ANISFIELD SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
B U S I N E S S M AT T E R S Second Annual ASB Alumni Networking Roundtable he Anisfield School of Business Alumni Advisory Board hosted its second annual Alumni Networking Roundtable on March 26 in the Trustees Pavilion. Sixty business students had an opportunity to network with 25 ASB and other Ramapo alumni to learn about their professional experiences and career paths.
much out of the evening as the students. Kim Albano ’83, who is employed by ESPN, was “motivated by the engaging interest the students took in our dialogue.”
This year a third roundtable discussion session was added, providing expanded opportunities for students to make connections, gain a perspective of the business world and build professional networks.
Julie McDonald, a graduating senior who is majoring in Business Administration with a Management concentration who attended both years’ roundtable events, concluded, “This is by far the best event I’ve ever attended at Ramapo College.”
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Richard Anisfield, Carolyn Merkel ‘78 and Joe Gilligan ‘92 describe their experiences at the table on entrepreneurship.
Trudy Hardy ‘91 makes a point at the marketing table.
Students enjoyed lively discussions about different fields and realized that their major may not dictate their future. Valuable suggestions the students received were to have confidence, be willing to approach people they may not be acquainted with and to articulate their career aspirations.
Richard Anisfield, benefactor of the business school that carries his name, participated in the entrepreneurship table discussion.
VOLUME 5, ISSUE 1
SUMMER 2009
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Second Annual ASB Alumni Networking Roundtable ...................................Cover A Message from the Dean .......................................2 Professor In The Spotlight.......................................3 Alumni Profiles ........................................................4 Scholarly Research Flourishes..................................5 New Initiatives Enhance Student Learning.............5 Delta Mu Delta Holds Annual Dinner ...................6
Manshi Joisher ‘91 discusses networking opportunities as Tina Louise Moyer ‘98 and a student look on.
Alumni gave advice on resume writing and interviewing and offered tips for landing a job. Many of the alumni participated in last year’s networking event. This year’s first timers got as
Students Participate in Mercantile Competition .....6 Business Students Honored .....................................7 New Faculty Join the Anisfield School of Business..............................8
Visit the school’s Web site at
www.ramapo.edu/asb
A Message from the Dean
am pleased to report that despite these troubling economic times, the future has never looked brighter for the Anisfield School of Business (ASB). This year we proudly sent 281 new ASB graduates out into the world, confident that the educations they received will allow them to compete effectively with graduates from the finest business schools in the nation. Furthermore, we expect many of our graduates to play meaningful roles in rebuilding and reengineering the nation’s business infrastructure to enable a healthier economy going forward.
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Regardless of the individual paths they take, I congratulate all of our graduates, wish them success, and remind them that, to the faculty and staff of the Anisfield School of Business, they will always be considered members of our family.
In the past, I have reported on progress toward our goal of achieving initial accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). We have now entered the final stages of that process, having been invited by AACSB to file our formal accreditation application. The hard work and dedication of our faculty have allowed us to achieve this milestone in just three years, while many other schools have taken seven or more years to reach this point. In the coming year, we will complete a required “self assessment” of our readiness for accreditation, and in the early fall of 2010 an AACSB appointed Peer Review Team will make a four-day visit to campus to perform a thorough inspection of our compliance with those standards. We should receive the final decision on accreditation shortly after the team visit. Thanks to a generous gift from Richard and Millicent Anisfield in 2008, we will soon complete construction on the fifth floor of the Ansifield School of Business building. In addition to new classrooms and offices, the fifth floor will house our new Global Financial Trading Laboratory. This state-of-the-art facility will be equipped with technology similar to that typically found on the trading floors of the largest Wall Street firms. With access to real-time financial data from around the world, students will use the new lab to expand their knowledge of the workings of global markets. They will learn to analyze the financial characteristics of companies, industries and markets, and gain hands-on experience by managing virtual portfolios of
stocks, bonds, commodities and currencies. In addition, the lab will provide a fertile environment for faculty and student research. One final and very exciting announcement: The Board of Directors of the prestigious Eastern Economics Association announced that effective July 1, 2009, the Association will now be headquartered at the Anisfield School of Business. Further, the Board announced that they have selected our own Alex Olbrecht, associate professor of Economics as the new executive director of the Association. Established in 1974, the Association publishes the highly acclaimed “Eastern Economic Journal,” which presents empirical and theoretical research from all areas of economics. In addition, the Association hosts an annual conference on the Eastern seaboard that draws more than 1,000 presenters from throughout the world. As we move into the future, I remain confident that the Anisfield School of Business is on task in fulfilling its vision to become the premier public business school in the New York metropolitan area. And, as always, I will continue to report on our progress toward this vision. As always, please feel free to contact me with your questions, ideas and suggestions. Dean Lewis Chakrin, Ph.D.
The entire ASB faculty is deeply engaged in the AACSB accreditation initiative, notably in the assurance of learning. (L-R): Professors Kathy Zeno, Teresa Hutchins, Susan Eisner, Eric Haye and Jim Woodley at the spring assessment retreat where the faculty gathered to discuss assessment results and develop action plans for improving student learning.
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Professor In The Spotlight...Stephen Klein: Not Just Lesson Plans ntering Stephen Klein’s office visitors are drawn to his collection of flags, each representing a country of origin of his international students. Each semester the flags are used as a teaching tool. Klein assigns students enrolled in his Principles of Information Technology course research projects based on those countries. The personal interest demonstrated by the Information Systems professor, combined with an individualized approach to teaching, has endeared Klein to his students. “Stephen is known informally as ‘Mr. Ramapo’ because of his dedication to promoting the College,” says Cherie Ann Sherman, professor of Business Law & Information Systems. “He always puts students first and is genuinely interested in them as human beings, not just as people in his courses whom he is assigned to teach.” The professor continues to promote the College and enhance its academic credibility by serving on several committees including the Middle States Steering Committee – Reaccreditation, the All-College Tenure Committee and the All-College Constituency Committee. In the Anisfield School of Business, he serves on the Teaching, Assessment and
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Program Committee, which guides the school in its assurance of learning efforts for AACSB accreditation. As convener of Accounting and Information Systems (IS) he led the initiative to create a new minor in IS. “The new IS minor has great appeal to accounting majors, particularly for students preparing for the CPA certification.” He also brings a wealth of experience to the classroom to prepare students for the workforce. He consults with Fortune 500 companies on information technology and has held positions at M.I.T., Instrumentation Labs and the Bentley College Computer Center.
“I strongly support teaching and mentoring at Ramapo College, which led me to develop the Student Planning Guide for IS students which was adopted by all majors in the school and later by the College.” Klein believes his success as a professor is because he adheres to the advice he gives his students: show courage, have a positive attitude, persevere and be ethical. A member of the faculty for 25 years, he considers it a privilege to be part of the College’s past, present and future, a sentiment echoed by students and colleagues who have studied and worked with him.
ASB Loses a Colleague r. Gary Kettlitz, assistant professor of Management, passed away April 28. Professor Kettlitz joined the Anisfield School of Business in 1996 and taught courses in human resource management and organizational theory and behavior. Gary will be sorely missed by colleagues and students alike.
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To honor his memory, a group of faculty across the College has started an endowed scholarship in his honor with a goal of raising $10,000. The criteria for the scholarship are as follows: • Any student from Ramapo College is eligible • The recipient must demonstrate an interest in social justice and a desire to make the world a better place • The recipient should have experienced or be experiencing some sort of financial hardship or significant illness • There will be a preference for a major in management or any healthcare related field For more information, please contact Alex Olbrecht at aolbrech@ramapo.edu.
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Alumni Profiles: Double the Effort, Double the Results
Michael ‘08 (left) and Steven Carroll ‘08
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wins Michael and Steven Carroll have always enjoyed a healthy competition. The 2008 graduates shadowed each other as roommates at Ramapo College, majored in Business Administration with a management concentration and accepted positions at New York Life. Choosing Ramapo College was easy. It offered Michael a balance between class work and a social life, while maintaining a diverse atmosphere. Steven was sold on the business program and, as a transfer student, was relieved that his credits would be accepted. Their introduction to business was Management Theory and Practice, taught by Rikki Abzug, Ph.D. Steven remembers the professor as intelligent and knowledgeable. Michael says, “If every class was designed to develop optimism, ambition and intuition, it would be based on this course.” The brothers both chose Business Administration as their major. Michael wanted to work with people, help others and obtain a leadership role. “A career in business will help me accomplish these goals,” he says. Even in high school, Steven realized no matter what he pursued, business would be involved. He says, “I realized that choosing a business major would generate many opportunities for me.” The most important thing Michael learned was the value of
relationship building, which he attributes to small class size. Team building and group skills top the list of what Steven gained as an undergrad. Now the brothers work for New York Life Insurance Company, Michael in Manhattan as an associate programmer and Steven in Parsippany in investment management. They agree that their experiences at Ramapo College have helped them in their careers. Michael is developing a new software application for financial data processing. He says, “This has tested my knowledge of computers, time management, organization and leadership, which were first developed at Ramapo.” Much of what Steven does involves the stock market. “A lot of what I learned at Ramapo gave me a solid base of knowledge about the market,” he says. The presentation skills he learned at the College have helped him as well. He was asked to be part of a development team that requires him to present information to key executives at New York Life. The brothers offer several suggestions to the Class of 2009. Michael says, “Don’t give up, confidence is key and always be one step ahead.” Adds Steven, “Never be afraid to ask questions. Sometimes asking questions is the best way to learn.”
Wednesday Seminars onthly Wednesday Brown Bag Research Seminars (“Wednesday Seminars”) offer friendly and constructive criticism for faculty research projects and serve as dry-runs for subsequent conference presentation. The 2008-2009 Wednesday Seminar Series kicked off with a summer research round robin update, and picked up speed with a presentation by George Tabback, associate vice president Academic Affairs / CIO, who fielded faculty queries on research capacity at the College. Highlights of faculty research presentations included Rita Shea-VanFossen on “Job, Career and Calling: A Qualitative Study of Work Orientation,” in the fall, Marketing’s William Feuss on “Customer Value and Competitive Position” and Management’s James Woodley on “How Tight an Embrace? Choosing the Optimal Degree of Partner Interaction in Alliances Based on Risk, Technology Characteristics, and Agreement Provisions,” in the spring. The duo of economists Alexandre Olbrecht and Teresa Hutchins also presented their findings on the relationship between AACSB accreditation and graduate school, and new faculty member Xiaoyu Wu closed out the very successful academic year.
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Scholarly Research at the Anisfield School of Business Flourishes hanks to the efforts of Dr. Rikki Abzug, associate professor of Management and ASB research coordinator, and several ongoing initiatives, scholarly research at the Anisfield School of Business continues to thrive. Faculty research sabbaticals, the funding of student research assistants and monthly research seminars contribute to the productivity and innovation of researchers. All three initiatives feed the scholarly soul and bring ASB ever closer to AACSB accreditation. Professor Susan Eisner put her fall 2008 research sabbatical to terrific use as she completed research on two timely topics for two papers. The first paper, “EEmployment? Career Building and Recruiting in an Electronic Age” was presented and is in the “Proceedings of the Society for Advancement of Management (SAM) 2009 Annual Conference” and is under review for the “SAM Advanced Management Journal.” This paper identifies current practices employers, prospective employees and career service providers are seeking to optimize contemporary employment methods. Professor Eisner’s
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second paper seeks to shed light on another significant aspect of 21st century career building and management: the skill-sets employers seek when recruiting and selecting recent college graduates for employment. Dr. Jason Hecht was on sabbatical leave in the spring 2009 semester. He worked on several research projects to model firm-level capital structure. He also worked on a project to measure the association between stock issuance and the funding of new plant, property and equipment. As part of these efforts, he recently had an article (coauthored with Dr. Eric Haye) accepted at “Financial Decisions” titled, “Modeling the Recent Capital Structure of American, Chinese, and Indian Firms.”
Student/Faculty Research a Highlight Faculty research assistants foster close knit ties between outstanding student talent and faculty supervisors/research mentors. The Anisfield School of Business was able to provide for nine student researchers in the 2008-2009 academic year, all working with faculty on publishable research. Student/faculty research partnerships/projects included: student Mariya Bistrina working
with Accounting Associate Professor Kathryn Yeaton on “An Examination of SEC Form 20F Comments to Foreign Private Issuers Regarding the Implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS),” and student Kristine Austria working with Marketing assistant professor Christina Chung on three projects involving consumer trust in online shopping. Star student Mihail Velikov continued his ongoing partnership with Finance/Economic Professors Eric Haye and Jason Hecht, studying capital structure of firms in international comparative perspective, while the Stoyanov siblings (Stoyan and Veselina) provided research support to both International Business Professor William Frech and Business Law Professor Cherie Sherman. Student Hristina Dzhogleva and Accounting Professor Constance Crawford are preparing their joint work for journal submission and students Bailey Wright, Viktoriya Staneva and Michael Kennedy have recently teamed up with faculty researchers Timothy Burns, Juan Cabrera and Rita SheaVanFossen, respectively.
New Initiatives Enhance Student Learning Student Mentoring Program The Anisfield School of Business launched a Student Mentoring Program pairing students with local business leaders from KPMG who can share a professional perspective. Keith Stratton, who is majoring in Accounting, meets with his mentor to focus on his resume and prepare for interviews. Jay-Anne Mandingin, also an Accounting major, views her mentor as an advisor and a friend. They’ve discussed the personal aspects of business such as office politics and work-life balance. The mentor supports the student in career planning and provides encouragement and validation that coursework will have relevance in the workplace.
School Approves Two New Minors ASB has approved the addition of Accounting and Information Systems minors that will provide students an option to develop a competency in each to complement their major program of study. Students with a minor in Accounting or Information Systems will be better prepared to work in their major fields because the disciplines are integral to all aspects of business.
ASB Offers Two Certificate Programs The Web Development Certificate focuses on components of modern Web development and provides a foundation for the successful use of communication and information technologies, allowing for the development of interactive Web sites, use of data sources and design of Web assets for personal, commercial and organizational use. Info:
http://www.ramapo.edu/cipl/webdevelopment/index.html The Business Essentials Certificate Program is recommended for small business owners who have not had sufficient training in business fundamentals, a working individual seeking a career change into a more business oriented position or a college graduate with a non-business degree preparing to apply to, or begin, an MBA program. Info:
http://www.ramapo.edu/cipl/essentials.html BUSINESS MATTERS
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Delta Mu Delta Holds Annual Dinner
President of Delta Mu Delta, Gina LaVagna, giving her remarks at the Delta Mu Delta Dinner.
Richard Fivehouse, Ramapo’s 2009 Outstanding Student of the Year, providing his comments.
he business honor society, Delta Mu Delta, held their annual induction dinner on April 2 in the Trustees Pavilion. This year 67 students from the Anisfield School of Business were inducted. Included on the list of inductees were Dr. Dorothy Echols Tobe, chief planning officer for the College and Reverend Dr. Vernon C. Walton, chair of the Ramapo College Board of Trustees, who were inducted as honorary members.
Delta Mu Delta is the national honor society in business administration and is the highest national recognition that a business student at Ramapo College can earn. Delta Mu Delta was founded as a national organization in 1913 by five professors at New York University, to identify and reward outstanding business administration students. Today, Delta Mu Delta is a distinguished honor to include on one’s resume and indicative of earnest, intelligent purpose and achievement.
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During the event Richard Fivehouse was named recipient of the Angelo N. Tarallo Outstanding Student Award and Dr. Timothy Burns received the Sebastian J. Raciti Outstanding Teacher Award. Commendations were also conferred upon several students for outstanding academic performance.
This year’s dinner was hosted by Professors Constance Crawford and Anita Stellenwerf, who also serve as the faculty advisors to the Ramapo College of New Jersey chapter of the society. More than 150 students, faculty, administrators and guests attended.
Students Participate in Mercantile Exchange Competition ine ASB students competed in the New York Mercantile Exchange Open Outcry Competition in
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March. Viktoriya Staneva, president of the Finance Club, placed third. Dr. Juan Cabrera, an
assistant professor of Finance, advised the team that also included Delina Agnosteva, Mariya Bistrina, Radina Dimitrova, Peter Guastella, Eddie Leach, Matthew Letinski, Efimia Tuneva and Mihail Velikov. The competition, a fast- paced electronic and open outcry trading simulation, was created by The New York Mercantile Exchange and the University of Houston. The products traded are crude oil and gold futures. The competition consisted of four rounds with 88 graduate and undergraduate participants from around the country. All of the Ramapo College students reached the third round.
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ASB faculty and staff gather to congratulate Omicron Delta Epsilon inductees. The new inductees into the economics honor society are Adam Biener and Lana LoPresti (in their orange sashes). Real estate developer Ken Dearden (third from right) spoke at the induction.
Business Students Recognized at Honors Convocation
Marketing Club Teams with the Seeing Eye The Marketing Club chose The Seeing Eye in Morristown as a club project to assist with
everal students from the Anisfield School of Business were recognized for their outstanding academic achievements at Ramapo College’s 2009 Honors Convocation. Each convening group within the ASB selected an outstanding student.
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This year’s selections were recognized by Dean Chakrin:
marketing and advertising of the non-profit organization’s services. The Seeing Eye partners with people who are
Accounting: Jamie Fasino
blind who seek to enhance
Economics: Daniel Sempkowski
their independence through the use of Seeing Eye dogs.
Finance: Cory D’Amato
“As students, we need the experience for our futures and this
Information Systems: Robert Lascar International Business: Veselina Stoyanova Management: Donna Antinori Marketing: Gina Lavagna In addition the following awards were presented: Book Prize - Mihail Velikov Faculty/Student Research Award - Steven Bloom
relationship benefits both parties,” says Lauren Conroy, the club’s president. Club members developed a marketing plan to help the organization raise awareness among college students about the services they provide and also to target young adults who are blind. The plan entails events, slogans and ways to get young people involved with the organization.
Congratulations to all of the honorees!
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ANISFIELD SCHOOL OF BUSINESS 505 Ramapo Valley Road Mahwah, NJ 07430-1680 www.ramapo.edu
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Three New Faculty Join the Anisfield School of Business This past fall three new faculty joined the Anisfield School of Business Dr. Juan Cabrera, assistant professor of Finance, recently completed his Ph.D. in Economics at CUNY. His dissertation field was financial economics and microstructure finance. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Finance from Jacksonville University. His research areas of interest include derivatives and risk management, currency and equity markets, applied time series, econometrics and empirical market microstructure. Dr. Christina Chung, assistant professor of Marketing, most recently was assistant professor of Marketing at Minot State University. She also held teaching positions at East Carolina University and the University of Southern Mississippi. She earned a Ph.D. (Mass Communication major/Marketing minor) and Master of Science degree in Public Relations from the University of Southern Mississippi, a Master of Arts degree in Information Science from the University of Tsukuba ( Japan) and her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Sejong University (Seoul, Korea). Among her research interests are online consumer behavior, marketing research, integrated marketing communication, marketing public relations, media effects in marketing communication, new technology in organizational communication, cross-cultural research and trust and ethics in business practices. Xiaoyu Wu, assistant professor of Economics, is a Ph.D. candidate in economics at the University of California Riverside. Her dissertation topic is “Essays in Growth and Environment.� Her research interests include applied microeconomics and applied econometrics. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Fudan (China). BUSINESS MATTERS
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