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Price E-News - Special Edition: COVID-19 Response May 2020

Price College of Business – Special Edition: COVID-19 Response, E-News May 2020
Dr. Wayne Thomas

Friends,

Ever since March 12, when the University asked all faculty to move classes online, staff to telecommute from home, and students to participate in an electronic, distanced way, our daily operations have pushed us into new frontiers of learning and processes. Although there have been immediate and continuing challenges, I am continually impressed and inspired by the dedication of our faculty and staff to provide students with the best opportunities to learn and grow. Many of our faculty, staff and students have gone above and beyond to help their communities, and I am excited to share some of these stories with you.

At this point, the University has a multi-phase plan for returning to normal operations, including a new Clean and Green initiative for keeping the campus clean, plus 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.

What follows, in this special edition e-Newsletter, are just a handful of the many ways members of the Price College family have stepped up to the challenges presented by the pandemic this spring. To say that I am proud of every student, faculty and staff member who has risen up during these challenging times is an understatement. These examples illustrate how our community continues to come together to rise above the current challenges we’re facing in order to shine.

Wayne Thomas signature

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

OU Global Risks & Threats Series
The Pandemic Threat - Risks and Impacts of COVID-19 | Cyber Intelligence, Financial Intelligence, Threat Intelligence, Incident Response

We are excited to announce a new collaboration between the Price College of Business and the OU Center for Intelligence and National Security, as we present the first Zoom-based session in a new OU Global Risks & Threats Series, designed to find global solutions to the most pressing issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Led by series founding director Adriana Sanford, our first session, The Pandemic Threat: Risks and Impacts of COVID-19, will be held online from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Central time Saturday, June 6, and features numerous presenters from across the globe. We hope you will consider joining us for this important new series.

Covid-19 Essential Equipment Task Force
Student works on PPE at OU I-Hub

Early on, teams across multiple University divisions began working together on solutions for the pandemic crisis, utilizing research, products and facilities across the spectrum for problem-solving. By mid-April, the COVID-19 Essential Equipment Task Force, a team of more than 40 individuals across OU’s three campuses, had begun to develop, prototype, validate and offer recommended essential equipment designs for respirators, isolation boxes, face shields and head straps, with additional products currently in development. A full list of products and 3D printing templates is available on their new website. Major components in this collective team include the Tom Love Innovation Hub and its staff, facilities and materials. As of May 5, the University has donated more than 300 face shields and 11 isolation boxes, manufactured at the I-Hub, to the OU Medical Center.

Share & Grow Donations
Share & Grow collects PPE donations and other supplies

Associate Professor of Marketing Qiong Wang’s organization Share & Grow has teamed up with the Oklahoma Chinese Community group to donate money, cleaning supplies and PPE to hospitals in the metro area, as well as EMSA, police stations, fire departments and nursing homes.

Share & Grow, which she co-founded in May 2018, helps share resources to help future generations learn life skills and build a healthier community together. Many who didn’t have anything to donate started sewing cloth masks. In just a few weeks, the two organizations collected and donated nearly $40,000, more than 20,000 N95 personal protection masks, nearly 24,000 surgical masks, 500 cloth masks and thousands of items of cleaning supplies, such as wipes and gloves.

Spring 2020 Online Commencement and Convocation Ceremonies
Karma Choedak

On May 8, graduating seniors and graduate students participated in the University’s first-ever virtual commencement and convocation ceremonies. Although in-person services are tentatively scheduled for Aug. 8-9, we are so proud of the class of 2020 for making the best of the situation and joining us online for the celebrations. Some students even participated in a fun cap decorating contest, which you can see here. (There’s even a Price College-themed one near the end of the video.)

Other Stories
Laku Chidambaram

Laku Chidambaram, Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Engagement and W.P. Wood Professor of Management Information Systems, immediately began volunteering to help in a truly unique manner, by offering to apply quantitative methods to solving business problems pro bono to anyone currently enrolled in or graduated from the Price College of Business, via Google Meet. He also made donations to OU’s Food Pantry with every visit.

MBA students present consulting projects online

Full-time MBA students made the best of a difficult situation in mid-March by presenting their consulting projects to their clients online, including from inside a car and on a “tropical island,” all without missing a beat.

Kelly Grace and family

Price College Board of Advisors member and alum Kelley Grace (Bachelor of Accountancy, 2000), her busband Patrick (MBA, 2002) and their family supported a United Way of Norman fundraiser for a COVID-19 response and recovery fund that raised $3,600.

Drawing by Tom Jones Designs

Tom Jones, Price College alum (BBA, Entrepreneurship and Venture Management, 2018) and founder of Tom Jones Designs, has established an online COVID-19 relief auction and raffle for his original works of art. All proceeds will be given as a charitable donation to a family in need, meal program or small struggling business of the winner’s choice. To date, more than $1,200 has been raised for charity, and the first raffle drawing will take place June 11, with additional raffles to be offered at later dates. Jones also is working with local small businesses to offer help with logo designs and auctionable artwork. Please visit his website to place a bid or purchase raffle tickets for his artwork.

Robert Okello

Each spring, Assistant Professor Denise Parris’s New Venture Development III entrepreneurship class prepares final presentations for their products and services. Without a physical classroom, this year’s 15 student startup teams stepped up and filmed video presentations instead, which Denise compiled into a final virtual showcase, which you can view here

I-CCEW staff

At the Ronnie K. Irani Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth, staff adapted to a new online format and conducted 45 virtual interviews to select next semester’s incoming I-CCEW cohort. They conducted end-of-semester final presentations remotely, attracting more than 300 viewers from across the globe to support and listen to the 13 student team presentations across all three OU campuses. They also reached out to I-CCEW alumni for help with Venture Strategy Sessions: one-hour counseling sessions for business owners and founders to talk through issues on their mind, especially related to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. They conducted six focus groups with 30 local shoppers to develop COVID-19 re-opening insights for local businesses. The Mine, a social innovation program for young professionals, has gone fully remote, and consulting teams gave final presentations for their Oklahoma City and Tulsa locations. The OKCoders program has offered free coding meetups with instructors remotely during the quarantine, and plans continue to offer the boot camp instruction later this summer. The I-CCEW will be managing Tulsa Summer Academy on behalf of the George Kaiser Family Foundation for rising college juniors and seniors in Tulsa. If you are thinking about growth plans for your business, research or nonprofit, have an interest in social entrepreneurship support, want to learn full-stack coding skills, or are a Tulsa-based rising junior or senior with an interest in an innovation consulting internship, please contact I-CCEW Executive Director Jeff Moore via email at j-moore@ou.edu.

I-Hub Events
Innovation Hub at the University of Oklahoma

In response to the spring campus closure, the Tom Love Innovation Hub moved many of its programs online, including the bi-weekly Hack & Learn series, offered in Norman and Tulsa, which focuses on the different aspects of web programming, including HTML, CSS and JavaScript; Sooner Startup, which offers guidance in starting new businesses; and Virtual Coffee Sessions, where different individuals can get together and discuss strategies and creative problem solving in an era of COVID-19.

Faculty Insights

Despite facing new challenges, Price College faculty have ramped up research as it pertains to the coronavirus. The following faculty members have either written new articles or have been interviewed for their insight over the past two months.

Mark Bolino

Mark Bolino

David L. Boren Professor

Ph.D Director

Michael F. Price Chair in International Business

 

Managing Employee Stress and Anxiety During the Coronavirus

Psychology Today, March 17, 2020

Bringing the Great Outdoors Inside Workplaces

Academy of Management Insights, April 2, 2020

Perhaps That Discomfort You’re Experiencing Is Guilt

Psychology Today, April 12, 2020

Help is available in today’s work environment, if you’re willing to accept it

Augusta Free Press, May 13, 2020

Laku Chidambaram

Laku Chidambaram

Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Engagement

W.P. Wood Professor of Management Information Systems

Biz Ed After The War On COVID-19: How Business Schools Can Win The Peace

Poets & Quants, April 22, 2020

Robert Dauffenbach

Robert Dauffenbach

Senior Associate Dean for Economic Development and Impact

Director of Center for Economic and Management Research

McCasland Foundation Professor of American Free Enterprise

 

Coronavirus in Oklahoma: Last week's record high for unemployment claims already eclipsed through three days this week

Oklahoman, March 27, 2020

Coronavirus in Oklahoma: Energy demand drop, oil price war and virus crippling Oklahoma economy

Oklahoman, March 29, 2020

Coronavirus in Oklahoma: Unemployment claims shatter records, again

Oklahoman, April 3, 2020

Coronavirus in Oklahoma: Unemployment rate continues to climb

Oklahoman, May 1, 2020

William L. Megginson

George Lynn Cross Research Professor

Co-Director, Center for Financial Studies

Finance PhD Program Director

Michael F. Price Chair in Finance

Government Equity Investments in Coronavirus Bailouts: Why, How, When?

SSRN, April 14, 2020

Adriana Sanford

Adriana Sanford

Founding Director, OU Global Risks & Threats Series

Assistant Director of Executive Education, Gene Rainbolt Graduate School of Business

Senior Fellow, OU Center for Intelligence and National Security

Ep 131 How The Response to COVID19 Is Affecting Your Data Security

Task Force 7 Cyber Security Radio, April 21, 2020

Data Privacy Issues Surrounding The Pandemic

Cyber Security Hub, April 23, 2020

Episode 433: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Supply Chain

Manufacturing Talk Radio, April 24, 2020

Security And Privacy Considerations During COVID-19

Cyber Security Hub, April 28, 2020

Thank You

Finally, we want to thank our many alumni and corporate partners who generously gave during this time. This funding allowed us to provide emergency aid to many of our students with immediate needs, helping to ensure they’ll be able to continue their education this summer and into next fall. As you can see from the stories above, Price College continues to move forward and face challenges head-on. We are excited about the opportunities ahead, and we remain extremely grateful for your support.

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University of Oklahoma
Price College of Business
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