College of Business
The UW Oshkosh College of Business (COB) is an internationally accredited business school with a long history of successes. In addition to curriculum, faculty and staff that meet the rigorous standards for AACSB International accreditation, the college has a strong commitment to innovation and risk-taking.
Located in Northeast Wisconsin, home to thousands of successful businesses, the College of Business has a legacy of strong relationships with those businesses that provides students with a blending of theory and practices through internships, guest speakers, real-world projects and other activities. The college is large enough to offer a wide variety of majors but small enough to have strong faculty/student relationships.
College News
The college initiated a new discretionary fund, the Clifford E. Larsen Business Dean's Fund for Excellence, in honor of the college's second dean, to assist the dean of business in advancing the quality and prestige of the college.
The UW Oshkosh collegiate chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma, the honor society for AACSB International - The Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business, has been recognized as a Premier Chapter for its superior level of membership acceptance and promotional activities in the 2010-2011 academic year. UW Oshkosh's Beta Gamma Sigma chapter has earned this award under the direction of faculty advisor Dr. Joann Noe Cross. Of the nine Wisconsin schools accredited by AACSB International, the UW Oshkosh Beta Gamma Sigma chapter is the only chapter in the state to receive this honor.
Student Achievements, Awards and Activities
In February 2011, four finance students competed in the CFA Global Investment Research Challenge in Madison, Wis.
For the sixth year in a row the Master of Business Administration graduates scored in the top five percent of all MBA students who took the ETS MBA Major Field Assessment Test.
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) student chapter received several honors in 2010-2011. They were recognized as the UW Oshkosh Volunteer Organization of the Year for completing more than 800 hours of community service. Vice President Kyle Ackeret was honored individually with the Outstanding Student Leader award. The UW Oshkosh SHRM student chapter was honored with the Superior Merit Award and the Outstanding Student Chapter Award by the national SHRM Organization.
Human Resource major, Alex Marchan, was honored by Northwestern Mutual with the Target 20 award, which is presented to interns who perform at an elite level while aiding clients. Alex sold more than 20 insurance policies during the year.
The UW Oshkosh Iota Rho chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, the International Honorary Organization for Financial Information Professionals, earned international recognition for excellence in academics, professionalism and leadership by being selected as a distinguished student chapter.
The College Federal Reserve Challenge, which is held by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and by Choice Bank of Oshkosh, provided economics students the opportunity to experience Federal Reserve policy-making processes. A team of UW Oshkosh business students represented the College of Business at the competition in November in Chicago.
The student APICS chapter, the Association for Operations Management, received a Platinum Award in recognition of outstanding students chapter management. Our chapter has received 24 Gold Awards, the most of any student chapter in the world!
On Sept. 21, 2011, the College of Business, with the assistance of many regional businesses and UW Oshkosh Career Services, hosted its sixth-annual Business Networking Night at the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce. Nearly 750 undergraduate students and 200 professionals participated in the event. This event is a requirement for College of Business undergraduate students, helping to foster the development of students' professional skills.
The College of Business welcomed 12 students and three administrative staff members from the University of Nizwa in Oman during the month of July. During their visit, the students were enrolled in two classes learning about marketing and management.
Finance Major/Insurance and Financial Planning Minor Nick Huss was selected by the Fox Valley CPCU society to receive a $2,000 scholarship.
Teaching, Scholarship and Service
Dr. Peter Westort was awarded a Fulbright grant to teach accounting at Alexandria University in Alexandria, Egypt, during the 2011-2012 academic year.
Dr. Steve Dunn has spearheaded a new Sustainable Management minor. This 21-22 credit minor is open to all University majors and will effectively start in spring 2012.
A new major in Interactive Web Management is going through final approval and is expected to start admitting students for the 2012-2013 academic year.
In 2011, Dr. Ben Arbaugh became the second College of Business faculty member to be named a John McNaughton Rosebush Professor, UW Oshkosh's highest award for faculty. Other UW Oshkosh honors include the 2008 Outstanding COB Graduate Faculty Award and the 2009 Management and Human Resources Department Teaching Award.
Dr. Soo-Young Moon was awarded second place in 2011 Innovation in Business Education competition sponsored by the Mid-Continent East AACSB Dean's Association.
The Insurance and Risk Management program is in its third year and has grown from 12 students in fall of 2009 to more than 50 students in 2011. Program graduates are currently working at: Secura, Society, Auto Owners, Northwestern Mutual (Blevons Group), Acuity, Jewelers Mutual, and West Bend Mutual.
Professor M. Ryan Haley was selected as a recipient of the TRISS Endowed Professorship at the UW Oshkosh.
The College of Business accreditation with AACSB International was reaffirmed for five years.
Dr. Mike Godfrey and Dr. Andrew Manikas were recognized with an Outstanding Research Award for the third year in a row for sustainability papers that they presented in May at the 2011 Costa Rica Global Conference on Business and Finance.
Outreach Education
The Global Education Committee and Small Business Development Center of the UW Oshkosh College of Business, partnership with the Madison International Trade Association, hosted the first Northeast Wisconsin Global Entrepreneur Breakfast on Wednesday, June 15, 2011.
The faculty of the Wisconsin Financial Services Institute continues to partner with Dalton Education to offer exam review courses for the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation.
The College of Business continues to engage and encourage business professionals in Northeast Wisconsin to continue their education through the MBA Graduate Education Center in downtown Green Bay.
The College of Business operates in a consortium arrangement with UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse and UW-Parkside to offer an online MBA degree. The program serves students interested in a totally online MBA degree and provides online classes for students enrolled in residential graduate programs on each of the four campuses. The consortium program has grown to more than 400 total students over the past few years and is widely recognized for its efficient use of UW System resources in serving students.
The Wisconsin Family Business Forum (http://wfbf.uwosh.edu) is a partnership of 37 family businesses, 11 professional service organizations and the UW Oshkosh College of Business. The Forum is the oldest family business center in the State of Wisconsin.
Highlights from 2010-2011 include:
- Five educational programs were held for members.
- The second annual Family Business Expo took place in December 2010.
- The first Family Business Education certificate program was offered, which is a course of study that provides family business basics.
- The 15th annual dinner, with guest speaker Jay Bush from Bush Brothers & Company, was held in April 2011.
- Donna Nelson was named Assistant Director in June.
- A new executive director, Catherine Huybers, was named in October 2011.
The UW Oshkosh Small Business Development Center (SBDC) provided educational programs for 211 business owners, entrepreneurs, and economic development policy makers during 2010-2011 academic year. The SBDC also received a grant from the state Department of Workforce Development (DWD) to launch a regional entrepreneurship training program for dislocated workers. Using the Kauffman FastTrac NewVenture and TechVenture curriculums, the program is providing participants with the in-depth education and mentoring needed to successfully launch their own businesses.
Business Community Involvement
The College of Business is engaged in more than 235 partnerships with businesses and organizations in Northeast Wisconsin that host co-operative education or internship students.
The International Business Club sponsored its first-ever Global Careers Day providing an opportunity for 145 students and international business executives to interact on a one-on-one basis. The inaugural event was so successful that it will be an annual event.
The UW Oshkosh College of Business continued a collaborative research program with New North Inc., a regional economic development organization. The collaboration is collecting and analyzing data quarterly for the Northeast Wisconsin Entrepreneurial Activity Index, which is being used to identify and prioritize the development of the resources and infrastructure needed to create and sustain a vibrant entrepreneurial climate in Northeast Wisconsin.
Dr. E. Al Hartman is the Program Chair for the Northeast Wisconsin chapter of the Wisconsin Innovation Network, the membership subsidiary of the Wisconsin Technology Council.
The UW Oshkosh Small Business Development Center collaborated with the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley and two of the SBDC’s counseling clients to conduct a grant-funded research study aimed at creating a for-profit cooperative for the marketing and distribution of locally-grown and produced foods in Northeast Wisconsin. The research grant was provided by the University of Wisconsin Extension’s Innovative Program Fund.
Faculty across the college continued to be productive in research and scholarship, publishing more than 85 journal articles, books and book chapters, presenting at professional conferences.
Dr. Ben Arbaugh sits on the Editorial Review Boards for the Journal of Management Education, Management Learning, Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, the Journal of Management, Spirituality, and Religion, and the International Journal of Management Reviews.
Dr. Mike Godfrey sits on the Boards of Directors for the Fox Valley Chapter of APICS and the CSCMP Northeast Wisconsin Roundtable. Andy Miller has been selected President-Elect for the PMI Northeast Wisconsin chapter for 2012.
The College of Business, in partnership with Corporate Report Wisconsin and DiRenzo & Bomier, LLC, co-sponsored the sixth annual Small Business Success Awards honoring businesses from throughout the State of Wisconsin. This year’s honorees included ImproMed, Centare Group, Orion Energy Systems, Precision Drawn Metals and Fontarome Chemical.
During the spring, the College of Business once again partnered with Junior Achievement and several regional businesses to host a Junior Achievement Business Challenge on the UW Oshkosh campus. About 100 students from high schools throughout northeastern Wisconsin competed in business simulation games for fun, prizes and scholarships.
Community Service
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) student chapter sent 11 students to New York City over spring break to volunteer with God’s Love We Deliver and the Madison Square Boys and Girls Club.
The International Business Club and the College of Business partnered to donate books to Better World Books. In just over three weeks, we were able to collect 51 boxes of used books, manuals and other media to donate.
Twelve accounting students volunteered for the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program. In partnership with the Oshkosh Area United Way, this IRS-sponsored program offers free tax return preparation services for low-income taxpayers at the Oshkosh Area Community Pantry.
Dr. E. Al Hartman is the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for the Evergreen Retirement Community; the Chair of the Organizational Performance Committee for the Evergreen Retirement Community; and is a volunteer with Leadership Oshkosh.
Dr. Joann Noe Cross sits on the Board of Directors and the Finance Committee for the Wisconsin Interfaith Needs Response; is the treasurer for the Oshkosh Area United Way; and is the Clerk of Session for the First Presbyterian Church.
Wendy Potratz is a board member and treasurer for the WINR Donate Wheels and sits on the Finance Board for the Cerebral Palsy of Mideast Wisconsin.
Dr. Ashay Desai sits on the Board of Directors for the UW Oshkosh Credit Union.
Dr. Sarah DeArmond volunteered for the 2011 Leadership Oshkosh Retreat.
Dr. M. Kevin McGee is a community columnist for the Oshkosh Northwestern
Dean Bill Tallon is a quarterly contributor to the Appleton Post Crescent.
Dr. Bill Wresch serves on the Board of Directors of Clairty Care.
Dr. Maureen Mascha sits on the Corporate Board of Resurrection College Prep in Chicago. She also serves on the finance committee for the school.
John Muraski serves as Ex-Officio for the PMI Northeast Wisconsin chapter.
Dr. Robert Kunkel is a member of the Board of Directors for The Bethel Foundation of Oshkosh; a member of the Investment Committee of Lutheran Homes of Oshkosh; the chair of the Asset-Liability Committee (ALCO) for the UW Oshkosh Credit Union; a member of the Editorial Boards for Managerial Finance and the Journal of Business and Economic Perspectives; a member of the Finance Committee of the Sisters of St. Francis; and a member of the UW System Tax Sheltered Annuity Review Committee.
Drs. Peter Westort, Ashay Desai and Mark Dishaw (retired) serve on the Asset-Liability Committee (ALCO) for the UW Oshkosh Credit Union.
Dr. Mike Eierman serves as project manager on the development of an information system that will facilitate the coordination of in-home care services for a network of nonprofit organizations (Clarity Care, American Red Cross, Fox Valley Lutheran Homes, etc.).
Dr. Joann Noe Cross is the incoming president of the Academy of Accounting Historians, an international accounting academic association.
Dr. Mike Godfrey sits on the Boards of Directors for the Fox Valley Chapter of APICS and the CSCMP Northeast Wisconsin Roundtable.
Dr. Scott Beyer serves on the Board of Directors for the UW University Insurance Association.
Dean Bill Tallon sits on the Boards of Directors for the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce, the Oshkosh Area Economic Development Corporation and Junior Achievement of Wisconsin - Fox Cities and Oshkosh. He also serves on the Steering Committee for Leadership Oshkosh.
Alumni Relations and Internal Community-Building
Alumni Relations
UW Oshkosh College of Business held its annual Alumni Dinner on Feb. 19, 2011 which attracted 165 attendees for an event at the Performing Arts Center in Appleton. At the dinner, the college honored two outstanding alumni (Russ Weyers, BBA '82, CEO at Johnson Financial and Diane Roundy MBA '92, Business Development Director at Schenck SC) and one outstanding faculty member (Linda Hartenian).
The College of Business Alumni magazine, Business Titan, was transitioned to a quarterly digital newsletter intended to inform constituency groups and alumni of College of Business news, is now the college's primary communications instrument to faculty, staff, alumni and students. Amy Pinkston leads the project. Departments, student groups and alumni have participated with stories and pictures of events, students and exciting information about faculty work.
Internal Community-Building
The College of Business launched a monthly email newsletter (BizNews) for faculty and staff as a way to share successes internally and build camaraderie in the College. Faculty and student groups have participated with stories and pictures of events, individual successes and exciting information about faculty work.
