A Year In Review

2016-2017

Dean’s Message

Dear students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of COBE,

As the summer sun shines on our beautiful campus, the COBE team is preparing for the

next academic year. What perfect timing for reviewing all that we have done together

over the past year, my first as Dean. We are launching a new format for this annual re-

view, and we hope you will find it useful and informative.

We have been working hard on behalf of our students. Starting last summer, we out-

lined five strategic priorities for the college, and immediately started pursuing them;

these were:

MBA

AACSB Accreditation

Fundraising

Eagle Investment Group (EIG)

The Morgan Center for Entrepreneurial Studies

As you will read in the articles in this review, I'm delighted to report that we have made

significant progress in all of these, as well as added a sixth area: Undergraduate pro-

grams update and improvements (more on that in future updates).

I look forward to your feedback on our annual review, and hope to see you on campus

this year.

For up-to-the-minute updates on what happens at COBE, please follow me on twitter

@AshlandCOBEDean

All the best, and Go Eagles!

Elad Granot

Follow Us !

Elad Granot,

Dean of the College of

Business and Economics

MBA Program Goes Global

The MBA Programs Office successfully launched the

new 1 Year International MBA program in January at their

Columbus MBA Center. Dean Granot and his talented team

of faculty and staff developed this unique program with the

full-time professional in mind. Classes are taught one day a

week, Saturdays only. The 1-year program allows students to

earn their MBA quickly and travel the world on not just one,

but two international study tours with all-inclusive tuition!

The inaugural cohort traveled to Prague, Czech Re-

public on their first of two study tours this March. Highlights

include corporate visits to Google, Parker Hannifin and ex-

ploring the historic city center. Current MBA student Ashley

Smith says, “Traveling abroad with my program cohort and

faculty was an enriching experience! Learning from world

business leaders, experiencing Czech culture, and making

memories I will cherish for life make me very thankful to be

a part of Ashland’s 1 Year International MBA program.” Stu-

dents can hardly wait for their second study tour to Barcelo-

na & Lisbon in October!

The reception of the 1 Year International Program

was so positive that due to the growing demand, they are

now offering classes at a second Ohio location. Beginning in

August, students can take Saturday classes at the brand

new, state of the art, Cleveland MBA Center or the Colum-

bus MBA Center. The program is growing quickly, yet it still

offers rolling admission with flexible start dates at both the

Cleveland and Columbus locations.

Besides the ability to see the world from a global business

perspective, what can students expect from an Ashland 1

Year International MBA? According to a Fall 2016 survey, on

average, Ashland MBA alumni experience a 46% salary in-

crease along with 100% satisfaction after completion of

their MBA degree.

If you have any questions about the 1 Year Interna-

tional MBA or other MBA programs, please visit our web-

site at ashland1yearmba.com or contact Steve Krispinsky

at skrispin@ashland.edu or (419) 289-5236.

MBA students visiting Google

in Prague

MBA students visiting Parker Hannifan (above)

and MBA students against Prague skyline

On May 22, 2017, President Campo signed the application for AACSB

initial accreditation for the College of Business and Economics (COBE). The

accreditation will cover both the college’s undergraduate and bachelor

degrees. AACSB, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business,

has the goal to create the next generation of great leaders and COBE has

applied for initial accreditation to have its mission of fulfilling this goal

recognized. Dean Granot, Associate Dean Jacobs, and Chairs and faculty have

attended seminars and conferences to prepare for AACSB accreditation and

improve the College of Business and Economics.

Dean Granot states that “This accreditation will place a quality seal on

Ashland University’s Business programs and allow our programs to be ranked,

which will support our continuous efforts for improvement and increased

Reputation.” AACSB accreditation is one of 5 strategic pillars that Dean Granot

and COBE faculty are working on building up in order to raise COBE towards

greatness. AACSB accreditation adds to the college’s already existing ACBSP

accreditation. The new accreditation will help the college grow stronger, and

better reach and teach students.

The College of Business and Economics is eager to take the necessary

steps to gain full AACSB accreditation. The College plans to make

improvements by hiring additional faculty members, and continuing its legacy

of providing an intimate quality education for students.

COBE Retirement

College of Business and Economics professor Beverly Piper is retiring after 37 years at Ashland University. She has

made a memorable impact on COBE and its students over the years. The College of Business and Economics wishes

Professor Piper a happy retirement. Her bio follows:

Beverly J. Piper, Associate Professor of Accounting and IS, joined Ashland Univer-

sity in 1979. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with an active license to

practice accounting from the State of Ohio. In addition, she holds a Certified

Management Accountant (CMA) certificate which indicates achievement of

proficiency in cost and managerial accounting, finance, economics, information

systems, and business policy. She taught financial accounting, managerial

accounting, and cost management, and has taught the MBA Foundations course in

Accounting. She earned her Master's of Science in Accounting from the University

of Toledo and her Bachelor's of Science in Education from Bowling Green State

University.

The College of Business And Economics’ Drive

For The Highest Level of Accreditation

President Campo signing initial

AACSB application

Eagle Investment Group Continues To Soar

AU’s Eagle Investment Group (EIG) has had 12 active members in the 2016-

2017 school year under the advising of Terry Rumker, assistant professor of

finance. The group focuses on making investments and gaining experience

in the financial realm.

The EIG makes an annual trip to New York City to experience the center of

the financial world. This year they were able to tour many prominent

financial firms including: the headquarters of Oppenheimer Funds, IVA

Funds, Morgan Stanley, Bloomberg, and AbelNoser. Students had the

opportunity to ask questions and gain perspective from these firms, as well

as network with individuals from the firms. The EIG was also able to add to

their experience and perspective by attending many influential speaker

events while in NYC including Alessio Delongis from Oppenheimer Fund, Jamie

Noser from AbelNoser, Leo Civitillo from Morgan Stanley, and Charles de Vaulx from IVA Funds.

The EIG was largely able to fund this trip and other program activities by hosting their annual golf outing. The golf

outing allows EIG members to network with corporate partners and alumni while raising funds for the program. In

addition to the annual NYC trip, students in the EIG also traveled to visit with Skylight Financial in Cleveland and

Northwestern Mutual in Columbus. An EIG alum, Konner Reid who works for Northcoast Research in Cleveland,

came to campus to talk to the students about the research side of the financial industry. Students gain unique

insight and perspective into the financial world during these trips and guest speaker visits.

The EIG is also proud to say that their overall performance for the 2016 calendar year was more than 7% return

(risk adjusted), which was within 1% of their benchmark! The group was able to end the year with more than $1.4

million in investments. They are invested in stocks such as Google, VISA, JP Morgan Chase, the Royal Bank of Can-

ada, Union Pacific, BP PLC, Southwest Airlines, Apple and others. The EIG is cautiously optimistic about the near-

term market for the following reasons: possible corporate tax cut, infrastructure spending bill, and a generally

positive outlook for the economy. The College of Business and Economics is proud of the hard work our EIG stu-

dents have put into managing the money entrusted to them by the Board of Trustees in a prudent and responsi-

ble way, applying their education in real life situations, and competing with anyone in the job market.

EIG In New York by the Bull on

Wall Street

Dauch’s Day of Giving Recap

College of Business and Economics students,

alumni, faculty, and community won two com-

petitions on the Day of Giving. COBE started off the day by winning

the Eagle Rising competition, which was awarded to the group that

made the most donations by voting for the COBE team between

6am to noon. The day-long competition was awarded to COBE for

collecting the most donations from 6am to midnight. Overall the

College of Business and Economics helped raise money for the

Ashland Fund, which provides scholarships, academic programs, and

student life. The College of Business and Economics helped raise

$3,700 for the Ashland Fund and received $5,500 for winning the

competitions. The College of Business and Economics plans to use

the winnings to update the Dauch lobby furniture. Overall, the Day of

Giving raised $41,977.48 and reached almost 80,000 people on Face-

book and over 30,000 people on Twitter! The College of Business and

Economics would

also like to congratulate the other winners and participants for a

great competition and a great time raising money for a great cause.

COBE is looking forward to another great Day of Giving next year.

COBE Faculty and Staff Celebrating their Day

of Giving Win

Community Involvement

Enactus, a student run organization driven to help the

community, continues to work with Safe Haven Women's

Center. They are able to aid the Safe Haven Women’s Cen-

ter through their grant with Walmart. They offer classes in

basic business skills, personal self defense, computer litera-

cy (using computers we bought them with a small grant

from Walmart), and nutrition and healthy eating infor-

mation. Spring semester, they will be taking them on a

"shopping spree" to buy each woman a business

appropriate outfit and an etiquette lunch so that they are no longer intimidated by three forks. This is the

third year we have worked with them.

The group also works to support local businesses such as Local Roots, and many others. They are also

working to help repurpose the former Gerald's Photography studio.

COBE’s Enactus group showing their sup-

port for Ashland’s Local Roots

COBE Scholars

The College of Business and Economics congratulates many

scholarship winners every year and would like to recognize the

winners of the Emerson Scholars Program, Smucker’s Company

Annual Scholarship, and the Ashland University Business Advisory

Council Endowed Scholarship.

The 2017- 2018 Emerson Scholars are juniors and seniors who

have at least a 3.0 GPA along with demonstrating leadership

within the College of Business and Economics, Ashland University,

and the community as well as showing excellent potential in their

fields of study. The Emerson Scholars include Dennis Cerny

(Finance major), Grace Ecenbarger (Information Systems and

Supply Chain Management major), Ethan Jackson

(Business Management major), Abigail McMaster (International

Business and Hospitality Management major), Hunter Music

(Information Systems major), Rachel Shock (Accounting major),

Josh Snell (Supply Chain Management and Business Management

major), Jessica Syme (Accounting and Finance major), Kennedy

Walker (International Business and Marketing major), and Hannah

Wittkopf (Accounting major).

The Smucker’s Scholarship is given to a COBE student based on

academic merit and financial need. The 2016-2017 winner was

Mitchell Kelly (Finance major).

The Ashland University Business Advisory Council Endowed

Scholarship is given based on academic success, a letter of

interest, resume and three letters of reference. Lauren Shick

(Fashion Merchandising major) was awarded the 2017-2018

scholarship.

The College of Business and Economics is proud of its scholars

and wishes them the best of luck in all of their endeavors.

Emerson Scholars with sponsor

Smucker’s Scholar (middle) with

Dean Granot (right) and Nick Workinger

(left)

Spring Fashion Show

Ashland University’s College of Business and Economics Fashion

Merchandising program presented “An Elegant Tale” as told through the

novel themed garments they created for the 2017 Spring Fashion Show.

This is the third event in the past five years developed and produced by

students in the Fashion Merchandising program.

The event incorporated other departments of the university,

including the art department, which created a mural to display over

windows; the communications department which recorded the show for

posterity; along with many student volunteers from both the college

fraternities and sororities who participated as several of the fashion

designers’ models.

The students had project responsibilities as a component of their courses in Fashion. Twenty-four students

from both Fashion Studio I & II created garments specifically for the show. The looks for the show were based on

popular novels throughout history, such as The Great Gatsby, Romeo and Juliet, and Harry Potter. Each model

had a male escort to walk her through Dauch’s hall and balcony.

As an integrated part of the evening’s event, local businesses were provided the opportunity to display

and promote their merchandise to all guests in attendance. The event was held in the Ridenour room in Dauch

College which also benefited from the dramatic entrance of the models from the lovely staircase. Overall, the

venue was ideal for the presentation of the students’ garments.

The twenty-four hand-crafted student garments were all created, styled, and accessorized by the students

themselves and their support teams.

The students learned how to plan, produce and direct a runway show event from idea to concept to

execution. The garment project provided each student with the accountabilities and responsibilities typically

associated with a fashion designer, not unlike professionals such as Stella McCartney, Donna Karan, Tom Ford, or

Marc Jacobs. The students of the Fashion Merchandising program had the opportunity to speak with alumni who

are working in the industry, as well as industry professionals from companies such as Columbus Fashion Week,

Jo-Ann Fabrics Corp., Sterling Jewelry, and several others.

With over 250 guests in attendance, including professors from Dauch College of Business and Economics,

alumni of the Fashion Merchandising program, along with seven prospective students and their families, this

year’s fashion show was open to everyone to enjoy. Overall, as a direct result of guidance and oversight by first

year Fashion Instructor Alison Rossi, and the event’s key team players, local businesses department and university

support personnel, the “An Elegant Tale” fashion show was a tremendous success for the Fashion Merchandising

students here at Ashland University.

The Fashion Merchandising students all worked together to bring their vision of an Elegant Tale to life.

The countless hours they put into this production was well received from all in attendance and the students can’t

wait to start production on their next show, December 1, 2017.

We Would Also Like To Note Some Additional Accomplishments

Community/ Other Student Organizations

COBE’s Living Learning Community’s success and impact through community service

COBE received the Wellness Award this year

Ivan Wortman and Mitchell Cox won 2nd place in Entrepreneurship Education Consortium (ECC)

regional competition with their Business plan for the

“ShowerSling”

Faculty Accomplishments

We would like to congratulate our faculty members

on the many honors and recognitions they have received

this year for their outstanding work.

Nitin Walia published “Augmented Virtual Doctor Office

(AVDO): Theory-based Design and

Assessment” in December 2016

Lance Kaltenbaugh published “Institutional Type and Campus Recreation Department Staff as a

Mediating Factor for Diversity/Multicultural Training”

Sivakumar Venkataramany published both “Entrepreneurship and SME Development Policy in a Least

Developed Country: Lessons from Laos” and “Challenges Faced by Entrepreneurs. An empirical Study of

India”

Paul Holmes published "Per­unit versus ad­valorem discrimination with an application to MLB" in

Applied Economics Letters, with Robert F. Kane

Many professors have been recognized for their commitment to students with various nominations and

awards throughout the year as well.

Back row: Associate Dean Jacobs

Front row: (left to right) Dean Granot, Ilona Sea-

man, Esther Goodell, Jenny Homan, and Carrie

Hartsel

We would also like to extend a special thanks to all of the speakers who have

taken their time to share their experiences with us.

Thank you!