by Neely Borger | Sep 30, 2014 | COBA Faculty, Current Students, Faith Infusion
“I hope students realize that I am learning from them and developing my own faith in the process. Students bless me more than I could ever hope to bless them,” says Dr. Andy Little.
Rudy Garza values the relationships he built with Dr. Jim Litton and Dr. Andy Little this summer while studying abroad in Central America.
Studying abroad is beneficial for students for a variety of reasons. They are given the opportunity to learn and expand their worldview by getting to know another culture. It is also a chance for students and faculty to have concentrated time in a new setting to build relationships with each other founded on unique learning experiences.
Dr. Andy Little believes in the positive impact that COBA has with its students. He believes that the culture COBA provides is one where the faculty deeply and genuinely cares about the students and their Christian development in life and in their career paths. He loves being around students and walking alongside them as they learn and develop as Christian people.
Rudy Garza, a junior marketing major, values the experiential learning that COBA offers. Professors aim for students to learn through experience, providing unique opportunities and tasking students with real work that will equip them for success in the marketplace. He says that he will always treasure studying abroad in Honduras with two of his favorite professors, remembering all of the impactful experiences they were able to share.
With innovative, intelligent, and experienced professors, COBA students are given access to wisdom from a Christian and business perspective. Our community empowers students to strive to reach their potential. The combination of study abroad trips, student organizations, and opportunities to build strong and lasting relationships with professors and fellow students allows students to get involved and excel. In COBA, we believe that everything starts with a relationship.
by Neely Borger | Sep 23, 2014 | Academics, Current Students, Faith Infusion, Poverty and Development, Social Entrepreneurship
Group at the Cerro Negro Volcano in Nicaragua.
At the end of the the summer, 18 students along with Dr. Andy Little and Dr. Jim Litton, traveled south to study abroad in Central America. Students had the opportunity to earn credit in Global Entrepreneurship as well as MGMT 440, including special topics: Business Practicum in Central America. COBA also co-taught an Honors College colloquium on social entrepreneurship in developing countries. The group spent the first two days in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, stayed at Mission Lazarus for nine days, and ended the trip in Leon, Nicaragua.
The trip challenged the students to evaluate how they want to conduct business in the future. They were able to use their business skills in social entrepreneurship, learning how to apply these skills in a missional context. Because the group was surrounded by widespread poverty, this study abroad trip was unlike other COBA programs. Working in Central America gave students and professors a chance to see the complexity and difficulties of globalization and economic development in third world countries.
Throughout the trip, students were able to tour local businesses, go behind the scenes with ACU alum Jarrod Brown at Mission Lazarus, visit a local Honduran co-operative coffee company, and speak to several different business leaders in Honduras. Unlike the local co-op, Mission Lazarus had a much smaller profit margin; because of their commitment to operating the business in a godly manner, they strive to treat employees fairly and with dignity.
Stephanie Day, a senior accounting major from Oklahoma City, was highly encouraged by the trip. She believes in the power of the business principles she learned this summer, even if in the future she does not work in social entrepreneurship. Stephanie encourages students to get plugged in and study abroad at some point in their college career. She says, “There are so many incredible things we can learn in a classroom setting, but there’s something about seeing those principles applied firsthand in other countries that makes the learning experience so much more valuable.”
The encounters students get to experience while studying abroad are truly one of a kind. In Central America, students were able to see firsthand how businesses function in developing countries. COBA is intentional with providing students unique opportunities to integrate learning key business principles with developing students to reach their potential and find their missional calling.
“Because each culture is so different, God is able to manifest himself in different ways; studying abroad is so remarkable because not only does it expose you to a new way of learning, but it also gives students the opportunity to see God in an entirely new light,” says Stephanie Day, a senior accounting major.
by Neely Borger | Sep 18, 2014 | Academics, COBA Faculty, Current Students, Faith Infusion
“I love how COBA integrates education with building relationships with us. Learning in such a positive and uplifting Christian environment has encouraged me and made such a huge difference in my experience,” says junior marketing major, Bailey Thomas.
ACU and COBA take pride in building a strong community and relationships between students and professors. COBA professors take on the role of teachers and mentors, preparing students for the world with an exceptional academic experience as well as teaching life lessons. By prioritizing God first, COBA believes other life and career successes will surely follow.
This summer, Bailey Thomas, a junior from Lubbock, studied abroad in Oxford with Dr. Orneita Burton and Dr. Don Pope. In Oxford, the professors were able to get to know students on a deeper and more personal level. Dr. Pope enjoyed punting on the river and traveling with students during his free time. He says that his favorite thing about teaching in COBA is the ministry aspect, educating students about business and guiding them to lives of faith and service.
Dr. Orneita Burton says she enjoyed sharing travel experiences with students while abroad. She loves working in a Christ-led business environment where she can freely have “one-on-one conversations with her students, talking about their lives and developing genuinely true relationships.”
COBA’s culture is truly one of kind, pushing students to excel in all aspects of their lives. When students graduate, their lives and hearts have been touched and transformed by COBA’s faculty and staff.
by M. C. Jennings | Jul 29, 2014 | Academics, Current Students
COBA offers students multiple opportunities in the summer to get class credit while studying abroad and learning about our global economy. This summer, our business students have already traveled on two separate trips to Oxford and Europe. Currently, we have a group of students in Honduras, working specifically with Mission Lazarus and learning about social entrepreneurship. You can read about their trip in a daily blog on the Griggs Center website. We hope you’ll follow along!
by M. C. Jennings | Jul 15, 2014 | COBA Faculty, Current Students, Faith Infusion
Summertime and the living is easy…. or at least that’s the way the old song goes. Summer is a season that many use to reconnect with family and friends and make new priorities before the start of school in the fall. Dr. Terry Pope, Professor of Finance and an elder at Highland Church of Christ, shares with us his top ten rules for making life a little sweeter. We hope it will inspire you as much as Dr. Pope inspires his students.
by Neely Borger | May 29, 2014 | Academics, COBA Faculty, Current Students
COBA will be undergoing a transition in leadership at the end of May. Dr. Don Pope, Management Sciences Department Chair, Bill Fowler, Accounting and Finance Department Chair, and Dr. Monty Lynn, Associate Dean for the College of Business, will move from their current positions to full-time faculty roles beginning June 1, 2014. These three individuals have blessed countless students with academic and spiritual leadership. They have contributed to COBA’s culture and success throughout the years and are much appreciated at COBA and ACU for their diligence and dedication in education.
After more than 20 years of service as the Department Chair for Accounting and Finance, Bill Fowler will return to full-time teaching and assume a new role for the department, seeking to better engage alumni and friends in the mission and work of the department. As the Department Chair, Bill launched the highly successful Master of Accountancy program which has attracted two decades of exceptional students and started scores of students in accounting and finance careers. In addition to teaching auditing and taxation, two challenging courses which require constant learning, he also developed an exceptional accounting and finance faculty. Bill was responsible for hiring every faculty member currently serving, all with terminal degrees, capably teaching and mentoring students. He formerly served as Assistant Vice President for finance at ACU (1984-1991) and previous to that, as Vice President for finance at Rochester College (1978-1983). Dr. John Neill will be assuming the Department Chair position in Accounting and Finance.
Dr. Don Pope has served COBA for fourteen years. For six of those years, he has been the Department Chair for Management Sciences and the architect of COBA’s Assurance of Learning System. While Chair, Don performed multiple tasks, including course scheduling, budget management, planning/recruitment/selection of new full time faculty and adjunct faculty to meet course demands, personnel reviews for faculty, assessment and assurance of learning processes required by our accreditation agencies, and proposing new degree plan revisions. Don is the backbone of many COBA processes that will continue to serve the department well into the future. He praises the entire department, impressed by “the manner in which the department pulled together during some very difficult moments as well as the arrival of several new young faculty that have really strengthened our department.” Dr. Pope passes the baton of leadership to Dr. Mark Phillips.
Associate Dean Dr. Monty Lynn is also transitioning back to full-time instruction to pursue his passions in research and teaching. Dr. Lynn has been with COBA since 1985 and has served as Associate Dean for the past five years. As Associate Dean, Monty contributed in various roles, supporting academics and maintaining the building and technology of the College. Dr. Lynn has served as director of COBA’s MBA program, Chair of the Management Sciences Department, and in additional roles including the W.W. Caruth Chair of Owner and Managed Business in the College of Business Administration. He has exemplified honor, character, and diligence to his students and colleagues, leading the College through its third consecutive successful accreditation review with AACSB International. Monty’s exceptional expertise in teaching, research, and service show his influential role in COBA, on the ACU campus and around the world. Dr. Lynn also teaches classes in Management Sciences, including Introduction to Business. Dr. Lynn commends COBA’s faculty and staff for their dedication to students, contributing to students’ maturity in intellect, community, and spirit as they are pursuing their career opportunities. Dr. Lynn feels blessed to be part of such a positive community in COBA and at ACU. Dr. Andy Little will now be serving as Associate Dean for the College of Business. COBA is grateful for Dr. Monty Lynn’s 29 years of exceptional service.
Professor Fowler, Dr. Pope, and Dr. Lynn are all individuals who have greatly contributed to COBA’s excellence in service and education at ACU and throughout the world. These three great men demonstrate integrity in all areas of their life, genuinely making a difference in students’ lives, equipping them to pursue excellence throughout the world. COBA thanks you for your years of excellent service, hard work and dedication!
