Dean’s Welcome

Dean Sharon Oswald with MSU mascot, Bully

Photo by Beth Wynn

What can I say about 2020? Unquestionably, it has been a pivotal year. A year where we learned how to teach and meet using various modalities. A year that began much like any other but quickly made us realize how much we truly live in a virtual world. Webex, Facebook Live and Zoom taught us that we can still have academic conferences and church services, raise money, teach classes and even hold concerts while staying apart.

The faculty and staff of the College of Business have been amazing throughout. They have worked twice as hard to accommodate both in-person and online classes. I am proud of every member of the COB family for their positive attitudes and their willingness to go the extra mile for our students. Hybrid, in-person and online classes are being taught this fall. COB students are experiencing classes in Humphrey Coliseum, McCarthy Gym and Bettersworth Auditorium, as well as within Allen and McCool Halls.

And despite the pandemic surrounding us, we began fall 2020 with another record enrollment for the College! We now have well over 3,400 students! In fact, over the last three years we have grown by 20 percent, a rate that exceeds any other college on campus. We have more than 400 MBA students on-campus and via distance education.

We celebrated several big wins in 2020. A team of finance students led by Dr. Matthew Whitledge won first place in a nationwide banking case competition, competing against 37 other teams. This marked the first win for a Mississippi team, who received accolades from Governor Tate Reeves.

The Idea Shop, our downtown extension of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach, received the Mississippi Main Street Association Entrepreneurial Endeavor Award, which came on the heels of winning the Starkville Main Street Association’s Partner of the Year Award. Our funded student businesses continue to thrive, and startups have been streaming into the Center this fall.

Our Boots to Business Revenue Readiness program has been busy preparing hundreds of veterans to open their own businesses. The classes are virtual, and the students are scattered around the world. In the second year of the grant, our team of instructors, led by Director Debbie Scott, graduated more than 400 students, several of whom have already opened businesses.

Finally, I am saddened to have to mention the passing of two alumni who have meant a great deal to me in my 10 years at MSU. Drew Allen was a past President of the Executive Advisory Board and one of the first people with whom I visited in August 2011. He was the COB’s 2011 Alumni Fellow and President and CEO of Allen Beverages, Inc. Drew was a prince of a man and always had a smile on his face. We also lost Louis Hurst, Jr., this year. Mr. Hurst had a 32-year career as a bank examiner and later as Assistant Director of the FDIC’s Memphis region. He loved students, and his legacy will live on through the many scholarships he established in the COB and around campus. May they rest in peace.

We hope you enjoy this edition of Dividends – you’ll find some of 2020’s good news inside. Thank you for your continued support of the College of Business, and Hail State!

Sharon L. Oswald, Dean