Students Build a Supercomputer Alumni Lead an Energy Giant

Students Build aSupercomputer

Alumni Lead an Energy Giant

Making the Connection with

Students, Alumni, Community

powerred

A MAGAZINE FOR

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

ALUMNI & FRIENDS

Fall 2002PREMIER ISSUE

BALL STATE

© October 2002 Volume 1, Number 1. Ball State Business is published twice a year by the Ball State University College of Business, WB 100, Muncie, Indiana 47306. Printed in the United States. No material may be reproduced without written permission. Send change of address to Ball State University College of Business, WB 100, Muncie, Indiana 47306; Phone: (765) 285-8192; Fax (765) 285-5117; E-mail: [email protected].

viewpoint

Lynne RichardsonDean, College of Business

elcome to the premierissue of Ball StateBusiness. We are thrilled to introduce

to you a new communication vehiclefor alumni, friends, faculty, staff, andstudents of the College of Business.Our hope is that you will be informed,energized, encouraged, amazed, andmoved by what you read on thesepages.

In this issue, you’ll learn aboutmany changes going on in the College

of Business. Since Ijoined Ball State

in the summerof 2001,

Wstaying connected

we’ve taken a look at what we’redoing, how we’re doing it, and thesurroundings we occupy to see what’sworking and what could use someattention. There’s a reason that thearticle on change is titled “PowerRed.”

We also highlight activities offaculty and students, as well as profilesuccessful alumni. You’ll learn aboutthe Cluster Computing ResearchProject, the brainchild of FredKitchens and his undergraduate students in management informationsystems. They prove that there is, infact, a use for “junk” computers. You’llalso read about three College ofBusiness alumni who, in an interest-ing twist of destiny, hold senior posi-tions at Entergy, one of the world’sleading energy companies, which isheadquartered in New Orleans.

This issue is also full of othernews tidbits that are of interest. Wehope that you will feel connectedwith the College of Business in a wayyou’ve never experienced. As always,we invite your comments. Please contact me at [email protected] or (765) 285-8192. I look forward tohearing from you.

Contact us through

www.bsu.edu/

business/contactus

The information presented here, correct at the time of publication, is subject to change. Ball State University practices equal opportunity in education andemployment and is strongly and actively committed to diversity within its community. 1150-02 uc

Dean:Lynne Richardson

Editor:Mary G. Barr

Associate Dean, Instruction and Operations:Rodney Davis

Associate Dean, Research and Outreach:Ray Montagno

Director of Development:Christy Huston

Director of External Relations:Tammy Estep

Phone:(765) 285-8192

Fax:(765) 285-5117

E-mail:[email protected]

Web site:www.bsu.edu/business

Fall/Winter 2002Premier Issue

BALL STATE

Fall 2002PREMIER ISSUE

departmentsbriefs 3

bottomline 17

Member of the AACSB-International:The Association to Advance Collegiate

Schools of Business

features

Courtney Cauble, Ball State junior, marketing major

power red 5Making the connection with students, alumni, and community

the entergy 10connectionBall State business graduates dominate the management teamat a Louisiana-based energy giant

trash to treasure 13Ball State business students build a supercomputer from hand-me-down machines

SUMMIT

briefs

international business program

Answering a call for leadership, the College of Business hosted the first annual SalesCenter Summit in September. Ball State was asked to hold the summit during a springconference in Atlanta by leaders of the other eight schools of business in the UnitedStates who have sales centers.

“There are a lot of holes right now in educating students for sales-related profes-sions,” says Ramon Avila, marketing professor and director of Ball State’s ProfessionalSelling Institute. “For instance, many schools teach sales management, but not sales.Yet, most college graduates will need experience in sales before they can move up tomanagement.”

Another top priority of the group is to develop a national sales database amonguniversities that can be shared with businesses and researchers.

fter a ten-year hiatus, the international business major is back at Ball State in a

revamped format that is focused on what today’s companies need and students want.

“One criticismwe heard from busi-ness people aboutthe old program wasthat students didnot graduate withenough practicalskills to be helpfulright away,” saysDoug Naffziger,management professor and former chairof the College of Business GlobalBusiness Programs Committee. “Now wehave a program that provides companieswith employees who can help themtoday, as well as help expand their globalreach tomorrow.”

International business students must

gain practical experience through aninternational field study or an intern-ship with a U.S. company conductinginternational business. They must alsochoose a business concentration area,

take humanities and/orsocial sciences classesto enrich their globalview, and have at leasta 200-level proficiencyin a foreign language.

The emphasis ongaining cultural expe-rience and awareness iscritical, says Naffziger.

The internationalbusiness program began in the late1980s as a full major, but was redesignedas a minor in the mid-1990s and enroll-ment soon dwindled. Recent changes inboth the educational and business envi-ronments have highlighted a need for amajor, but one that students can com-plete within four years.

A

3 B a l l S t a t e b u s i n e s s ■ Fa l l 2 0 0 2

sales summit

infiniteideas

A New Way to Recruit

The College of Business has recentlyproduced high-quality marketingmaterials for recruiting students.

“I feel that a business majorhas something for almost everyone,whether you’re a ‘people person,’ an ‘idea person,’ or a ‘numbers person,’” says Dean LynneRichardson. “With the help of theseattractive materials, we can commu-nicate all the benefits of a businessdegree from Ball State to prospec-tive students.”

In addition, the college hasdeveloped new recruitment materials to promote the newlyformed master of science degree inaccounting.

“For a few more credit hours,candidates for the CPA exam will notonly have excellent preparation to sitfor the exam, they will have theextra credentials of a master’sdegree,” says James Schmutte,accounting department chairman.“This brochure helps us get theword out.”

Both pieces feature color photographs and student, alumni,and recruiter testimonials about theprograms. Prospective students mayrequest a copy by e-mailing [email protected].

three new faculty members

Hard work and leadership—not pomp—led to the circumstance of five College of Business graduates being honored at the college’s May 2002 commencement ceremony.

Two honorees received Awards of Distinction given to individuals holding positions of distinction in business, government, or academe:

Marjorie L. Hiner, retired co-owner and chief financial officer of Hiner Transport, Inc., Huntington, Indiana. She earned a bachelor’s degree in 1966 and a master’s degree in 1970 from Ball State.

Christopher P. LaMothe, president and chief operating officer of Oxford Financial Group, LTD,Indianapolis, and former president and CEO of theIndiana Chamber of Commerce. He earned a bach-elor’s degree in marketing from Ball State in 1978.

rom sales to e-commerce tofinance, the College of Businesswelcomes the special talents ofthree new tenure-track faculty

members this fall.Scott Inks joined the Department

of Marketing and Management whileLinda Lee Larson became the newestfaculty member in the Department ofAccounting. Manoj Athavale joinedthe Department of Finance andInsurance.

Inks returned to the WhitingerBusiness Building, where he had earnedan MBA. He received his undergraduatedegree in agricultural economics fromPurdue University. He then spent threeyears in sales before enrolling at BallState.

Inks earned a Ph.D. from theUniversity of Memphis. He specializesin the areas of professional sales andmarketing technology. His dissertationexamined sales force automation imple-

ized interests in information systems,

auditing, and e-commerce.

She received bachelor’s degrees in

accounting and business administration

from Washington State University, an

MBA from Seattle University, and a

doctorate of business administration in

accounting from Cleveland State

University.

Larson’s research interests include

behavioral issues such as job stress,

burnout, job satisfaction, turnover, and

emerging issues in e-commerce.

Manoj Athavale brings nine years

of various industry experience to the

Department of Finance and Insurance.

He received his Ph.D. from the

University of Mississippi.

His current teaching and research

interests include management of finan-

cial institutions, workings of financial

markets, pricing of financial instru-

ments, and personal financial planning.

mentation, and he has published paperson technology in marketing.

In addition to teaching both personal selling and sales management,Inks is actively engaged in developingthe Ball State professional selling program.

Linda Lee Larson joined the faculty

to teach accounting classes with special-

Fa l l 2 0 0 2 ■ B a l l S t a t e b u s i n e s s 4

F

The new tenure-track faculty members this fall are (from left to right) Manoj Athavale, Linda LeeLarson, and Scott Inks.

alumni HONOREDThree alumni received Awards of Achievement given to individuals who hold positions of responsibility with a demonstrated history of success:

Larry W. Metzing, president of IndianaBusiness Resource, Inc., Indianapolis, and a1971 accounting graduate.

Matthew J. Momper, president of MomperInsulation of Fort Wayne, a division ofInstalled Building Products Inc., and a 1983economics graduate.

Anthony L. Schneider, co-founderand managing director of SchneiderHuse and Associates, an Indianapolis-based corporate finance advisory firm,and a 1980 finance graduate.

all State loves thecolor red. So does thenew dean of theCollege of Business,Lynne Richardson. She

feels red—with all its energy, power,and vitality—captures the essence ofher vision for the future of the Collegeof Business.

Richardson came to Ball State inJuly 2001 after thirteen years at theUniversity of Alabama atBirmingham’s School of Business,where most recently she served as associate dean for undergraduate pro-grams and external relations.

Since her arrival, the nationallyrecognized marketing educator has beenmoving forward nonstop—getting toknow the university and College of

power red

The Ralph J. Whitinger Business Building

Making the Connection with

Students, Alumni, Community

feature

BBy Susan Holloway


Business faculty, guiding a restructuringprocess, and reaching out to students,alumni, the business community, andbeyond.

Here Richardson talks about herfirst year as dean and the opportunitiesshe sees ahead.

What attracted you to Ball State and its College of Business?

Richardson: Ball State has a very goodbusiness school. The faculty is terrific.They’re knowledgeable.They’re using technologyin the classroom and help-ing students to be the bestthey can be.

Personally, I was pri-marily looking for a busi-ness school that was ingood shape. That was thenumber one criterion forme. I was also looking foran opportunity that wouldmarry my experience andskills with the needs of theuniversity—so I couldmake an impact. When Icame to Ball State to inter-view, I knew in the firstcouple of hours that thiswas my job.

What do you think is thecollege’s most importantaccomplishment in the last year?

Richardson: When I arrived, I metwith individual faculty members andasked about the challenges facingthem, their departments, and the col-lege as we move forward. One of thethings I heard loud and clear was tech-nology. The resounding theme was thatwe needed to have all of our classroomswired for today’s technology, instead ofhaving to use big rolling carts loadedwith computers, projectors, and all theequipment that a faculty member has tohook up before class.

That goal was accomplished during

ate positions that are more targeted towhat we need to be focusing on for thenext five years. We’re changing thedepartmental structures. From the out-side, people will just see more thingshappening in the College of Business.Internally, we’ve had to restructure toget to that place.

What was the purpose of thisrestructuring process?

Richardson: Before July 1, 2002, we hadan organizational chart witha dean and associate dean,six department chairs, abureau of business research,and a graduate and under-graduate coordinator. That’sa typical organizationalchart for business schoolsfor the last twenty years.

A faculty committeeand the executive commit-tee started looking at thefuture needs of the col-lege—to provide moreopportunities for students in our building and toincrease marketing efforts,faculty research, and out-reach to the community.We realized very quicklythat one dean and one associate dean couldn’t do it

all. We’ve added a second associatedean and created another position tohandle a lot of external events andexperiences.

Regarding the programs we offer,we took the information systems andoperations management side of themanagement department and combinedit with the business information tech-nology department to create a newdepartment called information systemsand operations management. We com-bined the other side of managementwith the marketing department. So wewent from three departments to two,freeing up an administrative slot.

this past summer. We raised $100,000 tocomplete the classroom-rewiring project.That’s a big thing for faculty and stu-dents. It’s going to make a positive class-room experience for everybody.

A second area of accomplishmentinvolves alumni development. One ofthe things that most business schoolscan be faulted for is losing touch withgraduates. We can leverage what a greatresource our alumni can be for us. Mostalumni I’ve met want to be involved.

They say they loved their experienceshere at Ball State. They’re all glowingabout it. We want to build on thoserelationships and maintain more contin-uous relationships.

The third thing is that we are reor-ganizing the college. In Indiana, as inevery other state, there is never enoughmoney for academic institutions. We’retrying to do more than ever with thesame pot of money. We’re trying to cre-

“What we’re doing now is trying to

enhance what we have and make our

alumni even prouder to say that they’re

Ball State business graduates.”

—Dean Lynne Richardson


point of creating things—like revamp-ing our Web site, creating an undergrad-uate recruitment piece, and launchingthis new Ball State Business magazine—all the things that touch people outsidethe campus that say who we are andwhat we’re doing.

But there’s also the alumni devel-opment side of marketing—trying tomeet alumni and potential contributors.That’s another aspect of my job: findingresources for scholarships, faculty grants,and even new facilities.

What kind of physical changes willbusiness alumni notice when theyvisit the campus?

Richardson: Our current building wasbuilt in 1979, so someone who hasn’tbeen back in awhile would just beamazed that we have a building, numberone. The alumni I’ve met range fromseventy years old to very recent gradu-ates, and the people who have the beststories are the ones who went to BallState when the College of Business washoused in Quonset huts, and evenbefore that, Army barracks.

For those who graduated in 1980 or after, the building doesn’t look muchdifferent. Now the goal is to do somerefurbishing in classrooms and create astudent services area, which we havealready started. Alumni will come back,and it’ll look fresh and updated techno-logically, which is expected in today’senvironment. There will be a red accentwall, like in the dean’s office, in all pub-lic spaces. It’s Ball State’s color, and itsays “energy.” It’s hard to be bored in ared room.

Any other changes?

Richardson: The faculty will drive curricular changes. We’re having peopletalk across departmental lines andunderstanding that we don’t have to dothings the way they’ve always beendone. The reorganized departments—especially the new information systemsand operations management depart-

Another part of the picture involvesmoving a faculty member into the MBAposition and re-energizing the MBAprogram.

How do you plan to reach beyondcampus?

Richardson: I see outreachstarting at home and extend-ing to our alumni base,friends, and community—everything from working withstudents to faculty internshipsto news releases and creatingevents.

One of the most excitingthings we’re doing now is putting together a College ofBusiness advisory board—anationally based, executive-level advisory board. I see thisas our link to the businesscommunity nationwide.Members will represent

diverse types of industry and parts of thecountry. There will be some Ball Statealumni as well as other business peoplefrom Muncie, Indianapolis, Chicago,Atlanta, New Orleans, and beyond.With people involved from all over thecountry, Ball State will gain visibility.

We’re going to try to make the boardas broad as we can tomake sure we’re relevantand timely and that weprepare students for whatthey’re going to face whenthese folks hire them in acouple of years. I thinkthis board will be valuablein helping us see what weneed to be doing.

You’ve said that marketing is a majorcomponent to every-thing you do. Is

marketing the college your mostimportant focus?

Richardson: Certainly it’s a big part ofit. We are marketing from the stand-

Don Kuratko leads the nationallyrenowned entrepreneurship program.The undergraduate program is rankednumber nine in the United States.

Entrepreneurship students maketheir final presentations to businessprofessionals including companyCEOs.


love their university andwant to work with stu-dents.

We could spend anentire day talking aboutour outstanding programssuch as our nationallyranked entrepreneurship program and the relationship that DonKuratko has built withevery student that hascome through that pro-gram. Every April whenthe entrepreneurship students make their pre-sentations to determine whether or notthey will graduate, the alumni comeback and participate. The business com-munity and entrepreneurshipadvisory board support that sobeautifully.

One of the things we wantto do is create more programsthat have that type of exposureand national ranking. Pro-fessional selling is one area thatis ramping up. We have someterrific faculty members in thesales area and a professional selling institute, which we arebuilding to make even moreprominent.

ment—are looking at revising curricu-lum to eliminate any duplication ofeffort and to keep pace with today’s marketplace.

Our curriculum evolves as timeschange. Recently I talked to a personwho asked me, “What are you doingabout teaching ethics in the businessschool?” Because, of course, look atwhat’s going on in the business worldaround us. I said we teach it, but itmoves throughout our curriculum aspart of every class. We discussed the fact that maybe ethics should be astand-alone course. Maybe every busi-ness student should have that exposureto it. These are the types of things ourfaculty is considering.

How do changes in the college meshwith the university’s goals?

Richardson: As we raise the bar withthe students we recruit, we have oppor-tunities for more innovation in theclassroom because these students can bechallenged in a different way and havehigher expectations. This helps driveour faculty to look for ways to challengethemselves and the students.

Certainly we want to enhance ourstudents’ educational experience here tothe best of our abilities. We want thestudents who come to Ball State to seethat there are excellent opportunities inthe College of Business, either as amajor or a minor. I think people forgetthat no matter what your major is, aminor in business is a really goodoption.

Why should a student choose BallState’s College of Business overother business schools?

Richardson: There are a number ofthings you get at Ball State that youmight not be able to get at some of theother schools in the state—smallerclasses, more hands-on academic experi-ences with full-time professors, and awonderful environment with a grandlegacy. We have terrific alumni who

The College of Business was housed inQuonset huts during the 1970s (below),and even before that, in Army barracksin the late 1960s (above).

In 1979, the Whitinger Building (below)opened for business in the heart of campus.Classrooms have recently been updatedwith the latest teaching technologies.


Business contributes to the strength ofthe community.

What does Ball State’s College ofBusiness look and feel like today?

Richardson: It’s red. It’s energy. There’sa lot of energy in this building and it’sflowing—from the staff level throughfaculty and upper administration.Everyone is seeing the opportunities inthe business school now. There are somany things we will be doing in a yearor two. We’re good, but we will be evenbetter, and that’s my objective. And so,we’re red. It’s our vibrant school color,and it says, “We’re movin’ and shakin’here now.”

In addition to our general advisoryboard, one of our goals is to developadvisory boards for every business major.So part of my measuring stick will bewhen we can take something we’redoing to one of our boards and themembers will say, “You’re right on target.”

Another measuring stick has to bethe success of our development efforts.Are we doing the right things so thatpeople want to invest in us? The com-munity has an interest in the success ofthe College of Business because theymay hire our students, consult with ourfaculty, use our intellectual resources,and offer opportunities for research.When people make a gift to the Collegeof Business, it’s an investment in thefuture of the college. I want it to be agood investment. I believe it will bebecause the strength of the College of

Susan Holloway is a communicationsmanager with Ball State University’sOffice of University Communications.

Ball State’s Professional Selling Institute is among only nine such

programs in the nation. Students role-play in the sales lab.

What do you want Ball State business students to come awaywith when they graduate?

Richardson: Obviously, I want studentsto have a very strong, grounded knowl-edge of their disciplines within businessand—no matter what their specificmajor—to understand how each aspectof business ties together. Whether you’rean accounting major, finance major, oreconomics major, you still need to knowhow your piece fits into the operation.

We would love for students to getinvolved in a more applied way. Thisfall we’re offering a real-world survivalskills professionalism certificate that willbe extracurricular, but will help exposestudents to the business community andthe importance of networking and eti-quette issues in business. They will learnhow to run a meeting and how to dressappropriately for business situations.

While some of our faculty memberschoose to talk about professionalism, wedon’t have a class that everyone takes.The professionalism certificate will bedriven greatly by our College of Businessalumni board. The board and otheralumni will staff the seminars, whichwill be open to all business majors ini-tially and perhaps later to students allover campus.

The primary goal is to prepare ourstudents for the world and to give themthat extra finishing touch. It also willhelp differentiate our graduates and getalumni and the business communityinvolved as well.

What’s your measure of success forthe College of Business?

Richardson: The most important thingfor us to do is to prepare our students tosucceed in the work force, realizing thattoday the environment is changing sorapidly that we have to be on the cut-ting edge.


By Steve Kaelble

CONNECTIONthe entergy

t’s 920 miles from theVillage in Muncie toBourbon Street in NewOrleans. A similar dis-

tance separates Ball State University’sCollege of Business and the corporateheadquarters of Entergy, a Louisiana-based energy company.

Despite the distance, Ball State hasmade a significant mark on Entergy, anearly $10 billion company that is oneof the country’s largest utilities, deliver-ing electricity to 2.6 million customersin four states. A Ball State graduate isthe company’s CEO, another is a high-level vice president, and a third headsEntergy’s Louisiana operations.

The management team with strongMuncie connections has led Entergythrough a significant turnaround. WhenCEO Wayne Leonard took charge at thebeginning of 1999, it wasn’t hard to findpeople unhappy with the energy compa-ny: customers, employees, shareholders,regulators. Today, safety and reliabilityare up, customer complaints are down,and stock prices are healthy.

Ball State business grads dominate the management team at a

Louisiana-based energy giant

I

Wayne Leonard (seated), Renae Proctor Conley (standing left), and Leo Denault (standing right)

feature


Leonard said in accepting the

award.

“Not only did he receive

the award, but the National

Fuel Funds Network created a

new award that will be named

after him,” observes Renae

Proctor Conley, president and

CEO of Entergy Louisiana and

a fellow Ball State College of

Business graduate. “That means you’ve

had a major impact on a lot of people’s

lives.”

Leonard’s suspicious attitude about

the privileged also shows up in the com-

pany’s hiring practices. Entergy is big

enough to pick and choose among Ivy

League executive candidates, yet the

company selected Conley as head of

Entergy Louisiana and Ball State gradu-

ate Leo Denault as vice president of

corporate development and strategic

planning.

“I’ve spent a lot of time on Wall

Street, where you work with people

from Yale and Harvard and places like

that,” Leonard says. “They don’t fully

understand what it means to work your

way up.” Entergy’s Ball State team has

done just that, developing a strong work

ethic and compassionate value system

that have changed the way Entergy

operates.

Leonard, Conley, and Denault fol-

lowed similar paths on their way from

Muncie to Louisiana. Leonard earned a

bachelor’s degree in accounting from

Ball State in 1973 and later added an

MBA from Indiana University. Denault

collected his Ball State accounting and

economics degrees in 1982 and also

added an MBA from Indiana.

Conley, meanwhile, spent her

entire educational career at Ball State—

from the very beginning. She

grew up in Muncie, attending

Ball State’s Burris Laboratory

School starting in kindergarten.

She earned an undergraduate

accounting degree from Ball

State in 1980 and followed that

up with a Ball State MBA.

All three ventured into the

energy business by way of

Public Service Indiana, the

utility later known as PSI

Entergy has become a solid playerin an industry that lately has beenplagued by failure and scandal—beyondtheir similar names, Entergy has vir-tually nothing in common with Enron.Indeed, while Enron executives wereallegedly enriching themselves at theexpense of investors, employees, andcustomers, Leonard was focusingEntergy’s attention on lending a helpinghand to the region’s least-privileged citi-zens. Less than a year after taking thehelm, Leonard organized a “Low IncomeSummit” to examine ways the companycould help the poor, who make up asmuch as a quarter of its customer base.

Poverty, Leonard told attendees

from Entergy’s four states, “has dropped

off the radar screen as one of the moral

issues that we are all personally responsi-

ble for helping to create and failing to

solve. People seem to have no qualms

about showing their ignorance and

prejudice by publicly castigating the less

fortunate.” Acknowledging that Entergy

had, in the past, maintained credit and

collection policies that sometimes dealt

harshly with impoverished customers,

Leonard promised a new attitude,

through revised policies and much

stronger community-service efforts.

“Entergy is prepared to go to war on the

larger issues of food, housing, health

care, jobs for the poor.”

The National Fuel Funds Network,

which raises and distributes charitable

energy assistance, honored Leonard’s

efforts in June with its Sister Pat Kelley

Achievement Award. “It is my great

hope that other energy companies will

accept Entergy’s efforts as a personal

challenge to serve all customers with

compassion, dignity, and respect that

will inspire the creation of many new

programs and financial investments

across the country to assist customers

having difficulty with their energy bills,”

“Entergy is prepared to go to war on the larger issues of food, housing, healthcare, and jobs for the poor.”

Leo Denault, Vice President of CorporateDevelopment and Strategic Planning

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting and economics from Ball State in 1982

• MBA from Indiana University in 1983

Renae Proctor Conley, President and CEO of Entergy’s Louisiana Division

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Ball State in 1980

• MBA from Ball Statein 1982


Wayne Leonard will soon be able to add

“Hall of Famer” to his extensive resume.

The CEO of Entergy will be awarded

the most prestigious honor from the

College of Business on November 2 at

the annual Hall of Fame dinner at the Ball

State Alumni Center.

Hall of Fame honorees must hold a

position of distinction in business, govern-

ment, or academe; have demonstrated outstanding success in their

field; be Ball State graduates; be recognized civic leaders; and display

extraordinary service to humankind.

“Wayne Leonard is an exemplar in an era when scandals are

rocking corporate America,” says Lynne Richardson, College of

Business dean.

“He represents all that is good as a CEO: corporate

leadership, social responsibility, and family man.”

Energy, then Cinergy following a merger

with Cincinnati Gas & Electric. All

made it fairly high up that organization’s

corporate ladder before leaving for

Entergy—Leonard first, followed by

Conley and Denault.

The Ball State trio and the other

upper-level managers that Leonard

recruited turned out to be just what

Entergy needed. “When Wayne took

over they had not been putting a lot of

money into the utility, and service had

gone down,” Conley says. Initially,

Conley tackled the company’s disgrun-

tled investors as vice president of

investor relations. “The company had

fallen on hard times on Wall Street.”

Denault, meanwhile, focused on

violations of the code or of laws and

regulations.

Whether Entergy’s leaders honed

their ethics at business school or in their

Midwestern homes, they give a lot of

credit to the Ball State professors they

say inspired them in a variety of ways.

“There were professors who were excited

about what they were teaching and

excited about helping me branch into

other areas,” Denault says.

Denault started out in accounting,

but was inspired to add an economics

College of Business AwardsTop Honor

major by a Ball State professor who

helped him nourish an interest he didn’t

even know he had. The accounting

skills he learned helped him land his

first job, while his economics degree

carried him into the area of strategic

planning that has served him more

recently.

“You had such quality, caring

professors,” Conley agrees. “Classes were

smaller, and you always had a full profes-

sor as your instructor.”

Having learned at Ball State from

kindergarten through graduate school,

Conley has a strong appreciation for the

university’s atmosphere and offerings.

“You get more of a small school with the

benefits of a larger one.”

corporate strategy at a critical juncture

in the energy business. Entergy made

several important decisions about its

direction that turned out to be amaz-

ingly prudent and well-timed. For

example, he says, “we got out of the

telecommunications business we were

in,” and Entergy unloaded other assets

and operations that were deemed to be

outside of its core competencies. The

moves steered Entergy clear of many of

the pitfalls that have injured many of its

industry peers recently.

Ethical lapses have, of course, been

the downfall of numerous American

companies lately, and it’s in the realm of

ethics that Entergy shines especially

brightly. Leonard’s team has written

what it calls a “Code of Entegrity” to

guide employees, and has hired an out-

side firm to operate a toll-free Ethics

Line inviting customers, employees,

investors, and anyone else to report

Wayne Leonard,Entergy CEO

Steve Kaelble is the editor of Indiana Business Magazine.

“Wayne Leonard represents all that is good as a CEO.”


TreasTreasTrash toTrash to

feature


he old adage about oneperson’s trash beinganother one’s treasurecertainly rings true inthe Ball State University

computer lab run by Fred Kitchens,assistant professor of management in theCollege of Business. He focuses oninformation systems.

The room is filled with rows androws of computers, on tables stackedupon tables. The machines are Gate-ways, Dells, Compaqs, and other vari-eties, but they share a common attrib-ute—all are castoffs, having been rele-gated to someone else’s junk pile beforeKitchens’ students took possession.

No, it’s not the handiwork of abunch of eccentric packrats. Appear-ances aside, this collection of misfitcomputers is, in fact, a supercomputer.Kitchens and his students are linking

Ball State businessstudents build a

supercomputerfrom hand-me-down

machinesBy Steve Kaelble

the old computers together to share processing power and create a machinethat’s far greater than the sum of itsobsolete parts. And they’re learning alot in the process.

“I teach a class called SystemsAnalysis and Design,” says Kitchens.“We do a nine-month project, and oneof the student groups came to me and said, ‘We’d like to build a super-computer.’”

The result is the ClusterComputing Research Project, whichmakes use of a computer-linking modelknown as Beowulf that can incorporatejust about any kind of computer. Whileit’s not a new concept—these days themost powerful computers in the worldare, in fact, clusters of computers—put-ting together a Beowulf system is muchmore complicated than installing off-the-shelf software or operating systems.

The project began in the fall of2001, with five students stringingtogether about a dozen secondhand university machines into a Beowulfcomputer cluster running the Linuxoperating system. In the project’s secondphase, students expanded the system,began looking for ways to use the com-puter in research, and started buildingcommunity awareness of the project.Future goals include software develop-ment and partnerships with area businesses that could one day make thesystem available for outside use.

The cluster currently has processingpower similar to that demonstrated byCray supercomputers in 1991, a light-weight by today’s supercomputing stan-dards but nothing to sneeze at whencompared to a current desktop machine.In any case, it’s just the beginning.“We’ll keep adding machines as we getthem,” Kitchens says. And because themachines are donated, the cost is minimal: several hundred dollars thusfar, compared with the seven- or eight-digit price tag a standard supercomputermight carry.

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suresureFa l l 2 0 0 2 ■ B a l l S t a t e b u s i n e s s 14

student and plans to returnfor graduate work. He saysthat in addition to the tech-nical skills the project hastaught, “it has helped ourteam-building skills. Workingtogether to solve problems was one ofour biggest challenges.”

Less obvious lessons have comefrom the project’s community outreach.The students have had to create anddeliver presentations to communityorganizations, seeking support andequipment donations. Johnson says it’s

one thing to give a presentation in class,but quite another “to go out and givethese presentations to other organiza-tions and business professionals.”

Participants also have learned a lot

The skills students are developingthrough the Cluster ComputingResearch Project range from the obviousto the surprising. One goal, Kitchenssays, is to teach about technology. “We are dealing with network issues,equipment issues. Students are gettingskills in troubleshooting, making the oldwork with the new. We had anotherclass on network security and they did asecurity analysis on our system. Andwe’re trying to team up with some computer-science students to write somesoftware,” he says.

“It’s more than just hooking toge-ther a couple of computers,” notes AlanJohnson, a student from Greenwoodwho worked on the project during hissenior year as an information systems

about project management and how to allocate resources, and even more les-sons will come as the students and theirmentor seek new ways to use the super-computer. “All sorts of applications canbe written for research,” Kitchens says,ranging from chemistry to astronomy towarfare simulation to genome and can-cer research.

Especially innovative are the usesthat could spring from this supercom-puter’s connection to the businessschool. “While I would love to haveanybody from any discipline use this, Ireally want to bring this to the businessworld,” Kitchens says. “There are nobusiness applications because businessesthought it was cost prohibitive to use asupercomputer.” The power of super-computing could, for example, be quiteuseful for economic modeling and han-dling such business tasks as data mining.

“This is the first cluster computing course taught at a business school,” says Kitchens. “We bring supercomputing into the business realm.”

Cluster Computing ResearchProject Team Members(standing left to right) StanLynn, Al Johnson, ProfessorFred Kitchens, and ScottStarost. (seated left to right)Kevin Dunn, Rob Moery, andMark Cheeseman

www.clustercomputingresearch.com


dents to get a real hands-on experiencein doing something useful for the busi-ness community, and for them to seehow what they’re learning works in theoutside business world,” she says.

Richardson adds that the project’scommunity outreach initiatives andmedia attention have made more peopleaware of the innovative things happen-ing at the College of Business. “It getsthe Ball State College of Business onpeople’s radar screens.”

In the meantime, real-world compa-nies are finding the project helpful inanother way: equipment disposal.“Businesses are calling us up and saying,‘Please take this stuff. We don’t knowwhat to do with it,’” Kitchens says.“We’ll take anything we can get.”Among those chipping in so far havebeen Raytheon, North AmericanLogistics, Hendricks County Bank &Trust, and the city of Muncie.

Indeed, part of the project’s out-reach has been to try to educate com-puter users about the pollution problemscreated by the disposal of obsolete computers. As much as eighty percent ofAmerica’s secondhand computersreportedly find their way to Asia, wherethey eventually are incinerated, take uplandfill space, or attract scavengers whoapply dangerous acids to extract smallamounts of gold and silver. As the BallState students have pointed out, itmakes much more sense to hook an oldmachine into a supercomputer than todissolve it into toxic waste with acid.

Spreading the word about theCluster Computing Research Project islikely to attract more computer dona-tions, but those involved believe thatbusinesses will also begin to learn thattheir old computers may not be junkafter all. “I do see down the road thatbusinesses will realize that this is anopportunity they can use,” observesScott Starost, a senior information systems major from Fort Wayne. Somecompanies upgrade their computers asoften as every eighteen months, andStarost says they may be able to movetheir old machines into a Beowulf clus-ter instead of junking them. “If theyknow how to utilize them this way, theycan use them to their advantage.”

As the concept catches on, knowl-edge of cluster computing could becomea marketable skill for students such as

Starost. “I would be happy to help acompany implement a Beowulf cluster,”he says.

Such a development would bemusic to the ears of Lynne Richardson,dean of the College of Business. “Wewant our students to be as well preparedas they can be,” she says, “and anyopportunity to put them on the cuttingedge is exciting.”

“I see this as a tremendous opportu-nity for our information systems stu-

Donations of nearly any type of computer

equipment are still greatly appreciated. Due to the flexible

nature of the system, the project can use a wide variety of

hardware, old or new. Pick-up service may be available.

If you have any old equipment or funds that

you would like to donate, please contact:

Fred Kitchens at (765) 285-5305 or

[email protected]

Steve Kaelble is the editor of Indiana Business Magazine.


Society and the Accountancy Board,which oversees the licensing of IndianaCPAs.

Smith recently returned to campus to be honored with the AlumniAssociation’s highest honor—theDistinguished Alumni Award—for hiscontributions to his profession, his com-munity, and Ball State University.

Anthony W. Smith is a senior partner withErnst & Young’s Indianapolis office. Hejoined Ernst & Ernst (the predecessor ofthe current company) in 1968 upon graduation. He spent two years serving inthe armed forces, including a year inVietnam, before rejoining the firm. Among his current interests, Smith is theAlexis de Tocqueville chairman for theUnited Way of Central Indiana and is amotorcycle enthusiast. He and his wifeMarla have endowed an accounting scholarship honoringPaul Parkison.

f only there was anaccounting formulato measure thereturns of a collegeexperience . . .

Talk with Anthony “Tony” W.Smith, partner with Ernst & Young, andyou get a sense his formula wouldinclude simple multiplication, as thereturns for him continue to multiply.

“I look back at where Ball Statehas come from and where Ball State isgoing, and it’s very pleasing for me to be part of it,” says Smith, who graduatedin 1968.

As an accounting undergraduatehe met with his business professors in“North Hall”—an old World War IIArmy barracks—next to the TeachersCollege building. “Even back then youfelt like you were walking back in time,”says Smith of the old gray clapboardstructure.

Today he walks through the newlyimproved business facilities in theWhitinger Building as a member of theCollege of Business Executive AdvisoryBoard. “The students have a seriousenergy about them today; the classroomsare wired for the pace of the Internet;the programs and professors are innova-tive and progressive. It feels like aCollege of Business.”

Audio-visual equipment wasunheard of in the old building, but therewas “technology” in the business schoolin the late 1960s, recalls Smith. “Wehad ten-key adding machines—they

a ride back to campus

bottomline

Iwere our business machines! The com-puter course was a punch card course—that was high tech.”

Like many Ball State accountingalumni, Smith was influenced by long-time accounting chairman PaulParkison. “When most of the seniorswent to take their CPA exams, Paulwent along with us and took the exam,”remembers Smith. “We walked out ofthe sessions to Paul’s mutterings aboutall the correct answers, many of whichwe didn’t get.”

Parkison recently retired after thirty years at Ball State—meanwhileSmith has been with Ernst & Young forthe same duration. Smith feels theirpaths have run parallel.

“In college I knew him as a profes-sor, but soon he became a peer. I canthink back through my career and follow my interactions with Paul veryclosely,” says Smith.

Over the years, Parkison andSmith have both been heavily involved with andhave served as leaders inthe Indiana CPA


College of BusinessExecutive Advisory Board

Stefan AndersonFirst Merchants CorporationMuncie, Indiana

Brent BatmanBall Memorial HospitalMuncie, Indiana

Dana Berghorn ’77Dr. Pepper/7UPDallas, Texas

Jack Campbell ’67MASI, Ltd.Chicago, Illinois

Bruce CowgillSaint-Gobain ContainersMuncie, Indiana

Wil Davis ’75Ontario SystemsMuncie, Indiana

Ken DePaola ’79Chicago TribuneChicago, Illinois

William French ’81Colliers Turley Martin TuckerIndianapolis, Indiana

Jerry GassenOld National BankIndianapolis, Indiana

John Gaylor ’76Gaylor GroupIndianapolis, Indiana

Carl George ’70Clifton GundersonPeoria, Illinois

Craig LadwigIndiana Policy ReviewFort Wayne, Indiana

Michael Laisure ’73Dana CorporationToledo, Ohio

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Wayne Leonard ’73EntergyNew Orleans, Louisiana

Ron McCoyBorg-WarnerMuncie, Indiana

Lyle Miller ’83Morgan Stanley Dean WitterNew York, New York

Matthew Momper ’83Momper InsulationFort Wayne, Indiana

Kent “Oz” Nelson ’59Retired, United Parcel ServiceAtlanta, Georgia

Michael Newbold ’76Bank OneIndianapolis, Indiana

Scott Porter ’75Thunderbird ProductsDecatur, Indiana

Dennis Oklak ’78Duke RealtyIndianapolis, Indiana

Kathie OniealAG Edwards & SonsMuncie, Indiana

Anthony Smith ’68Ernst & YoungIndianapolis, Indiana

Gary Thoe Emmis CommunicationsIndianapolis, Indiana

Sue Ann WerlingMoore Langen Indianapolis, Indiana

Ken White ’71Ernst & Young Corporate FinanceNew York, New York

Ball State University College of Business WB 100Muncie, IN 47306

Phone: (765) 285-8192Fax: (765) 285-5117E-mail: [email protected]: www.bsu.edu/business

College of BusinessMission Statement

The mission of the College of Business isto provide quality and innovative educa-tion that prepares future business leaderswith the knowledge, skills, and abilitiesto meet the challenges of a rapidlychanging business environment.

The College of Business aims toprovide a student-centered environmentwith an integrated curriculum taught byhighly motivated faculty who are activeteacher-scholars in their fields.

The College of Business will ac-tively participate in the wider communi-ty and maintain close relationships withthe university, the business community,and its alumni.


Ball State Business contributing writers: Mary G. Barr, Susan Holloway,Steve Kaelble, Nancy Prater, and MarcRansford.

Photo Credits: John Huffer, MichaelHickey, and Don Rogers/Ball StateUniversity Photo Services; Michael MauerPhotography, Inc.; David Muir/Masterfile;Boden-Leadingham/Masterfile; Bill Varie/Corbis.

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