|
Points of Pride
Professor retires after 37 years
Business Information Systems Professor Dale D. Gust, Ph.D., who started at CMU in 1970, is retiring after the fall 2007 semester.
He has served as a McNair Program faculty mentor, the CMU Graduate Council chair, a United Way fund drive co-chair, 17-year AITP student group faculty advisor, Integrated Core Ad Hoc Committee chair, College of Business International Committee member, and College of Business Administration SAP Faculty Strategic Planning Committee member. Gust also helped redesign the Management Information Systems course to center around active student learning.
Gust was honored at Central Michigan University’s 2007 Fall Employee Retirement/Service Award Ceremony, which took place in November. He earned his undergraduate degree at Mayville State College, his master’s degree at the University
of North Dakota, and his doctoral degree at Colorado State University.
CBA offered world-class opportunity
A group of Central Michigan University business students explored Chinese culture and business practices on a two-week trip to China. The eight students, along with three CMU faculty members, embarked on a study abroad trip to Shanghai and Beijing beginning May 13.
The trip took the group to the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, where they met with students and attended lectures about Chinese history, culture, and business practices. They also visited three U.S. corporations with plants in Shanghai – General Motors, Coca-Cola, and Johnson Controls.
“There are many businesses that are in both the U.S. and China and have offices in Shanghai, so I took this opportunity to view them firsthand as a business student instead of just reading about them in a textbook,” said CMU junior Grant Newman of Royal Oak. “Most importantly, I wanted to learn how to bridge any gaps that currently exist between the U.S. and China at the professional and university levels.”
The group also explored Chinese culture with visits to the Shanghai Museum, Yu Garden, Museum of Chinese History, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, and the Summer Palace in Beijing. CBA Associate Dean Monica Holmes said they hope to take a group to India in spring 2008.
First CBA Day is a success
During the first College of Business Administration Day, more than 400 high school students visited CMU to explore the college’s business facilities, meet faculty members, and network with CBA students.
“We wanted to introduce this special place to high school students and let them know how much we, as a college, offer,” said Dean D. Michael Fields of the summer event. “For example, in spring 2006 the college’s 81 full-time faculty had a total of over 1,500 years of teaching experience. Not only is this group outstanding in the classroom, but they have established a lifetime of contacts with the business community, in general, and with corporate recruiters.”
In addition to touring the business facilities, the high school students and their families were treated to lunch and given tours of CMU’s campus.
Fields said the college is planning to have another College of Business Administration Day in summer 2008 due to its overwhelming success. “We plan to have it become an annual tradition.”
Business student has the scoop
Debralee De Four, a CMU senior, won CMU’s LaBelle Entrepreneurial Center’s “Make a Pitch” contest for developing a device that allows pet owners to spend less time picking up after their dogs and more time enjoying their walk.
She took the top prize of $500 for a product she calls the Poopy Potty. The device is a leash with an attachable plastic container that includes
a small shovel, a compartment for biodegradable plastic bags, and an area to store a bag of doggy waste. A separatecompartment holds sanitary wipes.
More than a dozen CMU students showcased their entrepreneurial skills in the contest.
Entrepreneur program director James Damitio said the idea to host a “Make-A-Pitch” Competition at CMU surfaced at a national conference he attended with other entrepreneur center directors. The program has been so successful that it is held regularly at CMU.
“We want to get students involved from all areas of study,” Damitio said. “We encourage all students to come up with ideas and get in on the competition.”
Students had five minutes to pitch a product, service, or idea to the LaBelle Entrepreneurial Center Committee and boast why their product was the best by identifying a target market, demonstrating a need, and showing how the creation would make money, help people, or solve a problem.
De Four, who is majoring in business, interior design, and history, said she is so confident in her Poopy Potty idea that she is obtaining a patent. “It’s very practical. It’s eco-friendly. It’s even fashionable,” De Four said, adding that the product will be available in a variety of colors and sizes.
The entrepreneurial major at CMU has produced more than 600 graduates in the last nine years. Entrepreneur magazine has named CMU’s entrepreneurship program one of the best 50 collegiate entrepreneurship programs nationally.
|
