What a beautiful time of year to live in Winchester, Va. My wife and I are thoroughly enjoying our first springtime in the Shenandoah Valley. The temperatures are absolutely perfect, a wide variety of flowers are blooming, and the activities and events associated with the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival are quickly approaching. Graduation is May 7, and all of us look forward to spending time with our graduates and their parents, relatives and friends on this special day. This issue of the Byrd Business Review introduces our newest faculty member, describes our totally new undergraduate business program, and provides an update on important alumni activities. As you have done in the past, please stay in touch by phone or e-mail so we can respond to your needs and requests. In addition, please plan to visit campus anytime you are in the Winchester area.
W. Randy Boxx
rboxx@su.edu
540-665-4572
Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business Welcomes New Faculty
The new business law professor, John I. Winn, will join the school in August. He holds a bachelor's degree in history from Guilford College, a J.D. from Campbell University and an LL.M. from The Judge Advocate General's School (U.S. Army). Associate Professor Winn will teach both undergraduate and graduate courses in Winchester and at the Northern Virginia Campus in Leesburg. Retiring this summer after a 20-year career with the Army, Winn joins Shenandoah University from the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. Prior to teaching at West Point, he taught at the Army's Judge Advocate General's School in Charlottesville, Va. Bringing enthusiasm for the subject to every class, he desires his students to share their points of view and debate their opinions in order to improve critical thinking and assessment skills. His current research involves legal ethics reform.
Business School Plans Activities for May 7 Graduation
The Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business is hosting several activities for graduates, parents, faculty, alumni and friends on Saturday, May 7. "Graduation is a time for celebration and recognition," said Dean Randy Boxx. "We hope you will be a part of this exciting time in the life of our graduates." The schedule of activities includes a continental breakfast in the Henkel Hall Lobby at 8 a.m., an awards ceremony in Hester Auditorium, Henkel Hall, at 8:45 a.m., followed by the commencement ceremony in the Smith Library Plaza at 11 a.m. The awards ceremony features the presentation of the following: Business School Advisory Committee's Annual Industry Award, Distinguished Best for Business Award, James R. and Mary B. Wilkins Award, SIFE Award, Dean's Award, Alumni Award for Outstanding Senior, Herbert L. Meyers Award, Student Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and Virginia Society of CPAs Award.
Pictured above: Two mothers traveled from Russia to see their sons receive their diplomas at last year's December graduation. Pictured from the left, are Lidia Bogdanova , Mikhail Bogdanov, Elena Kulyagina and Sergey Kulyagin. Mikhail and Sergey each received master of business administration degrees.
New Undergraduate Business Program
The school of business will launch its new undergraduate business curriculum this fall, the individualized bachelor of business administration or iBBA. In this individualized program of study, students are not required to select a predetermined major, but are able to design a series of courses corresponding to individual interests, goals and career aspirations. This specialized program may consist of up to 27 semester hours, and provides each student with a faculty mentor from the student's specific business specialty area (marketing, management, accounting, finance, information technology or international business). The faculty mentor will available to counsel the student on an appropriate program of study to meet individual career aspirations within the multifaceted business environment.
The curriculum provides a solid, general-education foundation requisite for graduates entering a fast-paced, technological and global society. The iBBA degree provides broad-based study in the arts and sciences as well as in the specialized areas of communication, ethical decision making, leadership and teamwork that will make the graduate a valued member of any organization
Five elements compose the 120-hour degree program: General education courses 30 Required non-business courses 9 Non-business elective courses 21 Business core courses 33 iBBA courses (a minimum of 12 hours must be taken in the Byrd School of Business) 27
Alumni Update
Shenandoah University alumni events and activities have doubled over the past few months, and the business school is no exception. In February, roughly 20 alumni, faculty and friends welcomed Executive-in-Residence Bill Brandt at the Northern Virginia Campus for a discussion on how he acquired and built the Winchester-based American Woodmark Corporation from the ground up. It was an excellent evening for our alumni, who took the opportunity to dialog with Bill about his entrepreneurial experiences, socialize with faculty and fellow alumni, network with former classmates, and meet Dean Boxx. The Business Constituency Society held a mixer on April 14, with the business school Class of 2005 to celebrate their upcoming graduation and welcome them to the alumni association. Our next set of alumni events, a series of outings at various minor league ballparks throughout the mid-Atlantic region, can be found on the alumni Web site. These programs are open to all of our alumni, and we hope to see the business school well represented. We'll see you at the ballpark this summer!
Since January, we have been formalizing the Business Constituency Society - the alumni organization just for business school alumni. Our first order of business was to rally the alumni to participate in the AACSB accreditation survey, and it was a brilliant success! We received a higher response than anticipated, and we reached our goal in just a matter of days. Overall alumni support for the AACSB accreditation has been overwhelming, and we will continue to reach out for your support as the accreditation process continues.
The Business Constituency Society is advancing and steadily gaining ground, with dedicated alumni leadership, official by-laws, and support from the faculty. Current discussions revolve around implementing a mentoring program and a membership drive and creating an alumni presence in the new business school facility. Our primary objective is to have an established board of directors and a fully functional strategic plan by the start of the summer. The goal to get as many alumni involved as possible. You can start today by contacting your former classmates and encouraging them to sign up for the Byrd Business Review. Please visit the alumni Web site to subscribe to the Byrd Business Reivew letter.