INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
FOCUS
News from the School of Business and Economics
March 4, 2013
Volume 4, Issue 8
Ramsitions—Moving into the Majors
1
Student Profile—Jeneh Kennedy
2
A Message from Dean Bailey
A Message from Dean Bailey
1
Muskie Fellow Veaceslav Driglov
3
Advanced HR Student Trip
2
Entrepreneurship Talks—Andy Dreyfuss
4
Chomp-N-Chat
2
Trading Room Grand Opening Invitation
5
Now that March is upon us, we are all
looking forward to spring and the
promise that it brings
each year. With the
exception of some
unexpected, late-winter
weather, everyone has
sights set on the middle
of the semester and all
that it signifies.
Ramsitions: Moving into the Majors
Last Tuesday, Winston-Salem State
University celebrated its first, annual
Ramsitions Ceremony in McNeill Dining Hall.
Many SBE students and faculty participated.
Ramsitions is a new tradition instituted by
UCaLL (University College and Lifelong
Learning) to formally denote the passage of
sophomores for pre-major status into their
majors. The ceremony was conducted by
the staff and faculty affiliated with UCaLL
who work directly with freshmen and
sophomores during their first two years at
the university, prior to their moving into
their major fields of study. Students who
are eligible for Ramsition are those who
have successfully completed forty-five hours
of their curricula as pre-majors and who are
now ready to declare their majors.
The faculty of the SBE who are major
advisors were in attendance to welcome
students who will be entering the SBE
majors in the fall. They included Drs.
Bailey, Etim, Karagiannis, Madjd-Sadjadi,
Mann, Pagiavlas, Smith, Stephenson, and
White. They dined with the students and
engaged in lively conversations about
expectations for their majors.
The ceremony began with a
welcome by Dr. Donna Durham-Pierre,
Upperclassman Dean, followed by an
invocation conducted by Mr. Dustin Pickett,
Senior, Marketing Major. Students and
faculty were invited to visit the various food
stations and to spend time getting to know
the faculty with whom they will be working
closely during the remainder of their
matriculation.
Following the one-to-one
conversations, the assembly was
addressed by Dr. Kathy Stitts, Associate
Provost and Dean of University College
and Lifelong Learning, followed by brief
presentations by two students, Anaya
Turner and Vicki Pulliam. The keynote
speaker was Ms. Sandra Ingram,
Sophomore Class/Transitional Dean, who
spoke to the students about the things
that they could accomplish if they put in
the effort.
Ms. Leslie Winbush then read the
names of all of the students who
qualified for Ramsition. This was
followed by some words of wisdom and
the administration of the Transition
Charge, developed by Mr. Fred-Rick L.
Roundtree.
Transition Charge
CHARGE LEADER:
Do you pledge to continue to devote
copious energies towards
completing your major programs
and preparing yourselves for your
ultimate career goals? If so, please
state, we will.
TRANSITIONING STUDENTS:
We will.
CHARGE LEADER:
Do you pledge to evolve your role as
scholars and leaders among your
fellow classmates? Moreover, now
that you are transitioning, do you
Continued on Page 4
Dr. Jessica Bailey
The School of Business
and Economics, like the
rest of the campus, is still abuzz from
the energy and excitement of the CIAA
Championship Tournament. This
upcoming week is the last week of the
semester prior to Spring Break and is
customarily devoted to mid-term
examinations and students making the
final decision to withdraw from classes
that are just not progressing
successfully.
Mid-term is also a time for introspection
and implementation. This is the time
when the leadership of the SBE takes a
last look at its action plan for the year
and makes final plans for applying
aspects of the plan that must be fulfilled
before the end of the academic year. I
am happy to report that an
overwhelming majority of the pieces of
our action plan for AY 2012-2013 have
been successfully accomplished and will
be leading us to an even better year in
2013-2014.
Thank you, to all of our constituencies,
for your continued support of the SBE.
Jessica Bailey, Dean
FOCUS is published weekly by the School of Business and Economics at Winston-Salem State University. For information concerning the
newsletter, or to contribute an article, please contact Ben Greene at (336) 750-2330 or by forwarding an e-mail to
greenebp@wssu.edu.
FOCUS News
Page 2
Advanced HR Student
Attendance at Human Resource
Management Association of
Greensboro (HRMaG) Breakfast
Joseph Seat, Shaundria Lynch, and
Armond Pittman accompanied Dr. Janice
Witt Smith, SPHR, to the 7:30 a.m.,
February 28, 2013, breakfast meeting of the
Human Resource Management Association of
Greensboro meeting. They had the
opportunity to meet and network with 125
HR professionals from the Piedmont Triad,
many of whom work for companies in
Greensboro and High Point. The topic of
Chomp-N-Chat at the SBE
Anyone passing through the first floor
of the RJ Reynolds Center Monday,
February 25th around the noon hour would
have thought that they had stumbled upon a
midday party. Food and fun was had by all
at the latest Chomp-&-Chat being held by
Dean Jessica Bailey. Usually a gathering of
just students and the Dean, this recent
session was also attended by faculty and
staff.
Student Profile
Jeneh Kennedy is a senior in the School
of Business and Economics pursuing a double
major in Accounting and Management
Information Systems (MIS). A native of
Liberia on the West
African coast, Jeneh
moved to the U.S. at age
14 with her parents,
seven siblings and a
niece. Interestingly, the
transition from Liberia to
the U.S. was not as much of a challenge as
one might imagine. The Liberian form of
government and flag is based on the system
and flag of the United States. It originally
was a settlement of African Americans from
the U.S. and Caribbean countries who began
arriving there in 1822. In 1847 the country
gained independence. Richly endowed with
water, mineral resources, forests and a
climate favorable to agriculture, it is slowly
reviving its economy after 14 years of brutal
civil war (1989-2003)1.
(Left to right: Issiah Norton, Taylor Curry and
Professor Williams enjoy pizza and
conversation)
From left to right - Dr. Janice Witt Smith,
Armond Pittman, Ms. Clay Smith, President
Emeritus of the HRMaG Chapter, Shaundria
Lynch, and Joseph Seat
this month’s meeting was “Executive
Succession Planning and the Role of
Performance Appraisal” for which HR
Professionals earned 1.0 hours of continuing
education credit to maintain their PHR,
SPHR and GPHR certifications.
Joseph, Shaundria and Armond met the
past president of the HRMaG Chapter, Ms.
Clay Smith, who is now President Emeritus,
and took advantage of a photo opportunity
(see photo). Each student had the
opportunity to introduce themselves, their
major, and their career interests. In
addition, Dr. Smith introduced herself, the
WSSU HR Concentration, and the call for
the HR Professionals to seriously consider
our outstanding students for HR positions in
their company. The College Relations
Chair, Olga Jamison of Adecco, echoed that
sentiment and asked that HR Professionals
consider creating both paid and unpaid
internships for HR students in general (and
those in the HR chapters that HRMag
supports – NCA&TSU, UNCG, and
Strayer). The WSSU students received the
benefit of that admonition and their
professional presence, receiving three
internship leads (two offers), the
opportunity for a networking lunch with a
current business partner, the opportunity
Continued on Page 4
Chomp-&-Chat is a concept
initiated by Dean Bailey when she arrived at
the School of Business and Economics in
2006. Twice each semester, she purchases
pizza and soft drinks for the students and
encourages any who wish to share lunch
with her. The sessions are an opportunity
for the students to get to know the Dean, up
close and personal, and an opportunity for
her to ascertain exactly what is on the
students’ minds and to answer their
questions. In the past, members of the
Business Advisory Council have attended to
talk to students about professionalism in the
workplace.
This most recent session was an
interesting mixture of conversations where
such topics as parking, graduation, and the
Electronic Devices Use Policy were
discussed. It is the intention of the
gatherings to allow students the opportunity
to discuss anything that they wish, including
topics that may not be directly related to
the curriculum. An additional benefit of the
program is the fact that students, as result
of these conversations, begin to envision the
faculty and the Dean as individuals and not
just authority figures. Such a realization
helps students to see that they, too, can
become the faculty and deans of the future.
SBE Faculty Meeting
Tuesday, March 5
3:30-5:00 p.m.
RJR Room 136
Jeneh is very active in the Department
of Accounting and MIS where she regularly
represents the department at informational
fairs and student recruitment events and is
employed as a student worker in the SBE
computer labs. In addition, she serves as the
President of the Association of Information
Technology Professionals (AITP), Secretary
of Enactus, and is a member of the Student
Advisory Committee and the National
Association of Black Accountants. Currently,
she and other Enactus members are
participating in a project at the Bethesda
Center for the Homeless. There, she visits
the center twice per week to speak with
people who are focusing on reentering the
workforce. The team spends time talking
with them about minimizing their past
problems and focusing on resume
development, job search and future
potential. The response has been very
positive and participation has increased. In
addition, she is an integral member of the
WSSU Volunteers for Income Tax Assistance
(VITA) team, an organization that assists low
income and senior residents with tax
preparation at Goodwill, the libraries and
the Prosperity Center. Jeneh relayed that
helping people in the community is a very
important component of her being.
Jeneh played volleyball during each of
her high school years, achieving the Best
Player Award for her abilities. She is an
active member of her church and enjoys
singing.
Dr. Sharon White, Chair of the
Accounting and MIS department said of her,
“Jeneh is a very industrious student who is
creative and has a passion for helping
others. Her professionalism, leadership and
dedication to service make her an exemplar
of the best that the School of Business and
Economics has to offer.”
1
Information about Liberia from the CIA
World Factbook and BBC News.
FOCUS News
Page 3
Muskie Fellow, Veaceslav Driglov, speaks about life in the U.S.
exchange program called Muskie
Scholarship and they have matched
the WSSU for me.”
For the second consecutive
biennial, the School of Business and
Economics (SBE) serves as host to an
emerging leader from Eurasia as part of
the Edmond S. Muskie Graduate
Fellowship Program (in 2010-12, Marat
Bayzakov was the first Muskie Fellow).
This program provides Master’s degreelevel students with intensive academic
study and professional training in their
chosen fields. This year’s fellow is
Veaceslav “Slava” Driglov from the
Eastern European country of Moldova,
located between the Ukraine and
Romania. Moldova was formally part of
the Soviet Union and gained
independence in 1991. When asked how
this current environment differs from his
homeland, Slava replied “the American
environment is more visually friendly,
people smile more often.”
Mr. Driglov has an Undergraduate
degree in Banking and Finance with a
qualification of Economist from the
Pridnestrovie State University. Slava
mentioned that Pridnestrovie State
University was founded in honor of T.G.
Schevchenko, a famous Ukrainian author,
and is located in Slava’s hometown,
Tiraspol, Moldova. He decided to pursue
a MBA degree primarily to gain a more in
depth understanding of marketing and
the US approach to business. He
commented that the “USA is known to be
the cradle of free market economy and,
so, the best business education can be in
USA only.” When asked why he chose
WSSU, Slava provided a very candid
response. “I haven’t chosen the WSSU. I
am here under US Department of State
Mr. Driglov currently has 14
years of work-related business
experience. One impressive aspect of
his career entailed becoming an
entrepreneur during his junior year
at Pridnestrovie State University.
During the pursuit of his
undergraduate degree, he developed
and operated Breeze Group, an IT –
Retail Company, and later expanded
to own and operate five franchise
locations, Sea Breeze Computers and
Technodom. Slava advised that his
experiences as a business owner were
challenging, but also interesting-eventually leading to other
prospective ventures. Slava would go
on to comment on his plight as a
businessman and as an agent for
progress as a City Council leader in
Moldova. “Being a businessman, I had
a will to change the business
environment for the better, so three
years ago I ran for an office and
became an elected official – City
Counselor in charge of economic and
business development of Tiraspol.
Fighting against authorities for
business rights wasn’t an easy task.
Teamwork was necessary in order to
succeed and withstand challenges. A
not-for-profit organization called
Agency for Investment attraction and
trade promotion was chartered by
five stakeholders. We truly believed
that we could make a difference
acting as a team. The agency’s basic
activities are promoting Moldova as
an investment attractive country,
facilitating foreign trade, advocacy
and legislature initiative.”
The interview would turn to
learning more about his family life
and how he has been supported in his
time away. “I have a wonderful
family that supports me in my heroic
path in a foreign land. My wife takes
good care of our two kids – boy and
girl – while I am studying. They are
still in Moldova, but, will be coming
to the US soon. I miss them a lot. It
is hard to be separated from your
family. They give me an inspiration in
my endeavor.” The question was
posed of how he does continue to
remain focused and dedicated to
continuing in the MBA Graduate
Program. “I was very homesick for the
first 3 months of my stay in the USA. I
even wanted to quit the program and
to go back home at a certain point.
But, keeping myself constantly busy
with different academic, business and
community activities helps me remain
focused and dedicated to continue. I
like the WSSU MBA program a lot. I
think it is the best match in terms of
quality and price. I am positive about
obtaining a MBA degree and know it
will enhance my future career in a
best possible way. I am looking at the
sales and marketing activities in the
International Corporation to gain some
practice and returning to my own
business a little later.”
Slava was also an integral part of the
success of Jupiter Snacks-Fillcrescents,
one of two teams to be awarded first
place in the 6th Annual Business Plan
Competition, held on Saturday,
February 16, 2013. When asked about
his experience in preparation and
competing, as well as his specific role
and contributions, he relayed, “I was in
charge of pricing strategy, distribution
and financial data for the Jupiter
Snacks, Inc., presenting a unique filled
croissant product into American
market. It was a great experience of
team work for me. I want to say a
special thank you to Dr. Notis
Pagiavlas, who trained us well on how
to write a business plan in his
marketing class.” His final thoughts
would be to convey great advice for
future SBE students that may wish to
compete within this platform, as well
as within the game of life. “Students
should try their strengths in different
competitions. America is a highly
competitive society and only fair
competition makes it the greatest
country on Earth.”
Human Resource Management Association
Continued
for an informational interview for an absent
member, and a connection for a job shadowing
opportunity for the students in Dr. Smith’s Advanced
Topics in HR Class. Attendees at this meeting were
also provided with a handout on Harassment,
Violence, Bullying and Mobbing, which provides
research statistics on the incidence and impact of
those behaviors on the individuals.
The students were able to observe the
recognition of HR professionals who had successfully
passed their PHR and SPHR exams and earned their
designations. These professionals participated in 3
hour per week, 14 week long classes to prepare for
their exams. This is similar to what our Advanced
Topics in HR Class provides – 2.5 hours per week for
15 weeks in preparation for the Assurance of
Learning Assessment to prepare undergraduate and
graduate students to meet the “bar for entry” into
the HR profession. Shaundria Lynch commented,
“My experience was phenomenal, and my colleagues
and I made great connections and possibly have job/
internship offers soon. The HRMaG people were
very welcoming and friendly! I want to personally
say thanks to Dr. Janice Witt Smith for the
opportunity that she has given us. All her hard work
and dedication to our future is greatly appreciated!”
Armond Pittman added, “The members of HRMaG
truly greeted us with a warm welcome. Upon
networking, I connected with various professionals
of major companies (i.e. The HR Group, City of
Greensboro, FlexPay, HRD Strategies Co., etc.). To
put everything in a nutshell, not only was I offered 2
internships, but was asked to be a part of their
Workforce Development Workshop coming up late
this month as one of their panelist. That, in my
opinion, is truly an honor and a privilege. I truly
thank Dr. Janice Witt Smith, SPHR for extending the
offer for me and my 2 classmates to attend
this prestigious event. I not only made connections
for the work world, but also connections that will
last a lifetime!”
Finally, HRMaG is willing to consider some
policy changes to allow greater involvement of our
students and other students who are not part of
their “umbrella” student chapters because of Dr.
Smith’s efforts and their meeting the WSSU
students. Dr. Smith will be working with several
companies in developing HR internships for the
Advanced Topics HR students as part of her
mentoring efforts and HR program enhancement
commitment.
Spring Break
Week of March 11
Entrepreneurship Talks (E-Talks)
at the Enterprise Center
Ramditions
Article written by Aparna Shrivram,
MBA Student and Graduate Assistant
pledge to be positive role
models for those who are
members of
the freshman and sophomore
classes? If so, please state, we
will.
TRANSITIONING STUDENTS:
We will.
CHARGE LEADER:
Do you pledge to increase your
participation in professional
networking opportunities,
cultural, and social events at
the university and within the
community at large? If so,
please state, we will.
TRANSITIONING STUDENTS:
We will.
CHARGE LEADER:
Do you pledge to be of more
service to others sharing your
gifts, your talents, the
resources that you possess,
and the knowledge that you
have gained since entering the
university? If so, please state,
we will.
TRANSITIONING STUDENTS:
We will.
CHARGE LEADER:
Do you pledge to graduate with
the highest honors that you are
capable of earning? If so,
please state, we will.
TRANSITIONING STUDENTS:
We will.
CHARGE LEADER:
Thank you.
Andy Dryfuss will be the featured
speaker at the Enterprise Center E-Talks
session on Thursday, March 14 from
12:00-1:30 p.m. Andy is the Fund
Executive for the
Piedmont Angel
Investor Network,
an early stage
committed capital
fund that has
invested $15
million in 23
startup companies since 2002. He also
co-manages two real estate investment
funds. Prior to his position with PAN,
Andy was the Placement Director for the
Babcock Graduate School of
Management at Wake Forest University
and Director of Operations Planning for
the Coca-Cola Company at Atlanta.
To register, please contact The
Enterprise Center at 734-6900 or by
email at sgatkinscdc@gmail.com.
MBA/MHA Open House
Thinking of Graduate School?
Want to further your career
and increase your earnings
potential?
Attend the MBA/MHA Open
House
Thursday, Mar. 7
Thursday, Apr. 4
from 6:00-7:30 p.m.
Continued
RJ Reynolds Center Room
201
Women’s Professional
Leadership
Conference
March 18-22
Closing remarks were
provided by Provost Brenda
Allen and Dr. Kathy Stitts.
The event ended with a
rendition of the Alma Mater,
led by Mr. Daniel Smith,
Senior, Music Business Major.
The event was our way of
saying “Welcome to the SBE”
You are cordially invited to the
Trading Room Grand Opening
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
4:30-5:30 p.m.
Please RSVP to greenebp@wssu.edu or call (336) 750-2330