We appreciate your responses to this new e-letter – the Byrd Business Review. While the goal is to keep you informed of business school activities and initiatives, we also want to give you a means to communicate with us on an ongoing basis. We seek to add value to the reputation of the degree you’ve earned from the Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business. At the same time, we hope to reconnect you with fellow graduates and professors. The 2005 spring semester has begun, and there is excitement among students, faculty, prospective students and their parents, as well as the business community. We want students to experience a business education of the highest quality, one that is grounded solidly in the liberal arts. We also want to engage students in the learning process, within a caring, educational environment that is interactive and closely intertwined with businesses and the community. We trust you will enjoy this issue. Please remember to keep in touch with us. We do like to hear from you. You can e-mail Dean Randy Boxx at rboxx@su.edu or call 540-665-4572.

Davis Named ‘Teacher of the Year’

Miles K. Davis, assistant professor of management at the Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business, was named the 2004 Exemplary Teacher of the Year during Winter Commencement, Dec. 18. Given jointly by Shenandoah University and the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church, the Exemplary Teacher Award recognizes a full-time faculty member who demonstrates the educational ideals of Methodism: exceptional teaching, a record of scholarly and professional achievement, concern for student welfare and respect for colleagues. Recipients must also contribute their time and talent to the community in which they reside and to the religious group of their choice. Dr. Davis has been on the faculty of the business school since 2001, and he is the chair of the management sciences department. [More]

Business Students Travel Abroad; Explore Global Citizenship

Two BBA degree-completion students from the Northern Virginia Campus, one faculty member, and three business students from the main campus will travel abroad during spring break to one of five international destinations as participants in the Global Citizenship Program (GCP), March 4 through 12. Roly Rigual of Loudoun County, Va., and Patricia Winchester of Herndon, Va., are excited about their upcoming global education experiences. “When the opportunity to travel abroad came about, I jumped at the chance,” said Rigual, who will be traveling with Professor Ann Lesman to Costa Rica. Winchester will head to the Netherlands with Associate Professor of Nursing Juliana Fehr. Assistant Professor Miles Davis will go to Costa Rica and four others will also participate (Jamie Hosare and Jeremiah Shifflett to India; Julie Bean to Mali; and Ashley Seabolt to Taiwan).[More]

Alumni Survey Helps With Accreditation Process

Professors John Proe and Travis Sample have written alumni about the accreditation process and the importance of assessment. You recently received an Alumni Outcomes Survey in the mail. We need you to fill out this survey and promptly return it to the business school via the postage-paid envelope included in the packet. We want to identify the types of educational experiences you had at the university, and in the spirit of continuous improvement, we want to learn how we can continue to enhance our programs. Returning a completed survey is very important as we march toward the initial accreditation of our undergraduate and graduate business programs. If you have any questions, call 540-665-4572.

Thies Outlines Emerging Economic Trends: January 2005

The U.S. economic recovery is gathering strength, and it’s a good time to consider how the business cycle and employment trends are changing. Professor Clifford Thies writes the first in an ongoing series on economic trends.* [Download January 2005 PDF]       

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