School of Business Econ Students
Win Regional Fed Challenge

VCU School of Business’ Fed Challenge Team won the Richmond round of the College Fed Challenge Competition, with James Madison University and the University of Richmond as finalists. The team included Colby Bowker, Will DeHaven, Patrick Harvey, Greg Kennedy, and Jon Ilhan. Alternates were Gavin Harmon, Peter Hufschmidt, and Brian Sears. The team was coached by Dr. Dennis O’Toole, emeritus associate professor of Economics. The competition is sponsored by the Federal Reserve Fifth District and preliminary rounds of the competition were held in Richmond and Baltimore on November 14 and 15.

Mount Saint Mary won Baltimore’s preliminary round, and in overall competition, edged out VCU by two points to win the district title, and advance to the national competition in Washington, D.C.

The Federal Reserve sponsors College Fed Challenge to encourage better understanding of the nation’s central bank, the forces influencing economic conditions in the U.S. and abroad, and the ways the economy affects everyone’s lives. In Fed Challenge, teams give 20-minute presentations on monetary policy and are judged on content, teamwork, responses to questions, presentation and style.

GIFT OF FINCAD XL SOFTWARE CONTINUES TO ASSIST FINANCE STUDENTS

This semester FinancialCAD Corporation has provided a gift of 13 copies of FINCAD XL, version 8, to the School of Business. This gift has a value of $5,200. FINCAD XL is a leading financial instrument modeling application for Microsoft Excel. With over 1,400 financial functions and 120 professionally designed workbook solutions, FINCAD XL is used by more than 25,000 financial professionals in 72 countries to value and measure the risk of financial instruments.

Among other things, FINCAD XL allows users to assess market risk, build interest rate curves, value financial instruments and portfolios, generate cash flow projections, calculate value at risk and perform stress tests of positions. It will help prepare our students for the real world of valuation and financial risk management. work. The gift was obtained through the efforts of Dr. David Dubofsky, professor of finance, for use in our Finance and Financial Technology programs.

Many examples using FINCAD XL are given in Dr. Dubofsky’s textbook “Derivatives: Valuation and Risk Management”, which he authored with Thomas W. Miller, Jr. (Oxford University Press).

DR. KEN DANIELS APPOINTED TO VCDC BOARD

Dr. Kenneth Daniels, professor of Finance, Finance, Insurance and Real Estate Program, has been appointed to the board of the of the Virginia Community Development Corporation (VCDC).

The VCDC uses private investment to spur economic development and affordable housing. Currently, the VCDC has about nine investor funds and it also has a community development bank. Its investors are corporations like Capital One, Fannie Mae, Wachovia, BB&T and many other banks.

Dr. Daniels has an exemplary record of service on several important committees at both the University and State level including the Treasury Board of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and has been instrumental in developing the use of technology in the finance department. He has contributed greatly to the reputation and prestige of VCU in our community.

DR. SPINELLI TO TEACH IN ITALY

Dr. Michael A. Spinelli, Emeritus Associate Professor of Management Science will be teaching for the Consortium of Universities for International Studies in Paderno del Grappa, Italy (North of Venice) in the Spring Semester. He will be teaching a section of Managerial Economics and Statistics. The Consortium is a group of 20 American Universities of which VCU is a member. It is administered by the University of Kansas. Dr. Spinelli recently retired from School of Business.

DR. RANDOLPH BARKER NAMED FELLOW

Dr. Randolph Barker has been named a Fellow by the Association for Business Communications (ABC). He is the organization’s current president. In 2003 he was named their Outstanding Communications Researcher and has served as vice president. The Association for Business Communication (ABC) is an international organization committed to fostering excellence in business communication scholarship, research, education, and practice.

Robert J. Grey, Jr.

The L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University presented the inaugural Excellence in Virginia Government Awards on November 29. Two of the award honorees have significant ties to the School of Business.

The Public-Private Partnership Award was presented to Virginia Senate Majority Leader Walter A. Stosch for his leadership in the introduction, passage and implementation of Virginia’s landmark Public-Private Transportation Act. Senator Stosch serves on the Senate finance committee, and was one of the senate leaders who helped secure the $15.3 million appropriation to the School of Business campaign. His son, David A Stosch ’82, ’84, is a member of the School of Business Alumni Board.

The Expansion of Freedom Award was presented to Robert J. Grey, Jr. ’73, partner, Hunton & Williams and past president of the American Bar Association (ABA). Under Grey’s leadership, the ABA took significant steps to educate the public about the American jury system and to improve legal representation for those underserved by the legal system. Grey holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Management from VCU.

The Wilder School’s awards celebrate the accomplishments of Virginians who have made distinctive contributions to the practice of government and to the well-being of the commonwealth’s communities and citizens.

Click on University News for further details http://www.vcu.edu/uns/news/vcuview/archives/2005/nov/wilderAwards.html

DR. HUMPHREY PILOTS DU PONT PROGRAM

In what might be called “reaching out to the community” Dr. Ron Humphrey, associate professor of management, talked about "Buyer-Supplier Alliances in the Automobile Industry: How Exit-Voice Strategies Influence Interpersonal Relationships." at Du Pont, Richmond. on December 5. Dr. Humphrey is the first speaker in a series of upcoming talks at Du Pont by VCU School of Business professors, arranged by Dr. Allen Lee, Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies.

Dr. Humphrey was introduced by James R. Weigand, Global Business Director, and a member of the School of Business Business Council. The audience was made up primarily of sales and marketing people. The talk lasted about an hour and Dr. Humphrey reports that “many good questions came from the audience that made for a lively discussion.”

Dr. Anesh Maniraj Singh

VISITING IT PROFESSOR

Dr. Anesh Maniraj Singh of the University of Kwazulu Natal, South Africa, visited the School of Business on November 21. Dr. Singh presentation covered “Information Systems and Technology Issues” in South Africa.

“ South Africa like most of its African neighbors has a dual economy that sees formal and informal trading taking place side by side. For many foreigners, there is the perception that South Africa is a jungle with lions and tigers running around the streets and wind-up telephones as a means of communication. This is far from the reality. Technology in the

Formal economy is almost as good as and sometimes better than it is in the U.S. and other first world countries. Cellular telephone
Technology is one generation ahead of the United States. However, like the economy, a technology divide exists where some parts of the population have access to technology while others don't.” Dr. Singh’s paper examined the trends in using technology in South African and how the State in partnership with the private sector is working to solve those problems.

CARMA PRESENTS FIRST WEBCAST LECTURES

On November 18 Dr. Larry Williams, University Professor of Management and CARMA Director, presented the first CARMA Consortium Webcast, Consisting of three live lectures delivered from the Cabell Library studios. Speakers were Dr. Claudia Cogliser, Texas Tech University, Dr. Gilad Chen, Texas A&M University and Dr. Brian Boyd, Arizona State University Their topics covered individual, group and organizational level measurement in organizational contexts.

The webcasts were viewed via the internet by faculty and students from nearly 40 universities that subscribe to the CARMA Consortium Webcast Program. In addition, students and faculty from VCU comprised the studio audience. “The response to this first viewing has been outstanding, proving that this means of delivering research methods education is technologically practical and is perceived as valuable by major business schools from throughout the United States,” says Dr. Williams. The CARMA Consortium Webcast Program is established to provide university faculty and graduate students with advanced training in research methods and data analysis. http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/carma/

David Morefield manages the control console for the CARMA webcast. sending the presentation to nearly 40 universities.	Evandro Moreno, CARMA Assistant Director. helped to produce the webcast from his location in the Cabell Library technology center.

Dr. Eugene P. Trani, VCU President, presents the 2005 Alumni Star to Nancy Everett. The award reflects her personal public service contributions.

NANCY EVERETT NAMED ALUMNI STAR

School of Business Foundation Board member Nancy Everett ’78, was named 2005 Alumni Star. She was recently named Chief Investment Officer for General Motors Asset Management. In addition to her current responsibilities with GM, Nancy has been named President and CEO of GM Asset Management Group, a role that will take effect on January 1, 2006.

Formerly she was Chief Investment Officer for Virginia Retirement System (VRS). This honor rewards a VCU alumna who has enjoyed notable professional success or made significant humanitarian, university or community service. This honor also reflects her personal public service contributions.

Everett joined the Virginia Retirement System in 1979 when the system’s assets totaled less than $2 billion. In 1983 she was promoted to assistant investment officer. During the 1990s, she continued to rise through the ranks in the investment division, becoming chief investment officer in 1999.

Dr. Heiko Wijnholds, professor of marketing, launched a marketing column in Richmond Times Dispatch's Metro Business section. He will be appearing weekly. At one point in his career Dr. Wijnholds worked as a newspaper business columnist in South Africa before emigrating to the U.S.

Dr. John O. Everett, professor of Accounting, was nominated as a Super CPA in the educator category in the December Virginia Business magazine. Two VCU School of Business graduates also were named: Bruce W. Chase, a professor at Radford University, and Douglas E. Ziegenfuss of Old Dominion University.

It is an interesting and exciting mix, reports Bill Miller, EMBA director. The class is comprised of 24% international students, with 20% holding upper level degrees already such as MD, Masters, JD, PhD and 14 of them are engineers. Twenty-six percent are females. The class’ GMAT average is 585 and GPA 3.4.

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