September 6, 2013
FOCUS
Volume 4, Issue 35
Elected Officials visit The Enterprise Center
Pg. 1
A Message from Dr. Jessica Bailey
Pg. 1
Student Profile—Juan Rosas Aguilar
Pg. 2
Reaves Student Activities Center Grand Opening
Pg. 2
MBA Program Holds Boot Camp
Pg. 3
Where in the World/Upcoming Events
Pg. 3
Senator Hagan and Mayor Joines Visit Enterprise Center
The Enterprise Center, located at
1922 S. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive
has hosted state and local officials in
recent months. United States Senator
Kay Hagan and Winston-Salem Mayor
Allen Joines visited the Center August
29 to announce the receipt of a $1.2
million grant from the Economic
Development
Administration to
expand the
Enterprise Business
Center by an
additional floor.
Senator Hagan
commented, “This
place is absolutely
phenomenal. This is
what it’s all about.
This is what is going
to produce jobs in Winston-Salem, it’s
going to produce jobs in North
Carolina, it’s going to help our
unemployment rate go down.” The
Enterprise Center provides
comprehensive services to businesses
incubated there to try to reduce the
chance of failure. “We have a
spectrum of services that give
businesses the help they need –
psychological support, emotional
support, financial support,
scholarships,” said Winston-Salem
State faculty member Notis Pagiavlas,
who volunteers his services at the
Center and helps connect students,
faculty and service providers to the
businesses. “I always make sure to
hold one of my first classes of the
semester in the Center, so that my
students can see what these
businesses are doing and start to get
connected,” says Pagiavlas.
Senator Hagen went on to say,
“One of North Carolina’s greatest
strengths is the entrepreneurial spirit
of our business owners, and the
expansion of the
WSSU Enterprise
Center holds great
potential to spur
innovation and job
growth in WinstonSalem for years to
come.” “My top
priority in the
Senate is boosting
our economy, and
I’m doing
everything I can to support North
Carolina’s entrepreneurs and small
business owners because these
determined men and women hold the
key to economic growth and job
creation.” The Economic
Development Administration grant
will enable the Enterprise Center to
assist 30 additional businesses.
A Message from Dean Jessica Bailey
Recent events at Carver High School have
heightened everybody’s awareness of the need
for safety on educational campuses. This is
certainly true of WSSU as well. A combined
Campus Crisis Drill is planned
for WSSU and UNCSA (School
of the Arts) to take place
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
from 12:00 noon to 4:00pm.
The objective of the exercise is
to test WSSU’s response
procedures to a campus
Dr. Jessica Bailey
emergency and to gauge its
ability to collaborate with
other campuses and external response
agencies during a multi-jurisdictional crisis.
This drill is a part of overall readiness efforts
of the university in preparation for a crisis
emergency.
This is the reality of the world in which
we live in the twenty-first century. It is the
sad result of the prevalence of violence and
mayhem in the media, the ease with which
guns and even more lethal weapons can be
acquired, and the moral deterioration of the
secularization of the planet. There was a
time when an educational campus, especially
one of higher learning, was an island of calm,
introspection, and sanity in the midst of the
high-pitched energy and frenetic pace of the
rest of the world.
We cannot turn back the clock, but we can
be prepared. The School of Business is
committed to maintaining the intellectual
environment that serves the needs of our
students. We are also dedicated to the health
and safety of all who are stakeholders in our
mission.
Jessica Bailey
FOCUS is published weekly by the School of Business and Economics at WinstonSalem State University. This and past issues of
the newsletter are available at wssu.edu/sbe/focus/default.aspx. For information concerning the newsletter, or to contribute
an article, please contact Ben Greene at (336) 750-2330 or send an e-mail to greenebp@wssu.edu.
FOCUS News
Page 2
Student Profile—Juan Martin Rosas Aguilar
Juan Rosas-Aguilar is a senior double
major pursuing a Bachelor of Science in
Marketing and French. During his tenure
at WSSU, he participated as a member of
the Student Investment Fund, a group of
students with an interest in financial
investment and planning who are
charged with the responsibility of
investing
$100,000 in
capital assets. This
sum was donated
to the SBE to
empower students
to increase their
problem
resolution and
analytical
capabilities and to
Juan Rosas-Aguilar participate in
trading on the
New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, and
other exchanges. In addition, Juan served
on the Student Advisory Council and was
on the Dean’s list on a number of
occasions.
Juan enjoys the opportunity to
volunteer and develop relationships in
his community. One of his favorite
agencies is The Shalom Project, a local
organization that provides 1,450 meals to
the hungry, offers clothing for 200, tutors
at-risk children and provides care to the
70 sick patients, filling 100 prescriptions
during each week of the year. During his
time there, Juan provided translation
services to resolve language barriers,
participated in supporting individual
needs, and built a feeling of trust. Here,
his ability with languages played a
prominent role. He is fluent in English
and Spanish, understands and speaks
conversational French, and can also read
and understand Portuguese.
At present, Juan is participating as an
Intern at Forever Living where he works
as a manager. In this capacity, he is
responsible for the facilitation of a
variety of leadership workshops
designed to overcome individual
obstacles. He also works on the creation
of new marketing techniques to increase
sales and broaden the market. The
combination of this experience, coupled
with years of customer service work at a
number of restaurants and food related
businesses, has honed an interest in the
completion of his degree in marketing
and the pursuit of work with a marketing
firm to strengthen his skills. Ultimately,
Juan would like to start his own
marketing and communications firm.
He already has the beginnings of this
dream, operating his own company that
specializes in sales and leadership
development. In his business, he helps
individuals to better understand
themselves and their talents and to
emphasize the unique traits they possess.
In addition to his work and volunteer
related passions, traveling and reading
provide great free time opportunities. In
his travels, Juan has visited major cities
throughout the US, including most on the
east coast and many of the western cities,
including Dallas, San Antonio, St. Louis,
Denver, and Los Angeles.
Juan considers himself to be a very
competitive and entrepreneurial
individual, whether participating in
football, basketball, soccer, or life. He
believes it is crucial for successful people
to have a “hungry” attitude about living
and to be prepared to step up and lead if
their team is down. He values the benefit
a solid education offers to an individual
and is most thankful to be here at the
School of Business and Economics at
Winston-Salem State University.
SBE Welcomes Our Newest
Neighbor
Dignitaries from around the State
of North Carolina attended the
Ribbon Cutting, Dedication and
Portrait Unveiling at the new Donald
Julian Reaves Student Activities
Center, held on September 6.
Speakers at the event representing
Winston-Salem included Mayor Allen
Joines and Mayor Pro Tempore Dr.
Vivian H. Burke. The WSSU Board of
Trustees was represented by its
Chair, Mrs. Debra Miller. The NC
legislature contingent included
Senator Mrs. Earline Parmon, NC
House of Representatives members
Ed Hanes and Evelyn Terry, and
former NC Representative Larry
Womble. The UNC system was well
represented by President Tom Ross.
Other dignitaries included Mr. Monte
A. Edwards and Mr. Kenneth J. Grube
of Samset Corporation. Lastly, WSSU
representatives included Provost Dr.
Brenda Allen, Vice Chancellor Dr.
Trae Cotton, Faculty Senate Chair Dr.
Christina Placilla, Staff Senate
President Ms. LaTonya Amos, SGA
President Mr. Bryant Bell, and WSSU
Chancellor Dr. Donald J. Reaves. At
the conclusion of speeches, Mrs.
Debra Miller returned to offer the
Litany.
The Center is a beautiful new
addition to the campus, offering both
aesthetic improvement and
functionality for the WSSU family.
The addition of this world-class
fitness facility was mentioned by a
number of the speakers. Each
extended their congratulations and
heartfelt thanks to Chancellor Reaves.
MBA Students Attend Pilot Program Boot Camp
The overall purpose of the
Pilot Program Boot Camp is to
ensure that students are poised
and prepared for the rigors of the
MBA program. The Program
provides opportunity and support
to new MBA candidates who are
either returning to continue the
pursuit of a higher education
degree or may feel that a skills
review will be beneficial to their
pursuit of the degree.
them to be misleading. Dr.
Gregory Taylor followed with a
mathematics refresher course to
prime mathematical skills that
may have become dormant.
Taylor’s session covered the full
gamut, from making computations
and basic algebra to exponents,
compound interest, probability
and equations. Whew! After that
rigor, it was a bit downhill for
lunch where students and faculty
conversed as they dined on a deli
The fall 2013 MBA Pilot
buffet. The day
concluded with an
entertaining and
invigorating session
facilitated by Dr. Kal
Namit. He presented
a lively discussion on
Excel which included
a hands-on session
where candidates
Dr. Zagros Madjd-Sadjadi speaks to MBA students
utilized computers to
work through various
Program Boot Camp Refresher
computations.
Course was held over the course
of two Saturdays for eight hours
per day. In each session, SBE
faculty shared from their wealth
of knowledge and placed
particular emphasis on the
required skills and sought-after
attitude to be successful MBA
candidates. Tips included a
preference for smart over hard
work (even though both are
frequently required). Overall,
respondents found the program
very useful, relevant, and helpful
in preparing them for what to
expect, rating each of the sessions
at 4.5 or above on a five point
scale.
Candidates returned
enthusiastically the following
Saturday for another all day
session. Dr. Suresh Gopalan’s
session on Strategic Management
created vigorous thought as
students reviewed and discussed
case analysis, industry profiles,
and the case study method. A
SWOT Analysis of Netflix was
performed using the profile
featured in the reading
materials. A Valuation and
Performance session facilitated by
Dr. Madjd-Sadjadi followed the
lunch hour. The session included
discussions on economic analysis,
accounting and finance, and
The opening session,
performance evaluation
facilitated by Dr. Craig
ratios. For the last hour of day
Richardson, gave candidates an
overview of WSSU’s MBA Program two, Dr. Richardson gave an
overview presentation on
and provided pointers on
International Programs and
statistics and the propensity for
Opportunities in the MBA Program. He
shared various photos and spoke about the
recent MBA group travel to China during the
summer.
All in all, candidates left feeling a little
fatigued but very well prepared. When
asked for suggestions regarding future
sessions someone commented “slow
down!” They now know why it’s called Boot
Camp!

Brian A. Allen, (‘13), Programmer Analyst,
Piedmont Natural Gas, Charlotte, NC
Attention SBE Graduates:
We welcome the opportunity to provide information
about all of our students and alumni in the Focus
Newsletter’s “Where in the World” section. This allows
alumni, students and faculty to be aware of the location
and corporate affiliation of friends and colleagues.
Please send updates, including your name, title,
company name, year of graduation and current city,
and state/country to greenebp@wssu.edu.