W. Howard Lester, left & Richard Robertson, President of Time Warner & member of VCU Board of Visitors

VISITING EXECUTIVE

WILLIAMS-SONOMA Chief Visits School of Business
Students Express Inspiration and Appreciation

Over 300 students, faculty, staff and guests crowded the Commonwealth Ballroom on October 24 to hear Howard Lester, Chairman of the Board of Williams-Sonoma tell the Williams-Sonoma story and why he feels creativity is lacking in retail marketing today. Lester is credited with taking Williams-Sonoma from $4 million in revenue to $3.5 billion today. Williams-Sonoma is the fourth largest catalog company in the U.S. today.. Nearly 60 guests and retail business executives heard Lester speak at an 8 a.m. breakfast and another 70 graduate students heard him at 11 a.m.
A Photo Story at http://www.bus.vcu.edu/news/lester_2005.html will take you through Mr. Lester’s campus visit.

CO-OP SKILLS BUILD LEADERSHIP

“The Real World: Leadership Skills for the Job Market of the Future” was presented by Glenn Davis ’86, President and CEO of BranCore Technologies on October 3 at a special University Career Center workshop. Glenn described how his cooperative education experience as a VCU student led him to a successful career as an entrepreneur.

Cheryl Melton introduced Glenn Davis who she placed in his first cooperative education position. Mrs. Melton formerly was director of the University Career Center and retired in 2003 after 33 years in education.

VCU HONORS FACULTY AND STAFF

Eight individuals from School of Business received service awards at the VCU annual service award reception on October 27. They were Dr. Michael Sesnowitz for five years; Tina M. Babb for 10 years; Suzanne Gallagher for 15 years; and Sallie Reese for 20 years. Jill D. Kramer and Brenda Sullivan celebrated 25 years, Tom Rose 30 years and Dr. Edward Coffman 40 years. This annual program honors as many as 1,500 VCU and VCU Health System faculty and staff. For a complete list of recipients click on http://www.hr.vcu.edu/reward/2005_Service_Awards_Alpha.html

BUSINESS/STUDENT NETWORKING RECEPTION

In a relaxed atmosphere, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. on Monday, November 14, alumni and and guests will have an opportunity to meet and share advice with juniors, seniors and graduate students on starting and developing a career in business. Previous networking activities have been well attended drawing 80-100 students, with 25-35 company representatives and alumni participating. The event will be held in the VCU Student Commons, 907 Floyd Avenue, Commonwealth Ballroom B. There is no cost to attend. The reception is sponsored by Apex Systems, Inc. and the School of Business Alumni Board. For additional information about this event contact Katherine Oliver at 804-828-1485 or lkoliver@vcu.edu

NEXT TECH TUESDAY – IT PLANNING

The next Tech Tuesday meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 15 in Room 1132, School of Business building. Nida S. Davis, Chief Architect, Enterprise Architecture, Richmond Federal Reserve, will present “IT Strategic Planning and Business Alignment.” Registration is helpful, but not required. For registration or additional information call Maureen Carley at (804)828-7074
or email at mecarley@vcu.edu

STEVEN FLICK BATTLING FOR STARDOM

School of Business freshman Steven Flick is one of nine contestants currently competing in New York City for an opportunity of a lifetime – the opportunity to found and operate his own record label with the Warner Music Group.

Steven’s quest came to light in the October 27 Richmond Times Dispatch when the 18 year old was announced as a finalist on AOL’s online reality show “The Biz” He was selected from 9000 applicants, and is supported by several years of running his own company in the Hampton Roads area promoting and booking area bands. Steven is majoring in business marketing but may have to delay college until the outcome of the contest. “Getting a degree is a personal goal of mine. But college will always be there,” he was quoted in an October 27 Richmond Times Dispatch interview. You can follow Steven’s progress at www.thebiz.com

STUDENTS GET SERIOUS ABOUT JOB HUNTING

Scores of business students attended the Career Fair on October 12. A total of 464 students registered for the Fair that was sponsored by the University Career Center with 70 exhibitors participating. Exhibitors readily responded with praise for the event, calling it “one of the best ever held” and noting that students “dress professionally, have a resume in hand and come prepared to talk about their future.” For a photo gallery of participating business students click on http://www.bus.vcu.edu/news/careerfair05.html

CARMA WEBCASTS GO LIVE NOVEMBER 18

The first in a series of CARMA live lectures will begin November 18, with additional webcast lectures set for January 27, February 17, March 24, and April 7 and April 28.

The presentations are produced by the CARMA Consortium Webcast Program, a consortium of 26 universities. In total there are 16 live and recorded one-hour lectures on research methods presented by 16 distinguished presenters. (Background readings and PowerPoint slides are also provided.) A university membership in the Consortium allows unlimited participation by faculty and students. To learn more about Consortium membership, and the CARMA program, click on http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/carma/Webcasts.asp

SALLIE SHEPHERD

SALLIE SHEPHERD NAMED DIRECTOR OF VCEE DEVELOPMENT

Sallie Garrett Shepherd has been appointed Director of Development of the Virginia Council on Economic Education. Ms. Shepherd has worked in strategic, finance and marketing positions in Fortune 500 companies before moving into the non-profit sector. For eight years, Ms. Shepherd worked for Epsilon, a leading relationship marketing company in Boston. Her clients included March of Dimes, San Diego Zoo, Covenant House, Smithsonian Institution, Shearson Lehman Brothers and KLM Airlines. Most recently, she was the Annual Fund/Membership Manager of Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle, WA. A CPA, Ms. Shepherd has a BA in Economics from UCLA and a MBA from The Wharton School.

UNDERGRADUATE CFP PROGRAM RE-APPROVED

Dr. David Upton, chairman of the FIRE Department (Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate) announced that the Financial Planning Track in the finance major has been re-approved by the Certified Financial Planners Board of Standards. Approval indicates successful completion of this track and with two modules of Financial Planning Certificate Program will be accepted as fulfilling the educational requirements to sit for the Certified Financial Planner® examination. The Certified Financial Planner® is the foremost professional designation in the field. The Board of Standards’ approval is for a five-year period, and is awarded to programs that meet that Board’s rigorous standards

RISK & INSURANCE STUDIES CENTER (RISC)
JOINS INSURANCE INDUSTRY AT VA I DAY

Over 40 School of Business students attended the VA I Day conference, compliments of the VA I Day. The students had the opportunity to meet with 18 insurance companies participating in the trade show portion of the day. Two RISC majors, Rich Krafeik and Douglas Rogers were recognized as VAI Day Scholarship Recipients during the luncheon.

In other Insurance Center news, the Colony Group, a member of Argonaut Group, generously sponsored three students to attend the 12th Annual Troy State – Excess and Surplus Lines Symposium. The students had the opportunity to learn more about the non-admitted insurance market and interact with students from other universities who are studying risk management and insurance. Markel Corporation sponsored six Gamma Iota Sigma officers to attend this year’s Gamma Iota Sigma International Management Conference on Mackinac Island, MI on October 20 to 22.

Afshin Galestan, VCU Student and GIS VP of Marketing E G Miller, Sr. Associate Dean of the School of Business Meredith Bryant, VCU Student and GIS President	Bruce Kay, President of VA I Day and VP of Markel Corp. Douglas Rodger, GIS VP and Scholarship Recipient Richard Krafcik, GIS Member and Scholarship Recipient

VCU Alumni	Amanda Carpenter, VCU Student and GIS Member Jennifer Rutstein, VCU Student and GIS Treasurer

FACULTY QUOTES APPEAR IN MANY PUBLICATIONS

Faculty media contacts and placements have increased this year. Participating School of Business faculty and the publications that have published their quotes may be reviewed at http://www.bus.vcu.edu/news/faculty/archives.html

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