Engage@Spears Summer 2019

@SPEARS

ENGAGE The official magazine of Spears School of Business

IN HER DAD'S FOOTSTEPS

RACHEL COX HAS FOLLOWED HER FATHER, DR. DON HERRMANN, TO SPEARS BUSINESS

SATURDAY, SEPT. 7 OSU VS. MCNEESE STATE

SATURDAY, OCT. 19

Catch up with Spears Business alumni, current students and friends of the school as we gather prior to Saturday’s game in Stillwater. Bring the family for food, fun, friends and some Spears Business swag.

The tailgates begin approximately three hours prior to kickoff in the courtyard of the Business Building.

OSU VS. BAYLOR (HOMECOMING)

From their first day,

To their commencement day, scholarships pave the way!

For more information on how to give to the Orange Impact Scholarship Campaign, to make a difference in a student’s life, please contact Diane Crane | Sr. Director of Development & Team Lead | Spears School of Business OSU Foundation | 405-385-5665 | dcrane@osugiving.com

LETTER FROM THE DEAN

GREETINGS, Another school year has drawn to a close, and summer is upon us. It was an outstanding year at the Spears School of Business.

We are pleased to bring you this latest edition of Engage@ Spears. Inside you will find another slate of interesting and moving stories. You will learn about Sean Tolbert, one of our students, and his amazing family history. You will travel with him to his ancestral home in Liberia and revisit the tragic stories of his great-uncle and grandfather.

Sean worked in the dean’s office for a while, and it was a pleasure to get to know him.

(Page 18) You will undoubtedly be moved when you read about Rachel Cox, her new child and the death of her father, Dr. Don Herrmann. Don was a much beloved and respected professor in the School of Accounting whose life was cut too short by brain cancer. Rachel is carrying on the family tradition by establishing herself as an outstanding professor of professional practice in accounting. (Page 4) We were very excited when the faculty of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) voted to join Spears Business. We believe this move will be mutually beneficial and will open new opportunities for business and HTM faculty, students and alumni. I have enjoyed getting to know everyone affiliated with HTM and believe they will be a great addition to the Spears family. (Page 28) A feature on Dr. Julie Weathers will highlight her long career at Spears and with the Center for Executive and Professional Development.

This center is a vital element for carrying out our land-grant mission and helps enhance the business acumen of thousands of individuals every year. (Page 46) Finally, we conclude the saga of our “I Am Building” students. We selected a group of students to follow for four years whose personal journeys coincided with the construction and opening of our new building. We have greatly enjoyed watching them transform from wideeyed freshmen to confident seniors. We will miss them but are excited to see how their lives progress. (Page 30) We hope you enjoy this edition and hope to see you soon.

OSU Spears School of Business Dean

Ken Eastman Associate Deans

Carol Johnson and Marlys Mason Vice Dean, Watson Graduate School of Management

Ramesh Sharda Spears School Marketing and Communications

Terry Tush Magazine Editor: Dorothy L. Pugh Art Director: Valerie Kisling Contributing Writers: David Bitton, Jeff Joiner, Emily Long, Rachel Stark Photography: Jeff Joiner, Gary Lawson, Lance Shaw, Phil Shockley Spears School Department Heads Lee Adkins, Economics Bruce Barringer, School of Entrepreneurship Tom Brown, School of Marketing and International Business Audrey Gramling, School of Accounting Li Miao, Hospitality and Tourism Management Jim Pappas, Management Betty Simkins, Finance Rick L. Wilson, Management Science and Information Systems Contact Spears School of Business Oklahoma State University 370 Business Building Stillwater, OK 74078-4011 405-744-5064 ssb.news@okstate.edu spears.okstate.edu

ALL THE BEST,

Dr. Ken Eastman Dean, Spears School of Business

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Oklahoma State University, in compliance with Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246 as amended, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Higher Education Act), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and other federal and state laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, genetic information, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, or status as a veteran, in any of its policies, practices or procedures. This provision includes, but is not limited to admissions, employment, financial aid, and educational services. The Director of Equal Opportunity, 408 Whitehurst, OSU, Stillwater, OK 74078-1035; Phone 405-744-5371; email: eeo@okstate.edu has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies. Any person (student, faculty, or staff) who believes that discriminatory practices have been engaged in based on gender may discuss his or her concerns and file informal or formal complaints of possible violations of Title IX with OSU’s Title IX Coordinator 405-744-9154. This publication, issued by Oklahoma State University as authorized by Office of the dean, Spears School of Business, was printed by Royle Printing at a cost of $8,239.52 7.2M /Jun/19. #7786

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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On the Cover Rachel Cox is filling her father’s shoes in teaching in the Spears School of Business. (Photo by Gary Lawson)

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10

Entrepreneurship@10 The School of Entrepreneurship is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Read about the program’s growth and what faculty, staff, alumni and students have been doing.

30

46

Staff Profile

48

Top Spears Business Senior

50 Research

54 10

‘I Am Building’ Farewell

58 Retirements 64

In Memoriam

We wrap up four years of the “I Am Building” series that matched Spears Business students with the construction of our new building.

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30 74

Pathway to Innovation Tom Totten credits his participation in the first group admitted in the Spears School of Business’s Ph.D. in Business for Executives program for his startup’s success.

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COVER STORY

FILLING DAD’S SHOES

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STORY EMILY LONG | PHOTOS GARY LAWSON AND COURTESY OF RACHEL COX

SPEARS ACCOUNTING INSTRUCTOR RACHEL COX INSPIRED TO FOLLOW HER FATHER’S LOFTY LEAD

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hen Rachel Cox started teaching at Oklahoma State University Spears School of Business, she knew who her guiding muse would be.

Cox is the daughter of Dr. Don Herrmann, who died in May 2018 after a 14-month battle with brain cancer. When he was diagnosed in March of 2017, Herrmann stopped teaching while some colleagues took over his classes.

“We knew he probably didn’t have that long left to live,” Cox said. “A position opened up in the Spears School of Business for an instructor of professional practice and I applied, hoping to be able to spend more time with my dad.”

Cox accepted the position and began teaching the courses Herrmann previously taught. But it didn’t end there.

“Fall of 2017 was sweet for me,” Cox said. “My dad was still alive and even while going through five different brain surgeries, he helped me prep my classes. He taught me what it means to be a great instructor, and it was just a really sweet time with him.”

FILLING HIS SHOES

Cox continued to teach Herrmann’s courses in the spring 2018 semester before he died during finals week in May 2018. Since then, she has found a whole new passion in the courses she teaches — and she’s added two courses to the business school, Foundational Accounting Skills and Ethical Issues in Accounting.

“When I am flipping through his notes and finding what worked for him, I think about ‘OK, how would Dr. Don — as he liked to call himself — explain this?’” she said. “It’s really important for me, especially since he passed away, to continue his legacy.”

Dr. Don left some big shoes to fill.

Herrmann was selected as the first Professor of the Decade by the Spears School of Business in March 2018. The award recognized his ongoing dedication to and passion for student success, requiring the recipient to possess a certain unquenchable fire that inspires students to excel inside and outside the classroom.

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“HE HAD A HEART FOR STUDENTS, AND I HOPE I CAN HAVE A SIMILAR HEART AS WELL.”

OSU Accounting professor Don Herrmann had the pleasure of assisting his daughter Rachel Cox in 2012 during the Spears Business graduate hooding ceremony when she graduated with her master’s degree in accounting.

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Don Herrmann co-authored several editions of the textbook “Financial Accounting” used at Oklahoma State University for several years.

His daughter Rachel Cox started her teaching career at OSU using her father’s textbook.

He earned his bachelor’s degree from John Brown University in Arkansas in 1985, his master’s from Kansas State University in 1987 and his doctorate from OSU in 1995. He began teaching at OSU in 2005.

As a member of the OSU School of Accounting faculty, he was the Arthur Andersen Professor of Accounting from 2007 to 2010, head of the School of Accounting from 2010-2011 and was named the Gellein/Deloitte & Touche Professor in 2011.

“A lot of his students keep coming back and saying he was the best professor they ever had,” Cox said. “And if I could only live up to a fraction of what he was able to accomplish during his time at OSU, I would be doing him a huge favor. It’s been a huge blessing and honor to be able to come back and teach with the accounting faculty here.”

While Herrmann took his job at OSU seriously, he always made time for his family — wife, Mary, and children Rachel, David, Nathan and Micah.

“My dad was a kid at heart,” Cox said. “He loved us. He always took his job very seriously and was very successful. He was serious about making a difference in the world of accounting, but at the same time he always had time for us — especially during my time in college.”

Cox earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from OSU in 2012.

“I chose to go to OSU because he was here. We had a close bond,” she said. “We used to jog around Boomer Lake together. He was very into fitness, and I completed a marathon in college because he motivated me when I didn’t want to get out there and run.”

FOND MEMORIES

A LIGHT IN LUCAS

Herrmann’s former students do remember him fondly.

“At the time I took his intermediate course, I didn’t even like accounting,” one former student said. “However, each day I looked forward to going to class because I enjoyed hearing from Dr. Don. Sometimes he would even stop in the middle of class to tell a story of his work experience that captured the class’s attention again. He’s easily one of my favorite teachers, both inside and outside the classroom. He has a certain spirit about him that is increasingly encouraging.”

Another student offered: “He inspired me to become an accountant. He’ll always be the best professor at Oklahoma State University.”

Cox found out she was expecting her first child shortly before her dad’s third surgery. She describes rushing into his office and telling him before anyone else.

“He was excited and then his face got sad and he said, ‘I hope your baby grows faster than my tumor’ — and it did,” Cox said.

Herrmann saw Cox through seven months of her pregnancy and knew the baby was a boy before she revealed the gender. Cox named the child Lucas, meaning light.

“His birth was a real light for my family after my dad passed away,” she said. “He gave us a new light and direction to point toward.”

Cox sees her dad in Lucas.

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“Lucas has my dad’s face shape and there are several little things Lucas does that remind me of my dad. He is trying solid foods right now and he doesn’t want to be fed, he wants to do it himself.

He has the same grit and determination that my dad had.”

Cox described Herrmann as fast. Whether it was figuring out the right answer in accounting or typing something up, he always seemed like he was one step ahead of everyone.

But above all else, she described him as kind.

“I have received a few letters since he passed away from previous students who said, ‘Your dad reached out to me when no one else would,’” Cox said. “He really had a heart for the student who was overlooked or didn’t find a niche

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in college. He would take them under his wing and really wanted them to succeed.”

TEXTBOOK PATHWAY

It seems as though Herrmann also left a parting gift to help his daughter in her journey. The textbook the School of Accounting once used for its core courses was co-authored by Herrmann, making it even more special for Cox. “When I would be prepping my classes or reading over the chapter getting ready for the lecture, I could just hear my dad’s voice through the words,” she said. “There is one spot in the book where he talks about himself in third person, and I always like that. Or I would be reading, and I’m like, ‘Oh, he

thought that was funny,’ and that was his personality.”

Cox said the biggest takeaway she has from her dad is to develop the power of personal that the Spears School of Business lives by and to get to know students individually.

“He would always be quick to help students who tried their best in his class and write them a recommendation letter or help them be successful in any way he could,” she said. “I think that advice really resonated with me. I have a responsibility to our students here and to see them be successful, too. He had a heart for students, and I hope I can have a similar heart as well.”

“A LOT OF HIS STUDENTS KEEP COMING BACK AND SAYING HE WAS THE BEST PROFESSOR THEY EVER HAD.”

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP @ 10

ENTREPRENEURSHIP OSU program celebrates its 10th anniversary this fall

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he stereotype of an entrepreneur as a risk taker and visionary is romanticized in popular culture. Who doesn’t love the story of a person who goes for broke, betting all they’ve got on a dream and succeeding spectacularly?

But the simple fact is that most business startups fail, no matter how much determination may be involved. Just ask Malone Mitchell III and Amy Mitchell, the husband-and-wife business partners and Oklahoma State University alumni who have SPEARS BUSINESS WILL successfully started many businesses CELEBRATE THE 10TH but who have known ANNIVERSARY of the School of disappointment, too.

“We decided early on to pursue Entrepreneurship and the Riata being independent Center for Entrepreneurship business people, but we didn’t have Nov. 15 in Click Hall in the any background associated with ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni that, and so we suffered through Center. Spears Business will some failures,” said Malone Mitchell. welcome Malone Mitchell III and “Over time, men who were my father’s Amy Mitchell back to their alma age were kind enough to teach mater for the celebration. me certain things about business that created a process that resulted in success more often than failure.”

That business mentoring resulted in a highly successful company the Mitchells called Riata Energy, which the couple founded while still young married students at OSU in the early 1980s. The

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Mitchells sold Riata in 2006 when it was one of the country’s largest privately held energy companies and gave some of the proceeds to OSU in one of the largest donations ever made to the university. Half of the gift, $28.6 million, went to the Spears School of Business to fund entrepreneur education.

“As we looked back at the successes we’d had at that point, we thought it would be fantastic if that knowledge could be incorporated into entrepreneur classes and taught to students at a much younger age, so they might go on to generate successful businesses and avoid some of the travails we had gone through,” Mitchell said.

The couple’s gift made possible the launch of OSU’s School of Entrepreneurship and its outreach office, the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship, in 2009, establishing much more than mere classes. Now preparing to celebrate its 10th anniversary, OSU’s Entrepreneurship program is also celebrating the successful growth of the Mitchells’ gift into one of the most successful entrepreneurship education, research and outreach programs in the country and a rare one at that — only a handful of business schools in the nation have an entire school focusing on entrepreneurship.

“We’ve established ourselves as a leader in entrepreneurship education nationwide,” said Dr. Bruce Barringer, director of the school and the Student Ventures Chair and N. Malone Mitchell Jr. Chair of Entrepreneurship. “Our program is distinct in that an entire department is dedicated to entrepreneurship.”

The School of Entrepreneurship includes more than 300 undergraduates majoring and minoring in the discipline as well as hundreds of others from many other programs. More than 1,400 students take classes in the program each semester. An area of growth is a new generation of engineering and science students who hope to use their expertise to

STORY JEFF JOINER

launch technology product and services startups and who don’t necessarily want to leave the business side of the venture to somebody else.

“The College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology now offers a minor in entrepreneurship, and that’s unusual because engineering students tend to have degree sheets that are pretty full,” Barringer said. “So, for engineering to free up credit hours for entrepreneurship classes is a real acknowledgement that this kind of training is valuable.”

In fact, a number of technology business startups created by OSU students have been partnerships between Spears and CEAT teams.

Just one example is the student-led business Contraire (story, page 14) that is designing a wastewater treatment analytical control system developed by CEAT students and faculty joined by a Spears student and faculty who are assisting with a business plan that has won and placed in several competitions including winning the Princeton University TigerLaunch student business plan contest.

In the last five years, 41 businesses have been started by graduate students in the program while undergraduates have launched 52 startups, raising a combined $13.5 million in capital.

The entrepreneurship program also includes doctoral degree and graduate certificate programs that bring graduate students and renowned faculty researchers together on work that is published in top journals. In a recent ranking, OSU entrepreneur researchers tied for fourth in an international ranking of research productivity. (Story, page 17) “We’re training doctoral students who work on research projects with our faculty, and we’re

placing them in good tenure-track positions around the country upon completion of their Ph.D.s. That’s a real accomplishment,” Barringer said.

Barringer said the program has grown so much in reputation since its inception a decade ago because the department’s 15 faculty members focus exclusively on their field. There is a passion at Spears to help students develop an entrepreneurial mindset and fuel the state’s growing technology economy with the launch of small companies that are creating jobs. Barringer cites a 2018 report by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission on the impact of technology jobs in the state, which found that the average annual salary for a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) job in Oklahoma is $76,274 while the average annual pay for all occupations in Oklahoma is $43,340.

“We want to encourage technology startups because they just create better-paying jobs,” he said.

And even if a Spears student graduating with a degree in entrepreneurship doesn’t end up starting a business, the unique education makes them appealing to innovative companies that seek creative employees.

“The way we teach entrepreneurship, it’s more than just starting businesses,” Barringer said. “We always say there are three career tracks for our students — first is starting a business; the second is becoming a leader in a small or family business; and third is innovating within an existing company.

All companies are interested in new markets, new products and new ways of thinking and those are the value-adds that our graduates bring to a job.”

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP @ 10

A Launchpad

FOR DREAMS

Riata Center director offers diverse business background and passion for helping students

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ith a bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering technology, a master’s in business administration and a doctorate in education, aviation and space, Dr. Marc Tower has an extensive background in several different areas. Oh, and he owns his own businesses. This is why Tower was named the executive director of the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship at Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business in 2018.

Tower was a U.S. Army AeroScout helicopter pilot. After his military service, he found himself in numerous roles before returning to OSU, including working as an engineer and project manager, director of research and development, chief operating officer, and banker and partner. Tower has either worked as a consultant or owned his own consulting business since 2004. He also co-owns the Red Dirt CrossFit gym in Stillwater with his wife, Rhonda.

With this varied background, Tower is able to help students and faculty of the Riata Center start turning dreams into reality. We chatted with him recently.

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Q: A:

How do you think the Riata Center has shaped the lives of students?

The Riata Center provides students with a place to experience entrepreneurship first hand, interact with entrepreneurs and candidly discuss their successes and failures, and it provides a supportive environment for them to take risks and explore their concepts.

Q: A:

What is your vision for the Riata Center?

Our primary mission is to support Spears Business students with experiential learning activities to support the work they do in the classroom. We got off to a good start in 201819 and will work over the summer to add support for other entrepreneurship classes. I would like to see the Riata Center become the launchpad for all OSU students, faculty and staff to come and learn how to explore their business ideas. We are ideally positioned to help students develop their product and service ideas, develop business models and to connect students with additional resources on campus such as the New Product Development Center (NPDC), the App Center, the Food and Agricultural Product Center (FAPC) and Cowboy Technologies. OSU has an amazing number of resources available and part of our mission is to help make those connections.

STORY RACHEL STARK | PHOTO SPEARS BUSINESS

Q: A:

What do you think the next 10 years holds for the Riata Center?

The business world is changing at an exponential rate, and that will continue. From retail to transportation, finance to agriculture, AI and other technologies will change the landscape. Part of our job is to remain aware and help prepare our clients to plan for today and tomorrow.

Q: A:

What makes you the most excited to work here?

The very real desire of our students, faculty and staff to do great things. Just being around the energy and creativity that startups require energizes me. I was walking through the building on my way back to the office and smiled, thinking, “I love what I’m doing!”

Q: A:

What are some of the exciting things happening in Riata right now?

We are engaging all Spears Business students through the EEE 2023 class and working to improve experiential learning experiences. We are also working across campus to get students from other colleges involved in our competitions and activities. We are here for everyone.

Marc Tower

Q: A:

How do you get the Spears faculty to embrace Riata’s goals and mission?

Entrepreneurship is a team sport. The myth of the individual entrepreneur who does it alone is just that, a myth. No one person can plan, grow and execute a business by themselves. You can create and lead your business, but you need the expertise of all the other disciplines in this building to be successful in the end. And who better to work with than your fellow Cowboys?

Q: A:

What are three things we need to know about Marc Tower?

You really don’t need to know anything about me. But, if you have a question, come ask. I’ve had a lot of different careers, so I might know something. I have three degrees, one each from three different colleges at OSU — the College of Engineering, Architecture & Technology, Spears Business and the College of Education, Health & Aviation.

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP @ 10

National Recognition and a OSU student business plan takes top spot at Princeton University competition

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wo Oklahoma State University students have earned national recognition for their startup business plan for Contraire, a predictive analysis control system designed to provide near real-time wastewater test measurements.

Environmental engineering student Rabecca Wiseman and entrepreneurship student Brooks Robison won first place in the TigerLaunch national pitch competition at Princeton University in New Jersey in April. This comes after placing in the top four in the regional TigerLaunch competition at the University of Chicago in March and winning the Queen’s Entrepreneurs’ Competition at Queens University in Toronto in January. The team also placed third at the Baylor New Venture Competition in Waco, Texas, in February as well as winning Best Finances, awarded by QuickBooks, at the event.

“I am extremely proud of the team,” said David Thomison, clinical assistant professor and George Kaiser Family Foundation Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship and Contraire adviser. “They have spent months validating the municipality customer market problem and then aligning this innovative product service to satisfy this need in a true ‘win-win’ approach. Both Brooks and Rabecca are very mature, competitive and outstanding students who are working diligently to advance this business opportunity.”

Contraire, which won $15,000 from TigerLaunch, $10,000 at the Baylor competition and $20,000 Canadian (about $15,000 USD) at the Toronto contest, consists of technology designed to assist wastewater treatment plants in reducing electricity usage by up to 45 percent, which can save on average $250,000 annually in utility costs for their targeted municipal customers.

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The current water quality test used by wastewater treatment plants, which determines the required aeration for wastewater to degrade contaminants, requires a five-day testing time to determine biological oxygen demand. As a result, operators often over-aerate to ensure they meet environmental permit limits. This fiveday delay results in treatment plants spending an unnecessary amount on electricity.

“We are proud of the work we have done and believe that this is something that could help treatment plants all over the United States,” Wiseman said. “There were so many great plans there, and I just kept thinking, ‘There is no way they will vote for wastewater optimization.’

“This started as a proposal from my master’s advisor,” she added, referring to Dr. Dave Lampert, assistant professor in civil and environmental engineering. “He wrote the proposal to the Environmental Protection Agency to find out how much electricity and money was being wasted at wastewater treatment plants, and it turns out that it’s quite a bit.”

TigerLaunch, sponsored by the Princeton Entrepreneurship Club, is the nation’s largest student-run entrepreneurship competition that brings together a network of student founders at the university, regional and national level.

“I really didn’t think we were going to win,” Robison said. “Most of the companies were postrevenue, so they are already making money.

After the second- and third-place winners were announced, I was thinking ‘dang.’ But Rabecca actually saw the check before they announced us as the winners, and she didn’t say anything to me. It’s always fun to win.”

Contraire is now focusing on applying for VentureWell Stage 2 funding, a grant program

STORY EMILY LONG | PHOTO SPEARS BUSINESS

Spears Business student Brooks Robison (left) and College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology student Rabecca Wiseman teamed up to win the TigerLaunch business plan competition. where teams spend four to five days working with experts on their business plans. They will also apply to Science Foundation Phase 2, where Contraire will travel all over the U.S. interviewing business leaders to further develop their business plan.

Robison said they will use the TigerLaunch prize money to purchase marketing materials to use in trade shows and buy more lab equipment to

focus on the technical development. They plan to start beta testing in the next six to 12 months.

Contraire recently received a letter of intent from the Stillwater Waste Water Treatment Plant to begin testing. “We are really excited about the technical implementation and to start testing,� Robison said.

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP @ 10

OSU teams dominate

LOVE’S CUP T

he OSU School of Entrepreneurship stood head and shoulders above other universities at the 2019 Love’s Entrepreneur’s Cup, winning both the undergraduate and graduate High Growth divisions of the statewide competition.

The Bubble Calm team was awarded first place and $20,000 in the undergraduate High Growth Division, while the Paldara Pharmaceuticals team captured first place and $20,000 in the graduate High Growth Division.

Also, the One-Voice team placed second and won $10,000 in the graduate High Growth Division.

“We’re extremely proud of our Love’s Cup teams,” said Dr. Bruce Barringer, head of the OSU School of Entrepreneurship. “The commitment and effort that we see on the part of our student teams is an inspiration to everyone involved. Down the road, we’ll see some impressive new businesses resulting from these efforts.”

The winning OSU teams are:

Bubble Calm produces a chewing gum that includes natural ingredients to ease symptoms of anxiety and stress and promote relaxation.

PALDARA PHARMACEUTICALS

First place, Graduate Division (High Growth) Team leader: Beau Blanchard, bachelor’s in business administration, MBA and master’s in entrepreneurship Members: William Colton, sophomore, microbiology and biochemistry,

and Rebecca Perez, senior, civilenvironmental engineering Adviser: David Thomison, clinical assistant professor and George Kaiser Family Foundation Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship, OSU School of Entrepreneurship Paldara Pharmaceuticals is developing an innovative microbial gel coating to be used with existing catheters to reduce 99 percent of urinary tract infections. This

BUBBLE CALM

First place, Undergraduate Division (High Growth) Team leader: William Petty, junior, accounting and finance Member: Walter Bowser, junior, economics Adviser: Kyle Eastham, lecturer, OSU School of Entrepreneurship

Three teams from OSU – from left, Bubble Calm (Kyle Eastham, Walter Bowser and William Petty), One-Voice (Yongwei Shan, Richard Gajan, Hossein Khaleghian and Tyler Bryant) and Paldara Pharmaceuticals (Beau Blanchard, William Colton, Rebecca Perez and David Thomison) – were big winners at the 2019 Love’s Entrepreneur’s Cup. STORY TERRY TUSH | PHOTO SPEARS BUSINESS

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OSU School of Entrepreneurship ranked

th near-eradication will lower health care costs, improve patient quality of life, and boost health care rankings.

ONE-VOICE

Second place, Graduate Division (High Growth) Team leader: Hossein Khaleghian, Ph.D., civil engineering Member: Tyler Bryant, MBA Adviser: Richard Gajan, Don R. Brattain Assistant Professor of Practice in Entrepreneurship, OSU School of Entrepreneurship One-Voice is a sewer data quality management tool that helps utilities, consultants and underground contractors save time and money in the quality assurance process, resulting in proactive asset management for manholes and sewer pipes.

The High Growth Division of the competition is for aspiring entrepreneurs to kick start their journey. Students from any college campus in Oklahoma are invited to write a business plan around a highgrowth concept in one of five industry categories.

The Love’s Entrepreneur’s Cup is a statewide collegiate business plan competition that simulates the realworld process of researching a market, formulating financial projections, writing a business plan and pitching the opportunity to potential investors.

In its 14-year history, nearly 2,150 college students have taken the Love’s Cup challenge, producing over 650 innovative ideas from 36 campuses statewide. Since 2005, the teams have been awarded more than $1.8 million in cash, $125,000 in scholarships and $250,000 in fellowships.

among nearly 500 international universities for

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Top 5: • Indiana University • Imperial College London • Syracuse University • Oklahoma State University • University of Alberta articles in top entrepreneurship research journals as tallied by the Neely Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Texas Christian University

OSU ENTREPRENEURSHIP RESEARCHERS RANK HIGH

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he Oklahoma State University School of Entrepreneurship ranked fourth among nearly 500 programs from around the world in March 2019 for research productivity for the past five years. The ranking lists university entrepreneurship programs by their ability to successfully publish research in top journals.

The Entrepreneurship program at the Spears School of Business tied for fourth place with the University of Alberta for 16 research articles published in three top-tier entrepreneurship journals as tallied by the Neely Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Texas Christian University from 2014 to 2018.

“Entrepreneurship research is extremely important,” said Dr. Bruce Barringer, professor and N. Malone Mitchell Jr. Chair and Student Ventures Chair and head of the OSU School of Entrepreneurship.

“It informs how we teach, what goes into our textbooks and how entrepreneurs tackle real-life challenges.”

OSU finished behind Indiana University, Imperial College of London and Syracuse University in the listing that counts the number of articles published in Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, the Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice. According to TCU’s Neely School of Business, the rankings aren’t adjusted for university size or number of research faculty.

Other universities in the top 10 included HEC Montreal, York University, Mississippi State University, Northeastern University and the University of Oklahoma.

STORY JEFF JOINER | ILLUSTRATION SPEARS BUSINESS

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STUDENT’S LIBERIAN HOMELAND WAS ONCE ONLY A PLACE IN HIS IMAGINATION

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ean Tolbert will tell you that he took a trip of a lifetime last year over Christmas break and that visiting the African nation of Liberia was like visiting home for the first time. Sean, an Oklahoma State University student, was on a journey of discovery when he visited the country where his father was born and where his family played a large role throughout its 20th-century history.

The Spears School of Business junior is a member of a lineage of Tolberts who were part of a prosperous class of Liberian government and business leaders before the country was torn apart by a bloody civil war. Sean’s great-uncle, William Tolbert, was president of Liberia in 1980 when he was assassinated in a coup, which sparked the country’s civil war. Stephen Tolbert Jr., Sean’s father, was a young child when the war broke out and fled Liberia with family. Educated in England, he ultimately settled in the United States, where he went to college, married Tammy, a young woman from Texas, joined the U.S. military and raised two sons, including Sean, now 19.

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Born and raised in the U.S., and a graduate of Lawton High School in Oklahoma, Sean grew up knowing little about Liberia’s stormy modern history, or that of his family there. He knew his father was born in Liberia and he had met aunts, uncles and his grandmother in the States over the years, but Liberian history wasn’t discussed.

Liberia was largely settled by freed American slaves in the early 19th century. In 1847, the country on the continent’s Atlantic coast became the first African state to declare its independence from colonial rule. Sean is a descendant of those early Liberian settlers.

“I grew up not really knowing much about our family and Liberia, which to me was just this place in Africa where my grandmother lived,” Sean said.

His dad, Stephen Tolbert Jr., was so young when his family fled that he doesn’t remember Liberia.

“I first came to the U.S. in 1980 because of the civil war,” said Stephen. “Many Liberians fled the country during that time period due to the civil and political upheaval.”

As Sean and his younger brother, Michael, grew up, their parents discussed visiting Liberia,

STORY JEFF JOINER | PHOTOS GARY LAWSON AND COURTESY SEAN TOLBERT

Spears Business student Sean Tolbert (right) poses with his brother Michael and their cousin Alex Tolbert (middle) with the Monrovian seaside suburb of West Point below. In 2018, the brothers visited Liberia, where their family is originally from and where the Tolberts played an important role in the history of the West African nation.

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A Spears Business student, Sean Tolbert hopes to one day take some of what he has learned in his business education to Liberia and help with the country’s development.

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“I WANT PEOPLE TO SEE LIBERIA AND WEST AFRICA AS A PLACE OF TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY WHERE THE ECONOMIES ARE STARTING TO DEVELOP AND MATURE. I WANT TO HELP LIBERIANS DEVELOP BUSINESSES AND THEIR ECONOMY, SO I PLAN TO GET A GRADUATE DEGREE AND THEN TAKE WHAT I’VE LEARNED AND GIVE IT TO LIBERIA FOR A FEW YEARS.” but it was difficult for the family of an American military officer to find the time to travel to Africa between postings. The Tolberts have been stationed across the U.S. and in Germany; Stephen is currently an Army major stationed in South Korea.

West Africa’s deadly Ebola virus outbreak in 2014 ended the family’s first solid plans to visit there until the health crisis ended. Finally, the parents told Sean and his 17-year-old brother last year that they could visit Liberia on their own over the Christmas holiday.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Sean said. “My whole life it’s been like, ‘We’re going, we’re going, we’re going,’ then something happens, and we can’t.

Now we’re really going.”

Sean and Michael, a junior at Lawton High, spent a few days touring Morocco before flying to Liberia, where they were met by family.

During the two weeks the pair spent exploring the country and its capital, Monrovia, the few stories Sean had heard began to crystalize as they visited places notable in the country’s, and his family’s, history. Aunts, uncles, cousins and his grandmother, Carmenia Abdullah, began filling in the blanks including stories about Sean’s grandfather, Stephen Tolbert Sr., who was a successful businessman, academic and government minister who was killed in a plane crash in Liberia in 1975.

The grandson of freed American slaves who settled in Liberia, Stephen Sr. graduated from Howard University and the University of Michigan before starting a school of forestry at

a Liberian university in 1942, later serving as its dean. He also worked as the country’s minister of agriculture and forestry on two occasions and operated an internationally successful fishing company.

“I found out he did a lot of cool stuff,” said Sean. “I met a cousin in Liberia who used the word tenacious when he described my grandfather.”

Sean learned a lot about his grandfather, including so many things his dad wasn’t able to tell him because Stephen Jr. never met his father.

“My father died (in the 1975 plane crash) eight months before I was born,” Stephen Jr. said. “I left Liberia when I was very young, so I don’t remember anything about living there.”

The Liberian trip gave Sean and Michael a chance to connect with their past. While there they met their father’s nanny, who they called Ma Sarah. She had not seen their father since he fled the country’s civil war with family as a young child.

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“I WAS AMAZED AT THE PEOPLE THERE WHO STRUGGLED AND WHO DIDN’T HAVE ANYTHING, BUT THEY’RE STILL SO HAPPY AND SO PASSIONATE ABOUT EACH OTHER.” The Liberia that Sean and his brother explored included both the comforts of affluence as well as the crush of the country’s poverty. An aunt who is a Liberian journalist introduced the brothers to the realities of life in a desperately poor African nation where the gulf between rich and poor was hard to grapple with, especially in the desperately poor slums of West Point, a seaside suburb of Monrovia.

“She wanted to show us the whole picture of where we’re from, not just the beautiful resorts and the rooftop restaurants, but also the nitty-gritty issues of life there, too,” Sean said.

As he described it, they immersed themselves in the town’s economic despair. But at the same time, Sean said he was lifted by the infectious hope of the people, an experience that deeply affected him.

“There’s a difference between learning about poverty and being immersed in it,” Sean said. “I was amazed at the people there who struggled and who didn’t have anything, but they’re still so happy and so passionate about each other.”

Sean said he experienced an “aha” moment in West Point, realizing he could use his business education to help people in Liberia, many of whom face life with little economic opportunity and the accompanying shortages of health care, clean water and other factors most take for granted.

“I want people to see Liberia and West Africa as a place of tremendous opportunity where the economies are starting to develop and mature,”

Sean said. “I want to help Liberians develop businesses and their economy, so I plan to get a graduate degree and then take what I’ve learned and give it to Liberia for a few years.”

His dad supports his plans. “I think it’s important that he understands his family history and is interested in learning more,” Stephen said.

“Growing up, he was not around his Liberian side of the family but it’s great that he is seeking to make those connections.”

Sean said he admires his Liberian family members who are business leaders following in the footsteps of Stephen Tolbert Sr. by building the country’s future. “My uncle loves his country and the people and wants to rebuild the economy,” Sean said. “That’s what he wanted to show me — all the opportunity that there is there.”

For Sean, the trip to Liberia brought home to him for the first time how much the African nation meant to him and how much he now wants to be a part of it. He wants to connect with the part of his past that civil war nearly destroyed when his dad was a little boy.

“My father couldn’t stay there and did what he had to do to create a life for his family, and I’m blessed for that,” Sean said. “Now I want to do something to give to the country where my family’s success started with the first generation of Tolberts who settled there as freed slaves.”

His 2018 trip to his family’s homeland of Liberia has shown Sean Tolbert how important his family’s history is to him. Now he wants to be a part of that story.

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Going Hard on Soft Skills

Core curriculum changes aim to add critical interpersonal skills for Spears Business undergrads

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ach day, small events take place that sometimes end up being momentous. Joe Eastin, an Oklahoma State University alumnus and president of global company ISN Software, experienced one such event a few years ago that turned into an epiphany for him.

When two young men got on an elevator with Eastin at ISN’s Dallas offices, it was a chance for a minute of face time with the boss. But the two men, both relatively new hires at the company, reacted very differently to the opportunity. One, a

OSU alumnus Joseph Eastin has invested a sizable amount of money in helping Spears Business students. One gift created the Eastin Center for Career Readiness.

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recent graduate of Vanderbilt University, asked Eastin about something he had read in the Wall Street Journal and how the issue might affect the company. The other was an OSU graduate who, after a moment of awkward silence, asked Eastin what he thought of a recent Cowboy football game.

Eastin said in just that brief elevator moment he was struck by the differences in communication skills between the two. Curious, he asked about their job performances and discovered the OSU alumnus was working harder and performing head and shoulders above his co-workers. He just wasn’t very good at the interpersonal skill of carrying on a conversation.

“Every year, we’re at the front lines of recruiting young women and men from universities across the country, and we do a good job hiring new graduates with excellent technical skills,” said Eastin, whose company employs more than 500 workers in the United States and internationally. “But we’ve noticed that sometimes these new graduates do not have good professional skills, or soft skills.

That experience in the elevator was eye-opening and made me wonder how to better expose college students to these skills.”

For Eastin, the answer was to make a substantial gift to Spears Business that made possible the Eastin Center for Career Readiness, which helps students create résumés, prepare for job interviews and find internships as well as acquire interpersonal skills that universities once didn’t concern themselves with. But that has changed as employers began noticing the need for more than just technical skills.

In a recent ManpowerGroup survey of 2,000 employers, more than 50 percent of organizations listed problem-solving, collaboration, customer service and communication as the most valued skills their workers need.

The Eastin Center is at the heart of Spears’ recent changes in core curriculum requirements, adding mandatory courses to improve students’ soft skills, from professionalism to communication to self-awareness to resiliency. In fact, the center is

STORY JEFF JOINER | PHOTOS SPEARS BUSINESS AND JEFF JOINER

Dr. Andrew Urich, the Eastin Center Chair for Career Readiness, works with Spears Business undergraduates in a core curriculum class on professional and interpersonal skills.

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“Every year, we’re at the front lines of recruiting young women and men from universities across the country, and we do a good job hiring new graduates with excellent technical skills. But we’ve noticed that sometimes these new graduates do not have good professional skills, or soft skills.” ­— Joseph Eastin

teaching and assessing undergraduates on career competencies designed to help them be more confident and prepared as they enter the workforce — and maybe avoid awkward elevator moments.

“The people skills gap in corporate America isn’t new,” said Abbey Davis, director of the Eastin Center. “The reason we changed the core curriculum and introduced these classes is because of feedback we’re getting from recruiters and employers who recognize our students for their strong technical proficiency and work ethic but who also see their lack of soft skills.”

All Spears students are now required to take career readiness classes that introduce them to these skills. Freshmen touch on the topic first in Business Administration (BADM) 1111, then again as sophomores in BADM 2111 and juniors in 3111.

But students are fully immersed in the critical need for interpersonal skills in BADM 3113 taught by Dr. Andrew Urich, the Eastin Center Chair for Career Readiness, who now works with 450 students in three class sections.

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“How do you teach people skills to students and convince them that this really matters? You come up with a story, a message that makes the lightbulb come on for them,” said Urich. “What they need is awareness, understanding and inspiration. We’re making them aware that this is important and helping them understand what these skills actually mean, and then we’re trying to inspire them to think about these skills going forward.”

Urich mentions one of his students, an admitted introvert, who came to him after a class asking for advice on developing stronger interpersonal skills.

He encouraged her to take a chance by applying for a job as a sales rep and she ended up being so good at it and so much more confident that she is now working in sales in Washington, D.C. “You can’t change personalities and behaviors in others directly, but you can inspire them to think about the importance of these things and to try new things that can change the entire trajectory of their life,” he said.

The Eastin Center has identified 17 career competencies that are being introduced to Spears

undergraduates in their career readiness and interpersonal skills classes. The 17 are part of a larger set of competencies that make up the Korn Ferry Leadership Architect career competency framework that Spears licenses to use in its curriculum. OSU is the first university to implement the Korn Ferry competency framework, which is used by 93 percent of Fortune 100 companies, at the undergraduate level.

“This is a milestone for us that gives students a language to use regarding these competencies,” Davis said. “When OSU students enter the workforce and know what situational adaptability means, then they’re going to have a leg up on the competition because they now have a language for soft skills that’s more than just, ‘Be more professional.’”

The Korn Ferry career competencies being introduced to Spears’ students are collaboration, communication, managing complexity, courage, resilience, self-awareness, networking, accountability, self-development, valuing differences, trust, decision quality, drive, situational adaptability, and tech, organizational and interpersonal savviness.

“Each week we focus on a different competency and the students assess themselves and pick three people who give them feedback,” Davis said. “We want to measure where they are their sophomore year and then again in their senior year. During this time, we’re teaching them that these skills are important. They’re so important that I would say if you have them, you’re going to have a very successful career.”

PHOTO GARY LAWSON

Dr. Evan Davis

SPEARS BUSINESS NAMES ASSISTANT DEAN FOR UNDERGRADUATE LEARNING The Spears School of Business has named Dr. Evan Davis the assistant dean for undergraduate learning. In this new role, he will assist efforts to enhance student success and professional development. His appointment becomes effective July 1.

Davis, currently a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Management, has been an adjunct, visiting and clinical professor at Spears since 2004. Davis earned an MBA from Spears Business and a doctorate in educational psychology from the OSU College of Education.

He has been recognized numerous times for his skills as a teacher, most recently as the recipient of the 2019 Kenneth D. and Leitner Greiner Award for excellence in undergraduate teaching. He was also recognized as a faculty of distinction by the Spears Business Student Council in 2016 and was awarded the Golden Torch Award by the Mortar Board, a student organization, in 2015.

Davis will help with initiatives in the areas of student success and engagement and will work on continuing to develop and refine professional development efforts through the Business Administration (BADM) core courses, primarily in courses 2111 and 2113. He will also look at innovative teaching initiatives and pedagogy.

“We have no doubt that our students will get out there and work hard. That’s one thing they’re known for.” Davis said. “But when we talk about professional and interpersonal development, we want our students to be well-rounded individuals. We’re putting significant efforts into the development of our students not only academically but professionally.”

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Adding a New Member

Spears Business welcomes School of Hospitality and Tourism Management

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he Oklahoma State University School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) is set to join the OSU Spears School of Business following the March 1 approval of the OSU/A&M Board of Regents. Previously a part of the College of Human Sciences, the school’s students, faculty and staff will be integrated into the business school, where the merger is expected to improve collaborative efforts between HTM and business programs. The move takes effect July 1.

“We are delighted that HTM will be moving to Spears Business, and we warmly welcome the students, faculty, staff and alumni to the Spears family,” said Dr. Ken Eastman, dean of the business school. “We believe this is the beginning of a very productive and positive partnership, which will enhance HTM and existing business programs.”

Established in 1937, HTM trains students and conducts research for the food and beverage, lodging, event planning and tourism management industries. The College of Human Sciences, Spears Business and OSU administration agreed that HTM’s students would be best served with greater access to courses, programs and organizations available through the business school. HTM will become the eighth academic department in Spears Business.

“The School of Hospitality and Tourism Management is one of the oldest hospitality programs in the United States,” said Dr. Li Miao, interim head of HTM. “This move provides the school with a clear and prominent identity as an industry-specific business management program.

HTM is excited about the new possibilities this creates, including collaborative research and team teaching for faculty, priority access to business

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courses and extracurricular activities as well as business-focused career facilities and services.”

In addition to adding around 200 students to Spears Business, the move brings 14 faculty members and eight staffers to the business school.

The HTM program offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. HTM will remain based in its current facilities with its classrooms, food and beverage laboratories and Taylor’s and Planet Orange restaurants now becoming part of the business school.

“The move will allow us to leverage our resources and produce stronger educational and scholarly activities,” said Eastman. “Many HTM students already take business classes, and a number of Spears faculty have served on dissertation committees in HTM, so we are already familiar with each other. I am very excited to see how this partnership develops and the benefits that it will produce.”

HTM alumna and president of the program’s board of advisers Paige Shepherd said she believes the move is a positive one for students and HTM alumni.

“The alignment of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management with the Spears School of Business further showcases the fact that the hospitality industry is a business,” said Shepherd.

“Opportunities for current and future students of the program through the Spears School of Business will increase the desirability of the program while continuing to deliver a nationally ranked degree in hospitality and tourism management.

“Additionally, HTM alumni can take advantage of the vast Spears alumni network as a resource for networking and collaboration as most

STORY JEFF JOINER | PHOTO PHIL SHOCKLEY

alumni currently work across various business organizations.”

At a question-and-answer session with Eastman, Spears associate deans and Miao, students were provided with details about the move and told degree requirements would not change for current students.

“I was worried at first, but then we started to learn more, and it makes sense,” said HTM student Megan Annuschat. “The HTM major is more of a general business degree. There are so many different facets of the hospitality industry that are business-related, so I think the move will be more conducive to HTM students digging even deeper into what they want to do.”

Student Nico Gerbrecht said greater access to business classes will make graduating students even stronger job candidates, while participating in programs like those offered in the School of Entrepreneurship is a natural takeoff for students interested in starting their own hospitality businesses.

“A big goal for a lot of us is to open our own businesses, whether it be a café or a restaurant. I even know someone who wants to open their own hotel, so being integrated into the entrepreneurial curriculum and having greater access to those classes will be a huge opportunity for all of us,” Gerbrecht said.

“Combined with HTM’s state-of-the-art facilities and a curriculum with an industryfocused experiential and service-learning component, the move will provide students with a solid business foundation crowned with hospitality acumen,” Miao said.

The addition of the OSU School of Hospitality and Tourism Management to Spears Business adds around 200 students to OSU’s business school.

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‘I AM BUILDING’ STUDENTS COMPLETE THEIR UNDERGRADUATE CAREERS

TIM SAKABU

Finance Antelope, California

JEANA WILSON

Business Management Stroud, Oklahoma

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hat began as a way to associate a group of students with the construction of the new OSU Business Building became an endearing four-year journey of growth for five young people.

In 2015, the Spears Business Marketing and Communications team came up with the idea for the “I Am Building” project, linking a group of incoming Spears freshmen visually and metaphorically with the construction of the new building. The idea was to show how this group of students built their college education and experiences as the building rose before them from a construction site. The five watched as the $72 million building came together

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BRAXTON NOBLE

Finance Stillwater, Oklahoma

PEYTON HILLERY

Accounting Wichita Falls, Texas

on the OSU Stillwater campus, and they became some of the first students to begin using its facilities when it opened in January 2018.

The students were chosen from varying backgrounds, three states and three business majors. The “I Am Building” project has shown the five growing and developing as both students and individuals, similar to the way the new Business Building developed. The last four years of their lives as college students have been well documented in videos, magazine articles, social media and more. Now we are saying goodbye to them following their graduation this spring and the start of business careers,

FORREST HULL

Finance Jenks, Oklahoma

except for one who is continuing her education at OSU as a graduate student.

For those who followed the “I Am Building” students through their time at Spears Business, here is a poignant look back at their time at OSU through feature stories written about each one in Engage@Spears magazine.

Learn more about the students and watch video stories about their lives at OSU at business.okstate.edu/ iambuilding/ or visit #IAmBuilding.

The “I Am Building” website also has a time-lapse video of the Business Building taking shape from 2015 until 2018.

PHOTOS LANCE SHAW AND SPEARS BUSINESS

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TIM SAKABU

Embracing OSU Culture (excerpted from ENGAGE@SPEARS, Winter 2017)

Tim Sakabu’s college search didn’t exactly involve closing his eyes, spinning around three times and planting an index finger in middle America. Still, the Oklahoma State finance student’s path from Sacramento, California, to Stillwater was a bit unconventional.

His mother, Donna Sakabu, crunched data and figured out three schools for him to consider: OSU, the University of Kansas and the University of Oklahoma.

When it came time for a decision, OSU sold itself, with help from its greatest resource — the people.

“What stood out the most for me about Oklahoma State — first off, the campus, it’s amazing here, but also the people,” Sakabu said. “I could tell there was something different about the people here. They care about everyone who walks on campus.”

Sakabu immersed himself in the fabric of the campus at OSU, including working at the Eastin Center.

“I really like working there because I can see the impact I’m having on certain students,” he said. “Seeing the lights click on when they realize, ‘Oh, this really interests me.’ Or, ‘This is what I want to do.’”

None of the Sakabus knew quite what to expect when they made their first trip to Stillwater. But they all agreed they liked what they found.

“My husband and I have been amazed by the opportunities Tim’s been given at Spears, both experientially as well as financially,” Donna said. “And to be truthful, because we get asked this all the time — ‘Why is he in Oklahoma?’

FRESHMAN 2015

— he’s just been given so many wonderful opportunities.”

So for Tim Sakabu, Stillwater became much more than flyover country.

“As a student, Oklahoma State is second to none with how involved everyone seems to be in your education.

Everyone really seems to care. You’re not just a number in the system, everyone seems to know your face and your name,” he said. “The interpersonal relationship aspect is definitely meaningful. You can reach out to alumni,

or you can reach out to your adviser. It’s almost the same in how much they care about your success.”

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Sakabu joined ExxonMobil in Houston in the controller’s department, which provides accounting and finance support for the company’s lines of business.

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JEANA WILSON

Growing into Leadership Roles (excerpted from ENGAGE@SPEARS, Winter 2016)

After one conversation with Lee Bird, vice president of student affairs at Oklahoma State University, Jeana Wilson knew she had chosen the right major — business management in the Spears School of Business.

“Dr. Bird and I were speaking about my career goals when I told her I was still a little unsure about where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do,” Wilson said. “After I told her about the things I enjoy doing, she gave me the idea of doing professional development. When she explained what that entailed, I felt it definitely fit with what I like to do on multiple levels.”

If the conversation with Bird didn’t confirm what she wanted to do, taking Don Herrmann’s Financial Accounting class did.

“It’s a class that has challenged me and given me a respect for the subject.

Accounting doesn’t come natural to me like management and marketing does,” she said. “The management classes and leadership roles I’ve taken on campus have shown me that I’ve picked the right major.”

Wilson said she was destined to attend OSU from birth. Her parents, Chris and Beth Wilson, met as OSU students and married at Theta Pond.

Taking on roles with the Business Student Council, the Spears Ambassadors, the OSU Student Alumni Board, the Scholar Leaders and the President’s Leadership Council gave the Stroud, Oklahoma, native the opportunity to practice her leadership and management skills. She was an executive board member of Business Student Council and a Spears

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Ambassador. “Each organization allows me the opportunity take on leadership roles and share my love of Spears and OSU,” she said.

“Helping people develop is something I’m passionate about and truly love doing. I feel like the experiences I’ve had inside and outside the classroom have really prepared me for my career but have also led me on the path of where I feel more

comfortable, which is helping people develop and achieve their own dreams and aspirations.”

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Wilson accepted a position as an associate with Sendero, a management consulting firm in Dallas.

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BRAXTON NOBLE

Excelling Under Mom’s Watch (excerpted from ENGAGE@SPEARS, Summer 2018)

When Braxton Noble wanted to learn how to throw a football, the teaching fell to his mother.

“Braxton and I have been by ourselves since he was 4,” Gina Noble said. “He’s always been interested in sports and he really wanted to play football as a young boy, against my better judgment. But that’s what he wanted to do.”

Gina and Braxton kept on throwing to each other — balls, ideas, respect.

And love — much love — in a relationship that continues to flourish for Braxton and Gina, associate director of undergraduate studies and clinical associate professor in Oklahoma State University’s School of Media and Strategic Communications.

Noble thrived amid his mom’s guidance and example. He starred playing various sports while growing up, and yes, in the classroom, too, opening opportunities to attend various colleges, with his vision fixed initially on San Diego State University.

Hometown OSU got a look, too.

“I grew up around here, but never went on a campus tour or anything,” Noble said. “I didn’t really see a reason to.”

One of mom’s suggestions resulted in a game-changer in OSU’s favor.

“My mom said, ‘You’re going to go visit Greek houses,’” Noble said.

“Fortunately, it was Sigma Nu that was the only house giving tours. I walked out and said, ‘Mom, I want to be a Sigma Nu.’” Noble excelled at OSU, where he was a finance major who graduated last spring.

FRESHMAN 2015

Across campus, Gina Noble watched her son’s academic career with joy and pride.

“Spears has probably enhanced his college experience more than any other college ever could, because it’s given him opportunities. And thankfully, he’s excelled in those opportunities.”

From his view, Noble said he’s been equally inspired by his mom. Along with her significant role on campus, Gina Noble recently served as Stillwater’s mayor.

“My mom, I call her Supermom,” Noble said. “She served as my mom and as my dad. We have a great relationship.

It’s always been me and my mom.”

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Noble has accepted a job with Walmart corporate offices in Bentonville, Ark., as a staff auditor.

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PEYTON HILLERY

Impacting Lives at OSU (excerpted from ENGAGE@SPEARS, Fall 2018)

When Peyton Hillery walked through the doors of the Kappa Alpha Theta house at Oklahoma State University, she saw a new opportunity each and every day to have a profound impact on the sisterhood of around 200 women.

“Being the president of Theta has been really fun and it’s been really challenging,” said Hillery, whose yearlong term ended in December. “I’ve learned so much about leadership and my own abilities.”

Despite Hillery’s parents Lynda and Brent both earning degrees from Oklahoma State, it originally looked like she would not follow in their footsteps.

She was looking forward to attending Texas A&M following her graduation from Wichita Falls High School in Texas.

“I had been able to visit Oklahoma State a couple of times. When I took my first official (visit), I really fell in love with it for myself, and not just because my parents went here,” said Hillery.

“Later in my senior year, Dean Eastman actually called me,” Hillery said. “It was just like the timing of it was all falling into place, and I just thought, how could I ever pass up going to Oklahoma State when I have so many opportunities?” The Spears Business dean had received a call from Dr. William S. Spears, encouraging him to reach out to Hillery. Spears and Brent Hillery are friends and business acquaintances After an internship with KPMG in Oklahoma City, she graduated with her

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FRESHMAN 2015

bachelor’s degree in accounting in May and is looking forward to continuing her education.

“I’m applying to a couple of other grad programs, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to stay here,” she said. “This is home. I’m not ready to be done with Stillwater yet.”

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Hillery is working toward her master’s degree in accounting at OSU with a tax emphasis, which she expects to finish by fall 2020. She also plans to take the CPA exam and already has a job offer as a tax associate at KPMG in Fort Worth, Texas, after completing her master’s.

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FORREST HULL

A Seasoned Entrepreneur at 18 (excerpted from ENGAGE@SPEARS, Summer 2016)

At only 18 years old, he was already running his own business.

Forrest Hull was a freshman entrepreneurship major at Oklahoma State University who had racked up years in business before enrolling.

“I actually started Forward Designs in middle school,” Hull said. “I started making jewelry from essentially scrap metal in my garage and selling it to people at my church and peers at my school, and through that process, I kind of developed the entrepreneurial bug.”

He shut down Forward Designs in high school in Jenks, Oklahoma, to focus on launching Paradigm Creative, his mobile application development firm, in early 2015.

OSU was Hull’s only interest when choosing a university. His father had been an OSU architecture student, and the School of Entrepreneurship and the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship in the Spears School of Business sealed the deal.

“I was lucky enough to know what I wanted to do early on,” he said. “It’s rare for a university to have such a developed and thorough entrepreneurship program.”

As an entrepreneurship major, Hull had access to the Riata Center’s off-campus Student Startup Central, a program that helps students get their businesses up and running. He is the youngest student to be awarded his own office as part of the Riata Incubator.

“He is one of those students who is ahead of the curve,” said Kyle Eastham, entrepreneur-in-residence for the School of Entrepreneurship.

FRESHMAN 2015

Hull credits the Student Startup Central, Riata Center and the Spears School of Business for opening doors for his future.

“I have to give huge shout-outs to Richard Gajan and Kyle Eastham,” he said. “They help students develop business ideas every day and have provided resources, countless introductions and have opened so many doors for my future.”

“Keep your eye on Forrest,” Eastham said. “I have no doubt you’ll be hearing more from him and about him in the years to come.”

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Hull is looking to return to his hometown of Tulsa to work in wealth management, a career direction he’s become passionate about at Spears Business.

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In Her Own Words

Irina Tkachenko: ‘I love everything that OSU has given me’ At 18, Irina Tkachenko was looking forward to her new adventure, despite never having been on an airplane before boarding the first of three flights that would take her from her hometown of Kiev, Ukraine, to Oklahoma City.

Today, the Oklahoma State University alumna holds bachelor’s degrees in management and international business and a master’s degree in international studies and is a senior account manager for Bloomberg LP, one of the world’s largest privately held financial companies. Out of her London office today, Tkachenko flies hundreds of thousands of miles a year, having traveled to nearly 40 countries since that first flight 15 years ago.

The former Cowgirl tennis player was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Region Rookie of the Year as a freshman in 2005 and was a two-time All-Big 12 honoree (2005 and 2008) during her four-year college career. Now 33, she attributes her success as a businesswoman to what she learned at OSU, both on the tennis court and in the classroom.

Until 18, I grew up in Kiev, Ukraine.

I’ve played tennis since I was 7 years old. I remember like it was yesterday: the first of September, I went to the first day of school and I went to the first day to play tennis. First grade.

From then on, I played. The first professional tournament I played in was when I was 13. The first money I earned was at 13 years old. I think at that time it was $500. From then on, I was just sent to all these tournaments. For the most part, I was playing in Poland because I was afraid of flying. As weird as it sounds, now I sometimes have four flights a week.

When I was going into the last grade of high school, I needed to choose what I was going to do next. Am I going to keep playing or am I going to stop and only do school? In Ukraine, you can only do one. Because my parents didn’t have the money

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Irina Tkachenko earned three degrees at OSU before embarking on a successful career in the finance industry.

STORY TERRY TUSH | PHOTOS COURTESY IRINA TKACHENKO

Although afraid to fly when she was younger, Tkachenko is now a world traveler, having visited nearly 40 countries, including Machi Picchu in Peru. to support me playing (professionally), and finding sponsors was too difficult, one of my dad’s students called and he was the assistant to the men’s tennis team at OSU at the time. He asked my dad, “I know you have some daughters. Would they like to come play at OSU?” I was like, “Oh, yes.”

remember when I arrived there were girls from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, New York, and I heard their accents and realized I actually didn’t know English. Then I began school, and I could not understand anything.

It was extremely frustrating.

In August 2004, I flew into Oklahoma City but didn’t realize we needed to drive to Stillwater.

It was hot — extremely hot. I was happy I was on land, and I didn’t have to fly anymore. My first impression as we were driving from Oklahoma City to Stillwater was that there were no trees. Oh my gosh, where is this place? Why is it taking so long?

I finished (high) school in Ukraine with excellent grades, and then I’m sitting in class at OSU and I don’t understand anything they are saying, and I’m pretty much failing everything. I actually made it through by studying constantly, often falling asleep and waking up with books in my lap. I asked my team to always correct my English, but I didn’t speak much at all the first semester. I just listened and paid attention to everybody else. Somehow after the first semester,

My freshman year was a nightmare because I thought I actually knew English, but I

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I was speaking English like nobody’s business, and my coach (Julius Lubicz-Majewski) was laughing and saying, “Oh, I think I prefer you not knowing English.”

Right away, I knew I wanted to do management. I like working with people, and I wanted to do something business related. My parents had a store in Poland, and I remembered that I was quite good with math. Then I said I’m going to be a businesswoman, and I will someday deal with people in business. In four years, I got two bachelor’s degrees and got my master’s in international studies by the fifth year.

I had a very good experience at OSU, great professors, great support throughout my college years. Everything I could achieve now is because of the education and the extremely amazing experience at OSU, including my American family and Jeretta Nord, who is a role model to me of an independent, successful, intelligent and kind woman.

My American family is Stephen Miller, who used to teach marketing at Spears Business and who passed a few years ago, and his wife, Lynn Miller. I always felt like I was a part of their family. I still visit Lynn and we still stay in touch, and we still see each other. I’m so glad that Lynn is planning to come to my wedding in July, and Jeretta and Daryl Nord are also traveling to Ukraine to see me marry my fiancé, Ovidiu Suciu.

I had a professor at OSU, Dr. Nizam Najd, who always told me, “If you don’t get anything else from my class, it should be to have a big picture always.” I remember it every single day.

When I do something, I’m always thinking about the big picture. The planning and all the strategies that I’ve been able to execute in Ukraine — this was because of the education I got at Oklahoma State.

In September of 2010, I moved back to Ukraine, and went to work for an investment bank (Phoenix Capital). I worked for Phoenix for two years, and then I moved to Foyil Securities.

Tkachenko poses for a photo while representing Bloomberg at the Ukrainian Financial Forum.

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One of my friends who I used to work with at Phoenix Capital was moving to London to work for Bloomberg. She said, “Wouldn’t it be amazing if you would apply as well and work with me in London?” I said no because I had an offer from a company in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

She said, “Just in case, apply.” So we went on the website and I applied. And toward the summer I interviewed with them, and then in August they asked me to fly to London for my last interview. I didn’t tell anybody in my family and when I came

Tkachenko has called London home the past four years but she loves exploring the world, including this trip to Switzerland. back from London, I got the job. In November of 2014, I moved to London.

I spent my first six months at Bloomberg in training, and then I moved into sales. I’ve actually been responsible the last four years for the Bloomberg business in Ukraine. I combine work and traveling, which I think is a dream job.

The best part of my job is that I work with people. I get to work with different teams from different departments, so that’s very educating.

I love working with the clients. I love building something from scratch, the markets and developing it, bringing something new to the clients.

In the past four years, I was privileged to work with different types of organizations in Ukraine and integrate Bloomberg and its products at family offices, investment banks, corporations, the National Bank, ministry of finance, and fiscal service. It has not always been easy to convince people to implement the Bloomberg system but with persistence, good

knowledge of the product, understanding of the market structure and the needs, Bloomberg’s share of the market in Ukraine is growing. For example, in foreign exchange we have about 70 percent of the market when back in 2015 it was zero. I am happy to be part of the changes that Ukraine is going through.

I became the adult I am because of my parents and my experience at OSU. If I had stayed in Ukraine, I would never be this open-minded or this well-rounded of a person, or been exposed to all the different cultures and all the different people. Now, at Bloomberg, all my friends are from different countries, and I understand that they’re different and grew up differently.

At OSU, I met a lot of different people from different countries, and I think that was the most incredible thing. I love everything that OSU has given me.

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The most valued aspect of studying online is the flexibility to complete coursework whenever and wherever a student is located.

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STORY JEFF JOINER | PHOTOS JEFF JOINER

Beyond the Classroom Online courses reach thousands of students around the world for Spears Business

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nline degree programs have opened virtual doors to individuals who want to attain a degree but are restricted by career, family or travel commitments, as well as those who are unable to take courses on campus. Teaching university courses beyond the classroom has grown exponentially as technology has advanced from mailing lectures on VHS video tapes to livestreaming lectures.

The Spears School of Business’s online programs and courses currently reach several thousand students. What began as an inaugural telecommunications management master’s program has grown into 16 programs that are serving nearly 340 undergraduate and graduate students who receive their degree completely online (according to a fall 2018 report).

Since its inception, Spears Business’s online courses have also grown to serve the needs of on-campus students in Stillwater and Tulsa.

A recent study cited in the Chronicle of Higher Education concluded that the average student nationwide is taking 20 percent to 40 percent of their courses online.

“Online courses can be particularly helpful to students with excessive work hours, student athletes, students with children or other dependents, students with medical issues or disabilities or students who need to resolve schedule conflicts,” said Carol Johnson, Spears Business associate dean of business intelligence.

“The availability of online options can enable them to graduate more quickly, graduate with less debt, deal more effectively with child care issues and accommodate disabilities.”

In the Spring 2019 semester alone, Spears Business had over 5,500 enrollments from more than 3,500 unique students in 118 courses taught by 69 faculty members who have national and international reputations in their fields.

Supporting these online initiatives is a team of dedicated staff committed to delivering highquality, accessible and affordable online programs

and courses. A gift from Michael and Anne Greenwood provided upgraded facilities (including state-of-the art video production studios) for the online learning center in the new Business Building, which opened in 2018. Today, students work toward the completion of five graduate and three undergraduate degree options, as well as eight graduate certificates.

Spears Business’s online offerings began through the former business school’s Business Extension program with one master’s degree.

“At the time, online learning courses (then called ‘distance learning’), were delivered synchronously via interactive video. Lectures were also recorded on VHS video tapes and then mailed to students,” said Shona Gambrell, director of the Michael and Anne Greenwood Center for Online Excellence. By the late 1990s, students could earn an MBA entirely online asynchronously.

The largest demand for online degrees has been in graduate studies (two-thirds of enrollees are graduate students), but undergraduate programs have also grown. Since 2014, it has been possible to earn a bachelor’s degree in general business, management or marketing online.

The most valued aspect of studying online is the flexibility to complete coursework whenever and wherever a student is located. Spears Business’s online students come from four countries and 37 states and territories, including 32 of the 77 counties in Oklahoma. The flexibility of working remotely has been particularly attractive to activeduty military personnel, who make up more than a quarter of enrolled online students. Students can complete coursework anywhere they are stationed, both in the U.S. and abroad, as long as they have access to the Internet. A military officer completed an online OSU class while serving aboard a Navy vessel.

According to Gambrell, the eight full-time staff at the Greenwood Center work to ensure that online students have the best possible experience by creating positive interactive learning

Opposite: Jerimy Sherin, the digital project manager for the Michael and Anne Greenwood Center for Online Excellence, works to produce a class presented by OSU faculty.

B U S I N E S S .O K S TAT E . E D U 41

Abbey Davis, director of the Eastin Center for Career Readiness and a Spears Business instructor, records an online class in the Greenwood Center’s studio. environments where students connect with each other and their professors and interact effortlessly with the technology. Students and instructors communicate through video conferencing tools, discussion boards and live chat.

The staff at the Greenwood Center include video producers and instructional designers who work with faculty to adopt instructional strategies that keep the learner in mind.

“We like to say that we’re unique in that we empower our faculty in designing courses to meet the diverse learning styles of our students,” Gambrell said. “Courses are designed to promote student and faculty engagement and interactivity, resulting in a positive and enjoyable learning experience.”

Just one example of the success of Spears Business’s online programs can be found in the 2019 rankings of the country’s best online MBA programs by U.S. News and World Report, where OSU tied for 38th place out of over 300 schools, and 39th place out of 156 schools in best online graduate business programs.

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Online Undergraduate Programs General Business Management Marketing Online Graduate Programs Master of Business Administration Master of Science in Business Analytics and

Data Science* Master of Science in Entrepreneurship Master of Science in Information Assurance Master of Science in

Management Information Systems Graduate Certificate in Business Data Mining Graduate Certificate in Marketing Analytics Graduate Certificate in Information Assurance Graduate Certificate in Business Sustainability Graduate Certificate in Non-Profit Management Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship Graduate Certificate in Human Resource Management Graduate Certificate in Health Analytics *Pending approval from the OSU/A&M Regents and Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education

Spears School of Business

MENTORING PROGRAM

“Sharing time with these students has provided me with one of the best volunteer opportunities I have experienced at OSU. The students are remarkable and so willing to absorb any help you can provide.

It's an absolute privilege to get this opportunity. All who can should give back to SSB in this way!�

To find out how you can make an impact as a mentor, email us at ssmp@okstate.edu or visit us online at business.okstate.edu/mentoring-program

MENTORING PROGRAM AT SPEARS BUSINESS

#SpearsBusiness

Social Media Statistics

61,009

Impressions to @SpearsBusiness Tweets in 2018

1,558,360

Impressions to Spears Business Facebook posts in 2018

1,651

Interactions with @SpearsBusiness Tweets in 2018

18,245

Interactions to Spears Business Facebook posts in 2018

67

photos using #SpearsBusiness in 2018

A Legacy of Learning CEPD Director Julie Weathers continues family tradition of passing on knowledge

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ducation is opportunity. For Dr. Julie Weathers and her family, education has opened many doors to opportunity, from long, rewarding careers as teachers and administrators to leading one of Oklahoma State University’s most successful outreach programs.

Weathers is director of the Center for Executive and Professional Development (CEPD) at the Spears School of Business where she’s spent her entire career, the last 25 years as director. CEPD provides more than 240 conferences, seminars, certification professional development programs and many other opportunities to more than 14,500 individuals each year.

Weathers’ mother was a professor for more than 30 years at nearby Langston University while her husband, Shane, is the high school principal and head football coach at Coyle High School, where son Ryan teaches math and coaches the baseball team.

“Education has definitely been a love of the family,” she said.

Weathers grew up on the farm northwest of Coyle where her grandparents settled. She was named after her grandmother, Julia Hacker Flasch, who came to Oklahoma from Austria as a 17-yearold to marry John Flasch, the brother of her sister’s husband.

“Julia’s sister was already in Oklahoma, and life looked good in America, so she came over with a marriage proposal in a letter he had written,” Weathers said.

Weathers’ parents, Harold and Dr. Joy Flasch, bought the farm from his parents and there she grew up — a life along the Cimarron River she describes as idyllic. Both Harold and Joy graduated from OSU, he with a bachelor’s degree in animal husbandry and Joy with a master’s in English and an Ed.D. with an emphasis in English. Joy taught briefly at OSU, then began a three-decade career as an English professor at Langston University where she was also head of the Department of

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Communications (including broadcast journalism) and later the first director of the E.P. McCabe Honors Program. Weathers’ parents still live on the farm that Julie and Shane now rent.

With her mother as a guiding example, Weathers started her educational journey at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in Chickasha, earning a bachelor’s in business administration in 1983 and being named the outstanding graduate. That same year, she started the Master of Business Administration program at OSU, graduating in 1985.

While an MBA student, Weathers worked as a graduate assistant for what later became CEPD. At the time, the program was part of the university extension system. After graduating with her MBA, Weathers was hired as a program coordinator by director Dr. Jim Hromas.

“Jim was my mentor and he loved outreach and the concept of a land-grant university and its heritage in serving the citizens of the state of Oklahoma,” Weathers said.

Weathers was CEPD associate director from 1991-94; she was named director the same year she completed her doctorate from the OSU College of Education.

“I think I was probably very goal oriented growing up,” she said. “I like to accomplish things, and I think we’re very goal-oriented and focused on accomplishing programs and improving here at CEPD. The staff are excellent in bringing together new ideas and accomplishing and implementing quality education programs.”

The center’s accomplishments include this year’s 28th annual Oklahoma Women’s Business Conference and the continued success of the Tulsa Business Forums and the Oklahoma City Executive Management Briefings that have brought such national and international business leaders to Oklahoma as former President George H.W. Bush, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher,

STORY JEFF JOINER | PHOTO JEFF JOINER

The Weathers family (from left): Son Ryan and his wife Tara, parents Shane and Julie, and younger sons Brendon and Jared.

industry titans Lee Iacocca and Jack Welch, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev.

Weathers says CEPD’s success in its 66 years is due to business and industry specialists and OSU faculty who provide their expertise in programs as diverse as the newly launched accounting and finance program for Oklahoma Native American tribal members to the Gaming Certification program developed with the University of NevadaReno. And those are only a few of the center’s offerings that include hundreds of on-site programs each year at Oklahoma companies and other organizations.

“Our faculty provide information that is based in research,” Weathers said. “The people of Oklahoma see the value in implementing concepts and applying that information to their jobs and careers. That’s the differentiator between CEPD and other organizations.”

For the Weathers family, education has been a differentiator. Her oldest son, Ryan, an OSU alum and the Coyle High math teacher and coach, is the latest to continue in the tradition of his mother, father and grandmother. The Weathers’ other two sons are making their own way along their education journey. Middle son Jared is a student and McCabe Scholar at Langston University who wants to enter the physical therapy program there, while youngest son Brendon is a Coyle senior who plans to attend OSU and study engineering or business.

“God has truly blessed us, and it is important to make the most of your abilities and education to help you expand your talents to the fullest extent,” Weathers said.

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Spears Business’s Top Senior

Braxton Noble reflects on winning the 2019 Raymond D. Thomas Award

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klahoma State University’s Spears School of Business has named Braxton Noble, a finance major from Stillwater, Oklahoma, its top senior for 2019 with the Raymond D. Thomas Award. The award reflects high levels of achievement in scholarship and leadership.

As the Thomas Award winner, Noble carried the Spears Business flag in the processional of the spring 2019 commencement and was the first business student to receive a diploma. He has been involved with Business Student Council, including serving as its president his senior year. Noble was also part of the I Am Building campaign, which followed him from his freshman year through graduation.

Braxton, who accepted a position as a staff auditor at Walmart’s corporate offices in Bentonville, Arkansas, discussed the Raymond D. Thomas Award and how Spears Business impacted his life.

In your own words, what does this award represent?

To me, the Raymond D. Thomas Award represents everyone who has come before me and laid the path for me and for me to continue on that path. This is a great starting point, but this is by no means the end. This is a great way to keep me motivated to keep doing more and striving for new goals.

What was it like when you heard your name announced as the 2019 Raymond D. Thomas Award recipient?

So, serving as the president of Business Student Council, I had to give a speech at the banquet to close out the ceremony after the award was given. I kind of had to convince myself that I wasn’t going to win just in case my name wasn’t called. I was very surprised and very shocked when my name was called. It was a very nice, pleasant surprise.

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STORY RACHEL STARK | PHOTO PHIL SHOCKLEY

TOP SPEARS BUSINESS SENIORS

How have Spears faculty impacted you?

They’ve really been unofficial mentors because I have never really had a professor within my major where I haven’t felt comfortable enough to go talk to if I have a problem with a class or outside the class, whether it be career advice or something like that. They’ve really helped get me to where I am, from being able to ask them questions to developing relationships with them outside of class.

What is your greatest piece of advice for future business students?

I think the most important thing to remember is that you have to find something you care about.

If you’re passionate about something, you better go be the best one at it. I watched a video from (University of Alabama football coach) Nick Saban who said if you’re going to be a street sweeper, you better be the best street sweeper that you can be.

You have to be proud that you can be the best one.

Also, don’t spread yourself too thin. I had a problem with doing that when I was younger, especially my sophomore and junior years. That is my biggest regret. The other piece of advice: have fun. You’re in college for four years, and take that for what it’s worth. It’s going to be OK if you don’t make all As at one point.

A big thank you to everyone in Spears Business who has helped get me to where I am today because without all of them, I wouldn’t be here.

The Spears School of Business honors the top five seniors from each of its seven academic departments each year. These outstanding students were recognized during the 66th Annual Honors and Awards Banquet in March.

Accounting Natnael Abebe

Management and General Business

Preston Lewis

Katie Feibig

James Olmstead

Macy Hedrick

Jordan Short

Isabella Martinez

Sarah Sidener

Nissi Ngassa

Economics Orin Atha Sam Dannels Kaleigh Ewing

Krysta Orscheln

Marketing and International Business

Margaret Kelly

Madison Hudgins

Reagan Meagher

Rebekah Moomau

Entrepreneurship Mikayla Commer

Erin Rhoads Maria Savino Diaz Carson Taber

Alejandro McGowan Brooks Robison Payton Thornton Karrington White

Management Science and Information Systems Caroline Blackwood

Finance

Henry Carr

Gavin Boone

Kelsey Frank

Jin Kun Chai

Kyle Frank

Kelli Gauger

Anna Hurlbut

Braxton Noble Connor Williams

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RESEARCH

Targeted Marketing Understanding religiosity’s influence on food choices can assist in targeted marketing

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f you’re especially religious, chances are you’re more likely to buy fat-free, sugar-free or glutenfree foods while less religious people may prefer organic or natural foods.

Those are the findings researchers from Oklahoma State University, Arizona State University and the University of Wyoming came up with after testing the theory that religious and moral beliefs have a direct correlation to food purchasing choices, which could impact how food products are marketed.

While it is well understood that behavior is guided by a consumer’s beliefs and values, co-authors of this study argue that religiosity — how religious someone is — and moral priorities are important and often overlooked predictors of special food preferences.

“Everyone lives by a belief system, whether they are religious or not,” said Dr. Elizabeth Minton, associate professor of marketing in University of Wyoming’s College of Business and lead author of an article on this topic published in the Journal of Business Research. “Religion is the deepest set of core values people can have, and we wanted to explore how those values impacted the market choices people make.”

Researchers collected responses from more than 1,700 people through four online surveys while testing the theory that religious and moral beliefs play a role in specialty food choices.

Their hypothesis that highly religious consumers would prefer diet-minded foods (fat-free, sugarfree or gluten-free) proved true while less religious individuals preferred

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sustainably minded (natural or organic) foods.

“What is interesting is that we confirmed highly religious people really like special diet foods,” said Dr. Richie Liu, assistant professor in the School of Marketing and International Business at Oklahoma State University and co-author of the paper. “This is explained by the perception that dietminded foods are more pure.”

Religious texts also play a role.

Researchers noted that scripture encourages fasting, identifies gluttony as a sin and encourages people to think of the body as a temple that should be kept pure.

“Diet-minded food consumption is especially supported by familiarity with religious dietary restrictions focused on food avoidance and food preparation, whereas sustainably minded food consumption is especially supported by concerns about the environment and focuses on food production processes,” the researchers wrote.

To better understand moral impacts on food preference among highly and less religious individuals, researchers looked at the moral foundations of “purity” and “care” as predictors of dietminded and sustainably minded food preferences.

“People have different moral intuitions, or moral foundations,” said Dr. Kathryn Johnson, assistant research professor of psychology at Arizona State University and co-author of the paper. “Some people might be motivated to avoid harming others, including animals, while others might be driven by loyalty to their group or avoiding pathogens.”

The researchers found that the moral foundation of “purity” drives

the choice for diet-minded foods while “care” leads to sustainably minded food.

Still, “(W)e can surmise that highly religious individuals may seek to be ideologically pure by actually rejecting organic or natural food products,” the researchers wrote. “As such, marketers can leverage this knowledge to design better products and marketing communications to address the moral foundations driving special food consumption.

“In showing the influence of religiosity on special food consumption as well as the mediating role of moral foundations, ample opportunities for marketers of special food products arise,” the researchers wrote. “First, marketers should consider integrating religion into target market definitions to better create target markets with specific needs and desires for special food products. Similarly, marketers should consider ways to target these religious consumers with offerings that match their desires.

“Marketers might also consider more subtle ways to highlight the fit between special food products and a consumer’s religion by emphasizing moral foundations in words or visuals within branding and marketing efforts.

For example, using the words ‘pure’ or ‘purity’ may help religious consumers identify the purity moral foundation that already exists, thereby encouraging consumption of diet-minded foods.”

Liu agrees.

“These findings talk directly to food marketers and give them a sense of how to promote their food products,” Liu said.

STORY DAVID BITTON | PHOTO PHIL SHOCKLEY

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“These findings talk directly to food marketers and give them a sense of how to promote their food products.”

— Dr. Richie Liu

)

Dr. Richie Liu

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RESEARCH

Acting at Work

OSU research studies the positive and negative of faking emotions in the workplace

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n many jobs, employees are expected to act happy, or at least friendly, even when they just don’t feel like it. So it’s not unusual that workers occasionally fake positive feelings, even when that actually makes them feel worse. But research by an Oklahoma State University professor has found that a person can actually feel better by doing the opposite, or faking negative emotions.

Spears School of Business assistant professor of management Dr. Anna Lennard studies emotional regulation, or controlling emotions, in the workplace. One of the ways people do that is by surface acting, or faking emotions, both negative and positive.

Just about every restaurant server, customer service representative or even university professor has had to act friendly and positive when they don’t actually feel that way, Lennard said. But what about when you have to fake being mad or frustrated when you really feel great inside?

“Surface acting arises because there are emotional demands in the workplace,” Lennard said. “There is a lot of research from the service industry about negative ramifications of surface acting like emotional exhaustion that can affect your work and spill over into your home life. But we looked at faking being sad or frustrated, rather than happy, and that might actually have positive implications. We found that

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faking being upset when you’re happy can actually make you feel happier.”

Lennard and her co-authors challenged the commonly held notion in the literature that faking emotions is inherently bad for well-being by studying 79 managers in the workplace over a three-week period. What they found is that surface acting intensifies the authentic, underlying feelings a person is experiencing, regardless of whether those feelings are positive or negative.

“So, if you’re faking being happy, the authentic feeling of being unhappy is exacerbated,” Lennard said. “And in the reverse, if you’re faking being upset and you’re actually happy, that feeling is intensified. Our research shows that repressing a feeling makes that feeling even stronger. It’s similar to this idea of an elephant in the room and that by ignoring it you’re even more likely to think about it.”

Lennard and co-authors Brent Scott and Russell Johnson at Michigan State University published their research in the Journal of Applied Psychology, which is recognized by Spears Business as an aspirational, high-impact journal.

“Aspirational journals are the most elite academic journals for publishing business research,” said Ramesh Sharda, vice dean of Spears Business.

“Publications in these journals impact Spears School of Business’s faculty members’ visibility and thus also

our school’s reputation among all academics.”

Lennard’s article is significant in the study of emotional regulation in the workplace because so little research has been done to understand the positive side of feigning emotions. The strain of controlling one’s emotions at work can be heavy, but employees do have tools to use in their emotional tool belt.

“We all surface act in different ways in our jobs, and there are actually ways in which you can shape this necessary work experience to have positive impacts on your life,” she said. “This positive side of surface acting is not well understood and that is why our research is important.”

Lennard is now shifting her research to focus on the impacts of faking neutral, or stoic, emotions — such as a doctor delivering bad news to a patient.

“It wouldn’t be right if the doctor appeared happy or if they cried or showed too much sadness, which might make it even worse for the patient,” she said. “We don’t understand the emotional implications of that, so that’s a new area I want to move into next.”

STORY JEFF JOINER | PHOTO JEFF JOINER

(

“We found that faking being upset when you’re happy can actually make you feel happier.”

— Dr. Anna Lennard

)

Dr. Anna Lennard

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ALUMNI PROFILE

Pathway to Innovation

Tom Totten credits OSU Ph.D. in Business for Executives program for his startup

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STORY JEFF JOINER | PHOTOS SPEARS BUSINESS

E

ven though he hadn’t been in the classroom as a student for years, Dr. Tom Totten was nervous in 2012 walking into a room of company executives like himself at Oklahoma State University where he was about to begin Ph.D. coursework. “This was not your typical university classroom full of students,” Totten said.

That experience as part of the first group admitted to the Spears School of Business’s Ph.D. in Business for Executives program had a longlasting impact on Totten’s career and even led to a successful business startup that began as a concept he refined through the writing of his dissertation at OSU. The startup, a retirement planning consulting firm, has helped thousands of individuals who use his innovative retirement savings products.

The OSU Ph.D. in Business for Executives is an accredited program focused on developing leadership and inspiring innovation guided by business research for working executives. Doctoral degrees have been awarded to 40 alumni to date from such companies as American Airlines, Bank of America, CitiGroup, Dell, Pfizer, Sprint, Walmart and Wells Fargo as well as universities and the U.S. military.

The program was launched in January 2012 with the first cohort of more than a dozen executives, academics and government officials selected to participate. Spears Business Vice Dean and Regents Professor Dr. Ramesh Sharda was the program’s first executive director and recalls the first class of Ph.D. candidates.

“This was something new, and the courses had not been taught in that format before,” Sharda said.

“With that first group of outstanding performers, we were fortunate to be able to attract a cohort that set the bar high for the future.”

Today, Totten is a professor and director of the actuarial science program at the University

of Notre Dame. He is co-founder of Votaire in Indianapolis, his retirement planning startup, and a board member of the consulting firm Nyhart, which he joined 20 years ago and where he was CEO until he retired in 2018 to join the faculty at Notre Dame. An Indiana native, Totten earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Notre Dame and a master’s in actuarial science from Ball State University.

“Being an actuary means what I do is quantify risk. What we’re known for is quantifying risk associated with life expectancy and helping people protect themselves no matter how long they live,” Totten said. “As an actuarial scientist, I help people think about how long their retirement money needs to last because you don’t know how long you’re going to live.”

For most of his career, Totten has advised people about how to save for retirement to ensure they have money if they live to be 70 or 107.

His innovative approach, which has received widespread industry interest and was recently featured in The Wall Street Journal, crystalized at OSU in the Ph.D. in Business for Executives program. “My dissertation was the culmination of my career’s work.”

Totten cites as an example a person with $1 million in retirement savings. Totten’s concept is to take a portion of that money, say $100,000, and purchase a longevity annuity that doesn’t begin paying until the person is 80 or 85 years old. The annuity provides income until death, which means the $900,000 only has to last until the annuity kicks in, a finite period of time.

“It just has to last 15 or 20 years instead of God knows how long,” he said. “They can plan for how long that money needs to last, which removes the fear of running out. It’s a different way to look at retirement savings.”

OSU Ph.D. in Business for Executives alumnus Tom Totten, opposite, talks to fellow program participants in 2012.

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Being in the first cohort of the Ph.D. in Business for Executives program at Spears Business, Totten said he wasn’t sure what to expect, except his fellow students would be made up of high-achieving executives and academics. Totten said being challenged by his cohort and the Spears faculty had a huge impact on his success in the program.

“I came to Oklahoma State to write my dissertation on this very specific retirement problem but when I got there, I was challenged to look at the problem differently,” Totten said. “I was looking at it from the perspective of a pension plan, but it was suggested I look at it from the individual’s perspective and how it affects them instead of from a company perspective. I did that, and that made me remodel everything I did. That’s where my startup, Votaire, came from. That was a big deal.”

“That’s actually one of our goals along with bringing academia and industry together,” said Sharda. “If you are in industry and you get through the faculty doctoral seminars and research methods in the program, you are learning to apply a different lens to your work where you are not just solving your current problem, but you’re trying to contribute to knowledge by applying a broader lens from the academic perspective.”

Totten said working with gifted Spears Business faculty and developing close, supportive relationships with his cohorts were important reasons why he had such a positive experience at OSU. “I had a lot of support from people there who really helped me,” he said. “The relationships that were created will last the rest of my life.”

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The first cohort in the Ph.D. in Business for Executives included front row, from left, Craig Wallace, Derrick Davis, George Mayleben, David Gregor, Dessie Nash, Patti Jordan, Durand Crosby, Tom Bennett, Ramesh Sharda; back row, Jonathan Butler, Richard Castagna, John Thomas, Warren Dyer, Donald Rowlett, Scott Anderson, Tom Totten, David Altounian, Toby Joplin, Rich Guthrie, Fred Cleveland and Philip McMahan.

(

“Being an actuary means what I do is quantify risk. What we’re known for is quantifying risk associated with life expectancy and helping people protect themselves no matter how long they live.”

— Dr. Tom Totten

)

B U S I N E S S .O K S TAT E . E D U 57

RETIREMENTS

DR. ROBERT BARON ENDING 51 YEARS OF TEACHING Dr. Robert Baron will retire Aug. 31 after teaching for 51 years, including the last 10 at Oklahoma State University.

He joined the School of Entrepreneurship in 2009 after teaching at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for 22 years and at Purdue University for 16 years. Dr. Baron also served as a visiting professor at numerous universities around the world, including the University of Oxford, Princeton University, University of Texas-Austin, University of Minnesota, University of Washington and University of Toulouse.

He also served as a program director at the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Baron has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed papers and 45 books and has received numerous awards on his papers from the Academy of Management’s Entrepreneurship Division and Organizational Behavior Division. In 2014, he received the 2014 Greif Research Impact Award for the most-cited paper. He is also a lifetime member of the Babson-Kauffman Conference.

He is a widely respected scholar in cognitive and social factors in entrepreneurship and has successfully bridged the two distinct academic disciplines of psychology and entrepreneurship. His work has been cited more than 100,000 times, according to Google Scholar.

We recently caught up with Dr. Baron.

What do you believe has been your greatest contribution to OSU? Helping to establish the School of Entrepeneurship.

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What’s been the most rewarding aspect of teaching in the Spears School?

The students, who are all (or almost all) very polite and interested in the topics about which I have taught. I enjoy teaching at all levels — undergraduate, master’s, Ph.D. What was the favorite class you taught? Why? Perhaps one of my Ph.D.-level seminars, focused on entrepreneurs themselves and why they become entrepreneurs and the skills they need to succeed.

How have you seen OSU change during your time here?

The entrepreneurship program has developed into one of the best in the country or, perhaps, the world. And the Spears School overall has improved in scope, reputation and quality.

What will you miss most in your time away from OSU? The very collegial atmosphere and my outstanding colleagues.

Do you have a favorite story about a student or an interaction with another member of the faculty?

After 51 years as a professor, that’s a tough one. But perhaps the student who told me he missed an exam because he was kidnapped by aliens from outer space. As for my colleagues, we interact in many enjoyable ways on a frequent basis, which, I believe, is due in part to the outstanding leadership of Bruce Barringer, who sets a positive tone for the entire school.

What would you want people to know about your career?

That I have actually worked in several different fields — social psychology, I/O psychology, organizational behavior and now, my favorite by far, entrepreneurship, and that I started and ran my own company.

What plans do you have for retirement?

Still developing. I do have a couple of books I’d like to write and several interests I’d like to pursue, from learning to play the mandolin to baking bread. And, I’d like to stay involved in research to the extent my colleagues allow me to do so.

DR. DALAL LOOKS AHEAD TO MORE LEARNING Dr. Nik Dalal retired in January after teaching management information systems (MIS) courses for nearly 30 years at Oklahoma State University.

Born in India, Dr. Dalal spent the early years of his life in Ghana, West Africa, before returning to India around age 8 and growing up primarily in the western Indian cities of Baroda and Mumbai. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physics and an MBA. He went to work as a computer consultant in Mumbai when personal computers were first introduced to India. Bitten by the technology bug and knowing that the United States was on the cutting edge of computer technology, Dr. Dalal moved to West Texas to earn his master’s and doctoral degrees in MIS from Texas Tech University.

Dr. Dalal accepted the job at Oklahoma State out of several offers because it “offered the right blend of teaching and research, a great group of collegial faculty in the then-Department of Management under Wayne Meinhart, and a beautiful campus.” He and his wife, Sujata, raised two sons, Parth and Preet, in Stillwater.

early ’90s when I installed the Mosaic browser on my office computer and waited 20 minutes for a single web page to download. Fast-forward to today, and everything seems different.

Technologies, mobile apps, the new building, innovative classrooms and the list goes on. People have come and gone. What has not changed is change itself. The MSIS department has adapted well to change under the continuing leadership of Rick Wilson, and I have greatly enjoyed the collegiality and passion for excellence in the department.

What advice would you like to offer to students?

If there is one thing I would wish students would learn as university students, it is to discover whether one can learn for the pure love of learning.

Love of learning is a quality, I feel, that can carry you through life.

What do you believe has been your most important contribution to OSU? Rapidly changing technologies have come to dominate our lives.

Besides innovations in teaching with/ about technologies, I hope that in my own small way, I have been able to share “practical wisdom” with the local and worldwide community in knowing oneself and how we relate with technologies. My hope is that the next frontier in information systems research is wisdom computing, which focuses on creating and supporting wisdom. I would like to see business schools actively focus on practical wisdom as a way to deal with individual and societal challenges. With stalwarts like Ken Eastman and Ramesh Sharda and others leading this college, Spears Business is a force for good, and I have no doubt we will build upon the power of personal in the years to come.

How have you seen OSU change?

My time at OSU has been very eventful, interesting and life-changing.

I can vividly recall the time in the

What would you want people to know about your career?

Honestly, I don’t see myself as retired (I think we should retire the

use of the term “retirement”). Rather, it is the beginning of new adventures.

When I finalized the decision to “retire” a year ago, I confided in a few friends.

A good friend, Subhash Kak (in the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology) was very surprised.

He asked me, “Who in their right mind wants to retire from such a great place?” The question made sense. I was in a good place, doing well in teaching and research, had just published an important journal article and was comfortable. Perhaps too comfortable. pageto60 Icontinues feel the urge explore and discover new ways of living life while still having robust enthusiasm and good health.

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DR. POLONCHEK RETIRING FROM OSU, JOINING TU

Dr. John Dr. Polonchek will retire June 30 after teaching finance at Oklahoma State University for nearly 36 years.

Born in Lansing, Michigan, Dr. Polonchek graduated from Northwestern University and earned master’s and doctoral degrees from Georgia Tech.

The Department of Finance has evolved over the past 36 years, and Dr. Polonchek played an important role in its growth as an assistant professor (1983-89), associate professor (1989-95), professor (1995-current), and serving as department head (2006-2016).

Dr. Polonchek will remain in higher education, joining the University of Tulsa to serve as department head in the Collins College of Business.

We recently talked with Dr. Polonchek about OSU. How have you seen OSU change during your time here?

One of the biggest changes is in technology. Teaching fundamental finance concepts is basically the same today, but students now want a different way of learning. They consistently asked for more feedback and homework. Technology has evolved to the degree that we can now provide more timely learning opportunities while providing nearly instantaneous feedback. This enables students to reinforce finance concepts introduced in the classroom through practice, which research has shown to improve student learning. Technology has also affected our ability to benchmark performance against other institutions, to create learning experiences, like the Watson Trading Floor, and to conduct research that we wouldn’t have dreamed of in 1983.

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What’s been the most rewarding aspect of working at OSU? The most rewarding has been the evolution of the college and the department. We have created a higher quality learning experience for our students and a strong research capability for our graduate students and faculty. We have developed excellent faculty research resources, which have helped us recruit excellent faculty over the years. This contribution to the university’s research mission sets our college apart from other higher ed institutions.

Do you have a favorite story about a student or an interaction with another member of the faculty?

I have always been impressed by the persistence and passion of OSU students, and I have enjoyed interacting with them on a one-onone basis. For example, over the years OSU has had many student athletes who have left the university to become professional athletes, some without earning a degree. I had one of those student athletes, a professional baseball player, return to campus after several years to complete a course under my supervision that would enable him to earn his OSU degree.

The student managed demanding personal and professional commitments to successfully complete the course and graduate from OSU. I followed his career with pride as he went on to have a successful career as a player, coach and manager.

What do you want people to know about your career at OSU? My 36 years here have been wonderful. I’ve certainly enjoyed the students. Our goal as faculty is to lead students to become lifelong learners and develop a passion for learning.

Finance is a difficult subject and requires some work and commitment to develop comfort with the concepts.

We have challenged students in terms of content and to improve their ability to speak and write about finance and its application. One of the defining characteristics of my courses was the essay exam. An essay exam is like being that freshman on the free-throw line at the NCAA championship. The moment of truth. To become competent, you need to practice free throws, and in our case, learn the content, how to manage your time and how to manage your thoughts. I have had many alumni tell me that our finance courses at OSU were important to their success.

MARY CLARK WILL MISS OSU’S ‘POSITIVE EXPERIENCE’ Mary Clark retired March 1 after working nearly 14 years at Oklahoma State University, including the last 10 as a financial assistant at the Spears School of Business.

She was hired at the Edmon Low Library in May 2005. Four years later, she moved to the business school.

“Mary loves to be mischievous and outrageous, which makes her so much fun to be around,” said Lisa Fain, director or operations in Spears Business. “She loved her job as a financial assistant II and the relationships she built with faculty, staff and vendors. I know she is enjoying spending more time with her grandchildren who live in Tulsa.”

Mary’s two sons, daughter-in-law and five grandchildren live in Tulsa. Her daughter will be moving to Washington, D.C., for a medical internship in a few months.

We visited with her prior to her retirement.

What do you believe has been your greatest contribution to OSU? I love OSU and have worked very hard to use the funding money responsibly and be customer-service minded.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of working in the Spears School?

The people here are incredible. I have never had such a positive work experience.

What will you miss most in your time away from OSU? The people and atmosphere.

What plans do you have for retirement?

Play with my grandkids, work on my house and keep up with my many friends. OSU has been a real blessing to me in my life.

Maryanne Mowen poses with Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek after appearing on the popular television game show, which aired April 8. An accounting professor for 33 years at Oklahoma State University before retiring in 2011 (although she continued to teach online classes for the past eight years), Mowen enjoyed the experience while finishing third to a professional sports gambler and a blogger. “My friends were amazed that I did this since I am a very private person,” said Mowen, who now resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with her husband, John, who also retired from OSU in 2011 after 33 years as a marketing professor.

“But Jeopardy! has been my favorite game show for decades. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be on it and how I would do. Trust me, it’s easier to shout out the answers at home than on the stage. I found the experience to be fast moving and amazing. All of the Jeopardy! staff and crew are upbeat and positive to make sure we all have a great time. They emphasize that it’s a game show and to have fun. It certainly was!”

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PAULA SHIVE HELPED DIRECT MOVE TO NEW BUILDING Paula Shive retired Sept. 4, 2018, after working 20 years at the Spears School of Business.

She played an instrumental role in helping facilitate the move of faculty, staff and students from the old business building, which had been the business school’s home since 1966, into the new state-of-the-art Business Building in 2018.

Originally from Wolfe City, Texas, Shive earned an associate degree from Western Oklahoma State College before transferring to OSU, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing. She joined the business school staff full time in 1998 as the coordinator of support services after spending two years as a student worker in the computer lab.

“If not for Paula, we would still be trying to get everyone moved out of

LINDA STONE LOOKS FORWARD TO ‘DACHSHUND FESTIVALS’ Linda Stone is retiring July 1 after working nearly 34 years in the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University.

Born in Okinawa, Japan, to her Air Force father and Japanese mother, she lived in Japan, Texas and Florida before attending college at Oklahoma State.

In 1985, at the urging of an instructor, she applied for a position in the College of Business — and 34 years later, she is retiring.

Stone has served Spears Business in three positions: a member of the fourth-floor secretarial pool (198592), administrative support in the School of Marketing (1992-2012), and administrative support in the School of Accounting (2012-19).

“Linda is kind and has a sweet personality,” said Lisa Fain, director of operations in Spear Business. “She is very helpful to both the students and the faculty in her department and sincerely cares about them.”

A lover of dachshunds (especially her Poppy), Linda and her husband, Scott, plan to travel in retirement. “I

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always loved dachshunds growing up, so I’ve already gone online to find dachshund festivals that we can travel to,” she said.

We caught up with her to ask a few questions.

What do you believe has been your greatest contribution to OSU? Hopefully my commitment to my job, faculty, students and OSU. What will you miss most in your time away from OSU? The people who have been with me all these years and those who have recently come into my life here at OSU. Everyone’s been so helpful answering my questions and helping me out, and it makes such a difference being part of a team and knowing they have my back.

What plans do you have for retirement?

Currently our daughter is expecting our third grandson in July, so my retirement month (at least) has been planned. My husband and I have talked about traveling to the big and little places we want to explore and maybe even a dachshund festival.

the old business building,” said Lisa Fain, director of operations at Spears Business. “She is very organized, skilled at logistics and blessed with a ‘can do’ and helpful spirit. Faculty and staff always enjoyed stopping by and having a chat with her.”

She’s looking forward to spending time with her family — four children, 13 grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren — during retirement.

We caught up with Shive.

What do you believe has been your greatest contribution to OSU? Helping with the new Business Building.

What will you miss most in your time away from OSU? The people.

What plans do you have for retirement?

Spending time with family.

DAVE MYERS LEAVING IT Dave Myers will be retiring June 3 after working 23 years at Oklahoma State University. He has been an information technology manager in the Spears School of Business for the last 20 years.

“Dave always gives me honest assessments and fact-based advice,” said Lisa Fain, director of operations for Spears Business. “My trust in his knowledge and straight forwardness has enabled me to make better decisions especially as it related to technology in the new building. His colleagues, both within the college and on campus, respect his technical expertise, which has led to the Spears School being asked to pilot new campus initiatives.”

Raised in Ponca City, Oklahoma, he earned an associate degree in preengineering from Northern Oklahoma College before transferring to OSU, where he received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical power technology in 1989.

Myers worked as a project engineer with Applied Automation in Bartlesville, Oklahoma before returning to OSU to

pursue a master’s degree. He was an IT support specialist and a programmer in the Department of Agricultural Economics before accepting a lead programmer position with TMS Inc. in Stillwater.

In 1999, he was hired as the IT manager for the OSU business school.

“I returned to OSU to pursue a master’s degree and went to work for the Ag Econ department, working on a computer simulation,” Myers said. “I enjoyed the work, the people and the culture and ended up staying here.”

We chatted with Myers prior to his retirement.

What’s been the most rewarding aspect of working in the Spears School?

Helping the school move forward with technology and the friends I have made here.

What will you miss most in your time away from OSU? My friends and colleagues.

What plans do you have for retirement?

Lots of projects around the house.

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IN MEMORY

Former dean Richard “Dick” Poole leaves his mark on business school

Richard “Dick” Poole served as Dean of the College of Business from 1965 to 1972 before accepting the newly created position of OSU vice president for university relations, development and extension.

Spears School of Business Dean Emeritus Dr. Richard W. “Dick” Poole, who served both Oklahoma State University and its business school for 33 years, died March 14 at the age of 91.

Dr. Poole joined OSU as an instructor in the Department of Economics early in 1960. A few months later, he became the first person to earn a doctoral degree from the business school. It didn’t take long for the school’s leadership to realize what they had in Poole. He advanced from instructor to assistant, associate and full professor to dean in just five years.

“In response to strong encouragement by Dean Eugene Swearingen, Dean Raymond Thomas, Economics Department head Russell Baugh, OSU Academic Vice President Robert McVicar and faculty colleagues, I reluctantly agreed to submit my name as a candidate for the deanship,” Dr. Poole said in 2014 when he was recognized as one of the “Spears School Tributes: 100 for 100” during the 100th anniversary of business education at OSU. “It was the best decision I ever made. I

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loved the job and the opportunity to help create a productive environment for faculty colleagues and students.”

Dr. Poole served as dean for what was then known as the College of Business from 1965 to 1972. He accepted the newly created position of OSU vice president for university relations, development and extension in 1972. His tenure as vice president was remarkable for innovative initiatives, new and expanded programs, and integrated marketing of OSU. After he relinquished his position as vice president in 1988, the OSU Board of Regents named him a Regents Distinguished Service Professor. He is the only person ever recognized with this title. From 1988 to 1993, he taught honors classes and provided leadership for OSU’s international programs, including the creation of the School of International Studies.

Dr. Poole was honored with numerous honors and awards, including being named to the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame (1998),

STORY TERRY TUSH | PHOTOS SPEARS BUSINESS

Longtime employee dies at 73

the Spears School of Business Hall of Fame (1993) and the City of Stillwater Hall of Fame. He received the OSU Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award (1995), and OSU’s Henry G. Bennett Distinguished Service Award and was included in Who’s Who in America.

Business leaders and friends endowed the Richard W. Poole Professorship that is awarded to the dean of business in assisting in promoting excellence in teaching, research and outreach.

“Accepting the job at OSU is the best move I ever made,” Dr. Poole said. “I loved it, and I am so grateful and indebted for the opportunity I’ve had to serve. It’s such a corny statement, but I bleed orange. I’m so proud of Oklahoma State University. I’m proud of its accomplishments, and I’m proud of how it reaches out to people, and that ties in with the land-grant mission.”

Memorial gifts may be made to the OSU Foundation for the Richard W. Poole Professorship, P.O. Box 1749, Stillwater, OK 740761749.

Longtime Oklahoma State University employee Rudy Greer, who spent 34 years in the Spears School of Business (known as the College of Business Administration for much of his time at OSU), passed away March 28 at the age of 73 after battling lung cancer.

Mr. Greer earned two degrees from OSU, including a master’s in economics in 1972, and was hired as assistant to the dean of the College of Business Administration in 1973. He eventually became the college’s director of planning and operations, serving seven different deans during his 34-year tenure.

He retired in December 2007.

After retiring, Mr. Greer and his wife, Nancy, moved to Fairview, Texas, where they enjoyed traveling with friends, hosting numerous block parties at their home and joining activities with their five grandchildren.

B U S I N E S S .O K S TAT E . E D U 65

Playing to Win

OSU researcher and conference tap into growing interest in esports

I

magine thousands of video game players filling sports stadiums to vie for hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money. Then imagine millions of people watching these bigleague professional video game tournaments, and you’ve gotten a glimpse of the world of competitive video gaming, or esports, where players, many still teenagers, compete for lucrative cash prizes playing popular video games such as Counter Strike: Global Offensive and League of Legends.

According to Bloomberg.com, a recent pro video game tournament in Columbus, Ohio, sold out the Nationwide Arena (seating capacity 20,000) and attracted 71 million online viewers over four days.

Many video game industry watchers are calling the current explosion of interest in pro tournaments the next great sports development.

Major sports leagues themselves are watching with fascination — and more than a little jealousy — the unbridled growth of esports and its fanbase, according to Spears School of Business researcher Dr. John Holden, who studies sports gambling and esports.

The OSU Tribal Esports Conference, organized by the Center for Executive and Professional Development, attracted gaming executives interested in esports opportunities.

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“It has been really cool to watch this industry, which is like an emerging sport building from the ground up and that is in many ways similar to traditional professional sports,” said Holden, an assistant professor of management.

A handful of game types make up the world of professional esports games, including strategy games, multiplayer online battle arena games, roleplaying, first-person shooter and video games built around sports such as basketball or football.

Interestingly, video games built around traditional sports make up a relatively small part of the pro video gaming world, Holden said.

A recent esports tournament at Oklahoma State University as part of the first Tribal Esports Conference was organized by Spears Business’s Center for Executive and Professional Development (CEPD). The conference attracted dozens of participants interested in learning about the esports industry and the potential for tribal casinos in Oklahoma to cash in on opportunities such as hosting tournaments. Currently, the state’s casinos cannot offer sports or esports betting.

The gaming tournament at the conference attracted 160 players to demonstrate what competitions look like.

Holden, who advised the event’s organizers, said the potential to make money in esports is attracting not only players, but also major investors.

“Everyone you can think of is investing in esports and starting leagues,” he said. “Venture capital firms, celebrities and sports stars, and even professional sports teams and leagues themselves are investing. The NBA 2K league is just one example. And the game makers are, of course, big investors. The Overwatch League (created by game maker Blizzard Entertainment) has invested millions of dollars in global city-based franchises and divisions that look like the NFL.” It’s little wonder that so many want a piece of the $1.2 billion professional esports industry, a number that doesn’t include gambling revenue.

The business of esports has for the last few years enjoyed 40 percent year-over-year growth,

STORY JEFF JOINER | PHOTOS PHIL SHOCKLEY

The conference included an esports tournament held at the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center. according to Holden. And if you include gambling revenue, that industry cash number grows exponentially.

Holden’s research interest in esports focuses on labor law issues that include everything from the employment status of young players to the often-difficult working conditions for competitors.

Many of these issues are similar to those facing professional athletes. Holden said he is exploring the classification of esports players and the protections they may be entitled to.

“We’ve looked at the employment status of the esports player, whether the player is an independent contractor as the gaming companies are claiming, or are they actually employees who are entitled to a lot more protection,” Holden said.

“Federal labor law basically says you get overtime, you get breaks, you get all sorts of things, but the

relationship in esports is different because you have this communal living atmosphere as well. It’s unique.”

According to Holden, the next great opportunity in esports is media rights, just as it was in professional and collegiate sports. The demographics of esports fans is enviable — most are in their 20s, earning more than $75,000 a year and highly educated, he said. And there are millions of them.

“This is one of the untapped areas of esports,” he said. “Millions of esports fans watch tournaments, just like I like to go home and watch baseball. No one in traditional sports is dreaming of the kinds of numbers and the growth that’s happening in esports fandom.”

B U S I N E S S .O K S TAT E . E D U 67

Spears Business earns reaccreditation

T

he Spears School of Business remains ranked among the top 5 percent of the world’s schools offering business degrees with its reaccreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International.

Oklahoma State University’s business school has been accredited by AACSB International since 1958, and April’s announcement extends the accreditation through 2024. The AACSB distinction is a hallmark of business education excellence.

“We are very pleased to have our accreditation reaffirmed by the AACSB,” said Dr. Ken Eastman, dean of Spears Business. “We had a wonderful review team comprising deans and department heads from peer institutions who were very complimentary of our activities at Spears Business.

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The team also provided us with valuable insight, which we will use to make our programs even stronger.

“My thanks to all of our students, faculty, staff and alumni who work diligently to create a dynamic learning environment at Spears. My special thanks to Dr. Carol Johnson, who has overseen the accreditation and assessment process here for several years, and her tireless efforts helped ensure we would be reaccredited.”

The OSU School of Accounting was also affirmed for reaccreditation by the AACSB. The accounting accreditation is supplemental to that of the business school. The School of Accounting was one of 10 schools in the world to pilot the new 2018 supplemental accounting standards. According to the AACSB, over 835 business institutions worldwide have earned AACSB accreditation, but only 189 hold the additional accreditation for their accounting programs.

“AACSB accreditation requires high-quality programs and a great deal of teamwork,” said Associate Dean of Business Intelligence Dr. Carol Johnson, who oversaw the accreditation process.

“This accreditation attests to the quality of our faculty and staff, our planning processes and our systems for assuring student learning. It would not be possible, however, without significant assistance from our leadership team, our employees and a generous and loyal group of alumni, recruiters and other supporters. One of the most rewarding aspects of our recent visit was to hear the peer review team tell us that the ‘Power of Personal’ came through loud and clear during their visit.”

STORY TERRY TUSH | PHOTO PHIL SHOCKLEY

OSU MBA program climbs in rankings

2020 jump was one of the best in the country

O

klahoma State University made one of the largest jumps in the prestigious 2020 Best Business School rankings, released in March by U.S. News & World Report. Among schools with Master of Business Administration programs, OSU moved up to No. 73 out of nearly 500 in the United States.

The OSU MBA — through the Watson Graduate School of Management within the Spears School of Business — climbed 22 positions in rankings released

by U.S. News & World Report, a global authority in rankings and consumer Dr. Ramesh Sharda advice about business schools.

The jump of 22 positions – OSU was tied for No. 95 in 2019’s rankings – was tied for secondbest among all programs. The U.S. News Best Business School rankings surveyed all 475 MBA programs accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB), with 367 responding. The rankings are based on data about each school’s full-time MBA program.

OSU’s improvement can be attributed to large gains in the recruiters’ opinions of the program and the employment rate of students three months after graduation, said Robert J. Morse, chief data strategist for U.S. News & World Report.

“This latest ranking continues the upward trend of our MBA program,” said Dr. Ken Eastman, dean of Spears Business. “We are committed to having an outstanding MBA program, and this

STORY TERRY TUSH

latest ranking is proof that the efforts of Vice Dean Ramesh Sharda are producing tangible results. I give full credit for this ratings jump to Dr. Sharda, our faculty, our MBA alumni and the Watson Graduate School staff, as they have worked diligently on behalf of the program.”

Also, Spears Business tied for No. 65 — a jump of 36 spots — in the list of Best Part-Time MBA Programs by U.S. News.

“I am really proud of our achievements in ratcheting up the quality of our MBA program, which is evident in this top-75 ranking,” Sharda said. “We have made our program more efficient so that the students can complete it in a timely fashion. We have added several new specializations, we are building relationships with undergraduate programs across campus and the state to allow students to complete their MBA in an accelerated mode, our study abroad and professional development initiatives make our program unique, and our MBA Advisory Board is extremely energetic and active in helping the students and the program.

“We pride ourselves on the ‘Power of Personal’ attention promoted by Dean Eastman. This ranking is the result of a team effort by the faculty, staff and administration of the Watson Graduate School of Management within the Spears School and, of course, our students, alumni, and recruiters.”

This news comes after January’s announcement that the OSU online MBA program tied for No. 38 nationally — out of 301 schools — and is second among Big 12 Conference schools in the 2019 U.S. News & World Report Best Online MBA rankings. Also, OSU tied for No. 39 in the Best Online Graduate Business Programs (excluding MBA) rankings.

U.S. News & World Report has been ranking colleges and universities for more than 30 years based on student engagement, admissions selectivity, peer reputation, faculty credentials and student services and technology.

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HALL OF FAME

OSU’s School of Accounting honors five

Oklahoma State University’s School of Accounting recognized five outstanding alumni and friends of the department during the 2019 Wilton T. Anderson Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet in April at the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center.

THIS YEAR’S INDUCTEES INTO THE WILTON T. ANDERSON HALL OF FAME: William Barnes, who earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1976 from OSU, is a retired energy industry financial executive.

Craig Boelte, who earned a bachelor’s in business administration (1985) and a master’s in accounting (1986) from OSU, is Paycom’s chief financial officer, secretary and treasurer.

E. William Gray Jr., a two-time OSU graduate, earning both bachelor’s (1972) and master’s degrees in accounting (1973), is a retired chief financial officer of a construction firm.

DISTINGUISHED FRIENDS OF THE SCHOOL OF ACCOUNTING HONOREES: Lanny and Jane Chasteen spent a good portion of their lives at OSU, where Lanny was a member of the accounting faculty for 39 years, including 14 years as head of the department.

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“This group of inductees is truly outstanding,” said Dr. Audrey Gramling, head of the School of Accounting. “During my short tenure at OSU, I have come to appreciate that our accounting program is a cornerstone program. I have also come to realize that successful accounting programs stand on a foundation of excellence that has been provided to us due to the hard work of many.”

Barnes held a number of executive roles and served on the board of directors of Vintage Petroleum Inc. for many years, including as senior vice president and chief financial officer. He is on the OSU Foundation Board of Governors and was chosen in 2014 for the “Spears School Tributes: 100 for 100.” Now retired, he manages personal investments and is a trustee of his family’s charitable foundation.

As an executive at Paycom, Boelte helped take the company public in 2014. Under his leadership, Fortune magazine named Paycom one of the five fastest-growing publicly traded companies in the world in 2018. He has been instrumental in Paycom’s success and was honored by The Journal Record of Oklahoma City with its Financial Stewardship Award, which honors business leaders who demonstrate great leadership and dedication to their companies and communities.

Gray’s career included time with Peat Marwick Mitchell and the Williams Cos., where he worked in various financial roles before being promoted to Williams’ assistant controller in 1984. His experience also includes tenure as an accounting manager and controller for Cavenham Forest Industries, and controller and vice president and chief financial officer for JH Kelly, a large industrial mechanical contractor. He retired in 2008.

Lanny and Jane Chasteen spent nearly 40 years in Stillwater, both working in the field of education — Lanny for 39 years at the School of Accounting and Jane (an OSU graduate in 1983) for 21 years

STORY TERRY TUSH | PHOTO LANCE SHAW

at Will Rogers Elementary School. She retired in 2004, and Lanny in 2008.

While teaching at OSU, Lanny received numerous teaching awards, including twice winning the Oklahoma Society of Certified Public Accountants Outstanding Educator Award (1990 and 2007). He also received the Faculty Award of Merit from the Federation of Schools of Accountancy (1999).

He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas and his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Arkansas.

Jane earned a bachelor’s degree from OSU in 1983 and was hired as a library assistant at Will Rogers Elementary. She was promoted to library media specialist, a position she held from 1988 to 2004. She was twice honored as the Will Rogers Elementary Teacher of the Year (1992 and 2004).

Spears Business Dean Dr. Ken Eastman (far left) and Department of Accounting head Dr. Audrey Gramling (far right) congratulate the honorees at the 2019 Wilton T. Anderson Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet (from left): Lanny and Jane Chasteen, E. William Gray Jr., William Barnes and Craig Boelte.

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475 students, 17 different trips, 15 great countries, and 5 continents.

COSTA RICA

ITALY

JAPAN

PERU

ICELAND

IRELAND

WINTER - SPRING - SUMMER Earn 3-6 hours of credit - Scholarships Available For exciting travel options visit cagle.okstate.edu or call 405.744.3191

GLOBAL ADVENTURES AWAIT! WHERE WILL YOU GO?

OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY

TULSA BUSINESS FORUMS & EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT BRIEFINGS PRESENTED BY THE SPEARS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND CORPORATE SPONSORS

JONATHAN MILDENHALL

DAN COCKERELL

MARTHA STEWART

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American Businesswoman, Founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Creator of Martha Stewart’s Living Magazine

A PURPOSEFUL BRAND: THE POWER BEHIND AIRBNB

THE MAGIC BEHIND DISNEY: SECRETS TO SUCCESS

A CONVERSATION WITH MARTHA STEWART

Tulsa Business Forums

Executive Management Briefings

Executive Management Briefings

Tulsa Business Forums

October 31, 2019 Tulsa Downtown DoubleTree Breakfast Presentation 8:00 am – 9:30 am October 31, 2019 National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum Luncheon Presentation Noon – 1:30 pm

February 25, 2020 National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum Luncheon Presentation Noon – 1:30 pm

February 26, 2020 Tulsa Downtown DoubleTree Luncheon Presentation Noon – 1:30 pm

For more information, contact the Oklahoma State University Center for exeCutive and Professional develoPment | 405-744-5208 business.okstate.edu/cepd

Tulsa Business Forums

April 1, 2020 Tulsa Performing Arts Center Presentation 9:30 – 11:00 am Executive Management Briefings

April 1, 2020 National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum Presentation 4:00 – 5:30 pm

E

Oklahoma State University Spears School of Business 370 Business Building Stillwater, OK 74078-4011

mba.okstate.edu

OSU MBA

JUMPS22 SPOTS IN u.s. NEWs RANKINGs

U.S. News & World Report ranked OSU’s full-time MBA program 73 out of nearly 500 surveyed in the 2020 Best Business School rankings — a 22 spot improvement from previous years.

OSU’s part-time MBA program ranks 65, which is a jump of 36 spots from the previous year’s ranking.

(Story, page 70)