School of Business and Economics Blog

The School of Business and Economics now offer various minors for non-business majors. The minor programs include: Accounting, Entrepreneurship, Finance, General Business Administration, Health Care Management, Legal Studies in Business, Management, Management Information Systems, and Marketing.

Make yourself more marketable by integrating the world of business into your field of study.

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Pamela Jackson

Assistant Dean, SBE

(910) 672-1818

pjackson@uncfsu.edu

Fayetteville State University (FSU) student Travis O. Harris is spending this summer interning with the National Urban League on Wall Street.  He is a rising senior and accounting major who has been very active on the FSU campus.  Mr. Harris is currently serving as Mr. FSU and holding such positions as business manager for the Student Activities Council, vice president of the Epsilon Zeta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., and a member of the National Association of Black Accountants, FSU Accounting Club, and Cultural Programs Committee.  He is a Bronco Ambassador and on the FSU Dean's List.

The league employs a five-point strategy, tailored to local needs, in order to implement the mission of their movement as follows:

• Education and Youth Empowerment
• Economic Empowerment
• Health and Quality of Life Empowerment
• Civic Engagement and Leadership Empowerment and
• Civil Rights and Racial Justice Empowerment

Mr. Harris is interning with Mr. Mark Monteverdi, Vice President of the Black Executive Exchange Program (BEEP) and volunteer programs.  In his role, he will assist with the execution of the 40th anniversary of Leadership BEEP, a week-long leadership retreat for students, campus liaisons (from participating BEEP colleges and universities), and corporate representatives.  Executives from corporate America, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and other institutions will come together to network with highly-qualified students to inform, inspire, engage, and prepare them for the world of work.  Mr. Harris will assist with all aspects of the conference to include logistics, contracts for speakers, venues and financial analysis of the conferences impact, and cost.  The conference will be held in Atlanta, GA, June 1-6, and will also be attended by two other FSU students, Francine Dunbar and Melvin Jarrell Goode.

The Black Executive Exchange Program is sponsored on the campus of Fayetteville State University by the Office of Career Services, under the direction of Helene A. Cameron, Director.

from Helene Cameron, Career Services

John Allison, chairman and chief executive officer of Branch Banking & Trust (BB&T), will visit Fayetteville State University (FSU) March 18, 2009 from 12:20 to 3 p.m. Allison will attend an invitation-only luncheon at 12:20 in the Rudolph Jones Student Center. After the luncheon, he will speak to students, faculty, and staff in Shaw Auditorium of the School of Business and Economics. That event is open to the public.

Allison's visit will also include a check presentation to FSU. Last year, BB&T announced it would make a donation of more than $1 million to the institution. A check will be presented to FSU Chancellor James A. Anderson and Dr. Assad Tavakoli, Dean of the School of Business and Economics. The donation is the largest corporate gift in the history of the institution. The money will be used to support the Lloyd V. Hackley Endowed Chair for the Study of Capitalism in the School of Business and Economics. Hackley is Chancellor Emeritus at FSU.

"We are pleased and excited that Mr. Allison will be on our campus," Tavakoli said. "BB&T long has been a friend of Fayetteville State University and the presence of Mr. Allison and the bank's monetary contribution demonstrates their commitment not only to our world-class business school, but also to our institution."

The media is invited to cover Allison's presentation in Shaw Auditorium. For more information, please call 910-672-1474.

School of Business and Economics proudly presents the lecture "Secrets of Success of an Entrepreneur" by Dr. S. Thomas Emerson, Professor of Entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business.

Time: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 from 6:00p - 7:00p

Place: Room 113, SBE

OPEN TO ALL STUDENTS AND FACULTY

Dr. S. Thomas Emerson obtained his Ph.D. from Rice University. His area of specialty is in Entrepreneurship and his teaching and research interests include technology-based ventures, venture financing, business incubation, technology transfer and international entrepreneurship education. Dr. Emerson sits on many boards and has significant global  consulting practice in corporate governance, patent and intellectual property issues, technology commercialization, and entrepreneurship education.

His complete bio can be viewed at: http://public.tepper.cmu.edu/facultydirectory/FacultyDirectoryProfile.aspx?id=53

Free books for students

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2009
4:00PM--6:00 PM
SEABROOK AUDITORIUM

DR. MUHAMMAD YUNUS

Muhammad Yunus (Bengali: মুহাম্মদ ইউনুস, pronounced Muhammôd Iunus) (born 28 June 1940) is a Bangladeshi banker and economist. He previously was a professor of economics and is famous for his successful application of microcredit -- the extension of small loans. These loans are given to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans.  In 1976, during visits to the poorest households in the village of Jobra near Chittagong University, Yunus discovered that very small loans could make a disproportionate difference to a poor person. His first loan, consisting of USD 27.00 from his own pocket.  Dr. Yunus formally created the Grameen Bank in 1983 and as of July 2007, Grameen Bank has issued US$ 6.38 billion to 7.4 million borrowers.^[To ensure repayment, the bank uses a system of "solidarity groups". These small informal groups apply together for loans and its members act as co-guarantors of repayment and support one another's efforts at economic self-advancement.  Dr. Yunus is known throughout the world as the "Father of Microcredit."

Muhammad Yunus was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, along with Grameen Bank, for their efforts to create economic and social development. In the prize announcement The Norwegian Nobel Committee mentioned: Muhammad Yunus has shown himself to be a leader who has managed to translate visions into practical action for the benefit of millions of people, not only in Bangladesh, but also in many other countries. Loans to poor people without any financial security had appeared to be an impossible idea. From modest beginnings three decades ago, Yunus has, first and foremost through Grameen Bank, developed micro-credit into an ever more important instrument in the struggle against poverty. Muhammad Yunus was the first Bangladeshi and third Bengali to ever get a Nobel Prize. After receiving the news of the important award, Yunus announced that he would use part of his share of the $1.4 million award money to create a company to make low-cost, high-nutrition food for the poor; while the rest would go toward setting up an eye hospital for the poor in Bangladesh.  He has won a number of other awards, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the World Food Prize^, the Sydney Peace Prize, and in December 2007 the Ecuadorian Peace Prize. Additionally, Dr. Yunus has been awarded 26 honorary doctorate degrees, and 15 special awards. Bangladesh government brought out a commemorative stamp to honor his Nobel Award.  He was invited and gave the MIT commencement address delivered on 6 June 2008, and Oxford's Romanes Lecture on 2 December 2008. Dr. Yunus is a member of the Africa Progress Panel (APP), an independent authority on Africa launched in April 2007 to focus world leaders' attention on delivering their commitments to the continent.

Dr. Yunus is the author of  two famous books: "Banker to the Poor"  and "Creating a World Without Poverty"

The Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at Fayetteville State University (FSU) is an outstanding business program, according to The Princeton Review. The New York-based education services company features the school in the just-published 2009 edition of its "Best 296 Business Schools" (Random House / Princeton Review, October 7, 2008).

According to Robert Franek, Princeton Review Vice President of Publishing, "We select schools for this book based on our high regard for their academic programs and offerings, institutional data we collect from the schools, and the candid opinions of students attending them who rate and report on their campus experiences at the schools. We are pleased to recommend Fayetteville State University to readers of our book and users of our website as one of the best institutions they could attend to earn an MBA."

"Best 296 Business Schools" has two-page profiles of the schools with write-ups on their academics, student life and admissions, plus ratings for their academics, selectivity and career placement services. In the profile on FSU-MBA, the Princeton Review editors describe the school as: "high quality of instructors and the friendly atmosphere offering students opportunities to grow intellectually". They quote from students attending it who say: "It felt like home from the first day of school. Everybody is friendly and helpful and the instructors are always trying to push the students' limits toward higher achievements that will prepare them better for the job market." The Princeton Review lists topics that FSU-MBA students it surveyed for the book were in most agreement about: "Friendly students, good peer network, and solid preparation in: Accounting, General Management, and Quantitative skills". The Princeton Review's 80-question survey asked students about themselves, their career plans, and their schools' academics, student body, and campus life.

The Princeton Review does not rank the schools in the book on a single hierarchical list from 1 to 26, or name one business school best overall. Conducted during the 2007-08, 2006-07, and 2005-06 academic years, the student surveys were primarily completed online, the lists are posted at www.PrincetonReview.com

For more information about FSU's MBA program, call Dr. A.A. Tavakoli at (910) 672-1527 or e-mail atavakoli@uncfsu.edu. For Princeton Review Books information, call Jeanne Krier at (212) 539-1350 or e-mail Jeanne@jeannekrier.com.

A team of students from the MBA program at FSU won the 2008 OFC Venture Challenge Business Plan Competition and received $10,000 cash award. The event was held in Atlanta on April 19-20. The team also won the Best Written Business Plan award. The students competed against 20 teams from leading HBCU universities with graduate business programs. This is the second consecutive year that our MBA teams have received this distinction.

Overview of the Business Plan

Grain Life Technologies (GLT) is offering advanced post harvest technologies to the grain and seed industry, which will increase production efficiency significantly by eliminating post harvest loss in the agricultural field. GLT's technology maintains the living qualities of the crops by utilizing gentler, nonabrasive methods enabling grains to be stored over a period of many years with the same fresh quality as the first day they entered storage. These advantages come at a time when worldwide demand for various grains and seeds is growing at such a substantial rate that the growers and processors are continually challenged to increase the production efficiently.

The School of Business and Economics recently received accreditation from AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.  AACSB is one of the most prestigious and rigorous accrediting bodies for business programs in higher education. Currently, fewer than one-third of U.S. business programs and only 15% of the world's business programs have earned AACSB accreditation. Receipt of this distinguished accreditation provides evidence that FSU's School of Business and Economics has established itself as a leader among business schools. 

Faculty Standards
AACSB business schools must comply with strict standards in regard to the use of full-time faculty members who are academically (possessing the Ph.D. or J.D.) or professionally (a graduate degree and extensive managerial or executive experience) qualified.  Faculty are required to engage in scholarly activities (e.g., discipline based research) and to interact with students both in and outside of the classroom.

Continuous Improvement

AACSB business schools are required to continually undergo curricular program review and revision and to introduce new programs that are designed to enhance the readiness of our student body for entry into our international and culturally diverse marketplace.

Benefits to Students
Companies are aware of business schools which hold AACSB accreditation.  As such, AACSB accreditation can enhance opportunities for student participation in internships and cooperative programs as well as permanent job opportunities

AACSB: Why it matters to you
AACSB accreditation implies that a school is committed to constantly reviewing and improving itself, meeting the needs of students, investing in state-of-the-art facilities and technology, and offering a current and relevant education.

For more information on AACSB accrediting standards, visit the AACSB Web site at http://www.aacsb.edu/.