College of Business News

A panel of four investment experts presented “The Iditarod of Investing: Following the Trail of the ‘Big Dogs’” for the Montana State University (MSU) College of Business’ (CoB) David Orser Executive Speakers Forum. Held on Thursday, April 16 in MSU’s Procrastinator Theater, more than 190 people attended the free event, resulting in a packed auditorium.

After introductions, each panelist gave a brief description of their background in the financial industry, providing the audience with a frame of reference for their viewpoints.

Panelists were:

The audience brought up concerns about the Bernie Madoff investment scandal and other recent Ponzi schemes. The panelists emphasized that Ponzi schemes work because fraudulent investment brokers are “buying fear and selling greed.” The panelists warned the audience against thinking that all types of investing would be unwise, pointing out that diligent investors working with reputable brokers can mitigate the potential for fraud.

Over the last several decades, the move from defined-benefit to defined-contribution pension plans have required almost everyone who works to also become a manager of their own investments. This is problematic because most people do not have any training in portfolio management. Panelists said it is important for investors to become educated about investment choices.

The David Orser Executive Speaker’s Forum, named for David B. Orser, a 1966 CoB graduate, is meant to inspire CoB students to pursue careers as innovative, responsible and ethical business leaders. Orser began funding the program in 1988.

For more information about this and future David Orser Executive Speaker’s Forum events, please contact Audrey Lee at 994-7026 or audrey.lee@montana.edu.

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Fifteen Montana State University College of Business (CoB) students and two CoB faculty were added to the prestigious list of Beta Gama Sigma (BGS) inductees at the annual initiation luncheon. BGS, an international honor society started in 1913, provides the highest recognition a business student anywhere in the world can receive in an accredited, Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), undergraduate or master’s program.

During the initiation luncheon held on April 7, BGS Advisor, Dr. Susan Dana, welcomed students. Sarah Smith, Vice President of Programs, and Anne Delaney, Vice President of Membership, encouraged the inductees to live according to the standards of Beta, meaning honor, Gama, meaning wisdom and Sigma, meaning earnestness. 

BGS presented The Beta Gama Sigma Professor of the Year Award to Dr. Angela Woodland, CoB assistant professor of accounting. Woodland joined the CoB in the fall of 2008 after teaching at both the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Louisiana State University. Her primary research interest is auditing, having worked as an auditor in the private sector for seven years. She is also interested in research related to the evaluation and improvement of accounting education. Woodland received both her Ph.D. and B.S. from the University of Missouri.

BGS also recognized John Murdoch, founder of Murdoch’s Ranch and Home Supply, as the Chapter Honoree. Murdoch talked about starting and growing his own business, attributing his success in life to passion and integrity. He encouraged students to find ways to live their own lives with these qualities. Challenging students to question themselves, he asked them, “What do you do when you think no one’s watching?” Murdoch stressed the importance of respect and talked about GET–the golden rule, excellence and trust–which he tries to instill in his employees. Murdoch ended his acceptance speech with two thoughts–life is a journey, not a destination, and it is important to strive for excellence along the way.

These words of wisdom have served Murdoch and Murdoch’s Ranch and Home Supply well. The business has grown to 14 stores, staffed with nearly 700 devoted employees. As a product of their success, Murdoch’s is also able to support 4-H, the Humane Society and dozens of other charitable organizations. Murdoch’s recently gave the CoB seed money for its new social entrepreneur class.

2009 BGS Inductees:

SENIORS –    Erin Burchett, Joey Chugani and Karen Heller.

JUNIORS –    Jackie Art, Kyle Blessinger, Kelsey Borge, Cori Bryant,
                   Matthew Helgeson*, Lindsey Juelfs, Amanda Manuel,
                   David Model, Jann Spizziri, Collin Thomas,
                   Barbara Todd and Mindy Trzinski. 
                   * in absentia

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With budgets tight, the Montana State University College of Business (CoB) still presented more than 100 scholarships and awards for students majoring in business options for the 2009-2010 academic year. The scholarships, announced Monday, April 6th at the College’s annual scholarship banquet, were provided through endowments and funds set up to specifically grant financial aid to students enrolled in the CoB. More than 250 people, including family and friends, attended the event.

Scott Holton (‘98 MPAc), partner of Rudd & Company PLLC, a small regional CPA firm, was the banquet’s keynote speaker. He talked to the scholarship recipients about many lessons that he has learned since graduation, such as the importance of relationships, especially those with faculty. He encouraged everyone to take advantage of opportunities to join service groups and be active in the community. “Be true to yourself” was another important lesson. Holton talked about being prepared to work hard, setting one’s self apart from the rest and being able to laugh at yourself. He ended the inspiring speech with a quote from Thomas Jefferson, “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.”

If you would like more information about College of Business scholarships, please contact Halina Rickman at hrickman@montana.edu or 406-994-4423.

Scholarship recipients and the type of scholarship/awards received were:

In-State Recipients
Mary Baker-Youderian, Stanford, Russell B. Hart Memorial Scholarship
Cy Baldwin, Roberts, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Kyle Blessinger, Helena, Boeing Business Scholarship
Joseph Bogen, Bozeman, American Bank/Carolyn Erickson Finance Scholarship
Sheena Brake, Belgrade, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Morgan Brennan, Laurel, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Jessica Briceno, Billings, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Heather Budd, Big Sky, Montana Society of CPAs Medallion Award
Jaci Cebuhar, Laurel, Harold & Reta Haynes Student Mentoring Scholarship
Mitchell Clark, Chester, Dean’s Award for Excellence - Graduate Student
Tiffany Cuerth, Chinook, Beta Alpha Psi Superior Chapter Award (KPMG)
Meghan Doyle, Bozeman, Donald W. Bullock Memorial Scholarship
Andrew Durkin, Butte, Anderson ZurMuehlen & Co. Scholarship
Gehrig Dye, Billings, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Mikel Erickson, Broadview, American Bank/Carolyn Erickson Finance Scholarship, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Luke Gallagher, Kalispell, Gil Crain Memorial Scholarship
Amanda Gengenbacher, Bozeman, Scott & Barbara Heck Scholarship
Shersha Greene, Eureka, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Brooke Griffin, Miles City, American Bank/Carolyn Erickson Finance Scholarship
Clifton Griffing, Billings, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Dane Hancock, Medicine Lake, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Holli Hashley, Kalispell, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Allison Haux, Joliet, Jeanne M. and Harold Roby Scholarship
Matthew Helgeson, Billings, Montana Bankers Association 25 Year Club Scholarship
Jacqueline Hill, Billings, Eli Lilly & Co. Scholarship
Courtney Holmberg, Billings, John W. Blankenhorn Scholarship
Laura Ingalls, Roundup, PricewaterhouseCoopers Scholarship
Steven Jackson, Bozeman, Junkermier, Clark, Campanella, Stevens Scholarship
Shardae Johnson, Chinook, Beta Alpha Psi & MSU Accounting Scholarship, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship, Alfred L. Day Award
Lindsey Juelfs, Great Falls, Farmer Anderson Memorial Scholarship
Marie Kaufman, Fromberg, Frank Preston Scholarship
Dawn Kellam, Chinook, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Justin King, Great Falls, John T. Cadby & George Bennett (MT Bankers Association)
William Kolski, Darby, Jerry D. Trainer Scholarship
Lindsay Korth, Bozeman, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Leah Kraft, Billings, EideBailly LLP Consultants/CPAs Scholarship
Ashley Kropp, Helena, Elizabeth Seitz-Moyer Memorial Scholarship
Samantha Kujala, Plains, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Kelsey Ladenburg, Columbia Falls, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Jenna Lang, Bozeman, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Anthony Layton, Eureka, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Tim Lehner, Whitefish, Frank Preston Scholarship
Alexis Lindberg, Sidney, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Garrett Lommatsch, Columbia Falls, American Bank/Carolyn Erickson Finance Scholarship, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Kevin Louden, Kalispell, American Bank/Carolyn Erickson Finance Scholarship, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Meghan Lunney, Bozeman, American Bank/Carolyn Erickson Finance Scholarship, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Amanda Manuel, Fairfield, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Brittany Maroney, Bozeman, KPMG LLP Scholarship
Katie Maurillo, Livingston, Frank Preston Scholarship
Rachel McGinnis, Belgrade, Harvey A. Larson Scholarship
RaLea McMaster, Chinook, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Elizabeth Mead, Colstrip, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Jacey Mitchell, Hardin, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Sophie Mumford, Bozeman, Parent/Family Association Scholarship
Makenzie Nehls, Bozeman, Parent/Family Association Scholarship
Elizabeth Nelson, Malta, Alice Knowles Scholarship
Cody Neves, Glendive, Frank Preston Scholarship
Janel Nordhagen, Plentywood, KPMG LLP Scholarship
Kale Norwood, Kalispell, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Ilima Orser-Cameron, Belgrade, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Kate Oswald, Bozeman, Montana Society of CPAs Scholarship
David Petroni, Bozeman, KPMG LLP Scholarship
Hannah Pimley, Joplin, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Jeffrey Pipkin, Bozeman, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
LeAnn Plymale, Townsend, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Kristin Principe, Billings, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Morgan Rangel, Great Falls, Michael McCue Memorial Scholarship
Joshua Reissig, Manhattan, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Kristin Reynolds, Roundup, Junkermier, Clark, Campanella, Stevens Scholarship
Stephanie Sanders, Eureka, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Sarah Saxby, Kalispell, Gary K. Bracken International Study Fellowship
Julia Schicktanz, Billings, CoB National Board of Advisors Scholarship
Brooke Senner, Bloomfield, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Sarah Smith, Glen, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Jann Spizziri, Shawmut, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Kay Spokas, Bozeman, Deloitte & Touche Scholarship
Ben Stambaugh, Billings, Bettie Eagle Nelson & Peggy Roman Taylor Scholarship
Katie Swindall, Kalispell, Donald W. Bullock Memorial Scholarship
Collin Thomas, Missoula, American Bank/Carolyn Erickson Finance Scholarship
Barbara Todd, Denton, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
James Trotter, Richey, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship, Wall Street Journal Academic Excellence Award
Jay Trotter, Richey, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Mindy Trzinski, Savage, Howard Kelsey Memorial Scholarship
Kelty Wallace, Choteau, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Courtney Wendland, Rudyard, MT Society of Public Accountants Scholarship

Out-of-State Recipients
Nobu Aoki, Jackson Hole, WY, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Kelsey Borge, Welches, OR, Bettie Eagle Nelson & Peggy Roman Taylor Scholarship
Meghan Cyr, Monticello, MN, Gary K. Bracken Scholarship
James Garland, Laramie, WY, Jim Alderson Memorial Scholarship
Anna Glowacki, Britt, MN, American Bank/Carolyn Erickson Finance Scholarship
Whitney Griffin, Custer, SD, Beta Alpha Psi & MSU Accounting Scholarship, Joseph Eve CPAs Scholarship
Jason Heffner, Olympia, WA, Friends of the Open Classic Golf Tournament Scholarship
Tyson Johnson, Shoreview, MN, Jim Alderson Memorial Scholarship
David Kovas, South Bend, IN, Harlan F. Patterson Scholarship
Jeffrey Lee, Issaquah, WA, US Bank - Bozeman Scholarship
Morgan Legerski, Casper, WY, American Bank/Carolyn Erickson Finance Scholarship, Mary Elizabeth McClure Memorial Scholarship
Tara Lindblom, Gillette, WY, Mike Bowen Memorial Scholarship
Samantha Mahlen, Williston, ND, David & Dorothy Patterson Scholarship
Melinda Monroe, Wayne, NJ, Galusha, Higgins, Galusha Scholarship
Austin Owens, Ft. Collins, CO, Gary K. Bracken International Study Fellowship, Gary K. Bracken Professionalism Award
Kate Padula, Colorado Springs, CO, Gary K. Bracken Scholarship
Tyler Rutz, Idaho Falls, ID, Deloitte & Touche Scholarship
Lacey Ryan, Vancouver, WA, Harlan F. Patterson Scholarship
Austin Trimbach, Haslett, MI, James B. & Margaret L. Lyons Scholarship

International Recipients
Joey Chugani, Dubai, UAE, KPMG LLP Scholarship
Mariko Shimada, Japan, Elizabeth Seitz-Moyer Memorial Scholarship

News

A panel of four investment experts will present “The Iditarod of Investing: Following the Trail of the ‘Big Dogs,’” for the Montana State University (MSU) College of Business (CoB) David Orser Executive Speakers Forum. The event will be held on Thursday, April 16 at 4:10 p.m. in the Procrastinator Theater on the MSU campus. The session will focus on helping participants think about how to navigate their financial futures. The panel discussion is free and open to the public.

The expert panelists will address institutional, corporate and individual investing, how it works, what is going to happen next in the financial markets and how future financial markets may affect individuals and what they can do about it.

Panelists are:

Minette Jessup – MSU adjunct business instructor, former principal of the Vanguard Group

Frank Kerins, CFA – MSU finance professor

Michael Monaghan – Director at UBS (Institutional Equity Group) and CoB alumnus

Cory Pulfrey, CFA – Managing Director, Alternative Investment Partners of Morgan Stanley and CoE alumnus

The David Orser Executive Speaker’s Forum is named for David B. Orser, a 1966 CoB graduate. Orser started funding the program in 1988 in order to inspire CoB students to pursue careers as innovative, responsible and ethical business leaders.

For more information about this event, please contact Audrey Lee at 994-7026 or audrey.lee@montana.edu.

News

The College of Business (CoB) held its fifth annual Entrepreneur Day in the Strand Union Ballrooms on the Montana State University (MSU) campus Thursday, March 26. This free event was a part of the CoB’s on-going community service to enhance entrepreneurial spirit and education.

The morning began with Interim Dean, Dan Moshavi’s welcome to high school student participants from around the state–some attending from as far away as Livingston and Cascade. The students were given a brief overview of the fun, interactive workshop they would be taking, as well as a crash course introduction into entrepreneurship and small business management. Split into smaller groups, the students created a small entrepreneurial business as a part of a simulation. Some of these businesses were required to be “environmentally friendly.” Assigned differing amounts of “seed capital,” the small groups had certain objectives to meet, such as assigning organizational positions, including company president and vice president. They also created and gave PowerPoint presentations about their start-up business at the end of the workshop.

Dawnette Olson, Grant Jamieson, Cory Crawford, Len Albright and Racheal Pienaar, CoB students in the Alderson Entrepreneurship Program, served as “experts” during the workshop, answering questions as the groups developed their businesses. At the end of the workshop, the students presented their ideas and the winning team received a “$25,000 check” that simulated a Small Business Association (SBA) grant for the successful launch of a small entrepreneurial business.

High school advisors were impressed with their students’ excitement and interaction in the program. Linda Cotton, the advisor from Cascade stated, “The format provided a combination of project-based, interactive learning with relative entrepreneurial instruction…perfect! My students that attended are already verbally reserving their seats for next year, and those that didn’t attend are doing the same. The MSU CoB Entrepreneur Day is definitely a day well-worth the travel time from Cascade and the day away from school.”

After the workshop, three young entrepreneurs met with the students. Sarah Greenshields talked about her businesses Genre & Mode, a company with a product line for diabetics, and The Natural Baby Company that specializes in cloth diapers, as well as other accessories and items. Cole Peterson started his own franchise with College Pro Painters, in the Bozeman area, and Jill Lennox started StuffIt, a company that makes trendy laptop bags. All three business owners are graduates of the Alderson Entrepreneur Program. They talked about their start-up businesses and some of their successes and failures. They advised students on how to start their own businesses and encouraged them to pursue their own business start-up opportunities.

The keynote presentation took place after lunch, with guest speaker Cloe Medina Erickson discussing her experiences as co-founder of Erickson Creative Group (ECG). This Livingston-based group focuses on architecture, historic preservation, photography, film and world exploration. Medina Erickson spoke to the students about finding a passion and incorporating it into an entrepreneurial venture, utilizing her own experiences as an example. ECG has collaborated with corporations, non-profits and individuals around the world, while setting a good example of social entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneur Day reflects the CoB’s and the Alderson Program in Entrepreneurship’s commitment to improve Montana’s economic development, while providing a framework for an outstanding educational experience for students. Students from any major in the University can take Entrepreneurship coursework through the CoB’s 30 credit-hour Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management minor. This event was sponsored in part by Boeing.

For further information about Entrepreneur Day, please contact Audrey Lee at 406-994-7026 or e-mail: audrey.lee@montana.edu.

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