Business Spotlight of the Week

Welcome New Business Majors, Concentrations, and Minors

The process of registering for fall classes as brought us some students who are joining the business department for the first time.  Welcome!

Human Resource Management Scholarship - Deadline is Now!

The Springfield Human Resources Association (SAHRA) has a $500 scholarship available for an Evangel students interested in a career in human resource management.  You need a minimum of a 3.25 GPA.  PLEASE ACT IMMEDIATELY to apply for this scholarship!   The deadline at the website is April 1, but it will be extended for about a week.  Review the criteria and download the application form at the following link: http://sahra.affiniscape.com/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=12

Human Resource Management Internship Opportunity

Springfield Remanufacturing Corp here in Springfield has a part-time (20 hours week) summer HR internship available with the Director of HR at the Corporate Division. This could extend into the next year.  The intern will be assisting with coordination of HR sponsored events at several facilities as well as other duties related to designing and marketing employee training programs.  They are looking for someone with a creative side, good attention to details, good research skills, and the ability to work independently.  Send resume to Tim Baltes, HR Director for SRC at  tbaltes@srcreman.com .

Accessing Information at New EU Website

Evangel launched its new website this weekend.  You need to update the link if you have the old website saved as a "favorite place" or another type of quick access link.  Just type www.evangel.edu to identify the new website.  You can access your student portal through the "Current Students" tab in the maroon ribbon at the very top of the webpage.  Go to "Programs" and select any one of the business majors to access the new Business webpage and all of the information that is available at this location.

Work Study/Fellowship Positions for 2012-2013

See Mrs. Campbell for an application form if you are interested in work in the Business Department during the next school year.  We have a couple of positions opening up due to graduation.  Most of our positions are related to providing support to a faculty member, so the faculty will make the final decision regarding selection.  Preference is given to those with strong academic performance, positive attitudes, and personal initiative.

Senior Breakfast for Business Majors and Concentrations

The Senior Breakfast for business majors will be on April 16 at 10:00 a.m.  This breakfast is being sponsored by a contribution from alumnus Bill Link and Redeemed Music and Books.  Come prepared to share a highlight of your time at Evangel.

Fall Registration - Freshmen and Higher

Act now if you need to schedule an advising session for the fall semester.  Freshmen should be scheduling advising sessions this week so they can submit schedules next Saturday and have the best chance to get the courses and sections they want.  This is the last week that most business professors will have advising schedules on their door.  If schedules are not available, check the office schedule posted by your advisor's door to see when they may be available.

SIFE/PBL Celebration Dinner on Sunday, April 22

Mrs. Fletcher's home and 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 22 is the time for the SIFE/PBL Celebration Dinner.  This event will include the installation of officers for next year, senior cording, and lots of fun and good food.  Directions are available in the Business Department.  The SIFE team was first runner-up in their flight at the regional competition in Rogers, AR last week.  25 students have qualified to go to the PBL national competition based on their performance at the state level.

Job Opportunities

Three alumni recently provided job opportunities that seniors should consider:

·        Sandra Mazdzanowski ('81), Benefits Finance Manager for United Technologies Corporation, reports that UTC just acquired Goodrich and there are several job openings for new hires. For more information, visit www.utc.com

·        Erin Taylor ('05), General Accounting Analyst, has been with Pier1 Imports for 4 years and says it is a growing company and a GREAT place to work. They frequently have a variety of positions available. Interested seniors can check out open positions on Monster.com or can e-mail Erin at etaylor@pier1.com to check internal postings as well.

·       Joshua Young ('10, financial analyst with LP Capital Advisors in Sacramento, CA, reports that his firm is looking for candidates with accounting, finance, economics, or management backgrounds/majors. The ideal candidate will have academic accomplishments, some experience with finance such as SIG or an internship in any of the above-mentioned areas.   A job description is available in the Business Department.  E-mail resumes to jyoung@lpcapitaladvisors.com   Visit their website: http://www.lpcapitaladvisors.com

Alumni Support Continues to Grow

It is exciting to see the response to the 2nd edition of the Alumni Business Spotlight sent last week.  The three job opportunities previously mentioned were responding to the newsletter's appeal to help seniors find jobs.   One alumnus expressed interest in donating $100,000 over the next five years to help establish an endowed chair in the business department to help support faculty needs.  We also received a donation to cover the cost of the Senior Breakfast this year!

Business Spotlight of the Week

$95,000 Gift Helps Shape Future Scholarship Development

Last week, the Business Department received a gift of stock that is currently traded at $95,000. The business alumnus making the gift prefers to remain anonymous. The gift is to be used as private scholarships for new business majors entering Evangel based on criteria established by the Business Department faculty. Funds not used for the 2012-2013 school year will be carried over to future years.

This gift is a tremendous boost for our department's scholarship program.  We are seeing increases in enrollment and academic performance of current students.  When we allocated scholarships to current students on March 1, we had to take about $8,000 away from the reserves we hold for new students that come in the fall and spring. 

This gift will allow us to make some modest increases in the future and meet the immediate needs for scholarships over the next five years while we move forward with a plan to increase the amount of endowed business scholarships from $520,000 to $1 million over the next 3-5 years. This increase in the endowed scholarship funds will eventually generate sufficient funds to replace the need for the private scholarships coming from this recent gift.

Reminder about Fall Registration

Seniors were supposed to be able to enter their course schedules this past Saturday, but several reported that the system would not let them do it.  I reported this to Information Technology and the Registrar.  Get signed up for an advising conference with your faculty advisor as soon as possible.  Ask him or her directly if he or she doesn't have an advising schedule posted on the door.

Politics and Marketing - An Internship Opportunity

The Institute on Business and Government Affairs will place you in an internship where you will gain valuable business, lobbying and leadership skills. What better place to see the intersection of business and policy than Washington, DC, where government is the number one business? With an IBGA internship you can develop a strategic marketing plan for your client who is lobbying for a bill on Capitol Hill and attend various strategy and meetings with advocacy and lobby groups.  This is an eight-week academic internship program held in Washington, D.C and sponsored by The Fund for American Studies. The program combines substantive professional experience for 30 hours a week with a challenging undergraduate academic experience worth 6 credit hours from Georgetown University. All students are housed on campus in apartment-style dorms.  This summer’s deadline has been extended to March 23, 2012 with generous scholarship funding still available.  Contact Recruitment and Admissions Director Mary Stankus at mstankus@tfas.org or 202-986-0384 for assistance and check out their website at www.DCinternships.org.

Need Assistance Getting Ready for an Internship?

An alumnus sent the following link that provides helpful tips and resources as you prepare for an internship experience. http://theinternview.com/the-internview-crew/

Springfield News-Leader Prints Feature on the Dress for Success Display

The local newspaper printed a nice story about the Business Department's Dress for Success display across from Computer Lab 109.  Check out the following link.
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20120305/NEWS04/303050033/dressing-interview-evangel

Business Spotlight of the Week

Take Advantage of Career Fairs Next Week

Regardless of your student classification, the spring career fairs are a great opportunity to explore the kinds of jobs that are available in business and other professions.  We would like for every business major and minor to consider attending one or all of the three fairs listed below.  In addition to maybe seeing that career opportunity that the Lord has for you, you can meet some very nice people and usually find some "goodies" at the various booths!  Take copies of your resume with you if you are job hunting!

Career Fair #1: Non Profit, Human Service, Healthcare, Graduate Schools

Monday, February 27, 10 am-2 pm: Cantrell Student Union

· 18 employers and 10 graduate schools

Career Fair #2: Career Consortium Expo for All Majors

Tuesday, February 28, 1- 5 pm: JQH Arena at MSU Campus

· 134 employers from all areas of industries. Employers are looking to fill internships and full-time positions. Sponsored in consortium with 4 other area universities.

Career Fair #3: For-Profit Organizations, Business, Entrepreneur, Military

Wednesday, February 29, 10 am-2 pm: Cantrell Student Union

· Employers: AG Financial Services, American National Property & Casualty (ANPAC), Best Buy, Better Business Bureau, The Buckle, Central States Industrial, City Utilities of Springfield, Commerce Bank, Enterprise Rent-A-Car , Farmers Insurance, Frito Lay (Pepsi-Co), Jack Henry, Journal Broadcast Group, JP Morgan Chase, Nebraska Book Company, North Springfield Betterment Assoc., Northwestern Mutual, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Penmac, Professional Accounting, Reliable Superstore, T-Mobile, Vintage Stock, Western Southern Life, Wyndham Vacation Ownership · Military: Air Force, Navy, Army, US Marines, National Guard

Career Development Office Serves You!

Wondering what career fits your strengths and interests?  Want some help getting ready for a job interview?  Looking for a part-time or temporary job?  Dr. Sheri Phillips and Mr. Scott Kirby in the Career Development Office can help you!  They are located in the LifeWorks office (west of the Bookstore).  They have an on-line assessment tool that gives you a comprehensive review of vocational areas that will best fit you.  They will provide mock interviews and part-time jobs in the community.  They are our partners in your business career development. Take advantage of this free service.

Like to have $25,000 Scholarship to Study Abroad?

A dozen or more Evangel students have benefited from Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship over past years.  Our most recent Rotary Scholarship student was 2011 graduate, Nick Reasor.  March 15 is the deadline to submit an application to the local Rotary Club.  Mr. George Crawford, Evangel's Vice President of Business and Finance, will be happy to coach you about process and to receive your application if you are a high performing student who is interested in studying abroad in the academic year 2013-2014.  The scholarship that pays up to $25,000 for a year of study in undergraduate or graduate school.   You can download information and the application at the following website:http://www.rotary6080.org/rotary-ambassadorial-scholarships/

Business Spotlight of the Week

Farewell to Graduates and Welcome to New Students

Congratulations to Natalie Akins, Tanner Boone, Jon Butts, Brittany Byers, and Nick Wilson who completed the requirements to graduate in December.

We are excited to welcome the following nine new students who have joined us this spring semester as business majors: Michael Bowman, Joshua Gill, Larissa Haberberg, Hannah Hans, Caleb Harris, Mitchell Jenkins, Brandon Polk, and Sharesa Rodgers.

Business Department Scholarships for 2012-13

If you are a business major, you do not need to submit an on-line scholarship application to receive an academic scholarship for 2012-2013. Students with a 3.0 GPA or higher and a major in business automatically qualify an academic scholarship from the business department.  The amount of the scholarship awards are tiered for different GPA levels.

In the last two months, the Business Department received over $21,000 in endowed business scholarship donations.  The interest on these funds will be combined with donations totaling $10,000 for directly funded business scholarships.  The total of the Business Department's Endowed scholarships is now just over $500,000...and on our way to a goal of $1 million!

We Set a New Record!

Thanks to all of our students, the Business Department set a new record in the fall for course evaluation participation at 78%.  The next highest department was Social Sciences with 69%.  The overall average for the university was 62%. 

Writing Proficiency Exam

If you transferred an ENGL 111 composition course into EU, you must pass a writing proficiency exam during your first semester at EU.   Passing the writing proficiency is the required before you can take some of the required Frameworks and Bible courses.  The writing proficiency exam is offered on January 30, March 19-20, and April 9 this semester.  Sign up on the bulletin board outside of The Write Place (Trask 2nd floor).  Test times are 3:30-5:30 p.m. and 6:00-8:00 p.m..  See the Humanities office for more details and study packets.

Get Involved - SIFE/PBL and Student Investment Group

Applications for Students in Free Enterprise/Phi Beta Lambda (SIFE/PBL) and the Student Investment Group (SIG) are available on the shelf in front of the reception area in the business department.  See Mrs. Fletcher if you want more information about SIFE/PBL and Mr. Manke if you would like to learn about the SIG.  You need to be a sophomore or higher for the SIG.

SIFE/PBL is gearing up for the PBL state competition in subject matter exams and presentations.

Portal Open for Summer Registration

If you already know that you are going to take summer classes at EU, you can now submit your schedule for advisor review.  Please ask your advisor for assistance if you are not sure what you should take.

Internship Opportunities 

Business majors are encouraged to work in their field of interest.  This can be an internship where you register for 3 credits to fulfill an elective requirement.  Nine business majors completed formal internships last summer and fall.  Local businesses and non-profits are providing three internship opportunities:

·         AG Financial Services has a paid customer service internship available to juniors and seniors part-time this spring and full-time over the summer.  See Marilyn Campbell for an application.

·         Sperry Van Ness Commercial Real Estate is looking for someone that can work 15-20 hours in their office located at Highway 65 & Battlefield. Hours are flexible (i.e. 3-7 p.m.)  This could be a full time position in the summer.  Starting pay is $7.00 with quarterly reviews and potential to earn $10 within a year.  Need reliable transportation, upbeat attitude, good character.  Intern will be trained.  Activities include marketing packages, email campaigns, post cards, and managing listings on LoopNet, CoStar, etc.  Contact Mike Fusek, Senior Advisor, at 417-849-5703 or Mike.Fusek@svn.com.  This job is also posted at HireEvangel.com.

·         4 the World Resource Distributors (4WRD) is a relatively new and unique non-profit ministry started to help provide affordable and accessible books, information and resources in schools and other entities internationally.  The office and warehouse is located within 2 miles of the EU campus.  They are providing an unpaid, grant research and writing internship.  Additional information is provided at the 4WRD link at the bottom of this email.

·         Thumb Print Marketing Group is a growing, for-profit social media marketing company based in Branson that specializes in social media .  They are providing an unpaid marketing/ communications internship for a senior who can work 10-20 hours a week.  Much of the work can be done remotely rather than traveling to Branson.  For the right person, this could turn into a full-time paid position in about 6 months.  Contact Sundi Jo at 573-263-1939 or sundijo@thumbprintmarketinggroup.com for more information.  This opportunity is also posted at HireEvangel.com.

Accelerate Earning a Master's Degree at Missouri State University (MSU)

Representatives from MSU (including our own Natalie Akins) will be at the non-profit and graduate school career fair on Monday, February 27 from 10:00-2:00 in the Cantrell Student Union.  Interest keeps growing in the consortium agreement we have with MSU.  This program allows EU business majors who qualify to take up to 9 credits in a master's program at MSU and apply those hours to meet required or elective courses in the business major at EU.   Financial aid works as if you are taking the credits at EU.  Eight students attended a special meeting in the Business Department last semester to learn more about this opportunity to accelerate their opportunity to earn a Master of Business Administration, Master of Accountancy, or Master of Healthcare Administration degree. 

Business Spotlight of the Week - Christmas Break Edition!

Fall Semester Grades Posted!

You should be able to see your fall semester grades in your student portal.  Please e-mail me at DanaB@evangel.edu if you do not see a grade for a course you have completed and do not know the reason why.

Internship at Compassion International - Important Announcement

January 2 is the last day to apply for a paid summer internship with Compassion International based in Colorado Springs, CO.  Business students intending to graduate in May 2012-2014 range with a 3.2 GPA or higher who have a strong interest in a career with non-profit, humanitarian organizations should explore this opportunity.  The internship is from May 21 to August 3.  There were about 40 internships available when these were posted a year ago.  In the past, Compassion International has helped to arrange housing.

Thanks for Completing Course Evaluations!

The data is now available for EU faculty to review the course evaluations.  Your sincere ratings and comments are valuable to us as we explore our opportunities to improve our courses.  I took a quick scan and do see some improvements in areas that we targeted.  I will have to wait to receive an analysis on the percentage participation, but business faculty members have been reporting very high participation rates.  Hopefully, we will hit the 80% or higher target we had for this semester.

Vote EU Grad into Miss America Top 15

You can help Sydney Friar, 2011 EU grad in Advertising/Public Relations and current Miss Missouri, get in the top 15 at the Miss America pageant by watching the video and casting your vote at http://missamerica.org/videocontest/.  

Have a great Christmas and New Year Holiday!

The business department faculty members extend to each of you our prayers for a safe and meaningful holiday season.  We pray that you will be spiritually, physically, and mentally refreshed during this break and that you will return to classes on January 11 eager pursue new opportunities to learn.  We will miss you...but we are delighted to have a break, too!!!

What does music do for you?

Need a way to relieve stress?  Increase productivity?  Remember more?
Check it out!

http://lifehacker.com/5865032/how-music-affects-the-brain-and-how-you-can-use-it-to-your-advantage

Business Spotlight of the Week!

 Course Evaluation Reminder!

Help the Business Department improve and to once again to have the highest level of participation among EU departments.  Our goal is 80% or higher participation rate for each business course.  Your ratings and comments are anonymous! Be honest in your assessment.  Make specific comments on how to improve for lower ratings.  Share a compliment with higher ratings – teachers need encouragement, too!  Some professors are offering bonus points.  Business faculty review these course evaluation ratings carefully and each instructor shares an improvement plan with me when responses indicate that improvement is needed.

Business Faculty Honored for Years of Service

The recent faculty/staff Christmas banquet brought special recognition to the following business faculty and staff or their years of service at Evangel:

·         Marilyn Campbell – 35 years
·         Jerry Owens – 30 years

·         Elizabeth Fletcher – 25 years

·         Dale Manke – 20 years

·         Dennis Wubbena – 20 years

·         Bernie Dana – 10 years

We are blessed to have faculty with a long standing commitment to prepare business students for their calling.  Many of the success stories you hear about our alumni are connected to the faculty who are now teaching you.

Looking Ahead -- Future Business Study Tours being planned!

At our recent meeting, the faculty approved exploration of two regional and one international business study tour.  The first trip being explored would be during spring break 2012 and would take us to Amish country in Pennsylvania to explore their culture and successful entrepreneurial business developments.  The second trip would be at fall break 2012 to have an in-depth look a Chick-fil-A in Atlanta and the Christian values and practices that make this company successful.  The third trip would take us to explore the culture and various established and start-up businesses in China in late December/early January 2013.   We will be conducting an interest poll when we get more details on the number of students and costs related to these trips.  The department will use some of its LifeWorks funds to help offset the cost.

Expert on Social Media Shares with Students

Mille Alderman, Public Relations and Social Media Coordinator at Sam's Club corporate headquarters in Rogers ARK, was a guest in our two Principles of Marketing classes last Friday.  I Consumer Behavior and all marketing majors were encouraged to attend these classes as well.  Mille Alderman has to come up as I had more and more students express interest in social network marketing.  She also met with the Business Department’s PR team and had lunch with five marketing students specifically interested in learning more about social media marketing.