HEMBA Team Working to Bring Baseball Back to Huntsville

• January 25th, 2017
• in UA EMBA Latest News/Events

During last fall’s Project Management course, one of The University of Alabama Executive MBA teams struck on the idea to “Bring Baseball Back to Huntsville.” The “5 Guys” team, aka Colton Campbell, Daryl Evans, Eric Janssen, John Meshensky and Carl Vasilko, reached out to the Huntsville Mayor’s office for some insight and to gather additional information for their course project.

“We wanted to understand if the city was targeting any particular sites for a new ballpark as well as gauge their current level of interest,” said Daryl Evans, Vice President of Operations for TotalPrint and HEMBA 2018 Class President.

With the success of the Birmingham Barons and Regions Field, the team was excited about the possibility of having another franchise team back in Huntsville. The Mayor’s office was helpful and “they asked us to share with them what other information we were able to gather when we finished our project,” said Evans.

On December 21, the team met with Mayor Tommy Battle, District 2 Councilman Mark Russell and City Administrator John Hamilton.  During the meeting the HEMBA team walked them through their presentation and shared their assessment of the necessary details.  It was a great meeting.  “Currently there is not a real plan on the table to bring baseball back,” said Evans, “but I think we did our best to express the value we believe that a downtown entertainment/baseball complex could bring to the city of Huntsville.”

The MIS 511 Project Management course, taught by Jim Brown, requires each team in the class to present a work-related or community-based improvement project. They begin by presenting their project, the needs and the possible outcomes to the class. They work on their goals during the entire semester, finishing with a final presentation. Finally they request funding approval from the selection committee, who are their fellow classmates. In addition to bringing baseball back to Huntsville, other projects have included post-tornado rebuilding, community development, work process improvements, and new marketing initiatives.

For more information on The University of Alabama Executive MBA Program click on emba.ua.edu or contact Cheryl Altemara at (205) 348-4501 or caltemara@cba.ua.edu.

Brian Gray Named Interim Dean for Culverhouse College of Commerce

• June 4th, 2015
• in Behind the Scenes: Meet our Staff & Faculty, UA EMBA Latest News/Events

Dr. Brian Gray has been named interim dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce at The University of Alabama effective July 1. Gray will fill the interim role while UA carries out a national search for a new dean to replace Dr. J. Michael Hardin who steps down June 30 to become provost at Samford University in Birmingham.

“Brian has a wealth of administrative, teaching and research experience and will be an effective leader during this important, transitional period for the College,” said Dr. Joe Benson, UA interim provost, in making the announcement.

Currently Gray is serving as associate dean of the Manderson Graduate School of Business in the Culverhouse College of Commerce. He is also the Harrison Family Teaching Excellence Faculty Fellow and professor of statistics in the department of information systems, management science, and statistics. Gray joined UA in 1990 and began teaching statistics in the Executive MBA Program in 1993.  He has received multiple teaching awards, including the UA National Alumni Association Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award in 2006 and most recently the 2014 Executive MBA Faculty Excellence Award. Although he will be assuming the new position very soon, he plans on continuing to teach in the EMBA Program.

According to Gray, he is looking forward to serving as interim dean of one of the top ranked business schools in the nation.  “Knowing that we had a great team in place in the Manderson Graduate School of Business and the Executive MBA Program made the decision to accept the position easier,” said Gray.

His research interests include applied statistics, exploratory data analysis, data mining, business analytics, regression analysis, statistical computing and statistical graphics. He has published his research in various academic journals, and co-authored two books, “Basic Statistical Ideas for Managers (Second Edition)” and “Business Cases in Statistical Decision Making: Computer Based Applications.”

Prior to joining UA, Gray served seven years as a faculty member in the department of finance and decision sciences at Texas Christian University.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, with minors in business administration and computer science, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1978. He earned master’s and doctoral degrees in mathematical sciences from Clemson University in 1980 and 1983, respectively.

Top 5 Reasons an EMBA Should Visit the Career Services Office

• May 29th, 2014
• in Career Development Series, Helpful Tips and Advice

As members of the Culverhouse College of Commerce family, The University of Alabama Executive MBA students are given access to all of the same career services and resources as graduate and undergraduate students. How might these resources be used differently by EMBAs? Gary Ward, Director of Graduate Career Services at the Manderson Graduate School of Business, has the answer.

Career Counseling

Career counseling is essential to ensure that each student is informed and focused on meeting their goals. Since EMBAs at The University of Alabama have an average of 15 years of experience, they usually have a good idea of where they would like to be; career counseling provides them with the knowledge and resources to get there. Instead of forcing each individual into pre-packaged options, the Manderson Career Services office helps students construct their own personalized plans based on their unique desires. By adopting a position of neutrality, Gary understands each student’s aspirations and transforms them into reachable realities. This transformation includes prioritizing and planning by dividing an overall vision into smaller, more manageable steps.

Interview Advice

Since EMBAs have interview experience, many believe that there isn’t much room for improvement; however, practice and advice are always beneficial. The Career Services office can keep EMBAs refreshed on the basics as well as up-to-date on the latest interview etiquette. Recently, interviews on video chat services such as Skype and Google Hangout have become popular and require their own customs and norms. Mock interviews can give EMBA students the familiarity they need to feel calm, collected, and comfortable during innovative as well as traditional interviews.

Resume Building

If a picture says a thousand words, a resume says a million. Since UA EMBA students must have 5 years of experience, they have at least half of a decade of knowledge to shrink onto one page. The Career Services office can assist EMBA students in writing and formatting to ensure a clean and informative document. For example, Gary helps refresh resumes by replacing an unoriginal list of responsibilities with achievements and skill development. Gary can also give advice about building Linkedin profiles, which are becoming a leading resource for hiring companies.

Online Reputation Management

The Internet is constantly evolving, and with this evolution comes increasing opportunity for expression via social media. But exactly how much should we share and who should we share it with? From Facebook and Twitter to Pinterest and Linkedin, the Graduate Career Services office can help EMBA students understand what information to reveal or conceal to ensure a professional online reputation. For more about managing your online reputation, check out this blog post.

Flexibility

Just like the UA Executive MBA Program, the Manderson Career Services office goes the extra mile to work around students’ busy schedules. Since EMBA students are usually full time employees, Gary is available by phone, email, and appointment before, during, and after business hours. He also holds extended office hours on Tuesday evenings and Thursday mornings during the fall and spring semesters.

For more information about the Manderson Graduate School of Business Career Services, contact Gary Ward at gsward@cba.ua.edu or (205) 348-4502.
For advice about how the Executive MBA Program at The University of Alabama can enhance your career, contact Cheryl Altemara at caltemara@cba.ua.edu or (205) 348-4501.

Congratulations, Class of 2014!

• May 7th, 2014
• in UA EMBA Latest News/Events

Thirty-eight graduates from the Culverhouse College of Commerce Tuscaloosa and Huntsville EMBA programs at The University of Alabama walked the stage on the morning of Saturday, May 3^rd. Surrounded by stunning views of the Walk of Champions and the field,

EMBA staff and faculty joined the graduates and two hundred and sixty-five of their closest friends and family for a banquet in the North Zone of Bryant-Denny Stadium directly after commencement. The event was filled with pride and fond memories as families reconnected over the success of their graduates. After the luncheon and award ceremony, the graduates and their families were given a tour of the stadium including the home team’s locker room, tunnel, and skyboxes.
One of our graduates, Nag Padur, was noticeably absent. His wife was giving birth to their daughter, Eaksha.  Born on her father’s graduation day, Eaksha’s name means “sight,” and can be loosely translated as “knowledge of soul.” Congratulations to the Padur family.

Awards were given to recognize each class’s President, Vice President, and MVP, as well as each student that completed the program with a 4.0 GPA. Recongnized were HEMBA’s President Staci Woods, Vice President Dana Runager, and MVP Matthew Brent Gardner and TEMBA’s President Christopher Jones, Vice President Sonya Ogletree, and MVP Paul Mongeon. Graduates that earned a 4.0 GPA include Huntsville’s Patrick Ellinger, Matt Gardner, and Nag Padur and Tuscaloosa’s Matt Bogue, Mrinal Dhar, Jeff Leroy, and Paul Mongeon. We are extremely proud of our graduates for these outstanding achievements.

Both the Tuscaloosa and Huntsville classes delivered a Dr. James F. Cashman Faculty Award as well as an EMBA Faculty Excellence Award. The Dr. James F. Cashman Faculty Award honors the memory of the late EMBA Strategy Implementation professor who lived by high standards of integrity and served as a pristine example for his students. The award, given to a faculty member that reflects Dr. Cashman’s positive influence, was presented to Dr. David Mothersbaugh (HEMBA) and Dr. Ronald Dulek (TEMBA). The EMBA Faculty Excellence Award was presented to Dr. Ronald Dulek (HEMBA) and Dr. Brian Gray (TEMBA).

Once again, congratulations to the Executive MBA Class of 2014:

Sam Barall, Havis, Inc.
Matt Bogue, The Dutch Group
Karen Braxton, Clear Channel Media
Tim Brown, Flexco
Myers Bruso, Farmco Builders Inc.
Ray Chowdhury, Missile Defense Agency
Jason Cochran, League of Southeastern Credit Unions
Brandon Cole, Sanmina – SCI, Technology
Will Coulter, High Rock Group International
Kathi Dawn, Genesis Healthcare LLC
Mrinal Dhar, DCH Regional Medical Center
Patrick Ellinger, Emerson Network Power
Edward Eskridge, Honda of America Manufacturing, Inc.
Corey Farris, Walter Energy
Ed Galvin, Sandvik Mining & Construction LLC
Matt Gardner, International Fire Protection
Emmett Garrett, USA Aviation Flight Test Directorate
Ted Gryska, Two Men and a Truck
Daayge Harvil, Wee Care Academy
Ashley Jackson, UAB Medicine
Christopher Jones, Southern Light
Robert Justice, Scientific Research Corporation
Scott Knighton, Blastcrete Equipment Company
Jeff Leroy, Central Garden and Pet
Marshall Liles, Nissan North America
Josh McGill, Applied Chemical Technology Inc.
Paul Mongeon, North America Coal – Red Hills Mine
Gary Morrison, Regions Financial Corporation
Janet North, Nucor Steel
Sonya Ogletree, Tempest Global Consulting, Inc.
Nag Padur, ADTRAN, Inc.
Dana Runager, River City Center
Sunil Singh, IBM
Krystal Swann, Raycom Media
Jennifer Thomas, Alabama Power
Brad Wood, US Air Force
Staci Woods, Oracle
Tamaria Yarbrough,  Alacare Home Health and Hospice

Strategic Thinker + Technology Geek = Hottest Hiring Commodity

• January 21st, 2014
• in UA EMBA Latest News/Events

MBAs in the 90’s were groomed to be strategic thinkers. The following decade netted technology geeks. Today, the two have merged to integrate into the hottest hiring commodity. Extracting information from vast amounts of corporate data is crucial for companies to enhance the ability of an organization to make better decisions.

How is the Manderson Graduate School of Business at The University of Alabama addressing the analytical career explosion?

According to Denise McManus, associate professor of management information systems, “To stand apart, our MBA students have stepped up to meet the rising needs of the corporate world of big data.” Technology advances allow individuals to analyze larger and more diverse data sets very quickly to answer information intensive questions. “It is important that managers understand the ‘why’ behind the request,” said McManus.

“Employers ranging from insurance companies, financial institutions, big box retailers, consulting firms, basically any and all businesses that benefit from data driven answers are looking to recruit analytical talent,” said Connie Chambers, director of corporate and alumni relations.

The Manderson Executive MBA Program at The University of Alabama emphasizes critical problem solving skills, concise communication delivery and strong intellectual curiosity – skill sets that are crucial in the area of data mining and data analytics. EMBA students begin their first semester with a statistics data analysis project that produces return on investment back to employers and skill sets that our alumni tell us they use every day.

For more information on the EMBA Program at The University of Alabama, contact the EMBA office at 205.348.4501.