) benefits households’ financial well-being in different aspects, including financial outcomes, confidence, and satisfaction.

Dr. M. Anaam Hashmi

Dr. Ferdinand Siagian Department of Accounting and Business Law

Title: Stakeholder Orientation and Inventory Stockpiling

Using OLS regressions on the data of U.S. manufacturing firms and the state-level adoption of constituency statute as a proxy for corporate stakeholderism, Dr. Siagian will investigate whether firms increase their inventory stock after the statute adoption. It is hypothesized that after the adoption of the constituency statute, firms would increase their inventory stockpiling because they focus more on various stakeholders than their stockholders.

Marketing

& International Business

Title: Role of Innovation-Driven Leadership on Organizations’ Performance

This study explores the relationship between innovation-driven leadership and organizational performance in public-sector organizations. This study identifies the most effective leadership strategies, style, and behavior that support leaders to continuously drive innovation and enhance organizations’ competitiveness and performance. The design of this study is based on multiple-case studies approach analyzing a government organization versus a semi-government organization.

Guest presenter Ryan Wilson (Iowa State Professor of Accounting) and Research Day benefactor, Luth Tenorio

‘Superior’ Status

Accounting major leads by example in Beta Alpha Psi

BY DREW LYON

Following her transfer to Minnesota State Mankato in January 2022, Lauren Reuter sought to join campus programs to help grow her leadership credentials. She found the right fit while attending the Student Engagement Fair in the College of Business.

“I was looking for a group of students to meet people and to get involved,” says Reuter, a Mankato native and accounting major. “I stumbled across the Beta Alpha Psi booth and decided to join.”

Reuter pledged and joined Beta Alpha Psi (BAP), an honors fraternity established nationally in 1919. The club’s Mankato chapter was founded in 2017 under the direction of Kirsten Rosacker, Ph.D., and remains the lone active BAP organization in Minnesota.

Though membership numbers fluctuate because many BAP students are interning throughout the academic year, the stalwart recruiting efforts of faculty advisor Sean Fingland brought more than 20 COB students into BAP by early 2023.

“This is an organization that is more than your typical student organization in that we not only have speakers, but we have expectations from an internal and national society that we get involved,” says Fingland, who joined BAP in the late 1990s as a student at Missouri State University. “We’re trying to broaden students’ skillset.” BAP encourages students to commit to the University, Greater Mankato region and their peers through a series of professional activities that help Minnesota State Mankato’s BAP chapter maintain its “Superior Chapter” status (Fingland hopes his chapter can take the next step by earning “Distinguished” status).

Each fall, students hold a Meet the Firms event with the College of Business and Accounting Club to connect students with area businesses.

“The students who I talk with, the biggest part (of BAP) is the community you get with it,” says Fingland, an assistant

professor of accounting. “Yes, you make connections and those ‘soft skills,’ but you build that community of relationships and friendships.”

Creating a network

Aidan Ryan, a finance major studying under Fingland, was another transfer student who found real-world value in the program once he arrived on campus and found his way to BAP. All he needed, he says, was a little nudge. Now, Ryan is all-in on BAP. As vice president of membership, he’s tasked with recruiting and training pledges.

“I took the bait and I’m very glad I did,” he says. “There’s a lot of professional and personal development from being in this organization. It also gives us the ability to practice leadership skills and mentor some of the people who are coming into the club and interact with them as a whole. It’s a pretty unique experience.”

In their leadership roles, Ryan and Reuter are sharing their knowledge. Ryan speaks to upper-level finance and accounting classes to promote BAP, while Vice President of Service Reuter helps coordinate community and volunteer involvement.

‘Top-shelf students’

BAP members usually meet during the academic year for an hour each Thursday in Morris Hall. The meetings attract speakers from regional businesses (usually accounting and financial firms), including Eide Bailly, Federated Insurance, Compeer Financial, and Ameriprise.

“Firms are lining up to join our meeting because they want access to our students,” Fingland says.

BAP gives back in myriad ways. During the 2022-23 academic year, as part of a community service project, 10 BAP students volunteered at Ivy House, a New Ulm-based crisis nursery. Students visited the nonprofit facility to compile and quantify its supplies, including diapers, baby formula, toys, etc. In four hours, stu-

dents audited about $25,000 of materials and later presented their inventory findings to the Ivy House Board of Directors.

Abdo, a Mankato-based accounting firm, is a top BAP sponsor and donated $10,000 for students to attend BAP’s 2023 conferences in Milwaukee and Las Vegas. At the Milwaukee 2023 Mid-Year Meeting, Ryan and Reuter delivered a “Best Practices” presentation spotlighting the group’s service activities with Ivy House.

“I’ll be interested in two, three years down the road in seeing what comes of these students as they come back for Meet the Firm Events and we hear of their experiences,” he says.

To pledge to join Beta Alpha Psi, students pay a $100 lifetime fee and must maintain a 3.0 GPA or a 3.25 in their last 30 credits, along with pursuing degrees in accounting, finance or information technology.

Scholarship opportunities are also available for students with financial hardship. To learn more, contact BAP Faculty Advisor Sean Fingland at sean.fingland@mnsu.edu.

Big Ideas. College of Business Thinking.

BY AMANDA DYSLIN

As students, faculty and spectators filed into Ostrander Auditorium for the annual Big Ideas Challenge business pitch competition, one slide on the projector screen summed up the impact of the program in less than a decade: 52 big ideas presented between 2015-2023. That’s a lot of innovative thinking in the College of Business.

As the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Director Shane Bowyer pointed out, this year’s six teams were among the brightest.

Luke Eggebraaten, founder and managing partner at Phaser Marketing and Dirt Work Marketing, teased the “stacked lineup” of student presenters before also introducing the panel of judges who would have the arduous task of de ciding the allotment of the afternoon’s $18,000 in prize money. The coveted $5,000 top prize also came with automatic entry as a semifinalist in the annual Minnesota Cup competition which awards big prizes to help startups.

The panel included Paul Abdo, the CEO of Abdo Consulting Group, Inc.; Tony Frentz, owner of Tandem Bagels; Melissa Bradley, general manager and co-owner of Snell Motors; Mike Hahn, director of the South-Central Min nesota Small Business Development Center; Michael Sowada, founded and runs MS-CCC, an e-retailer that specializes in vintage sports cards, coins and collectibles; Susan Michaletz, president of PoppedCorn.

Then, without further ado, Eggebraaten introduced the teams. “They’ve put so much work into each pitch,” he said, before yielding the stage to the presenters. “It’s like a live ‘Shark Tank’ show every single pitch.”

Students presented innovative, varied proposals at the annual business pitch competition in Ostrander Auditorium.

Today you’re going to see some passionate young men and women with their new ideas,” he said before introducing event emcee and 2018 alum

Luke Eggebraaten.

Dr. Shane Bowyer

MEET THE ENTREPRENEURS

Allergy Aware

Brady Barr, Finance graduate ’22

People’s Choice Winner

$2,000

Third Place Winner

$2,000

“This is Freddy,” said Brady Barr to the crowd, gesturing toward a 12-year-old cartoon boy on screen. Freddy’s got a host of dietary issues, including food allergies to milk, tree nuts and eggs, which cause a bunch of problems when he tries to guess what might be safe to eat on menus at restaurants.

“I think everyone here knows someone with food allergies,” Barr said, which is why he created Allergy Aware to make dining out easier for people with food allergies.

The company partners with restaurants to develop personalized allergy menus that create a safer environment for both the customers and staff, ensuring that everyone can enjoy their dining experience with confidence. Customers can scan QR codes at the tables to pull up apps that show them exactly what foods are safe to order at restaurants. Barr worked with Pub 500 in Mankato when developing the idea.

HyperFocus

Dominic Bothe, Business Management

The first thing Dominic Bothe did when he took the stage is asked the crowd to raise their hands if they themselves had ADHD or if they had a friend or family member who had been affected by it. The majority of the audience raised their hands.

That’s when Bothe laid down some pretty startling statistics, including that 33% of those with ADHD would drop out of high school or delay graduation, and that they’re more likely to be involved in car accidents.

That’s why Bothe was inspired to develop HyperFocus, a mobile application designed to help students with ADHD improve their academic performance in traditional classroom settings. Using a combination of techniques such as sensory stimulation, symptom identification and management, HyperFocus helps students recognize their learning styles, manage their time effectively and improve their attention and focus in the classroom.

Regardless of diagnosis of ADHD, he said, “I truly believe that every student deserves a fair shot at academic success.”

Infinity 3D Concrete

Bryce Stalboerger, Construction Management

Faster construction. Customization. Sustainability. Improved safety. Cost effectiveness. Improved quality. It’s hard to argue with those benefits when it comes to the construction industry, and that’s what Bryce Stalboerger pitched with his Infinity 3D Concrete idea to the judges. In short, he said, Infinity 3D Concrete is an innovative company that will utilize revolutionary technology to change the construction industry, and the world, through the limitless possibilities of 3D printing with concrete that can be used for everything from custom planters, to storm sewer piping, to underwater coral habitat.

“In conclusion, 3D concrete printing is a game-changing technology,” he said. “Let’s print a better tomorrow for future generations with Infinity 3D concrete.”

2 Seasons Snow Removal & Lawn Care

Harrison Braudis, Finance

Yes, people can pick up the phone and call a landscaper or a snow-removal service, just like they can call and order a pizza or a taxi. But if there’s an option to Door Dash or to Uber, wouldn’t you rather do that, Harrison Braudis asked the audience?

That’s the premise behind 2 Seasons Snow Removal & Lawn Care, a Door Dash-inspired company delivering snow removal and lawn mowing services at the convenience of the customer through an app by pairing them with local companies for a one-time job. 2 Seasons is a third-party company providing snow removal and lawncare companies with the opportunity to create extra revenue by performing jobs for people who are not subscribed to their service.

“2 Seasons looks to become what Uber is but for the landscaping and snowremoval market,” Braudis said.

BIC finalists left to right Harrison Braudis, Zach Finholdt, Dominic Bothe, Bryce Stalboerger, Ben Zuelhke, Heidi Roeschli, Dan Armstrong, Yeng Moua, and Brady Barr

Fin’s Finest Labs

Zachary Finholdt, Accounting

First Place Winner

$5,000

Ag/Food/Beverage Winner

$3,000

Zachary Finholdt had goats growing up and showed them at the fair. One in particular, Lil’ Sebastian, had an abnormal growth, and you can’t be too careful when things can spread to other animals. So there had to be isolation and tests, which meant waiting and paper results that were difficult to track, Finholdt said.

That’s where his idea for Fin’s Finest Labs came from. The company specializes in diagnosing diseases in animals big and small, while offering solutions to treat the diseases. Instead of receiving paper results, a database will keep track of the animals’ history of testing and treatment.

“FF Labs focuses on providing a customized local, reliable resource to all animal owners,” he said.

Finholdt said Fin’s Finest labs would be located in the Midwest and would integrate technology through the use of apps and online services. He’d partner with diagnostic labs, vet clinics and others.

Louie Labs

Ben Zuelke, Integrated Engineering - Electrical

Dan Armstrong, Integrated Engineering - Electrical

Franz Sherman, Integrated Engineering - Electrical

Heidi Roeschli, Integrated Engineering - Electrical Yeng

Mechanical

Second Place Winner

$3,000

High Tech Division Winner

$3,000

Did you know of the 73.5 million children in the U.S. that 2.2 million are visually impaired? That’s the question Louie Labs posed to the audience before presenting their STEM kits for consideration.

Heidi Roeschli said they wanted to make the world better by offering more accessible subscription boxes containing STEM-based projects and activities tailored to individuals with visual impairments. In addition, they plan to develop low-cost tools and aids for visually impaired professionals.

“Our kits make accessibility the priority,” Franz Sherman said. “Remember to unleash your inner innovator,” Yeng Moua added.

Big Ideas 2023 winner

Zachary Finholdt was all smiles holding his giant check for $5,000 for First Place and another for $3,000 for Ag/Food/Beverage Winner at the Big Ideas Competition. But what’s happening on the outside with Finholdt doesn’t always match the inside.

“I was surprised,” he said.

Similarly, the calm, cool and collected presentation for Fin’s Finest Labs masked other feelings as well.

“I was real nervous,” said the man of few words.

As for what he plans to do with his prize money, Finholdt said he may purchase a microscope or save the money and take time to plan.

Thanks to our generous donors behind the 2023 Big Ideas Challenge.

Primary Sponsor

Craig ’72 & Pat Lloyd, Founders of Lloyd Companies

Additional Sponsors High-Tech Sponsor

THE BIG PICTURE

This red steel sculpture, titled Waves was designed by Arnoldus Grüter, and fabricated at Jones Metal Products in Mankato. It is located near Memorial Library on the Minnesota State Mankato mall. In the artist’s words, “Waves symbolizes in static form the dynamic action of the ocean and a university.”

Accounting

• Master of Accounting (MAcc online)

• Graduate Certificate in Taxation

• Bachelor of Science in Accounting

• Minor in Accounting

AgriBusiness

• Bachelor of Science in AgriBusiness & Food Innovation

• Minor in AgriBusiness & Food Innovation

Business Analytics

• Certificate in Business Analytics

Business Administration

• Master of Business Administration (MBA online)

• Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA online)

• Minor in Business Administration

Business Law

• Minor in Business Law

Finance

• Bachelor of Science in Finance

» Emphasis in Financial Planning

» Emphasis in General Finance

» Emphasis in Quantitative Finance

• Minor in Financial Planning

• Minor in Actuarial Science (housed in Math Dept.)

International Business

• Bachelor of Science in International Business

• Minor in International Business Management & Entrepreneurship

• Bachelor of Science in Management

» Emphasis in Human Resources

» Emphasis in Business Management

• Minor in Human Resources

• Minor in Entrepreneurship & Innovation

• Certificate in Integrated Business Experience

Marketing

• Bachelor of Science in Marketing

• Minor in Marketing

• Certificate in Professional Sales