The Fox School of Business and the School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management (STHM) honored faculty and staff members at the second-annual IMPACT Awards ceremony, held in Alter Hall May 8, 2018.
The IMPACT Awards celebrate Fox and STHM faculty and staff for their ability to collaborate effectively as groups to deliver impactful service, teaching, and research contributions.
“As our two schools continue to grow, it is increasingly more important to identify opportunities where our faculty, staff, and leaders can collaborate cross-functionally to achieve truly special outcomes,” says Dean M. Moshe Porat. “In essence, that is the function of the IMPACT Awards, and this year’s honorees met these criteria.”
Applying a peer-review approach, the IMPACT Awards call upon the Fox and STHM communities for review and evaluations of all nominees. Prizes included glass trophies, customized merchandise to commemorate the achievement, a special group experience, and financial rewards. This year, 16 groups representing the accomplishments of 70 faculty and 86 staff members earned nominations.
The winners were: The Fox Global Immersion program, the Temple University Entrepreneurship Academy (TUEA), and the Fox Center for Undergraduate Advising. Here is more on each of these exceptional groups and their achievements:
GLOBAL IMMERSION PROGRAM
Global immersions are short study trips embedded into an international business-oriented course that allow students a chance to experience global business in person rather than simply learning about it in the classroom. These Immersions expose students to the environment of business by taking them to targeted destinations that offer a robust and profound practical experience. Students engage in a number of learning opportunities, including meeting with business executives, touring factories, interacting with government officials and learning about the business environment from locals. After an immersion, students return to their coursework with a unique international perspective. The experience also allows students to develop valuable job skills—such as cultural understanding, tolerance for ambiguity, respect for diversity, adaptability, and self-confidence. Perhaps even more important, students learn about themselves—their values and ideals, limits and aspirations. This heightened self-awareness can unlock passion and creativity, inspiring a more independent, self-reliant, and self-confident student.
Representatives of the Global Immersion program include: Jeffrey Conradi, Kevin Fandl, Christine Kiely, Amy Kumpf, Lauren Letko, and Phyllis Tutora.
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACADEMY
The Temple University Entrepreneurship Academy (TUEA), embedded within Temple’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute, formed in 2015 as an initiative created in partnership with the President’s office as one of Temple University’s Six Pillars of Success. TUEA has now reached more than 2,000 students campus-wide, implemented more than a dozen programs covering entrepreneurship topics, and has awarded 12 Conwell Fellowships to faculty who are champions of entrepreneurship. TUEA has leveraged partnerships with the Intellectual Heritage GenEd program and the College of Engineering, creating customized programming for each that has led to outreach to more than 700 students. Additionally, TUEA has supported the Tyler School of Art in launching a BFA with Entrepreneurial Studies, giving Tyler students the opportunity to complement their degrees with an entrepreneurial skillset to widen their career options. TUEA has been integral to spreading the entrepreneurial spirit across campus and creating a culture in which Temple University students are empowered to be creative thinkers, problem solvers, and seekers of success.
Representatives of the Temple University Entrepreneurship Academy include: Lindsay Clark, Alan Kerzner, Robert McNamee, Erin McShea, and Ellen Weber.
CENTER FOR UNDERGRADUATE ADVISING
The Fox Center for Undergraduate Advising represents the gold standard for advising at Temple. Servicing almost 8,000 undergraduate students, Fox advisors represent both the front end of students’ introductions and orientations to campus, and the culmination of their academic experiences and clearance for graduation. Students work collaboratively with advisors to develop individual plans for academic success, fully utilize campus resources, and engage in the process of reflection/decision making promoting long-term achievement. Departments work collaboratively with advising to promote new initiatives and programs, establish trends within their major, manage registration into required classes, and increase enrollment.
Following the transition to a developmental advising structure in 2013, with targeted services based on academic standing, the office has maintained consistent high marks on Senior Satisfaction Ratings of ‘Ease of Access’ and ‘Quality of Service’. Retention results for the Fox School, now at 95 percent, consistently exceed all other programs on campus, garnering recent high praise from the Provost’s Office.
Representatives of the Fox School’s Center for Undergraduate Advising include: Harriet Butterfield, Jan Cleaver, Camille Fallon, Gavin Farber, Chuck Foster, Jake Hershman, Lisa Hodge, Jeff Hofer, Shelley Hunter, Amanda Jaxheimer, Ross Markman, Dina Maslennikova, Carli Metzler, Lauren O’Brien, Elvita Quinones, Joy Stroman, Natalie Vohra, and Julian White.
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The Fox School of Business at Temple University will introduce new academic programs for the 2016-17 academic year.
A Bachelor of Science program in Statistical Science and Data Analytics headlines the new offerings by the Fox School, and joins two undergraduate minors in Leadership and International Business Administration.
At the graduate level, students can elect for MBA concentrations in either Business Analytics or Enterprise Risk Management. In Fall 2016, Fox also will launch a Master of Science degree program in Business Analytics.
“The addition of new programs and concentrations demonstrate our reputation as one of the nation’s most-comprehensive business schools,” said Dr. M. Moshe Porat, Dean of the Fox School of Business. “Employers and industry partners agree that these areas represent emerging fields and areas of study wherein professionals and leaders are in great demand, and we have the diverse, renowned faculty to answer the call of industry and these support programs.”
The undergraduate major in Statistical Science and Data Analysis will provide students with the ability to select, utilize and apply quantitative reasoning and data analytic skills to their future fields of study, according to program director Dr. Alexandra Carides, Associate Professor of Statistical Science.
The minor in International Business Administration incorporates the nationally ranked curriculum of Fox’s undergraduate-degree program in International Business. The minor requires only four courses and four prerequisites, delivering the cornerstones of international business education while offering students the opportunity to complete a study-abroad trip in the process.
The minor in Leadership cultivates stronger interpersonal skills for effective management and leadership positions. With courses focusing on workplace demands for leadership from both the organizational and interpersonal points of view, the minor allows students to move beyond technical competence as they step into leadership roles in industry.
The MBA concentration in Business Analytics is designed to enable graduate students to use data and models to recognize opportunities and to improve organizational decision-making. “Data-driven decision-making has been shown to have large positive effects on outcomes of interest to organizations of all types,” said Assistant Professor of Marketing and Supply Chain Management Dr. Eric Eisenstein, the concentration’s director. “Business Analytics concentrators will meet the growing demand for talent in the areas of managing, analyzing, predicting, and discovering insights from the complex data that is available to modern corporations.”
The MBA concentration in Enterprise Risk Management, offered by one of the most-prestigious Risk Management programs in the nation, will prepare MBA students to design and implement state-of-the-art processes that enhance and improve organizational strategic decision-making, how it manages risk across the enterprise, as well as improving traditional risk mitigation decisions. “This concentration will provide MBA candidates with the concepts and tools to develop advanced organizational risk management capabilities and pursue executive responsibility for managing enterprise-wide risks,” said Assistant Professor of Risk, Insurance, and Healthcare Management Dr. M. Michael Zuckerman, the concentration’s director.
All eligibility and declaration questions regarding the new undergraduate major and minors should be referred to Fox’s Center for Undergraduate Advising. Graduate students are encouraged to speak with their program advisors for more details about new curricula.
The Fox School of Business at Temple University will introduce two new undergraduate majors for the 2015-16 academic year: Supply Chain Management and Financial Planning.
In all, the Fox School offers students a choice of 15 undergraduate majors.
“The additions of Supply Chain Management and Financial Planning as majors further bolster the Fox School’s reputation as not only the most comprehensive business school in the Philadelphia region, but one of the most comprehensive in the nation,” said Dr. M. Moshe Porat, Dean of the Fox School of Business. “Employers and industry partners agree that these concentrations are regarded as emerging fields wherein professionals are in great demand, and Fox has the renowned faculty to support such programs.”
The new majors are available to all students. Students entering their junior and senior years can declare for either of the majors and still remain on four-year academic plans. Interested juniors and seniors are encouraged to meet with a Fox School advisor to discuss their academic options.
The Supply Chain Management major will prepare students to operate and lead major aspects of the supply system in both established and start-up firms. Fox’s Marketing and Supply Chain Management department will oversee the program, which will ready students for careers in the interconnected chain of suppliers, manufacturers, warehouses and distribution centers, transportation-providers, retailers.
“Businesses today operate on a global scale,” said Dr. Neha Mittal, Assistant Professor and Academic Director of the undergraduate Supply Chain Management program. “For example, it’s very common for a company to have its sourcing in South America, manufacturing in China, and sales of its products to markets in Europe or North America. We’re talking about huge, complex supply chains here, which have fueled the need for supply chain management professionals to manage the flows between the different parties.”
The Financial Planning major will prepare students for careers in the growing field bearing the same name, which takes a holistic approach to working with clients in order to enable them to identify and attain lifestyle and retirement goals. Students who complete the Financial Planning curriculum are eligible to sit for the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) examination upon graduation – a unique feature of the program.
Fox’s Finance department will oversee the program, and will draw upon the expertise of faculty in Fox’s Legal Studies and Risk, Insurance and Healthcare Management departments, as well, said Cynthia Axelrod, Assistant Professor and Financial Planning Program Director.
“Within the next 20 years, 10,000 baby boomers will retire every day. This will produce a tremendous intergenerational wealth transfer, for which there won’t be nearly enough advisors to take on the burgeoning growth of clients and client assets,” Axelrod said.
“Further, retirement planning now resides with employees, not employers. Individuals need help with retirement planning and investments. A financial planner brings objectivity to the process, and helps their client to develop a successful roadmap to attain their financial goals. A career in financial planning is very rewarding, allowing an individual to combine their investment skills and people skills, with excellent economic potential. All of this will lead to strong prospects for our students majoring in Financial Planning.”