Articles for the April 2008 edition of InFormation are now available.
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Citadel School of Business Administration
Business News Online Information
Jan C. Warner
Luis Barredo and Jeffrey Rutland were selected for the ContraVest internships this summer in Lake Mary, Florida. The internships are in the field of apartment real estate development, construction and management for projects in excess of $35 million in value.
The CSBA Scholarship Committee has awarded study abroad scholarships from the Samuel Mansbach Special Education Fund to five students. Dominic Mitchell was awarded $1500 in December 2007 to assist him with his study abroad in Munich where he earned six credit hours from The Goethe-Institute. He was also able to explore the international business scene in Munich.
Joseph Kane was awarded $1750 for an internship in advertising and public relations in Dublin, Ireland this summer. The program is through Boston University International Programs. He will have a full time internship with an Irish company and take an academic course, relating to Irish society, at Dublin City University.
Marcus Ashby was awarded $910 to be used toward The Citadel Summer Program in France. This summer study/immersion program is held at the Institut Linguistique du Peyrou at Montpellier, on the French Riviera. He will be able to take several excursions to many interesting cities across southern France, as well as a visit to Paris, the City of Lights.
Josephine Stern was awarded $910 which will be applied toward her summer program thorough the Knowledge Exchange Institute in the Irish Business, Law and Diplomacy Program. She will take Contemporary Irish Politics and Economics, Contemporary Irish Culture and Society, Microeconomics and Business Management at Griffith College in Dublin. Her program also includes a trip to Northern Ireland.
One final scholarship of $1750 will be awarded to Luis Barredo enabling him to study abroad this fall in Shanghai, China. He will take 15 hours in Chinese language, international business classes, Chinese culture and history and political issues. He also plans to complete an internship in China. His program offers excursions to local companies, factories and government agencies, where he can observe how the Chinese conduct business.
Dr. Earl Walker has accepted the position of Chief Operating Officer for the CSBA's Mentor Association. The former Dean of the Citadel School of Business Administration adds another task to his duties.
The Mentor Association was formed:
To serve as a bridge from the academic environment to the business and professional community and to provide an opportunity for Citadel School of Business Administration undergraduate and MBA students to interact with highly successful business leaders and professionals.
As a Teacher, Advisor and Mentor to many CSBA students himself, Dr. Walker will be assuming some new responsibilities in the Mentoring Association, which include:
Dr. Walker has great expectations for the Mentor Association and hopes that all cadets and MBA students will get involved.
"The program will provide individual coaching, helping these students achieve excellence in their field. They need to dream bigger. Some students do not realize how good they are and their value as leaders of principle and accountability," Dr. Walker explained.
The program is well-received by female and male cadets alike and their Mentors have a broad range of experience, an interest in youth, integrity and honesty. Cadets must fill out a questionnaire and matches are made based not only on career choices but also on common interests and hobbies. The Mentors are asked to attend "Boot Camp" where they are given a basic overview of the Citadel and its administration. The Mentor Association sponsors planned events and occasional social gatherings. Mentors have an opportunity to meet the students and other business leaders involved in the Program.
The Mentor Association is a great benefit to both Mentor and Mentee. Dr. Walker believes it helps in the growth of good business for the Region and in finding great prospective employees.
"This is an evolving experience. One that is a career visioning program, allowing the students to go beyond what they think they can achieve. The companies have a broader horizon about the world, recognizing centralization of principled leadership and a sense of integrity; for the student, it helps them think about their lives and all that they can achieve. It expands the imagination."
The President, Provost and administration at the Citadel have all been very supportive and helpful in sustaining and recognizing this program. A lot of assistance goes into putting it all together and Dr. Walker gives credit to Sandra Brown, Coordinator for the Mentors Association & Speakers Bureau, for her hard work. Brown plans, coordinates, schedules and executes events, including orientation for both mentors and students.
Dr. Walker is very enthusiastic regarding his position as a mentor and teacher. The Mentor Association is growing, much of it by word of mouth. The School of Business Advisory Board began discussions about the Mentoring program in 2001; in 2002-2003 a pilot program began with 18 students and 14 mentors. Now the Program has expanded to 150 Mentors and 200 students. By any measure, that is a success and good reason to be enthusiastic.
Maybe it was their training, or maybe it was their ability to react to a situation or maybe it was because it was the right thing to do. On January 20, 2008, Lt. David Cooper (MBA 2007) and Lt. Jason Maxwell (MBA graduate May 2008), unexpectedly found themselves in a dangerous situation. The two, NROTC Instructors, were training for an adventure race and had been bicycling. They headed out to kayak for the afternoon, and what they found in the Charleston Harbor was a challenge of a different sort.
Lt. Cooper said that they left Shem Creek and were paddling toward Waterfront Park across the Harbor. Once they reached the middle of the channel, Cooper spotted an empty kayak. He looked around but did not see anyone. Lt. Maxwell said they were between Castle Pinckney and Downtown, the current was moving at about 3 knots and the tide was going out. It was very windy. Then Maxwell spotted the empty kayak.
Cooper saw a woman on the pier, pointing and yelling about something. Soon he realized she was pointing to someone in the water. Cooper began to paddle off in the direction she was pointing when he spotted the woman in the water.
"She was swimming hard," Cooper said, "but getting nowhere."
Both men said that the air temperature was not that cold but the water temperature was about 50 degrees. Because of the wind, Cooper and Maxwell found it difficult to communicate and Cooper was yelling that he was seeing a woman in the water. Maxwell yelled to Cooper to go out after her and he paddled off to retrieve the empty kayak.
Cooper reached the woman and called out to her, "Hey, how are you doing?"
"I'm really cold," she told him. Her kayak had gotten tangled on a Crab Pod (a buoy, tied to a rope, tied to a crab trap) and she lost her paddle trying to free it. She had been in the water about 20 minutes. Cooper knew that he should keep talking to her while Maxwell was trying to retrieve her kayak. Meanwhile Cooper tried to paddle toward Maxwell with the woman holding onto the back of his kayak. However, the strong current and winds kept them from making much progress. Cooper began again to encourage the woman, telling her he would get her to shore.
Maxwell said that he reached the kayak and was trying to untangle it from the Crab Pod. He and Cooper were only a few hundred yards apart. Untangling the kayak proved more difficult than he thought and Maxwell said, "I thought I might be tossed off my kayak while struggling with the other one. It was completely snarled somehow on that crab pod."
Maxwell was not aware of any boats passing, but was glad when one did show up to help. The boat was able to tow Cooper and the woman to her boat where Maxwell was waiting. The woman got into her kayak and paddled up to shore at the Carolina Yacht Club. Cooper and Maxwell watched until she reached the pier and got off her boat.
When asked about their training, both Lts. Cooper and Maxwell agreed that their Navy experience probably helped, but a lot of their actions were based on instinct and helping someone in need, doing what was right. Cooper said that when he got to the woman, she said, "Good thing I have a life jacket on." But he said that she never panicked which, he said, "is something of a concern with someone in the water."
Maxwell said that in the Charleston Harbor, where you can be in the company of container ships, "wicked" currents and cold water, it is best not to kayak alone. And both strongly advised to "never be without a life jacket."
Ronald F. Green returned to the Lowcountry to take over as Dean of the School of Business Administration in July 2007. Green had been Dean and professor of management at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana, since July 2002. Prior to that, he held positions at East Tennessee State University, including associate dean and director of Graduate Studies in Business.
Green earned his Ph.D. from Clemson University, his MPA and MBA from Jacksonville State University and his BS from Clemson University.
The opportunity for Dean Green to come to Charleston did not simply fall into his lap, but it was an opportunity that came at the right time and in the right place.
Green said that he first noticed the position posted on the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, International (AACSB) web site. He was not really looking for anything in particular; rather, he was contemplating doing something different.
"You sometimes find a great job in an okay location, or a job that is not the best position for you, but one that is in a terrific place. The Citadel opportunity was great on both - job and location." Green was born in Charleston and grew up in McClellanville. In traveling around from Tennessee to Indiana, and back to South Carolina, Dean Green really enjoyed working in and learning about other areas of the country. Working in the Mid-West gave him an appreciation for the people and their lifestyle.
"It was really the people and their work ethic. How strong they are. Sometimes you feel that the South is the only place you want to be. Then you go to a place like Indiana and get a different perspective. You get to know other people and realize there are green hills everywhere."
Green says he faces some challenges, but is determined to put the CSBA on the map, especially in building relationships with area businesses.
"There are plans in the works to make improvements in the diversity of academic programs; to develop a career planning track for sophomores and juniors, beginning to think about their choices, is very important. With more focus on career building, through internships and international travel, students will have a better and more meaningful experience in college."
Dean Green acknowledged that the Mentor Association is beneficial in getting students involved in business, and it is still growing. "Out of all the students, cadets and MBA's who are eligible, only about a third of them have taken advantage of this program."
As for the future, Green says that he sees the CSBA as a key in economic development for the Lowcountry. The Citadel's MBA program is the only one in the region accredited by the AACSB "Partnering with local businesses gives us the ability to offer intellectual capital through our students and faculty. On the business side, some adjunct professors bring their knowledge and experience, in the real world, to the classroom."
Look for Dean Green in the classroom this summer, teaching an MBA summer school course, Strategic Consulting Experience. He hopes that the course will get some students involved with local businesses, giving them a chance to use their knowledge in real business situations. He seems happy about that and about his timing in coming to The Citadel.
The Citadel Summer Business Interns selected to work with Santee Cooper this summer are Allan McIntyre and Kenneth Perfido.
Allan will be working in Santee Cooper's IT group as well as doing some work in Treasury. In IT, he will be working with their Project Management group. He will assist in development and maintenance of project metrics, project schedules (using Microsoft Project), assist in updating PMO web page, and in development and maintenance of IT Resource Management spreadsheets.
Kenneth Perfido will be working with the Conservation and Renewable Energy business unit. He will be managing the process for the give-away of energy efficient light bulbs this summer to over 7000 retail customers in the Moncks Corner area. Kenneth will be responsible for answering questions about the program; he will also help customers on-site with questions, collect data about/from them, manage the customer data base, and be handle inventory control on a daily basis. In addition, Kenneth will coordinate the give-away for customers in the St. Stephens location and assist with analysis of the data and update the forecast for the project. With the giveaway and subsequent data analysis, the project should last all summer.
Grayson Dorr, one of Santee Cooper's Business Interns from last summer, was recently hired for the Career Foundation program. Career Foundation is a highly respected developmental program reserved for very strong candidates. Once he completes the program he will move into a regular position at Santee Cooper, and likely have many options depending on hiring needs. Grayson will start in May after he graduates from The Citadel. This program is designed to promote departmental connection and knowledge and provide opportunities for learning multiple aspects of the business. Based on their disciplines, participants in this program will be assigned to different work units for varying lengths of time. This training program fosters an ability to work with and appreciate core business functions within the utility environment. Grayson will participate in the program for approximately 18 months.
Stephen Brice Peper was selected for the Charleston Marine Container Scholarship/Internship beginning fall 2008. He will receive a total of $7500 to be paid over three semesters, starting this fall. Peper will return to intern summer 2009 and be awarded the final $2500 during his senior year. Ryan Newkirk was previously awarded this scholarship, which concludes with an internship this summer.
Our first "Target Career Night" was held on January 23, 2008. This event was coordinated by Duvall Herlocker, Undergraduate Curriculum Advisor. Marcos Avellan, Store Team Leader, was the main speaker along with three other campus recruiters. Some of the topics he covered were career opportunities in logistics, sales floor management and asset protection. Mr. Avellan also discussed resumes, interviewing skills and the employment process. Thirty-five undergraduate and graduate students attended.
April 22 - 29 Final Exams
April 30 1:30-3:30 p.m. Mentor Association Boot Camp
May 3, 9:30 a.m. Corps Graduation
May 4, 2:00 p.m. Graduate School Commencement
May 5 - May 23 Maymester
Summer School Online:
Summer I May 5- June 26
Summer II June 23-August 15
Summer School - Evening
Summer I May 5-June 19
Summer II June 23-August 7
Summer School - Day
Summer I May 27-June 26
Summer II June 30-July 31