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April 2-3, 2016, Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) students competed against college students state-wide in business-related events at their Spring Leadership Conference. If you see them, please CONGRATULATE them for “placing” in their competitive events! Several of them will be eligible to compete at the PBL National Leadership Conference this summer.

David Beale	1st place Macroeconomics & 4th place Personal Finance
Jamie-Lynn Gills	2nd place Public Speaking & 2nd place Marketing Concepts
Amy Koum	1st place Hospitality Management
Michael Lofton	1st place Management Concepts
Adam Vasquez	4th place Cyber Security & 4th place Project Management
Madeline West	2nd place Retail Management
Team: Luz Elena Arechiga Michael Lofton Amy Koum	5th place Business Ethics
UCA PBL	2nd largest chapter paid membership increase

The Business & Information Technology (BIT) Club is having its last meeting of the school year on Tuesday, April 5th. The event, which will be held in the College of Business Auditorium (Rooms 107/208) during X-period (1:40 – 2:30 p.m.), is open to all majors on campus. Kristi Connell and Amy Beam, Senior Recruiters at Acxiom, will be the featured speakers. We will also conduct Officer Elections for next year, as well as discuss our upcoming field trip to the Dillard’s Data Center and Headquarters in Little Rock on Tuesday, April 12th. Refreshments will be served (PIZZA!) and door prizes will be awarded. All students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend.

Topic:   Soft Skills in a Hard Environment

Abstract:  Presenters will discuss “soft skills” suitable for today’s young professionals.  Specifics to include interpersonal skills; emotional intelligence; collaboration; business etiquette; expectations of supervisors of multiple generations; relationships with professional mentors; and appropriate online presence.

Presenters:  Two Senior Partners from Mission Plus, LLC, Student Affairs Consulting.

Jan Austin, Ed. D. worked in higher education for 40 years. As Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Life and Leadership Development at UALR, she directed new student orientation, nontraditional student services, Greek life, diversity programs, campus recreation, and advised student government.  She has facilitated numerous college student and new professional retreats and leadership experiences. Dr. Austin’s engaging and interactive presentation style informs her work with college student and professional audiences. Her vast teaching experience includes undergraduate and graduate courses.  She earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology, master’s degree in technical and expository writing, and doctorate in higher education administration at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Debbie Gentry, M.Ed. has more than 30 years of experience in Higher Education.  She was the founding Director of Student Housing at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, has served as Associate Dean of Students, and taught in First Year Experience programs focusing on career exploration and preparation.  Ms. Gentry has extensive presentation experience and connects with a variety of audiences through approaches geared to bring out audience collaboration.  She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Memphis State University and a Master of Education from Mississippi State University.

Refreshments will be served.  All students are welcome!

The Business & Information Technology (BIT) Club is having its second meeting on Tuesday, February 16th. The event, which will be held in the College of Business Auditorium (Rooms 107/208) during X-period (1:40 – 2:30 p.m.), is open to all majors on campus. Christina Copely, Director of IT Corporate Systems at Windstream Communications, will be the featured speaker. Christina is an IT Director at Windstream Communications, with over 15 years of work experience in various IT roles. She graduated from UCA in 2002 with a degree in MIS, and received a MBA with a concentration in Information Systems from UALR in 2004. Joining her is Ashley Nabholz French, Senior Recruiter – Corporate I Windstream. Refreshments will be served and door prizes will be awarded. All students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend.

You are invited to the UCA College of Business Davis Family Lecture, which is scheduled for February 11, 2016 during x-period (1:40 – 2:30pm) in COB 107.

​We are pleased to announce that the speaker this year is Marcy Doderer (CEO and President of Arkansas Children’s Hospital) and her talk will focus on the intersection of ​healthcare and business. Her talk is titled “The Business of Healthcare: What Makes it Special”. Ms. Doderer’s bio is available for viewing on the Davis Family Lecture page.

The lecture is sponsored by the Davis Family Lecture Series Endowment and is designed to feature prominent business leaders who have made a significant impact on ​their industry​​. Past speakers include the senior managing partner of Edward Jones (John Bachmann), the CEO and Founder of Maverick Transportation (Steve Williams), the CEO of America’s CarMart (Hank Henderson)​, and the CEO/President of First Security Bancorp (Reynie Rutledge)​.

Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) is hosting it’s first meeting this Thursday.
WHEN: this Thurs. Jan. 28 at x-period (2:40-3:30)
WHERE: COB room 311
WHAT: “Panel of Recent Graduates”:
Kyle Tabor, owner of Blue Sail Cafe
Katie Culpepper, Community Engagement Specialist
AETN; Joyti Lal from HP
Drew Spurgers, owner of Kangabloo Creative

We will also mention an upcoming meeting for those of you who might be interested in competing at the State Spring Leadership Conference.

A signup sheet will be provided. EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

The Business & Information Technology (BIT) Club is having its Spring Welcome Meeting and Kick-Off on Tuesday, January 26th. The event, which will be held in the College of Business Auditorium (Rooms 107/208) during X-period (1:40 – 2:30 p.m.), is open to all majors on campus. Brandon Carpenter, Director of Customer Services at Rock-Pond Solutions in Conway, will be the featured speaker. Through the use of reporting, dashboards, analytic cubes and data movement tools Rock-Pond simplifies complicated data sets to provide end users to get more value out of their data, consolidate multiple data points and align their organization. Brandon is a graduate of UCA and we are delighted to welcome him back to campus. Refreshments will be served and door prizes will be awarded. All students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend.

UCA Debate and Forensics will be holding a campus debate on Tuesday, November 17, at 6:00 in the College of Business Auditorium. The resolution for the evening will be “Concealed carry licensees should be allowed to carry on college campus.” Audience members will hear a robust debate on both sides of the issue. In addition, members of UCA Debate and Forensics will be joined by students from the Conway High School Forensics and Debate team.

On November 8-10, eight COB students participated in the ACTAA Arkansas Student Congress. In this competition, students take on the role of legislators as they debate and vote on bills proposed by the students. The UCA delegation took second place among all of the college delegations. The other delegations were from Hendrix, University of Arkansas–Fayetteville, University of Arkansas–Monticello, and Missouri State University–West Plains.

In addition, every member of the team earned at least one individual accolade. The students who participated (as well as the honors won) are as follows:

Dallas Forbes: elected Senate Clerk; excellent in caucus; superior in committee; superior in parliamentary procedure
Alyson Tyler: recognized as UCA’s best delegate; excellent in committee; excellent in floor debate; superior in caucus; superior in parliamentary procedure
Niki Taylor: superior in caucus; authored second best senate bill (A Bill Recommending to the U.S. Congress that Companies be Allowed to Claim Compensation of Interns as Charitable Donations)
Addison Meyer: excellent in caucus; excellent in committee; superior in parliamentary procedure
Sarah Gentry: excellent in caucus; excellent in committee
Sarah Hocott: excellent in caucus; excellent in committee
Kasie Follett: excellent in caucus
Jamie-Lynn Gills: superior in caucus

The Business & Information Technology (BIT) Club is having its last meeting of the fall semester on Thursday, November 12th.  The event, which will be held in the College of Business Auditorium (Rooms 107/208) during X-period (1:40 – 2:30 p.m.), is open to all majors on campus.  Jeff Hill, our newest faculty member in the MIS Department, will be the featured speaker.  Dr. Hill joined UCA this past summer after completing his doctorate in MIS at Kent State University in Ohio.  Refreshments will be served (PIZZA!) and door prizes will be awarded.  All students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend.