A note of appreciation

Dean’s desk

Congratulations are due to allof you, faculty and staff,alums, students, Dean’s

Advisory members, administratorsand to all friends of the College ofBusiness. We have recently receivednotification that our College ofBusiness has earned maintenance ofaccreditation for our baccalaureateand MBA programs from theAssociation to Advance CollegiateSchools of Business (AACSB)International.

This achievement is a reflectionof the high-quality programs the college offers at both the undergradu-ate and MBA levels, as well as thecommitment of our faculty and staffto this fine institution. It is alsobecause of all of you who take ourfuture business leaders beyond theclassroom and provide hands-onexperience, help prepare them for acareer beyond college and offer guid-ance along the way. Thank you forall of your hard work and efforts toachieve this very significant mile-

stone for our current and future stu-dents, for our alumni, for our com-munity and for our university.

AACSB offers the most prestigious academic accreditationavailable for business schools. Lessthan 5 percent of the world’s busi-ness programs have earned AACSBaccreditation, which is the hallmarkof excellence in business education.Founded in 1916, AACSBInternational is the longest-servingglobal accrediting body for businessschools that offer undergraduate,master's and doctoral degrees inbusiness and accounting.

There are only about 650 business schools in 45 countries andterritories maintaining AACSBaccreditation and 178 institutionsmaintaining an additional special-ized AACSB accreditation for theiraccounting programs. Business programs aiming for AACSBaccreditation must satisfy theexpectations of a wide range ofquality standards relating to strate-gic management of resources, interactions of faculty and studentsin the educational process andachievement of learning goals indegree programs.

During the process, NMU’sCollege of Business was visited andevaluated by business school deanswith detailed knowledge of management education, applyingstandards of top-ranked businessschools that are widely accepted inthe educational community.

The AACSB visiting teamnoted in the NMU’s best practicesreport that “the ExecutiveMentoring Program is particularlynoteworthy. The NMU College ofBusiness Mentoring Program bringsstudents, alumni and friends of theCollege together for an exchange ofinformation on education, professionalism, and aspirations. TheMentorship Program allows studentsin remote geographic locations toobtain valuable advice and insightsfrom business professionals and better prepares students to enter asbusiness professionals across the U.S.and around the world. The team iscertain that the mentor relationshipswill result in executive level meet-ings and job opportunities withmajor global corporations.”

Finally, I would like to personally thank our alumni andfriends for their enthusiasm andlove for our college. I hope youenjoy this magazine.

Sincerely,

Jamal RashedDean and Professor of the College of Business

Call or e-mail Dean Rashed at 906-227-2947 or bizdean@nmu.edu

NMU College of Business Dean Jamal Rashed

Contents | 2012-13 Edition

DEAN’S DESK

2 Successful Maintenance of Accreditation.

COLLEGE NEWS

4 Developments in College of Business programs and initiatives. Faculty news and student profile.

TODAY’S COB

6 Opening doors to Saudi Arabia.8 Expanding international partnerships.9 Studying to live an international life.10 Into India.

NEWS YOU CAN USE

11 How effective are your communications?12 Student success with stock market advice.13 Preparing for the real world: case studies.14 Entrepreneurs in action.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

17 Putting the MBA to work.18 MBA student profile: Brianne Horton.19 The internship difference.20 Taking care of business: student groups.21 Helping steer the ship: Dean’s Student Advisory Council.

SUPPORTING STUDENTS

22 An easy way to make an immediate impact.

2 0 1 2 - 1 3 3

Business Horizons is publishedannually by the College ofBusiness, Northern MichiganUniversity, for its alumni,friends and benefactors.

Editorial offices

College of BusinessNorthern Michigan University1401 Presque Isle AvenueMarquette, MI 49855906-227-2947906-227-2605 faxbizdean@nmu.eduwww.nmu.edu/business

Dr. Jamal Rashed, DeanCollege of Business

Editorial Staff

Jody Lindbergassistant dean

Annette Brownassistant to the dean

Michael Nelsondevelopment officer

Rebecca Taverniniuniversity editor

Katelyn Durst, Brandon Frisk,Lucy Hough, Katie Hubbard,Mylan Murphy, Brian Price,Rebekah Tadych, Jackie Tavesstudent writers

Jenna Thompson, Greg Wilsonstudent photographers

Business Horizons

On the cover: Chad Lewis ‘08 BS, past New Business Venture Competition participant, and current owner ofLewis Boat Shop and newly acquired Ensign Spars, both based in Marquette. Photo by Jenna Thompson.

Printed on recycled paper with EnviroInk.

NMU’s Dean Rashed meeting with Professor Khaled AlHamody, president of Qassim University, Dr. Obaid AlMotairy, dean of Qassim College of Business and Economics and Dr. Nizar Alshwaiman,vice dean for development.

College news

The Masters of Business Administration program at Northern MichiganUniversity, which was re-established only two years ago, was ranked 23rdout of the top 35 international MBA programs named Rising Stars byfindyourmba.com. The 2012 ranking is based on noteworthy improvements, current data and plans for the future.

“Our MBA program is named among the ‘most promising businessschools’ globally,” says Jamal Rashed, dean of the NMU College ofBusiness. “The MBA program at NMU has earned a reputation of excellence in business and management education. Northern attractshighly qualified students, with an average GMAT score of 620, and ourMBA students rank above the top 30 percent overall in the nation ofMBA students taking the graduate Educational Testing Service (ETS)Exam.”

Findyourmba.com critiques business schools from a student’s perspective. Some data used by established rankings is also used for theRising Stars, but the site states there are also “many assessment variableswhich are unique to our ranking system. These include the forum activityof students, Internet activity among MBA students, consideration of thepolitical climate, long-term investments of business schools and theirstrategic choices.”

NMU MBA program named international'Rising Star'

NMU's College of Business was included in theAsia edition of Newsweek magazine in October.The issue focused on schools accredited by theAssociation to Advance Collegiate Schools ofBusiness. Students are invited to learn moreabout NMU’s programs at www.newsweekshowcase.com.

Inviting Asia

4 BUSINESS HORIZONS

An NMU delegation visitedUnited Arab Emirates Universityin February. NMU PresidentDavid Haynes, Vice President forAdvancement Martha Haynes,Provost Paul Lang and BusinessDean Jamal Rashed met withH.E. Dr. Ali Rashid Al Noaimi,Vice Chancellor of United ArabEmirates University and otheruniversity officials.

The visit included tours ofthe university's library and labora-tories and discussions about thehistory of UAEU, research conducted there and possibleexchanges between the two institutions.

"UAEU hosts a substantialpercentage of international students, and faculty members atthe university aim to recruit scientifically competent cadres toelevate the level of education andtraining provided for students,"says Noaimi.

Haynes reports that he wasimpressed by the high level ofacademics and technology as wellas with the scientific researchbeing conducted at UAEU.

Haynes also had the honor ofprivately meeting with theUnited Arab Emirates Minister ofHigher Education and ScientificResearch, H.H. Sheikh NahayanMabarak Al Nahayan.

A Dubai Delegation

Business professor Claudia Hart was one of five2012-13 recipients of a Distinguished FacultyAward, presented annually by NMU. Hart is aMarquette native and has taught at NMU for morethan 30 years. Her excellence in teaching is shownby positive feedback on student and peer evalua-tions. She encourages her students to always per-form at their highest level and is an advocate ofactive learning. Students in her MBA communica-tions course conduct communication audits as service learning projects fornonprofit organizations in the area. The collaborative and real-world natureof this project benefits both the students and the Marquette community.

Distinguished Faculty

2 0 1 2 - 1 3 5

CoB Student Profile

Number of students802 / 27 (Undergraduate / Graduate)

Where they come fromMichigan—76% / 89%

Upper Peninsula—46% / 78%Downstate—30% / 11%

Illinois—7% / 4%Wisconsin—7% / 7%Minnesota—2% / 0%Other states and Int’l—8% / 0%

Genders and racesMales—59% / 63%Females—41% / 37%White—86% / 93%Native American—2% / 0%Black—2% / 0%Other/Not Reported—10% / 7%

Most popular majorsBusiness— NA / 100%Management—17%Accounting—15%Marketing—14%

AgeOverall—22 / 28Females—23 / 30Males—22 / 27

Source: NMU Institutional Research, Fall 2012

Joseph Short is the outstanding graduating studentfor the College of Business for the 2012-13 aca-demic year. His nominating professor wrote, “Joeyis an exemplary accounting student at NMU.Graduating this year with a 3.77 GPA, his intellec-tual ability and commitment to academics arebeyond question. Always prepared for class andwilling to try, he was often the ‘go to’ student fordifficult questions, setting an admirable example

for his peers while moving the class along. Joey attained his academicexcellence while working for Northern Initiatives, Student SupportServices, Upward Bound and Big Boy Restaurant. Amazingly, he alsofound time to serve as president of Beta Alpha Psi and on the advisoryboard for Student Support Services. Joey has been on the dean’s list sincefall semester 2009, while earning Makela, Toutant, Hill & Nardi andPeter White scholarships.”

Tony Plemmons is the outstanding graduatinggraduate student. He received his high school’sbusiness student of the year award in 2007 andgraduated from NMU with a bachelor’s degree infinance in 2011. As a graduate student, Tonyserved as a College of Business research assistantwhere he helped build the College’s mentorshipprogram, assisted professors in their research and

maintained a stellar 3.97 grade point average. He also helped design, pro-mote and run the college’s business profession program. In addition, Tonytaught a freshmen UN 100 seminar class. This past summer, he completeda highly competitive internship as a business analyst for SNC, a defensecontractor in Folsom, Calif. His performance during this internship was soimpressive he was offered a full-time position in the company’s Coloradooffice upon graduation.

Our outstanding students

Jody Lindberg, assistant dean ofthe college, reached out to ourUpper Peninsula neighbors withMBA informational sessions inEscanaba and Iron Mountain inMarch. Northern is exploringoptions to expand its course andprogram offerings by partneringwith community colleges.

Also this spring, the collegeoffered a seven-week GMATpreparation course to help studentsand community members preparefor this entrance exam.

Reaching out

6 BUSINESS HORIZONS

The NMU College of Business has been thinking, and acting, internationally in 2012-13.

Through reputation building, sending students abroad, serving or mentoring, the college

has done big things and has big plans to continue to build off of this year’s work.Dean Jamal Rashed set the tone for international outreach with his voluntary involvement

with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditationboard. In December 2012, Rashed traveled to Qassim University in the Al-Qassim Province ofSaudi Arabia to be a mentor in helping QU apply for AACSB accreditation. Rashed was heavily involved in the process, assisting with strategic planning, participant

standards, mentorship, assurance of learning, action plans and the goals and objectives forgraduate programs.

Today’s CoB

Opening Doors toSaudi Arabia

By Brian Price ‘12 BS

2 0 1 2 - 1 3 7

“The goal of the trip was toguide the school through developingan alignment plan that will enabletheir school to attain an initialaccreditation,” Rashed says. “I metwith the president, provost, dean,vice president for enrollment, faculty,students and alumni from the business community.”

AACSB is the longest-servingglobal accrediting body for businessschools. Less than 5 percent of business schools world-wide have earned this distinguished hallmark of excel-lence. NMU first earned accreditation in 2002.Accredited schools must apply for reaffiliation everyfive years.

Rashed observes that QU students are very eager tohave their school accredited from an international accred-iting agency. He also notes some differences between SaudiArabian students and their U.S. counterparts.

“They are very motivated students, and the majori-ty take their studies more seriously. They are morefocused on obtaining their degree because the govern-ment subsidizes their education. The government iscommitted to providing free education to its citizens,”he says.

Undergraduates in Saudi Arabia typically do notwork, but they do frequently holdsummer internships. Students donot pay tuition or fees, and arefully funded by the government,which also provides a stipend.Without work on top of school,Saudi Arabian students often canfocus more on their degrees thanAmerican students.

This was Rashed’s first visitto the country, but his experi-ence with the culture and locallanguage was helpful in the transition.

“I think given the globaliza-tion and given that they haveaccess to the media, they under-stand the Western culture verywell and they respect that. Andthey’re expecting others whovisit their country to understandand respect their culture,”Rashed says. “That’s what I’ve

seen. Because they know us, theyexpect us to know them.”

All formal communication isdone in English. Their curriculum isa Western curriculum, the same usedin American business education.Qassim uses American textbooks inthe classroom as well.

Qassim has 4,000 students in itsCollege of Business and Economicsand more than 67,000 students at the

university. Rashed was happy with the impression NMUleft and what impact the visit could have for Northern.

“The name Northern Michigan University was inthe local news, and it was published in their brochuresthat an administrator from NMU was coming to men-tor students, so there were lots of students who went toour website,” he says. “They learned about our Collegeof Business and NMU, and there were students whosaid they were planning to apply to Northern Michiganbecause they looked at our website. This has further putNMU on the map worldwide.

“We are inviting at least 7,000 students who wouldhave ordinarily not heard of us to check us out forstudy-abroad opportunities,” he says.

Once Qassim becomes AACSB accredited, it willbe easier for NMU students to transfer credit hours

back and forth, in terms ofstudy-abroad opportunities inSaudi Arabia, and for QU students to transfer or studyabroad at Northern.

Those opportunities gobeyond academics as well.

“Name any Americanmultinational company and theyhave an office in Saudi Arabia.Any big company: GeneralElectric, Boeing, Philip Morris…They have a huge presencethere,” Rashed says. “So how isthat going to help? When thesecompanies are recruiting, itbecomes easier for our studentsto be employed by those companies because they wouldbe exposed to the culture, or atleast know something about itthrough contact with Saudi students.”

“We are inviting at least7,000 students who wouldhave ordinarily not heard ofus to check us out for study-abroad opportunities,” saysDean Jamal Rashed.

The campus of Qassim University in the Al-QassimProvince of Saudi Arabia.

Northern currently has nine students from Saudi Arabia on campus.

8 BUSINESS HORIZONS

Carol Steinhaus is alsoputting an emphasison students traveling

abroad. Her work with theInternational Business StudiesExchange Network (IBSEN)has created unique opportuni-ties for NMU students oncampus and overseas.

“Employers love studentswith international experiencebecause they are confident,flexible, open to other cultures and able to adjust,”says Steinhaus, an associateprofessor in management.

When she came to Northern in2001, she saw a flaw in what theuniversity was doing with studyabroad.

“Other countries were sendingus four students a semester and wewere only sending one back,” shesays. “The exchange rate was out ofbalance.”

Steinhaus first visited Bielefeld,Germany, and began talks with theUniversity of Applied Sciencesthere about academic exchanges.Her work in Germany led to herinvolvement in IBSEN, whichtoday is a network of nine universi-ties in Europe and North Americafacilitating the exchange of stu-dents among member schools.Recently, with Steinhaus serving asIBSEN president, they haveexpanded to add Hallym Universityin South Korea.

(Unrelated to IBSEN, butindicative of our expanding part-nerships in South Korea, this pastyear, NMU signed memoranda ofunderstanding with Seoul NationalUniversity of Science and

Technology and Hankuk Universityof Foreign Studies.)

Through IBSEN, students paytuition at their home schools andattend a semester or a year at apartner school. Recently, some ofthe European schools have begunto offer summer programs to makeit easier and more affordable forAmerican students.

“We are also encouraging facul-ty exchanges, joint faculty research,joint grant applications, and are cur-rently pursuing some creative andinnovative ideas regarding studentinternship possibilities,” she says.

While the only internshipabroad opportunity NMU formallyoffers is in Dublin, Ireland, studentscan also find internship abroadopportunities through IBSEN andthe European Community ActionScheme for the Mobility ofUniversity Students.

“Business education abroad ismore involved in teaching interna-tional business. Going fromGermany to Switzerland is likegoing from Michigan toWisconsin,” she says. “They are

forced to think internationallyall the time, where we arenot.”

Steinhaus is also excitedabout increasing the numberof international students atNMU because it helps our students understand other cultures and provides interna-tional students a chance toteach American studentsabout international business.

“We’re going to bring theworld here so students areaware of what is going on andof international opportunities

and business—so we can learn fromtheir experiences.”

International BusinessStudies Exchange Network(IBSEN) member universities

Bern University of AppliedSciences, Bern, Switzerland

Asper School of Business -University of Manitoba, Canada

Saint-Etienne School ofManagement, France

Northern Michigan University,United States

Universidad de Vic , SpainFachhochschule Bielefeld,Germany

Hogeschool Rotterdam, TheNetherlands

Hallym University, South Korea

Mikkeli University of AppliedSciences, Finland

University of Cagliari, Italy

Expanding international partnerships

2 0 1 2 - 1 3 9

Management major Matt Croschere has beenaccepted into the prestigious Cultural Vistasprogram, which seeks to create memorable

and transforming global learning opportunities thatenrich career and leadership development. He willstudy and intern in Germany starting this summer.

Croschere will begin with two months of intensivelanguage training, then four months of university stud-ies in a specific field (naturally, he has chosen to studybusiness) followed by five months in a German-speak-ing internship. The program also provides leave timefor seminars and some in-country travel opportunities.

The selection process for Cultural Vistas is rigorousand interest is high. About 700 candidates apply annu-ally, with 150 chosen to be interviewed and 75 selected

into the program. In return,75 German students willcome to the United States. Itis not easy to distinguish one-self from so many applicants,but Croschere may have anidea as to why he stood out.

“Because I grew up in theU.P. and am from a rural area, Ithink I took a big-pictureapproach. They could see mypassion,” he says. “I made itclear I knew what I wanted andhad the passion to prove it.”

This will not be the IronMountain native’s first trip to

Germany. He was in Bielefeld, Germany, in summer2011 as part of IBSEN, something he considers to be “amind-blowing and eye-opening experience.”

Croschere doesn’t yet fluently speak German, so thatwill pose a challenge, but one he is ready to take on.

“Learning a new language is going to be tough. Ionly have a few months worth of experience,” he says.“Business courses are taught in English around theworld, but I want to take a few classes outside of businessto branch out, like international studies and history.”

Another challenge is the unknown. “The programencourages keeping an open mind to the idea of notknowing much in advance where you will be placed,”he says, noting the city, university and business wherehe ends up will largely be determined by his grasp ofthe language, the connections he makes and the fieldof business he chooses to pursue.

Croschere’s involvement on campus has allowedhim to travel abroad and not spend a fortune doing so.He’s turned his abilities into a scholarship. And hisEuropean experiences will likely make him a hot com-modity on the job market afterward.

At NMU, Croschere works in the College ofBusiness as the dean’s student assistant. He helps withstrategy for web communications, applies student feed-back into ideas for building the college and provides a stu-dent’s opinion to faculty and staff. It has also given himthe opportunity to become close with many professors.

Croschere, a first-generation college student, seesan MBA in his future.

“I want to get an MBA, perhaps abroad, perhaps inAmerica,” he says. “But I’ve always had a desire to livean international life.”

Studying to live aninternational life

The selectionprocess forCultural Vistas isrigorous and inter-est is high. About700 candidatesapply annually, with150 chosen to beinterviewed and 75selected into theprogram. MattCroschere is one ofthem.

Greg Wilson

Into India

10 BUSINESS HORIZONS

On the service front, College of Business professorGary Stark helped lead 12 students on a service tripto India for two weeks over winter break.

“The main goal was to do service work, but also doa little sightseeing,” Stark says.

Stark and the students were busy helping Indianchildren learn computer skills, stay active throughsports and games and paint school rooms. The groupalso visited with families to provide health informa-tion. They experienced both the urban and rural sidesof the country.

Stark saw first-hand just how different games arein India, and how children with few possessions arewilling to improvise.

“They love cricket over there, and one day wewere playing and we lost the ball, but the kids just keptplaying using a rock instead,” he says. “The whole tripgives you a greater appreciation of how much we have.

There is so much we have and we don’t even need.”The group experienced negotiating in the market-

place and haggling for goods. “From a broad business standpoint, you understand

why things are so cheap,” Stark says. “They unfortu-nately have limited regulations, limited pollution con-trol and limited restrictions on hiring and firing. Thereis an ‘anything goes’ sense there.”

The trip included visits to the Taj Mahal, theDalai Lama's main temple, a memorial to Gandhi,Jaipur City Palace, several museums, rides on an ele-phant to the Amber Fort and hikes in the Himalayas.

From seeing the dichotomy of the country—itsmix of old and new, modern buildings side by side withbamboo-and-string scaffolding—to experiencing thejoy of Indian children, the trip brought those involveda new understanding of life, education and business inthis growing force on the world economy. •

Gary Stark ispictured incenter

It’s not often you find a studentand professor presenting theirresearch to an audience of

4,100. Graduating MBA studentTony Plemmons ’11 BS andNMU professor Claudia Hart didjust that, sharing their findings onthe importance of communicationsaudits at a conference of TheHigher Learning Commission inChicago in April.

“I was nervous, terrified andexcited all at once,” Plemmons says.“I felt like there was a lot of a pres-sure to not only represent myselfwell, but also the university.”

A communications audit is asnapshot of an organization's com-munication strategies, activitiesand programs. “A communicationsaudit is how well an organizationor the people who make up theorganization communicate; it isessential for every company ororganization,” he explains.

This is not a quick or easytask, but one that should be done.

The purpose is to find outwhat major segments of employees

and stakeholders think about theirorganization's communications andinitiatives. An audit can becomethe basis for creating an effectivestrategic communications plan,ensuring that maximum benefitsare gained from this investment incommunication analysis.

“Our particular presentationwas a ‘how-to’ geared toward otherinstructors, professors and educators,” Plemmons says.

While the benefits will varydepending on the individuals andthe organization being examined,most will see increased efficiencyand productivity and greater sup-port for the organization’s changeinitiative. It also demonstrates awillingness to listen and respond toemployees and other stakeholders'views, which is a key step in build-ing positive relationships, creatingcredibility and fostering mutualtrust.

An audit will deliver practicalrecommendations for improvingcommunication in the organiza-tion. One of the most important

things is that it can save moneyand effort, as organizations will beable to minimize, or eliminate pro-grams or processes that do notyield benefits—or strengthen oradd those that do. Overall, itdemonstrates the commitment toimproving communicationthroughout an organization.

There are a number of ways toget started. Plemmons and Hart usedAssessing OrganizationalCommunications: StrategicCommunication Audits by Cal W.Downs and Allyson D. Adrian as areference to guide them through theprocess. However, it is feasible to dothis without any books or additionaltexts. Plemmons says, “Most impor-tantly, you must be willing and inter-ested in bettering yourself and yourorganization. You must want change!You wouldn’t think it’s a necessity,but you must have an open mindduring the entire process.”

An effectively designed andimplemented communicationsaudit can be a driver for organiza-tional change, where everyone isable to engage in building a newculture of open communication,credibility and collaboration.

“This one audit has impactedmy entire MBA career and myfuture. It has changed my perspec-tive of organizations. Everything Ilook at revolves around communica-tion and it is a really good system toanalyze for a company,” saysPlemmons. He credits the support atNorthern for the opportunity tohave his work published and to pres-ent in front of thousands of people.“The professors in the College ofBusiness have played quite a role inchallenging me and making me stepoutside of my comfort zones.” •

2 0 1 2 - 1 3 11

News you can use

How effective are your

communications?

By Mylan Murphy ’12 BS

12 BUSINESS HORIZONS

Matt Lutey ’10 BS, president of NMU’s Student ManagedInvestment Fund and MBA student, presented at the AmericanSociety of Business and Behavioral Sciences (ASBBS) interna-

tional conference in Las Vegas this year.“The paper covered how to make money in the stock market without

relying on your own analytic capability,” he says. “It is a modified versionof the CANSLIM (O'Neil) investing method. I presented it to a group ofPh.D. researchers and undergrad students.”

It was named the conference’s outstanding paper in the finance track,out of more than 200 papers. It has also been selected for publication inthe ASBBS e-journal.

Professor David Rayome, who accompanied Lutey to the conferenceand helped him put the polishing touches on the paper, says, “The facultyin the audience couldn’t believe he was only an MBA student. When Iwas a graduate student, even a Ph.D. student, I would have loved to get anarticle published.” Lutey originally wrote the paper for a statistics class.

Rayome adds that it has been great to watch Lutey find his passion infinance and to now be thinking of pursuing a doctorate. “I just get such akick out of seeing our students get really interested in something,” he says.

“The experience was exciting and positive,” states Lutey, “I basicallygot up in front of a small group and told them about my research, how Iconducted it, and the validity of my findings.”

After the conference he gave a similar presentation to a senior-levelclass at NMU, providing him with more practice, and the students withnot only valuable information but inspiration as to what their researchand hard work can achieve.

Lutey has recently been invited to publish the article in another journal.

What is the CANSLIMMethod?

Created by William J. O’Neil

Based on his analysis of 500stock market winners from 1953-1993

Created for the averageinvestor, however extremely com-plex in nature

Explained in his book: How toBuy Stocks (2002)

C - Current earnings per share should be up to 25%

A - Annual earnings should be up 25% or more in each of the last three years

N - New product, service or management

S - Supply and demand Measured by volume

L - Leader or Laggard? Measured by Relative Price Strength Rating (RPSR)

I - Institutional sponsorship Mutual fund ownership

M - Market indexes. Invest during market index uptrends

According to the AmericanAssociation of IndividualInvestors:CANSLIM Portfolio: 1521.7%Compound Growth Rate versusthe S&P 500’s gain of 54.92% from1998 through December 31, 2007.

From Matt Lutey’s PowerPoint presentation, “Outperforming theBroad Market.”

Student success with stockmarket advice

By Kat ie Hubbard ’13 MA

2 0 1 2 - 1 3 13

The best test of what a person learned in college ishow he or she uses those skills in a career and life.Students nearing graduation in the MBA program

take a new capstone class, BUS 590: StrategicManagement, which builds on the required classes in theprogram to help students think critically and use theirskills to be successful in upper management.

“Students will lean on prior knowledge. We’llanswer questions such as, ‘Did you learn it well? Doyou have something to bring to the table?’ This helpsfind loopholes in education and will help these stu-dents become senior managers and leaders,” says BruceSherony, course professor.

Students work through case studies of real businesses to understand the structure of the companyand its use of accounting, finance, marketing, manage-ment and statistical tools. As a culmination, studentsperform a strategic analysis on the operations of a business of their choice.

In this analysis, students consider all aspects of thebusiness and provide suggestions for how the organiza-tion can improve or become more effective. Most stu-dent projects are on for-profit institutions, so anotherlarge aspect of the project is seeing if they can findways to help the organization make more money.

At the end of the semester, students not only pres-ent their findings to the class, but also to the compa-ny’s managers or stockholders. This is an opportunityfor people from the company to consider the students’report and whether their suggestions are reasonable.

“The hope is that investors will say, ‘That’s a greatidea,’” Sherony says.

Student Tony Plemmons focused his capstone forthe class on the Recreation Sports Department at

Northern. He looked specificallyat what the organization is cur-rently doing, how it can improveand possible opportunities forgrowth.

“We used everything thatwe’ve learned in the MBA program and applied it to thesestudies,” Plemmons says.

He thinks that this class willhelp students “see through theeyes of a manager” and how all

aspects of a business are related and have a role in itsoperation.

Brittany Buckingham ’11 BS did her strategicanalysis on the Michigan College of Optometry atFerris State University. She analyzed the strengths andweaknesses of the school as a business and found solu-tions to achieve more profit, more efficiency and a bet-ter connection with the community. In her research,she tackled a budgeting system that she wasn’t familiarwith, which was a “growing opportunity” because shehad to work hard to analyze it.

One thing that Buckingham likes about the class,she says, is that the diverse backgrounds of the people inthe program make conversations about managementstyles more interesting.The different experiencesmake the conversationmore dynamic, which helpsher learn and grow as aneventual manager.

Other businesses thatstudents focused oninclude Third StreetBagel, Garden Bouquetand Design (both ofMarquette), First Merit Bank (headquartered in Akron,Ohio) and others.

“The work of the MBA strategic management stu-dent is to bring the institution to a distinguished levelof performance,” says Sherony. “Their actions shouldstand out, creating a well-defined institution that func-tions at its level of effectiveness for the betterment ofsociety and the world.” •

Greg Wilson

Preparing for the ‘Real World:’

Case studies

By Lucy Hough ’12 BS

Charlie Jauquet with his presentation on PaneraBread. Professor Bruce Sherony helps ensure thegroups’ ideas are valuable to the actual business’soperations.

Professor Sherony

14 BUSINESS HORIZONS

The New Business VentureCompetition invitesNorthern Michigan

University students of any major tosubmit a plan to start a new busi-ness. Since its start in 2008, therehave been many business begin-nings for young Wildcat entrepre-neurs. Business Horizons caught upwith two past competitors, ChadLewis ’08 BS of Ensign Spars andAlysa Diebolt ’11 of Brick TownGlass. These NMU alumni havehad successful stories followingtheir NBVC win.

Alysa Diebolt started makingfused glass at age 14. Her father is astained glass artist and was a stronginfluence on her in this medium.Diebolt has been participating inart shows every summer since shebegan creating fused glass and hasattended more than 50 art andcrafts shows across Wisconsin,Illinois and Michigan.

Chad Lewis says he was alwaysinto boats, and has been sailingsince the age of three. He alwaysimagined himself moving to theEast Coast and living a nautical life.At 16, he started working on boats,which slowly evolved into his ownservice business. Most recently,Lewis Boat Shop bought the nameand assets of a company calledEnsign Spars, which custom builds,repairs and resells Ensign Class sail-ing boats and offers parts and acces-sories.Business Horizons: How did win-ning the Business Venture awardkick-start your company?

Alysa Diebolt: I was 19 or 20 dur-ing the business plan competition. Ialready had a good customer baseand had my work in a few retaillocations across Michigan. Now,four years after the competition, Ihave my work in 20 retail locations

across the state, and my customerbase is getting stronger every year.The NBVC helped me with thebusiness side of things. Truly under-standing the accounting behind allmy day-to-day work. It also forcedme to really research customs in thefield, such as gallery policies, cus-tom order policies, etc.

Chad Lewis: I used a good chunk ofthe money to buy a truck and otherthings I needed to get started. Thejudges were local businessmen whobelieved in me, which really helpedme get the confidence I needed tothen start renting space for my shopthe following winter. The construc-tive criticism and suggestions werereally helpful and important to mybusiness development.

BH:What has your business beenup to since winning the BusinessVenture award?

Entrepreneurs in actionBy Kate lyn Durst

Jenn

a Th

omps

on

2 0 1 2 - 1 3 15

Diebolt: My studio is still in myparent’s garage. But, I spend abouthalf the year in Eastpointe, outsideof Detroit. I travel back and forthevery few weeks to work in the stu-dio. I moved to Eastpointe to bewith my fiancé; we are getting mar-ried this July in Detroit.

Our plan is that in the nexttwo years I will find a retail locationin Eastpointe to buy or rent andopen up a storefront of my own. Iwant a location that will offer a retailstore feel, but with space for my studioand room to have classes. I havebecome a seasonal instructor at theWilliam Bonifas Fine Arts Center inEscanaba. I have offered classes onjewelry, candleholders, suncatchers,plates, bowls and ornaments.

I also teach regular private les-sons at my studio, which has beenincredibly rewarding. It is amazingto see, when given all of the sametools and supplies, all of the differ-ent things that my students comeup with. In 2012 alone, I taughtover 100 students (both privatelyand at the Art Center) and manyhave returned for more classes.

When I move my studio toEastpointe, I want to continueteaching. I enjoy it a lot, and it isalso a great revenue source.

My product line is ever-chang-ing. My personality doesn't allowme to continually make the samething over and over and over again.So, I am constantly trying to bal-ance creating pieces that I know

will sell, and trying to make newthings. My poppy line was new insummer 2012 and has been totallystellar for me. It's brought me anentirely new customer base, whichhas been awesome.

Lewis: It actually evolved morehow I described it in my businessplan for the competition than Ithought it would. I just slowly start-ed working on boats in Marquette; Irented a space and was able to getmore work.

One thing that I rememberfrom the competition is one of thejudges asking me, ‘What will you doif you open up your doors and all ofa sudden everybody wants businessfrom you?’ I thought at the timethat that would be a really greatproblem to have, and we would justfigure it out. Well, it ended up thatwhen I bought this new business,that happened, and I was over-whelmed with the amount of work Ihad to do. Even in the last twomonths, I’ve hired two moreemployees. I had to work out stuffwith the bank and buy more inven-tory, and it went from part-time tobeing how I make my living. It’sreally exploded into this huge thing,and at this point I’m just barely keep-ing up with the expansion.

My new business openedFebruary 1, and by 9 a.m. I hadalready received four phone calls forparts. With Ensigns (a specific classof sailboats that were built by

Pearson Yachts ofPortsmouth, R.I., from1962-1982), the biggestpart of the business isselling old parts fornew parts. It’s a reallyunique businessbecause it’s one of theonly old anythings thatyou can actually use

old parts from that are the same fornewer models. So I get calls from allover the world and all over the U.S.saying that they need parts.

This is the only company inthe world that you can get partsfrom for an Ensign, especially origi-nal equipment or OEM parts. Wehire manufacturers to make reallyspecific parts, and we own a bunchof castings and molds for this specif-ic model. We’re the only ones whodo this, and it’s a neat business tohave in Marquette because there isa fleet of Ensigns already.

We are currently restoringboats, even from people who liveout of town. We are working on anew website as well.

BH: How did Northern prepare youfor what you're doing now?

Diebolt: My favorite things I did atNMU were my extracurriculars. Iam a Student Leader Fellowshipgraduate and Superior Edge gradu-ate. I was a member of SIFE(Students in Free Enterprise),American Marketing Association,ASNMU [student government],and the College of Business Dean'sStudent Advisory Council. I heldleadership positions in many ofthose organizations also. Myextracurriculars taught me how towork with people, all sorts of peo-ple, from all sorts of backgrounds,with all sorts of knowledge on allsorts of topics. These skills, I

Greg Wilson

This year’s

contest

The College of Business

held its 6th annual New

Business Venture

Competition on April 4, and

MBA student Tony Plemmons

was the big winner with his business

idea for The Protein Palace, a café located near exercise facili-

ties, recreation centers and gyms offering low-cost, nutrient-rich, protein-packed

meals. He won for best business plan ($4,000), 60-second elevator pitch ($500)

and trade fair display ($500). Second place ($2,500) went to Warm Fuzzies for

NECO, a non-profit supporting Nepal Orphanage Children's Home (NECO) by sell-

ing personalized headbands made of recycled flannels, sweaters and fleece, pre-

sented by health sciences student Lauren Lund. Entrepreneurship major Sage

Henning of Fossil Woodworks Co., which specializes in manufacturing tables from

the Drummond Island forest, took away the third-place prize ($1,500).

The other contenders were economics major Keegan Hitz presenting his

plan for Clean Acoustics—portable amplifiers for cell phones; and Matthew Yadro

(business management) and Amanda Yadro (accounting) with their vision for

Cat-O-Pillar Co., designing and manufacturing customizable cat toys, houses and

stands with a focus on quality, design and adaptability.

Judges this year were: Bob Jacquart, president of Jacquart Fabric Products,

Ironwood; Mark Kolesar, ’86 BS, former senior vice president with UBS Financial,

Minneapolis, and now with the Trust Department of Northern Michigan Bank and

Trust; Terry Dehring, ’78 BS, ’81 MA, president of Quick Trophy, Marquette; Mike

Skytta, ’72 BS, ’75 MAE, business development lender for Northern Michigan Bank,

Marquette; Rich Tegge, ’85 BA, president of Wealth Strategy Group, Marquette; and

Gina Thorsen, vice president of marketing and sales and new product development

for Jacquart Fabric Products and Stormy Kromer Mercantile, Ironwood.

16 BUSINESS HORIZONS

believe, are largely why I am suc-cessful as an artist. I've always beena people person, but NMU helpedme refine those skills.

Lewis: There were a couple of reallycool classes that were really helpful.The last class I took was Dr.Gnauck’s 436 capstone class. Thebiggest takeaway was that I reallyneeded to know everything Ilearned in business school going outinto the business world. I needed toretain that information. The worldwill hold you accountable for thethings you need to know to do wellin that class. The way that he taughtthat class, your grade was representa-tive of how well you would do in thebusiness world. It was representativeof how well you understand business.Part of being an entrepreneur isn’tjust starting a business, but buyingbusinesses. It’s an important skill tobe able to identify a good businessthat’s for sale, buy it for the rightprice and then do more with it thanthe previous owners.

BH:What accomplishment sincewinning the award are you mostproud of?

Diebolt: I've been published twicein Glass Patterns Quarterly (thebowl picture was a featured photo),a magazine that thousands of glassartists subscribe to. I've been get-ting the magazine for years, so itwas surreal to open it up and seemy work, my name and my websitein print! I've also won some bigawards at some of the art showsI've been to. A more personalaccomplishment, but I'm just reallyproud of where I am in my life. Iam getting married in a fewmonths, I have a career doing whatI love and I'm able to meet peopleacross the country who are just so

Tony Plemmons explains the Protein

Palace to judge Terry Deh

ring.

Sage Henning shows off Fossil Woodworks to Mike Skytta (left), while Gina Thorsen admires Lauren Lund’s customheadbands whose profits will benefit an orphanage in Nepal.

interesting. I have an incrediblyrewarding life and an awesome sup-port system.

Lewis: Still being in business is thebiggest accomplishment. One ofthe things that one of the judgessaid to me was, ‘You’re the most

likely to be in business in fiveyears,’ and that’s true, I’m still inbusiness. It’s a really cool thing tohave in Marquette. The thingabout Marquette is that people areso supportive of local small busi-nesses because people genuinelywant them to be successful. •

Putting the MBA to workWhether currently employed or considering employ-ment opportunities, these recent MBA graduates areapplying their acquired knowledge and skills to today’sworkforce.

• Mike Adams works in corporate relations for LakeEffect Energy Corporation in Harbor Springs.• Eric Burdick is the program director and instructorfor the NMU respiratory therapy program.• Andrew Chosa works in marketing as a foundationcoordinator for Great Lakes Recovery Center inMarquette.• Emily Hagge works at Marquette General Hospitaland plans to start a side business.• Craig Helppi is a junior commercial loan officer forSIR Federal Credit Union in Negaunee.• Robert Johnson is an entrepreneur at Forward Labsin London, England.• Wayne Johnson is the administrator at Christian

Park Village, a five-star SkilledNursing Facility in Escanaba.Wayne already has 10 years’experience in the SNF field. Heplans to continue his work andeventually become a regionalSNF director.• Holly Kasberger has worked asa graduate assistant for theNMU dean of students, businessmanager for The North Wind,and the foundation associate forGreat Lakes Recovery Centers.She is actively applying for posi-tions in Milwaukee, Madison,and Appleton, Wis.• Daniel Lazzari is a health planadviser for Blue Cross BlueShield in Gladstone.• William Nolan is a tax preparer for BartkowiakAccounting in Marquette.

Student spotlight

2 0 1 2 - 1 3 17

Meet the 2012-13 graduating MBA class. Pictured, from left, are Martin Banerud, Emily Hagge, William Nolan, JianHua (Emily)Xu, Tim Andrews, Brianne Horton, Charlie Jauquet, Tony Plemmons, Chad Bollman, Wayne Johnson and Holly Kasberger.

Martin Banerud is working as aconstruction manager. The firstproject he is part of is buildingthe new American Embassy inOslo, Norway. He stopped bythe NMU booth at a recenteducation fair in Oslo to chatwith NMU internationalrecruiter Miriam Moeller. Theyalso visited with the U.S.Embassy’s public affairs officer.

By Jackie Taves

Greg Wilson

18 BUSINESS HORIZONS

There are many reasons why people don’t pur-sue an MBA: working, traveling or simply beingtoo busy. But Brianne Horton is doing all of

these things and received her MBA in May withoutletting anything stand in her way.

Horton is the manager of Third Street Bagel inMarquette, handles property management and showshouses for Alder Properties, is a project manager forthe Village Business Association in Marquette and abartender at the Black Rocks Brewery.

“I don’t know why I do so much. I guess I have ahard time saying no to people,” Horton says. “I likebeing busy and not sitting around.

“Having all of this work experience has allowedme to bring in real-life examples to draw upon in theclassroom,” she says. “I’m in a position where I canrelate to the concepts from the courses.”

Conversely, the aspects of an MBA have allowedher to be a better manager at Third Street Bagel.Horton says she brings in marketing, managementand finance ideas and skills and is able to do itbecause of what she learned in the program.

Being a part of the MBA program exposedHorton to the entire world of business.

“I enjoyed it because it forced me to dig intofinance, accounting, human resources and management information systems.”

She earned abachelor’s in marketingfrom NMU in 2011.While completing herundergraduate degree,she studied abroadtwice. In 2008 she visit-ed an orphanage andrefugee camps inGhana, Africa, and in2010 she joined “AllHands Volunteers,”where she traveled toHaiti to remove rubbleand help rebuild thecity after the devastat-ing earthquake.

“Working withorphan children in

both Ghana and Haiti changed my outlook on life,”Horton says. “Before moving to Ghana to studyabroad, I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do for acareer. However, that changed almost immediatelywhen I started to work at the orphanage. I quickly fellin love with the children and knew that I wanted tospend the rest of my life working with children inThird World countries. Simply put, it was the childrenin Ghana who made me realize that I wanted to gointo international non-profit work. It's amazing, thechildren had next to nothing in life, yet they weresome of the happiest individuals I have ever interact-ed with in life… Those are the individuals that I wantto work with in life.”

Horton, a Marquette native, is looking around theSan Francisco area for jobs as a project manager for anon-profit where she can combine her passion forothers with her skills in marketing, business and socialmedia.

“There is nothing holding me back,” Horton says.“A lot of people think they’re too busy or can’t do it. Ijust say ‘why not?’” •

MBA student profile: Brianne HortonBy Brian Pr ice ’12 BS

“Before moving to

Ghana to study abroad,

I wasn't exactly sure

what I wanted to do for

a career. However, that

changed almost imme-

diately when I started to

work at the orphanage.

I quickly fell in love with

the children and knew

that I wanted to spend

the rest of my life work-

ing with children in

Third World countries.”

2 0 1 2 - 1 3 19

When I first started myinternship withNorthern Initiatives, I

can admit, I was nervous. This wasthe first time I was in a real officesituation where people dependedon me for my work ethic and skills.I had never been around web pro-graming before and this was all newto me. I can remember the firsttime I saw a Content ManagementSystem that linked HTML andCSS together through an interface;I was definitely a bit overwhelmed.But over time I began to learn bitsand snippets of information on pro-graming and other various tools andit all started to come together.

One of the major tasks Iaccomplished during this internshipwas learning to build websites fromscratch by taking Photoshop designfiles, separating them into individ-ual parts and then programing theminto a styled HTML and CSS web-site through a ContentManagement System such asWordPress or Joomla. It was veryinteresting to learn how all of it wasput together to create a final piece.This was interesting to me and nat-urally I wanted to learn more. On aless technical side, I have learned alot about teamwork and comingtogether on a project to gather dif-ferent views and ideas from othersto help move forward on a project.This was one of the most crucialskills I have learned over my dura-tion at Northern Initiatives. Nowlooking back, if I didn’t have thisopportunity, I feel that I wouldhave been behind in the businessworld. Today the job competition ishigh and without these additional

types of skills, you will be without ajob. Another major task I havelearned over the duration of myinternship was database setup andserver administration. For everynew website I was developing, I hadto first set up a database for theinstall of the Content ManagementSystem and make sure all of theinformation was correct so theprocess would run smoothly. I alsohad day-to-day tasks of adding usersto our server, changing their privi-leges and granting access to specificpeople while making sure our serverwas still protected from securitythreats.

I have learned a lot from thepreviously mentioned tasks and thisinternship in general. I now knowwhat it’s like to meet strict dead-lines, have meetings to discuss cur-rent and future projects while esti-mating completion times, and pro-posing and displaying newly devel-oped tools and guides to a team ofstaff members. These are extremelycrucial skills to have when enteringthe workforce, and I feel that theywill help me greatly with my searchfor a career.

This internship has also influ-enced my future career choice. Inever really knew much about theweb and how it’s developed untilnow. I really enjoy what I do nowand I want to continue doing it intothe future. I was going to go intodatabase administration, but now Ithink I’m going to alter my career

path a little bit and look into thefield of web development.

When I start designing anddeveloping a new website, I get afeeling of excitement and intrigue.Every website is different and I lovethat about this career. There isalways something new or different.Whether it’s a new design or functionality portion that I have totry and figure out, I am alwayslearning. Also, I have always lovedto troubleshoot issues and in thisline of work there are a lot. Thisjob is always keeping me on edgeand my skills up to par.

If it wasn’t for the internship Ihave now, I would still be sitting athome not knowing what I want to

do when I amdone withschool. Now, Iam confident inwhat I say when

someone asks me what I want to doafter I graduate and it’s a great feel-ing. Once again, I am very gratefulto have had the opportunity to gainthis additional knowledge in myfield and to work together withNorthern Michigan University tobe recognized for it. •

The internship differenceBy Josh Posa

Today, people need every additional

skill they can learn to give themselves

an edge over someone else.

20 BUSINESS HORIZONS

Business-related studentgroups at NMU have beenbranching out throughout

the academic year to represent theuniversity to regional employersthrough professional developmentexcursions and events designed tostrengthen ties between the collegeand community.

These events serve to not onlyinculcate business and finance students into various arenas of professional culture, but increase vis-ibility of the accomplishments andambitious nature of NMU’s students.Here are examples of the activitiesof some of the business-relatedgroups.

Beta Alpha PsiBeta Alpha Psi, an accounting andfinance club, had a busy year takingtrips, touring facilities and volun-teering in the community.

Despite this year’s challengingeconomy, Beta Alpha Psi raisedenough funds to embark on a pro-fessional development trip to down-state Michigan in September. Thetrip was led by Jian Sha, BAP presi-dent, and attended by 15 students,comprised of 11 accounting majorsand four finance majors.

The first stop was in TraverseCity at Plante Moran, a certifiedaccounting, tax and business-con-sulting firm. Student Jesse Burnettsays, “At Plante Moran, a partnertalked to us for a few minutes andthen we had lunch with severalnew and experienced accountants.It was really good to talk to people

in a variety of real-world positionsto get a feel for what they do andpotential career paths. I liked thefact that their office is almostentirely paper-free.”

The organization also traveledto Troy to attend a presentation atRehmann, an accounting andfinancial consul-tation firm.

“AtRehmann, therewas a larger college recruitingevent with several otheruniversities. Apartner, hiringmanager and afew others gave apresentation andanswered ques-tions before wesplit into smallergroups to tour

their office and talk to departmentmanagers.” Burnett adds,“Rehmann has a corporatefraud/investigation unit headed by afew ex-FBI agents; that was prettyinteresting.”

Between the two visits, thegroup visited Honor Bank, where the

Taking care of businessOur very active, involved, investment-savvy and brand-new student groups

By Rebekah Tadych and Kat ie Hubbard ’13 MA

Beta Alpha Psi members learning about Plante Moran in Traverse City.

The BAPs helped three elder Marquette residents by raking their yards during Make aDifference Day.

2 0 1 2 - 1 3 21

finance majors had an opportunity tospeak with the company’s CEO.

In March, BAP took a trip toCliffs Natural Resources miningcompany in Ishpeming for a tour ofits production facility. The groupalso met with a representative fromCliffs’ accounting department.

More recently, BAP met withHugh Miller, CEO of the UpperPeninsula Medical Center. Millerspoke with the group about hisorganization and its financial strate-gies in the health-care industry.They finished off with a tour of theMedical Center.

In the winter, BAP also partici-pated in the Volunteer Income TaxAssistance program that providesfree tax filing services to peoplewith middle to low incomes in theMarquette community. Membersgive the income tax assistance onSundays during tax season at thePeter White Public Library. “It isgreat real-world experience for ourmembers and provides a great serv-ice to the community,” says memberJoey Short.

Student ManagedInvestment Fund Students in SMIF meet weekly inthe trading lab and discuss currentstock market situations. Each weekthey do research on a different com-pany and then vote on buying orselling stock from that company. Inone recent week, students tradedaround $70,000 in stock.

“SMIF is a great opportunitybecause it is real money. Studentsget to apply what they are learningin class to a real-world situation,”says member Troy Cogan.

SMIF also went to Chicago andtoured businesses including J.P.Morgan Chase & Co., Arthur J.Gallagher & Co. and TD

Ameritrade. “The whole idea was togive students an opportunity to seehow different companies operate.Also, to see if the businesses wetoured would be a place where wewould want to work in the future,”says Cogan. The students finishedoff their trip with a lunch in theexecutive dining room at the top ofthe Chase Building.

Gamma Iota SigmaStudents Troy Cogan and SeanCoykendall have been busy startinga new group on campus, GammaIota Sigma, an international riskmanagement, insurance and actuarial science fraternity. Theychartered at the end of the academic year, making NMU’s GISthe 50th chapter in the UnitedStates.

Joining the chapter gives students opportunities to networkwith various insurance and actuarialcompanies at conferences. “GIS hasa strong correlation with the indus-try,” says GIS President SeanCoykendall. “Many companies goto GIS and pay a fee to meet stu-dents at the conferences so theycan, in turn, get resumes, interviewsand potentially, employees.”

Last August,Cogan andCoykendall expe-rienced this corre-lation first hand atthe GIS PresidentsConference inPhiladelphia,

where both networked and attendedforums for leadership development.Also, in the fall, Vice PresidentCogan attended another interna-tional GIS conference in Chicago.The conference was a large careerfair with 50 companies attending.In addition to interviews, he wasable to attend breakout sessions onre-insurance, insurance, actuarialscience and succeeding after graduation. •

Students Sean Coykendall (4th from left) and Troy Cogan (7th from left) just received charter approval for a newgroup on campus, Gamma Iota Sigma, a risk management, insurance and actuarial science collegiate fraternity,for both business and math students. They are shown with the initial student members and adviser LindaLawton from the mathematics and computer science department.

Each week, members of the StudentManaged Investment Fund do researchon a different company and then voteon buying or selling stock from thatcompany. In one recent week, studentstraded around $70,000 in stock.

22 BUSINESS HORIZONS

The student experience is a top priority in theCollege of Business. To get a true perspective ofthat experience, the Dean’s Student Advisory

Council is an indispensable source of input and guid-ance. Ten students from several College of Businessmajors meet two times a semester with the dean andassistant dean. Most are leaders of student groups, sothe dean hears what their groups are doing and howthe College of Business can better help them and individual students.

Class content, extracurricular activities, even faculty performance are discussed and analyzed.

Matt Croschere, Student Advisory Council chair-man, says, “It’s not your typical student group. It’s notfor people who join to be on an email list and throw itdown on a resume. Everyone on the council is highlyinvolved.”

The quality of the members makes being councilchairman simple, says Croschere. He doesn’t considerhimself the leader of the group, just the organizer.

“To me it’s not hard. Everyone in the group isalready involved and wants to be involved as a part ofthe council and as a part of the campus community. Myjob is to facilitate the meetings, keep them flowing andmake sure members stay prepared and diligent.”

Member Sean Coykendall says, “The best thingabout the council is seeing how other student leaders

manage their groups. When all of those types of stu-dents get together it can really generate involvementin the community.”

The council members take their job as advisers tothe dean seriously, and in turn they are taken seriously.“For instance, when as a group we reach a consensus onif we feel a professor isn’t providing a quality service orseems to have lost his passion for teaching, it sends amuch more powerful message than the evaluation sur-veys or an angry email from a student who received apoor grade,” says Coykendall.

However, the council strives to serve as a proactivecatalyst. Last semester, the group hosted a networkingevent at the Landmark Inn for local business profes-sionals from around the community and all studentsfrom the College of Business.

Croschere says it was a success. “We had roughly30 students and 15 professionals who attended. Thisevent is a great chance for students to get comfortabletalking business in their business attire. It is very muchlike the ‘business after hours’ events, which are veryprominent in the business world. It also helps us build aconnection between College of Business students andthe local business community.”

“The council is a very critical source of informa-tion to me and a link to the larger student body,” saysDean Jamal Rashed. “For example, they raise concernsabout funding, travel to conferences or the quality ofclasses. I listen carefully to them, meet with faculty andmake adjustments accordingly, as we go along, insteadof waiting for the end of the year.”

Rashed says council members were very involvedrecently in drafting the strategic plan for the college—and very passionate about it. “They played and continue to play a major role in shaping the future ofour programs and the university.” •

Helping steerthe ship

Dean’s Student Advisory Council Members (2012-13)

Eric Borsum • Tony Carlson • Troy Cogan • JohnComastro • Sean Coykendall • Matt Croschere •Ethan Hausmann • Haley Jacobson • Nick Lefebre •Alex Palmer • Joey Short • Garrett Paquette •Rebekah Tadych • Amber Warren • Andrew Worden.

By Brandon Fr i sk and Rebekah Tadych

2 0 1 2 - 1 3 23

Supporting students

The Upper Peninsula HumanResources Association is thefirst to take advantage of the

new ScholarshipNow program, anopportunity for donors to have animmediate impact on an NMU stu-dent’s education. The UPHRA, agroup of approximately 100 membersfrom private industry, education, pub-lic and nonprofit employers, hasselected students in the College ofBusiness to be the gift recipients.

Mary Adamini ’85 BS, ’96MPA, UPHRA president and direc-tor of personnel and employee rela-tions for the Marquette Board ofLight and Power, explains, “Eventhough Northern doesn’t have ahuman resources program, many ofus in HR didn’t start out in thisfield. We felt that students in thebusiness programs are exposed to thesame types of classes that are neededto develop the skills we use.”Adamini herself majored in masscommunications at NMU, withminors in business and journalism.

“My mom always told me, ‘Youcan’t go wrong with business.’ Shesaid studying business would help in

my future, and it certainly did.” Adamini and Mary Feuerbach,

human resources director at IslandResort and Casino in Escanaba,who is with the SuperiorlandChapter of Human ResourcesProfessionals, spearheaded thescholarship effort. The associationhad a balance in its account frommember dues and had been talkingabout the best way to use it for anumber of years. When memberKristen Bjorne ’86 AB, ’94 BS,’05 MPA, assistant director ofhuman resources at NMU, suggest-ed NMU’s business program, themembers were very excited andvoted to start the scholarship.

“Our hope is that by providingthis scholarship, it will help easethe financial burden that studentsfeel and that they will be able toconcentrate more on their studies,”says Feuerbach.

“We hope it will help youngprofessionals stay in the U.P.—thatis really important to us,” Adaminisays. “Maybe it will help a studentto consider a career in humanresources. Maybe it will be someone

who can replace me someday!” Sheadds that HR is for “people wholike to help people,” and that it’s arewarding career.

With ScholarshipNow, donorsprovide a $1,000 (minimum) annualscholarship. A gift received by Dec.31 will be advertised to students dur-ing the winter scholarship applicationperiod, and the selected recipientreceives the award in the fall. “Insteadof waiting for interest to accrue, thesescholarships can be awarded rightaway and start making a difference ina student’s experience,” says RobynStille ’00 BS, ’09 MCert., NMUexecutive director of alumni relationsand annual giving. “This is a reallynice amount for students, as far asscholarships go. And it’s an accessibleamount for many donors.” The crite-ria for students is very broad, makingmany eligible to receive the awards.“Donors will be invited to our annualscholarship breakfast, and have thechance to meet students who areimpacted by their gifts,” Stille adds.Donors are also recognized asPresident’s Club members.

“It’s so easy to do it,” saysAdamini. “We just had to determinewhich college we wanted to supportand then send a check. It’s some-thing we plan to do annually, for aslong as we are able. It’s a great feeling to help.” •

In the 2012-13 academic year,

College of Business students were

awarded $62,000 in scholarships.

Thank you, donors, for your support

of our students’ success.

An easy new way to make an immediate impactStudents and donors have the chance to meet face toface each year at a scholarship and awards breakfast.

Business HorizonsCollege of BusinessNorthern Michigan University1401 Presque Isle AvenueMarquette, MI 49855

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDMidland, MIPermit No. 250

The NMU Collegiate Chapter of the American MarketingAssociation has been going strong for decades. Currently, theAMA meets every week during the semester. The group hostsguest speakers, has a student-run business, travels to exploreMidwest businesses and pitches in on community serviceprojects. These photos from the NMU Archives were undated.Can anyone help us identify those pictured and shed light onthe bus trip destination? Please email horizons@nmu.edu.