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.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Doug Voss on his recent success.  As many of you know, Dr. Voss has worked to develop close partnerships with the logistics and supply chain industry in our region.  As a direct result of Dr. Voss’ time, effort, and expertise, the Arkansas Commercial Truck Safety and Education Program has awarded $3 million to the University of Central Arkansas College of Business.  These funds will be used to endow a chaired faculty position and to support and expand the Supply Chain Management and Logistics program in the Marketing and Management Department.  In addition, Dr. Voss was recently appointed to the Arkansas Trucking Association Board of Directors.  He is the only academic that serves on this influential board.

Additional information regarding these accomplishments can be found at the following links:

http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/105622/uca-receives-3-million-award-for-college-of-business

http://www.arkansasmatters.com/story/d/story/uca-awarded-3-million-from-ar-commercial-truck-saf/95316/p1jQWAAGEE2iXWami-e1eA

https://uca.edu/news/uca-receives-3m-endowment/

https://uca.edu/news/professor-joins-arkansas-trucking-association-board-of-directors/

Please congratulate Dr. Voss the next time you see him.

On Wednesday, April 22, 2015, the University of Central Arkansas chapter of Beta Alpha Psi hosted a Member Initiation and Bowling Charity Fundraiser.  We had approximately fifty accounting professionals, students, and faculty come together to congratulate our new members, network, and raise money for ten local charities.

Bowling teams, comprised of representatives from ten accounting firms and students, raised money this semester by soliciting donations, classroom fundraisers, and other great events. This money went directly to each team’s charity of choice.  On the night of the event, the teams competed in a bowling tournament for the chance to give their charity an additional $1000, which was donated by the ten accounting firms.

A total of $3,375.91 was raised at this inaugural event. The results of our fundraising efforts are as follows:

• $1,432.53 to Make-A-Wish Mid-South sponsored by Hudson Cisne & Company
  (WINNER of the Bowling Event!!!)
• $278.80 to ACCESS Schools sponsored by JPMS Cox
• $182.53 to Arkansas Children’s Hospital sponsored by Erwin & Company
• $436.52 to Bethlehem House sponsored by Frost
• $268.63 to Camp Aldersgate sponsored by Beall Barclay
• $61.58 to Conway Cradle Care sponsored by Deloitte
• $132.53 to Easter Seals of Arkansas sponsored by BKD
• $132.53 to Junior Achievement of Arkansas – Central AR Region sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers
• $287.73 to Ronald McDonald House sponsored by Thomas & Thomas
• $162.53 to Salvation Army – Central Arkansas sponsored by Bell & Company

We would like to thank everyone who participated in the event. Because of your efforts, the evening was a huge success.  We would like to give special thanks to:

• The Millennium Bowl in Maumelle
• Mr. Robby Burton, UCA Art Department Lab Technician.  Robby gave a considerable amount of time designing and painting our bowling pin trophies.  He painted the pins purple and grey in honor of our university. They were a highlight of the evening.
• MP Consulting, who gave a significant and largest monetary donation.
• Dean Michael Hargis and Associate Dean Ken Griffin.  We appreciate their support of our Beta Alpha Psi chapter throughout the year.

If you are interested in more information, please contact Beta Alpha Psi faculty advisors Dr. Connie McKnight (501.450.5313; cmcknight@uca.edu) or Dr. Stephanie Watson (501.450.5317; swatson@uca.edu).

Every year, three College of Business (COB) faculty members are given an award in three areas: Teaching, Research, and Service. This yea’rs recipients are:

Teaching

There are two items that stand out when looking at Summer’s teaching evaluations:

1. Instructor was well organized and prepared
2. Students learned a lot

Both were ranked BEST in the COB! In fact, a total of nine items were  ranked best in COB by the students.

Summer’s teaching included innovation efforts in all her classes in order to engage the students in learning the content and to improve their critical thinking skills so that they would be impactful during and after their time at UCA.
Summer also teaches junior and senior high school students during the summer at the Acxiom/UCA IT camp. These students have also reported that she is effective and highly respected.

Research

Doug has several research irons in the fire:

1. 7 grants awarded with 1 pending
2. 20 peer reviewed articles with over 70% in A tier journals
3. 8 editorial reviewed articles
4. 3 book chapters
5. On the editorial/advisory board of four journals:
   Journal of Business Logistics
   International Journal of Logistics Management
   International Journal of Distribution & Logistics Management
   Journal of Supply Chain Management

Service

In the past 5 years, Stephanie has been involved in:

1. 33 Local Community Activities
2. Accounting Community Activities
3. Accounting Professional Activities

Stephanie averages 27 service activities per year for each of the past 5 years. Her service has included organizations such as Bethlehem House, Conway Cradle Care, Conway Women’s Shelter, Beta Alpha Psi, and dozens of other activities.

MIS students with a Business Analysis concentration are required to take a course in Project Management. As part of that class they choose teams and small UCA centric project. This year two of the projects were (Smiley, Jones & Sarsekeyev) educating students on the life long benefits of healthy eating and (Novarese, Davis and Ferguson) educating students on recycling IT products. Here are some of the photos from their events.

 
Smiley, Jones & Sarsekeyev

 
Novarese, Davis & Ferguson

The Business & Information Technology (BIT) Club is having its last meeting of the school year on Tuesday, April 14th. 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. Mr. Justin Duellman, Senior process engineer at Kimberly-Clark in Maumelle, will be our featured speaker. Mr. Duellman is an expert in Lean Manufacturing, and the KC plant in Maumelle is a model for Lean in the company’s worldwide operations. We will conduct Officer Elections for next year as well as discuss our upcoming field trip to the Acxiom Data Center in Conway on Tuesday, April 21st. Refreshments will be served (PIZZA!) and door prizes will be awarded. All students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend.

Davis Lecture – Guest Speaker – Reynie Rutledge

When: April 7, 2015, 1:40-2:30 pm
Where: COB Auditorium (COB 107)

Reynie Rutledge is the Chairman of First Security Bancorp, a financial services holding company headquartered in Searcy, Arkansas. With over 39 years of experience in banking Reynie has been involved with all aspects of finance and management while leading First Security Bancorp to become the 5th largest bank holding company based in Arkansas with over $4.7 billion in assets and 74 locations throughout the state. First Security Bancorp consists of First Security Bank, First Security Crews & Associates investment banking firm, and First Security Public Finance.

For more information, click here.

Thirteen students recently attended the 2015 Beta Alpha Psi Southwest Regional Conference in Dallas, Texas. The regional conference includes a Best Practices competition in three areas. The students won first place in the Best Practices in Effective Operations and third place in the Best Practices in Financial Literacy categories. Click the link below to read more!

https://uca.edu/news/accounting-students-win-top-honors/

The Business & Information Technology (BIT) Club is having its third meeting on Tuesday, March 10th.  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.  Phi Beta Lambda is co-hosting the event.  Ms. Charlotte Strickland, UCA Professional Development & Training Coordinator, will be the featured speaker.  Charlotte is a UCA alumna (BBA ’81) and honored to contribute to the work on UCA’s campus.  The Professional Development & Training Coordinator position was created in 2004 to coordinate campus-wide training for all campus populations.  She will be speaking on the topic of Diversity.  Door prizes will be awarded.  All students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend.

The Business & Information Technology (BIT) Club is having its second meeting on Tuesday, February 17th. 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. Mr. Andrew Johncox, Attorney at Law, will be the featured speaker. Andrew is 2011 graduate of the UCA College of Business and is a former BIT Club Officer. Refreshments will be served and door prizes will be awarded. All students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend.