College of Business Newsletter

October 21, 2005

From the Deans Office:

Fall semester speeds along as we are in the middle of the semester. Things seem to be running along quite smoothly with usual bursts of activity surrounding events. The current bustle surrounds graduation application deadlines and registration for spring semester classes.

Homecoming Weekend is just around the corner. Saturday, October 29 is the focal day of the weekend with an Alumni Breakfast on Saturday morning from 8:30 - 10:30 in the UC Grandroom. It is continental style breakfast with various areas around the ballroom identified for the various colleges. There is no cost for the breakfast and we’d love to have you join us. If you are joining us, we’d appreciate an RSVP ASAP (magill@email.wcu.edu) so we can plan numbers for food service details. The football game that day is against Elon University and kickoff time is 2:00 p.m. For further information, visit alumni.wcu.edu

Alumni news:

Carolyne (Dockery) Pelton (BSBA,’99; MBA,’00) currently works as Chief Operation Officer for Connell Donatelli, a full service marketing agency in Alexandria, VA.

Philip Carpenter (BSBA,’03) has recently accepted a position with Transportation Insight.

Accountancy & Finance Entrepreneurship News:

The WCU Finance Major Advisory Board will meet at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville on Friday, November 4. They will be discussing incorporating a Banking Concentration within the Finance Major.

The Allied Academies had a very successful conference last week in Las Vegas, NV. There were 200 registrants and many new faces.

Sue Swanger and Beth Jones presented instructional case studies at the Allied Academies fall conference.  Swanger presented “Accounting for Capital Formation: Financial Accounting, Income Tax and Auditing Is sues of Related Party Loans at Unrealistic Interest Rates” (co-authored by David Coffee and Roger Lirely).  Jones presented “The Case of the Diminishing Budget” (co-authored by Gary Jones).

Frank Lockwood also attended the Allied Academies Conference and presented a paper entitled "Can Entrepreneurship and Small Business Education Effect Rates of Recidivism and the Economic Prosperity of Released Inmates?" 

Frank Lockwood’s case study entitled "Fraud Investigation Detective Agency" has been accepted for publication in Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice.

Jo Ann Carland, Director of the Master of Entrepreneurship (ME) program, reports that Cohort 3 of the Masters of Entrepreneurship has enrolled approximately 60 students. The new cohort looks very much like a cross section of the first two cohorts. It has younger students who have recently graduated and older students, the oldest is in the early sixties. There is a great deal of enthusiasm generated by the cross-generational discussions of folks with a wide range of business experiences, both in years and type of experiences. Many of the students already have their own businesses and report that they love the practical approach the program offers and they are learning much. The last comment from a multi-millionaire commercial real estate developer from California. This cohort is more dispersed than the second in that students come from Canada, California, New Mexico, Arizona and Maryland as well as North Carolina. We are delighted with our new cohort and look forward to learning much from them as we take this rewarding journey together.

ME Cohort 2 reports a continuation of successful ventures with one husband and wife team celebrating their first grape harvest and first wine production from that harvest in eastern NC. A Charlotte member reports continued success with her consulting and the excitement of celebrating her first year in business. Other success stories abound as well. We are very proud to be a part of their excitement.

ME Cohort 1, which was based in Asheville, still meets once a month to discuss new ideas, network and stay involved with each other. What a gift we have been given with the ME program.

A sad note from our Distance Undergraduate cohort which graduated in the spring: Lenore Sochacki, a student at WPCC, passed away in September after a valiant fight with cancer. The group supported her by videotaping the classes and keeping her involved so that she could complete the course and graduate with them. She even presented her part of the group presentation in the final class even though she completed a bout of chemo on Friday before her presentation on Monday. We suggested that she videotape her part for presentation, but she said that she had worked with her group on all the projects and she wanted to be a part of the final presentation for her degree. As a 50 year old place bound adult, she truly wanted her degree and we are so very happy that she was successful in her endeavor.

NEXT NEWSLETTER – November 4