News

The UCA College of Business honored its top students from across its four departments and various programs April 4 in the McCastlain Ballroom.

Students were not only recognized for academic achievement but service as well. For photos from the night, click here. The winners were:

Service Awards
Accounting Club — Obed Onyemakonor
American Marketing Association — Payton Oehlschlager
Beta Alpha Psi — Kylie Garrett
BIT Club — Chandler Baker
Gamma Iota Sigma — Emily Humphrey
HR Club — Kaitlyn Reeves
Phi Beta Lambda — Emily Ketchum

Academic Awards
HoganTaylor Accounting Student of the Year — Kelsey Carter
Economics Student of the Year — Thomas Moore
First Arkansas Bank & Trust Finance Student of the Year — Siata Coulibaly
Conductor Innovation & Entrepreneurship Student of the Year — Druid Wen
Insurance & Risk Management Student of the Year — Emily Humphrey
Logistics & Supply Chain Management Student of the Year — Dusty Mikula
Marketing Student of the Year — Markus Schweikert
Management Student of the Year — Kaitlyn Reeves
Management Information Systems Student of the Year — Yung-Ming Kao
Acxiom Information Systems Student of the Year — Angel Breaux
General Business Student of the Year — Angela Brown
Master of Accountancy Student of the Year — Kylie Garrett
Master of Business Administration Student of the Year — Justin Criddle
College of Business Student of the Year — Kelsey Carter

How do businesses achieve diversity in business? Students from Biz@Bear in the UCA Business Residential College heard from professionals in higher education, accounting, insurance and finance on how corporations and industry achieve diversity of all kinds.

More than 50 female students from the UCA College of Business enjoyed lunch with business professionals from various companies, as well as a panel discussion on tips and advice for women in business.

The panel featured Christina Munoz Madsen, of Munoz Pugh; Mary Ward, of Acxiom; Lorrie Trogden, of Arkansas Bankers Association; Leanna Godley, of Goddess Products; and Krista Tapp and Amy Denton, of Pediatrics Plus.

With a global marketplace and operations that span every industry, C.H. Robinson requires employees who can think outside the box, adapt to changing landscapes and deliver world-class service to its clients. It has found a beneficial partner in the UCA College of Business and our graduates have found an employer who values them and enables them to grow in their careers.

The Business & Information Technology (BIT) Club is having its second meeting on Tuesday, April 9th.  It will be held in the College of Business Auditorium (Rooms 107/208) during X-period (1:40 – 2:30 p.m.) and is open to all majors on campus.  Justin Pham, a UCA graduate, will be our featured speaker from Acxiom.

We will also be having Officer elections, PIZZA, and door prizes. All students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend.

Zack King, vice president and corporate controller at USAT Capacity Solutions, will be the UCA College of Business’ Accounting Professional in Residence on March 28.

King will speak to four classes throughout the day, meet with faculty and present to the Accounting Club and Beta Alpha Psi. King is a graduate of the college’s undergraduate and master’s programs in accounting and is a member of the College of Business Advisory Board.

“Zack was an incredible student in the college,” said Stephanie Watson, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Accounting. “We are thrilled to have him back in the college to talk with our students. We know his experiences will translate well to them and help them chart the next steps in their education and career.”

King has been with USAT Capacity Solutions for more than four years, including more than two years as vice president and corporate controller. Prior to that, he was the assistant controller and corporate accounting manager. King has also worked as a senior financial analyst at ABB Ltd. and as an audit senior at Deloitte.

King earned his bachelor’s in accounting in 2009 and his master’s in 2010. He is a certified public accountant.

The Business & Information Technology (BIT) Club is having its second meeting on Tuesday, February 26th.  It will be held in the College of Business Auditorium (Rooms 107/208) during X-period (1:40 – 2:30 p.m.) and is open to all majors on campus.  Allison Nicholas and Jay Callaway, both with First Orion, will be our featured speakers.  First Orion is a leader in network enterprise solutions, call identification, and call management software, focusing on data-driven call transparency across the calling experience.  Allison and Jay are both UCA graduates and we are delighted to welcome them back to campus.  Refreshments will be served and door prizes will be awarded.  All students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend.

It excites Uyanga Tsogtbaatar to think about the impact her education could have on her home country of Mongolia.

Steady access to the country’s goods, services, businesses and health care does not extend far past the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. Much like in the United States, access wanes in rural areas.

This is where an expertise in supply chain management and logistics could help build a foundation of transportation and infrastructure to support the country’s rural population better. It’s the degree Uyanga earned December.

“I want to be a good citizen to my country,” she said. “I want to be an active part of improving its logistics and supply chain field and the infrastructure of my country.”

Logistics and supply chain management is a major Uyanga landed on after trying so many others to no avail. She came to Arkansas because of her extended family, an aunt and uncle and cousins who lived in Little Rock. It took several different majors and a transfer for her to land in the UCA College of Business and the Logistics and Supply Chain Management program.

After that, it didn’t take long for her to find her niche.

“I’m not someone who likes to stick to one thing or task,” she said. “In supply chain, it is a wide variety of responsibilities. It’s the reason I love it so much.”

One of the reasons she came to UCA was because of the on-campus atmosphere. Campus life was thriving at UCA with activities and student organizations. In the College of Business’ Logistics and Supply Chain Management program, she found faculty who supported her.

Whether it was Jim Dittrich, Scott Nadler, Ph..D., or Doug Voss, Ph.D., Uyanga said “they have all been so supportive of me and helpful.”

It was Voss who helped her obtain a $1,000 scholarship in her final semester from the Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA).

“My mom and dad both work and help me pay for school, and $1,000 is a lot of money in Mongolia,” said Uyanga. “I was so excited to receive that scholarship because it helped so much.”

A few months removed from graduation, Uyanga is focused on gaining a few years of experience in the industry before she returns to Mongolia. Her former professors, like Dittrich, think she’ll find success in whatever she pursues.

“She is the most driven student I have met at UCA,” said Dittrich. “I think she will be very successful at whatever she sets her mind to do.”

Vance Johnson Lewis, Ed.D., assistant professor of management in the University of Central Arkansas College of Business, has been appointed as ambassador to a division of the Academy of Management.

Lewis was one of eight to be named an ambassador to the Academy of Management’s Management Education and Development Division. He began his three-year term Jan. 15. In the role, Lewis will oversee development initiatives to promote and create robust international membership for the academy.

He recently completed a three-year term as an ambassador to the Academy of Management’s Organizational Behavior Division.

The Academy of Management is one of the premier professional associations for management and organization scholars. It was founded in 1936 and has more than 20,000 members across more than 120 countries. The academy houses several divisions and interest groups, including management education and development, entrepreneurship, consulting and organizational behavior.

Lewis came to the UCA College of Business in 2016. Prior, he was a clinical assistant professor at the University of Texas at Dallas, a lecturer at Oklahoma State University and an adjunct faculty member at the University of Central Oklahoma.

After earning his bachelor’s in management at UCA, Lewis earned his master’s in higher education leadership at the University of Arkansas and his doctorate in higher education at Oklahoma State University. He completed a post-doctoral certification in marketing and management at the University of Florida.

Lewis has been published in multiple peer-reviewed journals and has presented nationally. He is a member of the Academy of Management, Midwest Academy of Management and Society for Human Resources Management.

The UCA College of Business is the fastest-growing college at the University of Central Arkansas with more than 1,600 undergraduate and graduate students. It offers 13 baccalaureate degrees, two master’s and one graduate certificate across four academic departments and houses the state’s only insurance and risk management program. The UCA College of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Visit uca.edu/business for more.