WCU COB Newsletter -01/30/2006-

January marked the beginning of a new year for the College of Business. A couple new appointments were made which took effect on January 1. Dr. Michael Smith was named Director of the MBA program succeeding Dr. Phil Little in that role. Dr. Little continues to serve as the Director of the Master of Accountancy program. Dr. James DeConinck was named the first Director of the Center for Professional Selling and Marketing. The Center is located on the second floor of the Center for Applied Technology. See the complete press release at http://www.wcu.edu/pubinfo/news/2006/MBApersonnel.htm

Business Law seniors, Heather Weaver and Brian Weaver’s, abstract entitled “Stolen People: The Scary World of Identify Theft” has been accepted for oral presentation at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research to be held in Asheville this spring. The Weavers are also planning a campus-wide panel discussion on the issue of identity theft later this spring. More details to come!

A look at recent activities and accomplishments of the College of Business faculty

”William Perry’s paper, “ How ISO/ICE 17799 Can be Used for Base Lining Information Assurance Among Entities Using Data Mining for Defense, Homeland Security, Commercial and other Civilian/Commercial Domains,” was selected for presentation during the Defense & Security Symposium being held in Orlando this April. The Symposium has multiple tracks including Technologies for Homeland Security, Battle space Technologies, Tactical and Laser Sensors, Intelligent and Unmanned Systems, Modeling and Simulation, Information Fusion, Data Mining and Information Networks Security Related Technologies.

Steve Henson and Debra Burke published an article, “ Legal and Regulatory Education and Training Needs in the Healthcare Industry,” in Jona’s Healthcare, Law, Ethics & Regulation.

Cynthia S. Deale from Hospitality & Tourism was a co-author of a poster session presented at the Hospitality & Tourism Graduate Research Conference in Seattle, Washington on January 6, 2006. The paper was titled "Assessing the Relationship of CEO Compensation and Company Financial Performance in the Restaurant Industry." The co-authors were Nelson Barber, a graduate student, and Dr. Richard Ghiselli, an associate professor, both of Purdue University.

Jayne Zanglein, Nancy Lasher, from The College of New Jersey, and Jaimini Desai, a student of TCNJ, co-authored an article titled, "OECD Principles for Corporate Governance and Implications for U.S. Institutional Investors." It was published by NYU Review of Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation in January.

Jane Zanglein's proposal, "Pension Funds and Economic Development in Western Carolina" was accepted as part of the inaugural IEF (Institute for the Economy and the Future) Policy Paper Series.

“Transactional Economics: John Dewey’s Ways of Knowing and the Radical Subjectivism of the Austrian School,” by Robert F. Mulligan, has been accepted by Education and Culture: the Journal of the John Dewey Society. "The Austrian Business Cycle: a Vector Error-correction Model with Commercial and Industrial Loans," has just been published in the Journal of Private Enterprise (Fall 2005) 22(1): pp. 51-91.

Lorrie Willey administered WCU’s first practice LSAT test on January 21 st. Six students took the practice exam on a rainy Saturday morning and were pleased with the opportunity. Students agreed that the practice test was very helpful in preparing for the real thing! The practice test will be offered again next fall, two weeks before the LSAT national testing.

LAW 230 Legal Environment of Business is getting wired! Lorrie Willey’s proposal to develop LAW 230 as an offering for the Distance Learning Online Bridge Program has been accepted. She will be developing the class this semester and will teach the class online this summer.

Debra Burke’s Business Transactions class visited the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta in December. They were able to tour the facility, and were the first group to try out some new hands-on exhibits. An attorney for the Federal Reserve spoke to them about new legal complications in the law of negotiable instruments resulting from imaging technologies.

Russ Yelton (MBA, 2002), director of ABTech’s Small Business Center, was elected chairman of the Mountain South Incubator Alliance. The Alliance was formed to assist companies in selling their products and services on a regional basis, as well as share best practices for incubator managers. The Small Business Center also was named Referral Partner of the Year through an award from Mountain Microenterprise Fund.

Accounting major/graduate Heather Spears started her new job at Whisnant & Company, LLP in Hickory, North Carolina on January 3. Her accountant position has started out with Spears preparing corporate and partnership tax returns and compiling financial statements for clients. She loves all aspects her new job, including the fact that she has her own office!

Lindsey Metcalf (BSBA-Accounting, 2001; MAc, 2002) was married to Charles Dills, Jr. on October 15, 2005. Lindsey is a CPA and is employed by Sam Underwood, CPA in Waynesville. Charles is employed by Smith’s Aerospace in Asheville. Congratulations, Lindsey and Charles!

Renee Allen (BSBA-Accounting, 2003) recently announced her engagement to Jonathan Rowland. Renee recently graduated from WCU with a Masters degree in Physical Therapy and is employed by Haywood Regional Medical Center in Haywood County. An April 29 wedding is planned. Congratulations Renee and Jonathan!

February 20, 2006, 5:00 p.m., UC Theatre – Ken Yarbrough will be with us again to talk about ads and the advertising industry.