School of Business News Archives - 2008

T²S Conference Hits Albany in October

The Annual Technology Transfer Society Conference connects academics and practitioners, the private and public sectors, and a variety of social science and engineering disciplines. Past conferences have covered Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Emerging Issues in Technology Transfer, and Entrepreneurship and Technology Commercialization. This year’s focus is Entrepreneurship and Innovation Clusters.

The conference is co-organized by Professor Donald Siegel, Dean of the School of Business and Professor Pradeep Haldar of the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering.The keynote speaker, Dr. Marie Thursby from Georgia Tech will discussTechnological Innovation: Generating Economic Results (TI:GER).A collaboration between the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory Law School, TI:GER brings PhD, MBA, and law students together to learn about the challenges of commercializing technology. Such a program would be ideal for the Capital Region.

For over 30 years, the Technology Transfer Society has been dedicated to the academic analysis of technology transfer and commercialization and the identification and dissemination of best practices.  T²S membership consists mainly of scholars in a wide variety of academic disciplines, but also policymakers and practitioners at universities, federal labs, incubators, and science parks.  The society sponsors the Journal of Technology Transfer, the only academic journal devoted to the managerial and policy implications of technology transfer.  The journal was recently selected for inclusion in the Social Science Citation Index.

The Annual Technology Transfer Society Conference Entrepreneurship and Innovation Clusters  October 17-18, 2008 Contact the Technology Transfer Society for more information or to register: anlink@uncg.edu or (336) 854-9431. Sponsored by the School of Business and the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering.

Professors Bring Business Analysts Together

Business professors Peter Ross and Peter Duchessi are bringing the International Institute of Business Analysis to Albany. The first membership meeting of the proposed Albany Chapter of the IIBA will be held on Tuesday, September 23 at 5:30 at the UAlbany College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering.

Earlier this month, Associate Professor Duchessi and Lecturer Ross hosted the chapter kickoff event.  Hoping to attract 50 interested professionals, the event drew over 150, a mixed group of seasoned business analysts, recent graduates and current students of UAlbany’s technology-focused MBA.  Some professionals had been making the two hour drive to Westchester to attend IIBA meetings.

Ross notes that he and Duchessi were looking for a professional organization that would offer a certification to their ITM students. They found that the IIBA has plans to offer such a credential. The international non-profit group currently offers the Certified Business Analysis Professional certification to experienced professionals.

Business analysts are different from IT project managers in that they consider the business purpose of an information systems project. At the initial kick-off event, Glenn Brule, a founding member of IIBA , explained the problems that can occur when business and technical teams try to communicate, “When I say ‘apple,’ I need a ‘pear.’ ” He continued, “We need to understand the business need first and then apply the technology.”

Ross notes that IIBA “fits what we do.” Business Analysts use their business and IT skills to bridge the gap between the two groups.  The UAlbany MBA couples a solid background in business with concentrations in information technology.  Like our MBAs, business analysts work both sides of the fence ensuring that business needs are met.

“IIBA connects and contributes to IT communities,” said Duchessi, “Ideally we’d like our students to start the certification process.”  Ross notes that a Project Management Certification, a “nice thing to have” five years ago, is a job requirement today.  He expects that the business analyst designation will take the same route.

There is an increasing understanding of the need to have a bridge between technology and business, user and product manager. The IIBA was founded a mere five years ago.  Since then, the group has grown to 6,500 members and over 1,000 chapters. 

At the September 23 membership meeting, the group will nominate and select officers: President, Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President of Communications and Marketing, Vice President of Education

From left to right, front row: Associate Professor Lakshmi Mohan, Tara Rainstrom ’06, NYSERDA
Back row: Lecturer Peter Ross, Assistant Professor Eliot Rich and Mike Monforte’06.

Welcome Dean Siegel to the School of Business  

The School of Business has a new dean, Dr. Donald S. Siegel, former Associate Dean for Graduate Studies at the A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management at the University of California.  No stranger to the Capital Region, Siegel made his home at RPI from 2002 – 2006, serving as Professor and Chair of Economics. 

His interests include university technology transfer, economics and strategic implications of entrepreneurship and technological change, productivity analysis, and corporate social responsibility.  

Siegel is already planning a conference. The Technology Transfer Society, a non-profit organization devoted to the interdisciplinary scholarly analysis of technology transfer from universities and federal laboratories to firms, will hold its annual conference at the University at Albany in October. Dr. Siegel is president of the organization and co-edits the associated Journal of Technology Transfer.  

Dr. Siegel holds a Ph.D. in business economics from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. 

Giving Thanks, Giving Back

On Monday, students from the MBA and MS Accounting programs took a break and celebrated Thanksgiving, giving thanks for the good food, good friends and the almost-end-of-semester. Some international students shared foods from their home countries while tasting a traditional turkey dinner for the first time. The meal was coordinated by the Department of Accounting and Law.  The customary turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and gravy were supplied by Price Chopper Supermarkets. 

Mark Boucher ‘06, Vice President – Operational Administration, Price Chopper Supermarkets, and a graduate of the MBA program, was on hand to deliver his employer’s donation.  He said, “The relationship between Price Chopper and the University at Albany School of Business is a strong one.  A number of our employees have been educated by UAlbany. This is a great opportunity to give back.”  

The students have been giving back to the community through a variety of service projects.  The 20th Annual Junior Achievement Bowl-A-Thon drew more than 20 teams and 100 bowlers from the School of Business, long-time supporter of the event.

Members of the Dean’s Leadership Council (DLC) are all smiles with Dean Paul Leonard

Full-Time MBA students from the Class of 2009-Kerri Sullivan, Rosa Goldstein, Adon Trombley, Nicholas Gallo, and Brian Pittelli

On a recent Saturday, MBA students recently traded their books for shovels as they dug ditches for Habitat for Humanity.Click here to read more.

Students continue their philanthropy into December with Chamber Angels, sponsored by the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce.

The Business of Green

A $5,000 Instructional Innovation Grant funds G3, Going Green Globally, a program that evaluates green concerns from a business perspective.

It’s the little idea that could.  In 2007, Vice Dean Linda Krzykowski pulled together the first annual G3 MBA project - shorthand forGoing Green Globally - on a shoestring, begging and borrowing what she needed to create the program.  This year, fueled by a UAlbany grant, G3 really took off. 

Krzykowski said, “Associate Professor Paul Miesing and I had an idea to provide integration and globalization concepts for our full time MBA program.  We debated lots of ideas but chose renewable energy as the focus because it was topical and tied into the campus book project (the UAlbany 2007 Campus Reading Project: “Field Notes from a Catastrophe” by Elizabeth Kolbert), and sounded like it would lend itself to what we wanted to accomplish. Once we began, it seemed to take on a life of its own.  We had no funding but we did the best we could ... we asked for favors, people donated time. It was successful beyond our wildest dreams.”

For years, the MBA program offered Global, an intense five week end-of-term class in which students evaluated companies based on finance, human resources, information technology management and marketing, and then made recommendations for future success.

G3 brings an environmental focus to the program, but the concept remains the same: evaluate a company and present the results to judges who rival Simon Cowell in criticism.  Instead of the five weeks that Global ran, G3 finishes in only 8 days. Though the program is shorter, there are additions.  One is Pradeep Haldar, who heads the Nanoengineering Constellation of the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. Last year, Krzykowski invited Haldar to present to the students. The nanotechnology professor, who holds an MBA as well as a Ph.D. in materials science, enjoyed working with the MBA students so much, he volunteered to help evaluate the initial presentations and attend final presentations.  Another UAlbany scientist, John Delaro, Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Sciences participated as well.

This year Haldar brought his own students into the project. A group of nanotechnology students completed analyses of the various renewable energy sectors and presented their findings to MBA students who used this information to choose emerging companies to evaluate.   Take your PhD/Student to Lunch brought the MBA and nano teams together to share business and engineering/scientific ideas. Business faculty evaluated nano PhD student presentations and Dr. Haldar again presented to the MBAs and officially evaluated their work.

Another expert, Jim Mahoney, former CEO of Dayton Power and Light, was drawn into the project by Krzykowski last year.  Mahoney offered to help develop G3 through email, but quickly was drawn into the project and agreed to be a “life line" for student teams as they worked on their projects. In 2007, Mahoney flew into Albany on his own expense, coached teams in the final afternoon of the project and stayed to hear final presentations the following day. 

This year, Mahoney expanded his participation to a weeklong experience, involved the Battelle Institute, the largest Department of Energy research contractor, and arranged for science support life lines for each team. The students visited the New York Independent System Operator, the entity that operates New York State’s bulk energy grid.

Prof. John Delano,Distinguished Professor, Atmospheric Sciences.		Dr. Jim Mahoney, Former CEO, Dayton Power and Light

Besides outside experts, we’ve dug into our own treasure trove of expertise.  Last year, Associate Professor Paul Miesing played an integral role helping to develop the G3 concept.  This year, eight faculty members requested involvement.

Sweta Bhojak, Meghan Bruen, Shveta Garg, Business Coach Alex Brownstein, Ariele Sussman and Roberta Lombardo

School of Business and NYSSCPA Host High School Students

This summer, the School of Business joined with the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants to host Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession. The residential program brought minority high school students to UAlbany for three days.

Business professionals from KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Marvin and Company and our own School of Business Office of Career Services led sessions on interviewing, resume writing, business attire and etiquette, public speaking and careers in accounting.

The students lived in the dorms and attended classes and took trips during the day.

Tyrone Reid, ‘00, Director of Finance and Business for the School of Business and Suzanne Traylor, Lecturer, a board member of the NYSSCPA and the chair of the Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession program for the NYSSCPA’s Northeast chapter, were instrumental in organizing the program. 

Traylor said, “There are so many opportunities for accountants besides working as a CPA in a CPA firm. Accountants have diverse careers in government, industry, education and non-profit organizations. Many accountants are financial experts, consultants, and leaders of major corporations. A business career might be the ticket for a lot of these kids to use their math skills.”

Over 1,900 students have taken part in COAP at 10 different universities since the program began in New York State in 1987.

A Clean Sweep for UAlbany Marketing Students

All four winners of the 2008 American Marketing Association Student Scholarship are MBA students at the University at Albany.  The annual competition, sponsored by the New York Capital Region Chapter of the AMA, is open to Capital Region students. 

The plans are judged by a panel of local marketers who consider complexity, clarity, definition, creativity, and significance. Jennifer Brown and Oiza Garba, won the grand prize and a $2,500 scholarship by defining the “unique value proposition” for Jack’s Neighborhood Pizzeria.

First prize winner Scott DeMarco worked with TeamTexting.com, which provides e-mail and text messaging communications for sports teams. He received a $1,000 scholarship for his efforts.

In her marketing plan for SuperPower, Cathie Wright advised the superconductor technology company to differentiate themselves from the competition by focusing on an integrated marketing communication plan and branding. She was awarded the second prize scholarship of $500.

Brown, Garba and Wright were advised by Associate Professor Paul Schurr, while Scott Davidson advised Scott DeMarco.

UAlbany students Scott DeMarco, Oiza Garba, Jennifer Brown and Cathie Wright.

Associate Professor Paul Schurr with Student Marketers of the Year Oiza Garba, Jennifer Brown and AMA Vice President of Collegiate Relations Delcy Fox.

Photos by Joan Heffler

Commencement: Bidding Adieu to Dean Leonard and the Class of 2008

Though every School of Business grad was elated at the prospect earning his or her degree, the 2008 commencement was bittersweet for many who reflected on the retirement of School of Business Dean Paul A. Leonard.

Graduating senior Michael Reynolds, a graduate of the financial analysis program, was chosen as the student speaker this year. He cited basic business knowledge in his advice. “Life can be summed up with the first rule of accounting,  ‘For every debit, there is a credit.’  When given to, you must give back. The School of Business and this university gave you memories, friends, personal growth and a great degree. Your family and friends have given you the support and guidance needed to make it here today. It is up to us to put the credit where it belongs.

One of the credits goes to all of the professors and faculty, as well as Dean Leonard who has transformed this school into a premier institution and has left his mark for generations to come. He has been to many graduations, and this sadly is his last as Dean. Thank you Dean Leonard for your commitment to the university, the School of Business and to the students who have walked across this stage over the years.”

Dr. Leonard’s remarks at the undergraduate ceremony focused on the potential of the young graduates, “I am confident that all of you will achieve great success in your personal and professional lives.  And I am sure that some of you will become inspirational leaders who will transform and invigorate major organizations in ways that will have profound impacts on society.”

Joe Sheehan carried on the tradition of a favored professor offering congrats to graduates. Sheehan, Coordinator of Law for the School of Business, shared stories and offered advice to the class of 2008.  “Years from now, people will forget the things you’ve done. People will forget the things you’ve said. But people will never forget how you make them feel.”

Though the undergrads dodged raindrops at their post-ceremony celebration, sunny skies ruled over graduate commencement.  After degrees were conferred at the SEFCU Arena, the MBA and MS Accounting graduates returned to the School of Business building one last time: not for classes but a celebration with family and friends.  In attendance were John and Kelly Lizzi, Weekend MBA graduates and indomitable parents, who had a baby just a week before.  

Congratulations to all!

Career Services Director Honored 

Deirdre Sweeney, Director of Career Services for the School of Business has been named a Forty Under 40 by the Business Review. A luncheon was held in her honor on May 1. Sweeney has been with the school since 2004, when she was hired to create a career services office to meet the distinctive needs of business students.   

In less than five years she instituted a variety of career education and networking events, including Network NYC, the Mid Size Accounting Firm Panel, and the Financial Analyst Career Boot Camp. She established the School of Business job board, and strengthened school relationships with employers in New York City and the greater Capital Region. Sweeney is involved in the daily operations of the school as she advises students on career options, critiques resumes and cover letters and offers career workshops. Dedicated to the students and the school, she often goes beyond the confines of her job and has shown herself to be a true team player. 

Sweeney is member of the College of Saint Rose Board of Associates, co-chair of the Hudson Mohawk Association of Colleges Career Consortium, Universities, and Employers, and a mentor for the Upstate Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training. She earned a BS from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh and an MS in Education, Counseling/College Student Personnel from the College of Saint Rose.  An avid runner, Sweeney completed the Marine Corps Marathon. 

The School of Business offers undergraduate and graduateprograms in business and accounting. Approximately 500 students will graduate this month.

New School of Business Building Included in State Budget

New York State will provide funding for the new School of Business building to the tune of $54 million. The new 90,000 square-foot state-of the-art academic and research facility, twice the size of the old building, will significantly strengthen the school's undergraduate and graduate educational and research mission.

A 75,000 square-foot addition to the existing Campus Center was also funded by the legislature.

MBA Meets CNSE 

Just what exactly what goes on in those big white buildings on the corner of Washington Avenue Extension and Fuller Road? First and second year full-time MBA students, faculty and staff were invited to a presentation and tour of the College of NanoScale Science and Engineering to find out. In his presentation, Assistant VP and Professor Bob Geer explained the many uses and applications for nanotechnology, including healthcare, electronics, defense and software. "Nano" refers to nanometer, or one billionth of a meter, the length scale used to depict atomic dimensions.  

 
In addition to the CNSE, the facility houses collaborative "clean room" space for research and development operations for several chip makers and equipment and materials manufacturers to be used in products from scratch-free paint, wrinkle and stain-resistant fabrics, sunscreen lotions, skis and photographic paper. It is also an economic hub for companies that utilize nanotechnology in their products. The presentation and tour provided an optimal way for MBA students to explore the breadth of science and technology partnerships and new ventures.

- Daniel Gibson '09 MBA

Growing an idea

Graduate students Jinqin Han, Junhao Kenneth Sun, Meizhu Du, Xiaoming Hu, and Yvonne Yan participated in the Pre-Seed Workshop sponsored by the Center for Economic Growth.  Small Business Development Center Director Bill Brigham, and Senior Business Advisor Matthew Staccone assisted with planning and facilitating the event.  The workshop is designed to assess whether high-tech ideas can be translated into businesses.  The students worked on plans to develop biodiesel fuel from recycled restaurant frying oil and create bio incubator chambers for lab experiments. 

“We analyzed competition from other products, equipment rental, facility layout, and the marketing and profit plans. The most exciting thing is that all these preparations can lead our ideas into a real company. I believe that such business knowledge is a must for all business school students. The Pre-Seed workshop gave us so many ideas,” explained graduate accounting student Kenneth Sun.

Fellow accounting student Meizhu Du noted that the teams considered the possibility of starting entrepreneurships. “I was able to have a taste of the process of developing an idea into an entrepreneurship. It is a good experience to see the things we have learned from classes like accounting, marketing, finance and strategic management can be applied to the real world. This workshop definitely opened my eyes to whole new kinds of working opportunities.” 

Brigham said, “The workshop mirrored the type of business counseling the Small Business Development Center provides, but in a more time intensive manner.  It was helpful in honing and confirming the techniques the SBDC utilizes to evaluate the feasibility of startup or expansion of ventures.” 

The Small Business Development Center, University at Albany, offers no-cost, one-to-one counseling: assisting start-up and existing businesses in developing strategic business plans, identifying appropriate sources of funding, providing market research, management information and financial analysis. The program is a university community outreach program that has saved or created hundreds of jobs and has helped its clients access millions of dollars in financing annually.  The SBDC supports internships that provide students with a firsthand understanding of the challenges and pitfalls facing startup and existing enterprises. www.nyssbdc.org

Field Projects Provide Experience and Real Business Results

Experience is built into the UAlbany fulltime MBA program.  The curriculum features a yearlong field project in which students act as consultants to business. Groups of two to five students work with their professors to solve a real problem of the host company.   The projects are geared towards the concentration chosen in the second year of the program: Human Resource Information Systems,Information Technology Management or Information Assurance.

Information Technology Management students recently presented their progress at the midway point of the year, with their peers and project advisors: Assistant Professor Sanjay Goel and Associate Professor Lakshmi Mohan, in attendance.  One group discussed the decision support system they are creating that will be used for the New York State Department of Health emergency preparedness program.

The students noted that though the current system collects a large amount of information, the data is not easily manipulated. For instance, in the event of a flood, nursing homes must identify evacuation locations. Patients should be relocated to areas out of the “slosh zone,” where flooding is most likely. Using the old system, multiple nursing homes had planned to converge on locations that do not have extra beds or are further into the slosh zone.   The students are creating a decision support system that will integrate all key emergency data, rerouting patients away from areas likely to flood, and to places that have enough beds to accommodate them.

Here’s a sample of the projects from this year:

Albany Medical Center
Purpose: Improve admission and clerkship evaluation processes.
MBA Team: Mark Yurkewecz, Corey Hart, Anthony Robibero, Abhishek Sharma

New York Association of Homes and Services of the Aging
Purpose: Improve communication between IT and Business. 
MBA Team: Ankur Arora, Natasha Malik, Jennifer Wilbur
Purpose: Market Expansion and Product Enhancement of EQUIP Software. 
Team Members: Ankur Arora, Natasha Malik, Jennifer Wilbur

New York State Department of Health 
Purpose: Create decision support system for emergency preparedness program.
MBA students: Kyle Collins, Michelle Cuchelo, Michal Jacyna, Uday Ranganathan

Professional Insurance Agents
Purpose: Improve electronic communication to PIA members.
MBA Team: Stephanie Schwartz, Adnan Zorlak

University at Albany Information Security
Purpose: Create process diagrams for purchasing and an asset/ threat matrix.
MBA Team: Rachel Niebor, Kwaku Essel,

In the past, the School of Business has offered field projects with Tiffany & Co., PepsiCo, Towers Perrin, General Electric, Albany Medical Center, Dupont, Intermagnetics General, KeyCorp, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Albany International, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Barclay’s Capital LLP, SAP, Empower Solutions, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, St. Peters Healthcare System, Hudson River Bank & Trust, Phoenix Wealth Management, New York State Police Computer Forensics and many others.

Annual global food tasting and business customs event

On Thursday January 24, first year MBA students kicked off the spring 2008 semester with the annual global food tasting and business customs event. The event provided an opportunity for students to present on business customs and bring in a dish from an international country of their choice. This was also the start of a semester long emphasis on global business, with Professor Paul Miesing’s Global Strategic Management class and a global business simulation at the end of the semester.

Food was brought in from all over the globe with some international students bringing in food, and sharing customs from their home countries, and domestic students representing other countries.

Jiminy Peak- Skiing and Sustainability

Almost four decades ago, Brian Fairbank, then a 23 year old self-professed ski bum who grew up outside of Buffalo was asked to be the general manager of Jiminy Peak.  Without even asking to look at a P&L statement, Brian took on the job.  At the time, the resort featured two chairlifts, three buildings and major snowmaking capabilities.  Today, Jiminy Peak is considered one of the most popular ski resorts in Southern New England, with a vision of being an absolute gem of mountain resorts.

Fairbank took time from his busy schedule to visit Associate Professor Paul Schurr’s Marketing Management class and share his insights with professionals enrolled in the Evening MBA program. 

With 300 condos, 5 homeowner associations, wedding and banquet facilities, an adventure park, and 172 acres of trails, Jiminy Peak continues to grow, in part because of Brian’s leadership -- he is now President and CEO -- and in part because of the dedication of his staff and loyalty of his customers.  The resort has focused on its core values - relationship fostering, safety, passion for beauty, improvement of guest experiences and sustaining the environment, profit and growth.  With a staff of 950 (300 of which are seasonal), creating a sense of family, trust and responsibility is no small feat.  Brian and his management team have been able to make all 950 employees aware of the resort’s vision, mission and core values and understand how important all of the above are in sustaining and constantly improving the resort.  The addition of a wind turbine in 2007 has even further demonstrated Brian and his team’s focus on the environment and sustainability.

His advice to all of us aspiring leaders is to make sure your environment allows you to make a difference and be noticed without worrying about stepping on toes.   Constantly ask yourself how you can influence and impact your organization.   And, most importantly build credibility through communication, honesty and trust.   
 

Cathie Wright ‘08, University at Albany, School of Business