News Briefs

COB Alumnus of the Year

J. Michael “Mike” McIlwain was named the 2021 MSU College of Business Alumnus of the Year. The 1987 Adkerson School of Accountancy (ASAC) graduate recently retired as President and CEO of PSAV, a global event and technology company. McIlwain serves on the COB Executive Advisory Board and ASAC Advisory Board. He was keynote speaker for the COB’s Leo W. Seal, Jr. Distinguished Executive Speaker Series in 2016 and was named among the Top 100 COB Alumni during the College’s Centennial Celebration in 2015. McIlwain and wife Susan reside in Kildeer, IL, and have 5 children: Allie, Joe Watt, Kathryn, Amelia and Grace. Each year, the MSU Alumni Association recognizes a national alumnus and one representing each of the University’s eight academic colleges for outstanding professional, community and personal success.

COB Alumni Fellow

Kathy St. John is the 2021 Alumni Fellow for the College of Business. St. John graduated from MSU in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, later pursuing a graduate degree in secondary education from the University of Southern Mississippi. She co-founded St. John & Associates, a commercial and residential properties sales business in Hattiesburg, MS, before becoming Marketing Director and sales lead at Hillenmeyer Nurseries in Lexington, KY. In 2005, she began serving as Managing Director and contracts consultant for NAPA Healthcare Connection, Inc., a senior-living healthcare group purchasing organization, and retired in 2015. St. John is a member and former chair of the COB’s Marketing Advisory Board and now chairs the College’s Executive Advisory Board. She established the Kathy Moreton St. John Endowed Fellowship in Marketing in 2011 and was an early investor in the College’s Market Innovation Lab and Observatory. St. John and husband Drew, a 1980 MSU graduate, have contributed to areas across the University, including athletics and student and faculty support, and they created the St. John Family Endowed Professorship in Wildlife Management. The St. Johns reside in Madison, MS, and have three children.

Hurst Bequest Supports Scholarships

A significant bequest from the late Louis A. Hurst, Jr. of Houston, TX, will continue his longtime support of scholarships at Mississippi State University. The gift by the former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation bank examiner and accounting alumnus will provide sizeable endowments for scholarships. Proceeds from the bequest will be divided equally between the two endowments for scholarships Hurst earlier established. The L.A. Hurst, Jr. Scholarship Endowment in the College of Business emphasizes moral and ethical character as traits he desired in recipients. Hurst also earlier established the L.A. Hurst Presidential Endowed Scholarship, a four-year award for MSU’s elite students in the Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College.

New 2021 Faculty and Staff

Welcome to the College of Business!

Nichelle Belue

Administrative Assistant I Division of Business Research

Victor “Duke” Ferguson, PhD, CPA

Assistant Professor of Accountancy Adkerson School of Accountancy

Lu He, PhD

Instructor of Supply Chain Logistics Department of Marketing, Quantitative Analysis & Business Law

Alaa Nehme, PhD

Assistant Professor of Information Systems, Department of Management & Information Systems

Eunsik Chang, PhD

Assistant Professor of Economics Department of Finance & Economics

Nicole Ponder, PhD

Associate Dean, Graduate Programs & Assessment Graduate Studies in Business

Melissa Daigrepont

Counselor, B2B Revenue Readiness Program Division of Business Research

Bruce “Parker” Ellen, III, PhD

Assistant Professor of Management Department of Management & Information Systems

Trovanda Johnson

Academic Coordinator College of Business Academic Advising Center

Nathan “Nate” Kitson

Assistant Golf Professional, MSU Golf Course

Mariah McCulloch

Administrative Assistant I Adkerson School of Accountancy

NaToya Sanders

Academic Coordinator College of Business Academic Advising Center

Heather Schmitt

Program Assistant, PGA Professional Golf Management Department of Marketing

Chelsea Sherlock, PhD

Assistant Professor of Management Department of Management & Information Systems

Kristal Tate

Administrative Assistant I Department of Marketing, Quantitative Analysis & Business Law

J. Mike Truelson, PhD, CPA

Assistant Professor of Accountancy Adkerson School of Accountancy

Vincent Young

Assistant Dean College of Business Academic Advising Center

New Cybersecurity Service for Mississippi Businesses

With more small businesses moving parts of their sales and operations online, a new initiative from Mississippi State and the Mississippi Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is providing free cybersecurity resources and support to the state’s business owners. The MSU Small Business Development Center Cybersecurity project brings together the resources of the University’s SBDC and MSU’s Center for Cyber Innovation to give business owners the information they need to make costeffective cybersecurity decisions.

Homecoming Royalty

MSU students chose three COB students for the 2021 Homecoming Court. Marketing senior Smith Lyon (left) was named Homecoming King. MBA Venture Pathway (MVP) student Reese Dunne was selected as this year’s Mr. MSU, and MVP student Lauryn Polito was chosen as a Homecoming Maid representing the junior class.

Sims Tapped for Insurance Hall of Fame

Billy Sims of Brandon, MS, became the newest inductee in the MSU Insurance Hall of Fame during Insurance Day, a two-day event held at The Mill Conference Center in Starkville. Sims, seen here with MSU President Mark Keenum, began his career with Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company as an underwriter in 1977 and recently retired as Senior Vice President, Policy Administration. He joins a distinguished list of previous honorees.

MSU-Meridian Outstanding Student

Jason Holland was named MSU-Meridian Division of Business Outstanding Undergraduate Student for the spring 2021 semester. He was recognized at MSUMeridian’s 2021 spring commencement. The business administration major with a concentration in healthcare administration returned to school to advance his career. Less than a year after he began taking classes at MSU-Meridian, Holland was offered a job in his hometown as Director of Radiology at Neshoba General Hospital, where he oversees 23 employees.

Abney Receives Georgia’s Highest Honor

David Abney, former Chairman and CEO of UPS, has been inducted by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and the Georgia Historical Society as a Georgia Trustee. This is the highest honor the state of Georgia can confer, a way of recognizing modern-day Georgians whose accomplishments and community service reflect the highest ideals of the state’s founding governing body. Abney is a member of the National Board of Directors of the Mississippi State University Foundation and the College of Business Executive Advisory Board, and he serves as President of the MSU Bulldog Club.

Five COB Diamond Dawgs Go Pro

Five of the COB’s 19 players on the MSU 2021 College World Series National Championship team signed professional baseball contracts this year. Business administration major Will Bednar was selected 14th overall by the San Francisco Giants; management major Eric Cerantola was selected by the Kansas City Royals; finance major Christian MacLeod was selected by the Minnesota Twins; finance major Rowdey Jordan was selected by the New York Mets and economics major Houston Harding signed a free-agent deal with the Los Angeles Angels.

Retirements

Seven members of our College of Business family retired this year, and we extend a heartfelt “thank you” for the positive impact they have made on students and colleagues alike during their years of service. Best wishes for a long and happy retirement!

Tim Barnett, DBA

Professor of Management Department of Management & Information Systems

Vergie Bash

Academic Coordinator – Business Administration College of Business Academic Advising Center

Cecilia Cook, JD

Instructor of Business Law Department of Marketing, Quantitative Analysis & Business Law

Margaret Cordell

Office Associate Adkerson School of Accountancy

Clyde Herring, PhD

Associate Clinical Professor of Accountancy Adkerson School of Accountancy

Pat Sneed

Superintendent MSU Golf Course

Tina Sneed

Administrative Assistant I College of Business Dean’s Office

COB Earns High Rankings

The MSU College of Business has once again been cited in the top rankings of numerous organizations across a range of areas:

• MSU’s online MBA program is ranked number one in the nation for the second consecutive year by Best Value Schools.

• MSU’s College of Business was ranked as having the third best master’s in management information systems program in 2021by Best Value Schools.

• MSU is among a distinguished international list of 200 colleges and universities named as inaugural Best Maker Schools in Higher Education by Make magazine and the Newsweek news organization. The MSU Idea Shop is the University’s makerspace selected for recognition. The creative space, located in downtown Starkville, is a partnership between the School of Human Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the MSU Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach in the College of Business.

• Mississippi State’s MBA programs have been rated number one in the state of Mississippi by University Headquarters.

• For the sixth consecutive year, MSU has retained its title as one of the nation’s best campus workplaces in the Great Colleges to Work For recognition program. The results are based on positive feedback from faculty and staff. Out of 196 colleges and universities surveyed, 70 applicants representing four-year institutions achieved Great Colleges to Work For status. Additionally, MSU received top rankings in seven of 10 categories: job satisfaction and support; professional development; mission and pride; supervisor/ department chair effectiveness; confidence in senior leadership; shared governance and faculty experience.

Banking Students Recognized

Recent College of Business graduate Ashley McLemore was selected as the 2021 Orrin H. Swayze Scholar by the Mississippi Bankers Association (MBA) Education Foundation and the Mississippi Young Bankers section of the MBA. The $5,000 scholarship is given annually to Mississippi’s most outstanding banking and finance student. Also recognized this year was COB student Allyson Jansen who was named a Swayze finalist. Here, McLemore (left) and Jansen (right) are shown with MSU Professor of Economics Randall Campbell.

COB student Jalen Sparkman was the recipient of the annual Leadership Scholarship awarded by the Mississippi Young Bankers (MYB). The $2,000 scholarship is given annually to one junior enrolled in a banking or finance program at a state-supported university in Mississippi. Here, (from left) Sparkman is joined by MYB President Rebecca Barrentine, MSU Assistant Professor of Finance Dr. Brian Blank and MYB Vice President Drew Kenna.

Dividends Earns Recognition

Our College of Business annual magazine, Dividends, has garnered awards for the 2020 edition. For the second year in a row, Dividends was the Gold winner of the Advertising and Marketing Professionals’ Golden Triangle Region Awards. In the 2021 National Communications Contest of the National Federation of Press Women, writer Carolanne Roberts was honored with second place in the “Personality Profile, more than 500 words” category for her article “From Siberia to Starkville: An American Dream” about MSU business alumna Zhenia Sandanova.

In Memoriam

John William “Bill” Adams (1929-2020)

Bill Adams earned a BS degree in management from MSU, where he succeeded his brother Lester as student commander of the ROTC battalion. Adams’ active military service included tours of duty in the U.S. Army’s 11th Airborne Division and the U.S. Air Force Security Service. A banker, Adams retired in 1993 as President of United Carolina Bank; he remained Chairman of the Board of Directors during the bank’s acquisition by BB&T, retiring as a director of BB&T’s bank board in 1999. During his career, he also earned graduate degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill and Rutgers University.

James “Jim” Knox Ashford (1937-2021)

Jim Ashford graduated from Mississippi State in 1958 and completed the Harvard University Advanced Management Program in 1976. He retired as President and CEO of Case IH, a subsidiary of Tenneco Inc., and owner of The Ashford Group. Ashford was voted into the Automotive Hall of Fame and named Outstanding Business Leader of the Northwood Institute. At MSU, he was the Adkerson School of Accountancy’s 1986 Outstanding Alumnus, 1995 COB Alumnus of the Year and 1996 MSU National Alumnus of the Year. He served on the MSU Foundation Board.

Christopher “Chris” Leflore Carl (1976-2021)

Chris Carl, son of Fred and Margaret Carl, attended Mississippi State University where he received his Bachelor and Master of Business Administration degrees and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He was co-owner of Dawg House Storage in Starkville and had various other business interests.

Bobby Paschal Martin (1933-2020)

Bobby Martin was a 1956 Mississippi State University alumnus who devoted his life and career to advancing the quality of life in North Mississippi, and he was an avid supporter of his alma mater. He is survived by his wife Barbara; his daughter and COB Executive Advisory Board member Mary Childs; his grandson Bob Glover (Amberly); his greatgrandchildren Snow, Graham and Pierce Glover and several very special nieces and nephews.

Margaret Anne Riley Montgomery (1944-2021)

Margaret Montgomery, wife of COB Executive Advisory Board member C.R. “Bob” Montgomery, graduated from Provine High School in Jackson in 1962 and attended Millsaps College for two years before transferring to the University of Mississippi, where she graduated with a BA in English. With her husband of 55 years, Margaret loved and nurtured her family, which includes four daughters, four sons-in-law and twelve grandchildren.

Dr. R.L. Qualls (1931-2021)

R.L. Qualls graduated from MSU with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural economics. He received his PhD in economics from Louisiana State University. Named MSU’s National Alumnus of the Year in 2018, he chaired the MSU Foundation Board’s Development Committee and was a member of the COB Executive Advisory Board. Among many roles, he was President and Chairman of the Board of the University of the Ozarks; Director of the Department of Finance and Administration and Cabinet Secretary in former Governor Bill Clinton’s administration; Executive Vice President of Worthen Banking Corporation and President and CEO of Baldor Electric Company.

Julia “Julie” Bennett Rouse (1941-2020)

Julie Rouse attended Mississippi State College for Women. While there, she met COB Executive Advisory Board member Jim Rouse who said, “She had me at hello.” They embarked on a journey together that lasted over 58 years. She is survived by her husband; daughters Lisa Taylor (Jeff) and Connie Fuller (Bill); grandchildren Chris Taylor, Claire Taylor, Leigh Taylor, Kathleen Fuller, Scott Fuller (Jordan) and Brian Fuller and sister Gail Gravell and many nieces and nephews.

Assets

•Alumnus and long-time CEO of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. Richard C. Adkerson (Accounting, ’69, MBA ’70) was named Chairman of the Board for his company.

•During the spring semester 2021 faculty meeting, the College of Business recognized several doctoral students for their excellence in teaching and research for 2020 and 2021. In 2020, the COB selected Christian Barney as Outstanding Researcher as well as the College’s 2020 Graduate Student Hall of Fame Scholar. Robin Tang and Feng Xu were each named Outstanding Researcher, and Brett Kassandjian was honored for Outstanding Teaching. For 2021, the COB named Botong Xue and Haoyang Xiong each as Outstanding Researcher and recognized Jutong Wen for Outstanding Teaching.

•The COB’s Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) Chapter earned top-level Superior Chapter status for the third year in a row. Dr. Alan Stancill, Clinical Professor of Accounting, is chapter advisor. BAP is a national scholastic and professional society whose primary objective is to encourage and give recognition to scholastic and professional excellence in the field of accounting. The society also complements members’ formal education by providing interaction among students, faculty and professionals and fosters lifelong growth, service and ethical conduct.

•Innovate Mississippi approved Starkville-based CampusKnot for a 2021 Mississippi Seed Fund award. CampusKnot, which began as an E-Center startup and is led by MBA alumnus and CEO Rahul Gopal, offers a mobile app to help professors and teachers promote classroom participation among college and high school students.

•MBA candidate Gracie Chavez and her team members from several other institutions placed second overall in the nationwide Raytheon Case Competition, winning $7,500 in prize money.

•MBA Venture Pathway program student Reese Dunne was selected to receive the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship. The Starkville native is the 19th Mississippi State student to be recognized in this way since the Goldwater Foundation’s inception.

•MBA Venture Pathway students Reese Dunne and Britain Steele were selected as 2021 Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) Astronaut Scholars. The ASF annually awards scholarships to the brightest and most talented college students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

•COB alumni Hassell Franklin and the late Bobby Martin were honored by the CREATE Foundation as two of the four 2020 recipients of the Jack Reed, Sr. Northeast Mississippi Community Leadership Award. The honorees have served as Chairs of the CREATE Board, started CREATE affiliates, received numerous business and service honors and served on the Commission on the Future of Northeast Mississippi board.

•College of Business students Shelby Freeman and Anna Lewis were selected as finalists in the international spring 2021 Digital Marketing Competition. They ranked in the top five out of 149 teams representing universities stretching from North America to Asia.

•Three COB graduates and former MSU track & field athletes, Marta Pen Freitas (Portugal), Brandon McBride (Canada) and Anderson Peters (Grenada), competed for their respective countries in the Tokyo Olympics this year.

•Business information systems (BIS) senior Vicky Gallegos was selected as the 2021 recipient of the Moore Award. The award, named in memory of BIS program founder Dr. Charles Moore, is given annually to MSU’s top undergraduate student in the field. The BIS faculty gave Gallegos high marks on working well with others, having a passion for technology and business and being a strong role model.

•The COB’s Dr. Mike Highfield, Professor of Finance and Robert W. Warren Chair of Real Estate Finance, was the recipient of the T. Eugene Spragens, III President’s Award for outstanding teaching. The Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University presents this award annually to an outstanding faculty member.

•Alumnus Dr. Chris Hopkins (PhD, ’01) was named Chair of the Department of Marketing at Auburn University’s Harbert College of Business. He is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice and has published more than 100 articles in scholarly publications.

•Mary Hulbert, a senior business administration/foreign language double major from Lucedale, MS, placed second runner-up in the 2021 Miss MSU scholarship pageant, a preliminary pageant for Miss Mississippi.

•Assistant Professor and Linda Garrett Fellow Dr. Brad Lang received the 2020 Excellence Award in Teaching for the Adkerson School of Accountancy.

•Alumnus Justin C. Martin (Banking and Finance, ’03) was named Chief Operating Officer for Community Bank. Martin joined the bank in 2007 as Assistant Vice President in Brandon, MS. Most recently, he served as Regional Chief Executive Officer for Community Bank’s Central Mississippi Region.

•Assistant Professor of Management Dr. Ben McLarty was appointed as Associate Editor for the Journal of Small Business Management. Alumna Dr. Esra Memili (PhD, ’11) was also appointed as Associate Editor. The journal is circulated across 60 countries and is a leader in the field of research on small businesses.

•Dr. Tom Miller, Jr. was named an affiliated Senior Research Fellow for Consumers’ Research. A Professor of Finance and MSU’s Jack R. Lee Chair of Financial Institutions and Consumer Finance, he also serves on the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Academic Research Council.

•Dr. Sandra Orozco-Aleman, Associate Professor of Finance & Economics, was appointed President-elect of the American Society of Hispanic Economists (ASHE). ASHE is recognized by the American Economic Association as one of the academic organizations composing the Allied Social Sciences Association.

•Academic Coordinator for Accounting Trina Pollan received MSU’s Wes Ammon Outstanding New Staff Advisor Award for 2021. This award is given to one advisor each year to recognize outstanding academic advising and to enhance visibility to the institutional commitment to quality advising.

•Dr. Kevin Shanahan, Associate Professor of Marketing, was named a 2020 Distinguished Fellow by the Society for Marketing Advances.

•According to the Google Scholar database, out of 271 research articles published during the last five years in MIS Quarterly – the universally top-ranked scientific research journal in information systems and one of the highest impact journals in business – one by Dr. Merrill Warkentin is ranked eighth in terms of the number of times it was cited by other scholarly research over the past five years. Warkentin is the James J. Rouse Professor of Information Systems.

•Two of our MSU Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach startups, WISPr Systems and Buzzbassador (launched by Rocketing Systems, Inc.), made the list of The Tech Tribune’s top five list of “The Best Tech Startups in Mississippi” for 2021.

•Mississippi State’s Graduate School and Graduate Student Association recognize students and faculty mentors each year for their teaching, research, and service contributions. Haoyang Xiong, a business administration/finance doctoral student, represented the College of Business as its latest Hall of Fame Scholar.

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of McCool’s groundbreaking with us in 2022. Follow #ModernizeMcCool on our social media to learn of exciting new plans for the home of MSU Business – and how you can make an impact for the next half-century!

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