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UCA Marketing Professor Publishes Business Research & Releases Nature Conservation Documentary

Dr. Benjamin Garner, Associate Professor in the UCA Department of Marketing & Management, has been busy this year as a professor, researcher, and a feature filmmaker. Find out more about his advice for students, his research published last fall, and his nature conservation documentary to be released in April 2024.

Why did you choose the subject you teach?
I enjoy marketing and sharing my passion for this area with students. I love doing research and film projects that allow me to meet people in the community and help solve real-world challenges.

What tips or advice would you give to new, current, or prospective business students?
One of the best pieces of advice I can give students is to be curious and learn as much as possible about different career fields to find the best fit for you. This includes job shadowing, interviewing potential employers, and doing internships.

[Read more…]

Posted in: COB News, Featured News, Marketing & Management, _Research on March 27, 2024 Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

COB Dean Hargis selected as new Provost and Executive Vice President at UCA

Michael B. Hargis, Ph.D.

The University of Central Arkansas has announced that Michael Hargis will be the next provost and executive vice president of Academic Affairs.

In this role, Hargis will preside over UCA’s five academic colleges — College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; College of Business, College of Education, College of Health and Behavioral Sciences and College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics — the Schedler Honors College, Graduate School and the broader academic division. He begins on July 1, 2024.

“I am thrilled and deeply honored to be selected to serve as the next provost and executive vice president at UCA. I look forward to the opportunity to collaborate with the dedicated faculty, staff, students, and executive team at UCA to advance our mission. I also want to thank the search committee and everyone who participated in the search process. The energy and excitement on the campus is palpable, and I am excited to get to work,” Hargis said.

Hargis earned a bachelor’s in psychology from Hendrix College. He earned a master’s and Doctor of Philosophy in industrial-organizational psychology from [Read more…]

Posted in: COB News, Featured News on March 15, 2024 Tagged: , , ,

Business Students & Alumni Share Why Day of Giving Matters

Current business students and alumni share how UCA’s Day of Giving contributes to scholarships and experiences that help them achieve goals.

[Read more…]

Posted in: Accounting, CISA, COB News, EFIRM, Featured News, Marketing & Management, _Scholarships on March 5, 2024 Tagged: , ,

AR Blue Cross Blue Shield Partners with UCA College of Business for Take Over Day

On Monday, March 4, 2024, business experts from Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield visited the College of Business for a “Take Over” Day! They spoke to students in every area of business to share their expertise and career opportunities available to students. In fact, Arkansas BCBS was recently named for the third consecutive year by Forbes magazine among America’s Best Employers for mid-sized organizations, which makes COB eve more thrilled to welcome this company to “Take Over” our college.

Several BCBS experts shared with our students about a wide range of business fields including accounting, marketing, human resources, finance, information systems, and more.

[Read more…]

Posted in: Accounting, CISA, COB News, EFIRM, Featured News, Marketing & Management, _Networking, _Speaker on March 4, 2024 Tagged: , , , , , ,

Insurance Industry Leader Turned Faculty Member Brings Experience to Classroom, Leads UCA Center for Insurance & Risk Management

Ivan Hudson, Director of the UCA Center for Insurance & Risk Management and Lecturer, joined the College of Business faculty in fall 2023. In this interview, he shares his insights about his first semester, his advice for students, and his vision for what’s ahead in 2024.

Give us some highlights of your experience in the business environment from before you joined the UCA College of Business Faculty.

I got my career start with the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce. In November of 2008 I went to work for the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation as Program Associate. At this time in 2008, two-thirds of Arkansas voted to pass the Lottery legislation. Fast Forward to October of 2009 when I joined the start-up management team at the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery. Over the three and a half year period that I was there, I served in a number of capacities, including Procurement Director and Internal Operations Director. I’ll completed my MBA while there, and when I finished my MBA program at UALR December 2012, I launched the Ivan Hudson Agency as my entry into the insurance industry. In March 2014, I secured my Series 6 and Series 63 designations to help set me apart in the industry.

Networking has always been important to me. My personal and professional mantra is “You can network or not work, but you can’t do both.” That really speaks to my core value of building relationships. Solid meaningful relationships, will take you places that even education and other resources can’t.

Career Facts about Director Hudson: [Read more…]

Posted in: COB News, EFIRM, Featured News, Gamma Iota Sigma, Insurance and Risk Management program on February 5, 2024 Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December ’23 Grad Claire Coon Reflects on Time at UCA, Looks Forward to Launching Full-Time Career in 2024

Claire Gunter Coon

Major: Logistics & Supply Chain Management, Minor: Economics
Graduated December 2023

Activities:
• COB Student Ambassador, 2 years
• President of BASCOM – Bears Advancing Supply Chain & Operations Management
• Peer Notetaker with the Disability Resource Center
• Rising Star Faculty-Student Mentor Program
• ACRE reading group for 2 semesters
• ACRE Undergraduate Research Fellow 2023
• 8 month operations internship

Why did you choose your major?
My initial attraction to the business world was and still is the direct, real world applications of the field. From my first two classes in business, microeconomics and the global environment of business, I was able to take things out of class and straight away use them to better understand everyday events in my life. [Read more…]

Posted in: COB News, Featured News, Marketing & Management on January 3, 2024 Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Accounting Professor Dr. Ryan Cating Impacts Through Teaching and Research

In this interview, Dr. Ryan Cating, the UCA Assistant Professor of Accounting known for his love of bow ties, shares why he chose to teach accounting for his life’s work and his research on the effects of local newspapers on firms’ information environments.

Why did you choose the subject you teach?
I grew up in a family of CPAs as my father and two uncles all worked as accountants at one time or another. Being surrounded by conversation that centered on different types of businesses intrigued me and led me to the college of business. Initially not wanting to follow in my family’s footsteps, I began my academic career studying finance. However, I realized that I wanted a deeper understanding of the source material that I was employing to evaluate the performance and valuation of companies. I switched my major to accounting and have never looked back. [Read more…]

Posted in: Accounting, COB News, Featured News, _Research on December 19, 2023 Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Student Spotlight: Matt Moix

Matt Moix, Junior
Major: Logistics & Supply Chain Management (LSCM)
Minor: Honors Interdisciplinary Studies

Involved on campus:
Student Orientation Staff (SOS)
Student Government Association – COB Rep.
COB Student Ambassador
UCA Relay for Life
Bears Advancing Supply Chain and Operations Management (BASCOM)

Why did you choose your major?
I chose LSCM because I love problem-solving and efficiency. These are both important in LSCM, and the supply chain as a whole is an exciting concept to me. I enjoy the process of moving goods in all phases, and I’d like to help manage a supply chain as a career.

What do you want to do after graduation?
I plan to use my degree to go on and become a supply chain manager, [Read more…]

Posted in: COB News, Featured News, Marketing & Management, _Internships and Part-time, _RSOs, _Volunteer on December 12, 2023

UCA Insurance Program Awarded Grant from Spencer Educational Foundation

The University of Central Arkansas Insurance and Risk Management program has been awarded a grant from the Spencer Educational Foundation, supporting a key Experiential Learning opportunity for students.

The funds were given to support the 2024 Risk Manager on Campus. For this event, a Risk Management and Insurance Professional is brought to the UCA College of Business for class visits, campus-wide lectures, panel discussions, meetings with student organizations such as Gamma Iota Sigma, and meals with faculty and other IRM community professionals. This is a valuable opportunity to allow students to network and learn from the visiting Risk Manager.

For 24 years, Spencer’s Risk Manager on Campus (RMOC) Program has offered this rewarding educational experience for students and a chance to give back to the profession. Spencer’s Risk Manager on Campus program offers grants to universities and colleges in the United States and Canada to host a practicing Risk Manager on its campus for a 1–3-day residency.

The Spencer Foundation has supported the Risk Manager on Campus program for years, most recently bringing Bailey Pipkin in 2023 and Mr. Lance Ewing in 2022.

Posted in: COB News, EFIRM, Featured News, Gamma Iota Sigma, grant, Insurance and Risk Management program, Risk Manager on Campus, Spencer Educational Foundation, _Grants on November 28, 2023

Marketing Students Learn & Serve Community During Project for Arkansas PBS

Marketing Professor Dr. Benjamin Garner‘s Advanced Selling class recently participated in a service-learning project that required students to practice their cold-calling skills for Arkansas PBS. [Read more…]

Posted in: COB News, Featured News, Marketing & Management, _Service Learning, _Volunteer on November 27, 2023 Tagged: , , ,