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Huntsman Professor Sterling Bone is Interviewed on Channel 4 About Princess Marketing

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 MST

Sterling Bone, assistant professor, was recently interviewed on Channel 4’s “Daily Dish” story as part of a panel that was talking about the “Princess Festival” at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah and how the princess archetype can be modified to better-shape ideals for young women. Dr. Bone, who teaches marketing, has done research on how the concept of a princess impacts consumer behavior and well-being. You can see his interview by clicking here.

Huntsman Professors Kathy Chudoba and Merideth Ferguson interviewed on Utah Public Radio

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:00:00 MST

On June 11, 2013, Kathy Chudoba, Management Information Systems graduate director and associate professor, and Merideth Ferguson, assistant professor, were featured on Access Utah, a Utah Public Radio program hosted by Tom Williams. The show focused on the changing workplace, and Dr. Chudoba and Dr. Ferguson were asked about their research into workplace issues. You can hear the radio show by clicking on this link.

USU teams win at national IT competition

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 MST

By Kevin Opsahl

Two teams at Utah State University’s Jon M. Huntsman School of Business took top places in an information technology competition that pitted them against colleges and universities from around the world.

They placed first and second in the 2013 Walmart IT Summit and AIS Student Chapter Leadership Conference in Bentonville, Ark., which brought together 82 teams from top universities, testing their IT skills and ability, according to USU.

“We came to know about the risk in real life,” said Patel, a graduate student in management information systems. “We used our classroom experience as the foundation to solve real-life challenges for a company like Walmart, and that was a great experience.”

Click here to read the full article.

National MIS Champions From Huntsman School Interviewed on

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 MST

Two teams from the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business recently placed first and second in an information systems competition in Bentonville, Ark., that pitted 82 teams from top universities around the world against each other, testing their IT skills and their ability to find innovative solutions. Four of the students from the winning teams were guests on KSL’s daily program “Browser 5.0” on May 15. You can see the interview on "Browswer 5.0" by clicking here.

Atoms for peace: Now what?

Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 MST

Editor's note: William F. Shughart II is a professor of economics and finance at the Huntsman School of Business and the J. Fish Smith Professor in Public Choice at Utah State University. This column, posted below, has been published in news outlets across the nation including The Anchorage Daily News, The Merced Sun Star, and The Bradenton Herald.

The Kansas City Star

By WILLIAM F. SHUGHART II

Sixty years ago this December, President Dwight D. Eisenhower turned a dangerous situation around. In an address to the U.N. General Assembly at the height of the Cold War, he made a commitment to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
That commitment is now being threatened: by activists who oppose building a storage depository for nuclear waste and by energy policies that favor any alternative to fossil fuels except a nuclear one.

The goal of Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" vision should be evident. Currently, 68 nuclear power plants are being built around the world, according to the World Nuclear Association. An additional 150 are in the planning stage, and an additional 340 have been proposed.

All of this is in addition to the 437 nuclear plants currently in operation, including 104 in the United States. Overall, nuclear power supplies 12.3 percent of the world's electricity and it's the largest source of carbon-free energy.

Click here to read the full article.

Two Utah State University Teams Take First and Second Place in Global IT Competition

Mon, 06 May 2013 00:00:00 MST

Editor's note: The following is a press release issued by the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business. This press release was picked up by more than 150 media outlets including MoneyShow.com, The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Anchorage Daily News, The LA Daily News, The Kansas City Star, The Miami Herald, The Boston Globe and Newsday.

Jon M. Huntsman School of Business Students Took Top Honors at the 2013 Walmart IT Summit and AIS Student Chapter Leadership Conference

The Utah State University students took the top honors at the 2013 Walmart IT Summit and AIS Student Chapter Leadership Conference. The Association of Information Systems (AIS), the organization that hosted the competition, is a professional group for individuals and organizations that lead the research, teaching, practice and study of information systems worldwide. Teams from 17 universities entered the contest and just six teams in each of four different categories made it to the finals.

Vishal Patel, Dannaea Ward and Eric Schnell, took first place in the "IT risk identification category.

Photo By Steve Eaton

A team of three Huntsman MIS students, which included Vishal Patel, Dannaea Ward and Eric Schnell, entered the “IT risk identification category” and took first place. They were asked to do a case study for a fictional health care company that was trying to decide if it should store private patient data in an online secure cloud storage system or on a more traditional protected system. The team took first place on a regional level to qualify for nationals where it was further tested and asked to come up with a more detailed plan to mitigate the risks of its recommendation.

“In the IT risk identification competition we were up against students from Arizona State University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Alabama and Temple University, all of which are ranked among the top 20 MIS programs in the United States,” Ward said. “By placing in both categories we competed in, we were able to gain great recognition for our MIS program. We as Huntsman Students take great pride in the education we are receiving and this was the perfect opportunity to show off the skills we have learned.”

Gina Baldazzi, Kristen Tenney and Kyle Bell took second place in the “interactive learning module”category.

Photo by Steve Eaton

The other team of three Huntsman management information systems (MIS) students, which included Gina Baldazzi, Kristen Tenney and Kyle Bell, submitted a training video they created and took second place in the “interactive learning module” category. The video, which a former student, Marielle Sanchez, helped them create before she graduated in 2012, is aimed at helping people learn how to create an “entity relationship diagram,” which Baldazzi described as “the blue prints for a database.” She said they wanted to create something that was not too technical so that even those who are not MIS students could understand it.

David Olsen, who heads the Management Information Systems Department, said it is impressive that the Huntsman students competed so well in this premiere international MIS competition.

“The hallmark of a great MIS student at USU is hard work, productivity and camaraderie,” Olsen said. “Our students were just so determined to bring home awards and I am so proud of them. To see them excel like this when competing against some of the brightest students in the country is gratifying.”

One competition broke students up into new teams made up of a mix of students from various schools. The team Baldazzi was on took second place in that competition.

Charlie Denson, President of Nike Brand, Advises Students to Keep Their Options Open and Change the World

Sat, 04 May 2013 00:00:00 MST

LOGAN, UT - One of the best known alums of the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business, Charlie Denson, told USU graduates on May 4 to be curious, keep their options open, follow their passion, and change the world.

Mr. Denson, ’78, marketing, is the president of the Nike Brand and was the commencement speaker for Utah State University Saturday morning. The president of Bangkok University, Mathana Santiwat, spoke at the Huntsman School’s convocation ceremony the afternoon of May 4.

They both received honorary doctorates during USU’s 126th Commencement Ceremony along with: Samuel Alba, retired United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Utah; and Orrin Hatch, Utah senator and the most senior Republican in the United States Senate. USU graduates for the class of 2013 earned 3,633 bachelor’s degrees, 821 master’s degrees, 93 doctorates and five became educational specialists. There were more than 800 Huntsman students who graduated this spring.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, left, speaks with Charlie Denson.

Photo by Steve Eaton

Mr. Denson, who is responsible for leading the strategy of the world’s most distinctive, authentic, and connected brand in sports, told the students that they will never have more freedom than they have right now to make choices about their life. He suggested they not be too specific in planning out their lives at this point. He said they should stay open to new ideas and options.

“I have been fortunate enough to have traveled from the jungles of Africa, to the urban jungles of the world’s biggest cities,” he said. “I have seen hope in the faces of children living in conditions that you would find hard to imagine. I can assure you the human spirit is alive and well. Find a way to tap into it and you’ll learn a lot about yourself. You’re smart — smarter than any generation before you. But you’re not wise, not yet. Wisdom will come with time, so respect it.”

Mr. Denson talked about his vocational career and admitted he turned down the first chance he had to join Nike when it was a “small company, run by a bunch of ex-jocks.” Even when he did join the company he planned to only stay for five years and then go get a “real job.”

“I can now honestly say I never had to go get that real job, and the career thing — it’s turned out okay,” he said. “Thirty four years later I have lived and traveled all over the world, been to every major sporting event there is, met and worked with some of the smartest, most creative people on the planet. I’ve met with presidents, prime ministers, and world leaders, and call some of the greatest athletes of our time close friends. I have a pretty good gig, to say the least.”

He asked the graduates to lead the next “evolution” of the earth.

“I hope that you want to change the world,” he said, “Make it a better place. We can’t continue the way we have. We’re running out of natural resources, we’re altering ecosystems and slowly destroying our planet. Our planet is big, but it’s not infinite. It’s not about using less. It’s about doing things differently. That’s where you come in. Look for new ways to create things, new ways to use things, different ways to dispose of things. Our planet has its limits, but limits create opportunities to innovate, to get to a different place.”

President Santiwat came on a scholarship from Bangkok College to Utah State University in 1976, where she completed a master’s in accounting degree. At the Huntsman convocation ceremony Saturday afternoon she talked of the four pillars of the Huntsman School: global vision, analytical rigor, entrepreneurial spirit, and ethical leadership.

Marathana Santiwait, president of Bangkok University, speaks to Huntsman Graduates.

Photo by Jessie Jackson.

She said a focus on entrepreneurial thinking can transform someone from within.

“Once fully internalized, this kind of (entrepreneurial) spirit readily encourages you to give your best to everything you are committed to,” she said.

She called the ethical leadership pillar a “precious gem.”

“Leadership is not always the same thing as leader, and we all know that anyone can have leadership although they may not have a position,” she said. “To lead is to serve, as wise men say.”

She said that Bangkok University shares a vision with the Huntsman School when it comes to its four pillars and encouraged Huntsman students to become life-long learners, with a global vision, and to be ethical, happy leaders.

Dean Douglas D. Anderson said Huntsman faculty members encourage students to exemplify the four pillars.

“We like to encourage our students to learn as much they can from what we call ‘outside the classroom’ experiences, as they do from inside the classroom, and so many faculty members are there with our students every step of the way, spending countless hours mentoring them for academic competitions, leading career exploration trips, and global learning experiences,” he said.

Dean Anderson quoted from the song “Forty Years On,” which is sung by the students and alumni of the Harrow School, the London school forboys, whose most famous graduate is Winston Churchill.

Forty years on, when afar and asunder
Parted are those who are singing today.
When you look back, and forgetfully wonder
What you were like in your work and your play.
Then, it may be, there will often come o’er you,
Glimpses of notes like the catch of a song…
How will it seem to you, forty years on?

He told the students that it has been 40 years since he graduated and warned them that time would fly.

“The Harrow song asks us to reflect from the point of view of the future back on our experience today,” he said. “Are we using our time wisely and well? Are we devoting our energies to things that matter most?”

Huntsman Valedictorian Zach Maxfield compared USU to “the loveable uncle that stays out of the family fights, who all the cousins love to hang out with, and has the most fun while still being surprisingly smart.”

He said USU draws a certain type of person to the school.

“I think that this is what differentiates us the most,” he said. “It is this unique character that I’ve loved being a part of. It makes the school what it is.”

He thanked the teachers, professors, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and students who he said made his educational experience so valuable.

“I’d like to think I can sp

eak for most of the students when I say the whole Utah State experience has been one of the best times in my life,” he said.
At the Graduate Commencement and Hooding Ceremony on May 3, Mark McLellan, vice president for research and dean of the School of Graduate Studies encouraged students to succeed and choose their own path. More than 1,000 Utah State graduate students completed their programs this year.

“We believe that you can win and create that future path for all of us,” he said. “Now go and make it happen and when someone says it can’t be done, you just laugh in their face because anything is possible when you believe.”

In the Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony President Stan Albrecht said that there are now nearly 30,000 students at USU, compared to 137 some 125 years ago. He said USU conducts its teaching, research and outreach programs in 629 buildings and that the campus now draws students from 50 states and 82 foreign countries.

USU athletics: Aggies recognize 189 student-athletes at annual Whitesides Luncheon

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 MST

Editor's Note: The following article features student Bri Campbell who is an accounting major at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business.

The Deseret News

By Doug Hoffman

Utah State’s athletics department recognized 189 student-athletes for achieving a 3.2 grade point average at the 20th annual Joe E. and Elma Whitesides Scholar-Athlete Luncheon on Tuesday. To be eligible for the honor, student-athletes must have a cumulative 3.2 grade point average or have posted a 3.2 GPA during the last two semesters.

In all, approximately 51 percent of USU’s student-athletes earned a 3.2 GPA to qualify for the awards.

The top honoree during the luncheon was senior track athlete Bri Campbell, as 13 of the past 23 recipients of the top individual honor have been from track and field, while 19 of the past 22 honorees have been women. During that time, the only males to win the award have been Mike Puzey from men's basketball in 2003, Tyler Ellis from men’s track who shared the award with Rebecca Anderson and Alison Taylor in 2009, and Daniel Howell from men’s track who shared the award with Katelyn Heiner in 2012.

Campbell (Riverton, Utah/Riverton HS) will graduate from Utah State this spring with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and carries a 3.96 cumulative grade point average. Following graduation, she plans to pursue a master’s degree in accounting from USU. Overall, Campbell is a four-time Whitesides Scholar Athlete recipient and a three-time academic all-Western Athletic Conference honoree.

To read the full article, click here.

Business professor makes student success priority

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:00:00 MST

The Utah Statesman

By Stacey Worster

From his career beginnings working as a technical engineer to raising a family and going back to school for his MBA, Dan Holland’s life has been full of unexpected turns. However, students won’t find him complaining.

Holland was recently named the Huntsman School of Business Teacher of the Year, and is an assistant entrepreneurship professor in the Huntsman School of Business.

“I got my undergrad at BYU in electrical engineering and then worked mainly with software development at various companies. It wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, so I headed back to BYU to get my MBA,” Holland said. “My career path changed rapidly and went all different directions until I found what I was passionate about. It was a fun process and I try to instill in my students that they have the privilege to try different things until they find their niche.”

Holland has worked on various different research projects in the business field and said he enjoys his job thoroughly. He likes teaching, but he also like hands-on work.

“Half of my job is teaching and the other half is research and service,” Holland said. “I do a lot of entrepreneurship decision making is what I focus on, and why entrepreneurs persist with the decisions they make.”

To read the rest of this article, click here.

Two USU Graduates Earn the Prestigious “Sells Award” For Highest Scores on CPA Exam

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:00:00 MST

Alums Anthony Lemon and Jill Aoki Were Among
Only 39 out of 92,000 to be so Recognized

Jon M. Huntsman School of Business Press Release

LOGAN, UT – Just 39 people out of 92,000 plus candidates who took the Uniform CPA Examination in 2012 scored above 95.5, and two of those high scorers were graduates of the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University.

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants just released the names of those who will be receiving the prestigious Elijah Watt Sells Award, given only to people who average above 95.5 on the four tests all must take to become certified public accountants. Jill Aoki and Anthony Lemon, who graduated with master’s degrees in accounting from USU in 2012 were on that list. It’s a unique accomplishment that school officials say has never been matched by an accounting graduating class at USU.

Jill Aoki and Anothony Lemon are 2 of 39 individuals who awarded the prestigious Elijah Watt Sells Award.

Photo By Sterling Morris

Graduates from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); University of Wisconsin, Texas A&M, Bentley University, Boston College, Georgetown University and Brigham Young University were among the few schools that could boast their graduates earned the prestigious award.

Larry Walther, the department head for the School of Accountancy, said it is extremely unusual for a school the size of the Huntsman School of Business to have two students win the Sells Award.

“I think it says something about us either being really lucky or, at least having the right curriculum in place,” he said. “I hope it says we have the right curriculum in place and the right kind of students.”

Scott Nixon, who is a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers where Lemon now works, doesn’t seem to think there’s any luck involved.
“This is unheard of really,” he said. “It happens so rarely in the state of Utah to any of the universities. It’s wonderful that USU has two winners. That just says a whole lot about the program at Utah State.”

Nixon said when he first met Lemon at a recruiting event he could tell that he was “very special” and that they would want him on the PricewaterhouseCoopers team.

“Anthony is a stellar example of the high quality USU graduates who show up in the work force with a ready knowledge of how to work hard and make significant contributions to the teams they work with,” he said.

Lemon said his classes introduced him to the basic concepts he would need to understand for the test, and the good study habits he developed in school helped him prepare for it.

Aoki, who was the Huntsman valedictorian last year, agreed that the classes she took and professors she worked with helped prepare her for the test. She said Walther and other professors encouraged her to study hard for the exam by expressing confidence in her ability to come out on top as a Sells Award winner.

“I did use a review course,” she said. “Most people do use some sort of review, so I think that was helpful. One thing I did was that I made flash cards of pretty much everything. I had these electronic flash cards, and everywhere I was going – even if I was walking across campus - I had my phone out looking through them. If I was just waiting in line at the grocery store, I was going through them.”

Tracy Christman is an audit partner at Ernst & Young where Aoki had been offered a job after she completed a summer internship more than a year before graduation. Like Nixon, Christman was involved in the recruiting process and was pleased to see Aoki get top scores.

“I think it is absolutely outstanding,” she said. “I know from personal experience that passing the exam is a huge milestone but to be able to do so in such spectacular fashion…it’s just amazing to me.”