Prospectus - Spring 2008

PROSPECTUS COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

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ALUMNI MAGAZINE

SPRING 2008

David and Ellen Raisbeck A GIFT WITH A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

IN THIS ISSUE ■

NEW DOCTORAL PROGRAM

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SBDC GETS NEW DIRECTOR

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N E W N A M E D S PA C E S

PROSPECTUS

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Dean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Labh Hira Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dan Ryan Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mauck • Groves Branding and Design Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Samantha Beres Eric Dieterle Mike Ferlazzo Charles Handy Dan Ryan Photographers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bob Elbert Mark Luinenburg Beth Romer Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Colorfx Contact College of Business Robert H. Cox Dean’s Suite 2200 Gerdin Business Building Ames, Iowa 50011-1350 (515) 294-3656 business@iastate.edu www.bus.iastate.edu Prospectus is prepared twice per year by the College of Business at Iowa State University. It is sent without charge to alumni, friends, parents, faculty, and staff of the College of Business. Third-class bulk rate postage paid to Ames, Iowa, and at additional mailing offices.

The views and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent official statements or policy of Iowa State University but are the personal views and opinions of the authors.

Prospectus welcomes correspondence from alumni and friends. Send your comments to Dan Ryan, editor, at the above e-mail or postal address. Prospectus reserves the right to edit all correspondence published for clarity and length.

Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. veteran.

Inquiries can be directed to the Director of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, 3210 Beardshear Hall, 515 294-7612.

The College of Business at Iowa State University is accredited by AACSB International — The Association to Advance collegiate Schools of Business. The AACSB is the premier accrediting agency and service agency and service organization for business schools.

Features

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Growing Pains Getting a doctoral program off the ground.

A Complete College The case for a PhD program.

Experience Counts Outside input is critical to success.

Impact on Faculty The PhD program as a recruiting tool.

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Playing to Our Strengths The Provost comments on the role of the new program.

Thinking Big A major gift enhances

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the college’s momentum.

A New Tool Second Life provides real-life learning opportunities.

ON THE COVER

Departments 2 22 24

Dean Labh Hira Briefs Alumni News

DAVID AND ELLEN RAISBECK’S MAJOR GIFT HAS CREATED IOWA STATE’S SECOND

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ENDOWED DEANSHIP.

Faculty and Staff News Development Dr. Charles Handy

M ESSA GE FR O M THE DEA N

Capitalizing on the Momentum As Campaign Iowa State was just beginning in 2003, I remember reflecting back on just how far we had come in the past couple of decades or so.

I am truly humbled at the fierce commitment to the success of our college.

Earning college status. Graduate programs.

Achieving accreditation. More faculty, and many more students. And at that time, we were about to realize the most important milestone in our journey: the Gerdin Business Building, which would open just a few short months later.

Excitement was at a fever pitch; students, faculty, and staff were all eager to take full advantage of this wonderful new facility.

And yet, for all that progress and enthusiasm generated by our new building, we were already thinking ahead to the opportunities in front of us. As we identified our campaign priorities, it was clear that our people had to be central to our efforts going forward. We had worked so hard to improve our physical space, now it was time to focus on our people and programs.

But a campaign goal of over $40 million was audacious, given our relatively young donor base.

And the task of transferring that momentum to a new campaign, with a very different focus, was challenging. Would our alumni and friends support

less tangible concepts like faculty development, student support, and academic programs as eagerly as they supported the Gerdin Business Building?

The answer, resoundingly, was yes.

When Campaign Iowa State went public in October 2007, we had raised $26 million of our $42 million goal. Since that time, we have raised an additional $7 million. The support we have received has been nothing short of incredible and makes me very proud.

It is with such pride that I announce the creation of the David and Ellen Raisbeck Dean’s Chair in the College of Business. The Raisbecks have long been supporters of the college, and their recent $3 million gift has created the second endowed deanship at Iowa State University.

Their support is especially appreciated because it comes at such a critical time for our college, as we prepare for the launch of our PhD program, which is profiled in this issue of Prospectus. As you will read, a thriving PhD program plays an important role in any college, and it is critical to enhancing ours. Support like that which the Raisbecks have provided gives us the freedom and the resources to enhance the excellence of our people and programs.

I am truly humbled at the fierce commitment to the success of our college that exists among our alumni and friends. I am confident that a couple of decades from now, when one of today’s young faculty members looks back to 2008, he or she will recognize this campaign—and the generous support of donors such as David and Ellen Raisbeck—as another pivotal time in our college’s history.

Labh S. Hira, Dean 2

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H I G H G O A L S,

HARD WORK: The Birth of a PhD Program

When College of Business Dean Labh Hira appointed a task force in September 2003 to “examine the nature and feasibility” of a PhD program, his vision was that a program would emerge—but his vision did not include many details.

“My goal was that this could be a landmark event in the college which many of us thought ought to happen, and whether or not it was going to happen, it was worth exploring,” Hira said. “However, I wanted it strictly to be a faculty-driven process, so the proposal had to come from the ground up.”

Hira appointed a task force that cut across faculty ranks—Professor of Marketing and Heggen Faculty Fellow Sridhar Ramaswami, Associate Professor of Management Information Systems Brian Mennecke, and Associate (then assistant) Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management Frank Montabon—and charged its members with fully exploring the interest in, and potential look of, a PhD program. He offered only a few constraints.

“We had to rely on the strength of Iowa State University

MIKE CRUM, ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR GRADUATE PROGRAMS, AND SRIDHAR RAMASWAMI, CHAIR OF THE PHD TASK FORCE, HELPED THE PHD PROPOSAL BECOME A REALITY.

and find ways to be unique,” Hira said, “and not directly compete with the University of Iowa.”

Nearly four years later, the PhD program, or at least its approval, became a reality. What happened in the interim involved hundreds of meetings and discussions, thinking and rethinking about approaches and priorities, and round after round of approvals at various levels in the college and on campus.

“It turned out to be quite a time-consuming process,” said Ramaswami, who chaired the task force. “It took us almost a couple of years before we decided on the three major areas of study that we were going to offer.”

The task force filtered its analysis through three main considerations: the “unwritten mandate” from the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, that the program not duplicate what was available elsewhere in the state; the determination to remain consistent with the missions of the university and the college; and the desire to “be consistent with the skill set” that the college possessed.

“We decided that one of our differentiated programs was transportation and logistics, so we quickly latched on to the major of supply chain management,” Ramaswami said. “The moment we decided that, the others fell into place.”

Supply chain manageLabh Hira ment, it was reasoned,

“My goal was that this could be a landmark event in the college which many of us thought ought to happen.”

is essentially a process

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within a firm, so other processes within a company were examined. One of them, the customer management process, could be tied to marketing and management, so it was a logical choice.

“Given that technology plays a critical role in being able to manage and implement both supply chain and customer LABH HIRA management processes,” Ramaswami said, “we decided to offer a major in management of information technology.”

Because the proposal was being developed by experts in business, the principles of sound business practice were always on the table. Ramaswami, for example, teaches brand management. “This aspect of defining differences and offering something unique to students was a guiding factor right from the beginning,” he said. “We also spent a lot of time thinking about how we could provide value to customers. If you think of the PhD program as a product, then you have to address all these product issues.”

Faculty participation throughout the entire process not only enriched the quality and depth of the proposal, but also generated enthusiasm for ensuring its ultimate success. Ramaswami describes the dynamic as “a major advantage” as the program now works toward implementation.

“We hope and we believe that the faculty is going to give their best to make sure that the program is successful.”

“People are looking forward to this,” he said, “but the hard work is in front of us.”

That may be true, but at least the yearlong process of guiding the finished proposal through college-level committees and layers of university oversight had the ancillary effect of gaining posMichael Crum itive attention from outside the college.

Michael Crum, associate dean and John and Ruth DeVries Chair in Business, helped the task force prepare the proposal for universitylevel scrutiny. He says he welcomed that sort of spotlight.

“I was gratified to see how much support we had on

“Bringing a PhD on board doesn’t mean that we don’t place a high value on bachelor’s programs.”

campus,” Crum said.

“It made us feel good to know that our colleagues around campus see this as a positive for the university, and that they have the confidence that we’ll put out a topquality program.”

Sridhar Ramaswami Crum knows that such a major undertaking can have its doubters, especially considering that the College of Business has so recently, in historical terms, established itself and its reputation with undergraduate programs. To address that concern, he offers some perspective.

“Quite frankly, Iowa State needs all of its programs to have a terminal degree,” he said. “But bringing a PhD on board doesn’t mean that we don’t place a high value on bachelor’s programs. They are critical to us. Those programs will not be compromised because we waited until we had the resources.”

That sort of reassurance has been critical to the entire proposal process. Ultimately, as the business faculty faced the decision of whether to proceed, it was Hira who stepped forward to direct the tone of the conversation.

“As you would expect, a program of this kind created some fears and discomforts, but we went through the same process when we started the MBA program,” Hira said. “So I gave a short speech to the faculty about whether it was the right thing to do.”

As part of that speech, Hira pointed out the “catch-22” of some people suggesting the program should not go forward because it would take so many years to have an impact. Hira’s response? “Does that mean we should never have it? We’re looking at maybe 20 years or more in order to see the real effect, and I told the faculty that many of us won’t even be here to see it.”

His appeal to the future clearly made an impact.

“I applaud the faculty,” Hira said. “Not only did they endorse my appeal, but they also suspended the rules by unanimous vote in order to vote on the proposal at the same meeting.”

Now another round of work begins to implement the program, with an intended start date of fall 2009. ■

“People are looking forward to this. But the hard work is in front of us.”

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There are plenty of statistical reasons for the Iowa State University College of Business to offer a PhD program, but for those closely involved with the program’s design and approval, the motivations go far beyond numbers. Instead, a doctoral program represents the relatively young college’s coming of age.

“I’ve been around this place for 25-some years, and we have always discussed that one of our dreams is to have a PhD program in order to become a comprehensive college,” said Labh Hira, dean of the college. “It means a lot to me. It almost brings tears to my eyes.”

What Hira has seen in those years includes the formation of the college itself, the inception of the now-flourishing MBA program, and opening of the spectacular Gerdin Business Building—watershed events that each transformed the study of business at Iowa State. The PhD program is no less significant.

“It’s a major landmark,” said Hira, who expresses his gratitude for having “a front-row seat” as the program unfolds.

The development occurs at a critical time in business education. According to the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, which accredits business programs, a shortage of 1,800 qualified business faculty

will exist in 2008—and the shortage is projected to reach 2,500 by 2012. By some estimates, more than 1,000 PhD vacancies remain open today. Yet less than one-third of accredited business schools have doctoral programs.

Some universities are responding by introducing “doctoral bridge” programs that train holders of PhDs in other areas to become business faculty. Iowa State’s response is to prepare faculty in ways that are specific to the university’s research mission.

“This is the Iowa State University of Science and Technology, so we wanted to be sure that technology was emphasized,” said Michael Crum, associate dean. “That’s how we differentiate our program from others. Our students will clearly understand the role of technology in strategic management.”

Those students, Crum notes, will likely include mid-career professionals who are seeking an opportunity to use their skills in a way that helps others, advances the —Michael Crum field, and still brings the financial reward that could be expected from a position—business faculty— in such high demand.

“I think there are a number of individuals out there now who don’t know they’re prospective PhD students but who will be attracted to it,” he said.

Sridhar Ramaswami, the professor who chaired the task force that proposed and then shepherded the program through its various approvals, sees an opportunity to work with committed, energetic, and intellectually curious peo-

“ We wanted to be sure that technology was emphasized.”

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“ We have to treat that PhD student as a colleague.”

ple who will be treated as peers.

“The PhD culture is different. I believe that when a PhD —Sridhar Ramaswami student walks in the door, we have to treat that person as a colleague rather than as a student,” Ramaswami said. “We want students to believe that they are the engine behind the growth of the program.”

And Ramaswami has no small interest in contributing to the program’s growth and ultimate success.

“I’ve been here for about 20 years, so I’ve seen how this business program has grown,” he said. “At one point, nobody gave us a chance. But we have taken the college as far as is possible with current programs, and if we are to get to higher levels of visibility in the state and the nation, a visibility that I believe we deserve, we need this PhD program.” ■

PhD Program: The Basics Program emphasis: business and technology Areas of specialization: supply chain management, customer relationship management, management of information technology Prospective recruits: mid-career professionals, current graduate and undergraduate students from business and other fields First class of students: fall 2009 (proposed) Credits required for graduation: 74 (dissertation required) Goals: to prepare individuals for academic careers in research, teaching, and public service Estimated annual cost: $1.14 million

The Board of Regents, State of Iowa, voted in July to approve a PhD program for Iowa State University’s College of Business, but that doesn’t mean that the college has been instantly transformed. Plenty of work had gone into investigating, proposing, and gaining approval, and now plenty more remains to make the program a reality by fall 2009.

Much of that work involves putting the finer points on the program’s structure: PhD foundation courses must be developed, approved, and put into the catalog, and existing courses must be adapted. Some new faculty will be hired, and then there’s the task of recruiting the first class of students— perhaps the most key element in ensuring the program’s long-term success.

Because the goal is to prepare students for careers in

academia as the next generation of business professors, or in some cases to perform high-level research in the private sector, the PhD program will take a much different approach than what is familiar to most business students, or even mid-career professionals.

Earning a PhD involves intellectual curiosity, rigorous research, and the creation of knowledge. Passing courses— the primary labor of undergraduate students—is just one of the challenges in a PhD program. Staying motivated and focused for at least four years, and often longer, takes commitment. Energy and determination, in addition to talent and experience, separate the top students from the rest.

The same is true for faculty. An extraordinary time commitment is required to be a mentor and, ultimately, colleague to a student over four or more years of intensive literature reviews and research investigations. Faculty and PhD students will work more closely together than is the case with undergraduate or graduate programs currently in the College of Business.

In addition, faculty and the first cohorts of students will face the multiplier effect of a fledging program trying to establish itself. For that reason, the program will start small.

“You’re not going to admit 16-20 PhD students the first year,” said Michael Crum, associate dean. “It’s a gradual process. We also understand that the first group of PhD students we graduate are going to set the bar. These first ones will get tender loving care—they are going to be our showpieces. They have to shine because they will be creating our future reputation. The first years of implementation are tough.”

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A PhD program may be new territory for the Iowa State College of Business, but experience will still play a role.

Learning from

Experience TWO PERSPECTIVES ON THE NEW PROGRAM

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t already has, in the sense that business faculty have been through their own PhD programs from throughout the world and bring their personal experiences to the process. But there are other voices in the conversation. One of them, David Ecklund, is a 1972 industrial administration graduate of Iowa State. After a successful career with Caterpillar Inc. and Caterpillar Logistics Services, Ecklund has returned to academia as a faculty member at the University of Tennessee. From early in the process of developing Iowa State’s PhD program, he has brought the perspective of alumnus, business executive, and faculty member.

Yet there is nothing quite like having been there—right in the middle of developing and implementing a new PhD program at a university— and that’s where Ajay Kohli enters the discussion. The Issac Stiles

Hopkins Professor of Marketing at the Goizueta Business School of Emory University served as the founding director of Emory’s business PhD program, launched in 2002.

Invited to speak to Iowa State business faculty in November, Kohli offered advice, encouragement, cautions, and forthright analysis based on what he has observed at Emory, which was ranked in the top 20 of business programs by the latest U.S.News & World Report ratings.

The Emory Experience What Kohli saw at Emory, a private university of 11,300 students in Atlanta, illustrates that program development comes with some universals: expectations, doubts, unanticipated developments (good and bad), and hard work. Much hard work. Not surprisingly, then, Kohli stressed the

AJAY KOHLI VISITED THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS IN OCTOBER TO RECOUNT HIS EXPERIENCE OF BUILDING A PHD PROGRAM.

themes of dedication, energy, passion— the sorts of traits that buoy faculty experiencing the demands of working with a crop of new PhD students in a program trying to establish itself in a vacuum of precedent.

Of all the challenges of imple-

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“ Most people don’t realize how much time this takes.”

—Ajay Kohli

mentation, Kohli said, gaining an appreciation for the sheer magnitude of the task is paramount.

“Faculty are busy people, so something’s got to give,” he said. “Most people don’t realize how much time this takes. As you set up the program, issues will arise, such as the selection of courses, the sequence of courses, the determination of how to assign students to faculty. This requires someone or some set of people to be reflecting on these issues.”

Time becomes even more of a factor once the first students arrive. They will not have the benefit being able to turn to PhD students who are in their third or fourth years. Instead, as they face the great unknown of the doctoral path, they have only one place to turn: faculty. And turn they will.

Part of the reason for such “handholding,” as Kohli put it, is that business students, especially in the early years of a program, do not have a clear idea of what a PhD is all about.

“You need to instill the idea that a PhD is about original research and creating knowledge,” he said. “I still remember spending enormous amounts of time with the first cohorts

just to get them to appreciate what PhD learning is all about. Most think it’s about coursework and passing classes, or they think it’s an extension of the MBA. But a PhD program is about creating an environment and providing a platform off of which students get exposure to content while developing skills to ask important questions and pursue rigorous research.”

These initial misperceptions intensify the need for effective recruiting, which is a job that requires participation by everyone in the college, encompasses an international outlook, and—perhaps most importantly— comes with the commitment to accept only students with the best chances of succeeding.

“You must instill the value system that it’s better to have no students than to have mediocre students,” Kohli said. “Faculty are going to spend a tremendous amount of time with them, and you want those students to bear fruit. Faculty need to ask themselves, ‘Am I really excited about the prospect of working with this student?’ ” On the other side of the recruiting equation, outstanding students must be convinced that a new program is in their best interest. With numerous established programs from which to choose, they are well aware of the risk of committing to a new one.

“They’re going to be branded forever as having a PhD from Iowa State,” Kohli said. “They’ll spend four to five years there, and that’s a lot of time and energy in their prime years, so they want to go to a place that serves them best.”

These are the challenges that Emory has faced and that Iowa State must now meet as the fall 2009 goal approaches. As Kohli explained, eventually a structure takes shape, the first students arrive, and implementation evolves into a fully operating program. How long does it take to become established? About four years, according to Kohli.

“Now, we’re not trying to solve all the questions about ‘How is this done?’ or ‘How should we do that?’

All of the procedures have been put into place, ranging from curriculum, to research assignments, to teaching, to expectations of students in seminars, to faculty expectations of what to ask the students to do.”

“ Faculty need to ask themselves, ‘Am I really excited about the prospect of working with this student?’”

—Ajay Kohli

The benefits of an established program are quite real, Kohli said, not the least of which is the establishment of the college’s reputation on campus.

“People around the university were

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wondering what this program was all about and what business research really meant,” he said. “As they got more exposure to our students and our research, they learned. Our students compare extremely favorably with the caliber of students elsewhere in the university.”

Other benefits include objective measures—such as placement of graduates, published research, and connections developed with other schools—and subjective qualities, such as the growth of a research climate in the college, the expansion of faculty knowledge, and an increase in the amount and quality of published research. By those standards, Kohli sees Emory as having achieved success.

“The program is a success,” he said, “if our students go to good schools, publish good work, and energize the faculty into conducting more research.”

An Alumni Perspective Experience in higher education as a student and a faculty member, combined with a high level of success in the business world, gives David Ecklund’s views a valuable breadth and depth. Fortunately for Iowa State, he remains keenly interested in staying involved with the place where he earned his undergraduate degree.

“I was appreciative that I had the opportunity to be a part of discussions with faculty from time to time,” Ecklund said. “The perspective we all shared was that without a PhD program, Iowa State’s business program was not really comprehensive. That was borne out by the competitive

DAVID ECKLUND, A 1972 GRADUATE, HAS PERSPECTIVE ON A PHD PROGRAM AS A HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL EXECUTIVE AND NOW A FACULTY MEMBER.

ratings published each year: without a PhD program, Iowa State didn’t have all the boxes filled.”

But it couldn’t be just any program, and Ecklund endorses the specialization choices that Iowa State has made.

“I think they’ve done an outstanding job of building on their strengths and differentiating themselves from a growing group of competitors,” Ecklund said. “They are positioned to take advantage of the sweet spot of supply chain management.”

Ecklund knows a little something about the topic. After earning an MBA at the University of Arkansas, he embarked on a long career with Caterpillar, ultimately taking an entrepreneurial tack as one of the founding members and ultimately a vice president of Caterpillar Logistics Services. He also played a central role in the development of Caterpillar’s Remanufactured Products Program.

“Businesses will continue to globalize, making decisions not only to source from a more global supplier

base but also selling products and services to more global market structures,” Ecklund said. “At the core of business’s ability to do those things is capability in supply chain management.”

But there’s more to the “sweet spot,” and thus the importance of Iowa State’s additional emphasis on information management technology and customer relationship management.

“If you can’t manage information, you won’t be able to manage material flows,” Ecklund said. “And the customer relationship side is the ability to determine how well you’re executing.”

The growing importance of these areas reflects significant changes in business opportunities and practices, the cumulative impact of which are challenging businesses as well as researchers, according to Ecklund.

Critical issues include higher customer service expectations, shorter product life cycles, and the need to increase profitability through improved cost management. U.S. businesses

“ Without a PhD program, Iowa State didn’t have all the boxes filled.”

—David Ecklund

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have responded to these issues initially by sourcing more products internationally to reduce costs and improve profitability. Improved competitiveness and increased global market awareness has led U.S. businesses to further develop global markets for their products and services. These decisions have resulted in increased size, cost, and complexity in both inbound and outbound supply chains.

“Both universities and businesses have been challenged to keep pace with these changes,” Ecklund said.

“Businesses require graduates who have a much more global perspective and understanding. In turn, faculty are being challenged to significantly increase global perspective and content in business curriculums. Faculty are well-read, but many are not looking at supply chain management historically or looking at the global perspective, and that has had an impact on the way we were educating our students,” he said. “That’s starting to change.”

But what do those changes have to do with a PhD program? Because of the intensive approach to research that a PhD entails, the many questions raised by today’s business world are ideal fodder for more exploration.

“The mainstream of business still looks at the master’s as a terminal degree,” Ecklund said, “but because of this much more complicated and challenging environment, business will look for the unique capabilities that come through advanced education.”

As that happens, Ecklund said, Iowa State’s College of Business will have an opportunity to build upon its strong reputation.

“Caterpillar is a good example of the success companies have had with Iowa State graduates, and as the PhD program produces graduates, they will develop their own reputations through research and other contributions,” Ecklund said. “They will become people who are sought out

“They will become people who are sought out by other professionals in the field for their experience and knowledge.”

—David Ecklund

by other professionals in the field for their experience and knowledge, and they will contribute in writing, research, and presentations. That will be a positive thing.”

Ecklund has seen the impact that a strong program can have on a university. At Tennessee, where the supply chain management curriculum is rated in the top 10 in the country, there is “an excellent balance of teaching, research, and business outreach,” he said. Logistics and supply chain management as a major is available to

undergraduates, master’s candidates, and PhD candidates. Faculty collaboration has resulted in the effective integration of supply chain management with marketing, finance, and other complementing curriculums.

“Many undergraduates elect to take a double major and through this educational process are better prepared for future business opportunities,” Ecklund said.

In addition, UT’s Center for Executive Education offers supply chain management courses for executives. Ecklund will be joining the Center’s faculty in 2008 to lead the development of an executive MBA program in global supply chain management and a center for global supply chain risk management.

“The continuing development and expansion of our supply chain management program at Tennessee is the direct result of the demand for our graduates and the interest that industry has in getting this knowledge,” he said.

And at Iowa State, the place of “some of my fondest memories,” Ecklund said, the impact will be to bring a sense of completion and at the same time increased opportunity for the future. “Iowa State has excellent facilities,” he said. “The Gerdin Business Building can compete with any facility anywhere, and it rounds out the package that makes Iowa State, with this PhD program, truly competitive as a comprehensive College of Business.” ■

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E A R LY

IMPACT PHD PROGRAM ALREADY HELPING TO RECRUIT FACULTY

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roponents of the PhD program have said from the start that having such a program would be a crucial element in recruiting and retaining faculty.

In at least two cases, those proponents have already been proven right.

Sekar Raju and Laura Smarandescu, both assistant professors of marketing who joined Iowa State in 2007, list the new program as an influence in their decision to come to Ames. Each of them has distinct research interests and styles, but both look forward to the opportunity to work with PhD students once the program is up and running.

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“ We don’t see any end in sight to the questions we can ask.”

So many questions …

Raju, who earned his PhD at The Ohio State University in 2002 and taught at the University of Buffalo before coming to Iowa State, blends psychology and statistics in his research on brand loyalty and commitment.

“Having a PhD program allows me as a researcher to work with students, not only sharing my knowledge but also getting knowledge from them,” he said. “They come up with new ideas and that is always very exciting. It keeps you up to speed with what’s happening in the field.”

Raju explained that because various research methodologies apply to marketing—ranging from experimental, to econometric modeling, to surveying—there are limitless possibilities for a curious investigator. Those possibilities, he said, only multiply when overlaid with the research areas in Iowa State’s new program; for example, customer relationship management.

“ Having a PhD program … puts you in a different tier of schools.”

LAURA SMARANDESCU

“Whether you are a modeler or an experimentalist, the questions are the same,” he said, “but how you approach them is different. Once you ask a good question, the same thing can be approached in multiple ways. And we don’t see any end in sight to the questions that we can ask.”

Raju looks forward to working closely with PhD students and acknowledges that the relationship with them will be different than it is with other students.

“We look at the PhD students as peers who are just a few years down the line,” he said. “It’s very different than with the MBA program, which is still mostly about imparting knowledge. We’re actually preparing PhD students to carry on the education process.”

Does that make Raju, a relatively young assistant professor, a little nervous?

SEKAR RAJU

“In some ways it’s challenging, and in some ways it’s frightening,” he said. “I think, ‘Wow, I’m responsible for making that person a success.’ There’s a lot more commitment, and you have to be willing to give a lot of time and involvement.”

… so little time Talking with Smarandescu is more likely to happen in a hallway than an office because she always seems to be on her way to something. Such is the nature of a young researcher who is planning her next big inquiry before that last one has finished.

She wrote her dissertation at the University of South Carolina about brand alliance, and her work today focuses on judgment and decision making. As she awaits the arrival of the first PhD students, she does not hesitate to apply her research in the undergraduate classes she teaches on consumer behavior. Her approach is a flexible one, and she allows the directed-studies students with whom she works to “write a paper on what they find interesting.”

The same approach, she explained, can apply with PhD students, although at a different level of inquiry. “It’s great to have people who are interested in your area,” she said, “but there will also be students who have their own interests. With them, it’s more a matter of helping them to solve their own questions, or help them with study design basis, or direct them to areas of literature they’re not aware of.”

Such opportunities were among the key influencers in Smarandescu’s choice of Iowa State. “I was trained at a school that was a research school,” she said. “I think that having a PhD program is a commitment a school makes to research, and that puts you in a different tier of schools. When you look at the top schools, they’re mostly research-oriented. I think it’s great for Iowa State.” ■

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W ords Provost In the

of the

An Interview with Executive Vice President and Provost Elizabeth Hoffman Editor’s Note: On November 7, 2007, Elizabeth Hoffman, executive vice president and provost at Iowa State University, answered questions and offered insights about the newly named PhD program in the College of Business. Hoffman had been dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University 10 years ago, when talk of such a program was little more than speculation. After serving as University of Colorado president, Hoffman returned to Iowa State in her present role and thus had the opportunity to present the PhD proposal to the Board of Regents, State of Iowa.

What does this new program mean to the university?

It really means that the College of Business has taken its place in the research university. Yes, a lot of important research has come out of this college, but without a PhD program, it’s difficult to recruit and retain the level of faculty that will be doing pathbreaking research.

We’ve had a strong tradition in transportation logistics and it’s great that we’ve been able to maintain this, but in the long run to be able to recruit and retain quality faculty in that area really requires that they be able to work with graduate students.

It also means that when business faculty work with other faculty across the university on interdisciplinary

to the bioeconomy, and important to food safety and security. They’ll be able to bring a higher, deeper level of expertise than they’ve been able to bring before.

How will PhD work complement or resonate with business research in the college?

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND PROVOST BETSY HOFFMAN SPEAKS TO COLLEGE OF BUSINESS FACULTY AND STAFF AS PART OF HER AND PRESIDENT GEOFFROY’S ANNUAL VISIT TO THE COLLEGE.

research grants, what they will be able to bring to the table in the future is graduate student involvement in supply chain logistics. That’s important

When you have doctoral students, it allows faculty to explore broader areas and keeps faculty working at a much higher level because they have to be absolutely at the cutting edge of their disciplines in order to effectively teach and mentor. And this level of graduate students challenges faculty because they bring new ideas and new approaches; they challenge faculty to think differently and to be with the

The New College of Business PhD Program at Iowa State University IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY

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times. Our faculty is aging, and incoming graduate students force the faculty to think differently. And they do it in different ways than undergraduates do: yes, undergraduates bring fresh and new perspectives, but they don’t tend to get into the kind of deep intellectual conversations with faculty that PhD students would.

What was your role in guiding the development and implementation of a PhD program?

I certainly encouraged (former College of Business Dean) Ben Allen when I was here as dean of LAS 10 years ago to think about a long-term strategy for a PhD program, but I also knew then that given the makeup of the board (of regents) and of the university administration, I wasn’t sure that it was going to fly—but it was something to think about, especially the focus. Iowa State would need to differentiate itself from the University of Iowa. And in fact, I think that by differentiating itself in the way that focuses on the long-term strength of this college, the college really positioned itself to be unique. Now it can attract students who might otherwise have gone to much more highly ranked business schools but will come here to study supply chain logistics because we’re going to be better at that than most other institutions.

When I came back the program was pretty far along, so I can’t claim I had a lot to do with getting it through the university. But I presented it to the council of provosts and to the board (of regents). I was very supportive of it and so I’m sure

that made some difference, but the board has changed a lot in the last 15 years. Fifteen years ago it was very hard for Iowa State to get PhD programs approved outside of our traditional areas of agriculture, engineering, and hard sciences. I think a couple of things have changed—the University of Iowa used to be much more protective of its role as the research university, and I think recent administrations have been much more respectful of the importance of Iowa State.

So since I came back, I just haven’t seen the level of questioning by the University of Iowa that I saw in the mid-90s.

The college really did its homework.

They put together an outstanding proposal, they shepherded it through all the university processes, and I think the board has changed and the University of Iowa has changed, and those came together at the right time.

Will the provost play a role from this point until implementation?

Definitely. I trust the college in developing their curriculum, but I certainly will provide some financial assistance to the college as they make marginal increases in their faculty size. The main thing is to implement the PhD program without hampering the accreditation of their undergraduate degree and MBA programs, which are the bread and butter of this college.

Will there be ongoing financial support?

State University is in the process of implementing a budget model that more closely links financial support to the ability of a program to generate revenue.)

What is the role of the PhD program in the strategic plan of the university?

It certainly fits in with the science and technology approach of the university by focusing on technology in business, especially supply chain management. The fact that we are a research university puts the college of business in the same category as, say, engineering, in being recognized as a college with a research mission. And they focus on an area that fits very well with interdisciplinary initiatives such as the bioeconomy and food safety, which both have supply chain logistics issues. This allows business faculty to participate much more broadly in university-wide proposals.

I’m really excited about this, and I just want to express the fact that I think this is a wonderful opportunity for the college. I think the investments that the provost’s office and the college are going to make in this will pay off for the university very, very well both in terms of prestige for the college and in terms of more faculty involvement in obtaining research grants. I see the faculty in this college contributing to funded research and interdisciplinary work in ways that we’re not even thinking about today because we haven’t had the experience. ■

That becomes their responsibility under the new budget model. (Iowa

The New College of Business PhD Program at Iowa State University 14

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There is a world where you can get a car out of a vending machine.

You can buy an island and build your dream house.

You can even summon a snow storm.

If this sounds like something out of a science-fiction novel, guess again.

You get to this virtual world by logging in from your computer.

Welcome to Second Life, population 12 million.

T

here’s some serious business that goes on in Second Life.

More than 400 universities and colleges are using it as a place to educate students. Iowa State University is one of them.

Associate Professor of Management Information Systems Brian Mennecke is the first ISU professor to use Second Life as an educational tool. In the summer of 2007, students in his Electronic

Commerce Strategy course were assigned to go to Second Life (often referred to by its initials, SL) to assess potential entrepreneurial opportunities. Then they developed business models that might work there.

And why not? Second Life, created by Linden Labs, has its own economy and its own currency— Linden dollars that can be purchased with a credit card. About $250 Linden dollars are worth one real-life

“

U.S. dollar. Transactions in SL equal more than $1 million of those U.S. dollars per day.

“One of the leading features of Second Life is that you can engage in all kinds of business there,” Mennecke said. “Because of that, you can look at how a person or organization can leverage technology in an entrepreneurial frame and how to capitalize on those opportunities.

It’s worthwhile to explore.”

Some entrepreneurs have done well there—a few have even quit their day jobs. One woman makes a full-time living as a clothing designer. Another, Anshe Chung, is something of a celebrity in SL, becoming the first to make a million (real U.S.) dollars in SL by selling virtual land.

Haven’t been to second life?

If you haven’t actually been to Second Life, the place may be hard to imagine.

It’s a little bit like an online social networking community, such as IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY

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Land in Second Life is your blank canvas; it is your choice what you do with it. Build a dream home, or a thunderdome.

Create a dance club or a giant bathtub. Develop a small shop or a gigantic shopping center. Or plant some trees and construct a secluded retreat in the pristine virtual wilderness.”

SECOND LIFE, AS DESCRIBED ON ITS WEB SITE

Facebook or MySpace, except that people who enter SL create an avatar, a virtual representation of themselves.

Once a person has created an account—which is free—picked a name, and created his or her avatar, exploration of SL can begin. Avatars can walk, talk, fly, or teleport to get around. They can join communities and meet other avatars. And there are places to go, from a private loft to an international consulate. The corporate world also has quite a presence in Second Life—IBM, Pontiac, and Reuters are there, to name just a few real-world companies.

But what differentiates SL from online social networks is its immersive 3-D environment. SL has a rich

graphics platform meant to draw in participants.

“People say it’s just chat,” said Mennecke. “But it’s more than that. It gives you the ability to interact in a space that’s similar to the real world.”

Second Life is also thought by some to be just a game, but Lesya Hassall, instructional development specialist with the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) at Iowa State objects to that idea.

“In a game, you have goals and objectives and you know what you’re going to do to meet them,” said Hassall, who specializes in education and emerging technologies at Iowa State. “In Second Life, it is complex and you define for yourself how and what you do in this environment. It does resemble the real world in many ways.”

BRIAN MENNECKE’S SECOND LIFE AVATAR, NAMED GUT NOEL, HAS A PONY TAIL, GOATEE, AND CAN FLY.

Second Life as a classroom Second Life is not only a place to explore business opportunities and to socialize, but also, as Hassall points out, a place of endless educational opportunities. Hassall helped Mennecke deal with the pedagogical underpinnings of his course, which can be challenging in a world of such possibility. Vassar College, for example, constructed a virtual Sistine Chapel in which to explore how SL could be used for art classes. The University of California-Davis created a place to train emergency aid workers to minimize the time it would take to unload medicines from an airplane and disperse them to victims in various locations. A professor at Texas Wesleyan University created Genome Island to teach genetics; students can perform virtual experiments that produce data to analyze. The linguistics depart-ment at Iowa State is investigating the potential uses of SL for teaching languages.

Such a university-operated island can be set up to allow limited access only to those who have signed up for a course. This is how Mennecke set up Iowa State’s island. He also tried to supply everything a student would need to experience Second Life without leaving the island classroom. For instance, he built a bookstore, modeled after the university’s, with freebies such as clothes and hats that avatars would otherwise have to go to other SL locations to purchase.

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Getting Started in Second Life

1

2

an avatar. You can always customize your

provided. Your computer must meet mini-

tion on basic avatar skills. You will be able to

avatar later. You will receive a confirmation

mum system requirements. Start Second

alter your avatar’s appearance by customiz-

e-mail once your registration is complete.

Life on your computer and log in using

ing facial features, body styles, and clothing.

To set up your own Second Life account, go to www.secondlife.com and complete

the registration. Choose a name and select

Once registration is confirmed, download and install the Second Life

client application (program) from the link

3

You will first arrive at the Orientation Island. Explore the island and learn the

basics of Second Life. Tutorials give instruc-

your avatar name and password.

4

Other tutorials on Orientation Island will teach you how to communicate, fly,

5

Once all the required tutorials are completed, you will be able to leave

6

Second Life basics: Right click on another avatar to view their profile.

search, alter your appearance, drive, sit,

Orientation Island and begin exploring

Use Page Up and Page Down to fly; the

touch, move objects, and much more. Some

the rest of Second Life. Help is close

arrow keys to go forward, backward, left

tutorials are mandatory, while others are

by—just hit the F1 key any time you

and right while walking or flying. Right click

optional.

need more information.

on an object to view your avatar’s options: pick it up, touch, sit down, and so on.

Bryan Schutte, a management information systems major, hadn’t heard about virtual worlds prior to the class with Mennecke. He was in the first group, assigned to go in and look for business opportunities.

“I think we started really gaining knowledge of what the opportunities might be by talking to people,” said Schutte. “One thing that we noticed was that there were not great ways to grow your dollars.” He said the places that did exist were not exactly reputable, and made some of their IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY

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money using gambling or pyramid schemes. Many of these financial institutions are now out of business.

Schutte liked that his avatar could fly. He also noticed that SL encourages people to walk around and interact with each other. After his introduction to SL, he took on an honors project to explore motives of virtual worlds. From his research, he now predicts that online shopping will eventually begin to take on that virtual world, 3-D feel. He also agrees with Mennecke and Hassall’s

PROSPECTUS

view, shared by many others, that virtual worlds will be as pervasive as e-mail.

Making real gains The experiences gained by Mennecke’s students will have an impact on how they look at business in the future.

For Schutte’s class, Second Life provided an environment with an encapsulated economy. The class was able to take existing business models and tweak them to work in the virtual world.

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It’s important to know what up-and-coming technology could be used for marketing and how to connect different generations.”

SHELLEY GREVING

One model they examined was that of community-based loans.

Often used in developing countries, the model creates loans from a pot of money owned by community individuals, placing more personalized pressure on loan grantees. Students also looked at the basic marketing model of “4 Ps”—product, price, promotion and place—to determine how those elements might change in a virtual setting.

Whether the students’ ideas would work in Second Life was not the point, said Mennecke. Second Life simply provided a unique culture to observe.

“The purpose was to give them an environment in which they could understand the context of what is happening there,” said Mennecke. “Second Life gives students

a more constrained environment, for observation.”

For Shelly Greving, who took a graduate class with Mennecke, the experience will paint how she markets items in the future. Greving is a graduate student working on her MBA in marketing. She and her classmates had the assignment to simply attend class in Second Life as an avatar.

“What I noticed is that there’s a broad range of knowledge and experience with the use of the technology,” said Greving, noting the age differences among her classmates. “It’s important to know what up-andcoming technology could be used for marketing and how to connect different generations. Right now with everything from the political standpoint to marketing the business side

MENNECKE SET UP A BOOKSTORE TO PROVIDE EVERYTHING HIS STUDENTS’ AVATARS WOULD NEED, MODELED AFTER THE IOWA STATE CAMPUS BOOKSTORE. 18

of things, there is very much a gap in how to communicate and how to get our ideas across more effectively.”

Greving has continued to explore the technology on her own.

Mennecke, aside from assigning students to find business opportunities, found Second Life useful for something else—bringing in guest speakers. Speakers can come from anywhere without buying a plane ticket. “Why not just watch an Adobe Connect presentation?” one of Mennecke’s students asked.

Interaction is the answer. If students are virtually present, they can interact with the speaker—face to face, or, rather, avatar to avatar. There is a real, fluid conversation.

Even better, the speaker can take the class on field trips to give virtual examples of the topic. A land developer who spoke to Mennecke’s class took students to his land parcel/ estate, The Canal District of New Babbag, to emphasize some points in his talk.

For Mennecke, what started as an experiment in the classroom has broadened his research scope and led to recognition of him as a scholar. His calendar for the year ahead is filling up fast with conferences and panel discussions in which he’ll present Second Life as a teaching tool.

And with Second Life, he’s been able to parlay what he is doing in the classroom into research, which is a reversal of the usual flow. His research has long been focused on using technology for collaboration, the use of geographic and locationbased technology by businesses, and VOLUME 24 NUMBER 1

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Mennecke has been able to parlay what he is doing in his virtual classroom into research.

how technology can support teaching and learning. The nice thing about Second Life, said Mennecke, is that it brings all of these lines together.

Voices of dissent Second Life has received some strong criticism. There are concerns about student safety—a BBC study showed that 30 percent of business interactions on Second Life are sexually related. Supporters of Second Life acknowledge that sexual content has always been prevalent on the web.

“A Google search can yield just about anything,” said Hassall. “The world is messy and it’s very complex.

With new technologies, you just need to teach students how to deal with it.”

Hassall pointed out that inappropriate activities simply were not allowed on the Iowa State classroom island, which was monitored closely to ensure student safety and wellbeing. The island was not open to the public—only those associated with the course are allowed access.

The SL police blotter often lists harassment and assault, a point brought up in an editorial in The Chronicle of Higher Education written by Michael Bugeja, director of the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication.

Bugeja also brought this up at a panel discussion on Second Life held at Iowa State in November 2007. The panel of academics, lawyers, and staff set out to introduce Second Life and discuss concerns. One of them (also expounded in writings by Bugeja) was liability. Is a professor or administrator held accountable for bringing IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY

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MENNECKE TOURS THE GALLERY WHERE STUDENT TEAMS POST IMAGES TO CHRONICLE THEIR PROGRESS AS THEY COMPLETE ASSIGNMENTS IN SECOND LIFE.

a student into a virtual world if something damaging happens to the student? SL creator Linden Labs have residents sign a waiver that exempts them from responsibility of things that happen between avatars.

Paul Tanaka, University Counsel, sat on the panel and stated that Second Life is not a platform intended for educational purposes.

But he conceded that Iowa State has two choices: refuse to use the virtual world or manage the damage.

Mennecke, also on the panel, didn’t go head to head with opponents. He didn’t feel that was his role—his view being that he was using technology that, down the road, will be as commonplace as e-mail. All on the panel did acknowledge that virtual worlds are here to stay.

PROSPECTUS

Virtual worlds down the road Gartner, a technology analyst group, estimates that by 2011, an estimated 50 million Internet users will participate in these virtual worlds. And Second Life is not their only option: The Manor, Karena, and There are three more of the many such virtual worlds populated by avatars. It is even rumored that Google is working on a competing virtual world of its own.

Mennecke said he feels like he is reliving 1992. At that time, people talked about the World Wide Web and e-mail, but to many it all seemed so foreign. This time around, he said, he can see more clearly how the technology is evolving. And he wants his business students to see it coming, too. ■

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Global Ideas

Local Impact

Endowed Deanship Enhances College Priorities David Raisbeck is a very thoughtful individual. Spend a few minutes talking with him, and that much becomes apparent. Then again, you don’t become vice chairman of the country’s second-largest privately held company by being a conventional thinker.

H

e has very detailed ideas on subjects like globalization, what it means to be a leader, and—perhaps most central to the College of Business—the role education plays in the lives of young people.

It is that kind of thoughtfulness that prompted Raisbeck (’71 Industrial Administration) and his wife, Ellen March (’71 Family and Consumer Sciences) Raisbeck, to pledge $3 million to the College of Business. The gift will create the David and Ellen Raisbeck Dean’s Chair. The chair is only the second of its kind at Iowa State.

The endowed fund will provide perpetual financial support for the college’s priorities. Dean Labh Hira and future deans will be able to use the funds at their discretion.

The gift comes as the College of Business is working to improve support for faculty development and student scholarships through Campaign Iowa State: With Pride and Purpose, the university’s $800 million fundraising campaign.

“I am personally honored and humbled by David and Ellen’s commitment to the College of Business,” 20

said Hira. “This gift reinforces the tremendous momentum in this college and is a strong show of support for the experiences we provide. I can’t express how meaningful this gift is to us.”

David and Ellen met in their hometown of Dubuque in the seventh grade. Ellen’s parents and other family members were Iowa State alumni, and she was a cheerleader and member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority. David was in Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. They began dating their junior years at Iowa State, and married shortly after graduation.

David Raisbeck’s role at Cargill, the Minneapolisbased provider of food and agricultural-based products, has given him a unique outlook on what students need to be prepared for today’s business world. The best-prepared students, he said, are those who possess global knowledge and, hopefully, experiences.

“It is the single challenge for all people over the next 30, 40, 50 years,” Raisbeck said. “I think of how different this world will be then. We are fundamentally misguided in many of our institutions in the way we approach issues from a parochial VOLUME 24 NUMBER 1

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“I look at Iowa State University as one of the building blocks in my career.”

• DAVID RAISBECK standpoint. We are engaged in a global society in a way we never were before.”

It is a challenge Raisbeck witnesses firsthand. His company, which employs over 160,000 people in 66 countries and earned 2007 revenues of over $88 billion, now has more employees and money invested outside the United States than in it. His conversations with Cargill shareholders often turn to opportunities in China and India.

A global corporation, he said, has the opportunity to tie together different cultures around the world with a simple value system. “We’re all tied together economically via trade,” said Raisbeck, “but we’re not all tied together to one value system. Corporations, governments, and universities all have a role to play in that. Part of our giving back to Iowa State is to help facilitate its role in being part of a global society already tied together by a global economy.”

Raisbeck also recalled the role of the university in helping to instill leadership in him. He came to Iowa State planning to follow in the footsteps of his father—a longtime engineer for John Deere—but quickly realized that his acumen was more balance sheets than blueprints.

“One of the toughest calls I ever had to make was telling my father I was moving from engineering to industrial administration,” he said. “That was my father’s background, his discipline.” Iowa State helped him to discover that leadership ability, he said.

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Rooted in his sense of leadership is his confidence in the college’s administration. “I was very, very pleased when Labh became the dean,” he said. “He leads in a way which I think the essence of leadership is all about—integrity, courage, conviction.”

That confidence led to the Raisbecks’ decision to give the dean latitude to use their gift to best fit the college’s priorities. “If there was somebody I was going to entrust with my money and allow to make the appropriate decisions, it was Labh,” Raisbeck said. “Boards trust senior management with their money to grow the institution. Labh is the one closest to the college and knows how best to use it.”

The Raisbecks have been strong supporters of the College of Business. Their 2004 gift named the Career Services Center in the new Gerdin Business Building. “It’s so important that we bring business acumen into the university, and that we give students the opportunity to see different careers,” Raisbeck said. “Career centers are able to bring in companies and help connect them to students.”

“ This gift reinforces the tremendous momentum in this college.”

• LABH HIRA For all of Raisbeck’s many ideas, his motivations for supporting the College of Business are simple.

Raisbeck talked about the three phases of life—the formative years, the career years, and the retirement years. Ultimately, he said, the university experience “is about setting yourself up to move into the next phase of your life. It is the last stop during those critical formative years.”

His four years in college helped position him to have success in his career. “I look at Iowa State University as one of the building blocks in my career,” he said. As he thinks ahead to his own next phase of life, Raisbeck says he wants to add another block to strengthen Iowa State.

“The impact of this will be felt for years, “said Hira.

“The gift itself is extremely generous, but the flexibility the Raisbecks have given us is also exceptional.”

“It’s the responsibility of all people and companies to give back to their communities,” he said. “Even a land-grant institution in Iowa can play a role in creating a global society that unites us all. Iowa State plays a role in this.” ■ 21

B R I EFS

Heckmann Assumes Leadership of Iowa SBDCs “ The director’s job is an exciting opportunity to have a positive impact on the future of Iowa business.”

— JIM HECKMANN

Jim Heckmann, principal of James M. Heckmann Law Offices of Dubuque, and president of the consulting firm Aligned Resources, LC, has been named the new state director of the Iowa Small Business Development Centers (ISBDC).

Since 2006, Heckmann had served as president of the Dubuque-based media and software development company Community, Inc. From 1997 to 2003, he was president and treasurer of the Dubuque Racing Association. He also was a member of the Dubuque City Council from 1988 to 1990, serving as mayor protem in 1989.

“The director’s job is an exciting opportunity to have a positive impact on the future of Iowa business and on the vitality of the state,” said Heckmann. “The ISBDC is a first-rate organization. I’m looking forward to working with, and learning from, all the great people associated with this organization.”

Heckmann is experienced in counseling corporate clients in the areas of risk management, transactional law, antitrust, employment and labor law, business organization and planning.

He negotiated or directed strategy for 15 collective bargaining agreements, and also negotiated a $1.4 million government assistance program for expansion of client operations. He was involved in several multimillion dollar commercial transactions, including various mergers and acquisitions.

As an attorney, he supervised and litigated cases in areas of intellectual property, securities fraud, employment law and commercial transactions.

“Jim has extensive experience in corporate law and business operations and we are pleased to have him on board,” said Labh Hira, dean of ISU’s College of Business. “This is an exciting time for the ISBDC with the state looking to strengthen its commitment to economic development, so Jim arrives at a good time—particularly given his background working with businesses.”

Heckmann earned his bachelor of arts degree from Claremont McKenna (Calif.) College, his master of fine arts degree from The Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa, and his juris doctor from the University of Iowa.

Since 1981, the Iowa Small Business Development Centers have provided expert and confidential business counseling services and training workshops to entrepreneurs in all 99 Iowa counties. As an outreach program for Iowa State University’s College of Business, and the only nationally accredited entrepreneurial development program in Iowa, the ISBDC can help existing business owners and entrepreneurs with the assistance and resources they need. ■

THE IOWA SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS HELD AN OPEN HOUSE ON NOVEMBER 8, 2007, AT SBDC HEADQUARTERS IN THE GERDIN BUSINESS BUILDING.

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Miller Lecture Welcomes Harvard Scholar What exactly is private equity, and why has it received so much attention in recent years?

How does it impact the economy, and who are the people behind private equity?

Dr. Josh Lerner, the Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment Banking at Harvard Business School, will answer those questions in his lecture titled, “The Great Debate: Private Equity and Its Impact on the Global Economy.” Lerner is visiting the College of Business for the 2008 F. Wendell Miller Lecture, which will take place on April 23 at 1:10 p.m. in room 2117 of the Gerdin Business Building. The event is free and open to the public.

Private equity funds use equity and debt to purchase firms, restructure them, then sell them.

They have received both acclaim and scorn, lauded as long-run investments that turn firms around, and criticized for their focused, short-term outlook and huge profits. Lerner will discuss who private equity investors are, how they work, and how they affect the economy. His research findings come from a project recently completed under the umbrella of the World Economic Forum.

Lerner has a very distinguished professional and academic background. He has a joint appointment in the Finance and the Entrepreneurial Management Units at Harvard Business School.

He graduated from Yale College with a special divisional major which combined physics with the history of technology. He worked for several years on issues concerning technological innovation and public policy at the Brookings Institution, for a public-private task force in Chicago, and on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. He then earned a PhD from Harvard’s economics department.

Much of his research focuses on the structure and role of venture capital and private equity orga-

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nizations. This research is collected in two books in which he co-authored, The Venture Capital Cycle and The Money of Invention. Lerner also examines the impact of intellectual property protection, particularly patents, on the competitive strategies of firms in high-technology industries.

This is addressed in his book, Innovation and Its Discontents. He founded, raised funding for, and organized two groups at the National Bureau of Economic Research—the Entrepreneurship Working Group and the Innovation Policy and the Economy Group—and is a research associate in the Corporate Finance and Productivity Programs and serves as a co-editor of their publication Innovation Policy and the Economy.

In the 1993-94 academic year, he introduced an elective course for second-year MBAs on private equity finance. In recent years, Venture Capital and Private Equity has consistently been one of the largest elective courses at Harvard Business School. He also teaches doctoral courses on entrepreneurship and empirical methods in corporate finance, as well as executive education offerings.

The F. Wendell Miller Lecture Series is an annual slate of university-wide speakers funded by the Miller Endowment Trust. In 1995, Iowa State University received part of an estate bequeathed

by F. Wendell Miller, an Iowa attorney and farm manager. Revenue from the endowment is used to improve undergraduate teaching at Iowa State University and enhance the intellectual vitality of the campus.

To learn more about the Miller Lecture, visit www.bus.iastate.edu/outreach/miller_lecture.asp. ■

Private equity funds use equity and debt to purchase firms, restructure them, then sell them.

23

A LUM NI NEWS

CLASS NOTES

1970s

David Orchard (’95 Management) is the director of client services for Kutak Rock LLP. He leads the IT department’s software support, training, development and e-Discovery teams.

Mark Potjeau (’85 Accounting) is

2000s

Mark Murphy (’76 Industrial Admin-

employed with AT&T, Inc. as senior

Jeanie Ptacek (’02 Marketing) is

istration, ‘94 MBA) is chief operating

technical director, Enterprise

a buyer for Compressor Controls

officer at Ames Laboratory on the

Information Technology.

Corporation in Des Moines, Iowa.

Michelle Mirand (’86 Transportation

Crystal Lounsbury (’03 Management

Sheryl Pont (’77 Industrial Adminis-

and Logistics) has been employed

Information Systems) is employed at

tration) is vice president of accounting,

with United States Gypsum Company

Cerner as an engagement controller.

and a principal, for Professional Title

since 1996.

She is currently working on her MBA.

Todd L. Owen (’89 Marketing) is vice

Lisa Mincks (’03 Accounting) was

president of franchise development

promoted to division controller of

Curt N. Peterson, CFRE (’79 Industrial

for Qdoba Mexican Grill in Wheat

Tyson Fresh Meats subsidiary Lakeside

Administration) is a consultant who

Ridge, Colorado.

Packers in Brooks, Alberta, Canada.

1990s

Phil Monnig (’04 Finance) is director

Iowa State University campus.

and Escrow Company, LLC in Lincoln, Nebraska.

supports government and nonprofit start-ups, turnarounds and strategic growth/business plans. He is also a professional fund-raiser.

Chad Paulson (’91 Marketing) is employed with Nationwide Insurance as

1980s

a commercial property claim specialist

Terry Peters (’80 Industrial Adminis-

and has three daughters.

in Northern Illinois. He is now married

Des Moines-based hedge fund that focuses on Eastern European investors.

Janae Noneman (’04 Management) is a recruiter for Invitrogen Corporation

tration) is vice president of Citadel Broadcasting Corporation and leads

Rod Potratz, CFP (’93 Finance) is presi-

the Iowa operation of five central Iowa

dent of Stonebridge Financial Advisors

big-signal radio stations: 92.5 KJJY, 95

and manages individual assets and

KGGO, 97.3 The Hawk, 98.3 WOW FM

corporate 401(k) plans.

and La Indomable AM 1700.

in Carlsbad, California. She is currently working on her masters of science in business administration in human resources at San Diego State University.

ATTEND ALUMNI DAYS 2008

Stacy Miner (’94 Marketing) is

May 15-17, 2008

Michael Plunkett (’81 Industrial

regional vice president of Life Sales

Administration) was recently promoted

with Principal Financial Group in Des

Sponsored by the ISU Alumni Association,

to Midwest District Sales Manager

Moines, Iowa. She is responsible for

this annual event honors individuals who

for KONE, Inc. in St. Louis, Missouri.

driving life and business insurance

graduated from Iowa State 50 or more

concepts for the southeast region of

years ago.

Scott Schmidt (’83 Accounting) joined

the United States.

Alumni Days includes the opportunity

ViaGen, Inc. in June 2007 as its chief

to reconnect with old classmates, as

financial officer. ViaGen is a leading

Mickey Carlson (’95 MBA) received

well as to take tours and attend special

livestock cloning company. Schmidt

her PhD from Union Institute and

events. Attend the Alumni Days Gold

is a certified public accountant and a

University in October 2007. She

Medal Dinner, in celebration of the

member of the American Institute of

works at the Iowa Finance Authority

special anniversary.

Certified Public Accountants.

in Des Moines as a homeownership programs manager.

24

and part owner of Conquest Funds, a

Visit www.isualum.org for more information and registration.

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Drury Receives Distinguished Alumni Award David Drury (’66 Mathematics), retired chairman and chief executive officer of the Principal Financial Group and member of the College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council, is a recipient of a 2008 Distinguished Alumni Award, to be given at the university’s Distinguished Awards Celebration on Friday, April 11.

The award, established in 1961, is the highest honor given to alumni by Iowa State University through the ISU Alumni Association. It honors alumni who are nationally or internationally recognized for preeminent contributions to their professions or life’s work.

Drury was nominated for the award by Labh Hira, dean of the College of Business. “David Drury is a revered figure in his industry and one of Iowa’s most successful home-grown businessmen,” Hira wrote in the nomination. “His personal success is overshadowed only by his uncommon personal humility.”

The son of a farmer from Green Mountain, Iowa, Mr. Drury became interested in actuarial work—using statistical data to formulate rates for insurance policies—when he was in high school. A teacher took him to Des Moines for the high school math test, sponsored by the Des Moines Actuarial Society, where a tour of Bankers Life was a part of the day’s activities. He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Iowa State University in 1966, and was hired at Bankers Life (which years later became Principal Financial Group) as an actuarial trainee.

Drury ascended quickly through the ranks at Principal, assembling an impressive string of accomplishments. He helped grow Principal from a mid-sized, mutual insurance company to a FORTUNE 500 global retirement services leader.

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Its assets under management more than tripled under his guidance, growing from $35 billion to $115 billion in the time he led the company. He grew the company at a rate many times that of the industry average.

One of Mr. Drury’s final accomplishments as an executive at Principal was helping to guide the company in its conversion from a mutually held insurance company to a publicly-traded corporation, with an initial public offering held in October 2001.

The markets were very nervous in a time of great uncertainty following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. But Principal’s stock was strong, with an opening price of $20.50 that rose to $21 by day’s end. Its price nearly tripled in just more than five years, topping $60 in early 2007 for the first time.

Drury’s tenure on the College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council has spanned the tenure of three deans. He was the 2000 recipient of the John D. DeVries Service Award, the College of Business’ highest award, given only to those alumni and friends who demonstrate outstanding service to the college. Drury is also a member of the ISU Foundation Order of the Knoll.

In 1998, Drury and his wife Margaret established The Principal Financial Group Faculty Fellowship in Finance to recognize an outstanding finance faculty member in the College of Business.

Drury was also instrumental in establishing the Principal Financial Group Foundation Inc. Scholarship for Iowa State University students, awarded to a junior or senior minority student from Iowa who demonstrates leadership qualities.

The Drurys live in Waukee, Iowa. ■

“ David Drury is a revered figure in his industry and one of Iowa’s most successful home-grown businessmen.”

—LABH HIRA

25

FA C ULTY A ND STA FF NEWS

MIS Professor Premkumar Passes Away Dr. Prem Premkumar, the Union Pacific Professor of Information Systems in the College of Business, passed away on

“ I will always remember Prem as a wonderful scholar, teacher, colleague, and friend.”

—DICK POIST

26

Thursday, November 29, 2007, in Ames following complications due to pneumonia. He was 53.

Premkumar was regarded as a brilliant scholar, respected colleague, caring individual, and excellent teacher. He was survived by his wife, Shoba, a lecturer in finance for the College of Business, and their two sons, Mukund and Deepak.

“We are all terribly saddened at the loss of Prem,” said Labh Hira, College of Business dean.

“He was an outstanding faculty member and a wonderful human being. We grieve deeply for Shoba and their sons.”

Premkumar was born November 23, 1954, in Madras, India. He earned a bachelor of engineering from Regional Engineering College in India in 1975. He moved on to graduate from the Indian Institute of Management in information systems and operations with a P.G.D.M. (MBA) in Management in 1982.

The Premkumars were married in 1985. After obtaining a PhD in information systems from the University of Pittsburgh in 1989, Prem joined the College of Business at Iowa State University. He was an especially active member of the faculty, particularly in curriculum development.

He served on the college’s curriculum committee, computer advisory committee, and student outcomes assessment committee. He received

several grants for course development and research, most notably to develop libraries of computer-based tutorials and integrate them into the MIS curriculum. He also developed two graduate programs in information system.

Premkumar was also actively involved in connecting the College of Business to the business community. He participated in the information technology task force with the Greater Des Moines Partnership, and he developed an information systems certificate program in partnership with John Deere. These efforts earned him the college’s Business Impact Award in 1998, given to a faculty member who demonstrates an impact on industry practice. The Union Pacific Professorship in Information Systems was created in 1998 for outstanding MIS professors who have worked to link Iowa State’s education with real-world practices. In 2000, Premkumar became the first recipient of the professorship, which he held until his death.

Premkumar was the 2004 co-chair of the Big 12 MIS Symposium, hosted by the College of Business. He planned and hosted a successful three-day event which included attendees from all Big 12 MIS departments. The conference provided a forum for MIS faculty to discuss their research and for MIS PhD candidates to network with potential employers.

“Prem was dedicated to making our MIS program the best it could be,” said Mike Crum, John and Ruth DeVries Endowed Chair in Business and associate dean. “He worked very hard to improve the quality of our curriculum and connect the program to the community.”

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Premkumar was also an accomplished researcher in the areas of interorganizational systems, electronic commerce, knowledge management, telecommunications network design, and strategic information systems planning. His papers have been published or are forthcoming in some of the leading journals and conference proceedings in his field. He also served in editorial roles for a number of prominent journals.

Premkumar also greatly enjoyed the interaction with students that teaching allowed him.

He once said, “I enjoy teaching and it gives me a great sense of personal satisfaction to disseminate knowledge to students, and see them learn and succeed in their professional life.” His teaching interests were in telecommunications, electronic commerce, system analysis, and system design.

But for his many accomplishments as a faculty member, he is most remembered as a warm person and a dedicated family man. His classmates at the Indian Institute of Management presented Shoba with a memory book, each of them sharing their admiration for his work and career.

“Prem has been a wonderful, caring person and a great father to our children,” said his wife Shoba. “He spent a lot of time with the family. The great memories we have will last a lifetime and give us the strength and courage to go forward in life.”

Their son Mukund is 19 years old and studies

genetics at Iowa State. “My dad had a strong work ethic and always encouraged us to do our best in everything,” he said. “He is my role model, and someday I would like to accomplish as much as he did in his lifetime.”

Deepak is 15 and attends Ames High School.

“Dad was brilliant and hardworking. He taught me a lot about computers and I am inspired by his great work. I will miss him a lot.”

Shoba Premkumar is grateful for the outpouring they have received since Prem’s death.

“I want to thank all our friends, colleagues, and neighbors for the support since Prem passed away,” she said. “I feel happy that Prem has touched many lives in a very positive way and that many of his colleagues and friends hold him in great esteem.”

“Prem was nationally and internationally recognized for his important research contributions,” said Dick Poist, Jacobson Companies Fellow in Transportation and Logistics and chair of the Department of Logistics, Operations, and Management Information Systems. “At Iowa State, he served many important roles in our department. I will always remember him as a wonderful scholar, teacher, colleague, and friend.

He will be missed greatly.” ■

N E W F A C U LT Y A N D S TA F F Tim Folger (’06 MBA,

finance integration manager with Easter

Jenny Reitano (’06

’84 Graphic Design,

Seals of Iowa.

MBA, ’99 Exercise

’79 Biology) is a new

and Sport Science)

lecturer of marketing.

Robert Kemp is a new lecturer of

joined the college in

Folger was formerly

logistics and supply chain management.

January as director

employed at the Iowa

He is president and owner of Kemp

of MBA recruitment

State Center as

Enterprises, a business consulting,

and marketing. She

Conference Services Manager. He is cur-

supply management and professional

was previously employed as a wellness

rently in a temporary appointment as a

development company.

specialist at FBL Financial Group.

IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY

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27

DEVELO PM ENT

College Dedicates Three New Named Spaces D R . C H A R L E S B . H A N D Y G R A D U AT E PROGRAMS OFFICE

“ Today we honor Dr. Charles Handy, a man whose dedication and perseverance helped build business education at ISU.” —LABH HIRA

28

The Graduate Programs Office at 1350 Gerdin Business Building added the name of Dr. Charles B. Handy on September 20, 2007. Handy and his wife Mary Kay were present as many of his friends, family and former students paid him tribute and dedicated the space in his honor.

“Today we honor Dr. Charles Handy, a man whose dedication and perseverance helped build business education at ISU from a department, to a school, to the college we know today,” said Dean Labh Hira. “For that, he will forever be known as our ‘Founding Dean.’”

Hira noted the appropriateness of the graduate programs office bearing Handy’s name since he was so instrumental in developing the college’s graduate business programs.

Handy was hired as an instructor in 1958. He was named department chair in 1978. In 1980, the department became the School of Business, then the College of Business Administration— with Handy as its first dean—in 1984. He helped start the college’s MBA program a year later.

“Naming an area in the Gerdin Business Building in my honor is the thrill of a lifetime,” said Handy.

“It takes on special significance since that office houses Ron DR. CHARLES HANDY “CUTS THE Ackerman, director of RIBBON” ON A REPLICA OF THE graduate admissions and DOORWAY TO THE OFFICE THAT my former assistant.”

NOW BEARS HIS NAME. HIS Several of Handy’s LEI WAS SENT AS A GIFT FROM former students contribAL LANDON, A 1970 ALUMNUS uted to the $200,000 AND CONTRIBUTOR WHO LIVES IN HAWAII. naming gift, including

Bill (’77 MS Industrial Administrative Sciences, ’73 Industrial Administration) and Raedene Kalm, Al (’70 Industrial Administration) and Sue Landon, Steve (’69 Industrial Administration) and Phyliss (’69 Sociology) Dapper, Scott (’79 Industrial Administration) and Julia Johnson, Lynn (’60 Industrial Administration) and Jody Vorbrich, Chris (’75 Industrial Administration) and Sondra Paskach, and an anonymous donor.

“I’m here because a man believed in me and supported me,” said Kalm, who remains close to Handy. “He is a mentor, a friend, and somebody who believes so strongly in the mission of teaching.”

The bond is mutual. Kalm was one of Handy’s first admissions to the new Industrial Administrative Sciences graduate program in the 1970s. Handy noted that Kalm’s undergraduate record at Iowa State was not that impressive, “but Bill soon proved his mettle. He went on to a highly successful career in business. For many reasons, he is one of my favorites.”

STEVE AND BECKY SMITH MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING SUITE

Steve (’70 Industrial Administration) and Becky Smith of Greensboro, Georgia, might choose their sport more carefully on their next visit back to Iowa.

The dedication of the Management and Marketing Suite at 2350 Gerdin Business Building was held on January 18, 2008, in part so they could see the Iowa State-Oklahoma State men’s basketball game the following day. Becky is a proud Oklahoma State grad and Cowboy fan.

But sub-zero temperatures greeted the Smiths in Iowa, providing a chilly welcome to an otherwise warm celebration of their $200,000 naming gift.

“Friends don’t invite friends to Iowa in the middle of January!” joked Steve Smith. “Next time we want to spend time with the golf team.”

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But Steve is no stranger to Iowa’s cold weather. He came to Iowa State from Marshalltown, earning his degree in 1970 and launching a highly successful career with Procter and Gamble, rising through the ranks to manage its non-food STEVE AND BECKY SMITH accounts for their paper division in the United States. He eventually left to become national sales manager for VO5 shampoo at Alberto-Culver in Chicago. He then became director of business planning for Helene Curtis before moving into private consulting.

Becky enjoyed a great career of her own, leading a number of sales positions in North America before moving on to Hiachi to lead worldwide marketing for their hard drive division.

“Steve and Becky Smith are special to me as friends and donors of the College of Business,” said Dean Labh Hira. “It was their gift in 1999 that ensured that the Gerdin Challenge [the fundraising campaign to build the Gerdin Business Building] would be met.”

Tom Chacko, chair of the Departments of Management and Marketing, also spoke at the dedication. “I stand here with this deep feeling of humility and gratitude,” he said. “Both of you have been deeply committed supporters of the College of Business. We will not disappoint you.”

“We respect Labh and think he’s done a wonderful job for the college,” said Steve Smith. “We keep this gift unrestricted to allow the experts to determine the way it should be used. We’re just happy to help Iowa State.”

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W I L L I A M L . VA R N E R A C C O U N T I N G AND FINANCE SUITE

Bill Varner (’74 Industrial Administration) considers the relationship between his company and his university to be a winning proposition.

Varner, a vice president and controller with Cargill in Minneapolis, has been very involved with Iowa State on behalf of Cargill—recruiting Iowa State graduates to the company, collaborating on research opportunities, and promoting a global business perspective among students.

He recently decided to share some of his success with the college by making a $200,000 gift to name the Accounting and Finance Suite in 2330 Gerdin Business Building. “As a manager, you see the value of the relationship,” Varner said.

“You like to reward good work and capability.”

“Bill has had a very successful career at Cargill,” said Dean Labh Hira. “We’re honored that he made this gift in recognition of the role Iowa State played in his success.”

A native of Decorah, Iowa, Varner came to Iowa State to play baseball. “People were approachable and interested in you as a person, and interested in helping you,” Varner said. He discovered accounting, which became his profession after his baseball WILLIAM VARNER career ended. “People who are successful at Iowa State can be successful at Cargill,” he said. “A lot of my good fortune is due to the base that ISU gave me to prepare me.”

The dedication was held on April 11, 2008. ■

“As a manager, you see the value of the relationship.

You like to reward good work and capability.”

—BILL VARNER

29

DEVELOPMENT

Petermeiers Make Gift to Business, Athletics In November 2007, Craig and Virginia Petermeier of Mingo, Iowa, announced their deferred gift of $1 million to the Iowa State

“ We are very loyal to Iowa State and wanted to help provide resources for the future of the university.”

—CRAIG PETERMEIER

30

University College of Business endowment for unrestricted use in the areas of greatest need; and a $500,000 pledge to the ISU Athletics Department for facility renovations.

Craig is a 1978 industrial administration graduate and longtime supporter of the College of Business. He has served on the college’s Dean’s Advisory Council since 1997, assuming the role of chair in 2006.

“We are very loyal to Iowa State and wanted to help provide resources for the future of the university,” said Craig Petermeier, president and CEO of Jacobson Companies. “We trust the university leadership to make wise decisions and use our future gifts to benefit the students, faculty and athletics program.”

Jacobson Companies is a nationally ranked third-party logistics and warehousing firm based in Des Moines. When Petermeier joined Jacobson as a controller in 1983, its annual revenues were approximately $1.5 million, with 25 employees.

Since then, Jacobson’s growth—including a series of mergers in the past two years—has vaulted the company into a fifth-place ranking among thirdparty logistics providers in the United States. The firm now earns over $550 million annually and employs over 6,000 people in 140 locations.

The Petermeiers are longtime supporters of Iowa State University, having contributed to the College of Business and to a number of athletics facilities, including the Steve and Debbie Bergstrom Indoor Training Facility, Johnny Majors Practice Field, and Richard O. Jacobson Building.

In addition to his duties as Dean’s Advisory

Council chair, he also serves on committees for Campaign Iowa State: With Pride and Purpose in both the College of Business and Athletics Department, and is an ISU Foundation governor.

Petermeier was honored with the college’s Citation of Achievement Award in 1999, and he was a featured speaker at the college’s Voorhees Supply Chain Lecture in 2003. The college awarded him with its John D. DeVries Service Award in 2007.

“Craig and Virginia’s unrestricted deferred gift will allow the college to fund future priorities that may not otherwise be funded,” said Labh Hira, dean of the College of Business. “Whether that need is scholarships, faculty support, program development or building enhancements, this type of support will eventually do great things to benefit the college.”

Their gift to athletics will provide immediate support to facilities projects.

“Iowa State is in the process of major renovations to Jack Trice Stadium and Hilton Coliseum and private fundraising dollars are extremely important to these projects,” said Athletics Director Jamie Pollard. “Craig and Virginia are outstanding Cyclone supporters and we appreciate their support and dedication to our program.”

Petermeier is also a member of Iowa State’s Order of the Knoll and the ISU Coaches’ Circle. ■

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Staffords Create Business Endowment John and Connie Stafford have long been involved in supporting and improving the College of Business. Both graduates of the industrial administration program—John in 1976 and Connie in 1979—they recently reaffirmed their commitment to the college with a $300,000 gift which will establish the John and Connie Stafford Business Endowment.

Their gift will be further enhanced through the matching gifts program at General Mills, where John is the vice president of Financial Shared Services.

“Our gift is provided to enable the College of Business to continuously improve,” said Stafford.

“The Gerdins and many others have generously provided a stunning and advanced building; we now need to fill it with the faculty, staff and students consistent with the college’s vision. We hope our faculty fellowship allows the College of Business to realize its potential.”

“We thank John and Connie for their generosity and dedication to their college,” said Dean Labh Hira. “They have done so much for us over so many years, and they are unmatched in their passion to make their college better.”

John Stafford joined General Mills in 1979 and rose quickly through the company. He began as a financial associate and progressed through General Mills’ financial operations in the United States. His career has taken him to Canada, the Netherlands, and then back to the United States in 1994 as vice president, Financial

IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY

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Operations, for Supply Chain Operations and vice president, Global Internal Audit. He has been in the United States since then.

Stafford is a past chair and current member of the College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council.

He was instrumental in fundraising and planning for the Gerdin Business Building. He has been heavily involved with the College of Business, speaking to numerous classes and providing insight to faculty regarding curriculum development and research projects.

The college honored Stafford with its John D. DeVries service award in 2005 for his outstanding service.

“I have enjoyed every minute of membership in the Dean’s Advisory Council. This group has contributed much to the advancement of the college,” Stafford said. “I am also very impressed with the college’s leadership. Under Drs. Handy, Allen, and Hira we have seen the consistent stewardship and growth of this treasured asset.

We are very grateful for their passion, commitment and guidance.

“It is a delight to reflect on all that has been accomplished since our days in industrial administration. More importantly, feeling the rate of change accelerate—and watching the vision for the college unfold—is exciting.” ■

“ The Staffords are unmatched in their passion to make their college better.”

—LABH HIRA

These College of Business donors were mistakenly left out of the fall 2007 Prospectus list of those who made a gift between July 1, 2006, and June 30, 2007. Please accept our apologies and thanks for your support to the college. $10,000 - $24,999

$1,000 - $2,499

Dr. William Thompson

Daniel and Sharon Krieger

31

DR . C HA R LES HA NDY

From the Desk of Founding Dean Charles Handy The approval of a PhD program in the College of Business is a real credit to Dean Labh Hira and the business faculty. It is a wonderful

In March 1985, the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, approved the program, and the MBA was launched that fall.

32

accomplishment, sort of the icing on the cake with respect to the evolution of graduate business education at Iowa State. There is an old saying about giant oaks growing from little acorns; in a sense this describes our graduate program’s growth.

I joined the faculty of the Department of Industrial Administration (IAd) in the College of Sciences and Humanities (now Liberal Arts and Sciences) in 1958. Even then there was already much departmental discussion about becoming a business college. It was pure speculation; in 1958, our faculty count totaled eight. In the early 1970s, Dean Chalmer Roy directed us toward the development of a graduate program, and a committee was formed.

Although there had been IAd faculty growth since my 1958 entry, we were still shallow in faculty with doctoral degrees and breadth of course offerings—two critical factors in offering a master’slevel degree program. Consequently, the committee recommended a business graduate program in cooperation with the Departments of Economics, Statistics, and Industrial Engineering. The master’s degree was to be called Industrial Administrative Sciences (IAS).

When IAd became the School of Business Administration in 1980, the IAS graduate program became Business Administrative Sciences (BAS). During the IAS/BAS gestation period, interest grew for an MBA program. In the fall of 1983, a committee comprised of faculty from the Department of Economics, the College of Agriculture, and the SBA was charged with preparing a proposal to the State Board of Regents.

The committee proposed an MBA with an agri-

business specialization—a degree program unique to the state of Iowa and, at that time, most of the nation.

In 1984—the same time the school became the College of Business—Pioneer Hi-Bred International endowed a $500,000 agribusiness chair, the occupant of which would manage the proposed MBA in agribusiness program. In March 1985, the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, approved the program, and the MBA was launched that fall.

The new MBA needed a strong, nationally known educator. Pioneer’s gift allowed us to conduct an extensive search, which culminated in Dr. Max Wortman being hired as the first Pioneer Hi-Bred International Chair in Agribusiness. Max’s passion and dedication to academia helped us get our fledgling MBA program off the ground.

Dr. Wortman is no longer with us, but the MBA program that he helped to get started is today recognized as the third most popular area of graduate study at Iowa State. Agribusiness was the initial MBA specialization, but today the program can be taken in eight different focus areas.

Back in 1985, the MBA was taught only full-time and only on campus. Today the program is offered on Saturdays and in Des Moines on a part-time basis. Master’s programs in accounting and information systems have also been added.

During recent years, the College of Business has developed collaborative graduate relationships with other colleges across the campus; in particular, the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Engineering, and Veterinary Medicine. In a sense, the graduate business program has gone full circle. We requested help from other programs to initiate IAS in 1975; now business is returning that favor.

As I stated earlier, giant oaks grow from little acorns. ■

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COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

Administration Labh S. Hira

Richard F. Poist

Dean

Chair, Department of Logistics, Operations, and Management Information Systems

Soma Mitra

Ronald J. Ackerman

James M. Heckmann

Michael R. Crum Associate Dean, Graduate Programs

Kay M. Palan Associate Dean, Undergraduate Programs

Academic Fiscal Officer

Director, Graduate Admissions

Director, Small Business Development Centers

Steven T. Carter

Mark S. Peterson

Director, Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship

Director, Graduate Career Services

Chair, Department of Accounting Chair, Department of Finance

Ann J. Coppernoll

Jennifer D. Reitano

Director, Undergraduate Programs

Director, MBA Recruitment and Marketing

Thomas I. Chacko

Mary F. Evanson

Daniel J. Ryan

Chair, Department of Management Chair, Department of Marketing

Director of Development

Director, Marketing and Alumni Relations

Jeremy D. Galvin

Kathryn K. Wieland

Marvin L. Bouillon

Director of Development

Director, Business Career Services

Dean’s Advisory Council Craig A. Petermeier ’78, Chair

Beth E. Ford ‘86

Robert E. McLaughlin ‘60

President, CEO Jacobson Companies

SVP-Global Operations & Info Tech Scholastic, Inc.

Partner Steptoe & Johnson LLP

Ronald D. Banse ‘75

James F. Frein ‘67

Timothy J. O’Donovan ‘68

Assistant General Auditor Union Pacific Corporation

President, Retired Hutchinson, Shockey, Erley & Co

Chairman of the Board & CEO Wolverine World Wide Inc.

Kelley A. Bergstrom ‘65

David C. Garfield ‘50

David W. Raisbeck ‘71

President Bergstrom Investment Management, LLC

President, Retired Ingersoll-Rand Co.

Vice Chairman Cargill, Inc.

Steve W. Bergstrom ‘79

Russell Gerdin

Frank Ross ‘84

Chairman Arclight Energy Marketing

Chairman and CEO Heartland Express, Inc.

Vice President- North America Operations Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.

G. Steven Dapper ‘69

Isaiah Harris, Jr. ‘74

Steven T. Schuler ‘73

Founder and Chairman hawkeye | GROUP

Consultant Palm Coast, FL

Senior Vice President and CFO Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines

John D. DeVries ‘59

Cara K. Heiden ‘78

Walter W. Smith ‘69

CEO, Retired Colorfx

Div Pres, National Consumer and Institutional Lending Wells Fargo Home Mortgage

CEO ITWC Polyurethane

Jerald K. Dittmer ‘80

Daniel J. Houston ‘84

John H. Stafford ‘76

President, The HON Company Executive Vice President, HNI Corporation

Executive Vice President Principal Financial Group

Vice Pres, Business Financial Services General Mills, Inc.

David J. Drury ‘66

Richard N. Jurgens ‘71

Jane Sturgeon ‘85

Chairman and CEO, Retired The Principal Financial Group

Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President Hy-Vee, Inc.

SVP, CFO and Treasurer Barr-Nunn Transportation, Inc.

David K. Ecklund ‘72

Daniel L. Krieger ‘59

Jill A. Wagner ‘76

VP-Client Services Div, Retired Caterpillar Logistics Services, Inc.

President Ames National Corporation

Regional Vice President Frontier Communications

Denise I. Essman ‘73

Cheryl G. Krongard ‘77

President and CEO Essman/Associates and Essman/Research

Partner, Retired Apollo Management LP

For love of alma mater.

For a chance to be part of something truly important.

By investing in an area of your greatest interest, you will help define Iowa State University and make an impact where it matters to you most. Review your giving options at www.withprideandpurpose.org.

NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID

2200 Gerdin Business Building Ames, IA 50011-1350

AMES, IA PERMIT NO. 200