Tuesday, August 28, 2012

New COB Chairs Strengthen Departments


There are exciting times at the Peay as we welcome two new department chairs to the APCOB.  With the addition of these chairs, the leadership of the College of Business is significantly strengthened.  

Dr. Susan Cockrell was recently awarded the position of chair to the Accounting, Finance, and Economics Department at the APSU College of Business. This is Dr. Cockrell’s second stint at APSU; she taught here as an associate professor from 2000 – 2005.  She most recently comes to us from the University of Birmingham-Southern College, where she taught from 2007 until 2011.  Dr. Cockrell received her Ph.D. in Accounting from The University of Alabama in 1993.  Both her Master of Administrative Science and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration were received at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (in 1985 and 1984). She became a CPA in 2001.  

Dr. Kenny Holt is our new chair of Management, Marketing, and General Business within the College of Business.  Dr. Holt has taught at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, and has taught courses in China and France as a visiting professor.   He received his Ph.D. in Management with a concentration in Organizational Behavior and a minor in Strategic Management in 2010 from the University of Memphis.  Dr. Holt received his Master of Science in Economics in 1985 from LSU and his Bachelor of Science from Union University in 1983. Dr. Holt has a history of community involvement including a stint as city council representative in Jackson, TN.  

Please help me welcome our new chairs to Austin Peay.   Below are their email addresses.  Exciting times! 

Dr. Susan Cockrell – cockrells@apsu.edu
Dr. Kenny Holt – holtm@apsu.edu

Friday, August 3, 2012

APCOB and AACSB Accreditation: Chapter 1


In April of 2012, the APCOB faculty came together and took enormous strides to achieve accreditation through the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, AACSB. This prestigious agency is the blue ribbon of business accreditation and its structure and processes will help us continue becoming more excellent.


The following was written by faculty and captures the collective sense of excitement:

APCOB faculty members, staff, and leadership are committed to obtaining AACSB accreditation and this dedication is reflected in the many changes that have occurred both culturally and in infrastructure within APCOB during the last several years. 

The drive for AACSB accreditation is fully supported by President Tim Hall and Provost Tristan Denley as evidenced by both public proclamations and more importantly continuing financial support.  President Hall made his support of APCOB’s accreditation effort public by making it a part of his agenda during a presidential convocation and has subsequently informed alumni, faculty members, and students of his continuing commitment to AACSB accreditation. President Hall has made numerous statements of support both financial and in spirit for the faculty’s drive to AACSB accreditation in “listening meetings” with APCOB faculty members.  He has also made AACSB accreditation of APCOB a pillar of the most recent capital campaign. 

Concrete support in the form of new positions and infrastructure improvements comes from Provost Denley. He authorized six faculty positions, including two new department chairs, and provided the funding for them during the fall semester of 2011 He supported the newly remodeled and technologically upgraded one hundred-seat auditorium. Provost Denley continues to support APCOB’s accreditation drive through his enthusiastic support for curricular improvement including the addition of business calculus to the general education core for the BBA. The Provost has also made his commitment to enhanced teaching and research from faculty members through the provision of graduate assistants and teaching assistants.  This is a first for APCOB and is seen as a strong statement of support for the faculty and the accreditation effort.  

The Tennessee Board of Regents has also demonstrated strong support for AACSB accreditation through the actions of Chancellor John Morgan who told the assembled APCOB faculty in August 2011 that the TBR and his office are committed to APCOB earning AACSB accreditation. A tsunami of optimism and excitement has swept through the college and one sees faculty, staff, and leadership pulling together to make something special happen. The byword for APCOB could very well be “ carpe diem”.  


And so we will seize the day.  

Exciting times!  Dean Rupp

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

COB Students Excel in and out of the Classroom


I am always proud when students make academic achievements that better their futures, but I also praise students who go beyond their education and succeed in their extracurricular activities.  So far this month, the College of Business has had two students who have exceled in their respected sport.  These athletes serve as examples of how athletic discipline and respect for education can coincide to create successful students.

Chelsea Harris graduated from Austin Peay in Spring 2011 with her Bachelor of Business Administration.  She graduated with a concentration in Management and directly entered the Master of Science in Management program upon graduation.  Throughout her undergraduate career she excelled in her sport of choice, women’s golf.  During her junior year, Chelsea won the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament and was named OVC Player of the Year.  Chelsea is set to graduate from the MSM program in August.

Recently Chelsea passed her PAT (Playing Ability Test) which means that she can start the certification process of the Ladies Professional Golf Association Teaching and Club Professional Division (LPGA T&CP).  Chelsea is now considered a professional golfer and has begun her journey to become a “Class A” LPGA T&CP member.  After training and testing, she will become “Class B” and after more training and testing she will receive her “Class A” status.  Chelsea is playing in her first tournament as a professional this week at the Tennessee Women’s Open. 

Greg Bachman graduated this past May with his Bachelor of Business Administration.  He graduated with a concentration in Marketing while playing baseball for the Austin Peay Governors.  Greg was the OVC Tournament’s MVP and was chosen to the Eugene All-Region team.  He led the Governors in the postseason with a .538 batting average in the OVC and NCAA Tournaments with 21 hits.  This included three doubles and a home run.  Greg was named to the CollegeBaseballInsider.com All-American Team.

Congratulations to Chelsea and Greg on their athletic achievements, as well as their academic success.  Also, good luck to Chelsea as she competes in her first professional tournament!

Exciting times!  Dean Rupp

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Olympians of the COB


I am very proud that two of APCOB’s brightest students are representing our university and their home country of Columbia in the London 2012 Olympics.  Tatiana and Natalia Ariza are juniors in our College of Business.  Tatiana is majoring in business with a concentration in international management, while Natalia is working toward a concentration in marketing. 

The Columbia natives are believed to be the first APSU student athletes to participate in the Olympics.  The women’s soccer tournaments run from July 25th through August 9th.  Congratulations to both of our dedicated students and athletes and good luck from the College of Business!

Exciting times!  Dean Rupp

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Blended Learning

I am always looking for ways to help students learn.  Some of the current methods are doing a fine job of helping students learn but, there is research that shows a relatively new "modality" known as blended learning is producing better student outcomes.  Blended learning takes the best of on line and the best of on ground instruction and uses one to support the other - that is - on ground courses can be enhanced through online and online can be enhanced through on ground.  In the model we will be using, students will be able to move between the two. This may be a bit confusing at first but the flexibility for the student increases significantly and research concludes that self selection of modality will increase student engagement, satisfaction, and success.

This last week Drs, Pearson, Holt, Nyonna, and Damron attended a conference in Orlando to ask the question, "How can we bring blended learning to Austin Peay's College of Business."   We met for two days and discussed the possibilities.  We will introduce our first blended learning class this fall.  We will be surveying students to discover how things are going and how we might improve. A couple of factoids we took away from the conference is 1) there are over 40 different modes of blended learning and they all work better than online or on ground methods alone and 2) online students with a gpa less than 2.2 have a very significant failure rate. We believe that blended learning is one more tool to help us meet the needs of our students. Exciting times.  Dean Rupp