University of Alabama Welcomes HEMBA 2017 Class
- August 21st, 2015
- in EMBA Program Information, EMBA Uncategorized, UA EMBA Latest News/Events
Fall on the University of Alabama campus is exciting as new and returning students arrive. There is cooler weather and talk of classes, faculty and football, and not necessarily in that order. From Denny Chimes to the Bryant-Denny Stadium, from the President’s Mansion to the Ferguson Center (Ferg), from Coleman Coliseum to the Park at Manderson Landing along the Black Warrior River, The University of Alabama is welcoming its students.
On August 12, the Culverhouse College of Commerce greeted the new Huntsville EMBA Class of 2017 with its first orientation at UA. The HEMBA Program began in 2008. In the past, students would take classes on the UAHuntsville campus and only come to Tuscaloosa for graduation. We wanted to do something different this year and have them begin their 21-month, five-semester experience with the Capstone. For many it was their first time on campus.
Over the two-and-a-half day orientation, the students met with their first semester faculty, participated in team building, and met with the Executive MBA Alumni Board. They also spent time seeing some of the sites and meeting other alumni and students on campus while involved in a team challenge scavenger hunt. They also nailed down the “Rammer Jammer” and “Roll Tide” cheers and are looking forward to a tailgate this fall in T-Town.
The students represent companies such as PPG Industries, ADTRAN, Infosys, Nissan North America, Sikorsky Aircraft, Southern Telecom, Amerex Corporation, the US Army, Northrop Grumman, and the Missile Defense Agency. The defense and manufacturing agencies are hugely represented in this cohort, with 28% and 24% of the students working in them, respectively. Other industries include finance, technology, healthcare/pharmaceutical, retail, telecom, construction, real estate and services.
The class reflects more diversity in terms of educational backgrounds. 43% of the students who just joined the program graduated with undergraduate degrees in engineering, followed by 29% with liberal arts degrees, 19% with business degrees, and 10% with science/math degrees. The average age is 37 with an average of 15 years of work experience. We also have 38% of our students coming from a military background.
Incoming students have goals to develop and further their career, develop business skills, further their mentoring and leadership skills, pursue financial security, own a business, have an impact on their company, become a better manager and motivator, and travel and work abroad.
Please join us in welcoming our HEMBA Class of 2017:
Ryan Burch, Northrop Grumman Corporation
Felicia Craig, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation
Jason Deane, Nucor Steel
Chuck Freind, Amerex Corporation
Sonya Harner, Nissan North America
Jimmy Hassan, Dayton Superior Corporation
Rodney Hoover, DRS Technology
Shane Jackson, AMRDEC
Ray Morris, VentureSouth
Barry Navarre, Southern Telecom
Gaurav Negi, ADTRAN, Inc.
Phillip Patterson, Stutts Properties, Inc.
Nicole Reynolds, Zero Point Frontiers
Joshua Rountree, Nissan North America
Will Stinson, TotalPrint, DEX Company
Joe Taylor, PPG Industries
Bhuwan Thakur, Infosys Limited
Josh Vinson, Parallon Business Solutions
Dustin Whited, MDA/ECM
Nirvana Williams, ENDO Pharmaceuticals
Matt Zepp, Department of the Army
For more information on the Culverhouse Executive MBA Program, click on EMBA or contact Cheryl Altemara at caltemara@cba.ua.edu or call 205.348.4501.