by Neely Borger | May 6, 2015 | Academics, Current Students, Uncategorized
This summer, COBA will have two groups participating in the study abroad program. Dr. Andy Little and Dr. Jim Litton will be taking a group of 10 students to China during the month of July. The group will be visiting three major cities in China: Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. Each city offers a different look at the Chinese culture, with Hong Kong and Shanghai evolving as the centers of business in Asia and Beijing, the country’s epicenter for cultural, educational and political matters. Students will earn course credit in Global Entrepreneurship and an Honors Colloquium for Business, Ethics, and Law. Dr. Andy Little is excited to expose students to an entirely new culture and learning experience. Dr. Little says, “China is quickly becoming one of the dominant players in the global business world. What better way is there to learn and understand the culture than to go visit and experience it? This learning experience will push students outside of their comfort zones, but in a safe, reflective, and healthy way.” The group will be touring several companies, participating in panel discussions, and going on numerous cultural visits, including the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City in Beijing.
COBA students enjoyed learning about the Chinese culture when they visited several summers ago.
Another group from COBA, led by Assistant Professor Jennifer Golden and Dr. Rick Lytle, will be studying in Oxford, England in June. The classes that will be offered in Oxford include International Business and International Marketing. The group will visit and participate in active research with some of the world’s most renowned companies, including MINI Cooper, ExxonMobil, Johnson and Johnson, Oxford Analytica, Hearst Business Media, and Emerson Electric. They will also have the opportunity to hear lectures by local international scholars. In addition to the research and classroom work, students will be able to explore Europe. Students will have two free travel weekends, visit Normandy, France and see the musical, Les Miserables. Dr. Rick Lytle hopes that this trip will provide “global education which will broaden, challenge, and educate students’ minds and hearts.”
COBA students with Dr. Orneita Burton and Dr. Don Pope during last year’s trip to Oxford.
Check back on our blog during the summer to read student excerpts from their travels around the world!
by Neely Borger | Mar 25, 2015 | Academics, AMA, Current Students, Uncategorized
COBA’s AMA student organization attended the annual AMA International Collegiate Conference in New Orleans on March 19th-21st. The theme for the conference this year was AMAze Yourself, inspiring students to find their passions and discover ways they can use those passions to differentiate themselves in the marketplace. Assistant Professor Jennifer Golden and eight current and new student officers, including Cheyenne Rawlings, Allison Phillips, Neely Borger, Carolyn Heard, Bridgett Fuessel, Noah Bastable, and Josh Maday were able to see other AMA organizations that are active in their universities as well as hear from prominent speakers from across the country. Speakers were from leading companies around the world and included Jeff Schmitz and Rachel Lewis from The Hershey Company, Daryl Weber from The Coca-Cola Company, and Ian Dallimore from Lamar Advertising Company. The conference also included multiple breakout sessions each day, hosting discussions on topics such as social media management, resume building, networking opportunities, and suggestions for improving a university’s AMA chapter.
Every year, AMA provides a case study for each AMA university chapter to compete with one another. Groups must provide a full marketing plan with objectives, strategies, implementation ideas, and a budget for the case study. This year, the product for the case study was Coca-Cola’s Vitamin Water. At the conclusion of the conference, the chapters were able to see the winning team present their marketing plan, gaining insight and real experience for how a marketing plan should be implemented.
The AMA conference is a great event opportunity for students to learn, network, and find ways that they can set themselves apart in the marketplace. AMA is excited to be back on campus and working on future ideas to build their own personal brand as well as the brand of COBA.
“After going to the conference and hearing from other AMA organizations, I am really excited to get involved with the organization. I learned how important building my own personal brand really is,” says junior marketing major, Carolyn Heard.
by M. C. Jennings | Mar 11, 2015 | Academics, COBA Events, Current Students, Faith Infusion, Special Speakers, Uncategorized
Frontier Ranch in Buena Vista, Colorado
January 2-8, 2015, COBA held the 17th annual Leadership Summit at Frontier Ranch in Buena Vista, Colorado. There were 139 students from ACU and 19 students from Lubbock Christian University who gathered to hear from professionals and well-known Christian leaders working in the marketplace. This unique opportunity offers a blend of dynamic speakers, practical application, skill building, and spiritual insight, all designed to equip students for leadership in the family, in their community, and in the marketplace. There were a total of 18 speakers and four mentor couples, as well as faculty and staff, on the mountain. Speakers included Mike Haley from Focus on the Family, Eric Pillmore (senior Vice President-Corporate Governance for Tyco International Ltd.), Elise Mitchell (ACU’s 2015 Outstanding Alumnus of the Year and founding sponsor of Morris and Mitchell Advertising Agency), Walmart’s Stephen Quinn and John Aden, Jim Mhoon and Glenn Stanton from Focus on the Family, Michael Tremain , and Kent and Amber Brantly (ACU’s 2015 Young Alumni of the Year, medical missionaries for Samaritan’s Purse, and survivor of Ebola).
Kent and Amber Brantly
The Brantly’s spoke passionately about serving your community, whether that is locally or globally, with humility and service. Kent and Amber shared their story from courtship to marriage and how their desire to serve as medical missionaries became a passion that drew them together and continues to guide their decisions as a family.
Eric Pillmore
Eric Pillmore led students through a case study of Tyco, narrating the rise and fall of the executives of the infamous company. As students played the parts of the key figures in the case study, Pillmore discussed the importance of ethics and standards in business practices.
Elise Mitchell
Elise Mitchell shared the story of founding her company, Mitchell Communications Group, and the transitions that accompanied her decision to sell her company to Dentsu Public Relations where she now serves as CEO. She encouraged students to enjoy the journey and emphasized that it is not just about arriving at the destination.
John Aden
John Aden inspired students to look at the journey of Moses as a guide for life. He explained that just as Moses had his Red Sea moment, a series of highs and lows in life, each of us would face our own stages in life where we have to push forward in faith even though we may be at a low point in our journey.
Leadership Summit Students, Faculty and Staff
When surveyed after Leadership Summit, one student responded, ” It was great to hear from those big name people in the business world and to realize that they are people just like us. John Aden sat at my table on day during lunch and it was cool to talk to him and to remember that he is just a regular guy and that he had is struggles and how he used them to further his career and life. All of the speakers were just so humble and really encouraged us to pursue God above all else. Probably on of the best decisions I have ever made in college to attend Leadership Summit. ”
Hayley Griffin, Carolyn Heard, and Butter Saowatarnpong
Carolyn Heard, a junior marketing major, loved hearing from powerful and influential leaders in the marketplace. Carolyn especially enjoyed listening to Elise Mitchell speak. She was inspired by Elise’s passion for public relations and her entrepreneurial spirit, and appreciated that she shared her success stories as well as her struggles. After coming down from the mountain, Carolyn felt refreshed and ready to start the new year with the right mindset of relying on God in every situation. She said, “There is this unique atmosphere at Summit; you’re basically in this community for a week that is looking to grow in their business knowledge as well as in their spirituality.”
Judith Barajas, Carolyn Heard, and Jessica Carrigan
Jessica Carrigan, a senior marketing major, is thankful for the unique opportunities she was able to experience at Summit. She says, “I loved building a community with people that I normally do not see every day. Because I am a senior, connecting with employers on a Christian level was inspiring for me. I feel empowered to enter the marketplace and be a stronger Christian leader.”
Assistant Professor Jennifer Golden
Assistant Professor Jennifer Golden said she truly felt God’s presence on the mountain this year. She was incredibly blessed to see how students soaked in every word the speakers had to say, asking difficult questions and seeking to learn how to deal with hard circumstances in life. “I was so inspired by these speakers’ powerful testimonies of loss, hardship, and success. God is using their transformational stories to touch the lives of students and people throughout the world.”
Nancy Ndekwe, Rodney Johnson, and Maya Triplett
Since 1999, Leadership Summit has built a special community for students, faculty, and speakers to feel God’s inevitable presence. Leadership Summit continues to empower students to find their callings, equipping them to be strong Christian leaders in the church, home, and community.
Sunrise at Summit
by Neely Borger | Feb 4, 2015 | Academics, Accounting, Careers In..., Current Students, Placement stories, Uncategorized
COBA is proud to announce that three of our Accounting students, including David Legler, Amy Morris, and Courtney Richardson, received scholarships from the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA). The Accounting Education Foundation of TSCPA has established a program to provide scholarship assistance to accounting students who plan to become Texas Certified Public Accountants and enter the accounting profession. In order to be considered for these scholarships, students must attend a university which participates in Accounting Education Foundation programs and be nominated by the chairperson of the accounting department, have completed 110 semester credit hours of college-level courses by August 31, have a GPA of 3.6 or higher, and have completed 21 semester credit hours with a B or higher in accounting courses required for accounting majors.
The scholarship recipients are currently in the MAcc program, and each student has accepted job positions with one of the “Big 4” public accounting firms and will start after graduation in May. David Legler is originally from Austin, TX and will start with KPMG in Fort Worth. Amy Morris is from Richmond, TX and will work with PwC in Oklahoma. Courtney Richardson will complete her MAcc degree in May and then will go on to work with EY in Fort Worth, TX. Dr. John Neill is extremely proud of these students, stating that they have consistently practiced excellence inside and out of the classroom. Congratulations to David, Amy, and Courtney on their well-deserved scholarships. COBA wishes you the best with your future career paths!
Courtney Richardson
David Legler
Amy Morris
by Neely Borger | Jan 28, 2015 | Academics, COBA Faculty, Uncategorized
“COBA has played a major rule in my teaching development. With their supportive environment, I am incredibly grateful to be surrounded by such amazing students and colleagues.”
COBA congratulates Dr. Mark Phillips on his promotion from Associate Professor to full Professor. In the tenure process, teachers apply for promotion to obtain a new title representing a different rank of academic hierarchy. Faculty must meet specific criteria that the university and their department sets forth in order to receive a promotion. Because of his fit to the university and teaching excellence, ACU recognizes him as a senior faculty member.
After graduating from ACU, Dr. Phillips went on to gain his masters from Purdue University, worked for two years in industry, worked in full time church ministry for 10 years, and then spent three years earning his PhD from Oklahoma State University before returning to work for ACU’s College of Business. Phillips has been a COBA faculty member for 11 years.
Dr Phillips has been a key part of COBA’s academic success and progression, positively impacting the lives of students through his teaching, mentoring, and preaching over the last decade. Dr. Phillips was appointed as the new Department Chair of Management Sciences at the beginning of June, 2014. Phillips has done an excellent job managing this position while continuing to pursue his own teaching and research agenda. Dr. Lytle praises Dr. Phillips, saying that “his wit, his keen analytical ability, and his steadfast work ethic has accomplished much towards the mission of COBA”. Congratulations Dr. Phillips on your well-deserved promotion! COBA is blessed to have such a strong role model, professor, and mentor in our department.
by Neely Borger | Jan 22, 2015 | Academics, Current Students, Social Entrepreneurship, Uncategorized
Sixteen ACU students had the opportunity to study Social Entrepreneurship at City Square in Dallas during a January short course. The class was taught by COBA professor, Dr. Laura Phillips. In the short one-week time period, the class covered a wide range of topics related to starting and running a social enterprise (nonprofit or for-profit that has a social mission at its core). Speakers who currently run these types of enterprises, as well as those who consult and advise these organizations, came to share with the class about their own unique experiences. In addition, the class included student presentations on various topics and case study discussions. Students were also taken on a tour of City Square, hearing about how the business operates and ways they are trying to expand.
Many of the speakers were ACU alums, including Robyn Wise, Scott Orr, and Don Crisp. Scott Orr, an ACU and COBA grad, has served in many roles for nonprofit organizations as well as for-profit companies. He is currently the Vice President of Public Affairs for Fidelity Investments.
Scott’s Mantra: Using strengths to accomplish greatness.
Jerita’s Mantra: Bloom where you are planted.
Jerita Howard, an Abilene resident, also came to speak to the class. Jerita is the owner of One Smart Cookie, an online gourmet cookie and brownie gift package company. Like Scott, Jerita has also served in various roles throughout her professional career. Both of these entrepreneurs provided valuable insights on business operations and social enterprises.
Dr. Laura Phillips loved the broad mix of majors that were represented in the class this year. She says, “The class succeeds because of the knowledge, experience, and honesty of the 14 guest speakers. While not all of the students who took the class plan to start a social enterprise, I think all of the students benefited from the class.” After taking the class, she hopes students feel equipped to work with social ventures in the way that fits their life and career goals.
Emily Adkins, a sophomore Pre-Physical Therapy major from Irving, TX, enjoyed taking the class at City Square. She feels like she has learned the basics of social enterprises and that she could comfortably work in this type of environment now. “This class really pushed me outside of my comfort zone in a good way! I love social enterprises and I can see myself working for one some day. Listening to these speakers opened my eyes to how these organizations help people in an effective way.”
