Welcome to the March edition of our e-letter. I speak for the entire staff when I say your responses to the e-letter, and your telephone calls and visits have been wonderful. We appreciate your staying in touch us. We're also grateful for an overwhelming response to the two survey instruments we recently distributed to you. Thanks for helping us as we continue collecting data and persisting in our journey toward AACSB International accreditation. In this edition, you'll learn about two new professors hired to lead our information systems and international business classes, the launch of a revised MBA program, and how SIFE-one of the traditionally strong student organizations in the Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business-continues to make its mark on the region. Please continue to remain in touch with us or drop by for a visit any time you are in the Winchester area. Remember one thing: our home is your home.

NEW FACULTY HIRING

Two new faculty members will be joining the business school in August. Each of these individuals will provide added depth in teaching and scholarship.

Dr. Nabie Conteh, assistant professor of information systems, brings a combination of strong academic and professional experiences to the classroom, teaching classes for both undergraduate and graduate programs. Dr. Conteh holds a BS in information systems from the Institute for Information and Communication Technology, Enschede the Netherlands; an MBA in information systems management from Ferris State University; and an MS and PhD in information systems from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Areas of teaching and research interest include decision support systems, systems modeling and simulation; artificial intelligence/expert systems; systems analysis and design; and knowledge management and organizational learning. Conteh possesses many technical skills and the ability to speak English, Dutch, Russian and some German. Dr. Conteh has made presentations at national and international conferences and has been published in refereed journals and proceedings. He has worked for Getronics Transaction Services and EuroShell International, ABN AMRO Bank and was a research assistant at the University of Maryland.

Dr. Sarika Pruthi, assistant professor of international business, will teach international business courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr. Pruthi holds BA and MA degrees in economics from the University of Delhi, and a MA in corporate strategy and governance and a PhD in entrepreneurship and international business strategy from the Nottingham University Business School (UK). Her teaching interests include contemporary economic policy, corporate restructuring of the modern firm, economic analysis of the firm, economics of corporate strategy, managerial economics, and quantitative research methods, while her research focuses on venture capital/private equity, the resource-based view of a firm, international business strategy and service sector internationalization. A recipient of several academic scholarships and awards, Pruthi brings to the Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business a portfolio of refereed journal publications and working papers as well as a strong personal desire to make a positive difference in the lives of students, both inside and outside the classroom.

Shenandoah Launches a Revised MBA Program in 2006

Desiring to be responsive to the current needs and future challenges of employers, the Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business will adopted a newly revised MBA curriculum in the fall of 2006. The revised curriculum reflects the business community's requests for various skills deemed critical in today's business organizations-a global perspective, communication proficiency, functional knowledge across business disciplines, leadership and teamwork skills, strategic thinking, and informed decision-making. Building on 12 hours of foundation work, 36 hours are required at the graduate level to complete degree requirements. All core courses are either new or revised and consist of the following: Accounting for Decision Making and Control; Financial Management; Business in the Global Economy I & II; Organizational Structure and Behavior; Operations and Supply Chain Management; Human Resource Management, Employment Law and Ethics; Decision Sciences and MIS; Marketing Theory and Practice; Integrative Management; and two electives (either business courses or outside electives). The revised MBA program will continue to offer the convenience of evening and weekend classes; talented professors with years of business experience; high-performing student classmates who offer even greater contributions to their respective organizations; and a network of alumni who become a valuable resource network for students after graduation.

For more information about the new MBA program, contact Dr. Dan Pavsek, director of the MBA program, at dpavsek@su.edu.

Students in Free Enterprise Compete to Win

Shenandoah University's Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) organization offers students a hands-on, competitive experience with topics such as business ethics, entrepreneurship and market economies. Right now, students are preparing for a regional competition Alexandria, Va., on April 13. Thirty universities will compete for the honor to go to the national competition in Kansas City, Mo. SIFE is composed of many international students as evidenced by a recent competition training event held at James Madison University, where SU's team included students from Ireland, France, Japan, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Mauritania as well as the United States. This year, project work focused on teaching free enterprise and economics at local middle and elementary schools, participating in a housing fair in cooperation with the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Washington, D.C., presenting the "Five Continents" to local schools, and developing a Web page for the Patsy Cline Association. For more information about SIFE, contact faculty sponsor Hank Folk at hfolk@su.edu.