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BusinessSTUDENT CLUBS
Club representatives presented an overview of their organizations, encouraging underclassmen to become involved early to maximize their personal and professional development. Each club created signs, distributed material, recruited members, and gave away prizes. The event was a huge success and a significant step in the school's initiative to reach out more to freshmen and sophomores. PEER ADVISING PROGRAM
There was an increase in applications for peer advisers this year, and 24 new recruits began training early in the semester. Peer advisers volunteer two to three hours a week at the business school front counter, assisting students with academic questions and problems and helping with admission phonathons, open and advance registration, orientation, and more. FACILITIES UPGRADE
In recent years the computing competence of incoming freshman has increased markedly. Their improved skill level, enhanced further by a required fundamental course, Introduction to Computers and Information Systems, eliminates the need for basic and remedial work in later courses. Many students own their own computers and can access the campus network from several locations, including the residence halls. So, most faculty members can make computer-related assignments without having to provide direct supervision. There is also an increased need to demonstrate Internet use and other software applications in specially equipped classrooms. For these reasons the school has installed state-of-the-art presentation equipment in one of its classrooms. Referred to as the smart classroom, the facility has a high-quality computer projection device, a laptop computer, and a VCR linked together as a delivery system. The fourth component is an Elmo camera projection device, which projects any object onto a large screen. The new facility, housed in Smiddy 114, integrates previous methodologies and allows faculty to create new ways of delivering material. More rooms will be similarly equipped as demand increases. The new smart classroom is located in half of what had been the student computing lab. The remaining lab space has been configured with 20 new Dell Optiplex computers, signifying a return (from Macintosh) to the Intel platform. With the hardware change have come significant changes in software --- the adoption of Windows 95 operating system, Microsoft Office including the Access database package, and the site licensing of Peachtree Accounting software for use in accounting courses. Two small labs, one for students and another for faculty, have also been installed on the fourth floor of Smiddy. The setup of the labs should foster collaboration and extracurricular projects, as well as experimentation with multimedia and other technology. The new configurations place the School of Business squarely in the center of the corporate computing environment. FACULTY HAPPENINGS
The rector (president) and dean of the faculty of agricultural economics and business of Godollo University have visited Ithaca and met with representatives from the business school, the biology department, and the development office. Work is under way to bring some of the proposals to fruition. Next May the faculty of management at Comenius and the faculty of agricultural economics and business at Godollo will host Ithaca students enrolled in the Central European Business and Culture course.
Management instructor Jenna Lundberg copresented a paper at the Northeast Business & Economics Association meeting in Philadelphia. The paper was entitled "Taking Change Seriously: An Essay Outlining Organizational and Management Development in the Future." Professor Warren Schlesinger of the accounting department is making good use of the smart classroom capabilities. Schlesinger uses Microsoft's PowerPoint program to present his financial accounting lecture material and integrates financial information directly from the Web. |
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In September accounting professors Patricia Libby and
Warren Schlesinger accompanied 13 accounting students on a trip to New York
City. On Thursday the group visited Toys "R" Us corporate headquarters
and met with several top financial managers. Peter Weiss, vice president
in charge of taxes and father of a participating student, assisted with
the visit and arranged accommodations.
The group enjoyed a special tour and presentation
at the New York Stock Exchange with Pamela Palma '86, a floor trader with
Charles Schwab. The students also visited Coopers & Lybrand, where Tim
Weld '92 arranged a tour and spoke on auditing and accounting issues in
the health- care industry. The students took in the Broadway play Miss Saigon
before returning to Ithaca.
The Dean's Student Advisory Council, composed of the
presidents and chairs of the student clubs, sponsored the first School of
Business Club Fair in September. More than 70 freshmen and sophomores participated.
Clubs represented included the Ac-counting Club, the American Marketing
Association, Core Trading Consultants, Delta Mu Delta, the Financial Manage-ment
Association/Investment Club, the International Business Association, Peer
Advisors, and the Management Club.
The School of Business peer advising program is working
to bring new sparkle to its mission. Officers for the 1997-98 school year
are seniors Sara Zielinski, president; Stephanie Harrison, secretary; Jim
Wenk, recruiting officer; Mike Edelstein, training officer; and Jim Norgaard,
admission liaison. The board is working with the dean's office to incorporate
advanced training, recognition, and a higher level of responsibility and
professionalism into the program.
After nearly two years of planning, the business school
has installed a "smart classroom," changed its hardware platform,
implemented integrated personal productivity software, and changed the configuration
of its student computing facilities. These measures are expected to greatly
enhance the effectiveness of instruction and to provide students with competitive
computing capabilities.
As we mentioned briefly in our last report, Raquib Zaman,
Dana professor, and Hormoz Movassaghi, associate professor of finance and
international business, visited Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia,
and Godollo University in Hungary in June. Their mission was to lay the
groundwork for establishing an exchange program for Ithaca College students,
and they made substantial progress. They also explored with the academic
leaders of the institutions the possibility of faculty exchanges and research
collaborations, and they received enthusiastic support for such a venture.
Eileen P. Kelly, associate professor of management,
and Hugh C. Rowland, assistant dean, coauthored "Mental Disabilities
Claims Under the Americans with Disabilities Act," a paper they presented
in August at the National Academy of Legal Studies in Business in Atlanta.
Kelly also presented a paper entitled "Labor, Capital, and the Church:
A Call for Action" at the National Academy of Management conference
in Boston. In addition, Kelly published two book reviews in the August 1997
issue of the Academy of Management Executive. The first was on Robert Kanigel's
The One Best Way, and the second was on Arie de Geus's The Living Company.