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Students Bo Cunningham & Ally Loter Win Governor’s Cup, Team Led by I&E Prof. Duggins

Yesterday, business students Bo Cunningham and Ally Loter, led by faculty sponsor Dr. Ron Duggins, claimed first place in the Small Business Competition at the Arkansas Governor’s Cup in Little Rock. As part of their win, they earned a ten thousand dollar prize. The team represents only the third all-UCA finalists in the competition’s nearly 25-year history.

pictured: I&E Professor Dr. Ron Duggins, Ally Loter, Bo Cunningham, and Dr. Tracy Suter, UCA Chair of Marketing & Management

“The Arkansas Governor’s Cup was a phenomenal way to speak with other likeminded, entrepreneurial spirited people while being able to take a deep dive into my business by developing both a 10+ page business plan and a pitch. We also were able to receive great feedback from a wonderful panel of judges,” Cunningham stated. “It was so encouraging to see this many people come together, in the name of entrepreneurship, in our great state of Arkansas!”

Loter echoed that she enjoyed seeing so many other entrepreneurial students from Arkansas and surrounding states. She added, “it was empowering to see how devoted many major Arkansas businesses and business leaders are to providing both financially and physically to helping make this event happen.”

The small business that Cunningham and Loter presented at the competition involves Arkansas REM (Arkansas Real Estate Media, LLC), which performs real estate photography, videography, and drone work in both Central and Northwest Arkansas.

Proud of his students’ win, Duggins said, “this competition brings together in a real world event all of the thinking and doing skills that are taught in UCA’s Entrepreneurship major and minor. Beginning with creative thinking and ending with a real business plan and professional pitch, Ally and Bo have exemplified how our students are equipped to move into a startup of their own or take their entrepreneurship skills into an existing business.” In addition to sponsoring this team, Dr. Duggins is an Associate Professor of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (I&E) in the UCA College of Business and teaches New Venture Creation and Small Business Management, among other courses.

Arkansas Capital launched the Governor’s Cup over two decades ago to encourage college students to be innovative and think like entrepreneurs. As part of the rigorous competition, students are immersed into what it takes to launch a startup from the ground up, and they get feedback from judges who are successful entrepreneurs, small business owners, and current or former large corporation executives.

Dr. Tracy Suter, Chair of the UCA Marketing and Management Department and Marketing Professor, was also present to celebrate the team’s award. “The Arkansas Governor’s Cup, like entrepreneurial endeavors themselves, changed and evolved this year.  Student teams from border states were welcomed with both Oklahoma and Mississippi teams present.  Student teams from two-year institutions were also welcomed so the competition was tougher than ever,” said Suter. “Even so, Bo and Ally represented Arkansas REM and UCA very well as evidenced by winning the small business category.  We are happy for these risk-takers and change-makers.  We know that their fellow UCA Innovation and Entrepreneurship students were fully behind them.”

Keep a lookout for these movers and shakers who are making an impact in our state even before graduation. We can’t wait to see what they do next.

Posted in: COB News, Featured News, Marketing & Management, _Competition on April 18, 2024 Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

COB Students Earn Awards at Arkansas Student Congress

On November 12-14, three COB students participated at Arkansas Student Congress, sponsored by the Arkansas Communication and Theater Arts Association. Because this is an activity that involves policymaking, Dr. Anthony McMullen, Associate Professor of Business Law and sponsor of the debate team, encourages business students to participate.

Dr. Anthony McMullen in shown is the photo along with the participating students:

Karlie Holland (front left): Received an award for excellent in caucus and was recognized as the best delegate for UCA. In addition, her bill, short titled: “A bill recommending to the Arkansas General Assembly to require sex education be required in secondary education systems,” received an award for best bill in the Senate. It passed the Senate, but unfortunately did not pass in the House.

Michael Isaac (back center): Received an award for excellent in caucus and excellent in committee.

Rebecca Pool (front right): Her bill, short titled: “A bill recommending to the U.S. Congress that protects consumers in all states from purchasing previously totaled vehicles from flooding with washed titles,” received an award for third best bill in the Senate. In addition, it passed both houses, making it a Law of Congress. In addition, it has received attention from the Arkansas Times.

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Posted in: COB News, Featured News, _Awards, _Competition, _RSOs on November 17, 2023 Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

CISA Lecturer Susan Shaw Offers Data Project Course in Spring 2024, Plans to Take Students to Competition Again

Award-winning CISA Lecturer Susan Shaw has led the annual IT Careers Camp for years, but last spring, she began a new course that brought students to the Business Analytics Competition at Manhattan College in New York City. Known for her excellence in teaching and service, Shaw shares here why she chose to teach and her tips for new, current, or prospective business students.

NOTE: If you’re interested in joining the project mentioned below in spring 2024, ask your advisor about the CISA 4V71 Project Course. You can also talk with Lecturer Shaw. Registration for spring 2024 begins at the end of October.

Why did you choose to teach Computer Information Systems & Analytics?
CISA was just the perfect fit for me! Looking back over my years of experience in the industry and academia, I realized that every aspect of my professional career had been centered around computers and data. When I began teaching in the CISA department, I felt like I was able to blend the two in order to give students first-hand experience that they can relate to in the classroom.

What about your job brings you the most joy?
I absolutely love working with students! I made the transition into teaching because I loved teaching others. My hope is that in some small way, I can motivate students and help them determine what career path they were meant to be on!

What tips or advice would you give to new, current, or prospective business students?
My advice to students is to choose a major and focus on the area best suited to their interests. By choosing a major, you increase your employer hireability and your income potential!

Tell us about the Business Analytics Competition at Manhattan College.
In the spring semester of 2023, seven students participated in a project course to prepare for the Business Analytics Competition at Manhattan College, May 22-24, 2023. This was the first year that UCA attended the competition. The students signed up for the project course and competition, not knowing exactly what would be involved. They were divided into two teams to complete the projects; within the teams, they selected their roles (Project Manager, Research Manager(s), and Data Visualization Manager). Students received the competition dataset on February 1.

For Phase I of the competition, students were asked to complete a series of tasks: they identified the problem, collected and prepped data, developed a model, and answered research questions related to their data and models. They then created a poster that presented their team’s ideas, methodology, and conclusions based on the data analysis. The poster was submitted on May 1.

The students traveled to Manhattan College, where they presented their posters to industry professionals and professors from 23 schools. During Phase II of the competition, the students were given a new dataset and asked to find a similarity to the first dataset and create a presentation within a matter of hours. While we did not receive any awards, the students did an outstanding job on their projects and represented UCA and the College of Business extremely well! This was a great experiential learning opportunity for the students!

CISA Lecturer I Susan Shaw has earned awards in excellence in service (2022) and excellence in teaching (2023). If you want to catch her in the classroom, plan to take one of her courses next spring: Business Computing, Advanced Spreadsheet Applications, or the CISA 4V71 Project Course that will take students to a case competition.

You may also catch her at the annual IT Careers Camp next summer held for high school students to get hands-on experience with life on campus, activities in the MakerSpace and with making robots, as well as mentorship from IT professors and professionals.

Posted in: CISA, COB News, Featured News, _Competition on October 6, 2023

Innovation Challenge 2 Winners Announced

Congratulations to our Imagine Lab Innovation Challenge 2 winners: Savannah Conly, Grayson Pinson, and Veronica Bertolusso!

The competition launched early this fall, and this time students were challenged to select a day in September and tell us how to celebrate it in a big way. Using tools found in the Imagine Lab (3rd Floor of UCA’s College of Business), the competition winners designed a big-time celebration that, at the least, brings people together.

Many thanks to Stoby’s, a long-time Arkansas favorite, for contributing to our prizes for our first place winners!

See Related Article: Innovation Challenge Series at UCA: First Winners Announced!

First Place: Savannah Conly – ($100 value prize) + Stoby’s prize

Cinema day is a day all about relaxation, connecting with your friends and family, and having fun. By making this a National Holiday, it brings people together and allows them to enjoy something together. It caters to all ages, it brings people together, and creates a new market for a different spin on gift giving.

Second Place: Grayson Pinson ($50 value prize)

The Birth Day is a day where we recognize everyone’s birthday on one day. It doesn’t replace your actual birthday; instead, it is a day that we can all come together to commonly celebrate one day that we all love. It solves all gift-giving problems related to birthdays. We now have one centralized day that gifts can be expected rather than having to decide who you will gift a gift to on their actual birthday. It is a day I would personally also love to celebrate- it sounds very fun for everyone to have a birthday at the same time.

Third Place: Veronica Bertolusso ($25 value prize)

My proposed day of celebration is the International Student Day! It would be celebrated yearly on September 28. ISD will allow international students (and not!) to get together and appreciate all cultures from around the globe. During ISD international students will celebrated together throughout one big cookout where everyone will make their most loved Home meal and will later be followed by a karaoke night with song in each home language. ISD is celebrated during the first two weeks of Hispanic Heritage Month. However, many cultures not only aren’t celebrated well enough, but some of them are still unknown! ISD would help solve this issue and expand cultural knowledge to international students and not! And who doesn’t love a good cookout and karaoke night!

Congratulations to these winners. Stay tuned for the announcement of our next challenge on Monday, October 10!

Posted in: Accounting, CISA, COB News, EFIRM, Marketing & Management, _All Opportunities, _Competition on October 7, 2022 Tagged: , , , ,

Innovation Challenge Series at UCA: First Winners Announced!

See related post: Innovation Challenge Series Released at UCA

The first two winners of our new and exciting innovation challenge are Connor Tuttle and Savannah Conly! The competition launched in the COB Imagine Lab last week challenging students to design a suitcase that accommodates clean clothes at the beginning of a trip and dirty clothes during and at the end of a trip. Using tools found in the Imagine Lab (3rd Floor of UCA’s College of Business), the competition winners designed a suitcase that overcomes this core challenge.

Best-upgraded design – $100 value prize: Connor Tuttle

Many thanks to Stoby’s, a long-time Arkansas favorite, for contributing to our prizes for our first place winners!

In his submission, Connor said:
“Imagine a for-the-most-part normal ole’ suitcase, with a golden twist addressing an issue that has been around for decades! The fundamental design premise behind this suitcase is that down the middle of the main compartment there is a stretchy nylon divider that allows for different proportions of clothes to be held on either side depending on how far along you are on your trip! The front-facing section of the suitcase has the typical small, medium, and large compartment. The back, however, is also accessible for dealing with dirty laundry. Taking up approximately half of the top portion of the back-facing side will be a zipper compartment housing all of the tools necessary to temporarily deal with dirty laundry while on the go. Within the flap in the back, there is a mesh-like pocket to slide dryer sheets that have been folded twice right into the space to serve as a form of temporary air freshening.”

Second Place Design – $50 value prize: Savannah Conly

Savannah branded her suitcase and described her design as, “a suitcase designed to help keep you organized, from the beginning to end of a trip. With the detachable laundry bag, clothes rack, and hard shell, it is easier than ever to Rome more organized than ever before. Not only does it offer a way to keep your clean and dirty clothes separate, it offers an at-home closet feel, and you lose no space to pack.“

Stay tuned. The first challenge was for students, but we will be engaging other friends on and off campus this semester. Get ready to compete! Teams are welcome. Email for questions or details. And if you plan to compete in the next challenge, request access to the Imagine Lab now!

Department of Marketing & Management: mktgmgmt@uca.edu

Posted in: Accounting, CISA, COB News, EFIRM, Marketing & Management, _All Opportunities, _Competition on September 21, 2022 Tagged: , , , , ,

UCA’s Beta Alpha Psi Chapter Wins First Place in International Competition

Pictured (R to L): Kaidan Zheng, Tristen Porter, and Harris Felton

UCA students traveled to Orlando, Florida during the last week of July 2022 for the Beta Alpha Psi annual meeting of all chapters.

Before the meeting started, the students enjoyed an Arkansas BAP Connection breakfast sponsored by the Arkansas Society of CPAs. During the meeting, the students networked, provided community service, attended professional development meetings, and participated in multiple competitions.

After their regional win earlier this year, the Chapter qualified to compete at the conference and brought home the INTERNATIONAL FIRST PLACE award in Best Practices in the Art of Engagement for the Resume Escape Room they hosted for students last spring. This is UCA’s 3rd international first place in Beta Alpha Psi Best Practices. Congratulations to students Harris Felton, Tristen Porter, and Kaidan Zheng for their excellent work!

Additional UCA Recognition at the Annual Meeting:

  • Beta Alpha Psi recognized UCA as a superior chapter.
  • Daniel Wheeler competed in Project Run With It, a real-world consulting project.
  • Dean Michael Hargis received the Outstanding Dean Award.
  • Dr. Connie McKnight became a Chapter Advocate for the Southwest Region.

The students also took advantage of their time in Orlando to have some fun!

Beta Alpha Psi is an honor organization for financial information students and professionals with over 300 chapters internationally. The organization promotes academic excellence, professional development, and responsible practices.

Posted in: Accounting, COB News, _Awards, _Competition, _Networking, _RSOs on August 5, 2022 Tagged: , , ,

COB Beta Alpha Psi Chapter Places First and Second at Regional Conference Competitions

UCA’s Theta Lambda Chapter of Beta Alpha Psi earned a first place win at the 2022 regional conference in the category of Best Practices in the Art of Engagement. Several members worked to create an escape room with a resume theme and offered the escape to teams of students. Harris Felton and Tristen Porter presented the project for the virtual competition. Because of the first place regional win, the Theta Lambda Chapter will compete against the other regional winners in Orlando this summer.

UCA students also earned a 2nd Place regional win for Best Practices in the Art of Change. Chapter members Claire DeBusk, Yulia Lyubchenko, and Kaidan Zheng shared how the Theta Lambda Chapter changed in the face of covid and the increased demands of members.  [Read more…]

Posted in: COB News, _Awards, _Competition, _RSOs on April 13, 2022 Tagged: , , ,

COB Faculty & Students Present Papers at International Academy of Business Disciplines Conference

Several UCA business faculty and students presented papers at the International Academy of Business Disciplines (IABD) 2022 Virtual Conference on April 7-8.

The following UCA faculty served as Track/Session Chairs:

On Thursday, April 7, the following faculty and students presented papers:

On Friday, April 8, the following faculty and students presented their papers:

  • “Covid-19, Vaccine and Brazilian E-Payment Adoption Behavior” – Dr. Alexander Chen, Dr. David McCalman (Associate Professor of Management), Matheus Tupinambe August de Brito (COB undergraduate student)
  • “Covid-19, Vaccine and Mexican E-Payment Adoption Behavior” – Dr. Alexander Chen, Adrian Juarez Castellanos (undergrad student), Tracy Suter (Chair of Marketing and Management, Associate Professor of Marketing)
Posted in: COB News, _Competition, _Research on April 13, 2022 Tagged: , , ,