As I close in on completing my second year as Dean of the College of Business, I am energized by the passion of our students, faculty and alumni. We are truly building a preeminent business school with a focus on international acclaim and individual attention. Of course, a hallmark of a preeminent business school is its internationally acclaimed alumni. Florida State University has thousands of extraordinary alumni, and I am pleased to announce three such individuals will be honored as our 2008 COB Hall of Fame inductees: Meg Gilbert Crofton ('74 BS in marketing, '75 MBA), president, Walt Disney World Resorts; James L. Massey ('65 BS in finance), retired, vice chairman, Salomon Brothers; and Bruce Redditt ('75 BS in marketing), executive vice president, Omnicom Group. These alumni will be officially inducted into a prestigious group of business leaders on Saturday, April 19, at the Hall of Fame Dinner & Ceremony.
As many of you know, the State of Florida is suffering from a budget crisis that has already negatively impacted the College of Business during this fiscal year. The College has returned more than $700,000 from this year's budget and has an additional $700,000 that is being held for return from the same budget. To date, we have cut more than 40 phone lines (including my direct line), closed the undergraduate student computer lab, reduced our adjunct budget by half and have not filled several faculty lines. We thank all of you who have provided, and continue to provide, private support to help us retain some of our key faculty. For the university's response to the crisis, see www.fsu.com/financial_crisis.
NEW INITIATIVES IN THE COLLEGE
I would like to thank our donors for their generosity. Without this support, our new initiatives would not be possible especially in light of our current budget crisis. Their goodwill advances the College toward its goal of becoming a preeminent business school.
Center Established
On Jan. 16, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation established the Gene Taylor/Bank of America Center for
Banking and Financial Studies with a grant of $2,000,001. Bank of America has been a generous supporter of the
College, previously providing more than $2 million in gifts that have grown into nearly $5 million in various
endowments over the past several years. These funds support the Bank of America Eminent Scholar Chair, two
professorships, a new internship initiative and other continuous improvement projects. This new $2 million will be
in line to be matched dollar-for-dollar by state funds. The Center will be housed in the Finance Department and
will be used to encourage excellence in education, research and service activities related to banking and
finance. Bill Christiansen, chair of the Department of Finance and the Bank of America Professor of Finance, will
serve as the director of the Center, and Yingmei Cheng, associate professor in the Department of Finance, will
serve as the assistant director. (Read the story, watch the story, watch the check presentation, or view the photos.)
First Annual E-Day Held
The Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship held its first annual Entrepreneurship Day (E-Day) on Feb. 1.
Providing the opportunity for students to network with local and regional entrepreneurs, the event included a
featured speaker, roundtable discussions and a keynote presentation. Entrepreneurs participating in this well attended
event were Tim Gannon (keynote speaker), co-founder of Outback Steakhouse; Timothy J. O'Brien
(featured speaker), O'Brien-Silvestri Construction, Inc.; Bobby Boeneke, Residential Elevators; Bryan Desloge,
Desloge Home Oxygen & Medical Equipment; Ed Eckland, IRBsearch, LLC; Chad Gardner, Super-Suds Car Wash;
John Perry, Medical-Enterprise Development Group; Steve Roden, LearnSomething, Inc.; Beth Tedio, Uptown
Café & Catering; Doug Tatum, Tatum Partners; Doug Dunlap, FuelMaster; Joe Douglas, 131 Main Restaurants; Mike Vaughn, 131 Main Restaurants; and Nick Guillaume, Gameplan Financial Marketing. The Entrepreneurship
Program in the College has recently been moved from the Department of Finance to the Department of
Management. Plans include revamping the curriculum to focus on becoming one of the top entrepreneurship
programs in the country within five years. (Read the story, listen to the radio interview, see the photos.)
Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities Seeks Additional Funds
The College is pleased to announce its involvement in the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities(EBV). The EBV offers cutting-edge, experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management to
Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines disabled as a result of their service supporting operations Enduring Freedom
and Iraqi Freedom. The program consists of an online study, a nine-day residency at one of the four EBV universities
and 12 months of ongoing support and mentorship from faculty experts at the EBV universities. The College is part
of a consortium of schools offering EBV on their campuses beginning summer 2008. The EBV program was successfully
launched this past summer by the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University and has partnered for
2008 with UCLA's Anderson School of Management, the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University and the
College of Business at Florida State University. The College has received funding to initiate the program for this
summer but is seeking individuals or corporations that would like to fund the program fully and on a continuous
basis. If you are interested in finding out more about the EVB program, please contact Randy Blass, program
director, at (850) 644-7859 or rblass@cob.fsu.edu. If you are interested in funding opportunities, please contact Jill Ashton, director of development, at (850) 694-3679 or jcashton@cob.fsu.edu.
Inaugural Real Estate Market Strategies Forum
The inaugural Tampa Bay Area Real Estate Market Strategies Forum, scheduled for Feb. 21 at the Tampa Westshore
Marriott, has been "sold out." The annual forum was organized to discuss the Tampa Bay area commercial real
estate market, evaluate business strategies and identify opportunities. The featured panelists include: Allen de
Olazarra, chairman and chief executive officer, America's Capital Partners; Robert Merck, senior managing
director, Real Estate and Agricultural Investments, MetLife, Inc.; and Steve Wallace, managing director, U.S.
Central Region, Cornerstone Advisers, LLC. Mike Davis, executive director of Cushman & Wakefield, is serving as
the moderator. The event is organized by the FSU Center for Real Estate Education & Research, with generous
assistance from Robert Hernandez, NorthMarq Capital, Inc.; Patrick Kelly, Rubin Real Estate, Inc.; and Larry
Richey, Cushman & Wakefield of Florida, Inc. Sponsors include: Shutts & Bowen, LLP; Tampa Bay Business Journal;
BB&T/Grandbridge Real Estate Capital; and Stewart Title Guaranty Company.
Branding Update
The Zimmerman Agency presented its activation and creative plans to the College in December. We are excited
to announce our tagline, International Acclaim. Individual Attention. The tagline will not always appear in print,
but the theme of "international acclaim and individual attention" will be emphasized in all creative materials.
On our limited budget, we are targeting academia, the business community and prospective students through
awareness advertisements in BusinessWeek (March and November -in the Southeast U.S.), U.S. News & World
Report (August – also in the Southeast) and BizEd (Sept/Oct). We also have a direct mail/email piece that is
targeting the academic community, alumni and friends of the College, which is scheduled to be mailed this
month. I am very excited about how far we have come in such a short time.
COLLEGE NEWS
Disney Executive Speaks to Students
Meg Crofton, president, Walt Disney World Resort, was the fall speaker for the Charles A. Bruning Distinguished
Speaker Series. (Listen to the presentation.)
Evan Jennings Executive Speaker
Duane Stiller, president of Woolbright Development, spoke to students in January as part of the Evan Jennings Executive Series in Real Estate. Woolbright Development holds and manages the seventh largest portfolio of
Florida retail properties.
Real Estate Program has New Executive-in-Residence
Michael Pou, president of Habersham Capital Advisors, Inc., is serving this semester as an executive-in-residence
in the Real Estate Program. Pou, who has developed more than 50 commercial properties in the southeast, is
working with student teams in the MBA program's real estate investments class taught by Dean Gatzlaff.
New Accounting Rankings
Our highly ranked accounting department continues to garner more accolades. According to the 2007 National
Association of State Boards of Accountancy, FSU's accounting majors had the 15th highest pass rate for any
school in the U.S. among first-time candidates without advanced degrees. We also had the 4th highest pass rate
in the U.S. in the Auditing Section of the exam and the 10th highest in the Business and Environment and Concepts
Section on the exam among repeat candidates without advanced degrees. This is exceptional performance!
Distinguished Ph.D. Alumni Award
We are proud to announce Archie Carroll as the College's newest Distinguished Ph.D. Alumni Award recipient.
The award was established in 2007 for the purpose of recognizing high-quality Ph.D. graduates and their professional
achievements. The award honors alumni who have used their education and experience to achieve significant
levels of success and distinction through their high level of performance. Carroll received his Ph.D. in management
in 1972. He is the Robert W. Scherer Professor of Management Emeritus in the Terry College of Business at the
University of Georgia and director of the Nonprofit Management & Community Service Program. The award will
be presented on Friday, Feb. 29.
Dedman School of Hospitality Career Fair
Held on Jan. 30, the Dedman School once again hosted a successful career fair with more than 140 industry
participants and 200 students engaged in career discussions and internship opportunities. The industry participants
represented more than 50 companies, including some of the industry's world-class organizations. This career fair
is one of the most important events held each year that helps maintain a near 100-percent job placement
record.
Former Accounting Faculty Member Dies
It is with great sadness that we inform you of the death of Dr. Homer Black, retired accounting professor and
department chair. He died on Jan. 31, 2008.
Announcing New Endowed Chairs
One of our key indicators of success is the ability to retain our high-quality faculty. Endowed chair positions provide us this opportunity. We are pleased to announce two of our best faculty were recently appointed to endowed chair positions.
President T.K. Wetherell has appointed Pamela L. Perrewé (MAN) as the Haywood and Betty Taylor Eminent Scholar in Business Administration. The Haywood and Betty Taylor Eminent Scholar Chair was established by Haywood and Betty Taylor and was recently fully funded. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor's main objective in establishing the chair was to promote and retain the very best business faculty. Perrewé's record in teaching, research and service is exemplary and clearly meets the University, College and donor's objectives. Perrewé has served as chair of the Management Department, associate dean of Graduate Programs, chair of the Doctoral Policy Committee and currently as the chair of the Doctoral Policy Committee and the director of the Human Resource Management Center. She has published more than 85 refereed journal articles, 20 book chapters, two books, and served as an editor of 10 research series and journal special issues. Due to her research accomplishments and scholarly reputation, Perrewé was selected as a Distinguished Research Professor at Florida State University, a member of the elite Society of Organizational Behavior Scholars, Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Fellow of the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology, and recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award from her alma mater, the University of Nebraska.
Joe Cronin (MAR) has been selected the John R. Kerr Research Chair in Marketing. The chair's purpose is to provide support for the research and teaching efforts of an outstanding professor in marketing. Cronin's research record is exemplary as it reflects a consistent stream of high-quality research published in marketing's premier outlets. He is ranked 12th among the top marketing scholars in terms of average annual citations. In particular, his work in service quality is frequently among the most cited in the marketing discipline. Furthermore, Cronin excels in mentoring and placing doctoral students, and he has been nominated for graduate teaching and mentoring awards on numerous occasions. The chair was established by the late Charles A. Bruning in honor of John R. Kerr. Dr. Kerr was a professor at FSU for more than 30 years, and Bruning considered him instrumental to his business success.
Announcing New Professorships
Endowed professorships help us reward productive faculty as well as retain these faculty at Florida State University. We have made a conscious effort to increase the number of professorships available to our faculty.
Gary Benesh (FIN) has been named the SunTrust Professor. A faculty member at FSU since 1981, Benesh has published in the discipline's best journals and has served on more than 40 dissertations (chairing or co-chairing 10). Most recently, Benesh has taken on an extraordinary teaching and service load, ensuring our Department of Finance and the College can achieve our shared vision.
Mike Brady (MAR) has been appointed as the Carl DeSantis Professor of Business Administration. Brady enjoys an outstanding research record and a growing reputation in the field. His research is widely cited by marketing academics around the globe. Brady also excels in teaching and service — he won the University Teaching Award for 2005-2006, the Academy of Marketing Science Outstanding Teaching Award for 2007, and the Joan Raley Service Award for 2007. Additionally, Brady was part of Ohio State University's Featured Scholars Series and is slated as the keynote speaker at Purdue University's National Conference for Agribusiness.
Wayne Hochwarter (MAN) has been named the Jim Moran Professor of Management. Hochwarter is an outstanding teacher and scholar, and his service to the College has been exemplary. Hochwarter has published more than 100 articles and book chapters and made over 50 presentations around the country in the past ten years. His research on abusive bosses, generation conflict, parental guilt, hurricane stress and chronic pain has been covered extensively by major newspapers and business publications.
David Paradice (MIS) has been appointed the Sprint Professor of MIS. Paradice, who also serves as chair for the Department of Management Information Systems, has co-authored more than 21 books and publications and 28 refereed journal articles. He also serves as the editor-in-chief for the International Journal of Information Technology and the Systems Approach and associate editor for the Information Resources Management Journal. Additionally, Paradice has served on more than 40 dissertations, chairing or co-chairing 14 of them.
Annette Ranft (MAN) has been named the Jim Moran Professor of Management and selected as the new chair in the Department of Management. Additionally, Ranft serves as the chair of the Strategy Process Interest Group for the Strategic Management Society and is the secretary for the Strategy Division of the Academy of Management. Recently, she was invited to serve on the Academy of Management Review Editorial Review Board (AMR), the leading publication for management theory in the world. Ranft's growing professional reputation provides outstanding visibility for FSU, our College and Department.
Faculty Making a Difference
The EdVentures Honda Project Student Team, led by John Brennan (MAR), received Honorable Mention in this past fall's national competition. For the team's effort and performance, EdVenture Partners presented the Department of Marketing with a $2,500 donation.
Michael Hartline (MAR) is teaching a unique MBA course this spring semester. The course, Managing the Business Environment, features a number of prominent executives (including many COB alumni) discussing their approach to managing certain sectors of the business environment (media, government, shareholders, society, etc.). The course deals with the under-appreciated side of marketing that does not deal directly with end users or buyers. Executives participating include Chuck Hardwick (retired senior vice president of Worldwide Corporate Affairs, Pfizer, Inc.), Doug Dunlap (president, Syn-Tech/FuelMaster, Inc.), Bill Smith (president, Capital City Bank Group), Bruce Redditt, (executive vice president, Omnicom Group), Bob Sasser (president and chief financial officer, Dollar Tree, Inc.), and Rich Bagger (senior vice president, Worldwide Public Affairs and Policy, Pfizer, Inc.).
Bill Hillison (ACG) was named the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants' "Educator of the Year."
Tim Holcomb (MAN) received the Irene M. McCarthy Award for the Best Paper on the topic of high technology for his paper titled, "Resources, Industry Membership, and Firm Performance: The Role of Capability Configurations in Value Creation For IPO Stage New Ventures," which was presented at the Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference in Madrid.
Gary Knight (MAR) was recently ranked as the world's 26th most prolific author in international business based on publications in the field's top six journals from 1996-2006. Furthermore, based on Gary's efforts, FSU ranked #29 in the world and #14 in the U.S. as the most prolific institution in international business research. Additionally, Knight's new textbook, "International Business: Strategy, Management, and the New Realities," which he coauthored with two professors from Michigan State, has been published by Pearson/Prentice-Hall.
Bruce Lamont (MAN) is the new associate dean for Graduate Programs, replacing Pat Maroney (RMI) who is the inaugural director of our new Florida Catastrophic Storm Risk Management Center. Lamont was previously the chair for the Department of Management.
Mary Jane Ryals (MAN) was named the first Poet Laureate of the Big Bend.
Stacy Sirmans (RMI) was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Southern Finance Association.
Chad Van Iddekinge (MAN) has been invited to join the Personnel/Human Resource Research Group, an invitation only group of active scholars from the best research programs who meet to present and discuss their current and planned research projects.
DEVELOPMENT
Private support for the College is essential as we move toward preeminence. One excellent way to make a difference is to leave a bequest in your estate. This ensures future generations of college students benefit from this generosity. Thanks to Tim Falzone who has made a bequest gift of $500,000 for General College Support, and George and Jane Morgan who have made a substantial estate gift to the Dedman School of Hospitality.
We also want to thank Jim and Linda Owens who gave an additional gift of $100,000 to the Jim & Linda Owens Scholarship to support both undergraduate and graduate students through scholarships, fellowships and assistantships.
Florida Trend magazine provided an in-kind gift in the amount of $20,160 through advertising space for the Real Estate Program.
Thanks for all you continue to do for the College. We look forward to sharing more good news with you in another 100 days. Enjoy the end of winter.
Caryn