Business Matters

News and notes about MTSU's Jones College of Business

NO. 1 IN NATION

Jones College continues to rack up national rankings! Just in the last year, the college and several individual programs were recognized among the best in the U.S., including a No.1 ranking for the Risk Management and Insurance program.

MTSU’s insurance degree was ranked best in the nation among industry professionals, according to a survey by the global ratings agency A.M. Best. An article in Best’s Review outlined how the program transitioned from a concentration to a full major four years ago when MTSU Professor Dave Wood came to the University as the new Martin Chair of Insurance.

#1 Best’s Review’s survey of INSURANCE AND RISK MANAGEMENT programs (2020)

#4 Best 15 master’s in MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM programs (2021)

#9 Best master's programs in SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT (2021)

#12 The BEST MARKETING SCHOOLS IN THE U.S. to hire from in 2020 (2020)

#15 MOST AFFORDABLE online master's degrees in SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT (2020)

#25 Best online master’s in FINANCE program (2020)

#42 Best value program in ACCOUNTING (2020)

TECH TITANS

Charlie Apigian, professor of Information Systems and Analytics (ISA) and co-director of MTSU’s Data Science Institute, won the Nashville Technology Council’s award for Data Scientist in 2020.

Luis Lange (l) accepts his award.

Luis Lange, who was then an ISA graduate student, was chosen as Student of the Year. Lange now has joined the ISA faculty.

Amy Harris, associate professor, received the Diversity and Inclusion Advocate of the Year Award in 2021.

SMALL BUSINESS HELP

In response to the economic impact of the coronavirus, professional counselors from Tennessee Small Business Development Center (TSBDC) offices throughout the state helped small business owners access programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program. MTSU partners with the TSBDC main office, located in Murfreesboro.

Patrick Geho

The TSBDC network also assisted businesses in attaining economic injury loans and Small Business Administration loan relief implemented as part of the federal government’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

“Those are the people who are profoundly impacted,” said Patrick Geho, TSBDC state executive director and a Management professor in MTSU’s Jones College of Business.

BEST IN BUSINESS

MTSU alumni were honored at the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce’s Business at its Best ceremony in 2020.

Lee Moss of Franklin Synergy Bank, a longtime Jones College supporter, was named Business Legend of the Year.

Deb Thompson of State Farm, a member of the Jones College Dean’s Advisory Council, was selected as Business Person of the Year.

State Sen. Shane Reeves, another MTSU alumnus, was given the Leadership Rutherford Pinnacle Award.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT

An MTSU team of business majors proved that the students’ market analysis skills are comparable to those of Wall Street veterans with stellar results in the most recently completed TVA Investment Challenge. After starting last year with a half-million-dollar stock portfolio to manage, MTSU’s student team in Jones College finished with “a stunning 24.6% return, bringing the balance of the portfolio to more than $623,000,” said Kevin Zhao, associate professor of Finance who has mentored the University’s student teams since 2005.

MTSU student teams have participated in the challenge since 2001, with this past year’s team managing a portfolio of 49 stocks. Composed of students enrolled in the upper-level FIN 4900/5900 Tennessee Investment Challenge course, the team earned a “performance award” of $7,731—a quarter of the excess return beyond the S&P 500 total return. The funds will go back into the department reserves that support research and enrichment activities.

A FOOT IN THE DOOR

Honors student Nicholas E. Lynn (second from left), who earned his B.B.A. in Marketing, placed first in the Lee Co. solution sales competition and second in the Novatech Inc. solution sales competition in Thom Coats’ Advanced Selling course.

Lynn has accepted a position with Novatech in Nashville. He also interned with iServe Residential Lending LLC, Strategic Financial Partners, and Stones Rivers Country Club. He will be working in B2B business technologies sales.

MEETING CHALLENGES

Kim Sokoya, a professor of Management, received a 2021 Unsung Heroes Award in recognition of Outstanding Contribution in Education to the middle Tennessee community. Sokoya was honored at MTSU’s Unity Celebration, held virtually in February as a part of annual Black History Month activities.

DEAN’S ADVISORS

The Jones College of Business has welcomed four new members to the Dean’s Advisory Council (clockwise): Elveta Cooper, district human resources operations manager, UPS Mid South; Jason Schmitt, chief executive officer and member of the board of directors, Old Time Pottery; Brandon Henthorn, lease accounting manager, Bridgestone Americas Inc.; and Jackie Morgan, senior economic and financial education specialist, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta– Nashville Branch.

HIGH RANK

The Tennessee House Republican Caucus presented the Tennessee Colonel Aide de Camp award in 2020 to MTSU’s David Urban, dean of the Jones College of Business. It is given by the governor to individuals who have served the state in an exemplary manner. Colonel Aide de Camp is awarded for outstanding achievement at the request of a member of the Tennessee General Assembly. State Rep. Mike Sparks nominated Urban.

FED CHALLENGE

For the first time, MTSU fielded a team in the National College Fed Challenge, an undergraduate team competition sponsored by the Federal Reserve. The event requires teams to analyze economic and financial conditions and formulate a monetary policy recommendation.

Stuart Fowler, (r), an Economics professor, joined forces with fellow professor Anne Anderson, (l), Weatherford Chair of Finance, to put together a team and co-teach a Finance Competition and Challenge class last fall to shepherd students through the process.

ANNUAL AWARDS

Ten annual faculty and staff awards for the Jones College of Business were presented via a virtual ceremony in 2020 because of the pandemic.

Adam Smith

State Farm Outstanding Professor Award: Adam Smith, assistant professor, Management

Wisarut Suwanprasert

Bridgestone Americas Distinguished Lecturer Award: Wisarut Suwanprasert, assistant professor, Economics and Finance

Melinda Korzaan

Bill and Kathy Jones Outstanding Professor Award: Melinda Korzaan, professor, Information Systems and Analytics

Sean Salter

Outstanding Dale Carnegie Trainer Award: Sean Salter, assistant dean

E.W. “Wink” Midgett Awards

Distinguished Teaching: Greg Nagel, associate professor, Economics and Finance

Jeff Stark

Distinguished Research: Jeff Stark, assistant professor, Economics and Finance

Millicent Nelson

Distinguished Service: Millicent Nelson, associate professor, Management

Nita Brooks

Award of Excellence: Nita Brooks, professor, Information Systems and Analytics, and interim vice provost for academic programs

Allyson Baugh

Outstanding Staff Member: Allyson Baugh, graduate business advisor

Carlos Colonel

Dean’s Special Award of Merit: Carlos Coronel, director of Jones College IT Resources

TRUE GIVING

For the eighth straight year, Provost Mark Byrnes presented the Provost Cup to the Jennings A. Jones College of Business in recognition as the academic unit with the highest percentage of employee participation during the Employee Charitable Giving Campaign. The pledge total of the University community support reached an all-time high of $136,558.81.

“We want to share it with all of our colleagues at Jones College who have stepped up to the plate once again and donated . . . to help other people who are less fortunate,” Dean David Urban said. He noted that the growth experienced in the middle Tennessee area over the years brings with it increasing needs for assistance to community members who face a variety of economic and social challenges.

HONORING GRADUATES

Everything was a bit different in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, including May and August Commencement ceremonies that were held virtually for MTSU graduates. The Jones College of Business went above and beyond and made college-level Commencement recordings.

The college additionally ran the names of last year’s graduates on the stock ticker in the lobby of the Business and Aerospace Building.

May and August graduates also were invited to participate in November outdoor Commencement exercises at Floyd Stadium and in smaller, socially distanced ceremonies that took place in May 2021 in Murphy Center.

EXPERT ADVICE

Jones College hosted a dynamic week of activities in April 2021 as the college combined its observance of financial literacy and ethical leadership weeks.

Brandon Copeland

As part of the state of Tennessee’s observance of Financial Literacy Week, MTSU hosted Atlanta Falcons linebacker and financial literacy advocate Brandon Copeland as keynote speaker for his presentation “How to Catch Your Dream! and Make Smart Financial Decisions.”

Mila Grigg

The Tom and Martha Boyd Ethical Leadership Week keynote speaker was Mila Grigg, founder and CEO of Moda Image and Brand Consulting, with her presentation “Building and Sharing the Authentic You.”

PERI EVENTS

The Political Economy Research Institute at MTSU held several Zoom webinars in place of in-person events during the pandemic.

Lectures included “Uncle Sam Can’t Count,” by Burt Folsom, Kennesaw State University visiting professor of economic history.

Radley Balko, a columnist with the Washington Post, presented “Reforming Policing in Tennessee,” sponsored as an M. Thomas and Martha R. Collins Lecture in Free Enterprise. Balko also is the author of Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Forces and co-author of The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist: A True Story of Injustice in the American South.

Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs shared his insights into government service during the pandemic during his lecture, “Being Mayor During COVID-19.”

A SELECT FEW

An MTSU team of six students won Selective Insurance’s College Competition in 2021. The group’s members were all juniors and seniors in Risk Management and Insurance, Actuarial Science, and other business-related areas primarily within Jones College.

The annual national contest allows future generations of insurance professionals to run virtual insurance agencies and experience many associated responsibilities and considerations.

MTSU’s team had the highest performing agency among the eight college teams competing in the monthlong competition, making complex business decisions while overcoming sales hurdles and managing their financial solvency.

HELPING HANDS

Money is often tight for college students, but the COVID-19 pandemic created an emergent financial crisis for many Tennessee students. Delta Dental of Tennessee responded with generosity.

Chief Financial Officer Jeff Ballard, (r), reached out to Tennessee colleges to help support students in need, including a $15,000 gift to MTSU’s student emergency funds. This donation and others like it helped hundreds of students over the past year.

MURFREESBORO MATTERS

Locally Owned Murfreesboro is an organization of independent local business owners dedicated to promoting the benefits of shopping locally to the community and building a stronger local economy by joining together in marketing, government advocacy, networking, and supporting new businesses.

Not only do its members support the small business community and entrepreneurship in Murfreesboro, but Locally Owned Murfreesboro also has been raising money for Jones College of Business student scholarships since 2018.

“It has given me peace of mind knowing that I don’t have to worry about just a portion of my tuition and just knowing that there are people within the community who are supporting me and who want to see me succeed,” said senior Whitley Allen, one of the recipients of the Locally Owned Murfreesboro Scholarship.

The faculty selection committee favors applicants with a history of charitable service and extracurricular involvement in their community, along with good GPAs and merit awards. Sometimes the committee chooses an applicant who has overcome a hardship, is struggling with a hardship, or is working multiple jobs to pay for college.