Dean’s Welcome
It has been a pleasure to get to know many of you throughout my first year in my role here in the College of Business. If we have not yet had a chance to meet, I encourage you to stop by McCool Hall or connect with me at an upcoming alumni event or game. I would love to hear your MSU story!
In this edition of Dividends, we highlight our live and experiential learning initiatives. These programs empower our business students to put their new knowledge into practice, aiding companies in enhancing their operations. This hands-on experience is invaluable for students, while business leaders benefit from the fresh perspectives provided by students guided by some of the top educators in their fields. The dedication required for these courses by faculty, participating firms and our students is substantial, and we appreciate everyone’s effort in making these opportunities possible. Additionally, I express my gratitude to our alumni whose financial contributions support student travel across the nation, enabling firsthand learning experiences without financial strain.
Please also take a moment to review p.26 and the back cover of this magazine, where Club 1915 is introduced. As you may know, 1915 marks the foundation of the College of Business at Mississippi State University. Approaching our 110th anniversary in 2025, we look forward to commemorating this milestone by presenting a novel approach to fostering engagement with the College of Business and continuing its advancement, opening more opportunities for our students.
Take time throughout the year to read each of the stories in your new Dividends magazine, and if you need an extra copy to share with a neighbor, just let us know.
Dr. Scott Grawe, Dean
Hail State!
2 College of Business Strategic Plan
The COB has mapped out its values, priorities and goals for the future. 4 Experiential Learning
For MSU business students, learning by doing bridges the gap between theory and practice.
6 Ahead of the Supply Chain Curve
McLeod Software provides students experience with a leading industry system. 8 Helping Tackle Tax Time
Accounting honor society offers free tax preparation services.
10 A New Look for an 80-Year-Old Brand
Marketing students modernize state trucking association’s message and look.
12 A Case for Learning
A new live case class teams students with alumni-owned Taylor Logistics. 14 Leadership, Marketing… and Bears
A conscious marketing course takes students into the Alaskan wilderness.
16 Investing in the Future
MSU’s TVA Investment Challenge team members get a glimpse of life in finance.
18 Airbus Interns Gain Insight into the Business of Flight Dividends talks to three students in year-long internships at Airbus Helicopters.
22 Serving Those Who Have Served
The Veterans Business Outreach Center aids military service members, veterans and spouses with entrepreneurial ventures. 26 Development Update
As the College celebrates its 110 year history, we invite you to help us sculpt the future.
30 Making Life Lessons Count
Alumni Fellow James Robinson shares with students how experiences have shaped him. 34 Donors
A heartfelt “thank you” to all who have supported our College and our students.
Executive Advisory Board
Our dedicated advisors’ guidance ensures the College remains a leader in business education.
The Social Media Stage
The College of Business makes effective use of social media to connect our Bulldog family and to showcase our mission to the world.
Lighting the Way Forward
MSU student startup MagneTec has developed a hands-free light for hard-to-reach places.
Paying It Forward
Angelia Knight’s heart for students and unexpected background make her an impactful MBA Program Director.
Dividends is published by Tellōs, LLC. www.telloscreative.com
The Master’s Gang
Three longtime friends forge another bond as they pursue online MSIS degrees together. 52 MSU Hosts SEC MBA “Game Day”
The College of Business hosts the 11th annual SEC MBA Case Competition. 54 Is “Doing Good” Good for Business?
Assistant Professor Dr. Myles Landers shares his research on whether sustainable strategies are beneficial to businesses.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
STRATEGIC PLAN
MISSION STATEMENT
Through innovative research and adaptable education, we will positively impact our institution’s globally diverse stakeholders: future leaders, industry partners and community members. We will equip students to be lifelong learners: to think boldly, to communicate effectively and to collaborate broadly.
VISION STATEMENT
We aspire to be the leader in the Southeast for business community engagement. We will cultivate valuable relationships, accelerate research and facilitate hands-on learning opportunities to create a unique and dynamic environment that fosters exploration and growth.
COMMUNITY
INNOVATION
We empower the creation and application of novel ideas that advance society through entrepreneurship, research and strategic risk-taking.
We are united by a strong bond, guided by collaboration that bridges campus and society, by humble service and by an aim to provide a holistic, self-aware and purpose-driven path for all.
CORE VALUES
OPPORTUNITY
We champion the personal worth of each member of the MSU family as critical to learning and innovation and actively provide resources, mentorship and experiences to ensure every student’s potential is realized in the business world.
INTEGRITY
We pursue unwavering honesty, ethics and consistency in actions, reflecting fairness and strong moral principles.
LEADERSHIP
We equip our students, alumni, faculty and staff to become decisive and adaptable strategic thinkers who are willing to lead courageously and eager for new challenges.
PRIORITIES AND GOALS
Become the destination of choice for students seeking a business education.
• Goal 1: Grow enrollment by expanding our recruiting footprint to attract students from new areas of the country.
• Goal 2: Establish custom and executive programs to meet the needs of the market.
• Goal 3: Develop a broad set of immersive live case courses within the curriculum.
• Goal 4: Increase student participation in study abroad programming.
• Goal 5: Improve key outcome measures: placement percentage and starting salaries.
• Goal 6: Elevate graduate and undergraduate programs in national rankings.
Increase the quality and impact of scholarly research.
• Goal 1: Publish research in elite academic journals across all disciplines.
• Goal 2: Disseminate research to professionals through events and summaries.
• Goal 3: Grow faculty participation in interdisciplinary funded research.
• Goal 4: Increase the number of editorships at high-quality journals.
• Goal 5: Graduate doctoral students with at least one peer-reviewed publication.
Establish
the College of Business as a destination for business expertise.
• Goal 1: Grow the number of firms recruiting students on campus across all majors.
• Goal 2: Increase the number of hosted and sponsored events in Mississippi.
• Goal 3: Increase the number of College of Business media mentions.
• Goal 4: Develop new forums for corporate engagement with students and faculty.
• Goal 5: Grow the number of internships available to College of Business students.
Strengthen
the entrepreneurial ecosystem to boost economic value in Mississippi and the Southeast.
• Goal 1: Expand new student startup companies across campus.
• Goal 2: Attract investors in entrepreneurial activity from across the nation.
• Goal 3: Engage students early in their academic program with emphasis on entrepreneurial spirit, calculated risk taking and opportunities.
• Goal 4: Champion and harmonize entrepreneurial efforts across campus.
Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice
By Emily Daniels
At Mississippi State University’s College of Business, the power of learning by doing is at the heart of everything we do. Across all degree programs, experiential learning opportunities are not just encouraged – they are integral to our students’ educational journeys. Whether it’s solving realworld business problems, working alongside industry leaders or taking on challenges that test their knowledge and creativity, our students graduate with experiences that set them apart in the workforce.
The philosophy behind experiential learning is simple but transformative: students learn best when they are actively engaged in applying classroom concepts to practical, real situations. This commitment to providing interactive learning opportunities manifests in various ways, including internships, case competitions, entrepreneurial ventures, live case studies and hands-on service opportunities. These initiatives bridge the gap between theory and practice, ensuring our graduates are prepared to excel in their careers from day one.
One example is a new partnership with McLeod Software that has provided real-time industry data for logistics students in Associate Professor Chris Boone’s International Transportation course. Alumnus Ken Ezelle, owner of Universal Logistics Services, facilitated the relationship with McLeod, provider of one of the industry’s leading trucking management systems. Now, when students make their final boardroom-style presentations to a panel of professionals, they are doing so with the same data that major logistics companies use.
Community engagement is a cornerstone of our emphasis on experiential learning. The Beta Alpha Psi honor society partners with the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, enabling accounting students to provide free tax preparation services to low- and middle-income individuals. Under faculty guidance, students gain hands-on experience while making a tangible impact on their community.
Innovative branding projects further illustrate the breadth of opportunities available to COB students. In the spring of 2024, 170 students from Professor Mike Breazeale’s Strategic Brand Management and Social Media Marketing classes collaborated to modernize the Mississippi Trucking Association’s branding. Proposals, style guides and professional presentations highlighted students’ ability to tackle complex business challenges.
Another exemplary initiative is the live case model , where students collaborate directly with a business to address actual challenges. This past spring, students in a supply chain logistics course partnered with Taylor Logistics, LLC, to analyze and propose solutions for improving supplier relationships. Alumni support enhanced the project, providing actionable insights for the company and equipping students with career-ready skills.
Our conscious marketing course takes experiential learning to the next level by integrating academic rigor with wilderness leadership training. In the summer of 2024, Assistant Professor Myles Landers led students to Alaska’s Prince William Sound for a transformational educational experience. Students explored conscious marketing through guest lectures from companies like Patagonia Provisions while building resilience and teamwork skills.
The TVA Investment Challenge offers students the chance to manage real assets in a $500,000 portfolio provided by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Led by Professor Brandon Cline, the team functions like an investment firm, blending academic knowledge with practical application. Students participate in national conferences, visit financial hubs like New York City and gain invaluable experience managing diversified portfolios.
These diverse initiatives demonstrate the spirit of experiential learning at the College of Business. Under the guidance of expert faculty, students don’t just learn about supply chains, marketing strategies or financial modeling; they apply their knowledge to projects that matter. In doing so, they develop critical skills like collaboration, adaptability and innovative thinking – traits that are invaluable in today’s fast-paced business environment.
Supported by strong partnerships with industry leaders and alumni, companies like Taylor Logistics and McLeod Software and organizations like the National Outdoor Leadership School play a vital role in providing these opportunities. This synergy creates a powerful network of support, where students benefit from the expertise and mentorship of those who have walked in their shoes.
As you read the stories that follow, you’ll see how experiential learning has transformed the lives of our students and the organizations with which they have worked. From live cases and innovative research projects to entrepreneurial triumphs, these examples emphasize the College of Business’ unwavering dedication to fostering hands-on, impactful learning experiences. Together, we are shaping not just careers but also the future of business itself.
Ahead of the Supply Chain Curve
By Suzi Morales
The Blue Star case study in Associate Professor Chris Boone’s International Transportation course is the kind of final project students talk about long after graduation. They are given a dataset with information like shipping rates and freight costs that they apply to a fictitious logistics company. They spend hours analyzing the data and preparing recommendations. At the end of the semester, they give a board-style presentation to a panel of industry professionals.
In the past, if there was a downside to the Blue Star project, it was the data. Without access to the real-time information many companies use, Boone had been using the same dataset for years.
That has now changed, thanks to alumnus Ken Ezelle, a 1985 MSU graduate and the Vice President and owner of Universal Logistics Services. Boone recalls – perhaps with some paraphrasing – Ezelle’s comment to him after serving as a panelist for the Blue Star final presentations one semester: “This is great, but your data sucks.”
But Ezelle didn’t just offer a critique, he proposed a solution. His company uses McLeod Software, which provides one of the industry’s top trucking management systems, or TMS. Both are headquartered in Birmingham, AL, and have a strong business relationship. So when Ezelle approached McLeod about providing their TMS to Boone’s students, the company was quick to take him up on it. With support from Ezelle and an in-kind gift from McLeod, Boone’s class now uses McLeod’s TMS.
Ahmed Ebrahim, McLeod’s Senior Vice President of Partner Alliances, says the company has partnerships with MSU and two other universities, with more in the works. Ebrahim considers himself a “lifelong learner” and holds multiple degrees. He tells students what they are learning in school is “gold” and notes that current supply chain students are being taught techniques and science-based approaches with clear business applications that their future employers might not even use yet. Ebrahim bases this on exposure to participating universities’ curricula and on taking supply chain courses himself.
In addition to the software, McLeod invites university partners to its annual user conference. During the 2024 conference, Boone, who served in the U.S. Air Force for 22 years in logistics roles, moderated a panel.
“The partnership with McLeod is bigger than the technology,” says Boone. “It’s creating opportunities for our students to travel and to experience the industry. Ken’s been a big part of that as well, helping offset some of the cost of that travel.”
Because of McLeod Software, International Transportation students had real industry data to inform their final presentations. Photo by Addy-Parker Loveless
Ebrahim sees the university collaborations as an opportunity for workforce development.
“They might go work for a logistics company that is not using our software, but they have had hands-on exposure with what a trucking and logistics TMS does,” he observes.
“It’s been a win-win,” says Ezelle. “[Students] get exposure to McLeod Software, which helps McLeod because it’s good marketing and advertisement for them. These students have one of the leading software systems in the transportation industry.”
He adds, “It also helps us, being that when I recruit Mississippi State students, they already have experience with our software.”
In the spring of 2024, the Blue Star case study used real-time data from McLeod for the first time.
“The data is real; the rates are real,” says Boone. “It’s providing a whole new enhanced experience for our students.”
Students enjoyed the panels, activities and exhibition at the McLeod users conference, which took place in NASCAR mecca Charlotte, NC.
Photo courtesy of Chris Boone
Ken Ezelle (fourth from left) and Chris Boone (far right) with students at McLeod Software’s annual user conference
Photo courtesy of Chris Boone
Helping Tackle Tax Time
By Suzi Morales
For many Americans, gathering documents and navigating complicated forms make tax season a time of anxiety. But for a group of Mississippi State University accounting students, it brings a sense of purpose and an opportunity to learn, as they help low- and middle-income taxpayers prepare and file their returns.
In 2024, for the second year, members of the MSU chapter of accounting honor society Beta Alpha Psi offered free tax preparation services through the Internal Revenue Service’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, or VITA, program.
Led by Assistant Clinical Professor of Accountancy Alan Stancill, students met with clients at the Innovation Hub in downtown Starkville, a co-working space operated by the MSU Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach. For several weeknights in February and March, students reviewed clients’ W-2s and other documents, asked about financial information and entered it into tax preparation software. Stancill and Associate Clinical Professor Kelly Walker reviewed the returns, which clients were able to e-file on the spot. The entire process took about an hour and a half per return.
For Sarah Modzelewski, a graduate taxation student who also earned a bachelor’s degree in accountancy from the College of Business in 2023, volunteering with VITA offered the chance not just to help people complete their tax returns but also to explain a process that many find intimidating.
“I like to try to explain how [the information] flowed through, why it came to that number, why you were getting a refund or why you owed money,” she remarks.
Like Modzelewski, Wyatt Reid is a graduate tax student who earned his undergraduate degree in accountancy at MSU. He was attracted to the major because it was “everything nobody had told me about money.” He says working with VITA helped him understand how all the information needed to prepare a tax return is channeled into the one-page IRS Form 1040.
Founded by the IRS to provide free tax preparation for individuals meeting certain criteria, including an income threshold, VITA provides certification and training to volunteers.
Accounting students met with low- and middle-income individuals to prepare their tax returns.
Photo by Emily Van Dalen
“Not only are you giving back to your community, which is above all what the program is for, but you’re also getting practice on a software you’ve never used before,” shares Reid. “You’re getting to see what the process looks like.”
According to Stancill, MSU’s is the only VITA location within about a 45-minute drive. In its second year of operation, he was pleased to see a number of repeat clients.
Stancill says VITA gives students a safe environment in which to learn about tax issues.
“When you’re outside the classroom in a real-world setting, sometimes [a situation] is not as clean,” he notes. “It may not be something covered in class. There’s value in being put on the spot and having to figure things out.”
With an analytical mind, Modzelewski once considered majoring in computer science but feels she has found the right fit with accounting. It allows her to pair her practicality with an innate empathy, an approach taken with her VITA clients.
“My aim as a tax accountant is just to provide a peace of mind, like, ‘Hey, I’ve got you, you’re good,’” she says. “I feel like that’s my ultimate goal.”
MSU VITA program directors Assistant Clinical Professor of Accountancy Alan Stancill (left) and Associate Clinical Professor of Accountancy Kelly Walker (center) welcomed IRS VITA Territory Manager Maria Keyser for a visit.
Photo courtesy of Alan Stancill
A New Look for an 80-Year-Old Brand
By Suzi Morales
The Mississippi Trucking Association, or MTA, was established in 1942 as the “voice of trucking” in the state. Its members include companies of all sizes, and its activities range from lobbying to recruiting new truckers into the field.
The MTA’s mission remains just as relevant in today’s post-COVID world, when drivers are more in demand than ever and environmental and safety policies continue to evolve. The organization, however, recently faced a challenge: its branding needed a refresh. With so much tied up in branding – recognition, trust, connection, consistency, motivation, loyalty and purpose –the MTA needed a modernized look to reflect its modern relevance.
Enter Marketing Professor Mike Breazeale’s strategic brand management and social media marketing classes, which consult each semester with an actual business or organization. In the spring of 2024, Breazeale’s students – 170 of them – divided into groups to research and craft proposals for the MTA. Senior Carly Jones was among them.
“I had spent the past four years at Mississippi State learning all of these concepts and gaining knowledge on marketing, logistics and business as a whole,” she says. “I felt like it was time for me to apply all that I’d learned.”
Jones’ group focused on two core brand elements: being the voice of trucking and promoting the trucking industry to a new generation. Her group proposed a new slogan and created a brand style guide incorporating the established strengths of the organization while also modernizing. For example, the MTA’s red, white and blue color scheme was important to its identity, and the organization wanted to maintain it, so the students shared how simply tweaking the shades of the colors could refresh the look.
“I was so impressed not only with what they did, but how they presented it, how they communicated it,” comments MTA President Hal Miller on his interactions with the classes. “We were there for multiple days, and the students were all just incredibly respectful and engaging.”
Miller says the MTA is considering hiring an intern from MSU to help implement some of the recommendations.
After graduating in May, Jones joined International Paper, where she manages the supply chain operations for various paper mills. While her role is not directly related to marketing, she frequently draws on skills gained in Breazeale’s class, such as being open to innovative ideas and thinking critically about real-world challenges. These abilities have proven valuable in helping her navigate complex supply chain processes and optimize operations effectively.
Breazeale himself learned by doing. He bought his first business, a video store, when he was 19 years old and found it to be a crash course in real-world branding.
“I’m really interested in answering the questions that I had when I was a retailer and any kind of question that has a real, practical implication to anybody’s bottom line,” he notes.
Whatever their career paths or needs, Breazeale’s students can apply their skills.
“Branding is a universal thing,” he says. “I teach it from the level of big brands that my students could go to work for or small to medium-sized brands that they may actually start themselves… and also focus on their personal brands and how they’re going to market themselves to employers or lenders or investors, whatever their personal dreams may be.”
As the project began, Mississippi Trucking Association President Hal Miller shared information and answered class members’ questions.
Photo by Emily Daniels
A Case for Learning
By Suzi Morales
“Show us where we can improve.”
According to 2024 graduate Jonathan Mason, this was the mandate for the first-ever live case class at Mississippi State University’s College of Business. In this class, Mason and his supply chain logistics classmates partnered with Louisville, MS-based Taylor Logistics, LLC, for a unique learning experience over the course of the spring 2024 semester.
A live case class is an educational experience, whether in a classroom or in the field, where students collaborate to address and solve a real business problem posed by a corporate leader or team.
The class, led by Dr. Chris Boone, Associate Professor of Supply Chain Logistics, and Dr. Robert Moore, Professor of Marketing, was offered for the first time during the 2023-2024 academic year. It paired students with Taylor Logistics, the supply chain and transportation arm of the Taylor Group of Companies, which manufacture industrial equipment, including lift trucks.
The Taylor Group has longstanding ties to MSU and the College of Business. Lex Taylor, a 1977 COB graduate, is the third generation of his family to run the Taylor Group of Companies, and son Alex is a 2023 MSU supply chain graduate who also works in the business. As an MSU student in the 1970s, Lex came to understand the value of learning through experience as part of a team advising a new western boot shop. Taylor was happy to provide a similar learning opportunity to today’s students through his company.
Those students took the opportunity and ran with it. They met at Taylor’s headquarters in Louisville, MS, monthly and discussed the company’s challenges and potential solutions. Ultimately, the class proposed a supplier report card as a tool with which the company may neutrally evaluate suppliers and improve relationships with them.
Members of the College’s first live case class
Photos by Elena Palomino and Lane Spradling
“It was a great growing opportunity,” says Mason, now a front-line manager for AnheuserBusch in Jacksonville, FL. “It challenged us to keep going back to the drawing board and not give up and to come up with a solution that best fit Taylor and what they were looking for.”
Taylor’s Supply Chain Manager, Scott Hollenhead, says the students delivered. Currently, Taylor Logistics is confirming and inputting its data on the various criteria for the scorecard, with Boone continuing to assist the company in implementing the system.
“Any organization that tells you they don’t need help doesn’t know their business,” states Hollenhead, who says the students provided a fresh perspective.
Boone emphasizes, “What really made the class successful was that it was real. Taylor was open and willing to work with us, willing to share data with students and eager to listen to their questions and redirect their efforts.”
The value for all involved is reflected in Taylor Logistics’ having signed on for a second round. This past fall, students who took the live case course were tasked with examining the company’s international supply chain, which even included touring the Port of Savannah.
Encouraged by the quality of the MSU students he has seen over the two semesters, Lex Taylor anticipates good things as they enter their careers.
“They will be successful,” he predicts with confidence.
Classmates toured Taylor Logistics’ headquarters and met there monthly.
Leadership, Marketing… and Bears
By Suzi Morales
Marketing Assistant Professor Myles Landers’ office hours looked a little different this past summer.
For two weeks during the 2024 summer term, Landers, COB Recruiting & Events Coordinator Anna Henson and nine students – five undergraduate and four MBA – discussed leadership and life while kayaking alongside glaciers in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. The trip was the culmination of a new four-week course on conscious marketing that combines an academic curriculum on sustainable business practices with wilderness leadership training.
According to Landers, “conscious marketing” is a relatively new term focusing on balancing people, the planet and profits. The two-week online classroom portion featured guest speakers from companies including Patagonia Provisions –the sustainable food division of Patagonia – and olive oil producer CHO America. Leadership training nonprofit entity National Outdoor Leadership School, or NOLS, led the Alaska segment, which included kayaking four to 12 hours a day, along with a leadership course.
In Alaska, the group designated two leaders each day who selected the route, monitored the weather forecast and kept up the group’s morale. MBA student Payne Sleeper volunteered to be one of the first leaders.
The Alaskan wilderness offered lessons in sustainability and leadership.
“As an MBA candidate, you’re expecting to be a leader of a team one day, to manage people in some sort of administrative role,” says Sleeper. “Learning your team, learning where they’re comfortable, where they can thrive or grow is not only important in the Alaskan wilderness but will also be important in the workplace when our group gets there in just a few months.”
Maggie Clifton, a senior majoring in business administration, says she took the class because it combined her interests in marketing and outdoor travel, though she hadn’t previously put much thought into conscious marketing or sustainability. During the classroom portion, she was inspired by reading Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman by Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, which challenged Clifton to be more intentional about her role in how business runs.
“This class opened my eyes to the world around me, showing me there’s only so much of this planet that we can go through,” says Clifton. “It’s definitely made me more mindful of the way I am consuming things but also of who I will be working for when I graduate. What do they stand for? And how are they trying to change things?”
During the Alaska expedition, Landers ceded his role as university professor and became “Myles,” just another NOLS student on the trip.
“You’re rarely brought closer with a college professor than when you’re protecting each other from bears out in Alaska,” laughs Sleeper.
Landers is already planning for 2025, when the course will include backpacking for nearly three weeks in Tanzania.
“This course allows our students to see that a business can do good in the world, and it can make a profit,” he says. “How these students consume and the choices they make – that has an effect on what businesses do. It matters.”
Photos courtesy of Conscious Marketing Class Members
Investing in the Future
By Suzi Morales
Surrounded by a stock ticker, a wall of TVs broadcasting financial newscasts and rows of computers, a group of students engages in an enthusiastic discussion about which stocks to choose. One gives a presentation on market trends and investment recommendations. Others ask questions. They choose some stocks in which to invest and others for further research.
This is MSU’s TVA Investment Challenge team, led by Dr. Brandon Cline, the John “Nutie” and Edie Dowdle Professor of Finance.
And yes, it’s real money.
Twenty-six colleges and universities participate in the TVA Investment Challenge, each investing approximately $500,000 in assets provided by the Tennessee Valley Authority every academic year. The schools compete among themselves and also with the S&P 500.
“We teach from a textbook in the classroom, but finance is a very applied science,” Cline observes. “It’s easy to understand in theory how you would do something, but you need to learn how to implement that in practice.”
Every year, around 10 students are selected for the MSU team and divided into groups of two. Each pair handles a specific sector like energy, healthcare or consumer staples. The team operates like an investment firm, with officers including a head trader and chief compliance officer to meet the TVA’s diversification requirements. During weekly meetings, the teammates build consensus about how to best handle their portfolio. Cline signs off on every trade.
“I don’t run it like a course,” he comments. “I run it like a meeting, like you would have a money management meeting every Wednesday with your company.”
According to Cline, the goal of the MSU team is not simply to win the interscholastic competition. It is to look at the longer term picture. Instead of big risks that might result in shortterm gains, he emphasizes diversification.
The team traveled to New York for a conference, where they also had meetings at financial firms and visited the New York Stock Exchange.
Photo courtesy of Brandon Cline
Team member Ben Kahle states, “You want to make sure that every action you propose or execute for the TVA Investment Challenge is a good one because it’s actual money on the line.”
The TVA hosts an annual conference for Investment Challenge schools where teams present on their investing philosophies and performances.
The Bulldog team also travels to New York, NY, each year. There, they participate in the Global Asset Management Education Forum at Quinnipiac University, the world’s largest student-run financial conference. They also have meetings at financial firms like JPMorganChase, Goldman Sachs and Barclays.
“You can talk face-to-face and ask good questions of the people at these firms and make connections that way,” shares Kahle, a senior. “It boosts your career potential.”
After graduation, Kahle will work at Bank of America headquarters in New York as a public sector banking credit analyst. Although not directly involved in investment analysis, he expects to use the presentation and collaboration skills he learned through the challenge experience.
A real, practice-based understanding of work in the financial sector is one of the draws of the TVA Challenge.
Remarks Cline, “You have a picture of what you think your life’s going to be like if you have this kind of job and, in reality, you don’t know until you do it.”
Airbus Interns Gain Insight Into the Business of Flight
By Kathy Kenne
Experiential learning – its value can’t be overestimated. Students exposed to opportunities to put their classroom learning into practice understand more fully the principles they have studied and are more attractive to employers upon graduation.
Three students have found such opportunity through year-long internships at Airbus Helicopters Inc., located just 20 minutes from Starkville. This facility produces the country’s best-selling single engine helicopter, the H125, and it is the sole producer of the U.S. Army’s twin engine helicopter, the Lakota, with 492 delivered to the U.S. military.
We had an opportunity to visit with these interns about their jobs and experiences. Landon Dixon, from Hoover, AL, is a senior marketing and business administration major. Elaine Schulz of Madison and Marion Groberg of Harrison, AR, are seniors double majoring in business administration and industrial engineering.
n Let’s get a little background. What made you choose Mississippi State and the College of Business?
Landon: I visited campus and loved the atmosphere here, then was offered a scholarship. I chose business because I enjoyed being involved in business organizations in high school.
Elaine: I felt welcomed to MSU, in a way that was different from any other school. During my first official visit, one of the faculty members sat with me for over an hour to discuss my goals, interests and academic plan. She truly believed in the opportunities that the University could provide. I was sold! Why a business degree? As an industrial engineer, it’s important to know not only a product but also how a business operates to create that product.
Marion: My brother was a football equipment manager, so I spent every other weekend in Starkville. By the time I got to college, it felt like home. I always wanted to be an industrial engineer. It was when I started my first co-op that I became interested in business as well. MSU offers an accelerated program that allows me to earn a dual degree in industrial engineering and business administration with only one additional semester.
n Why did you want to do an internship?
Landon: To gain experience in the business world and start making connections to help further my career.
Elaine: I wanted to learn more about my career field and what aspects of industry I want to be involved in day to day.
Marion: I wanted to get work experience while applying what I’m studying to real life.
n What are your job responsibilities?
Landon: In the Pricing and Costing Department, I prepare and develop detailed costs and pricing in response to bids and proposals. I also collect data and develop databases to improve costing and pricing activities. I analyze and extract relevant information to support business decisions.
College of Business students interning at Airbus Helicopters are (from left) Marion Groberg, Elaine Schulz and Landon Dixon. All photos courtesy of Airbus Helicopters, Inc.
Marion: Elaine and I work in the Quality Assurance Office, helping manage non-conforming material. We help in the process of preventing, detecting and removing discrepant material from the production floor.
n What does a typical day look like?
Landon: Attending daily meetings, keeping up with the status of current quotes, shadowing other team members, completing pricing requests and filling in when analysts are out of the office.
Elaine: A typical day for Marion and me consists of running and distributing daily reports on the status of all non-conforming material on the production line. We attend production meetings to stay up to date on the status of each aircraft in production. We also assist the quality engineers on projects. Right now, that includes assisting with internal audits and reviewing procedures to ensure we’re compliant.
n Will you share some things you’ve learned about business?
Elaine: I’ve learned so many things. The first one that comes to mind is how critical supply chain management is to the operations of the company. So many employees here are tasked with ensuring that each aircraft component arrives at the facility on time, can be inventoried in the warehouse and makes its way to the production floor at just the right time.
Marion: Management [staff] is very important because they are responsible for the workers and how everyone fits together. I’m grateful that the department I work in runs smoothly, and I’m surrounded by incredible individuals.
n What have you learned about the helicopter industry?
Landon: I didn’t know much about helicopters at all until I came to Airbus and learned the basic principles. I’ve also learned more about parts that go into helicopters when they’re being assembled.
Elaine: Everything I know about helicopters, I’ve learned as an employee here. One of my favorite things I did during my summer rotation was to invite aerospace engineering interns to assist me with the time study I was working on. I observed technicians to establish how much time should be allotted for each work order. The aerospace students helped provide insight into how long each work order should take, what was happening and why each step was important.
n Are there specific people skills you’ve had to develop?
Landon: I’ve had to develop teamwork and problem-solving skills because every project involves people from other teams.
Elaine: Number one is not being afraid to ask for clarification when needed. I’ve had to learn it’s okay to ask for help when learning a new task!
Marion: Clarification and making sure everything is correct are super important in this industry because, like my staff instructor says about helicopters, “You can’t pull over on the side of a cloud if there’s a problem.”
Landon Dickson and supervisor Heng Keomany discuss pricing on an H125 in production.
n What have you found your strengths are?
Landon: Paying attention to the minor details and being creative about finding new and more efficient ways to complete tasks.
Elaine: Teaching people how to do new tasks. One of my favorite parts of my job has been hosting skill-share workshops where I can share my knowledge of Excel and Smartsheet with other employees, while also learning more about systems they utilize in their everyday work.
n What has stretched you out of your comfort zone?
Elaine: I’ve been stretched through giving presentations. I’ve also been encouraged by mentors in my department to occasionally lead weekly meetings like the Material Review Board. This has made me so much more confident in my public speaking ability.
n What do you like best about your internship?
Landon: I like the environment, and people I work with are very supportive and always willing to help me grow my knowledge.
Marion: I love learning about the construction of helicopters and how they work. I was also excited to have seen the first H160 in the U.S. being delivered! That was one of the coolest moments in my internship.
n What are your future plans?
Landon: I would love to stay at Airbus, continue to learn more about the helicopter industry and pursue a job in the marketing department. If not Airbus, then another company I’m passionate about.
Elaine: I’m now very interested in a career in aviation. I love how complicated the product is and that every employee is learning something new every day! I’ll graduate in May. I plan on taking some time to travel, then joining the industry.
Marion: My goal is to continue working in the aerospace industry or at a production company where I can use both my degrees. I would love to continue working for Airbus. It’s a wonderful company that’s at the forefront of the aerospace industry.
n Is this internship helping set you on that path?
Landon: It will help me tremendously because of the number of job opportunities Airbus has. If I don’t continue to work for Airbus, it’s a well-respected company and will look very good on my resume’.
Elaine: This internship has given me valuable work experience and insight into so many different aspects of business that will serve me well!
Marion: As a quality engineering intern, I’ve gained experience and meaningful connections and exposure to helicopters and aviation. Airbus is amazing!
Airbus Quality Assurance personnel Rodney Ringo and Katja Cedano review notes on discrepant materials with interns Marion Groberg and Elaine Schulz.
Serving Those Who Have Served
By Kirsten Shaw
In 2020 when COVID was shutting down many businesses, Army veteran Shannon Arick was laid off by the manufacturing company for which she worked. One day, driving through her hometown of West Point, MS, she was pleased to see lights on at the Bits N Pieces antique mall, indicating the business was open. She went in to do some shopping and fell into conversation with the owner, who said she had been looking to sell the shop and retire.
“The more I toodled around the store, the more I thought, ‘I could run this place,’” recalls Arick, who had grown up “junking” with her dad – finding treasures and giving them a second life – and thrift store shopping with her mom.
Her experience as an Army maintenance specialist and supervisor and a quality engineer in manufacturing gave her confidence, as did her BS in mathematics and the accounting courses she had taken.
“But I needed to know what I didn’t know,” she says.
A Google search produced a nearby and, it turned out, invaluable result: the Veterans Business Outreach Center, or VBOC, at Mississippi State. With the aid of several VBOC courses and oneon-one counseling, Arick learned how to research demographics and other data to support a loan application; developed a business plan and identified professionals she would need such as a lawyer and an insurance agent.
“They’re great counselors,” she says of the VBOC staff. “They don’t just help you once. They’ve been an ongoing asset.”
Arick and her husband were able to buy Bits N Pieces, and she became Managing Owner on August 28, 2020. By 2023, Bits N Pieces was named Mississippi’s Small Business Administration Rural Small Business of the Year. Arick has also become a board member for her city’s Growth Alliance.
She has continued to seek advice from the Center and take seminars on topics like social media to boost her business. The Center has reached out to her as well, connecting her with an MSU MBA student team for a six-week consulting project, which produced several recommendations that she has implemented.
The VBOC program was developed by the U.S. Small Business Administration, or SBA, to provide entrepreneurship resources to veterans, military spouses and active duty personnel transitioning to civilian life. The VBOC at Mississippi State is one of 31 nationally, with its SBA funding flowing through the College of Business. It covers Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, a region with 10 military installations. It is headquartered in the Thad Cochran Research, Technology and Economic Park, with a satellite office in Gulfport.
The MSU VBOC staff works closely with the Transition Assistance Program at each of the 10 military installations to help service members interested in starting their own enterprises when they exit the military.
“We instruct a two-day class about once every three months at each installation called Boots to Business,” says VBOC Director Mark Scott. “The class helps service members understand some of the fundamentals about starting and running a business so they can make informed decisions about whether they want to.”
Photos courtesy of MSU VBOC
Boots to Business, or B2B, is also offered to veterans as a virtual or in-person course called Boots to Business Reboot. In 2023, 44 in-person B2B classes were led at military installations, training 540 individuals; and 12 Reboot courses were conducted, training 177 veterans and spouses. A total of 4,876 have received B2B training since the VBOC contract was first awarded to MSU in 2015.
Scott notes that the military provides experiences that can make veterans and their spouses well-suited for entrepreneurship. They are mission-focused leaders with skills in team management, critical thinking, problem solving and relationship development. They tend to be flexible, resilient, persistent, ethical and reliable. However, Scott tells his clients there is one other key ingredient they will need to succeed.
“You’re going to need a strong passion for your business to help drive you through some of the hard times of getting it up and running,” he emphasizes.
The businesses aided by the VBOC are as varied as the individuals it serves. The staff recently helped a client in Columbus, MS, turn his love for woodworking into a specialized furniture business. They advised a military spouse who had earned a veterinary degree while his wife was on active duty about buying a clinic once the couple moved home to Louisiana. An Army colonel – a doctor –was aided in opening a Huntsville, AL, practice focusing on children with autism. VBOC Business Counselor and Gulfport Office Manager Mike Pornovets began as a client who founded and owns Everything Kayak and Bicycles.
VBOC resources, except the classes at military installations, are available to any veteran including those serving in the National Guard or Reserves and to any spouse of a veteran or service member. A new course introduced last year is the Military Spouse Pathway to Business which, in addition to the B2B fundamentals, focuses on aspects such as having a transportable business to accommodate the frequent moves of military life.
“The Internet has opened up a lot more opportunity,” says Scott, noting online businesses can range from cruise and travel planning to bookkeeping and human resource recruiting.
For others, brick-and-mortar businesses are viable. Blenda Gann and her husband Henry moved from Hattiesburg to Ecru, MS, when he retired after a 35-year National Guard career. Her venture started with the desire for a good, quick cup of coffee.
“I loved the little coffee shop in Hattiesburg where I could zip in and zip out and get on with my day,” she says.
Ecru lacked a drive-through coffee shop, so Gann decided to look into opening one herself. She connected with MSU’s VBOC in August 2023, taking fundamental courses as well as webinars on social media, taxes for small businesses and others.
(From left) Deborah Scott, Mark Scott, U.S. SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, Mike Pornovets and Natalie Rhodes at the National Small Business Week Awards
Photo courtesy of MSU VBOC
Learning about market analysis was particularly helpful for her site selection. She chose a location less than half a mile from three schools and at an intersection of Highway 15, an artery connecting Pontotoc and Union counties which is being expanded to four lanes.
The Blissful Bean opened in June 2024.
“I would not have my coffee shop now if it weren’t for their help,” she states. “It’s been wonderful – we’re busy! We’ve been able to get to know people and build community, and that was my vision.”
Separate from but symbiotic to the VBOC is a six-week program that is offered for B2B and Pathway graduates called Boots to Business Revenue Readiness, or B2B RR. Conceived and led by Director Deborah Scott, it is also an SBA-funded program; it is only offered through Mississippi State and is for clients of all VBOCs nationwide. The live, Zoom-based classes, each taught by two veteran business owners, help participants refine their business models into business plans.
“We’ve made the course interactive and accessible, with multiple start times to accommodate participants in any part of the world,” says Deborah Scott. “Our instructor team members from successful small businesses provide one on one reviews and feedback on business plan development. Since founding Revenue Readiness in 2017, we’ve graduated more than 4,000 veterans and spouses around the world.”
MSU’s VBOC offers more than the B2B and Pathway courses.
“We offer periodic live webinars on specialized topics,” says Mark Scott. “The top three are Introduction to Government Contracting, Becoming Lender Ready and Seven Things Your Social Media Plan Should Include, which is taught by Dr. James Barnes from the MSU Extension Service.”
Another VBOC mission is business counseling. Clients are helped to understand where their businesses are and where they are headed, and advisors connect them to further resources. As with all VBOC services, there is no cost to the client.
“Some just need a little bit of encouragement or training, and they’re off and running,” says Mark Scott. “Others are trying to decide whether business ownership is right for them. Sometimes they determine it’s not. We count that as a success, too. We don’t want somebody wasting their hardearned savings or retirement on a business that might not be viable.”
The College of Business is fortunate to have the leadership of husband and wife team Mark and Deborah Scott. Mark is an MSU political science alumnus and distinguished military graduate of the ROTC program with an MBA from Norwich University, while Deborah completed an accounting degree at Mississippi University for Women and in 2019, an MBA at MSU. Following college, Mark became an Army officer, and while they were stationed at Fort Knox, KY, Deborah opened an accounting business. After the military, Mark began a 25-plus year career in business development with Texas Instruments Defense Group (later acquired by Raytheon). Deborah, too, worked in defense for Texas Instruments and for Electronic Data Systems. Later she became CFO for an IT startup, helping grow it into an $80-million-per-year company, then serving as President of the group after it was acquired. The couple has a son in the Army and a daughter in the Air Force, both lieutenant colonels and Mississippi State ROTC graduates.
The Scotts and their small teams make a mighty impact. This past year, the Center was honored as 2024 VBOC of the Year; and Natalie Rhodes, Program Coordinator for both the VBOC and B2B RR, was named the Mississippi SBA Veteran Champion. In previous years, Mike Pornovets, Deborah Scott and Mark Scott have earned the Mississippi honor as well, reflecting a strong working relationship with the SBA’s Mississippi District Office.
As MSU’s VBOC approaches its 10th anniversary this May, the team can look back with pride on all it has accomplished – and look forward eagerly to continuing its mission to serve those who have so honorably served our nation.
Development Update
As we prepare to celebrate the Mississippi State University College of Business’ 110th anniversary, we invite you to partner with us in shaping the future. Since 1915, the College of Business has been a cornerstone for business education in Mississippi, and now, as we look toward the next 110 years, we need your help to continue our mission of excellence.
Here’s how you can make an impact:
Join Club 1915
We are proud to introduce Club 1915, a new opportunity for alumni and supporters to give back in a meaningful way. Club 1915 members pledge a monthly gift of $19.15, an amount that symbolizes the founding year of the College of Business. These contributions support our strategic priorities to propel the College and our students forward.
Your membership in Club 1915 provides immediate benefits not only to the College but also to you as a member. You will be recognized in McCool Hall and receive monthly updates from Dean Scott Grawe. Club 1915 members will also be invited to exclusive networking events, where you will meet College leaders and connect with fellow alumni. These events will be hosted in Starkville and cities across the country, offering a chance to engage with the Bulldog business community on a deeper level.
Beyond Club 1915: Championing The Bulldog Business Experience
For those looking to make an even bigger impact, we encourage you to consider supporting one of our key funding priorities. Whether through a one-time gift or a recurring contribution, your support will play a critical role in advancing the mission of the College. Here are four of our top programs in which your generosity can make a difference:
Live Learning – We are committed to giving our students hands-on business experience through real-world projects, internships and off-campus learning opportunities. Your support helps cover travel, materials and other costs of activities that help immerse students in the world of business before they graduate.
Study Abroad – Business is global, and we want our students to experience that firsthand. Contributions to this program fund both tuition and travel, allowing students to explore business practices around the world and broaden their understanding of international markets.
Dawgs Scholarship Program – This scholarship program ensures that highachieving students have access to an affordable education, rewarding those who excel academically and on standardized tests. Your gift can help deserving students achieve their dreams without financial burden.
Modernizing McCool Hall – McCool Hall has been the heart of the College of Business for decades, and it needs to evolve to meet the demands of today’s students and faculty. Your support can help us update classrooms and learning spaces, ensuring that our students have access to the most advanced technology and a state-of-the-art learning environment.
Top
Leaving a Legacy: Major Gifts
If you’re considering making a major gift, we would love to work with you to ensure that your generosity leaves a lasting impact on the College. Major gifts can support any of the areas mentioned above or be directed toward a department or program of your choice. By partnering with us in this way, you can play a pivotal role in shaping the future of the College of Business, so it will continue to thrive for generations to come.
The Future of the College of Business
As we step into our 110th year, we’re excited about the future and the opportunities ahead. We remain committed to providing our students with the best education possible, preparing them to be the leaders of tomorrow. But we can’t do it alone. Your support through joining Club 1915, championing the Bulldog Business Experience or making a major or transformational gift will help us continue to grow and evolve, so that this next century is even more successful than the last.
The College of Business has always been about more than just education. It is about creating a community of leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs who shape the business world. By joining us now, you will help us write the next chapter of that story. Together, we can make the Mississippi State University College of Business stronger, more innovative and more impactful than ever before.
How to Get Started
Whether you are ready to join Club 1915, want to learn more about our funding priorities or are interested in making a major gift, we would love to hear from you. You can reach out to us directly (Development Team, p.36) or visit our website (business.msstate.edu/giving) for more information about how you can contribute to the future of your College of Business.
Let’s make the next 110 years even brighter than the first. Your commitment today will create a legacy of excellence for tomorrow’s business leaders. Thank you for your continued support of the College of Business, and Hail State!
Transformational Bulldogs
Major Gift Partners
Substantial support for programs and projects
Bulldog Business Experience Champions
A step up to support your passion one time or on a recurring basis
Club 1915 Foundation for College of Business support
Making Life Lessons Count A Conversation with Alumni Fellow James Robinson
By Kathy Kenne
When talking with James Robinson, one notices a theme running throughout the anecdotes that weave his life story. He is always looking for the life lessons in every experience, good or adverse.
This man has built his highly successful steel company, P&R Metals, Inc., on the backbone of those lessons learned. Two pillars of his business philosophy are that meeting customer needs is paramount to everything his company does and that “can’t” is a word to be avoided at all times.
Robinson represents the best of the Southern businessman – a congenial, seemingly laid-back demeanor coupled with a sharp business acumen and drive to be successful.
Looking back on his formative years, the 1987 marketing graduate shares that his family moved from Jackson to Canton when James was in the middle of seventh grade. His father was a homebuilder at the time, and the housing market was struggling due to interest rates. The elder Robinson had some tough choices to make for his family due to houses not selling – one of which was this move. Around the same time, he had also started a tire business in Ridgeland to help him move from the housing industry into a new type of business. James began working for his father’s tire store business almost immediately, performing oil changes, fixing flats and more.
Robinson recalls those days as “tough,” transitioning to a new home, community and school as a thirteen-year-old, but he learned valuable lessons through watching his mother and father build a business from the ground up – namely that businesses should be built through honesty and taking care of customers.
Throughout his youth, Robinson spent many weekends attending Ole Miss football games with his family who had a rich legacy at the university. It was during his junior year in high school that a buddy invited him to visit the Mississippi State campus the weekend after the football team defeated Alabama 6-3. He had never driven through Starkville or even seen pictures of MSU. On the way back to Canton that Sunday, he decided that MSU was the college for him.
“I knew it the day I stepped on campus. It just felt like home!” he commented about the main reason for his change of heart in where he wanted to attend school.
He continues, “It created an intense home life! My decision made for a lot of interesting Egg Bowl Thanksgivings around the house!”
His road to Mississippi State wasn’t a direct one. The self-described “low B, high C” student had some proving to do.
“My parents wanted to make sure I could get through college,” he says. “So, I went to Hinds [Community College] for two years.”
The following year, Robinson enrolled in the College of Business at State.
“I knew I wanted a business degree,” he shares. “I gravitated to marketing because I like people and am outgoing. I felt my personality fit that degree.”
James Robinson along with wife Keri funded the new seminar suite for the Department of Marketing, Quantitative Analysis and Business Law.
Photo by Emily Daniels
Robinson speaks highly of his business education. He loved the hands-on opportunities, such as being challenged with a real-life feasibility study for a business start-up from a successful entrepreneur. Five student groups studied the proposal and gave reports. Those reports provided alumnus George Bryan valuable information as he contemplated building what is now the highly acclaimed Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point.
“I like speaking to students who are like I was, who sit in the back of the class and don’t speak up because they may not be the smartest ones in the group,” says Robinson. “I tell them that work history is really what I look for on resumés. I have meetings now with the dean on how to get kids like me engaged – how to push them to get off that ‘back row.’”
During his college years Robinson had the privilege of being selected for a co-op position at Disney World.
“That taught me a lot about who I was and where I was from,” he recalls. “I was meeting 500 other college students from all over the country. Only five or six were from Mississippi State. It matured me so much and taught me that I could have great friendships with people I might have many differences with and that there was a lot that I wanted to get out and do in the world.”
That experience that helped mold Robinson’s character apparently had a similar impact on all. They still hold a reunion every year to keep up with each other. It will be number 40 in 2026.
Robinson returns to campus often for ballgames and meetings. He is the Chairman of the Marketing and Supply Chain Logistics Advisory Board and a member of the College’s Executive Advisory Board.
When he is on campus, he seeks opportunities to talk to students. His advice contains a dose of reality.
“Students are working on their degrees and trying figure out what’s next,” he shares. “I try to help by telling them what’s next and letting them know not to get disenchanted when bad stuff happens.”
Robinson again alludes to one of his personal life lessons when, at the age of 25, he was given the task of being company liaison to the largest steel customer of the metals company for whom he worked. He went to meet with the company’s head engineer after being on site for about three days. He told the engineer how he needed to change his design and go to something more readily available. Robinson didn’t expect what would happen next.
“He just walked off from the conversation!” says Robinson. “I went to the purchasing agent, who had hired me for this position, and told him what had happened. He cussed me out! Told me
Working at Disney World as a college student expanded Robinson’s (at front, right) horizons.
Photo courtesy of James Robinson
I needed to show some respect for a senior engineer and that maybe I wasn’t the guy for this job. He told me that if I came back tomorrow, I needed to put on my work clothes, go to the back of the plant where our truck drivers delivered our steel, and follow where it went from there.
“I have never wanted to quit something so immediately in all my life! My ego was hurt. I went home, got a good night’s sleep and came back early the next day to follow his instructions. After three months of monitoring, I was able to disperse a large amount of their steel inventory off the floor, which in turn, reduced inventory costs by nearly $750,000 annually. I was also able to gain an understanding of how engineers think and revisited that same engineer. He, in turn, worked with us on the design change that had originally made him walk away from me. We both laughed at it then, and respect was on both sides at that point!”
That is what makes Robinson such a genuine mentor to students. With a laugh, he’s willing to share his mistakes while imparting the wisdom that grew from them.
But there have been far more successes than mistakes. After 10 years working for two different steel companies in Tampa, FL, and Birmingham, AL, he was ready to be his own boss. In 1999, he and a partner launched P&R Metals. Four years later, Robinson bought his partner out and has served as President ever since. The Birmingham company is a leading provider of metal gratings and flooring products among other things. It is on his products that, if you look very closely at the major sports venues on campus, you’ll see stamped “Hail State.”
“I like creating an optimistic work environment,” he says. “I believe my company should be invested in our employees’ lives. A 10 year employee came to me and told me because of his cancer diagnosis he wouldn’t be able to lift anything and was worried he’d lose his job. I told him we’d find something else for him to do that wouldn’t require that, but his job was not in jeopardy. Another employee who had immigrated to the U.S., really made me feel good when he invited me to attend his house closing. I want to make others around me happy as best I can.”
Robinson not only generously shares his wisdom with MSU students, he and wife Keri have provided monetary support as well. They finance an annual scholarship for business students involved in entrepreneurial pursuits. They have also funded the new James M. Robinson Seminar Suite for the Department of Marketing, Quantitative Analysis and Business Law.
“Keri is one of my best supporters,” he shares. “She’s a good listener and lets me bounce things off her. But she’ll also call me out when I’m in the wrong!”
How does the College of Business thank someone who has done so much for its students and faculty? By bestowing on him the well-deserved moniker of Alumni Fellow of the Year.
“No one deserves this honor more than James,” states Dean Scott Grawe. “He and Keri have supported our College with enthusiasm, and their energy has drawn others to the College as well.”
“We have a great story to tell at MSU,” Robinson says with conviction. “We’re one of the top business schools in the nation, and we do a lot more with a lot less funding. I love giving back to the University in any way I can and look forward to continuing to help and serve.”
James and Keri Robinson are strong supporters of the College and its students.
Photo courtesy of James Robinson
Donors
A heartfelt “thank you” to all our alumni and friends who support the Mississippi State University College of Business and its students financially. You have enhanced our educational and research capabilities in every way!
Named here are those who provided funding in fiscal year 2024 (July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024). Every effort has been made to ensure a complete listing; however, please contact us with any corrections.
Mr. and Mrs. J. Aubrey Adair
Mr. Wiley R. Lee Adams
Mr. Lemuel S. Adams, III
Mr. Richard C. Adkerson
Aflac
Mr. William J. Albans
Alfa Insurance
Allen Beverages, Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Ned J. Allen, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence E. Allison, Jr.
AmFed Companies, LLC
Mr. and Mrs. B. F. Anderson
G. Chris Anderson
Mr. and Mrs. John Anderson
Mr. Kyle C. Anderson
Mr. William C. Anderson
Mr. and Mrs. William D. Anglin
Mr. and Mrs. Michael William Arasin
Mr. and Mrs. Allen L. Armstrong
Mr. Brian D. Arnett
Mrs. Max Arnett
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
Ms. Denae Ashcraft
Mr. Steven S. Aycock
Mr. John Bailen
Mr. and Mrs. Scotty Bailey
Mr. C. Tyler Bailey
Baker Family Charitable Foundation
Ms. Shelby C. Balius
Bank of Kilmichael
Mr. Scott Bankroff
Ms. Melissa Bankroff
Mr. and Mrs. William A. Barnett
Mr. and Mrs. David C. Battles
Mr. and Mrs. Frederic G. Bayley
Beasley General Agency
Mr. Zachary J. Becker and Mrs. Claire Becker
Mr. and Mrs. Michael F. Bell
Ben Nelson Golf & Utility Vehicles
Bergen County’s United Way
Berkley Southeast Insurance Group
Birmingham Alumni Chapter
Mr. and Mrs. Sam Bjorkman
Mrs. Nancy H. Black
Mr. and Mrs. Christian M. Bland
Mr. Howard D. Bland
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi, Inc.
BMSS, LLC
Mr. and Mrs. Roger C. Boatner
Mr. and Mrs. Brandon J. Bogard
Dr. Dawn L. Bolton
Mr. Matthew G. Bowen
Mr. and Mrs. Frankie Box
Maj. Gen. and Mrs. J. Durr Boyles
Mr. and Mrs. Todd E. Bradley
Mr. William R. Brandon
Mr. Kirk Briden
Bristol-Myers
Broadband Voice, LLC
Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Brock, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Fred N. Brown, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph M. Brown, Jr.
Mr. William A. Brown
Donna and Clark Bruce
Mr. and Mrs. Steven G. Brummett
Brig. Gen. and Mrs. Walter A. Bryan, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Larry P. Bryant
Mr. and Mrs. W. Daniel Bryant
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen C. Buehler
Mr. and Mrs. Stanley L. Bulger
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth M. Burns
Burns & Wilcox
Mr. Stephen L. Burwell
Mr. and Mrs. George W. Butler, Jr.
Ms. Kani Caldwell
Mr. and Mrs. David R. Campbell
Mr. and Mrs. Jerry D. Carlisle
Mr. and Mrs. Ted Carmical
Dr. and Mrs. Jon C. Carr
Ms. Betty J. Caswell
Mr. and Mrs. Charles D. Catledge
CBIZ MHM, LLC
Centene Management Company, LLC
Mr. and Mrs. Larry C. Chapman
Charitable Gift Fund
Charities Aid Foundation of America
Dr. Leann M. Markham and Mr. Billy H. Childers
Honorable and Mrs. Eugene S. Clarke, IV
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Clayton, Jr.
Clear Spring Life and Annuity Company
Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Cleveland
Coastal American Insurance Co.
Mr. and Mrs. Leonard B. Cobb
Mr. and Mrs. Steven Cochran
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Coggin
Mr. Kevin D. Collins and Mrs. Jennifer R. Collins
Mr. and Mrs. Terence J. Collins
Community Bank
Community Foundation of East Mississippi
Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. John K. Conn
Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Connor, III
Construction Services, Inc.
Colonel and Mrs. Jack D. Cook, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. R L. Cooper
Mr. Steven D. Corhern
Mr. and Mrs. Dennis A. Cornwell
Mr. and Mrs. Robert T. Cotton
Mr. Ashley Cox
Mr. and Mrs. Ted Craig
Mr. and Mrs. Wil Crawford
CRC Insurance Services, Inc.
Create Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Danny E. Cupit
Mr. and Mrs. Dan Curran
Mr. and Mrs. Raleigh Cutrer
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Dallas
Mr. Timothy F. Dalton
Mr. and Mrs. Walter C. Daniel
Mrs. Amanda S. Davis
Mr. Howard R. Davis, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Lance M. Davis
Mr. Larry Davis
Mr. and Mrs. Randle S. Davis
Ms. Selena N. Davis
Mr. Walter Van Davis
Mr. Wyatt J. Davis, Jr.
Deep South Precast, LLC
Deloitte & Touche Foundation
Mr. Sunny S. Desai
Ms. Krystal A. Diaz
Mr. Cade Diehl
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Diehl
Mr. Charles E. Donald, Jr. and Mrs. Shelby J. Donald
Mr. and Mrs. William R. Doss
Mr. and Mrs. Bradley V. Douglas
Mr. and Mrs. John N. Dowdle
Mrs. Ruth E. Drane
Mr. and Mrs. John E. Duncan
Mr. and Mrs. Durward B. Dunn, III
Mr. Allen Dye
Mr. David A. East
Mr. Steven M. East
Edward Jones Company
Mr. and Mrs. James J. Eickerman
Ms. Cecilia Eifert
Dr. Robert W. Ellis
Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Emerson
Employers Mutual Casualty Company
Mr. and Mrs. Charles P. England
Mr. and Mrs. Steven R. English
Entergy Mississippi
Mr. and Mrs. David M. Epps
Ernst & Young Foundation
Ms. Anita D. Evans
Mr. and Mrs. Larry E. Everett
Exxon Education Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Kendall G. Ezelle
Dr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Faello
Mr. Robert E. Fairbank, Jr.
Mr. Gary Farmer
Dr. and Mrs. Larry E. Farmer
FCCI Insurance Group
FedEx Corporation
John and Carole Ferguson
Mr. and Mrs. Carew S. Ferguson
Mr. and Mrs. Matthew G. Ferrell
Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Ferril
Mr. and Mrs. Wade J. Finger, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Haley R. Fisackerly
Fisher Brown Bottrell Insurance, Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Clarence E. Foreman
Miles and Caroline Forks
Forvis Foundation
FORVIS, LLP
Chris and Lynette Fountain
James and Joy Foy
Mr. and Mrs. Xavier M. Frascogna, Jr. Freeport Minerals Corporation
Mrs. Esther D. French
Mr. Mark French
Mr. and Mrs. Clayton J. Frick Frontstream Fuse.Cloud
Ms. Martha P. Galloway
Galloway-Chandler-McKinney Insurance
Ms. Renee H. Gardner
GBS Corporation
Mrs. Camille H. Georgia and Mr. Tarik L. Georgia
Ms. Lori L. Gibson
Mr. and Mrs. Roger E. Gilbert
Mr. and Mrs. Jason B. Giompoletti
Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund
Mr. and Mrs. Larry L. Goodwin
Dr. and Mrs. Lee A. Graf
Dr. and Mrs. Michael S. Grafinger
Mr. Lahitia S. Grant
Dr. and Mrs. Scott Grawe
Greater Houston Community Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph E. Green
Mr. Tommy R. Griffin, Jr.
Dr. and Mrs. Paul W. Grimes
Mr. and Mrs. Earl H. Grochau, II
Mr. and Mrs. Shandon B. Gunter
Mr. and Mrs. Jan L. Gwin
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur R. Haaga
Suzanne Haggard
Mr. and Mrs. Mark O. Haley
Mr. and Mrs. Edward A. Hammond, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Harry C. Hammond
Mr. Joe S. Hand
Mr. Robert C. Hardin
Dr. and Mrs. William G. Hardin, III
Harper, Rains, Knight & Company, PA
Ms. Lindsey E. Harris
Mr. and Mrs. Roy C. Harris, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Harrison
Mr. Michael J. Hart
Mr. and Mrs. Matt C. Hayden
Mr. and Mrs. Johnny Hays
Ira and Cherry Head
Mr. and Mrs. John J. Healy, III
Mr. and Mrs. John S. Heath
Mr. John R. Henry
Ms. Cynthia A. Tucker and Mr. Clark B. Herring
Dr. and Mrs. Clyde E. Herring
Mr. and Mrs. Frederick W. Hess
Mr. A. W. Hickman
Dr. and Mrs. Carl F. Hicks, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas G. Hixon, Sr.
Mrs. Barbara Hodges
Mr. and Mrs. Gene Holcomb
Mr. and Mrs. William G. Holliman
Mr. Robert G. Holloway
Mr. and Mrs. Charles O. Hoover, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. David O. Hopkins
Mr. and Mrs. Paul R. Hopkins, CPA
Horne CPA Group
Mr. and Mrs. Alan M. Hotard
Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Howard
Rachel Howard
Mr. and Mrs. Lowell T. Howell
Mr. Patrick D. Hughes
Mr. and Mrs. Shawn M. Hunter
Mr. and Mrs. Phillip L. Husband
Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Hutson, III
Independent Insurance Agents of Mississippi, Inc.
Insurance & Risk Managers
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew D. Irwin, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. William W. Iupe
J. P. Morgan Charitable Giving Fund
Mr. Bobby Jacks
Mr. and Mrs. Milburn Jackson
Ms. Pam Jacover
Mrs. Anna Joyce Jefcoat
Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Jenkins, Jr.
Mr. James L. Jesuit
Andrew and Jennifer Johnson
Mr. B. J. Johnson
Mrs. Elizabeth K. Johnson
Mr. Harvey D. Johnston
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth E. Johnston
Mr. and Mrs. Joe Jones
Mr. and Mrs. Stanley R. Jones
Mr. Andrew C. Junkin
Mrs. Virginia B. Keasler
Mr. William F. Keeler
Ms. Rhoshunda G. Kelly
Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Kenney
Mr. and Mrs. Anthony B. King
Mr. and Mrs. James D. King
Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. King
Mr. and Mrs. Ross C. King
Mr. and Mrs. William F. King, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Jon C. Kling, CFP
Bobby and Lindy Kocol
Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Koehn
Mr. David W. Kohler
Mr. Philip Koury
KPMG, LLP
Mr. William E. Kuhn
Mr. and Mrs. Alex G. Kuykendall
Mr. and Mrs. David Lacey
Mr. Stephen D. Lack
Mr. and Mrs. Bill Lampton
Mrs. Deborah C. Lancaster
Ms. D’Andrea E. Latham
Mr. and Mrs. Al M. Lawler, III
Mr. Eric Lawrence
Mr. and Mrs. Kellon Lawrence
Mr. and Mrs. Dan L. Learned
Mr. Charles M. Leggett
Legion Claims
Mr. William Lehr
Dr. and Mrs. Stephen A. LeMay
Mr. and Mrs. John H. Lewis, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Curtis W. Lindsey
Mr. and Mrs. Troy A. Lindsey
Mr. and Mrs. Walton Lipscomb, III
Ms. Morgan E. Little
Mr. and Mrs. Christopher A. Litton
LMS, Inc.
Lockheed Martin Charity Custodial Account
Lockheed Martin Corporation
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel W. Long
Mr. and Mrs. Michael M. Lowther
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas T. Luce, Jr.
Mr. Stephen G. Lusk
Ms. Kellin G. Mackey
Mr. Christopher R. Madison
Ms. Jean Madorran
Mr. Russell A. Mahan
Mr. and Mrs. Jamie L. Mahne
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis F. Mallory, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Marcus E. Mallory
Mr. Edward F. Malner
Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Manning
Drs. Kent and Emily Marett
Mark Wall and Company, LLC
Mr. and Mrs. James W. Martin
Mr. and Mrs. Don E. Mason
Mr. and Mrs. Marvin S. Massey, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. R. Todd Massey
Ms. Nancy N. Mathis
Mathison Insurance Partners, Inc.
Mr. Steven L. Mayo
Mr. and Mrs. William E. Mays, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. James A. McAlexander
Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. McBride
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph McCall
Mr. and Mrs. Brian H. McCaskill
Mr. and Mrs. John G. McCord
McCord Family Foundation, LLC
Mr. and Mrs. Kevin McGee
Ms. Sarah R. McGowan
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph M. McIlwain
Mr. and Mrs. Edward McIntosh
Mr. and Mrs. S. B. McKay
Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. McKeough
Mr. and Mrs. Steven L. McKinney
McLeod Software
Mr. and Mrs. Leslie V. McNeal, III
Mr. and Mrs. Durward D. McNeer
Mr. and Mrs. C. Scott McPherson
Mr. Todd A. McPherson
Mr. Kelly L. McQueen
Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. McWhorter, Jr.
Medical Assurance Company of Mississippi
Medtronics, Inc.
Mrs. Rebecca E. Melton
Ms. Catoria Menard
Merrill Lynch
Mr. and Mrs. Herman B. Merritt
Mr. and Mrs. Ronnie G. Michaels
Dr. Edward E. Milam
Lee and Mary Miller
Mr. and Mrs. Mickey Milligan
Mr. and Mrs. David R. Mills
Ms. Stephanie R. Mills
Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Miskelly
Mississippi Power Education Foundation, Inc.
Mississippi Professional Educators, Inc.
Mitchell Williams Law Firm
Marilyn and Eric Moake
Modern Woodmen of America
Mr. Ryan J. Montalbano
Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Mooney
Mr. and Mrs. Roderick A. Moore
Mrs. Norma J. Moore-Covey
Mr. Joe B. Moorehead, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Moorehead
Mrs. Ashley H. Morales
Mrs. Susan Bell and Mr. Patrick Morris
Mr. and Mrs. C. Brooks Mosley
Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey T. Moyher
Ms. Charlotte L. Murnan
Mr. Paul B. Murphy, Jr.
National Philanthropic Trust
Mrs. Dorian V. Necessary
Dr. and Mrs. Walter P. Neely
Donors
Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin F. Nelson, III
Ms. Kelli Nelson
Mr. and Mrs. Riley Nelson
Mr. and Mrs. Donnie D. Nichols
Ms. Terri B. Nichols
Mr. and Mrs. William V. Nickels
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas R. Norwood
Mr. and Mrs. Philip T. Olinger
Dr. Shirley F. Olson and the late Walter “Duke” J. Olson, III
Dr. and Mrs. Craig Orgeron
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph L. Ott
Mr. Smith P. Ourso
Mr. and Mrs. Gary L. Owens
PACCAR Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Ben C. Pace
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen D. Palmer
Mr. and Mrs. Walton N. Pannell
Carrie and Chad Parker
Mr. and Mrs. Sidney L. Parker
Mr. Walton Y. Parker, Jr.
Patrick C. Davis Memorial Fund
Patterson Design & Concepts
Paul Davis Restoration of the Golden Triangle
Mr. Michael K. Pawlik
Ms. Lauren E. Peach
Mr. David M. Gray, Jr. and Ms. Mary Ann Pearce
Ms. April H. Pearson
Ms. Elizabeth K. Peloquin
Mr. and Mrs. Theo D. Penton, Jr.
Pepsico Foundation, Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Davis H. Perkins, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Dennis H. Perkins
Mr. James Pollard Perkins
Mr. Maxwell Perkins
Phelps Dunbar, LLP
Mr. Christopher R. Philley
Mr. and Mrs. Wiley R. Philley
Ms. Kennedi L. Pigues
Pine Belt Fleet Services, LLC
Mr. and Mrs. Benton Pittman
Mr. Carl V. Pittman and Mrs. Sydney S. Pittman
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas W. Place
Mr. and Mrs. Eric Plunkett
Mr. Don E. Porter
Ms. Emily K. Powers
Mr. and Mrs. Brian J. Preston
Ms. Amanda Price
Mr. Clark A. Price
Mr. and Mrs. Clinton M. Price
Mrs. Kathy G. Price
Price Waterhouse Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Richard H. Puckett
Mr. and Mrs. James B. Randall, III
Mrs. Phyllis B. Rascoe
Mr. Daniel J. Recker, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Reed
Reed Food Technology
Regions Bank
Mr. Robert J. Rhoads
Donors
Ms. Rachel B. Richardson
Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Richardson, III
Mr. David B. Rieger
Dr. and Mrs. John T. Rigsby, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Fred M. Rimmer
Mr. and Mrs. Rolfe A. Risher
Ms. Cathy Robbins
Mr. and Mrs. Don H. Roberts
Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Robertson
Ms. Blair A. Robinson
Mr. and Mrs. Blake R. Robinson
Mr. James M. Robinson
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth B. Robinson
Mr. R. Don Robinson
Dr. Kevin Rogers
Mr. Van D. Rogers
Mr. and Mrs. Melvin T. Roland
Mr. and Mrs. James F. Rose
Ross & Yerger
Ms. Catherine R. Rowe
Mr. and Mrs. Alvin C. Russell
Ms. Suzanne M. Sabbatini
Safeco Insurance
Safeway Insurance Company
Mr. and Mrs. James H. Sanderford
Mr. Thomas M. Sanderford, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Steve W. Sanders
Mr. and Mrs. Christopher B. Savell
Mr. Craig S. Savell
Morgan Clark-Schnur and Sean Schnur
Mr. Samuel R. Schuh
Mr. and Mrs. Frank A. Scott, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Carl V. Seago
Mr. and Mrs. Ken C. Seawright, III
Sedgwick Claims Management Service ServiceNow
Mr. Robert P. Shannon, Jr.
Bob and Anne Shearer
Shell Oil Company Foundation
Shelter Insurance Foundation
Shelter Mutual Insurance Company
Ms. Tracy M. Shelton
Mr. Dezmond A. Sherrod
Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Shivers
Ms. Lisa Shurden
Mr. and Mrs. Billy E. Sims
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph K. Sims
Mr. and Mrs. John P. Skrmetti
Ms. Jessica L. Slaven
Mr. and Mrs. Casey M. Smith, III
Mr. and Mrs. Charles D. Smith
Mr. Jeffrey D. Smith
Mr. Robert H. Smith
Mr. and Mrs. Steven W. Solomon
Rev. and Mrs. Thomas W. Sorrell
Southeastern Conference
Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Co.
Mr. and Mrs. James R. Spencer
Paul and Mimi Speyerer
Mr. and Mrs. Gregory B. Spring
Mr. and Mrs. Drew T. St. John, II
Mr. and Mrs. Ronald W. St. John
State Farm Companies Foundation
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
Mrs. Mary Hammond Stebbins
Mr. and Mrs. Sam Steel
Mr. Joel Stephen
Mr. and Mrs. David E. Stewart, CPA
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph E. Stillions, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Henry B. Stone
Dr. and Mrs. J. B. Stroud, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Ellis A. Stuart
Mr. John Sturdivant
Mr. and Mrs. R. Michael Summerford
Summit Consulting, Inc.
Mr. Noel E. Sumrall, Jr.
Mr. George K. Swain
Synthomer Foundation
T.E. Lott & Company
Mr. William A. Taylor, III
TC Energy
Mr. Brian Temple
Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. Templeton
Rob Jenkins
Senior Director of Development rjenkins@foundation.msstate.edu (662) 312-9300
Terry Collins Agency, LLC
Ms. Lucy P. Tharpe
The Adkerson Family Foundation
The Benevity Community Impact Fund
The Delta Air Lines Foundation
The Fountain Family Foundation
The Gray Surety
The Schwab Charitable Fund
The Taylor Group, Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Danny Thomas
Mr. and Mrs. E. Anthony Thomas
Mr. Ernest Thomas, III
Mr. Dale S. Thompson
Paul Kinsey and Gavin Thompson
Mr. and Mrs. James Brent Thompson
Mr. Michael B. Thompson
Mr. and Mrs. Jerry L. Toney
Topp McWhorter Harvey, PLLC
Travelers Companies Foundation, Inc.
Ms. Anne B. Travis
Ms. Virginia L. Trinkle
Mr. and Mrs. John A. Tucker
Mr. and Mrs. Tyler R. Tullos
Dr. Philip H. Turnquist
U.S. Charitable Gift Trust
Universal Freight Systems
Universal Logistics Services, Inc.
UPS International
Mr. and Mrs. Nick A. Valsamakis
Ms. Alice Van Ryan
Ms. Jean Varak
Mr. and Mrs. George M. Vaughn
Dr. and Mrs. George L. Verrall
Mr. and Mrs. Branden M. Vincent
Mr. Wilson D. Volk
Mr. and Mrs. Whit Waide
Mr. Jim L. Walden
Mr. and Mrs. Gary L. Walker
Mr. and Mrs. Harold D. Walker, III
Mr. Russell L. Wall
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Walley
Ms. Stephanie Walton
Mary Elizabeth Stringer
Assistant Director of Development
mestringer@foundation.msstate.edu (662) 722-1995
Mr. and Mrs. Frank C.T. Wang
Warren Averett, LLC
Mr. and Mrs. William M. Washington, III
Mr. Kenneth L. Watkins
Watkins, Ward and Stafford, PLLC
Mr. Kyle Watson
Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Watts
Mr. Hugh B. Weaver
Ms. Janice G. Wedgworth
Mr. and Mrs. Paul C. Welch
Mr. and Mrs. Christopher E. Wells
Mr. and Mrs. Frank M. Wells, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Jack D. Wells
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas T. Wert
Mr. and Mrs. John C. Wesson
Ms. Sandra West
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel F. Whalen
Mrs. Elaine M. White
Mr. Marty F. White
Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. White
Mr. and Mrs. Don Whitmire, Jr.
Mr. Paul R. Whitmire
Major and Mrs. Frank J. Wilkerson
T. Palmer Wilks, Jr., DMD
Mr. Nathaniel E. Williams
Mr. Thomas A. Williams
Mr. and Mrs. Mark B. Willson
Mr. Hugh H. Wilson, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Jerry T. Wilson
Ms. Cynda L. Wimberly
Mr. and Mrs. Wesley T. Winborne
Mr. and Mrs. Turner A. Wingo
Mr. and Mrs. Terrell E. Winstead
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Wofford
Dr. Charles W. Wootton
John K. Richardson and Sandra J. Wright
Mr. Ralfiel D. Wright
Robert and Ann Wright
Joel and Cheryl Yelverton
Mr. and Mrs. Harry M. Yoste, Jr.
NaToya Sanders
Assistant Director of Development nsanders@foundation.msstate.edu (662) 325-3431
Kristal Tate Advancement Coordinator ktate@business.msstate.edu (662) 325-9055
Advisory boards are essential to the successful growth of Mississippi State University’s College of Business. Our Executive Advisory Board and departmental advisory boards bring industry insights that keep us attuned to evolving market trends, inspire continuous improvements in the classroom experience and foster strong connections with our alumni and supporters. Through their guidance and expertise, these dedicated groups help ensure the College remains a leader in business education.
Boyce Adams, Sr. Founder BankTEL Systems Homewood, AL
Richard C. Adkerson (Emeritus)
Retired President & CEO Freeport-McMoRan, Inc. Phoenix, AZ
Theresa Brady-Goldberg
Retired Commissioner
Mississippi Department of Banking & Consumer Finance Tupelo, MS
Nap Bryan B-737 Captain American Airlines Denton, TX
Stephen Buehler
Founder, Astra Ventures Creator, Astra Insights Nashville, TN
James A. Coggin
Retired President & CAO SAKS, Inc. Jackson, MS
James Collins
President One Accord Transportation & Management, LLC Belleville, IL
Cynthia Cooper President & CEO The CooperGroup, LLC Brandon, MS
Helen Currie
Chief Economist ConocoPhillips Houston, TX
Thomas F. Darnell (Emeritus) Executive VP, Chief Sales Officer BancorpSouth Tupelo, MS
Walter V. “Walt” Davis
President WDJF, LLC Marietta, GA
Haley R. Fisackerly President & CEO
Entergy Mississippi, Inc. Jackson, MS
Larry Galloway VP
Geophysical Pursuit, Inc. Covington, LA
Jan L. Gwin
Managing Director
Raymond James & Associates, Inc. Memphis, TN
John F. Hill CEO
WealthPartners, LLP Madison, MS
Shawn Hunter CEO & Owner Industry Services Co., Inc. Mobile, AL
Paul J. Karre
Retired SVP, Human Resources & Communications International Paper Pawleys Island, SC
Lewis F. Mallory, Jr. (Emeritus) Retired Chairman & CEO Cadence Bank, N.A. Starkville, MS
Don Mason
Retired VP, External Affairs & Corporate Services Mississippi Power Company Gulfport, MS
J. Michael McIlwain CEO
Applied Technical Services, LLC Kildeer, IL
Frank H. McWhorter, Jr. CPA
Topp McWhorter Harvey, PLLC Hattiesburg, MS
Lee Miller
Retired President
Miller Transporters, Inc. Jackson, MS
Mickey Milligan (Emeritus) Director, Existing Industry & Business Mississippi Development Authority Jackson, MS
Roderick A. “Rod” Moore
Retired EVP & CEO
Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company Brandon, MS
Buddy Mortimer Chairman of the Board Bank of Kilmichael Kilmichael, MS
Benji Nelson
President
Ben Nelson Golf & Utility Vehicles Madison, MS
Shirley Olson President Olson Consulting Group, LLC Jackson, MS
Jim Perkins Retired VP
Bois d’Arc Energy, Inc. Ridgeland, MS
Richard Puckett, Sr. (Emeritus) Chairman & CEO Puckett Machinery Company Flowood, MS
Joe G. Rice, Jr.
Managing Director, Investments
Raymond James & Associates, Inc. Ridgeland, MS
James M. Robinson
President P & R Metals, Inc. Birmingham, AL
Ken B. Robinson
Retired Senior Finance Executive
Procter & Gamble
Exelon Corporation Cincinnati, OH
James “Jim” Rouse (Emeritus) Retired VP
ExxonMobil Corporation Houston, TX
Kathy St. John
Retired Managing Director & Contracts Consultant
NAPA Healthcare Connection, Inc. Madison, MS
William A. “Lex” Taylor, III Chairman & CEO
The Taylor Group of Companies Louisville, MS
Roland Terry VP
Construction Services, Inc. Lauderdale, MS
Cyndi A. Tucker
Retired Director, Technology & Business Development ConocoPhillips Houston, TX
Jimmy L. Walden
Real Estate Management
Walden Group, LLC Jackson, MS
Loretta Walker
EVP and Chief People Officer
MedStar Health Columbia, MD
M.L. Waters (Emeritus) Secretary & Treasurer
Waters International Trucks, Inc. Meridian, MS
Executive Advisory Board members at their 2024 spring meeting
Photo by Emily Daniels
The Social Media Stage
By Emily Daniels
In today’s fast-paced, digital-first world, social media serves as a cornerstone of communication for Mississippi State University’s College of Business. It is more than just a tool – it is a bridge that brings our Bulldog family closer together while amplifying our voice on the world stage. Social media empowers us to connect instantly with audiences anywhere, showcasing our mission, values and the transformative impact of business education. Across multiple platforms, we share vital information, celebrate achievements and foster a strong sense of community among students, faculty, alumni and friends. Want to stay up to date on all things College of Business? Follow us, and join the conversation!
2024 MSU College of Business Social Media Analytics
• Followers: 2,863 (346 new followers; up 78.4% from 2023)
• Post Reach: 287,205 users (up 72.9% from 2023)
• Top Post: Nov. 13 – Aundrea Self New Hire Announcement
• 929 Likes • 12,854 Post Reach • 13.53% Engagement Rate
• Followers: 2,195 (800 new followers; up 152% from 2023)
• Post Reach: 380,494 users (up 136% from 2023)
• Top Post: Sept. 23 – This or That
• 481 Likes • 14,018 Post Reach • 4.81% Engagement Rate
• Followers: 3,509 (1,360 new followers; up 474% from 2023)
• Post Reach: 268,998 users (up 122% from 2023)
• Top Post: Aug. 21 – Happy First Day of Class, Business Bulldogs!
• 85 Reactions • 3,403 Post Reach • 94.24% Engagement Rate
X (formerly Twitter)
• Followers: 1,733
• Post Reach: 17,456 users (up 1.7k% from 2023)
• Top Tweet: Sept. 26 – 2nd Banking Career Exchange
• 15.81% Engagement Rate
• Subscribers: 138 (up 170% from 2023)
• Views: 5,736 (up 51% from 2023)
• Top Watched: Aug. 29 – The Bulldog Business Show/Adam Scott
• 372 Views via YouTube page • 944 Video Reach via YouTube page
Be sure to also subscribe to THE BULLDOG BUSINESS SHOW on Podbean, Spotify and Apple Podcasts!
Lighting the Way Forward
By Emily Daniels
In the world of startups, many ideas begin as mere sparks and ignite into something much bigger.
For MagneTec, a student-led company that emerged from Mississippi State University’s Center for Entrepreneurship & Outreach, or E-Center, that spark came from a problem three students encountered in their daily lives.
MagneTec, a startup founded by Dylan Suddarth, Ben Brooks and Jay Stiles, has captured the attention of mechanics, race car enthusiasts and even sewing hobbyists with a product that solves a simple yet significant problem: working in poorly lit environments.
Their device, MagneBrite, offers a unique solution – it is a portable, adaptable LED light that can be affixed to various surfaces, giving users both hands-free lighting and unparalleled flexibility. It is the kind of straightforward idea that answers a real-world problem, and it has caught fire within MSU’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The story of MagneTec began with Suddarth, an undergraduate mechanical engineering student who later transitioned to industrial and systems engineering and was driven by his dream of merging a love for design with the practical business knowledge of an MBA.
“I was taking a special topics course, Intellectual Property and Patent Design, and was tasked with coming up with an idea that would solve a problem, which would be my project for the year,” recalls Suddarth, now the startup’s Chief Executive Officer. “I remembered a problem I had over winter break working on a Mazda RX-8 engine. I was reaching down into it, but my hand was too big and kept blocking the light every time, so I couldn’t see what I was doing. I knew there had to be a solution, and I thought of a multi-angle flashlight that would fit on the bottom of your wrist.”
His idea gained traction, and he teamed up with Brooks, a fellow student and now Chief Operating Officer, and Stiles, the company’s Chief Technology Officer, to transform MagneTec from a concept into a fully operational company.
After searching and realizing there was not already a product that could do exactly what they needed, the trio saw an opportunity to make it themselves.
The team quickly got to work prototyping their product, using resources from the E-Center like the 3D printers at the Idea Shop.
“We have our own printer now,” Suddarth says with a smile, “But in the beginning, we were using the University’s resources. They really set us up for success.”
Suddarth shares that entrepreneurship has been a lifelong dream for all three of them, and with the E-Center’s assistance, their dream is becoming a reality. Their drive was matched by the support and structure of the E-Center, which helped the team overcome the dreaded “analysis paralysis” and push through each stage of development.
Brooks, who also works in the E-Center as a Student Client Specialist, was pivotal in guiding the company through the stages of MSU’s VentureCatalyst program, which prepares student startups to pitch their ideas to investors.
“We have a massive checklist that helps students generate the right numbers and think about the right things to make their businesses successful,” Brooks explains. “My role at the E-Center is to make sure they stay on track and develop a pitch that appeals to investors.”
(from left) Dylan Suddarth, Jay Stiles and Ben Brooks
Photo by Natalie Edwards
Stiles is particularly excited about the technical aspects of the product.
“We knew the light needed to be durable, portable and versatile, so designing something that could fit those needs without being too bulky or expensive was a real challenge,” he explains. “We’ve been experimenting with different materials and manufacturing processes to make it as lightweight as possible but still robust enough for heavy use.”
MagneTec has started selling its product. In the 2024 Startup Summit competition at MSU, the team won $7,250, which they have channeled toward a patent attorney, manufacturing, marketing and even the company’s software infrastructure.
“We’re becoming a more legit company by the day,” says Suddarth, with the kind of quiet confidence that comes from seeing one’s idea take tangible shape.
The team decided to pursue the automotive market first as part of a deliberate strategy. Starting with this “beachhead” market allows the MagneBrite developers to refine their product, gather feedback and scale thoughtfully.
“Right now, we’re focusing on the automotive market because we understand it, and it’s where the idea started,” Brooks says, noting the product’s potential is much broader. “Someone came up to us at a pitch competition and said, ‘I could give this to my nail tech.’ It really could be used for anything – night fishing, sewing, woodworking.”
The team is also expanding its product line, adding more advanced versions of their lighting system. While the current MagneBrite sells for around $25, Suddarth says they’re gearing up to launch a “Pro” version in 2025, which will entail an unprecedented design that allows for much greater versatility and utility.
Despite its growth, the startup is still in its early stages. The company’s first real test will be showcasing the entrepreneurs’ product at an upcoming car show, where they hope to sell their lights directly to customers and gather feedback for future iterations.
After the car show, the team plans to attend a professional racing event, where they will talk to race mechanics working with top-tier brands like Lexus, Honda and Porsche.
In MSU’s 2024 Startup Summit, the team won a total of $7,250, helping to fund the next steps in the company’s development.
Photo by Nicole Boulay
“That’s going to be huge for us,” Brooks says. “We want to see what the professionals think, the people who do this for a living.”
Stiles adds that feedback from the market has been essential for refining the product.
“We’re working with a lot of real-time data, adjusting features based on what customers say,” he says. “The next step will be adding different attachments to make the lights even more versatile, whether it’s a hat clip, a headband, a backpack clip or a belt clip for mechanics.”
For MagneTec, the future is about more than just selling lights. The trio envisions expanding the company’s product line to offer multiple attachments for different uses and even developing bundled packages.
“We’ll let the market tell us what to do,” Suddarth says.
The team is also eyeing larger partnerships and contracts, particularly with big car companies.
“That’s the dream,” says Brooks. “But we need enough capital to get there.”
While that dream may still be on the horizon, MagneTec is already blazing a trail for MSU student entrepreneurs.
“It’s risky, but it’s incredibly rewarding,” Suddarth says. “There’s something deeply fulfilling about building something from the ground up with your best friends. It’s not just about landing a stable job. It’s about doing something that no one else has done.”
Stiles echoes this sentiment, remarking, “We’re not just learning about business or engineering – we’re actually applying it in real-time. It’s one thing to read about startups, but to actually run one teaches you lessons that go way beyond the classroom.”
At the heart of MagneTec’s success is the structure provided by the E-Center. The program gave the students more than just resources. It gave them a roadmap.
“The checklist, the guidance, the connections we’ve made – it’s all been so crucial to where we are now,” Brooks says. “For anyone considering entrepreneurship, whether they have an idea or not, the question isn’t whether you should try. The real question is, why not?”
As MagneTec prepares for its next steps, the future looks bright for this young startup, proving that with the right support and a great idea, students can light the way forward.
The MagneBrite device offers flexible, hands-free lighting for tasks in poorly-lit environments.
Photo courtesy of MagneTec
Paying It Forward
By Kirsten Shaw
If Angelia Knight had found a niche as a business student, she might not be the College of Business’ Director of MBA Programs today.
The Pontotoc, MS, native enrolled at Mississippi State in 1983 with initial thoughts of pursuing a business degree. Through early courses and friendly advice, however, she learned that business might not be where her academic strong suit lay.
“A friend in the dorm said, ‘Everybody in the dorm comes to you to talk about their problems. You know you can get paid for that, right?’” recalls Knight. “I said ‘Well, no, I didn’t know that.’ I changed to psychology and wow, my GPA went up!”
Knight graduated from MSU with a BA in psychology and an MS in counselor education. She began her career with several years as a University Counselor at Northwest Missouri State, followed by a move to Mississippi University for Women, where she became Director of Counseling and Career Services. After a time, she and husband Dr. Frank Adams, who is now a COB Professor of Supply Chain Logistics and Marketing, decided to accept positions with the University of Alabama.
“I had been working with survivors of things like rape and sexual abuse. Those are heavy topics,” she shares, noting that the burnout rate for counselors in such areas is high. “When I was at MUW, I noticed that the career counselor who reported to me didn’t get called out for the 2 a.m. hospital visits. So I took a position as a career director in the College of Engineering at Alabama, and it was a lot of fun.”
She eventually moved to the University of Alabama’s MBA program, where she did career counseling with students and coordinated corporate relations with employers. In this role, she often worked with human resources professionals, which led to her decision to earn Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification.
“I thought it would help to understand their hiring practices and the laws they’re responsible for during the hiring process, so I could coach my students,” she says. “I sat through the class twice and took the test. I was thrilled that I passed it the first time, because it was a bear. I even threw myself a party!”
She has maintained certification ever since and finds that the “PHR” next to her name garners notice and credibility among the MBA program’s corporate partners and employers.
Knight and Adams returned to MSU in 2012, and she became Director of MBA Programs in 2014. In this role, she works with COB department heads to plan each semester’s schedules for the oncampus and online courses. A full review of the MBA curricula started in the fall, addressing areas such as data analytics, a generational shift in leadership styles, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.
“We have to look at every single course,” she observes, offering an example. “We have projects [for companies] where students have to sign nondisclosure agreements. If they do, they can’t use ChatGPT to fancy up their wording because it breaks their nondisclosures. So, we’re delving into those areas to ensure we’re doing things appropriately and protecting the privacy of the companies who use us for consulting projects.”
Those projects are often part of the capstone Strategic Business Consulting course, a standout feature of the MBA programs. Each year, Knight and staff find companies that want a team of MBA consulting students to work with them to recommend solutions or improvements in a given area. Each team – on-campus and online – has its own project.
Photo by Emily Daniels
“We’re pretty excited about the wide variety we have this year,” she notes. “Some of the clients lined up so far are C Spire, Green Mountain Technology, Georgia-Pacific, Community Bank, Republic Finance, Magnolia Health, several family businesses, a Boy Scout Council and even an office here on campus.”
Currently, there are 250-plus students in the online MBA program, many of whom are well into careers and looking for the degree to help them move into managerial positions or improve their prospects as military officers. The on-campus program has 107 students. Most were MSU undergrads, and as many as half came from non-business areas like engineering, forestry, agriculture, psychology, philosophy and sports. It is the largest class Knight has seen, which she attributes to strong recruiting and a steadily growing reputation.
“Over time, we have built up word of mouth across campus that this is a great program, and it’s worth it to spend that extra year on campus and get that extra degree,” she says.
Knight’s team helps their younger students prepare not only for careers but also for life.
“The on-campus MBAs are mostly straight from undergrad, so they’re going through a lot of transition,” she comments. “They’re figuring out how to do a job search, what independence means. We’re teaching them how to budget and what their credit score means and how much it costs to live in the places where they’re headed. All that may sound basic, but a lot of students haven’t thought about it yet. It’s a passion of mine that they graduate with the knowledge they need, because I didn’t. My dad worked at a factory; there was no such thing as a credit card in our family – I didn’t know what that was. So I don’t want to send them out into this world without having at least that basic knowledge.”
Knight’s empathy for students is fed by her own experience. When she was in high school, her father was in a work accident that limited the funds available for college, and she became determined to pay all her own expenses. The first-generation college student received financial aid and did work-study – which included a stint in the Department of Finance and Economics – throughout her time at MSU. At one point in graduate school, her week included 20 hours of work-study, 20 hours as a graduate assistant, four nights as an aerobics instructor and Saturdays as an administrator for exams like the ACT, GRE and LSAT.
“There were people here at Mississippi State who really looked after me – they knew I was putting myself through school,” she shares. “I always felt like I needed to pay that forward. Staying in education was what I needed to do because they had done so much for me.”
Knight oversaw MSU’s hosting of the SEC MBA Case Competition. Here, she is pictured with the students who represented Mississippi State – (from left) Landis Penro, Sean McCulloch, Madalyn Gibbons and Kalli Hedgepeth – and Marketing Instructor Emily Stokes.
Photo by Emily Daniels
Years later, she is still profoundly grateful to the late Dr. Leland Fager, then Director of the MSU Counseling Center, and his assistant Susie Latham, who saw to it that she had work on campus and even provided home-cooked meals and babysitting jobs.
Currently, Knight and her staff are in a time of transition, adjusting their approach to recruitment as a shift takes place in the types of employment students are seeking. There is less interest now in traditional corporate eight-to-five jobs and more in smaller startups that can provide a broader range of experiences.
“Work-life balance is a huge thing for this generation, and I totally agree with that,” she notes, adding wryly, “Sometimes they want a little more life than work, but we’re trying to help them navigate that.”
There is no “typical day” for Knight. Any given day might involve an advisory board meeting or hosting an event like the SEC MBA Case Competition or recruiting companies as employers or case clients. It may bring a line of students to her door after their first round of exams or find her leading a session to resolve an internal team conflict or offering a student guidance about electives. Most rewarding is when she can offer advice to help a student see what path to take.
“I’ve had students who had to decide between two different jobs, who were so busy looking at the salary they weren’t necessarily considering what they were passionate about. I could tell from their faces which job they really wanted, but they were trying to talk themselves into something else. Talking them through that is amazing,” Knight shares. “Others know an offer is the one they want, but there’s something about the benefits they don’t understand, so I’ll go through it with them. Or a student will bring in a spouse or fiancé, and we’ll walk through how to do a job search together or balance family and career expectations.”
One of her favorite occasions was when a student from the class of 2017 was talking with her about jobs.
“I looked at him and said, ‘You’ll be absolutely miserable working for somebody else. You need to just continue with your own business,’” she recalls. “He had started a business called CampusKnot - it’s educational software. He’s still doing it, and he and the company are doing amazingly well. I’m very proud of him.”
That student was Rahul Gopal. As an international student nearing graduation, he needed a job that would help him secure an H-1B visa.
“I vividly recall sitting in Angelia Knight’s office that afternoon,” he shares. “I had just completed interviews with an insurance company and a paper company. The prospect of working for them filled me with anxiety, compounded by my immigration challenges. Angelia, my mentor and advisor, was someone I trusted for her honest, unfiltered guidance. She encouraged me to trust in my abilities and find a way to address my immigration needs through my startup.”
He continues, “That conversation changed everything. Her words gave me the courage to fully commit to my vision. Today, in 2024, I am the Co-founder and CEO of CampusKnot Inc., an edtech startup solving the student engagement problem, serving thousands of customers nationwide and backed by over $2 million in funding. That defining moment taught me the power of selfbelief and the importance of trusting your passion.”
Knight has also been there for students going through tough times like divorce or loss of a parent.
“To share in that moment and help walk them through whatever it is, that’s an amazing gift,” she says.
At most universities, the qualifications to be an MBA program director typically do not include a degree in counseling or professional certification in human resources. As it turns out, those things – along with a heart for students – are exactly what’s needed. And in Angelia Knight, the College of Business has the perfect person for the job.
The Master’s Gang
By Ja’Nyla Norwood
In the fall of 2020, three longtime friends – Dewayne Jackson, Julian Smith and Tony White – each found themselves at a crossroads. Each had built a career and a family since their undergraduate days at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, or UAB.
The men had forged a friendship, first as classmates in UAB’s Business Information Systems program and later as IT colleagues at Trussville City Schools in Alabama. Their camaraderie, forged through shared experiences and mutual respect, set the stage for their next adventure: pursuing graduate degrees together.
Smith was the catalyst for this new chapter. He held a deep-rooted love for Mississippi State University that developed through two alumni who were influential in his life – a coach at his Birmingham-area high school and one of his most impactful professors in undergraduate school. When the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a shift to online learning and advantageous graduate school entrance requirements, Smith saw an opportunity.
He reached out to Jackson and White, suggesting they embark on a journey together toward master’s degrees in information systems, or MSIS. The decision was a natural one, as their shared history and professional alignment made the prospect of studying together both practical and appealing.
The transition back to academic life was daunting.
Smith explains, “I was in a different stage of life as a full-time employee, husband and father of two active young boys, which led to mixed feelings of excitement and apprehension about starting the online program.”
Jackson, who was balancing family life with a demanding job, and White, who had recently returned from a deployment and was juggling his responsibilities as a U.S. Air Force reservist, faced similar challenges.
The trio found themselves navigating a new online learning environment and balancing coursework with their busy lives. The online format proved to be a blessing, especially for Jackson.
Jackson notes, “I was able to complete my studies outside family time at my own pace.”
Their strong bond facilitated constant communication; they texted, emailed and videochatted to discuss lessons and support one another.
The support extended beyond their peer interactions. The faculty at MSU, particularly Dr. Kent Marett, Professor of Information Systems, and Dr. Susan Seal, Dean and Executive Director of MSU Online, played pivotal roles in their collective journey. Marett’s engaging teaching style and personal touch smoothed the transition to once again becoming students.
The “Master’s Gang”: (from left) Dewayne Jackson, Julian Smith and Tony White. Photo by MSU Online Team
“Dr. Marett showed interest not only in our studies but also in us as individuals,” says Jackson. “His dedication was evident in his regular virtual office hours and personalized feedback.”
For Smith, Seal’s leadership class was a revelation. The course was a deep dive into various leadership theories, requiring introspection and self-reflection. His leadership style evolved significantly as he learned to adapt to different situations and understand the importance of being both a leader and an effective follower.
Although White didn’t personally experience Seal’s class due to a deployment to Kuwait, he witnessed its impact on his friends. Smith’s transformation as a leader inspired White to reflect on his approach.
Because of Seal’s influence, White shares, “I’m constantly reminded that strong leadership is about continuous learning and adapting.”
The challenges were numerous. Balancing full-time jobs, family commitments, military service and academic responsibilities tested their resolve. Yet, their shared goal and mutual support saw them through. They held each other accountable, studied together and tackled assignments as a team – as the “Master’s Gang,” which they dubbed themselves on their group text.
This collective effort not only made the experience manageable but also deeply rewarding. They grew closer, their friendship solidifying into a partnership driven by a shared vision of success.
One of the highlights of White’s graduate school journey was the day they presented their capstone project in person. Although virtual presentations were an option, they all chose to present on campus, relishing the chance to experience the University’s vibrant atmosphere. A sunny day, a memorable visit to the campus bookstore and a chance encounter with Marett created the perfect culmination of their hard work.
The three friends were taught and supported by MSU Online Dean Dr. Susan Seal.
Photo by MSU Online Team
The project for their MSIS Consulting class offered something rare for online programshands-on experience with an operational business. It had them working with Duet Technology, producer of an innovative barbering clipper, to implement a customer warranty system for their product.
As graduation approached, the trio reflected on their journey. They recalled moments of struggle and triumph, the camaraderie that made challenges surmountable and the professional growth they experienced. The program had not only strengthened their bond but had also helped them advance their careers.
Jackson, who was working as a Network Administrator, is now the IT Network Manager for Trussville City Schools. Smith was the Coordinator of Information Technology for Hoover City Schools in Alabama when he started the MBA program and is now the Director of Information Technology for Arlington Holding Company, leading IT initiatives for Arlington Construction Services, Professional Building Services, Arlington Properties and Arlington Development. White is a Database Administrator for Hoover City Schools and continues as a reservist, drilling monthly in Atlanta.
Jackson, Smith and White have continued to lean on each other personally and professionally. They still chat weekly.
Fueled by their shared experiences and newfound expertise, Smith reveals, “We have contemplated starting our own IT consulting firm since completing the program.”
The journey through graduate school was transformative for the trio. It reshaped their professional lives, deepened their friendship and broadened their perspectives. As they look to the future, they carry the lessons learned, the challenges overcome and the enduring bond of the “Master’s Gang” – a testament to the power of friendship and the pursuit of excellence.
MSU Hosts SEC MBA “Game Day”
By Emily Daniels
Mississippi State University’s College of Business welcomed top MBA talent from across the Southeastern Conference as host of the 11th annual SEC MBA Case Competition. Mississippi State was proud to take the lead in organizing and hosting the event, which drew more than 100 visitors, including faculty, students and business executives from across the Southeast.
Since its inception in 2013, the SEC MBA Case Competition has grown into one of the conference’s most highly regarded events, offering a unique platform for collaboration and innovation among aspiring business leaders. This year’s competition drew students from 13 business schools, challenging them to demonstrate their strategic problem-solving abilities by tackling real-world issues.
“We were thrilled to welcome so many talented students and business leaders to our campus,” says Angelia Knight, MSU Director of MBA Programs. “Hosting this competition is an opportunity to showcase the resources and strengths of Mississippi State, while giving these students a chance to apply their academic knowledge to real-world corporate challenges.”
This year, participants tackled a complex case provided by FedEx Corporation, a global leader in logistics and transportation. Serving as both the case client and event sponsor, FedEx had its executives design a case that mirrored real strategic issues the company faces. Teams had 24 hours to analyze FedEx’s logistical operations and develop innovative solutions that could deliver significant value.
After intense preparation, the students presented their recommendations in divisional rounds to a panel of FedEx executives. The top four teams then advanced to the final round, where the best solutions were selected. The judges were unaware of the teams’ identities and university affiliations throughout the process.
Vanderbilt University emerged as the winner for the second year in a row, earning a $10,000 cash prize. The University of Florida took second place, followed by the University of Alabama, then the University of Tennessee. The event culminated in an awards ceremony recognizing team and individual achievements. Individual students were honored for best presentation and best Q&A performances in each divisional round.
Mississippi State faculty and staff played a critical role in ensuring the success of the event, from coordinating logistics to facilitating networking opportunities. Beyond the competition itself, MSU provided participants and judges with a firsthand look at the University’s thriving business programs and the broader Starkville community.
“Hosting this competition really underscores Mississippi State’s commitment to fostering innovation and leadership,” says College of Business Dean Scott Grawe. “This was game day for SEC MBA programs, and competitors from throughout the conference gained valuable problemsolving and networking experience with FedEx. I’m sure that each student also gained confidence, knowledge and even a few memories to take with them throughout their careers.”
MSU’s role as event host put the College of Business in the center of an elite network of SEC schools and industry professionals. The competition now moves to Nashville, where Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management will host in 2025.
Photos by Grace Cockrell, Emily Daniels and Jonah Holland
Is “Doing Good” Good for Business?
By Myles Landers
There is a quote I like from Patagonia’s founder, Yvon Chouinard, where he states that “...doing the right thing makes for a good and profitable business.” While this has been true for the outdoor clothing and gear company, my research colleagues and I have been on a quest for the past 11 years to understand a basic question. Is “doing good” good for business?
Now, more than ever, businesses are balancing the demands of different stakeholders. Businesses have to not only bring value to customers, but they must also bring value to shareholders, employees, society at large and the environment. One key question when thinking about bringing value to multiple stakeholders is how to manage the different needs of each group. Firms have worked on balancing this by developing strategies around corporate social responsibility, or CSR; environmental, social and governance, or ESG, investment standards and building strategies that balance social issues, environmental issues and profits – referred to as the Triple Bottom Line.
You would think that creating value across stakeholders would not only be good for society but also good for profits. However, if you look across the business landscape you will find that a number of companies are reducing, or removing, their social and environmental programs and goals. There are a lot of reasons for the backslide of social and environmental programs, but they can be basically broken down into the lack of a clear link to how these initiatives influence the bottom line.
I believe the work that my research colleagues and I have conducted can shed some light into answering the question about whether “doing good” is good for business. Our work takes a holistic approach. We not only look at this question from the strategic firm level, but we also look at how environmental and social strategies influence employees and customers.
Building a Sustainable Firm Strategy
With the reduction in environmental programs by firms, companies ought to be asking if, and when, they should implement sustainability initiatives. My colleagues and I believe that all firms should participate in sustainability strategies; however, their level of commitment depends on their overall strategic priorities. We outline these strategic priorities as a pyramid where the most basic priorities are the base of the pyramid, and as firms move up the pyramid of priorities, they become more invested in sustainability initiatives. At the most basic level we argue that firms should comply with the environmental and social regulatory policies. By not complying with these regulations, firms risk sanctions. The threat of sanctions is used as a stick for compliance. Therefore, firms are not motivated to do more than is necessary.
The next level includes firms that create sustainability strategies to cut overall costs. This is a long-term investment strategy where firms do see the potential of sustainability initiatives to have a positive impact on the firm’s overall bottom line. For example, Walmart recently announced a commitment to expand clean energy by enabling the construction of almost one gigawatt of clean energy across the country¹. This long-term investment by Walmart will not only cut costs for the company but it will also curb the total emissions by one of the largest retailers in the world.
The third tier of our pyramid includes firms that realize there is a shift in customer demand for sustainable products. There is now a large segment of customers who seek out products and services from firms that offer environmental and social benefits. These customers are attracted to firms that offer sustainable value propositions. Firms that implement a sustainable value proposition strategy focus on providing stakeholders clear sustainable initiatives. An example company is Levi’s. Levi’s provides an easily accessible sustainability section on their website that outlines their environmental and social initiatives. It notes, “We’ve long been advocates for sustainability…. Our plans and partnerships are focused on three main pillars: climate, consumption and community.²” The Levi’s statement builds sustainability into the overall value proposition of the company.
The top of the pyramid requires firms’ identities to be driven by environmental and social initiatives. When a firm uses a sustainable identity strategy, environmental and social responsibility is embedded within every aspect of the organization. Shoe retailer TOMS is a good example of a sustainable identity company. TOMS’ motto is that they are in the business to improve lives. They live up to this by giving away a third of their profits each year. TOMS also publishes an annual impact report that outlines their contributions³.
Employee Response to Sustainable Strategies
When developing a firm’s sustainability strategy, a company needs to consider how each stakeholder will react to the strategic initiatives. This is especially true when it comes to execution of the sustainable strategy. Frontline employees are the boots on the ground when it comes to executing the firm’s strategic initiatives. Sustainable strategies are passed down from management to these frontline employees, and the employees oversee execution. Therefore, it is imperative to understand how sustainable strategies influence employees.
In a series of papers, my colleagues and I sought to examine frontline employee responses to environmental and social initiatives of their firms. In our work, we find that both environmental and social initiatives have a positive impact on the frontline employees and their firms. However,
these results are dependent on the levels of perceived commitment the firms have to each of their initiatives. Specifically, we find that when frontline employees view their companies as engaging in higher levels of positive social initiatives toward the employees and engaging in lower levels of environmental initiatives, then they are less likely to quit and more likely to spread positive word-of-mouth. However, when firms engage in higher levels of environmental initiatives, then the frontline employees have better job performance, and the environmental performance of companies is higher. These results highlight the fact that frontline employees have different motivations and reactions to firm initiatives.
Customer Response to Sustainable Strategies
In a retail world it is said that the retail store is where the rubber meets the road with firm strategies. This is where firms find out if their strategies are effective value propositions to their customers. In recent years, there has been a big push to understand how sustainability strategies influence customers’ perceptions of products and customer purchase behavior. Specifically, firms have been exploring what information to provide customers on their packaging that might help influence purchases.
Recently, my research colleagues and I have been exploring how providing a QR code to traceability information on the package may influence customers’ perceptions. Over several experiments, using olive oil as our base product, we have been finding that access to the traceability information increases the perceived expertise of the brand, increases the likelihood that the customer will buy the product and increases the perceptions about product quality. We find that traceability information also influences a customer’s rating of the taste of the product when compared to low traceability information. The results reveal that customers rate the taste of the olive oil as better when they view the high traceability information when compared to the taste of the olive oil when viewing the low traceability information. This was true even though the high and low traceability olive oil were exactly the same. These results show that customers’ perceptions and purchase intentions can be influenced by product label sustainability information.
Doing Some Level of Good
My work with my research colleagues provides optimism to the “doing good” debate. I do not believe every firm should be participating in high levels of CSR and ESG initiatives. The level should match the strategic objectives and outcomes of each firm. However, every firm can do some level of good. So, is “doing good” good for business? I like to think so.
¹ Kapadia, Vishal (2024), “Walmart Accelerates Clean Energy Purchases and Investments with Nearly 1 GW of New Projects Across U.S.,” accessed at corporate.walmart.com/news/2024/03/26/walmart-acceleratesclean-energy-purchases-and-investments-with-nearly-1-gm-of-new-projects-across-the-us
² Levi’s Sustainability Statement, accessed at levi.com/GB/en_GB/features/sustainability
³ TOMS Impact Report, accessed at toms.com/en-us/impact/report
Dr. Myles Landers
Dr. Myles Landers is an Assistant Professor of Marketing in the MSU College of Business. His research interest includes retail strategy and marketing for a better world.
briefs news
COB Alumnus of the Year
Thomas G. “Tom” Hixon was selected as the 2024 MSU Alumnus of the Year for the College of Business. Hixon, a resident of Ridgeland, serves as the Chairman of Phoenix Development Company, LLC. A Charleston, MS, native, he graduated from Mississippi State in 1967 with a degree in accounting. He began his career with the U.S. Army and Air Force Exchange Service, managing the retail supply channel at the Pentagon Annex. Following his military civil service, Hixon transitioned to the private sector, taking on roles as CFO, CEO and Director of Operations for Valley Food Service. He later held multiple leadership positions at Forestry Suppliers Inc., including co-owner, CFO, CEO and President.
Hixon then ventured into entrepreneurship, co-founding and chairing Gulf South Medical Supply. Under his leadership, the company grew significantly, eventually going public. After a merger, he and his team established another medical supply company, First Choice Medical Supply, which they later sold to McKesson Pharmaceutical. Throughout his career, Hixon has credited his wife and family for their unwavering support. His entrepreneurial spirit has been passed down to sons Tommy and Shane, who both run their own businesses.
A proud alumnus, Hixon serves on the MSU Foundation board and is a former member of the Bulldog Club board. He was honored in 2018 as the COB Alumni Fellow.
COB Alumni Fellow
James M. Robinson was named the 2024 MSU Alumni Fellow for the College of Business. A 1987 graduate, he has built a successful career rooted in his passion for marketing. Growing up in Canton, Robinson always wanted to pursue a business career, but it wasn’t until he took a marketing class at MSU that he discovered what he most enjoyed.
Serving as President of P & R Metals Inc., Robinson has steered the company to consistent placement among the top 100 largest private companies in the Birmingham metro area since 2019. Furthermore, the company has received accolades such as being named to the Birmingham Business Journal’s 2023 Middle Market 30 and its 2023 ranking as the151st largest private company in Alabama. Robinson is also a member of the Birmingham chapter of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization, contributing to his community and industry.
Robinson maintains close ties with MSU, participating in the Executive Advisory Board of the College of Business and the Marketing & Supply Chain Logistics Advisory Board, which he previously chaired. His deep affinity for the University, which he regards as a second home, drives his involvement, and he finds great joy in giving back, particularly through funding scholarships and engaging with students.
Dean’s Speaker Series Launched
In 2024, the College of Business launched the Bulldog Business Dean’s Speaker Series to connect faculty and doctoral students with distinguished scholars across business disciplines. The series reinforces the College’s commitment to scholarly excellence and industry engagement. Speakers have included:
Adkerson School of Accountancy: Dr. Jeffrey Hales, University of Texas at Austin, sustainability leadership
Department of Finance and Economics: Dr. Rohan Williamson, Georgetown University, bank board risk committees, and Dr. Christopher “Kitt” Carpenter, Vanderbilt University, inclusion and diversity
Department of Management and Information Systems: Dr. John D’Arcy, University of Delaware, customer responses to data breaches
Department of Marketing, Quantitative Analysis and Business Law: Dr. Hope Schau, UC Irvine, health care management and policy
COB Abroad
COB Royalty
Three of our College of Business students proudly represented Mississippi State University on the 2024 Homecoming Court. From left, Senior Maid Jessica Zajac is an accounting and management double-major from State College, PA; Mr. MSU is Robby Skelton, a senior economics and Spanish double-major from Collierville, TN, and Junior Maid Abby Thorson is a business administration major from Huntsville, AL.
Global Game Changers: Dr. Erik Markin led 43 students and six faculty members on a 14-day study abroad trip through Italy, blending cultural exploration with professional insights. Students across all majors participated, earning a credit hour in management or entrepreneurship. Highlights included visits to Armani/ Silos and the museum housing The Last Supper in Milan; the Ferrari Museum in Modena and the Mediterranean coast near Viareggio. In Florence, students learned about coffee roasting at La Sosta and toured the La Marzocco espresso machine company, then took a side trip to Pisa. The trip concluded in Rome with stops at the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and the Colosseum.
Another ShanZeale Production: A dozen students spent Maymester studying the brands of Scandinavia in Helsinki, Tallinn, Stockholm and Copenhagen, thanks to the planning and leadership of Dr. Mike Breazeale and Dr. Kevin Shanahan, a team known as “ShanZeale.” Favorites were a tour of the IKEA design headquarters to meet with branding experts, ad copywriters and production crews and a tour of the iMotions headquarters. iMotions is a premier global provider of human insights software, which is utilized in the COB’s Market Innovation Lab & Observatory.
IKEA design headquarters
New 2024 Faculty and Staff
B. Parker Ellen III, PhD Associate Dean for Research & Executive Education Graduate Programs in Business
Mary Graham Director, Small Business Development Center Division of Business Research
Kim Pogue Jackson Employer Outreach & Development Coordinator College of Business Dean’s Office
Eunyoung Kim, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Management & Information Systems
R’Najee “RJ” Matthews Academic Coordinator, Junior/ Senior BBA Students College of Business Academic Advising Center
Chris Novorot Program Coordinator College of Business Dean’s Office
Nathan Black, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Management & Information Systems
Margaret Mary Coker Office Coordinator MSU Center for Entrepreneurship & Outreach
Madison Crimm Director, Student Recruitment & Events College of Business Dean’s Office
Nicholas “Nick” Pashos, PhD Professor of Practice and Director MSU Center for Entrepreneurship & Outreach
Khaled Obaid, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Finance & Economics
NaToya Sanders Assistant Director of Development College of Business Dean’s Office
Welcome to the College of Business!
Assistant Director of Development College of Business Dean’s Office
Freshman/ Sophomore BBA Students College of Business Academic Advising Center
COB Faculty and Doctoral Students Honored
At the MSU Faculty and Staff Recognition Awards, Dr. Sheida Riahi (center), Instructor of Quantitative Analysis, and Dr. Jennifer Sexton (second from right), Assistant Professor of Management, received the Donald Zacharias Early Career Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award. Riahi also earned the Center for Distance Education Online Teaching Excellence Award. Here, they are shown with (from left) Dean Scott Grawe and Department Heads Melissa Moore and Laura Marler.
The Department of Finance and Economics excelled at the 2024 MSU Graduate Student Association Awards Banquet. Professor Brandon Cline (center) was honored as Outstanding Graduate Student Advisor of the Year. Nurul Islam (left) was recognized for placing second in the Fall 2023 Graduate Student Research Symposium Oral Presentations, and Junnatun Naym (right) received the Donald Zacharias Graduate Teaching Assistant of the Year Award.
By the Numbers
• COB Online MBA Program, Top 75, U.S. News & World Report
• COB Online MBA Program #53 for Veterans, U.S. News & World Report
• Adkerson School of Accountancy, near 100 percent job placement for new graduates
• Department of Management and Information Systems, #1 nationally and #2 worldwide in number of articles published in the three leading family business journals; Dr. Jim Chrisman, Dr. Laura Marler, Dr. Erik Markin and Dr. Emily Marett, top 35 individually worldwide, Texas State University Family Business Research Productivity Ranking
• MSU, Top 50, “America’s Best Large Employers,” Forbes (one of three universities listed, with Notre Dame and Purdue)
Mary Elizabeth Stringer
Marlexis Tate Academic Coordinator,
Garrison Walker Program Coordinator MSU Center for Entrepreneurship & Outreach
Aundrea Self Director of Outreach and Engagement College of Business Dean’s Office
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Alumna Honored by Inc. Magazine
Anna Barker, a 2017 International Business alumna and Chief Creative Officer at Glo Pals, has been named to Inc. magazine’s 2024 Female Founders 250 list. The Starkville-based company is known for its namesake product, Glo, a liquid-activated reuseable “ice cube,” and for Glo Pals, innovative children’s sensory toys that use the same technology. Barker is credited with leading the company’s transition into 100 percent recycled materials for Glo Pals and doubling the size of the brand in a year. Barker is the only Mississippian to earn a spot on this year’s list.
Students Serve as Volunteer Firefighters
Two COB students exemplified bravery and commitment to community as volunteer firefighters in 2024. Junior Jack Edwards and freshman Sydney Maheu served as members of the East Oktibbeha Volunteer Fire Department. Edwards was among three MSU students/ volunteer firefighters awarded the Oktibbeha County Fire Service Citizen Life-Saving Award by the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors for reviving a patient in cardiac arrest.
Reveille 25
The MSU Alumni Association annually recognizes the professional achievements and community impact of 25 outstanding young alumni through its Reveille 25 program. Four COB graduates were among the 2024 honorees.
Rashad Cockrell is an advocate for diversity and higher education. As Director of Austin Peay State University’s African American Cultural Center, Cockrell promotes inclusion while pursuing a doctorate in higher education. A first-generation MSU graduate, his leadership journey began with campus organizations like Men of Excellence and Alpha Phi Alpha.
Stephanie Cummins is a visionary in real estate. As owner and Broker Associate of Front Gate Realty LLC, her leadership has driven over $1 billion in sales. Recognized by Realtor Magazine, the Mississippi Association of Realtors and Mississippi Business Journal, Cummins embodies excellence and community service.
Roderick Erby exemplifies dedication as an IT Audit Advisor at International Paper, or IP. With an MBA from LSU-Shreveport and certification as a Certified Information Systems Auditor, he has earned accolades including IP’s CEO and Global Excellence Awards and Memphis Flyer’s Top 20 Under 30.
Chelsea Ladner Morea serves as a Strategic Marketing Manager for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, raising vital funds for their mission. Her passion for service began at MSU and continues through her work with military families and her local community.
Warkentin Named AIS Fellow
Dr. Merrill Warkentin (center), Giles Distinguished Professor and James J. Rouse Endowed Professor of Information Systems, has been named a Fellow of the Association for Information Systems, or AIS, one of the most prestigious honors in the field. The recognition highlights his outstanding contributions to research, teaching and service in information systems. Warkentin ranks among the top two percent of researchers in his field and was recently ranked 86th for lifetime research impact by a University of Arizona report evaluating global MIS scholars. Warkentin, shown here with MIS Department Head Laura Marler and Dean Scott Grawe, is also committed to mentoring doctoral students and junior faculty in the College.
Business Bulldogs Shine
MSU business students demonstrated excellence during the past year!
MSCPA Scholarships: Bryant Buteau and Ryan Holmes were awarded $3,500 scholarships by the Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants.
Presidential Scholars: Accounting students Catherine Babb and Emma Diamond and supply chain logistics major Hayden Hughes were recognized as MSU Presidential Scholars, the University’s most prestigious undergraduate honor. Phi Beta Kappa Inductions: Seven economics majors – Lacey Dumas, Amelia Fitzgerald, Sophia Flikkema, Devin Hutchins, Emma Johnson, Natalie Plourde and Kyle Reasons – were inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Society.
Raytheon Invitational Business Case Competition: Benjamin Denny, Grace Dingeldey, Ryan Russel, Bradley Sills and Easton Wamble represented MSU in the Raytheon Invitational Business Case Competition. MSU students excelled, with three being named captains of the cross-university teams. Dingeldey’s team won first place and a $10,000 prize, while Sills’ team secured second place and a $7,500 prize.
TVA Investment Challenge Team: The TVA Investment Challenge Team participated in the Mississippi CFA Society’s annual Forecast Dinner alongside industry professionals. Team member Ben Kahle was named the CFA Mississippi Award recipient.
WISE Connections Advisory Board: Sophomore Sophie Perrigin was competitively selected to represent MSU on the 2024 Women Impacting Supply Chain Excellence Connections Advisory Board.
Retirements
Two longtime members of our College of Business family retired in 2024, 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!
E-Center Expands
The MSU Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach (E-Center) celebrated the grand opening of its newly expanded 4,000 square-foot facility in McCool Hall on April 12. The event featured a keynote address by Barefoot Wine co-founders Bonnie Harvey and Michael Houlihan and marked the conclusion of the annual MSU Startup Summit event. The ceremony included a ribbon-cutting and dedication of the Oswald Think Tank and the Wingo Venture Gallery, honoring former Dean Sharon Oswald and past MSU Alumnus of the Year Turner Wingo for commitment to fostering entrepreneurship on campus and in the Starkville community. The celebration also highlighted the E-Center’s decadelong impact under the leadership of former Director Eric Hill.
Jason Lueg, PhD Professor of Marketing Department of Marketing, Quantitative Analysis & Business Law
Nicole Ponder, PhD Associate Dean for Graduate Programs & Assessment; Professor of Marketing Graduate Programs in Business
Presidential Scholars (from left) Babb, Diamond and Hughes
briefs news
UWiB to Host Inaugural Dare Conference
The Mississippi State Undergraduate Women in Business, or UWiB, organization will host its first conference for women in business – the 2025 Dare Conference – on April 11 in the Colvard Student Union Ballroom. Sponsored by UWiB, the College of Business and the College’s Club 1915, this empowering event is designed to inspire women to navigate the dynamic and evolving business world. The conference will connect students, alumni and professionals through engaging sessions, networking opportunities and insights from industry leaders. Open to everyone, Dare will encourage attendees to dream big and achieve their goals. Students may register for free. For more information or to register, visit uwib-dare.com.
An Impact on Campus Life
APRIL
Business students (clockwise from top left) Ellie Herndon, Jeffery Johnson, Keimauri McKenzie and Aiden McLain were recipients of the 2024 Spirit of State Award. Recipients are students who have excelled in campus involvement and service to the University and positively impacted their peers and the campus community. Here, they are shown with MSU’s President Mark Keenum and Vice President of Student Affairs Regina Hyatt.
n The Adkerson School of Accountancy awarded 113 annual scholarships totaling $166,000 at its 2024 Spring Banquet.
n Bill Backstrom (BS Accounting ’76) received the COST/Paul Frankel Excellence in State Taxation Award during the 2023 Council on State Taxation annual meeting. He is a partner at Jones Walker LLP in New Orleans.
n Tim Basel (BBA Marketing/PGA Golf Management ’98), MSU Golf Course Head Golf Professional, was elected as the District 3 Director for the PGA of America. He is serving a three-year term on the National Board of Directors.
n The MSU Beta Alpha Psi chapter, under the leadership of Assistant Clinical Professor of Accountancy Dr. Alan Stancill, was recognized as a Silver Chapter.
n Management PhD students Alyssa Bevacqua, Maria Bracamonte Larios, Tyler Burch, Myles Melancon and Destiny Orr, along with Assistant Professor Dr. Erik Markin, received the Daniel T. Holt Best Paper Award at the Theories of Family Enterprise Conference.
n Dr. Patty Ann Bogue, Instructor of Management, was selected by the Mississippi Economic Council to participate in its Leadership Mississippi program.
n Dr. Christopher Boone, Associate Professor of Supply Chain Logistics, and Dr. Robert Moore, Professor of Marketing and Hunter Henry Fellow, were awarded a $5,000 Bulldog Experience Learning Liaison grant by MSU’s Office of Bulldog Experience for their supply chain logistics live case course, developed in partnership with The Taylor Group of Louisville, MS.
n Maria Bracamonte Larios took third place for her poster presentation at the Fall 2024 Graduate Research Symposium for Education, Arts and Sciences and Business at the University of Alabama.
n The Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach awarded more than $82,000 last fall to support new business ideas.
n Dr. Jim Chrisman, the Julia Bennett Rouse Endowed Professor of Management, hit a major milestone, as his research has been cited more than 50,000 times.
n Natalie Edwards, a marketing and management major, was named the 2024 Marketing Advisory Board Student of the Year. Edwards is also President of the Undergraduate Women in Business and of the College of Business Ambassadors.
n Josh Harris (BBA ’04) was named President of Darlington Raceway. Previously Vice President of Business Operations, he has more than a decade of experience in the NASCAR arena.
n Dr. Lu He, Supply Chain Logistics Instructor, received a $500 mini-grant from MSU’s Center for Community-Engaged Learning for collaboration with PACCAR’s Material Handling Department to provide hands-on learning opportunities for students.
n Whit Hughes (BS Business Administration ’97; MBA ’98) is now Vice President of Public Affairs and Government Relations for Ergon, Inc..
n Devin Hutchins, an economics and philosophy double major, and Joshua Phillips, an economics and political science double major, were national finalists for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, the premier graduate fellowship for those pursuing careers in public service.
n Kyungmyung “KJ” Jang, a third year PhD student in information systems, won Best Student Paper recognition at the Southern Association for Information Systems annual conference. Jang also received the COB’s 2024 Outstanding Doctoral Student Researcher Award.
n Accounting students Maya Jones, Leo Maldonado and Morgan Mounce each received a $15,000 scholarship from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board for the 2024-2025 academic year.
n Angelia Knight, the Director of MBA Programs, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Golden Triangle chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management.
n Bobby Kocol (BBA Business Administration ’79) has penned a memoir, Diamonds, Deals and Divine Guidance, in which the former MVP and Academic All-American MSU baseball player chronicles his journey from baseball to the boardroom and beyond.
n Jan Lewis, (BAcc Accounting ’85), was named to Forbes’ 2024 list of America’s Top 200 CPAs. Lewis, a Tax Partner for BMSS Advisors & CPAs, LLC, is a member of the Adkerson School of Accountancy’s Advisory Council and was the COB Alumni Fellow in 2016.
n Dr. Laura Marler, Department Head and Professor of Management, was appointed as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Small Business Management, the journal of the International Council for Small Business. She was also tapped as an SEC Academic Leadership Development Fellow.
n Dr. Shawn Mauldin, Director of the Adkerson School of Accountancy, moderated the MSCPA Accounting Education Seminar for educators throughout the state.
n Prior to graduating last spring, Keimauri McKenzie received the 2024 Charles Moore Award. Named for the founder of MSU’s Business Information Systems program, the honor recognizes leadership, teamwork and dedication to technology and business.
n Junnatun Naym, former Instructor and recent PhD graduate, received the 2024 Southwestern Finance Association Best Doctoral Paper Award for her research on insider trading violations as early signals of corporate misconduct.
n Elena Palomino, a spring 2024 international business (marketing and Spanish) graduate, won first place in the MSU Undergraduate Research Symposium’s “3 Minute Thesis Pitch” competition.
n Angela Pannell, Instructor of Accountancy, was appointed to the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy Continuing Professional Education Committee for 2024-2025.
n Lance Porter (BS Banking and Finance ’91) was named the inaugural Karen W. and Daniel J. King Distinguished Professor in Advertising in the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, from which he earned master’s and doctoral degrees.
n Natalie Rhodes, (BBA Marketing and Management ’18; MBA ’20) Program Coordinator for MSU’s Veterans Business Outreach Center and Boots to Business Revenue Readiness program, was selected as the 2024 Mississippi Veterans Small Business Champion of the Year by the Mississippi Small Business Administration District Office.
n Walmart Transportation Area Manager Haylee Schmidt (BBA Marketing and Logistics, Materials and Supply Chain Management ’22) and her team were honored at the Alabama Trucking Association’s annual safety awards banquet, where Walmart Transportation received the Safety Improvement Award and the inaugural General Commodities Linehaul Combined 30 Million Miles Award.
n E-Center team Sisson Innovations placed third overall in the Idea Audition Competition at the University of North Alabama. Sisson Innovations offers a method of encryption for digital media.
n Dr. Kyle A. Smith, Assistant Professor of Accountancy, joined the Audit Committee of the Berkeley Existential Risk Initiative, a nonprofit that supports academic research groups working on reducing existential risk.
n Management Instructor Dr. Michelle Taylor was honored as a Faculty Member of the Game at MSU’s March 8 baseball game. The honor was based on recommendations by student-athletes.
n Dr. Mike Truelson, Associate Professor of Accountancy, received the 2024 Accounting Horizons Best Paper Award. He also earned the Adkerson School of Accountancy’s 2023-2024 Research Award and this past fall was named KPMG Professor.
n Dr. Matthew Whitledge, Associate Clinical Professor of Finance, was chosen as an inaugural Economic Research and Policy Scholar by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors.
Mississippi State University College of Business P.O. Box 5288, Mississippi State, MS 39762
Mississippi State University is an equal opportunity institution. Discrimination in university employment, programs or activities based on race, color, ethnicity, sex, pregnancy, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, or any other status protected by applicable law is prohibited. Questions about equal opportunity programs or compliance should be directed to the Office of Civil Rights Compliance, 56 Morgan Avenue, P.O. 6044, Mississippi State, MS 39762, (662) 325-5839.
JOIN THE CLUB!
Club 1915 offers a new way to engage with the MSU College of Business and support its advancement as we celebrate our 110-year history.
With a $19.15 monthly commitment, you can help provide students with expanded live learning and study abroad experiences and enhanced facilities and technology. Members will receive recognition in McCool Hall and access to special Club 1915 events and communications.
To learn more, scan the QR code or visit business.msstate.edu/giving.
