The Culverhouse College of Commerce Executive Magazine - Spring 2005 Edition

Spring/Summer 2005
MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF

RECRUITING TOP-QUALITY FACULTY:
Ruxandra Prodan, left, of Romania, and
Xuejuan Su, of China, stroll across the Quad.
Recruiting internationally is one way the
Culverhouse College of Commerce is meeting the
recruiting challenge.
Help us keep C&BA

the Souths best
business school
Join the Commerce Executives Society
and make your contribution today.
Why join CES?
* Increase the prestige and

value of your C&BA degree
* Help us achieve higher
rankings through increased
alumni participation
* Provide much-needed
financial support for
the College
* Stay in touch with friends
and alumni
* Receive updates and
information about the
College
* Receive the College
alumni magazine
* Receive invitations
to prefootball game
receptions
Call Nidia Spence at 205/348-4899 or e-mail ces@cba.ua.edu. Log on to http://cba.ua.edu.

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MessageTableofContents
From The Dean
THE
ESpring/Summer
XECUTIVE
2005
10
A Strategy for
Diversity
VOLUME 10 ISSUE 1
5 Culverhouse News
Published twice annually in the

spring and fall for alumni and friends
of The University of Alabamas
Culverhouse College of Commerce
and Business Administration.
6 Faculty News
Faculty members appointed to
editorial, consulting positions.
Professors Edward Mansfield
and Michael Adams win Best
Contributed Paper for third time.
Dean: J. Barry Mason

Editor: William R. (Bill) Gerdes
Professor Robert M. Morgan

recognized for research.
Designers:
David Jones, Laura Lineberry
8 Student News
Contributing Writers:
Niko Corley, Jessica Davis,
Bill Gerdes
Business honors students mentor

children in West Alabama Boys
and Girls Club.
Contributing Photographers:
Laura Shill, Niko Corley,
Rickey Yanaura
Office of Development, Alumni,
and Corporate Relations:
Charlie Adair, Diane Harrison,
Nidia Spence, Susan Newman,
April Thornton, Pam Junkin
4 Deans Message
Bama basketball has strong ties to

Culverhouse.
9 College News
Q&A with Carver
Sarbanes-Oxley may cause distress

for some companies, but one UA
professor sees a silver lining:
transparency.
18
26 Alumni Notes
CoverStory
12

and Business Administration
Box 870223
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0223
Comments, suggestions, questions:
205/348-8318 bgerdes@cba.ua.edu
From the Capstone

to Kabul
The University of Alabama is an equal-opportunity

educational institution/employer. MC7039
24
Recruiting business school

faculty is a time-consuming
and expensive proposition
these days. A declining pool
of doctorates, intense competition for star faculty
members, and more emphasis on rankings are some of
the reasons.
Spring/Summer 2005 cba.ua.edu 3
DeansMessage
nother spring is fast upon us, another graduating class, and yes, another key inflection point
in the history of the Culverhouse College of
Commerce. Changing accreditation standards,
a new strategic plan for the University, a new capital
campaign, and a new set of strategic initiatives: All are
coming together to give us a new set of opportunities and
challenges.
We continue to strengthen the value of a business
degree from the Culverhouse College of Commerce. Our
Business Honors Program is stronger than ever, and freshmen entering school next fall must have grade point averages of at least 2.5 in their discipline-specific majors to
enter their junior year. Our Capstone Business Academy,
the on-campus program for rising high school seniors, is
attracting high school students of unbelievable academic
quality.
In keeping with the technological times, we will offer
a general business degree online this fall, as well as a master of science degree in operations management.
We are in the process of making several key appointments to named positions in the College that will
increase the strength of our faculty, already one of the
strongest in the nation.
We are in the silent phase of our capital and endowment campaign, where your strong and unwavering support will become even more important in enabling us to
maintain our national excellence in teaching and research.
Our M.B.A. program, which has recruited the strongest class in its long history, has been reorganized to
strengthen and bring increased synergy to our graduate
programs.
As you know, the University has increased emphasis
on enrollment, with a goal of 28,000 students, and we
can expect a corresponding increase in business school
students. Managing enrollment will be a continuing
challenge as we determine ways to accommodate growth
while maintaining our culture of excellence.
The reality is that we are increasingly operating under
a private financial model, as we find new ways to raise
funds. State support is likely to continue to decrease and
financial self-sufficiency will be the key to continued
excellence.
The future is challenging, yes, but we have a gifted
faculty, a dedicated staff, an excellent infrastructure, and
the ultimate resource, a generous and concerned group of
alumni and friends. I welcome your thoughts and encourage you to stop by when you are on campus.
Respectfully,
J. Barry Mason, Dean

and Russell Professor of Business Administration
4 Culverhouse College of Commerce
Message
CulverhouseNews
From The Dean
Culverhouse College of Commerce in the News
he M.B.A. program in the Manderson Graduate School

of Business and M.B.A. student Stephen Hart were featured prominently in an article in the Washington Business
Journal in January. The article examined the national trend of
increased numbers of graduate school students taking more foreign languages to prepare for careers in a global economy. Hart
is studying Japanese as he works on his M.B.A. degree.
***
Research by Professor Walter Enders and Associate Professor
Gary Hoover into plagiarism in scholarly publications was
referred to in an article on the subject published in a special
report in the December 17 issue of The Chronicle of Higher
Education. The two researchers found that only 47 percent of
respondents said they would be likely to contact a plagiarists
chair or dean.
***
Dean J. Barry Mason was quoted in the Montgomery Advertiser
on the importance of the day after Thanksgiving, often known
as Black Friday because it has traditionally been the day when
retailers accounts moved into the black and they began to show
a profit for the year. Dean Mason said its a day that sets the
tone for the rest of the shopping year.
Susan Carvers appointment as assistant dean responsible

for graduate programs in the Manderson Graduate School of
Business was published in several media outlets, including the
Birmingham Business Journal and the Tuscaloosa News.
***
Rob Morgan, professor of marketing, was quoted in an article
in the Tuscaloosa News about the KmartSears merger. But
it still wont put them up there with Wal-Mart and Target,
Morgan said.
***
***
Robert Brooks, SouthTrust Professor of Financial Management,
spoke to the Huntsville Times about the privatization of Social
Security and the possibility that Social Security contributions
should be shifted to capital markets. The nice thing about the
markets is, more capital is allocated to people who make the
best use of their resources, Brooks said. I dont think youll
find very many people putting their entire nest egg in stocks.
But somebody 25 years old, I dont think hes convinced at all
(Social Security) will be there.
Brooks also was quoted in Business Finance magazine in an article on minimizing risks with derivatives. Transactions should
be asset- and liability-management-driven, not based on a view
of the future, Brooks said.
K. Michele Kacmar, Durr-Fillauer Chair of Business Ethics,

was featured prominently in an article about business ethics in
the Tuscaloosa Business Inks November issue titled Doing the
Right Thing.
***
The Capstone Business Academy, an on-campus program for
rising high school seniors interested in business, was featured in
the November 6 football program in the Crimson Tides game
against Mississippi State.
Message From The Dean

FacultyNews
Appointments
Associate Professor Kim Sydow Campbell was appointed faculty consultant for health literacy by the American Public Health
Association.
Campbell
Franke
Professor George Franke is the recipient of the 2004

Exceptional Reviewer Award from the Journal of Public Policy
& Marketing, a publication of the American Marketing
Association. He was previously recognized as an outstanding
reviewer by the journal in 2000.
Brandy Zito Frost, academic advisor/coordinator in Student
Services, has been named membership chair for the National
Academic Advising Association for 20042006. The membership committee recommends policies, procedures, and strategies
for enhancing the membership in NACADA both numerically
and qualitatively to ensure a growing and vital membership
organization.
Associate Professor Charles Kacmar, of the Department of
Information Systems, Statistics, and Management Science, is an
associate editor for the Journal of Database Management and the
British Society Journal of Digital Information.
C. Kacmar
Professor K. Michele Kacmar was awarded the Distinguished

Educator Award from the Southwest Academy of Management.
She also received the Best Conference Paper in the Human
Resources Track at the Southern Management Meetings.
Professor Paul Pecorino was appointed to the editorial board of
the journal Public Choice.
Pecorino
Professor Charles Sox was appointed associate editor of

Management Science and to the editorial board of Manufacturing
& Service Operations Management.
Annette Watters, project manager for the Center for Business
and Economic Research and manager of the Alabama State
Data Center, was elected to the national State Data Center
Steering Committee, an advisory board to the Census Bureau.
She will serve for three years.
Ellinger wins
La Londe Award
Watters
Mansfield
Adams
Mansfield,
Adams win Best
Contributed Paper
for third time
Professor Edward Mansfield
and Associate Professor Michael
Adams won the award for
Best Contributed Paper in the
Statistical Education Section of
the Joint Statistical Meetings
(JSM) in Toronto.
Joint Statistical Meetings is
an international event sponsored
by several professional organizations, including the American
Statistical Association, the Institute
of Mathematical Sciences, the
International Biometrics Society,
and the Statistical Society of
Canada.
This is the third year the
two have received the Best
Contributed Paper award. The
awards in 1991 and 1993 included
Professor Michael Conerly as a coauthor; Professor Brian Gray was a
co-author of the 1993 paper.
Mansfield was also honored
in 1989 as a sole winner, making
him the only person honored four
times. The award will be presented
at the JSM 2005 in Minneapolis
next August.
Message From
FacultyNews
The Dean
Morgan recognized
for research
obert M. Morgan, professor of marketing and J. Reese Phifer Faculty

Fellow, has again been recognized for
excellence in research publishing. His article, The Comparative Advantage Theory
of Competition, has been selected to
receive the Sheth Foundation/Journal
of Marketing Award of the American
Marketing Association. He will receive
the award at the 2005 Winter Marketing
Educators Conference in San Antonio.
The Sheth
Foundation established the Sheth
Foundation/Journal
of Marketing Award
in 2001, under the
umbrella of the
American Marketing
Association
Morgan
Foundation. The
award, given annually
at the Winter AMA Marketing Educators
Conference, honors the best article published in the Journal of Marketing that has
made long-term contributions to the field
of marketing. It is named in recognition
of the donations of the Sheth Foundation
to the AMA Foundation and the outstanding career contributions to the field
of marketing of Jagdish N. Sheth, Charles
H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing at
Emory University.
An article is eligible for consideration
to receive the Sheth Foundation/Journal of
Marketing Award in the sixth through 10th
years after its publication in the Journal of
Marketing. The judges are members of the
editorial board of the Journal of Marketing.
Criteria for the award include the quality
of the articles contribution to theory and
practice, originality, technical competence
in the execution of the research, and
impact on the field of marketing.
Morgan also is co-author of an article
that is now the most frequently cited
article of all the articles published in business and economic journals monitored
by Thomson ISI (Institute for Scientific
Information).
College names scholarship,

Womens Initiative coordinator
hrishan N. Emonina has been named coordinator of the Culverhouse

College of Commerce scholarship program and the schools Womens
Initiative Program. In her role as scholarship coordinator, she will be responsible
for awarding all general undergraduate business school scholarships.
Having Chrishan on board will help make sure that all of our scholarships
are being awarded in a timely fashion to qualified and deserving students, said
Nidia Spence, director of
the Commerce Executives
Society and coordinator of
the Colleges endowment.
Emoninas responsibilities with the Womens
Initiative Program will be to
recruit successful businesswomen to act as mentors
for female business school
students, to identify and
interview female business
students who are interested
in having mentors, to coordinate programs and events that bring successful businesswomen to campus, and to arrange professional development seminars.
Dr. Diane Johnson, associate professor of management and faculty advisor for
the Womens Initiative, said Emonina will play a key role in ensuring that female
graduates of the business school are well prepared for entering the workplace.
More than half of our business school students today are women, Johnson
said. They will benefit greatly by hearing the real-life experiences of todays professional business women and by interacting with women who have successfully
met the unique challenges faced by women in todays workplace.
Emonina earned a bachelors degree in mass communication from Jackson
State University in 1999 and is enrolled in the master of arts in higher education
administration program at UA.
Her business experience includes public relations, events planning, and customer operations. She also served as program coordinator at The University of
Alabama at Birmingham, where she recruited participants for clinical trials and
planned and implemented community outreach programs.
For many years, Thomson ISI has

provided services and products that allow
researchers access to research materials
and the ability to be up to date on the
most recent developments in their fields.
The international company monitors
187 business and economic journals and
offers service to more than seven million
researchers.
Every two months, ISI publishes a list

of the articles that have been the most
frequently referenced in other articles
for the past decade, and Morgans tops
the list. The article, The Relationship
Commitment and Trust Theory of
Relationship Marketing, appeared in the
July 1994 issue of the Journal of Marketing
and was co-authored by Dr. Shelby Hunt
of Texas Tech University.
StudentNews
Business honors group mentors children in
West Alabama Boys and Girls Club
By Niko Corley
f at some time during the basketball season it appeared that a few of the players
were discussing business management techniques, they might have been: Two of the
players are enrolled in the business school,
and one has already graduated.
Forward Chuck Davis is a junior
majoring in management, and forward
Lucky Williams is a senior majoring in
management.
nder the leadership of junior Tanya

Szymberski, an accounting major
from Birmingham, members of the
Business Honors Program are volunteering as mentors for children in the West
Alabama Boys and Girls Club.
In working with the Boys and Girls
Club in Tuscaloosa, Szymberski is building support for and recruiting students
help in volunteering for the centers
after-school mentoring effort. The
ideato pair volunteers with the centers
children and help them with their homeworkserves a dual purpose, because the
volunteers also serve as role models.
With most of the centers children
between ages 6 and 10, college-age students fit the mentor criteria well. Tim
Morton, senior club director, has been
with the club 19 years and says college students are old enough to be of
assistance but young enough to make a
strong connection with the children.
The generation gap isnt as wide with
college kids, Morton said, especially
with help doing homework, since it is
fresher on their minds.
According to Szymberski, the more
help she can recruit, the better. While
the club has volunteers from several
University of Alabama organizations on
a regular basis, including various fraternities and sororities and members of the
Crimson Tide football team, its still
tough meeting the demands of 60 to 100
children every day after school.
The facility is so run down, and
there are too many kids and often not
enough volunteers, Szymberski said.
Students volunteering at the center
lend a hand in a number of activities,
including assisting with homework,
tutoring, teaching leadership skills,
games, drug and alcohol awareness, and
gang and violence prevention. Morton
says that while the kids benefit immensely from the students volunteering, the
volunteers themselves seem to get a great
deal out of the experience.
Tide basketball team has

strong ties to
business school
They always walk out of here with a

smile on their face, Morton said. He said
the experience gives the college students a
view of a lifestyle far different from their
own.
Sometimes, it lends them a little
perspective into the kids lives; its only a
mile away from the institution, but it is a
whole other world, Morton said.
The Business Honors Program that
Szymberski joined in the fall of 2004 is
identical in its criteria for membership
to the University Honors College. But
unlike the larger University-wide program, students are not admitted until
their junior year of school. Once admitted, over the next two years students take
part in academic assistance and research
projects for organizations across the state,
earning 1.5 credit hours each semester for
their work. These projects are typically
structured to last a semester, allowing
students in the program flexibility and
providing a variety of work experiences
while in college.
David Heggem, director of the
Colleges student services center, says
the small size of the Business Honors
Programaround 30 students per classis
necessary because these students are the
best and the brightest in the College. He
feels groups like Szymberskis showcase
the quality of Business Honors Program
students.
They have shown outstanding initiative, and are laying the groundwork for a
long-term project, Heggem said.
Niko Corley is a senior majoring in
journalism.
Senior guard Earnest Shelton (above

with Dean Mason) made big news in
December when he graduated with a
degree in management while leading
the Southeastern Conference in scoring.
Shelton graduated in three and a half years
and started classes toward a second degree
in January.
Shelton is one of three current players
on the Tide roster who will graduate this
season. In May his fellow seniors Williams
and Jason Reese will graduate. Starting forward Davis, who will graduate within three
years as he is only a junior eligibility-wise,
will return next fall for his senior playing
season and take classes toward a second
degree.
Sheltons graduation extended coach
Mark Gottfrieds perfect streakhes now
graduated 15 of 15 of his senior players
in the last four and a half years. Several
of those graduates, including 2002 SEC
Player of the Year Erwin Dudley and
past starters Kenny Walker, Terrance
Meade, Jeremy Hays, Antoine Pettway,
Tarik London, and Travis Stinnett,
were Academic All-SEC players as well.
Gottfried, a 1987 Alabama graduate (with
a communications degree), started all three
seasons he played for the Crimson Tide
and was an Academic All-SEC player
himself.
Message From
CollegeNews
The Dean
Saved by scrutiny
While Sarbanes-Oxley may cause
distress for some companies, one
UA professor sees the transparency it
fosters as beneficial
By Niko Corley
ith the congressional approval

of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
in 2002, SEC-registered
companies were forced to comply with
revamped stipulations on accounting
practices, especially those regarding internal controls.
The change has been met with both
protest and open arms by executives and
stockholders alike, as some companies,
especially small businesses and the largest
multinational corporations, have found
it difficult to fulfill their legal obligation
to comply with the act. A recent survey
of corporate financial executives by
Oversight Systems, a continuous monitoring company founded on the Georgia
Tech campus, discovered that 64 percent
of businesses found compliance with
Sarbanes-Oxley somewhere between difficult and very difficult.
Disastrous business failures at Enron,
Andersen, and WorldCom are the reasons F. Todd DeZoort, associate professor of accounting and an accounting
advisory board fellow at The University

of Alabama and a member of Oversight
Systems board of advisors, credits for
the creation and approval of SarbanesOxley. Despite its rapid creation, which
some critics label hasty, DeZoort believes
the act is a solid piece of legislation that
is essential to improving corporate governance and reducing the likelihood of
such catastrophes in the future.
DeZoort said the most costly area
of compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley is
Section 404, which calls for the assessment of internal controls by a corporations management and by external
auditors. Internal controls, or security
measures that can range from the companys tone at the top to password
protection on individual computers, are
evaluated by each group. Assessments are
then made on their effectiveness.
DeZoort stresses the importance of
internal controls in preventing accounting mistakes and protecting against
fraud. Companies such as Enron and
WorldCom, he says, had serious internal
control weaknesses that made it easier for
executives to fiddle with their numbers.
Companies that provide continuous monitoring of company finances
are beginning to emerge as a result of
Sarbanes-Oxley. Continuous monitor-
CBER study looks at

Mobile Mardi Gras economic impact
study by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the

Culverhouse College of Commerce has determined that 2003 Mardi Gras
festivities in Mobile yielded $227 million in direct spending in Mobile and
Baldwin counties, or about 6.6 per cent of the states $6.7 billion tourism
industry impact in 2003.
Sam Addy, lead researcher for the study, said other Mardi Gras
functions outside of Mobile in surrounding areas were not included. Direct
spending is determined using a multiplier that factors in goods produced,
employment, services rendered, and, among other things, the effects of direct
spending on tax revenue.
The study said the holidays economic impact on Mobile and Baldwin
counties was $408 million. Mardi Gras had a $445.3 million impact on the
state economy, nearly 92 percent of which stayed in Mobile and Baldwin
counties, Addy said.
ing keeps watch on

a corporations daily
activities in real time,
the goal being to
alert the corporation
to small issues that
arise so they can be
DeZoort
corrected before they
become problems.
Before continuous monitoring, corporations ran evaluations much less frequently. The continuous monitoring of
internal controls by a third party such as
Oversight Systems should, DeZoort says,
make things run more efficiently.
Also included in the survey by
Oversight Systems were corporations
predictions for how regular monitoring
of internal controls for Sarbanes-Oxley
compliance would take place. Twentythree percent said they would do so
continuously, while 38 percent said quarterly. Daily, weekly, and monthly were
also included in the survey as frequency
measurements for how often corporations expected to check their internal
controls, with respondents reporting 7,
10, and 22 percent, respectively.
DeZoort says that because SarbanesOxley was passed late in 2002, internal
control reports are just beginning to
come in. However, he notes, Some auditors say they expect 30 percent of companies to receive adverse opinions.
DeZoort believes compliance with
Sarbanes-Oxley, though it might be arduous and costly at present, in the long
term will be worth the extra financial
burden.
Public reaction to the act has been
good overall and we see evidence that
investor confidence has risen, DeZoort
said. Good companies, or those with
nothing to hide, shouldnt mind more
accountability or transparency.
journalism.

CollegeNews
A strategy for diversity
Diversity richens the marketing
Ph.D. programand the teaching
profession
By Jessica Davis
hen Mandy Ortiz decided to pursue her Ph.D. in marketing after

years of corporate work, including two
years with Procter & Gamble and her current position as marketing manager for
Latin America with PepsiCos Tropicana,
The University of Alabama was not on
her list.
When I decided to seek my Ph.D., I
went through and made a list of schools
I was interested in attending ... Alabama
was not on that list, Ortiz said. But
after she met Sharon Beatty, professor
of marketing and marketing doctoral
coordinator for the Culverhouse College
of Commerce, at the 2003 Ph.D. Project
conference, The University of Alabama
became an option.
The Ph.D. Project is an information
clearinghouse for underrepresented
minorities interested in pursuing business Ph.D.s to become business school
professors. Its mission is to increase the
diversity of business school faculty by
attracting African Americans, Hispanic
Americans, and Native Americans to
business doctoral programs, and providing a network of peer support throughout
those programs. The program is becoming even more important because of the
dwindling pool of business school professors.
Ortiz, who earned her masters degree
at the University of Texas at Austin, was
introduced to Beatty by Lenita Davis,
assistant professor of marketing, who also
took part in the Ph.D. Project.
When Lenita introduced me to Dr.
Beatty, I had an instant connection and
fit with her that I had not experienced
with any of the other recruiters, said
Ortiz. She was open, friendly, informative, and she gave me good, constructive
advice on how to go about deciding on a
school. Soon, Ortiz was convinced she
needed to visit UA.
The beautiful campus and the wel-
coming college town were attractive to

Ortiz, but she said it was the Universitys
faculty that sold her on Culverhouse.
The people here are phenomenal,
Ortiz said. Other schools were just
about the hard numbers, whereas here it
was more about the fit in addition to the
hard numbers. There was a lot of caring
by the faculty here that I just didnt see
at other places.
After her visit, Ortiz returned home
knowing that The University of Alabama
was the place for her. I canceled all my
other campus visits to work on the application process for Alabama, she said.
I just knew ... it was a great fit with the
faculty that I met.
Ortizs story is exactly what Beatty
and Diane Johnson, associate professor of management and management
doctoral coordinator, hope will happen
when they attend the Ph.D. Project conference and meet students from all over
the world. We try to break down a stereotype at the conference, said Beatty.
We want to show the students what
The University of Alabama has to offer.
Johnson added, Its fun to excite people
about Alabama, but we do have to make
an effort to convince them that we are as
good as the big-name schools.
Beatty and Johnsons recruiting efforts
focus on Alabamas being a strong
research institution. The ability to conduct research and publish is a key factor
If minority students never see

minority teachers in the classroom,
then they dont think the classroom
is the place for them.
in whether the top academic schools
consider Ph.D. students for teaching jobs,
Johnson said. Thus, it is very important
to highlight Alabamas successful track
record of placement when marketing
the school to potential applicants. For
example, in the last three to four years,
the students graduating with Ph.D.s in
management accepted teaching positions
at Georgia Tech, University of Dayton,
Ohio University, and Tulane University,
among others. Placement is also important for increasing the visibility of The
University of Alabamas Ph.D. programs.
If a professor is an Alabama graduate,
then he or she pushes his or her students to think about going there, Beatty
noted.
But the reason for attending recruiting events such as the Ph.D. Project, said
Johnson, is to recruit the most dynamic
and competitive students. The push at
the University is to have the highestquality students, said Beatty. The better
they are coming in, the better they do
placing and teaching. The Ph.D. Project
offers schools the opportunity to meet
students who have been prescreened
Message From
CollegeNews
The Dean
through a fairly rigorous application process. All candidates in the Ph.D. Project
have to meet certain criteria, Johnson
said, describing Ph.D. Project candidates
as dynamic, well informed, and well prepared. Many have high GMAT scores
from 670 upand most have excellent
business backgrounds. The Ph.D. Project
also provides the candidates a realistic
preview of the Ph.D. student life and life
after graduation. The benefit of getting
a Ph.D. Project student is that they have
a clear understanding of what to expect
and what they have to do to be successful, said Johnson, and they usually
have the motivation and drive to do it.
And, she added, They come to school
with no illusions.
In addition, the Ph.D. Project offers
University of Alabama recruiters access to
minority students they might not otherwise have the ability to reach. Any Ph.D.
program benefits from diversity, said
Johnson. Diversity adds to the richness
of the program.
When I have a minority student
teaching, other minority students see
them as role models, Beatty said. If
minority students never see minority
teachers in the classroom, then they
dont think the classroom is the place for
them.
Ortiz, who is Puerto Rican and grew
up in Brooklyn, New York, agrees that
having minority teachers sets an important example in the classroom. When
I was teaching at a community college

before I decided to go back to school, I
would have students come up to me in
disbelief that I was able to come from
Brooklyn and do so well, she said. I
was a role model for them.
At last years Ph.D. Project conference, The University of Alabama set up
a booth and had approximately 60 individuals talk to recruiters and complete
information cards. Johnson currently has
three interviews with Ph.D. Project candidates lined up for next year. In this years
marketing Ph.D. class, two of the five
students are from the Ph.D. Project. We
are very diverse in age and experience,
said Ortiz. In fact, we have two students

who are Hispanic, one who is African
American, and one Chinese. In the marketing and management Ph.D. programs
combined, five of the 25 students are
minorities.
But the recruiting efforts dont stop
with the Ph.D. Project. On November
12, the Manderson Graduate School of
Business held its first open house to
provide information on all graduate
programs.
It was a great way for students to
gather information, said Johnson. We
hope to have it on an annual basis.
Other important recruiting tools are individual department websites, a very good
graduate school website, and the ability
to e-mail brochures to potential applicants. The electronic brochures provide
an instant marketing tool; in years past,
it would have taken days for a student to
receive a printed piece.
The recruitment efforts at the
University are focused on seeking
out students instead of waiting to see
which students choose to seek out the
University, said Johnson. When we
bring in dynamic, competitive students,
we increase the visibility and the quality
of our Ph.D. programs.
Jessica Davis is a J.D./M.B.A. student.
How Culverhouse
meets the challenge of
recruiting top-quality faculty
By Bill Gerdes,
Senior Communications
Specialist
A business school is only as good as

its faculty, and while the Culverhouse
College of Commerce faculty is among the
best in the nation, recruiting new faculty
members is becoming increasingly competitive, not to
mention stressful, for recruits and recruiters alike. In
fact, in some circles, the increasing shortage of qualified
doctoral faculty is seen as a major crisis.
CoverStory
It certainly is a challenge,
said J. Barry Mason, dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce. We spend
a lot of time and resources finding qualified faculty members who are excellent
classroom teachers but who also produce
high-level research and scholarly work.
The pool of qualified faculty from which
we can choose is growing smaller and
the competition for them is becoming
increasingly more intense.
A report published in 2002 by the
Doctoral Faculty Commission (DFC),
a committee of the Association to
Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
(AACSB), the agency that accredits business schools, warned that the shortage of
business Ph.D.s could reach crisis levels
if the trend is not turned around.
Unless decisive action is taken to
reverse declines in business doctoral
education, academic business schools,
universities, and society will be faced
with inevitable erosion in the quality of
business education and research, the
report said.
The report, Sustaining Scholarship
in Business Schools said that in the
United States, business doctorates
declined from 1,327 in 199495 to 1,071
in 19992000more than 19 percent.
The percentage of doctorates produced
by AACSB-accredited institutions also
has decreased, to 84 percent in 1999
2000 from 92 percent a decade earlier.
Today, the number of doctorates
produced by accredited schools is at its
lowest level since 1987, reads the report.
Although there are some examples of
new programs and marginal increases in
enrollment in various parts of the world,
local demand has outstripped supply in
virtually all countries.
Oddly enough, one reason for the
shortage, according to some observers,
is a good economy. When the economy
Xuejuan Su, left, a native of China, and
Ruxandra Prodan, a native of Romania,
are two new additions to the economics faculty. The two assistant professors
chose UA because of the business schools
reputation and the teaching and research
environment. Both embrace the Roll
Tide culture.
is good, more money can be earned in

the business world than from teaching.
Another reason is the effort required to
earn a Ph.D. in business. It takes several
years, and many people never finish the
degree.
All of which means that recruiting
business school faculty is becoming an
even more time-consuming and expensive propositionso much so that a couple of years ago the Culverhouse College
Unless decisive action is taken

to reverse declines in business
doctoral
education,
academic
business schools, universities, and

society will be faced with inevitable
erosion in the quality of business education and research.
of Commerce established the Faculty
Enhancement Foundation specifically to
find ways to raise money to supplement
faculty salaries.
That supplement is in addition to
the approximately $85,000 the average
assistant professor in the business school
earns annually for nine months of teaching. Add benefits, office equipment,
graduate assistants, and travel expenses
for conferences, and the investment in a
faculty member adds up.
The salary issue has become even
more pressing because the market for
top talent in business, law, and medicine
has become increasingly competitive.
In business, thats largely because of
the aforementioned shortage of business doctorates. In addition, concern
over a programs ranking is often said to
account for much of the intense competitionand the resulting compensationfor
star faculty members. Whatever the
cause, business schools are shelling out
big money and other perks to attract new
hires.
There are the givenssalary package, teaching load, and the location of
the college. And there are the other
considerationsthe feel of the academic
community, and whether there is good
chemistry between the prospect and the
department members, both long-range

and short-term. And in many cases, can
the candidates spouse find a job?
The competition is fierce, said
Billy Helms, head of the Department of
Economics, Finance, and Legal Studies.
Our main problem in recruiting is
the intense competition for top talent.
When we identify the best candidates,
they have also been identified as such
by other schools. Our main selling point
is that we have a research environment
that will be supportive. Faculty are not
generally bogged down in administrative tasks and a lot of committee work.
They can spend their time on teaching
and research. When you are competing
against the best for the best, you really
have to work at it and there is no margin
for error. Helms should know; this year
alone he has filled two economics positions and a finance chair.
Here, in a nutshell, is our recruiting strategy, said Ron Dulek, head of
the Department of Management and
Marketing. We sell the program on the
following strengths: strong graduate programs at the masters and doctoral levels;
undergraduate students who are respectful and enjoyable to teachand willing to
learn; and a faculty culture in which the
faculty respect one another both within
the department and between the departments.
We look for prospective faculty who
are dedicated to becoming excellent in
teaching and research, he continued.
We judge both equally. We do not want
someone only strong in one of the two
categories. We also look for team playerswe dont want someone who will
lock himself or herself into a room and
not interact and work with colleagues.
That approach was underscored by
Ron Ingram, senior associate dean and
the person responsible for the Colleges
graduate programs. We look for bright,
energetic people who fit into the kinds
of programs we offer, Ingram said. We
want faculty who have a genuine interest in teaching and research and who are
likely to be successful in both. Our current faculty members are our best recruiters. We have a strong, supportive faculty
who make it easy for new people to do
well. One only has to look at how many
faculty come to Alabama and never leave

to see how attractive most people find
this environment.
Mary Stone, director of the
Culverhouse School of Accountancy, said
the biggest selling points for the School
of Accountancy are the energy and commitment of its faculty to quality teaching
and academic inquiry, the potential of
its undergraduate and graduate students,
the deans support for the school and
its mission, and the natural beauty of
Alabama.
We look for faculty who are passionate about their teaching, effective and
efficient researchers, and good faculty
citizens, she said.
The newest faculty members have a
variety of reasons for signing on at UA,
but they also have some reasons in common: an already excellent and supportive
faculty, a supportive administration, and

Tuscaloosa.
For R. Glenn Richey Jr., assistant
professor of marketing and supply chain
management and a native of Mobile,
choosing UA was a matter of coming
home.
Alabama is my home and when I set
out to get my Ph.D., I targeted UA from
the start, said Richey, who joined the
faculty two years ago. I wanted to come
back and give to the university, city, and
state that helped me generate success in
the business world.
Also, I knew the quality of the
College, said Richey, who earned a
B.S. in marketing at UA in 1992. And I
liked the fact that supply chain management is an area that senior leadership in
the College is supporting as an area for
growth and focus. Also, the facilities and
research support are
unparalleled, and I
wanted the opportunity to teach in a top40 M.B.A. program.
And I think the quality of life is excellent
here and Tuscaloosa is
close to other major
Southern cities.
Doug Cook, who
holds the Ehney A.
Camp Jr. Endowed
Chair in Finance and
Investments, came
to the Capstone
from the University
of Mississippi. He
points to the research
support provided as
one of the reasons he
accepted the chair.
The Culverhouse
College and the
chair, thanks to the
endowment from the
Camp family, provide
excellent research support. My research is
primarily empirical
and, therefore, dataintensive. Supporting
this function,
Culverhouse College faculty have access

to the Wharton Research Data System
and several accompanying databases,
allowing for efficient and accurate data
retrieval, Cook said.
The computer equipment and
The newest faculty members

have a variety of reasons for
signing on at UA, but they
also have some reasons in common:
an already excellent and supportive
faculty, a supportive administration, and
Tuscaloosa.
support staff in-house, as well as the
resources and support staff at the
Bruno Library, are also very good. The
economics, finance, and legal studies
department is well run and the working
environment is collegial. For example, I
have received comments on a working
paper and have provided remarks on
several working papers. In addition, we
have a good seminar series and funds are
available for traveling to conferences or
for acquiring journals.
For the most part, Cook said, the
finance students are conscientious and
have a good working knowledge of current issues. I appreciate being able to
work at a major research university without the long commuting distances and
congestion of urban living. Tuscaloosa
is a nice place to live for my family.
My wife and four kids are enjoying the
amenities of the University and community.
For K. Michele Kacmar, Durr-Fillauer
Chair of Business Ethics and professor
of management, the decision to leave
Florida State University and move to
Tuscaloosa was more difficult. She and
her husband, Charles J. Kacmar, an
associate professor in the Department
of Information Systems, Statistics,
and Management Science, arrived in
Tuscaloosa last summer. Both earned
undergraduate degrees and masters
degrees at Illinois State University and

their Ph.D.s at Texas A&M.
Having been at FSU for 13 years,
deciding to leave was a difficult decision,
especially since it involved two of us,
Michele Kacmar said. But Culverhouse
was very welcoming and accommodating
of our dual career.
That was very attractive for me.
Barry Mason is a visionary. He has a
plan and knows how he plans to implement it. This was very appealing to me.
Barry believes in faculty and supports
them in any way he can, she said. This
makes being a faculty member here a
pleasure.
Michele Kacmar also cited department head Ron Dulek as another reason
she accepted the UA position.
As far as department chairs go, he
is the best I have ever seen, she said.
He understands his direct reports
strengths and positions us so that we
can excel. He thinks outside of the box
and always has a way that he can make
things happen. He is respectful of our
time and supportive of our ideas. He is
spectacular.
My fellow faculty also are wonderful. They are supportive of one another
and took the time to make me feel
welcome, she said. My donor also was
a strong pull. The money he donated
allows me to do things that I think
will make an impact on the lives of the
students I teach. Implanting them with
a strong ethical background may help
eliminate some of the major problems
we have seen in the news over the last
few years.
I also think that Tuscaloosa is a
beautiful place to live. I really enjoyed
the fall, with the change of leaves and
the cool, brisk weather at Christmas. I
will appreciate having all four seasons
again.
From my perspective, said Charles
Kacmar, I was attracted to the MIS
department because of the industry and
real-world projects focus. Within the
framework of a traditional academic program in information systems, students
experience almost all aspects of a realworld software development effort, from
analysis and requirements gathering to
I also think that Tuscaloosa is a

beautiful place to live. I really
enjoyed the fall, with the change of
leaves and the cool, brisk weather at
Christmas. I will appreciate having
all four seasons again.
deployment and end-user training. There
is heavy emphasis on defining business
value and working closely throughout
the project with company stakeholders to define and deliver a product, if
appropriate, that exceeds expectations.
This approach is in contrast to simply
developing software and handing it off
to companies, and leaving it to people
in the company to figure out what to do
with it and if the product is usable.
Charles Kacmar said he also
appreciates the tremendous amount
of information-sharing among projects,
resulting in students learning from each
other. For example, some projects focus
on front-end issues and may never get to
the point of developing software during
the semester. The challenges faced by
these teams are shared with other teams
where requirements have been defined
and the team is in a primarily development mode.
From a research perspective, I was

attracted to the College because the
MIS faculty are involved in a variety of
leading-edge investigations of software
deployment issues, he said.
Finally, I feel fortunate to be a contributor to a new Ph.D. program in MIS
that is housed within a multidisciplinary
unit within the College and crosses academic boundaries, he said. It is exciting to see departments pull and work
together to develop and offer students
a program that has so much potential
value to both their career and social
growth and well-being.
Dr. Ruxandra Prodan, assistant professor of economics, came to UA from
Bucharest, Romania, via the University
of Houston, where she earned masters
and doctoral degrees in economics.
As to the reasons I chose UA, it is
actually quite simple: UA has a reputable
business school, the economics department is very supportive to junior faculty
and creates a good teaching and research
environment, and my colleagues here are
academically active and personally agreeable. What else can you ask for? I truly
like it here, she said.
CollegeNews
Distance education
program in operations
management to go
online this fall
By Niko Corley
new distance education program that

leads to a master of science degree in
operations management is scheduled to
go online in the fall of 2005.
This distance education masters
program is the first of its kind at the
business school, said Charles Sox, chair
of management science and manufacturing management at the Culverhouse
College of Commerce. Sox will direct the
program.
The production and operations management program prepares managers to
meet the needs of an increasingly
technology-based society, facilitating
learning to deal with problems that
develop in the workplace. These potential
problems may arise in business, industrial, or government organizations and
the operations management curriculum
focuses on preparing students to deal
effectively and efficiently with these
and other situations.
In the past, only students attending
regularly scheduled classes on campus
could enroll in the operations management program, but the increasing use
of technology was a major factor influencing the decision to start the online
program.
Students enrolled in the program will
complete, through Internet assignments
and by viewing recorded lectures,
the same curriculum as full-time, oncampus students. The program is similar in structure to the highly successful
EMBA program, which allows working
professionals to secure M.B.A. degrees
and will provide an opportunity for
people already in the workforce to
earn masters degrees in operations
management.
Sox came to UA from Auburn
University, where he taught similar video
lecturebased distance education programs in industrial engineering. He says
student acceptance of and reaction to
the program were good.

The students there liked the ability to
control the lecture and view the tapes on
their own schedule, Sox said.
To complete what is normally a
two-year program for full-time students,
those taking advantage of the new distance education program will spend,
according to Sox, three to five years completing the program. With 30 hours of
instruction, full-time students can manage
three or four courses a semester; part-time
students will be able to take one or two,
depending on how much time they can
commit outside of their jobs.
Sox said he believes the growth of the
automotive industry in the Southeast and
Alabama will produce a number of opera-
tions management positions in the near

future, increasing demand for employees
with graduate-level education in the field.
He also stresses managements numerous
applications in todays workplace, noting
that students who didnt study management may nonetheless find themselves
faced with management decisions.
Students trained in engineering or
liberal arts can find themselves in management positions, and this program gives
them the opportunity to get specialized
training without having to commit to a
full-time program, Sox said.
journalism.
Red Bays Bostick family establishes support fund

for faculty excellence
he family of the late Fred Gordon Bostick Jr. of Red Bay, Alabama, has established
the Fred and Martha Bostick Endowed Support Fund for Faculty Excellence at the
Culverhouse College of Commerce.
Earnings from the Bostick familys $100,000 gift will be used to attract and retain
outstanding faculty through supplementary salary support and other expenses for faculty members, who will be called Fred and Martha Bostick Faculty Fellows.
We are deeply appreciative of the generosity of the Bostick family, said J. Barry
Mason, dean of the College. Support such as this makes it possible for us to compete
at the national level for the very best in faculty. Talented faculty members are the key
to making sure our students receive an outstanding business education. Competition
in this area is extremely strong, and the University and the state of Alabama are
extremely fortunate to have supporters such as Fred Bostick and his family.
John Bostick, Fred Bosticks oldest son, said, My dad attended The University
of Alabama, but he was drafted in World War II and was never able to return for his
degreebut he was always a great Alabama supporter. We felt like this was a great way
to memorialize him.
Fred Bostick, a lifelong resident of Red Bay, died November 21, 2001. He was a
decorated World War II veteran, having served in the infantry in the Ninth Army in
France, Belgium, and Germany and participated in the Battle of the Bulge. He was
discharged in the spring of 1946 at the rank of master sergeant, and shortly after his
discharge, he married his wife of 54 years, the former Martha Ree Bullen.
In 1947 he co-founded Sunshine Feed Mills, now Sunshine Mills, with his fatherin-law, Omer J. Bullen. Sunshine Mills is one of the nations leading producers of pet
foods and treats.
Bostick is survived by his wife; a daughter, Harriet, the wife of James Daniel; son
John and his wife, Pam; son Alan and his wife, Margoth; a sister, Patsy Sparks, and her
husband, Rev. Mike Sparks; and eight grandchildren. John is president of Sunshine
Homes in Red Bay, and Alan is president of Sunshine Mills Inc., also in Red Bay.
Harriet, John, Alan, and Bosticks granddaughter Jill are all UA graduates.
The Fred Bostick Endowed Fellowship Fund was established earlier by the Bostick
family to promote the education of students pursuing courses of study leading to
graduate degrees in commerce and business administration. Recipients are designated
Bostick Scholars.
Message From
The Dean
CollegeNews
Culverhouse represented
in all 50 states
raduates of the Culverhouse College of Commerce are

now located in all 50 states and in a number of foreign
countries.
Not surprisingly, Alabama (19,321) Georgia (2,873) and
Florida (1,942) have the most UA business school graduates,
but Texas (919), Mississippi (610), Tennessee (1,462), and
North Carolina (526) also have good numbers.
Next come the Midwest, parts of New England and
the Southwest. Alaska, you ask? Three. And Hawaii?
There are 12.
There are 31,783 Culverhouse graduates who stay in
touch and let us know where they are. If you are not one
who stays in touch and would like to keep up to date with
what is going on at YOUR business school, please send us
an e-mail and new address to CES@cba.ua.edu and we will
add you to our e-letter.
FeatureStory
ore than ever, young adults

nationwide see a graduate
degree as a prerequisite for a
better job, and more and more graduate
schools are looking to graduate students
to provide the lifeblood of research.
So it follows that no sector of higher
education is more closely scrutinized
than the graduate business school. In
fact, many universities offer only a graduate business school. All of this means
that graduate business schools are more
intent than ever on gaining a competitive edge.
Susan D. Carver was appointed
assistant dean of The University of
Alabamas Culverhouse College of
Commerce last fall, with primary responsibility for the Manderson Graduate
School of Businesshome to the
Colleges graduate programs, including the master of business administration, Executive M.B.A., and Executive
Education programs. Her appointment
was part of a reorganization of the graduate school of business.
Carver earned her bachelor of science and M.B.A. degrees from UA and
has extensive industry experience. She
served in management roles in the insurance industry and, after completing her
M.B.A., worked in the textile industry
for Springs Industries, where she worked
in strategic planning and mergers and
acquisitions.
Carver was also the director of ecommerce at Springs Industries before
returning to UA. She is involved with
the Rotary Club of Tuscaloosa, is president of the Tuscaloosa County Alumni
Association, and has served on other
boards including the Nashville Alumni
Association, Cystic Fibrosis, and Young
Leaders Council. She also has served on
leadership teams at several churches.
In a question and answer session with
The Executive, Carver discussed her shortand long-term goals for the graduate
program and some of the pressing issues
of the day.
New assistant dean

addresses issues facing
Manderson Graduate
School of Business
dent organizations that offer an attractive opportunity for those students. In

addition, the Universitys efforts with
the multicultural center will only serve
to be attractive to our students.
While certainly there is pressure
nationwide, we are ultimately looking
for the bright, younger students that we
can help mold and offer a unique experience, regardless of demographics.
What are some of your short-term objectivessay, within the next five years?
We are very focused around offering an attractive return on investment;
offering a talented, younger student an
enormous experience and the tools and
skills to increase their market value;
and instilling a tremendous work ethic.
Certainly this is where we have developed a reputation, so we will continue
in these efforts and turn our focus outward for the short term. What I mean
by that is that we will concentrate on
enhancing the important connection
between our students and the organizations that hire M.B.A.s. We will focus
intently on going out to where the
customer is to ensure that we are telling
our story, and most importantly, that we
are providing students with exceptional
skills who are prepared to make a difference to any organizations bottom line.
What do you plan to do to address the
diversity issue, both in terms of women
and in terms of African Americans and
Hispanics and other minorities?
We are very proud of our efforts in
this area, as we tend to track with or
slightly above the national average in
attracting minorities. We emphasize our
mentoring relationships that we have
with our faculty and the variety of stu-
How is the pool of prospective students

changing and how do those changes
impact the Manderson programs?
The M.B.A. student is becoming
younger and younger. At Manderson,
for the past decade or so, we have intentionally targeted the younger student, so
from this perspective it should keep us
ahead of the curve. On the other side,
we will have increased competition from
other schools that will now be aggressively targeting our students. The other
significant change is that there are 20
million 20-year-olds. These students are
digital, visual, and virtual and have a different expectation from the traditional
student. This fits well with our strategy
of connecting to industry and with our
teamwork environment. It seems the
students today desire more stimulation
than just the traditional lecture. We must
continue to stay ahead of our customers in this regard, and our faculty do a
tremendous job of being very effective
in the classroom by bringing in guest
speakers from the cases that they are
working on. It is no longer acceptable to
teach a class and go home. The demand
has shifted to work with the students in
their teams for many hours outside of
the classroom.
FeatureStory
One of the buzz-phrases in graduate education is return on investment (ROI).
How does Manderson fare in that area?
This is an area where we have truly
been recognized for our efforts in
producing a quality product. We are
currently ranked by Forbes magazine as
number nine in the nation on investment recapturethe time it takes to
recapture the earnings that you invest
into the M.B.A. program. What most
folks fail to recognize is that the national
rankings put a lot of emphasis on starting salaries and do not adjust for region
of the country and/or age of the student.
Given that we typically place our graduates primarily in the Southeast and given
their age, this recognition from Forbes is
quite remarkable.
ROI is also a very key decision factor
in choosing the program that students
attend. There has been a lot of publicitysome would say negativeabout the
value of the M.B.A. At Alabama, we are
thrilled that people are asking, Is it really worth it to invest upwards of $50,000
in your M.B.A. education? We encourage prospective students to ask that
question. When they do, they will find
a value-oriented solution if they choose
The University of Alabamas Manderson
Graduate School of Business.
We all know the value of work experience in obtaining a graduate degree. Are
you looking for prospective students with
work experience or those right out of
undergraduate school?
We certainly look for both, although
60 percent of our students have about
two years work experience. It is an
attractive environment when you can

have meaningful dialogue and learn
from your colleagues in the classroom.
While the textbook can be effective,
we all know that the sharing of experiences greatly enhances any educational
experience.
The number of people earning masters
degrees in business has climbed steadily over the past decade. Do you see that
continuing, and how will your students
differentiate their degrees from all the
others?
Actually, the number of GMAT
test takers is down nationwide, but we
have seen an increase in the number of
GMAT reports sent to our program from
the prospective student. Bottom line:
Students are going to differentiate themselves with their leadership capabilities.
Industry is looking for leaders who not
only have functional skills, but who also
have the ability to execute efficiently,
solve complex problems, manage and
motivate others, and handle difficult
performance issues and the conflicts that
accompany them.
Specialized masters degrees are
becoming more popular. Where do you
see that area going?
The customer, in this case the hiring organization, is becoming more
demanding of the kind of hire they seek.
Bottom line, we need to listen to that
customer and tailor the experiences of
our students to meet those needs. No
longer is the traditional academic setting effective. Our faculty have a number of deep relationships with industry
executives, and therefore they create
opportunities for our students to have
experience with live business problems. The students with the degree with
that kind of experience create a competitive edge for themselves.
In the Executive M.B.A. arena, the
corporate support has eroded to around
30 percent. At Manderson, we track at
slightly above that average. This indicates that the companies in this region
have been satisfied with their investment
and the results they see from the managers and executives they sponsor in our
program.
Is tuition support, from the College and

employers, an issue?
This issue is becoming larger with
every passing day. Although you hate
to solve all of your problems by throwing money at students, the reality is that
with our rise in the national rankings,
we are now competing with schools
that have multimillion-dollar endowments, and they are, in a sense, buying
students. This is a tough environment
when you are trying to attract the brightest and best students and they are being
offered full rides at other institutions.
We need to be able to compete with this
and the only way is to raise our endowment to a similar level. While we believe
that we have something special to offer
and dont wish to compete solely on
dollars, at some point you have to recognize the importance of attracting the
right kind of student. It also feeds off
of itself ... you get the most attractive
student by offering them a scholarship,
which can yield brighter students and
better experiences, which in turn helps
to attract better students in the future.
What is the single most-cited reason
for enrolling in a graduate business
program?
We believe the three most important
attributes are return on investment, an
impressive and active alumni network,
and a national reputation. We feel very
confident about all three of those attributes. Our challenge is to tell our story
to more folks outside of the state of
Alabama and the Southeast. How many
companies would be shocked to know
that Procter & Gamble hires our students and often cites our students as the
brightest and most successful hires they
have rising in their organization? This
is a company that also hires Harvard
graduates.
Our challenge is to reach more of
those organizations and take our students to see them. We hear time and
again about what a special work ethic a
University of Alabama student demonstrates. We are better than we give ourselves credit and promotion for.
FeatureStory
Brians story
Culverhouse student/technician
doesnt let his injuries slow him
down
By Niko Corley
rian Smith never takes the stairs.

In the crowded lower level of
Alston Hall, he maneuvers
through the crowd of business school students awaiting the beginning of Professor
Darryl Webbs class in business law. He
presses the button and waits patiently
for the doors to open. When they do, he
silently boards the elevator.
Its not that Smith is lazy or too tired
to walk the four flights of stairs to the
top floor, where a plethora of computer
problems await his attention; he simply cant. Wheelchair-bound except for
extremely short distances, Smith has no
choice but to ride the elevator.
There are people that will ride it to
go up just one floor. Ive seen people
wait three or four or even five minutes
for it ... it really gets me, because by the
time the elevator gets to them they could
have gone up and down the stairs twice,
Smith said.
Ten years ago this past January, Smith,
then a rambunctious 16-year-old high
school sophomore, was in a car accident.
He was thrown through the back window
of a Volvo station wagon and landed, 50
feet away, on the back of his head in a
church parking lot. He awoke after five
and a half months in a coma.
Smith suffered a traumatic brain injury; the landing he took on his head had
shaken his brain around inside his skull,
seriously affecting his concentration,
communication, and motor skills. Unlike
a stroke, in which only one hemisphere
of the brain is affected, an individual
suffering a traumatic brain injury experiences a loss of skills from many parts of
the brain. The resulta general decline in
cognitive abilitiesis irreparable.
But Smith maintains a positive outlook, occasionally cracking one-liners
about his condition and shrugging off his
limitations as a fact of life.
Im lucky I didnt break my neck,

much less kill myself, so in that sense I
was lucky, Smith said.
But dealing with his handicap hasnt
always been easy. Smith awoke from his
coma in June and returned to school in
August. But because he had missed the
spring semester of classes, he had fallen
behind his classmates. For a month or so
after he returned home, a teacher visited
Smith once a week to instruct him and
assess his progress and abilities. At the
end of the month she told his parents
she wasnt accomplishing much, as little
time as she had for instruction, and that
he was perfectly capable of returning to
school full-time.
Smith says that when he returned to
school, his injury allowed him to experience something few people are able to
finding out who your real friends are. As
difficult as it was for him to adjust to his
wheelchair, he says other peoples adjustment to the handicap was just as hard.
When I went back to high school,
that was pretty hard; the people I had
known for the past eight or nine years,
they wouldnt talk to me, they would
kind of ignore me, Smith said. I was
there, but you know, [I had] nobody to
talk with.
Student/computer technician Brian Smith,

injured in a traffic accident 10 years ago
and confined to a wheelchair, works out a
computer glitch in an Alston Hall office.
Smith went into a state of isolation after that, attending class but sitting by himself and not talking much.
Eventually, he began to associate with a
small group of people who in turn introduced him to others, which helped pull
him out of his shell. But his worst heartbreak was yet to come.
Near the close of his senior year in
1997, Smith learned he was a credit
and a half shy of the number needed
to graduate. It was too late to make up
the deficit, and Smith would be forced
to endure another year of high school.
Disappointed that he would have to
watch his classmates receive their diplomas without him, Smith was able to convince the school board to allow him to
sit in on the ceremony.
I was so upset ... these were my
friends, whether they ignored me or not,
and I had spent 10 years of my life with
them, Smith said.
If that year was the lowest point of his
high school career, the next year was the
high-water mark. Despite the fact that
FeatureStory
... I need to push myself. Its like that old saying, NO PAIN, NO GAIN,
and believe me, I have experienced some pain
his class had graduated the year before,
Smith says the following years graduation was more memorable.
When they called my name and I
walked up the steps and then across the
stage, as I grabbed the diploma I kind
of held it over my head and the whole
place started standing up and clapping,
Smith said. I was amazed at how loud it
was ... it was the highlight of my life.
While Smith was in the hospital recuperating from his coma, a tutor working
with his psychologist did math exercises
with him on the computer to assess his
cognitive skills and abilities. The computer and how it worked struck a chord
with Smith.
It really started fascinating me, he
said. When I got back home I wanted
to start dabbling with it more.
By his own admission, Smith is no
computer expert, but his abilities and
knowledge landed him a job on the technical services staff of the Culverhouse
College of Commerce. The staff handles
computer and electronics problems that
arise in Bruno Library and Alston and
Bidgood halls.
On a normal day, Smith wheels back
and forth between the three business
school buildings, attending classes and
fixing all kinds of computer problems.
But a normal day for Smith is anything
but normal. Besides being stricken with
ataxia, an involuntary movement of the
muscles that can make even the simplest
task difficult, Smith faces a number of
transportation problems.
In addition to his wheelchair, Smith
rides a red three-wheeled cart between
on-campus destinations and his dorm,
which gives him greater mobility and a
higher level of independence.
I refer to it as my overgrown trike,
Smith said.
Smith remembers the day he got his
overgrown trike. He was riding the bus
home from high school on a beautiful
day, thinking about the days before the
accident when he rode a bike without
a care in the world. It hit him that he
would never again be able to do that,

and told his father the same when he
got home.
He told me about the three-wheeled
bike and we went out and looked at
them and decided to get one, Smith
said. It lasted a pretty good while, six
years. I just recently had to buy a new
one.
While his parents constantly encourage him, Smith says they are apprehensive about some of his adventuressuch
as the Internet technology internship he
recently finished in Washington, D.C.
I think that they realize that I would
never get better just sitting over hereI
need to push myself. Its like that old
saying, no pain, no gain, and believe
me, I have experienced some pain,
Smith said.
Smiths doctors dont hold much
hope that he will ever return to the lifestyle he enjoyed before the accident, and
Smith says the lifespans of most who
suffer traumatic brain injuries are significantly shortened. At the same time,
however, his doctors say they have never
seen anyone suffer so severe an injury

and come through it with the cognitive
skills Smith possesses.
He has undergone a number of surgeries, some more successful than others,
to improve his condition and make his
life more normal. Given his areas of
interest and line of work, Smith would
be the first to say that constantly evolving medical technologies hold hope for
people like himself.
On a string around his neck, Smith
wears an ankh, a trinket his mother
picked up on a trip to Egypt. When
asked its significance, Smith smiled
wryly.
It means long life, he said.
It has been 10 years since his accident, and Smith remains thankful for
even the smallest things and focuses on
the positives in his life.
Im still here, Smith said, and
accomplishing things, truthfully, I never
thought I would have accomplished.
journalism.
CollegeNews
C&BA strengthening bonds with
Hyundai
By Niko Corley
ith a new plant near Montgomery under construction, the Hyundai Motor Company joins other
auto manufacturers heading for Alabama and the
Southeast to build their cars, trucks, and sport-utility vehicles.
Hyundai Motor Co. recently unveiled its 2006 Sonata
sedan, the first vehicle the company will make in the United States.
Production begins in May at the
South Korean automakers plant in
Montgomery. The $1.1 billion facility
can produce more than 300,000 vehicles per year, Hyundai
officals said.
The Culverhouse College of Commerce recently sent
several faculty members and administrators to South Korea
where Hyundai is located, to strengthen ties between UA and
the auto manufacturer. The business school has active internship and scholarship programs with Mercedes-Benz U.S.
International, located in nearby Vance, Alabama, and Dr. Carl
Ferguson, director of UAs Center for Business and Economic
Research, would like to see the same kind of relationship develop with Hyundai.
Our long-term goal is to identify and implement a variety
of programs and interaction that are mutually beneficial,
Ferguson said.
Ideally, Ferguson said, a partnership between UA and
Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama will develop along
the same lines as the one the University has with Mercedes.
Since 1995, UA and Mercedes have had a variety of internship
programs in place spanning all majors in the College, including accounting, finance, management information systems,
and operations management.
The Universitys most recent trip to Korea increased confidence that Hyundai and UA can work together to achieve their
goals, Ferguson said.
They need good graduates, said Ferguson, and we need
to foster internship and long-term employment opportunities.
FAMILIAR SIGHTS
Ornate lights grace the entrance to the Sloan Y. Bashinsky
Computer Center, one of the three beautiful buildings that
make up the Culverhouse College of Commerce complex,
and the clock between Alston Hall and Bashinsky keeps
students, faculty and staff aware of the time.
he University of Alabama continues to build upon

its tradition of excellence in teaching, research, and
service through generous, long-range gifts from private

donors. Please remember the Culverhouse College of
Commerce in your will, trust, or other estate plan.
For more information without obligation, call or write

Office of University Advancement
Box 870122
(205) 348-4767 1-888-875-4438
Fax (205) 348-8871
mailbox@advancement.ua.edu
AlumniFeature
From the
Capstone to Kabul
Business school grad leads Army medical training team in Afghanistan
By Niko Corley
heres no telling where a business degree will take

you, and Dr. Mike Bell, who earned a general
management degree in 1985 from the Culverhouse
College of Commerce, will attest to that. Bell
recently returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan with the
U.S. Armys Second Mobile Medical Training Team.
For 90 days, Bell, who served as team leader, and his team
trained Afghan soldiers in combat medicine and trauma
care. As a part of the Office of Military Cooperation for
Afghanistan, Bells team is part of a larger effort to develop
and sustain an Afghan government and military under central
control, similar to the U.S. model.
Afghanistan has been at war almost continuously since the
1970s. As a satellite state of the former Soviet Union, it was
equipped and trained with Soviet military and medical supplies until communist rule was overthrown. The expulsion of
the Soviet Union from Afghanistan left a vacuum that was
soon filled by civil war, as countless Afghan warlords grappled
for power.
This continued until the 1990s, when the Taliban, an
Islamic extremist group that was only recently driven from
power, overran the warlords and took control. The result of
over two decades of fighting is evident in nearly every corner
of Afghanistan, Bell said. In the Talibans wake, a dire need

to restructure the government and supply the countrys needs
became apparent.
In general, medical training in the country has been in
shambles for the past 1520 years, Bell said.
Bell says that since the Soviet Union pulled out of
Afghanistan, medical training and the availability of medicine
and modern medical care, not just to soldiers but also to ordinary citizens, have been in decline.
Especially since the Taliban took over, many medical practices were not allowed since they went against the ultraconservative government, Bell said.
But with the Taliban ousted from Afghanistan, the United
States and its allies hope to build a democratic government
with a modern military capable of repelling future Taliban
attempts at regaining power. Bell and his team were the second
of their kind to enter the country and in three months had
trained 85 Afghan soldiers in battlefield medicine.
Mobile medical training units are not the only groups training Afghan soldiers in modern military practices. Throughout
Afghanistan, there are training units for every task in the military, whose purpose is to prepare and instruct Afghan soldiers,
who in turn will teach other soldiers how to fight the Taliban
AlumniFeature
and other extremist groups.

He attributes the devastation he
Bell says that despite a strong
saw in Afghanistan to the countrys
work ethic and an eagerness to learn,
violent history. Long before the
Afghan soldiers faced a number of lanTaliban or even the Soviet Union
guage-related barriers. Afghanistan is
ran Afghanistan, powerful warlords
a country of extremely diverse ethnic
commanding large armies fought for
groups, each with its own language or
control. This went on for hundreds of
dialect, making the most basic textyears and eventually became part of
book exercises in English grueling.
the culture. In other predominantly
Classes were taught in the countrys
Islamic countries, war had been neitwo main languages, Pashtu and Dari,
ther as frequent nor as extended as
and everything had to be translated
in Afghanistan, making that country
from English for the students. Present
poorer and poorer over time.
Dr. Mike Bell, a Culverhouse graduate, spent 90 days in
to assist the teachers in further transThe amount of destruction was
Afghanistan training Afghan soldiers in combat medicine
lation for non-Pashtu and non-Dari
incredible; there are still minefields
speakers were representatives from five and trauma care. In his letters home, Bell included photos and unexploded bombs right off the
of, clockwise from top left, Afghan soldiers in front of a
of the countrys main ethnic groups.
sides of the road, Bell said.
tank, a cattle truck passing by the compound, Christmas
Many of the students were unable
Twenty-three percent of the nations
dinner with the troops, and Bell with one of his Afghan
to read and write in their native lan28 million people live below the povguages, making instruction even more counterparts.
erty line, putting Afghanistan behind
difficult.
the more prosperous countries of the
Thirty to 40 percent of the students were illiterate, and
world but ahead of other predominantly Islamic nations like
teaching [them] advanced subjects like medicine can be hard,
Iran, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan. Bell says that regardless of
Bell said.
the Afghan peoples level of poverty and their history of hardDespite these setbacks, Bell feels the students learned a great ship, they remain dedicated to a free and democratic country.
deal about combat life-saving techniques, medical evacuaI have a lot of admiration for the Afghani people, Bell
tion for wounded soldiers, and field preventive medicine. The
said. In spite of the hardship and devastation, these are proud
demand for trained soldiers in the countrys volunteer army
people.
to fight the remaining Taliban forces and search for Islamic
After graduating from UA, Bell earned a B.S. in biology
extremist leader Osama bin Laden is so high in Afghanistan
from Syracuse University and, in 1997, a doctor of medicine
that as soon as students complete instruction, they are usually
degree from Uniformed Services University.
sent into active service.
Afghanistan is a long way from Bidgood Hall, however. Bell
Bell had been deployed to Saudi Arabia and Iraq during
never thought he would wind up in a classroom across the
Operation Desert Storm and believed he had a good idea what world teaching CPR to soldiers who need two or three translaa tour in Afghanistan would be like. But the level of destructors to understand him.
tion and the overwhelming poverty of the nation were like
When I was in business school, the idea of leading a medinothing he had seen before.
cal team in Afghanistan was the furthest thing from possible in
The conditions on the ground were worse than I had
my mind, Bell said.
expected, Bell said. The level of poverty was much higher.
Niko Corley is a senior majoring in journalism.
AlumniNotes
2004
Mark Roberts has been named the alumni

chapter representative for the University of
Alabama National Alumni Association.
Eric Rogers (M.B.A.) has taken a position with Eason, Graham, and Sandner
Commercial Real Estate in the office leasing and brokerage division.
2003
Andrew M. Austin recently joined

Hardman, Guess, Frost & Cummings as a
staff accountant in Birmingham.
Jerry Christopher Black has been promoted to branch manager of the Ted
Lansing Corporation.
Mary Reid Fisher has received the
Chairmans Club Award from New South
Federal Bank.
Joe Fulmer has joined Re/MAX Partner
in Columbus, Mississippi, as a Realtor
specializing in land development.
1976
Rick Stephens has

been named president of Pacific
Casual LLC, a
company specializing in lawn and
garden accessories in various product categories from Asia as well as
from the United States. Stephens
has held executive management
positions with WinsLoew Furniture
and BJI over his 18 years in the
industry.
Lindsey Jordan has recently accepted a

position with The University of Alabama
as an admissions counselor in the Office
of Undergraduate Admissions.
2002
Samuel Maxwell Brewster has recently

accepted a position as export documentation coordinator for Louis Dreyfus Export
Atlanta, a subsidiary of the multinational
corporation Louis Dreyfus, with headquarters in Paris, France. Louis Dreyfus
Export Atlanta is a commodity trading
company with export sales worldwide.
Steven Lowery has been promoted to
regional sales manager for Aarons Sales
and Lease Ownership.
Anthony Lee Raycroft has joined Barfield
Murphy Shank & Smith PC as staff
accountant.
2001
Jason Quinn of Northport has been promoted to rental sales representative with
Penske. He and his wife, Heather (2001),
had their first child, Jackson Samuel, last
October.
Christopher James Steiskal has graduated
magna cum laude from the University of
Mississippi School of Law and is an associate at the law firm of Mitchell, McNutt
& Sams, P.A., in the Tupelo, Mississippi,
office.
Joseph G. Walker has passed the third
level of the Certified Financial Analyst
exam.
Qiming Wang (M.A.) has passed the third
exam.
2000
Kandi Owens has been promoted to associate brand manager for Dial Bar Soap.
She moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, two
years ago to join the personal care division of The Dial Corporation.
Louisa T. Williams (M.B.A. 2004) has
accepted the position of development
specialist at the National Gallery of Art
in Washington, D.C. In this role, she
is responsible for fundraising through
individual charitable contributions and
estate planning. The National Gallery of
Art, located on the National Mall, houses
one of the worlds finest collections of
western European painting and sculpture,
spanning the 13th century to the present,
as well as American art from colonial to
contemporary times.
1999
Brian Funkhouser is employed as a

Citation Market research analyst for Gantt
Aviation in San Antonio, Texas.
Holly Irene Posey (M.A. management,
2001) has accepted the position of manager of human resources for James Monroe
Bank in Arlington, Virginia.
1998
Brandon LaBresh has joined PritchettMoore Inc. in Tuscaloosa as an insurance

agent.
Katherine Moak has been named customer satisfaction manager at High
Cotton. Her duties include driving the
scheduling of projects and jobs and monitoring the overall satisfaction of High
Cottons clients. She joined High Cotton
in June 2004 with experience in management, publishing, and direct marketing.
High Cotton employs more than 100
people in its 133,000-square-foot facility
in Trussville, Alabama, processing more
than 90 million pieces of mail annually.
1997
1995
Kerry L. Foster completed his M.T.A.

program last summer and has accepted
a position as tax services supervisor with
Jackson Thornton, a CPA firm located in
Montgomery, Alabama.
Gary Johnson (M.A. 1997) has been promoted to regional marketing manager at
Southern Accents, a division of Southern
Progress. He joined Southern Progress
in 1999 as business manager for Southern
Accents and Coastal Living and in 2002
was promoted to special markets manager for Oxmoor House. In his new position he will manage sales and marketing
efforts for the magazine in the 16-state
southern region.
Andrew Scott Brislin has accepted

the position of loan originator at The
Mortgage Source Inc. for the Eastern
Shore/Mobile area.
Paul C. Pinkerton has joined Mississippi

State Hospitals Human Resources
Department.
Anne H. Lovette recently passed the third

exam.
Lana Jacobson Blackmon has been

promoted to operational risk manager in Regions Financial Corporations
Enterprise Risk Management support
group. She has been with Regions 10
years and has worked in the companys
internal audit, trust retirement services,
and internal consulting groups.
Julia Leach Martin has been promoted

to assistant corporate information risk
officer in Regions Financial Corporations
corporate information security department. She will be responsible for vendor
management, security awareness training,
and internal assessments related to the
evaluation of how the companys business units and automated systems protect customer information as mandated
by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act. She has been with
Regions since 1998.
1996
E. Bryan Finison Jr. (M.B.A.) of

Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is a partner in the
regional accounting and consulting firm
of Tidwell DeWitt LLC, with offices in
Atlanta, Birmingham, and Tuscaloosa.
He and his wife, Lee Carmichael Finison
(1996), have two sons, Speed Keltner and
Trey.
A. Ezell Webb has been promoted to
assistant controller of The Drummond
Company, headquartered in the Liberty
Park Urban Center in Birmingham.
1994
William David Leach has accepted a position as MQSeries administrator with ACS
State Healthcare Solutions in Atlanta.
Michael Brett Richards has been promoted to senior accounting manager at
Southern Progress Corporation.
1993
Stephen C. Schaaf has been installed as a

member and director of Warren, Averett,
Kimbrough & Marino. The largest privately owned public accounting firm
in the Birmingham metropolitan area,
Warren, Averett, Kimbrough & Marino
LLC is a full-service certified public
accounting firm.
1992
Richard E. Anthony Jr. recently passed

the third level of the Certified Financial
Analyst exam.
David A. Mason recently graduated
from the graduate school of banking
at Louisiana State University in Baton
Rouge.
Jimmy Ray Mauldin (M.B.A., 2002)
recently returned to the United States
after a diplomatic assignment in Ghana,
West Africa, and will begin a position as
a diplomatic junior officer with the State
Department.
Reginald J. Walker has been named
a partner in the Minneapolis office of
PricewaterhouseCoopers.
1991
John Baschab and Jon Piot have

announced the release of their second
book, The Professional Services Firm Bible,
published by John Wiley & Sons. The
book is a comprehensive analysis of the
intricacies of managing a professional
services firm. Subject matter includes
governance, organizational structure,
compensation, and sales management,
along with other essential topics. The
Professional Services Firm Bible is the second book written by Baschab and Piot
for Wiley. They are partners at Impact
Innovations Group, a Dallas-based information technologyconsulting firm. The
book follows the successful Executives
Guide to Information Technology, which was
on Amazon.coms list of top 25 business
books. Impact Innovations Group provides IT optimization and outsourcing
services to large- and mid-market companies. Impact Innovations has offices in
Dallas and Atlanta.
1990
Michael Allen Greene has accepted a

position with the University Medical
Center in Tuscaloosa as director of billing
and coding compliance.
David R. Sher has been installed as 2005

chairman of the Birmingham Chamber of
Commerce Board.
Susanne Hunt (M.B.A.) got married and

moved to Germany.
David W. Williams has been promoted

to vice president of credit operations at
Spiller Associated Furniture Stores Inc.
Michael W. Lammons has been promoted to assurance partner with

PricewaterhouseCoopers in Atlanta.
Ray Thornton has been named information services manager at Gulf States Paper
Corporation. Thornton, who earned his
M.B.A. from Samford in 2000, and wife
April (HES, 1990) also have a new daughter, Reagan Catherine, born in August.
She joins her sister, Ansley, 8. April is
events program assistant for the business
school.
1987
Steven D. Garrett recently was appointed

to the Presidents Advisory Council of
American Express Financial Advisors.
Richard O. Hughes has been promoted
to executive vice president, securitization
manager, treasury division, at Compass
Bank in Birmingham.
1986
Mary Elizabeth Hinds Bean has been promoted to group sales manager/vice president with AmSouth Bank in Nashville,
Tennessee.
L. Susan Doss is included in the 200405
edition of The Best Lawyers in America.
1985
Pamela A. Chandler is president of

BRAWCO Inc., which recently observed
its 20th anniversary and received the Safety
Training and Evaluation Process Award
and the Accredited Quality Contractor
Award from the Associated Builders and
Contractors of Alabama.
1973
Gary Osborn has been named general

sales manager of Legacy Pontiac-GMC in
Eutaw, Alabama. Osborn has been in the
automobile sales business for 22 years.
1969
Sonja Murdock Kearsey Jernagan recently married Louis R. Jernagan (1969).
J. Paul Compton Jr. is included in the

200405 edition of The Best Lawyers in
America.
Mitzi Coogler has been admitted as
a shareholder at Michael H. Echols &
Associates in Tuscaloosa.
Tom Adams has joined Mentor Capital
Management, a fee-only financial planning firm in Elmhurst, Illinois, as a finan- Robert C. Walthall is included in the
cial planning consultant after 21 years in 200405 edition of The Best Lawyers in
the accounting profession.
America.
1968
1983
1964
Barry J. Goss has been promoted to assistant general manager of finance at the
N. Lee Cooper is a shareholder and chair
Birmingham Water Works Board.
of the litigation and arbitration practice
groups of the firm of Maynard, Cooper
John E. Hagefstration Jr. is included in
& Gale PC, which received the 2004 Pro
the 200405 edition of The Best Lawyers
Bono Award at the Alabama State Bar
in America.
Associations annual conference.
1963
Mark A. Hickman (M.A. 1984, M.B.A.

1989) has been appointed secretary-treaMartha Lou Riddle recently published
surer of the National Chicken Council.
a book titled Who Turned on the Lights in
Carl N. Kennedy has been promoted to Attalla, a compilation of stories about life
comptroller and vice president of Delphi in Attalla, Alabama, from the 1920s to
1940s, written by 17 authors.
Canada Inc.
1943
1960
William L.
Goggans has been
appointed chairman of the East
Jefferson General
Hospital Board of
Directors. Goggans
has served on the board since 1996,
including two terms as secretary, in
2000 and 2001.
Goggans was a vice president
of Metropolitan Life Insurance
Company, where he was responsible
for a 10-state area and approximately
4,000 employees before retiring in
1995. He was also chairman and chief
executive officer of Metropolitan Life
General Agency.
East Jefferson General is a 450bed, community-owned, not-forprofit hospital located in Metairie,
Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans.
It was the first hospital in Louisiana to
achieve Magnet status for excellence
in nursing services by the American
Nurses Credentialing Center.
1982
Vicki Alley Denmark has been named

vice president and general manager of
Southern Progress.
Ralph C. Herden Jr. is a Realtor with Metro
Brokers/GMAC Real Estate in Atlanta.
1981
Robert E. Milam Jr. (M.B.A. 1999) has

been named manager of special assets at
Regions Financial Corporation. Milam
joins Regions from SouthTrust Bank in
Birmingham, where he was senior vice
president of corporate special assets.
1978
John M. Williams has been appointed

managing director at Morgan Keegan &
Company in Birmingham.
In memoriam
Dr. Richard Wiegand, retired professor

of management communication at the
Culverhouse College of Commerce, died
December 1. He is survived by his wife,
Peggy, of Tuscaloosa; two daughters; a
son; and several grandchildren.
Wiegand taught at the business school
from 1978 until his retirement in 1993.
In his first two years on the faculty, he
developed short courses and conferences
to assist state businesses in their efforts
to remain current in management techniques and strategies.
He joined the management and marketing department in 1981 and taught
management communication until his
retirement. He earned a journalism
and English degree at the University of
Colorado, a masters in American literature at the University of North Carolina,
and a Ph.D. in adult education from
Florida State University.
DevelopmentNews
Stay connected
Alumni support is vital in todays competitive
business education environment
By Charlie Adair
ts been a busy and productive

year in the Culverhouse Office
of Development, Alumni, and
Corporate Relations. During the 2004
football season, more than 4,200 people joined us at our pregame events in
Alston Hall. Like our pregame events,
the Commerce Executives Society
luncheons around the Southeast have
continued to draw strong crowds; we
have had nearly 500 guests at luncheons in just the past six months.
We thank you for visiting with us on campus and attending the luncheons. It is very important to the College that our
alumni remain well connected to the school.
Alumni support is vital if the Culverhouse College of
Commerce is to compete in todays business education environment. State support alone will not provide our students
the affordable, high-quality education they deserve. You play a
vital role in ensuring the continuing success of the Culverhouse
College of Commerce, and there are many ways you can help:
Refer outstanding high school students to the College. You
can be our eyes and ears in your community. If you hear of an
outstanding student, take it upon yourself to meet with him or
her to talk about our programs. The quality of our students is
improving each year, and the stronger the pool of applicants,
the greater the strength of our programsand the value of your
degreewill become.
Sign up for our e-newsletter. Delivered straight to your
inbox, this timely e-letter is a great way to stay apprised of what
is happening at Culverhouse. If you do not currently receive this
e-letter and would like to, send your first name, last name, and
e-mail address to dhamilto@cba.ua.edu to get in the loop.
Do your part to remain in the Culverhouse network. Keep
us updated on your professional advancement and your personal developments by calling us at (205) 348-2929 or contacting
us online at www.cba.ua.edu/alumni. It will take you only a few
minutes to remain part of a world-class alumni network.
Share your business experience. Many of you have

achieved enormous success, and your stories are an invaluable
source of inspiration and guidance for our students. Share your
knowledge by speaking to one of our student organizations,
mentoring one of our students, or discussing career options.
Join the Commerce Executives Society. Joining the
Commerce Executives Society means your contribution will
be used to enhance the academic experience of our students
through scholarships, job placement programs, bringing executives to campus, and much more. In return, you will receive a
subscription to The Executive, the Colleges alumni magazine;
invitations to prefootball game receptions; and information
about other events.
Contribute financially to the College. Regardless of the
amount you contribute, your annual gifts are the lifeblood of
the College. Without your help we simply could not provide
the quality education we do and remain an economic engine
that benefits the entire state and nation. Add your name to the
list of contributors found elsewhere in this magazine.
Charlie Adair
Director of Development, Alumni, and Corporate Relations
E-mail: cadair@cba.ua.edu
Phone: (205) 348-4722
Fall
Spring/Summer
2004/Winter 2005 cba.ua.edu 29
Calendar of Events
College of Commerce
April
April 5
Lowder Lecture Series

Guest Speaker: William R. Dexheimer, President,
ValueCentric Marketing Group Inc.
Alston Parlor and Conference Room
April 12
Dallas CES Luncheon

12:001:00 p.m., Tower Club
April 14
American Marketing Association

5:008:00 p.m., Alston Parlor
April 15
Honors Day
8:00 a.m.5:00 p.m.,
April 15
ISMS Honors Day Reception

10:30 a.m.12:00 p.m., Alston Parlor
April 19
Houston CES Luncheon

12:001:00 p.m., Downtown Club
April 20

Guest Speaker: Benjamin P. Jenkins III,
President, General Bank,
Wachovia Corporation
Alston Parlor and
Conference Room
April 26

Guest Speaker: Alan Ritchie, New Capital Partners
April 29
Graduation Picnic
12:001:30 p.m., Quad
May
May 12
CES Luncheon, Nashville

12:001:00 p.m., Loews Vanderbilt Plaza
May 20
Retired Faculty/Staff Reception

4:005:30 p.m., Alston Parlor
Show your pride in the

Culverhouse College of Commerce.
Display the Culverhouse name through
top-quality apparel and gifts.
T-Shirts Caps Coffee Mugs Sweat Shirts Golf Shirts
Fleecies License Plates
Shop in person on the fourth floor of Alston Hall
when on campus, or order online.
450 ALSTON HALL (205) 348-2929 or cba.ua.edu


and Business Administration
Box 870223
Address service requested.
NONPROFIT
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
BIRMINGHAM, AL
PERMIT NO. 2400

The Culverhouse College of Commerce Executive Magazine - Spring 2005 Edition

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The Culverhouse College of Commerce Executive Magazine - Spring 2005 Edition

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Spring/Summer 2005

MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF

Help us keep C&BA

Why join CES?

* Increase the prestige and

Call Nidia Spence at 205/348-4899 or e-mail ces@cba.ua.edu. Log on to http://cba.ua.edu.

Published twice annually in the

Dean: J. Barry Mason

Professor Robert M. Morgan

Business honors students mentor

Bama basketball has strong ties to

Sarbanes-Oxley may cause distress

Culverhouse College of Commerce

From the Capstone

The University of Alabama is an equal-opportunity

Recruiting business school

Spring/Summer 2005 cba.ua.edu 3

J. Barry Mason, Dean

4 Culverhouse College of Commerce

Culverhouse College of Commerce in the News

he M.B.A. program in the Manderson Graduate School

Susan Carvers appointment as assistant dean responsible

K. Michele Kacmar, Durr-Fillauer Chair of Business Ethics,

Spring/Summer 2005 cba.ua.edu 5

Message From The Dean

Professor George Franke is the recipient of the 2004

Professor K. Michele Kacmar was awarded the Distinguished

Professor Charles Sox was appointed associate editor of

6 Culverhouse College of Commerce

obert M. Morgan, professor of marketing and J. Reese Phifer Faculty

College names scholarship,

hrishan N. Emonina has been named coordinator of the Culverhouse

For many years, Thomson ISI has

Every two months, ISI publishes a list

Spring/Summer 2005 cba.ua.edu 7

nder the leadership of junior Tanya

Tide basketball team has

They always walk out of here with a

Senior guard Earnest Shelton (above

ith the congressional approval

advisory board fellow at The University

CBER study looks at

study by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the

ing keeps watch on

Spring/Summer 2005 cba.ua.edu 9

Message From The Dean

hen Mandy Ortiz decided to pursue her Ph.D. in marketing after

10 Culverhouse College of Commerce

coming college town were attractive to

If minority students never see

I was teaching at a community college

said Ortiz. In fact, we have two students

Spring/Summer 2005 cba.ua.edu 11

A business school is only as good as

12 Culverhouse College of Commerce

is good, more money can be earned in

Unless decisive action is taken

business schools, universities, and

department members, both long-range

faculty come to Alabama and never leave

14 Culverhouse College of Commerce

faculty, a supportive administration, and

Culverhouse College faculty have access