DividendThe official online magazine of the Carson College of Business
Students
Brian Bickel, a senior majoring in management and finance, received the Rom J Markin Entrepreneurship Scholarship, McAllister Total Quality Management Scholarship and the Stanley C. Rall Investment Management Scholarship to support his business studies within the Carson College. Bickel was a founding member of the Carson College’s student ambassador program and currently is the student vice president of the Harold Frank Institute as well as chairman of the Students Book Corporation Board of Directors. He is also active within the professional business fraternity, Alpha Kappa Psi. This past summer he was a Boeing lean practitioner intern working for Rich DeLappe (’03 Hotel & Restaurant Administration). Through this opportunity, Bickel gained great insight into the aerospace manufacturing industry while refining his business analysis skills and catalyzing his passion for business innovation. Bickel expects to graduate in spring 2017. “Now in my final year of school, the advice I always offer my freshman and sophomore friends is to never underestimate the generosity and opportunity that can be found at WSU Pullman,” Bickel says.
The Beta Alpha Psi Board of Directors recently recognized advisors Brandon Holbrook and Nori Pearson, and the WSU Delta Epsilon Chapter as an internationally Distinguished Chapter for successful efforts during the 2015-2016 academic year. Recognition as a Distinguished Chapter is a significant accomplishment. Under Pearson’s leadership, the Delta Epsilon Chapter has far exceeded the baseline requirements of Beta Alpha Psi and has excelled in the areas of academics, professionalism, and leadership. “As faculty advisor for the chapter, Pearson has provided an invaluable service to your academic institution,” said Merle Hopkins, national Beta Alpha Psi president.
Breanna Hendrickson, a senior studying hospitality business management, received the $5,000 Network of Executive Women in Hospitality (NEWH) Women Leaders in Hospitality Scholarship. Hendrickson was honored Nov. 14 during the “Boutique Design Power Players: Women Leaders in Hospitality Breakfast and Panel Discussion” at the Javits Center during the Boutique Design New York trade fair/conference. Read more.
Suzi Billington, front left, with WSU students as the Boeing Future of Flight Museum.
In October, the Carson College took 18 students to Boeing’s Future of Flight Museum for the kickoff meeting of the WSU Boeing Mentorship Program and the Boeing Scholars Program. “All of the Boeing mentors are WSU alumni and very committed to helping current students prepare for their future careers,” says Suzi Billington, director of the Carson Center for Student Success. Eight business students were selected from a competitive application process to participate and meet with a Boeing mentor working in the student’s area of interest. Ten Carson students in the Boeing Scholars Program received scholarships. Under the direction of Marie Mayes, director of the WSU Center for Entrepreneurship, Carson students will work in cross-functional teams with engineering and communication students to address real challenges facing Boeing. Projects include cost modeling software, improving de-icing, and wing-tip visualization. In addition to the 37 Pullman Boeing mentees and scholars from business, engineering, economics, and communications, students from WSU North Puget Sound at Everett, Bremerton, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver campuses also attended the event.
From left Khoa Tran, Eli Geranios, Paige Elizabeth Olinger, Margaret Wallace, and Professor Mario Reyes.
In October, Mario Reyes, finance professor, took a team of students to Seattle to practice their business analysis skills in preparation for the CFA Institute Research Challenge, an annual global competition providing university students with hands-on mentoring and intensive financial analysis training. Undergraduates entering the competition register Reyes’s special topic class to receive 10 hours of instruction and participate in learning journeys to Seattle finance and investment companies prior to analyzing the company assigned by the competition. The team chose Starbucks to practice their analysis and stock reporting. During the learning journey, the team visited Tom Shaw, Starbucks’ vice president for investor relations, Melanie Cantu, vice president for financial planning, and Rachel Portillo, cold coffee innovation senior brand manager, two of Reyes’s former students. They also visited Verus, a Seattle investment firm, to interview Jeffrey Scott, chief investment officer, who in turn introduced Carson College finance alumni Andrew Akers (’14), Eric Crowder (’12), Scott Curry (’09), Jessica Magstadt (’11), and Austin Smith (’14) to the students. The local competition will be held in Spokane in early spring 2017, with the winners advancing to the Americas Regional Competition April 6-7, 2017 in Seattle. Winners of the regional competition will advance to the global finale April 28, 2017 in Prague.
Alumni
Jason Butcherite (’12 Hospitality Business Management) received executive chef certification from the American Culinary Federation. Certification identifies chefs who have demonstrated culinary competence and expertise through education, work experience, knowledge and skills that are consistent with chefs performing at the highest levels in the industry. Certification was a rigorous process that required him to pass a written exam as well as a comprehensive cooking evaluation, which included making a traditional three-course meal.
Nick Huzar, (’99 Management Information Systems) was featured in Geekwire’s Nov. 4 article “Fast-growing OfferUp Breaks Silence with $90M in Funding, Goes after Craigslist.” Huzar is the chief executive officer and cofounder of OfferUp, one of the Seattle area’s most valuable, and fastest growing startups that has reached more than $90 million in total funding. The firm’s mission is to be the simplest, most trustworthy place for people to buy and sell locally.
Traci Mercer (’09 Executive MBA) was featured in TravelDailyNews.com’s Dec. 2 article “Sabre Taps Traci Mercer to Lead B2B Digital Commerce for Hotel, Car, Cruise and Rail.” Mercer will focus on defining a strategic direction and commercial initiatives to cater to the needs of lodging, hospitality, ground and sea transportation providers, ensuring Sabre is developing industry leading technology that meets distribution and e-commerce needs of this customer segment.
Glenn Osterhaut accepting the 2016 William F. “Biff” Brotherton Cougar Spirit Award
Glenn Osterhout (’82 Business, Marketing), CougsFirst! chairman, received the WSU 2016 William F. “Biff” Brotherton Spirit Award honoring special individuals who demonstrate generous philanthropic support and enthusiastic volunteerism on behalf of Cougar Athletics and WSU.
From left: Cary Carmichael, Sarah Beaudry, Jamie Callison, Adam Korner, Lynn Carmichael, Katrina Barone.
At the November Feast of the Arts event, Lynn Carmichael (’73), general manager at Hobart Sales and Service, and his daughter Katrina Barone (’06), made another very generous donation to the School of Hospitality Business Management, to expand equipment in the hospitality teaching kitchen. They donated a Hobart meat grinder attachment with all the needed parts, and a 20 gallon stock pot valued to replace the kitchen’s current one, which is about 35 years old. The family also donated four sets of high end knives for Chef Jamie Callison to award to a deserving student during each Feast of the Arts dinner. Last year, the family donated a new Hobart Hs9 automatic slicer to the teaching kitchen in recognition of Callison’s dedicated to teaching and to support future culinary professionals.
Faculty/Staff
Jesus Bravo, clinical assistant professor of management, information systems, and entrepreneurship at WSU Tri-Cities, was honored by WSU Provost Dan Bernardo as Featured Faculty Members at the Oct. 1 football game against Oregon. “I am given the wonderful opportunity to engage students on many levels,” he says. “To teach students, mentor students, and provide support through internship projects and Master’s theses is a privilege. I am so lucky to be able to learn through my research but also to be able to make a difference in the lives of people through my teaching.”
Michelle Carter, assistant professor of management, information systems, and entrepreneurship at WSU North Puget Sound at Everett, was selected receive the 2016 AIS Early Career Award. The award recognizes individuals in the early stages of their careers who have already made outstanding research, teaching, and/or service contributions to the field of information systems. A committee of senior AIS scholars reviewed the many nominations that they received and selected the award winners. The award was conferred at the International Conference on Information Systems in Dublin.
Michael Curry, assistant clinical professor of management, information systems, and entrepreneurship, spoke at the WSU Vancouver Society of Information Systems Club’s “Demystifying MIS” event, presenting on the topic of change within information systems and growing opportunities for MIS graduates. Thirty-seven students participated, and seven more students joined the club as a result of the event.
Dogan Gursoy, professor of hospitality business management, gave a keynote address “Tourism Research in a New Era: Progress and Prospects” at the 2nd International Conference on Tourism Science in Guangzhou, China.
“The Use of Big Data by the IRS: Efficient Solution or the End of Privacy as We Know It” coauthored by Kim Houser, assistant clinical professor of business law, and coauthor Debbe Sanders, professor of accounting at WSU Vancouver, was accepted for publication by the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law.
Gene Lai, chair of the Department of Finance and Management Science, became president of Asia Pacific Risk and Insurance in August, 2016, one of three major associations in risk management and insurance area. As the former president of American Risk and Insurance Association (2010 – 2011), he is the only person who has been president of both associations.
Marketing professors Darrel Muehling, Jeff Joireman, and Dominique Braxton, UCI Paul Merage School of Business doctoral candidate, recently published “The Effects of Processing Mode and Brand Scandals on Copycat Product Evaluations” in the Journal of Marketing Communications. In the paper, the researchers explain that when copycat products are located next to a leading brand, they are generally evaluated less favorably. However, when the national leading brand encounters a “scandal” such as a severe product failure that harms consumers, it is better for the copycat to be located close to the leading brand rather than away from it, due to a tendency for consumers to contrast the copycat with the leading brand.
