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.

Business Spotlight of the Week

Dr. Maynard update
Dr. Maynard had surgery today to have a pacemaker inplanted.  He was exhausted this evening when I visited with him, but in good spirits.  There was no blockage and this seems to be the key step to his recovery.  He will need to wear a sling and not drive a car for two weeks, which breaks his heart!  I expect that he will be in the hospital for a couple more days for observation.  The other faculty in the department will be managing his classes for him for the remainder of the semester so he can fully recover.




Help us get better - course evalutions
Please go to your student portal and complete the course evaluations for all of your courses this semester.  The Business Department faculty are committed to using these evaluations to improve our courses.  We review the results carefully, benchmark the very best results, and each faculty member provides me with a course improvement plan.   In the spring semester, the Business Department had the highest average percentage of student participation in the course evaluations. Please help us hit a target of at least 80% this fall!  Some instructors are giving bonus points as a reward.




Finish Strong!
We are in the last week of classes for the semester.  It is always tough getting back into the groove after Thanksgiving...but it is important.  Plan ahead and allocate plenty of time to finish projects and reports and to prepare for your final exams.


Keep smiling!
B. Dana

Business Spotlight of the Week

·     Welcome to new Business majors and minors! Want a way to get involved in the department?

We strongly encourage you to join the Students in Free Enterprise/Phi Beta Lambda (SIFE/PBL) student organization. SIFE/PBL provides a great opportunity to get involved with other business students in activities that allow you to practice what you learn and to complete with other universities.  Ten students just returned from a SIFE leadership conference and business study tour in Little Rock, AR this weekend.  See Mrs. Campbell, the department secretary, or Mrs. Fletcher to get more information on how to get involved.

·     Spring registration in final stages - Course and instructor changes

 If you have not yet completed a spring schedule, contact your advisor for an advising time ASAP and enter the schedule during the advising session.  Getting your schedule approved as soon as possible is the best way to have a choice on which classes you take. 

·     Business Students' Advisory Council created

The newly formed Business Students' Advisory Council will meet for the first time on November 21.  The Council consists of Seniors Samantha Garza, Michael Johnson, and Cassie McDaniel; Juniors Ashley Gingerich, Daniel Noah, and Natalie Nordstrom; Sophomores Danielle Brozovich, Alexander Cuilty, and Yesenia Gallegos; and Freshmen Daylea Duvall, Joshua Whitaker, and Brodie Wingert.  These are your representatives, so please share with them issues that you would like to see addressed. 

Creating this Council is one of the strategies in our 2011-2014 year Performance Improvement Plan.  The purpose of the Council is to provide a student voice in developing or revising the department's mission, vision, and values for proposed improvements in curriculum, programs and activities of the department.   Each business faculty member nominated four students from each class for the chair to make the final selection which was ratified by the faculty in the November meeting.  The members serve for one school year term.

·     Your assistance needed for "Let's Can Hunger!"

SIFE/PBL partners with the EU music department each year to provide canned food and donations to the local Salvation Army to assist individuals and families in need during this season.  We need business majors and minors and their friends to volunteer as greeters and ushers for the Annual Christmas Concert provided for the Springfield community on December 2nd in the EU Chapel.  Volunteer practices is on December 1st from 8:00-8:30 in the chapel. For the event on December 2nd, male volunteers need to wear black suit, white shirt, and red tie.  Female volunteers should wear a black skirt of pants, jacket, white or red shirt, and dress shoes.  Evangel's SIFE team has ranked very high nationally in the Campbell Soup's Let's Can Hunger" campaign for the amount of food gathered at this event. Contact Dr. Mark Maynard, Mrs. Elizabeth Fletcher, or Jose Socorro (Socorro7592@evangel.edu) for more information.

·     Special Human Resource Management opportunity

The Business Department has allocated LifeWorks grant funds to pay for student memberships in the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) for students who have an interest in HR careers.  The national membership in SHRM enables you to receive their monthly magazine and other materials that will enable you to better understand the career opportunities in this specialized area.  We have had several graduates who now have successful careers in HR management.  Please let your advisor and Mr. Dana know if you have an interest in this area.

·     Job hunting time - Got your resume ready?

It is time to get your resume in shape if you are a senior beginning your job search or an underclassman looking for a summer job or internship.  Mrs. Campbell, Business Department Secretary, is eager to look over the resume you have prepared and identify opportunities for improvement.  Don't wait until the last minute to take advantage of this opportunity.  TIP:  It is a "no, no" to use templates for professional resumes. 

·     Business Education major growing

We are proud of the seven students who have elected to major in Business Education.  These students have a desire to teach business in middle and high schools, an area of teaching in very high demand.  We collaborate with the Education Department to provide this degree.  If you would like to know more about this major, please contact Dr. Linda Wellborn (WellbornL@evangel.edu) who serves as the primary advisor for this program.

·     Students learn more about MBA at MSU

Eight of our business majors met last Wednesday to learn more about the opportunity to begin pursuing a Master's of Business Administration (MBA) at Missouri State University (MSU) while still a senior at Evangel.  Students can earn up to nine credits in the MBA program and also count those credits towards their undergraduate major at EU.  This opportunity is also available with the Master's of Accountancy and Master's of Health Administration programs. Christopher Lynn represents MSU's MBA program and is eager to help our students who have a 3.00 GPA or higher to pursue this opportunity.  See Mr. Dana for additional information or contact Mr. Lynn at ChristopherLynn@MissouriState.edu.  We also have information available about Drury University's MBA program.

·     New partner for potential job opportunities

Capstone Financial is a rapidly growing investment management firm based in Houston, Texas.  They help design and manage the investment options offered in retirement plans by corporations and financial institutions.  One of their clients is AG Financial Solutions which markets retirement plans for employees of AG churches and schools. Capstone Financial's business development director used to work with AG Financial Solutions.  He recently contacted the business department regarding a couple of positions that are becoming available in their firm.  The director has been impressed with the quality of the many graduates we have placed over the years with AG Financial Solutions and wanted the opportunity to have some of the same.

·     Mr. Papit on the mend!

After his recent heart problems, Mr. Papit is feeling much better and has returned to teaching his Organizational Design and Management course.  He still appreciates your prayers since his heart is still out of rhythm and he is tired from the medications he has to take.  We've told him the rhythm problem is because he grew up AG and wasn't allowed to dance when he was young!

·     Ostrem sets EU record at National meet

Congratulations to Kristen Ostrem, senior management/marketing major, who finished 64th out of 323 runners in the 5-K run at the NAIA National Cross Country Championship in Vancouver, Washington on Saturday.  This is best finish in the history of EU's cross country program.  Kristen has qualified for nationals in all four years at EU.

Business Spotlight of the Week

 Dr. Maynard to Explore New Adventures

•  Dr. Maynard has decided to retire from teaching full time at the end of this semester.  As many of you know, he has a passion in life to teach free enterprise around the world and loves to travel.  He is planning to develop his CEO Radio Broadcast into new markets and develop a new curriculum in free enterprise. 
• He will continue to work with our SIFE/PBL team as a member of the Advisory Board.  

Registration Update!

• We are starting to run into classes already being full, particularly in the Bible and theology areas.  Getting your schedule approved as soon as possible is the best way to have control of your schedule. 

New Library Resources

• The Evangel Library has recently added study resources for our Finance Majors who wish to prepare for the Series 65 certification exam.  Study for the exam can be done as a 3 credit hour directed study finance course.
• The EU Library has also added a link for temporary access to the Westlaw Campus Research program: https://www.evangel.edu/lLibrary/databases.asp#Law   This new link provides business majors with access to research financial data for companies as well as legal research.  It will be useful in finance courses, the Student Investment Group, and the Strategic Management course.   This is on a trial basis at the current time, but an exciting opportunity to expand the ability of business majors to analyze financial results.

Internship Opportunities

• North Point Church has unpaid business internship opportunities for three students.  Adam Swenka, Resource Directory  who worked in the banking industry for 8 years, will lead the interns through a 6-8 month internship program.  Jon Butts and Zach Coffman are currently in the program.  You can access the description/application at: http://www.northpointchurch.tv/index.php?opton=com/content&view=article&id=348&Itemid=233