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Price E-News - June 2020

Price College of Business – E-News June 2020
Dr. Wayne Thomas

Friends,

A little over one year ago, I was asked to serve as interim dean for Price College. From my perspective, this past year has been overwhelmingly positive, despite the obvious challenges caused by the pandemic. In many ways, the College has made significant strides forward. We hired a record number of faculty this past year and will have the largest number of faculty and staff in Price College’s history starting in the fall. Our enrollments this year were up from the previous year, and we expect even greater enrollments this fall. The reason for this growth: the success of our programs. Price College is in the middle of an ambitious growth phase to align our courses and programs with the needs of the changing economy. Students see this success, and they want to be part of it.

Starting next year, we will offer new programs in Aerospace and Defense, the Business of Healthcare, and the Business of Construction Science. We will offer an undergraduate certificate in Business Intelligence and Analytics to all Price majors. We will expand the Professional MBA offering to a much wider online audience, including Tulsa. We will continue to expand our masters programs in three key areas: Accounting, Finance and Information Technology. We have plans for expanding programs in Supply Chain Management, Financial Planning, Real Estate and Strategic Communications. We recently launched the OU Global Risks & Threats Series, bringing together thought leaders throughout the world. The Tom Love Innovation Hub and the Ronnie K. Irani Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth continue to gain momentum as leading programs in entrepreneurship on the OU campus and statewide. To continue our ambitious growth, we will look to hire more faculty and staff in the following year and to gather additional resources for our programs and students. It’s very clear to me—the future of Price College is bright.

As I leave my current position as interim dean, I want to sincerely thank the faculty and staff for this past year. Working alongside my colleagues has been a privilege. I have made new friends and strengthened existing friendships. I have watched so many of our faculty step up in these challenging times to serve the college. Our faculty had to move their courses online due to the pandemic and found new ways to give students the best educational experience possible. Perhaps one of the best parts of the year has been working with our staff. They are a joy. They help to create the family atmosphere that exists within Price College, and they remain vital to our success.

I also want to say a heartfelt thanks to the many alumni that I have had the pleasure to meet and interact with over the year. We have many individuals willing to participate in our various Boards of Advisors, Adams Society, guest lectures, recruiting students, student mentoring, or whatever way they were asked. Your willingness to help our students, faculty and staff is truly admirable and very much appreciated. I get to see firsthand the difference you are making.

Finally, I want to welcome our incoming dean, Corey Phelps. We are very excited about the talent and energy that Dean Phelps will bring to Price College. Please take a moment to review his short video below. In addition, I hope you will enjoy reading the many stories in this e-Newsletter that highlight just a few activities that have occurred at Price College since our last issue.

Wayne Thomas signature

Wayne Thomas
Interim Dean
W.K. Newton Chair of Accounting
George Lynn Cross Research Professor

Welcome From Incoming Dean Corey Phelps
May COVID-19 E-Newsletter
Image of the Price College of Busines Special Edition COVID-19 Response May 2020 E-Newsletter

In May, we released a special edition COVID-19 Response e-Newsletter, which spotlighted the many ways members of the Price College family have stepped up to the challenges presented by the pandemic this spring, including the University’s multi-phase plan for returning to normal operations, a new Clean and Green initiative for keeping the campus clean and a Safe and Resilient plan for students on campus for classes by this fall. If you have any questions about how the University of Oklahoma is addressing the COVID-19 crisis, please check the University’s coronavirus website, a resource that is updated regularly with the latest information available for the OU community.

Support Price College
Corey Phelps

To assist in implementing the Dean’s vision for Price College, the Dean’s Excellence Fund was established to provide immediate and flexible funding for unforeseen circumstances, student and faculty emergencies, and new initiatives of the highest priority. Gifts to this fund provide a solid financial foundation from which the Dean can promote exceptional leadership, launch creative programs and address innovative opportunities for Price College.

Donate Online

Tackle Big Issues | Energy
Price College of Business | Energy Institute | The University of Oklahoma

In response to the challenges of pandemic-related global demand for energy resources, the OU Energy Institute launched a new complimentary bi-weekly summer webcast series, starting June 15. The premier episode featured Scott Sheffield, president and CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, who was interviewed by Bruce Stover, longtime Energy Institute board member, and Price alumnus John Westerheide (BBA, Marketing, 2007; Executive MBA in Energy, 2018) of Ming Energy Partners. Future episodes will cover numerous guests and topics from the energy sector, including hydrocarbon, renewables and energy in transition.

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Find MBA - MBA Programs Worldwide

The Executive MBA in Energy program, as well as all of Price College’s graduate programs, has been included in FindMBA’s new Top 10 Business Schools for Energy and Natural Resources 2020 list. The article states that “Price is helping grads tap into [natural gas and oil] industries with a number of specialized MBA offerings, including an Executive MBA in Energy.”

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Emily Guevara

Emily Guevara joins the Energy Institute as marketing/public relations specialist on June 15. Guevara comes to OU after more than a decade in newspaper journalism primarily covering education, religion and nonprofits, before moving into newsroom management. A San Antonio native, she graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelor of arts degree in journalism.

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Tackle Big Issues | Economic Development
High Growth Graduate Division First Place Winner - $20,000 - University of Oklahoma - Advisor Ron Bolen, Team Leader: Dilina Abudurexiti, Team Members: Salyid Isba Maududi, Maria Doutey and Mark Allen

Price College students won numerous awards at this year’s i2E’s Love’s Entrepreneur’s Cup, with entrepreneurship teams taking top awards in graduate and undergraduate divisions, plus an interview award and a Paulsen Scholarship Award winner. Congratulations to our students and faculty for these great achievements!

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Keith Brigham

Price alumnus Keith Brigham (BBA, Marketing, 1990) is the new director of the Tom Love Division of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development and C. S. Trosper Chair and Professor of Entrepreneurship. Brigham earned his Ph.D. in Entrepreneurship from the University of Colorado at Boulder and MBA from Oklahoma City University. His research has been published in journals such as Business Ethics Quarterly, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Family Business Review, The Leadership Quarterly, Journal of Business Venturing and Organizational Research Methods.

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Asa Leveaux

In May, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion hosted a Zoom meeting with guest presenter, Asa Leveaux, “America's #1 EntreQUEERneur Coach.™” Leveaux is an international professional speaker, bestselling author, decorated combat veteran and award-winning entrepreneur. He challenged viewers ideas of what it means to be a leader in an environment that doesn’t always reflect one’s college experience.

Tackle Big Issues | Globalization
The Pandemic Threat - Risks and Impacts of COVID-19 | Cyber Intelligence, Financial Intelligence, Threat Intelligence, Incident Response

Price College launched a new online OU Global Risks & Threats Series on June 6, with global leaders from the intelligence, finance, law enforcement, corporate and cyber sectors. The subject of the first forum was The Pandemic Threat: Risks and Impacts of COVID-19, and focused on the latest threats, trends and strategies on how to address the most critical issues of the pandemic.

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Oklahoma's Comeback Webinars - State Chamber of Oklahoma

Ken Petersen, director of the Division of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, Helen Robson Walton Chair in Marketing Strategy, and Professor of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, was invited to give a presentation about global supply chains to the Oklahoma State Chamber as part of their new virtual COVID-19 town hall series

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Davis Mitchell

Davis Mitchell, who graduated in December 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in international business and finance with minors in Spanish and international studies, is one of seven OU students who has been awarded a Fulbright grant to learn and teach abroad in the 2020-21 academic year. He will spend his Fulbright year completing an internship in Mexico City and taking graduate courses at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México.

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Generate Business Insights
Cordney McClain

Cordney McClain, director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, was interviewed by VoyageDallas about his businesses, MAC Woods Ink and Brothers 4 Progress. MAC Woods Ink is a spoken word and printed outlet of nonprofit Brothers 4 Progress, which provides guidance to inner Oklahoma City youth ages 8 to 18 and encourages self-development and opportunity through summits and conferences. McClain also was a featured speaker in the Claiming Your Why and Soul Purpose Virtual Summit.

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Laku Chidambaram

Laku Chidambaram, Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Engagement and W.P. Wood Professor of Management Information Systems, authored a new article this spring for Poets & Quants. The article draws on the history of business education and offers tips for business schools to prosper after COVID-19.

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Man standing with arms crossed wearing an OU polo

Price alum Will Bowersox (BBA, Entrepreneurship and Venture Management, 2010), co-founded Red & West, a licensed apparel company for OU products. Bowersox participated in the First Fidelity Integrated Business Core program, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. His new company has launched their first product, a retro OU gameday polo styled after 1985 coaching staff shirts.

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Finance division continues seminar series via Zoom

Despite campus closures this spring, the Division of Finance has continued its Finance Seminar Series with Zoom-based meetings featuring guest topic experts from universities across the nation.

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Prepare Leaders
Daniel Carpenter

Price College senior Daniel Carpenter recently was awarded the Miracle Network’s Dance Marathon Distinguished Leadership Award. Carpenter, who will graduate this fall with double majors in Finance and Economics, was one of 25 award-winning students selected among thousands of graduating seniors across 300 North American colleges and universities who were considered for the award.

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Photo of OU Medal which reads The University of Oklahoma 1890

Numerous Price students who graduated this academic year received recognition from the University for maintaining perfect 4.0 grade-point averages throughout their undergraduate careers.

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Beta Gamma Sigma - The International Business Society

Sixteen Price students have been inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, the premier honor society recognizing business excellence. This honor is only available to the top students from the top business schools, and only 5% of all business schools are accredited by the AACSB International, the global accrediting body for colleges of business. This year’s students include six undergraduate students, nine masters students and one doctoral student.

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Al Schwarzkopf

Several Price faculty members were recognized this spring by the University for decades of service, including 50 years for retiring Management Information Systems professor Al Schwarzkopf, and several 20- and 30-year recognitions.

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Al Schwarzkopf

In April, interim dean Wayne Thomas announced the 2020 faculty and staff awards and recognitions, including Dean’s Awards, faculty and Ph.D. student awards, faculty A Papers, anniversaries for years of service and retirements.

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Faculty Research
Heshan Sun

A collaborative OU team has been awarded a nearly $200,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for a research project that will investigate how technology helps to cope with the stresses of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. This project is a cooperative effort between Associate Professor of Management Information Systems Heshan Sun at Price College and Shane Connelly and Georgia Kosmopoulou at the College of Arts and Sciences.

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Matt Jensen and Shalia Miranda

MIS division faculty Matt Jensen and Shaila Miranda, along with Shane Connelly from the College of Arts and Sciences, have received a $200,000 research sub-grant titled, “Ideological Influence and Radicalization in Online Microblog Platforms,” from the new National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education Center of Excellence at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

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Radhika Santhanam

Radhika Santhanam, division director and Michael F. Price Chair of Management Information Systems, is researching the “gamification” of digital learning in a COVID-19 environment. Her research shows that creating curiosity, challenges and such goals as acquiring badges or a position on the leaderboard can engage students in learning.

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Margaret Shaffer

Margaret Shaffer, Professor of Management and Michael F. Price Chair in International Business, was featured by the OU Foundation’s Impact publication in a story about her communication technology research.

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Ten years after its publication, a paper co-authored by Tom Lumpkin is still receiving the highest number of research citations among its peer publications. Lumpkin has been recognized by SAGE Publishing with a 10-Year Impact Award for his research.

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Xuan Feng

Xuan Feng has co-authored a new article, “Digital Nudging: Numeric and Semantic Priming in E-Commerce,” in the Journal of Management Information Systems.

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Ken Petersen

Ken Petersen has co-authored a new article, “Conflicting Paradigms in Manufacturing and Marketing Decisions: The Effects of Situational Awareness on Team Performance,” in the International Journal of Production Economics.

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Bill Megginson

Bill Megginson’s co-authored article, “Government Equity Investments in Coronavirus Bailouts: Why, How, When?” has been published by SSRN.

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Mark Bolino

Mark Bolino published a new article in Psychology Today, “Perhaps That Discomfort You’re Experiencing Is Guilt.”

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Also, his past research was referenced and he was quoted in a new article about receiving help in the midst of the new work-from-home environment by Augusta Free Press.

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In Memoriam
David Boyle

David Bole (BBA, Professional Land Management, 1961) has passed away. During college, Bole was a member of Army ROTC, and upon graduation served in the United States Army Artillery Division – Big Red One. Throughout his 50-year career in oil and gas, David was a tireless networker and business builder. He held numerous leadership roles in prominent companies starting as a landman with Humble Oil in Ardmore, Oklahoma. His career with Humble took him to Oklahoma City, New Orleans and Houston. He left Humble in 1968 to join Merrill Lynch in Oklahoma City, where he eventually became national product manager for oil and gas investments in New York City. Returning to Oklahoma City, he was co-founder and president of Edwards & Leach Oil Co. Later, he went to Pittsburgh to work for Equitable Resources. Moving back to Houston, he became managing director at Randall & Dewey and ultimately retired from Quantum Energy Partners. He served on the OU Sarkeys Energy Center board of directors and the advisory board for the Energy Management program at the Price College of Business. In 2011, he received the Price College Distinguished Alumni Award.

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Donald T. Phillips and family

Donald T. Phillips (BBA, Accounting, 1964; Master of Accountancy, 1966) (second from left) has passed away. While at OU, Phillips was a member of ROTC and played trombone in the Pride of Oklahoma marching band. Soon after graduation, he left for Vietnam to serve with the US Army. He continued to serve in the Army Reserves until ultimately retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1990. Phillips passed the Certified Public Accountant exam on his first try. His career took his family to Houston, Tulsa, and Dallas. Eventually, they settled in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, where Don worked many years for Phillips Petroleum before eventually retiring from Truity Credit Union. After retirement, Phillips and wife Nancy thoroughly enjoyed their life at Robson Ranch in Denton, Texas. In May 2016, Phillips was recognized during the OU commencement and Price College of Business convocation ceremonies.

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