In August 2009, the NIU College of Business received notification that the college's Gamma Pi Chapter of the Beta Alpha Psi student organization (offered out of the college's Accountancy department) has been recognized internationally as a "Superior Chapter." The Beta Alpha Psi Board of Directors bestows "Superior Chapter" designation only to those chapters that achieve significant accomplishment. Under the leadership of Deloitte Professor of Accountancy Donald Tidrick, the college's "...Gamma Pi Chapter has far exceeded the minimum requirements of Beta Alpha Psi and has excelled in the areas of academics, professionalism and leadership." The college congratulates its Gamma Pi Chapter student members for their exemplar efforts and faculty advisor Deloitte Professor of Accountancy Donald Tidrick for his outstanding leadership.
NIU's Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA) was selected as the Mid West Region Outstanding Chapter for 2009. ALPFA's activities during the past year include, among others: helping to run the Meet the Firm and Meet the Intern events, during which accountancy students met with accounting firms that were looking to fill internship positions; participating in the Ernst & Young Job Shadow Day; helping with registration and set up for the 2008 ALPFA Chicago Leadership Summit; helping at a local pantry by stocking food to be used for the needy; and, raising more than $5,000 during charity drives. The NIU College of Business and its Department of Accountancy congratulates NIU's ALPFA members and its student officers: Cesar Bonilla - President; Daniela Villa - External Vice President; Lisandra Cortez - Internal Vice President; Anil Modi - Secretary; Salvador Jasso - Treasurer. The faculty advisor for the ALPFA is the Caterpillar Professor of Accountancy Natalie Churyk.
Tracy Cione, accountancy major, completed a federal tax internship with KPMG in Chicago, Illinois. In describing her internship experience, Cione said, "My internship was a wonderful experience. It was enjoyable, educational, and rewarding. It allowed me to build relationships, network and increase my technical skills. My internship experience related to my academic studies by allowing me to leverage the valuable experience I received from my undergraduate and graduate program studies at NIU. I was very well prepared by NIU for my internship. The reason I was well prepared for the KPMG internship learning experience is that the learning objectives for the NIU M.A.S. program correlated well with my internship experience. This internship confirmed my interest to pursue a career in tax, and KPMG ultimately provided me with a fulltime job offer to work within the Federal Tax Group for summer 2010."
Grace Zhu of KPMG speaks highly of Tracy saying, "Tracy left me with very positive images of NIU. She has a very good work attitude, is professional and takes initiative. Tracy has great time management skills, is a team player and takes ownership of her work. We are very much looking forward to her joining us in 2010!"
Bradrick Cripe, Ph.D. CPA, Assistant Professor, NIU Department of Accountancy, commented on Chloe's academic performance by stating, "Tracy is a bright, energetic and passionate student who embraces challenge and has unbounded intellectual curiosity. She is a natural leader who has earned the respect and admiration of her peers. Her logical thinking skills and hard work-ethic were demonstrated in the final product her group submitted for my review."
A team of NIU undergraduate business majors -- Management, Finance, and Accountancy -- submitted an entry into the Idea to Product Competition (I2P) regional contest, where the NIU team placed among the top 16 finalists. The team members are: Derek Baker, Organizational Management major; Myia Burgreen, Human Resource Management major; Kevin Naleck, Organizational Management major; Michael Shuff, Finance major; and, Mike Smith, Accountancy major. The I2P regional contest is open to all Illinois and Missouri colleges and universities at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The NIU team's work went head-to-head with 26 submissions from seven Illinois-based and Missouri-based universities, including submissions from graduate-level students. Currently, the work of the NIU team is undergoing further review by regional judges at St. Louis University, where if the NIU students finish #1, their work will be submitted to the world-wide competition to be held in Austin, Texas. No matter the outcome of the St. Louis University critique, NIU is extremely proud of the team of business majors for their outstanding work. According to the I2P homepage: "The Idea to Product® Competitions, founded at The University of Texas at Austin, are early-stage technology commercialization plan competitions that aim for unique product ideas with clear market demand that use innovative technologies. The goal is educating and developing the next generation of technology entrepreneurs. The program is particularly interested in matching technologies resulting from a university's fundamental research programs with potential markets." Congratulations, again, to Derek Baker, Myia Burgreen, Kevin Naleck, Michael Shuff, and Mike Smith for their impressive team placement as a finalist in this highly competitive and respected competition.
NIU students who sat for the Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) exam in winter 2008 take the lead in terms of pass rate. As listed on the website for the Association for Financial Professionals, seven NIU students were included in the group of 21 total students who passed the exam. The total group of passing students represent 11 universities in the U.S. and other countries. With seven successful students from NIU, this represents the largest group passing in one sitting. Congratulations to NIU students: Demitris Bozoneles, Roger Comins, Kelly Cooper, Ashley Farmer, Brendan Newman, Robert Sanko, Nikollaos Sharxhi. View entire list. (PDF)
A research paper written by group members of the 2008 EMBA class recently won the Donald Shawver Award for Outstanding Paper, Marketing Education Track, at the 2009 Marketing Management Association Spring Conference held in Chicago. The paper -- "Teaching Brand Strategy: Using NASCAR as an Example of a Well-Branded Organization" -- was written as part of class assignment for the EMBA course Marketing 654-Marketing Management. Members of the 2008 EMBA Group who received this honor are: Nick Gerovac, David & Dawn Keding, Kristina Mattson, Kurt Paquin, Leonetta Rizzi, and Charles Sellers. The EMBA student group paper was edited and submitted to the conference by Tim Aurand, NIU Associate Professor of Marketing, and Kim Judson, Assistant Professor of Marketing at Illinois State University. Founded in 1977, the Marketing Management Association (MMA) is an international association with more than 400 academic members worldwide. The MMA is committed to development more effective marketing educators and scholars.
Paul Berkes, an OMIS major at NIU, was named the NIU Internship/Co-op Student of the Month for July 2008. In February of 2009, Berkes was also selected as NIU Internship/Co-op Student of the Year (for year 2008) and in March 2009, will receive a $1,500 scholarship from sponsoring internship/co-op employers.
Berkes interned with Nissan Forklift in Marengo, Illinois, as a Supply Chain Analyst. In describing his internship experience, Berkes stated, "I can say with confidence that I have never learned more information in a summer that was so applicable to my life and my academic goals than what I learned as an intern. My experience has proven to me that there is no better way of connecting what our professors are teaching us every day to a truly palpable understanding of the material, than by being thrust out into a real working environment. I was immediately forced to take what I had just learned in the classroom and apply it to my daily activities, and I don't believe that I would have developed a true understanding of the concepts had I not been made to test them in a situation that might actually produce consequences. My recommendation to every student at NIU is to spend the extra time needed to work at getting an internship." John Arnold, Senior Manager, Production Procurement, with Nissan Forklift, spoke highly of Paul stating, "The two core projects developed for this internship were the applications of lean principles to the NFC supply chain, concentrating on inbound freight and Electronic Data Interface (EDI) opportunities with our supply base. Paul greatly exceeded our expectations on each of these projects. In regards to inbound freight, Paul defined our current state, established metrics, benchmarked our operation against other similar size companies, and identified opportunities for improvements. Based on Paul's recommendations, NFC's projected annual savings on inbound freight is a minimum of $320,000. Within days, Paul blended in well here at NFC becoming an integral part of the NFC team." Regarding Paul's academic work, Chang Liu, NIU Associate Professor of Management Information Systems, says, "I have had the great pleasure of seeing Paul's diligence and passion towards his work. He has been an outstanding student. Paul is a hard-working, self-starter who invariably understands exactly what a project is all about from the outset and how to get it done quickly and effectively.
Cody Smith, an accounting major at NIU, was named the NIU Internship/Co-op Student of the Month for Spring 2008. Cody was most recently on an internship with Lindgren Callihan Van Osdol & Co., Ltd., working as an accounting intern. In describing his internship, Cody states, "The experience allowed me the opportunity to apply the base-level concepts taught in the classroom to real-life scenarios. It is an eye-opening experience to watch the education from the classroom pass through to an actual job setting. This 'pass-through' is necessary for academic growth." LCV Director of Human Resources, Kim Penticoff, praised Cody's work by stating, "Cody's job performance exceeded expectations of a new staff accountant. I can say that his strong work ethic and exceptional communication skills will allow him to succeed at his future accounting career. Cody is an intelligent and motivated individual. He is more than capable of managing and prioritizing a heavy workload."
NIU Department of Accountancy Assistant Professor, Bradrick Cripe, commented on Cody's internship experiences relative to his academic studies in accountancy. He stated, "In my class, Cody's group benefited frequently from his knowledge and delivered a superior product. His logical thinking skills and hard work ethic were demonstrated in the final product his group submitted for my review. I'm sure the same diligence and skill, combined with a passion for hard work and intellectual curiosity served him well on his internship."
In summarizing his internship experience Cody said, "My internship experience was great for my growth as a student. It has given me a competitive edge for potential employers. The value-added to my academic path cannot be valued. The value-added to my career path cannot be valued. However, I can say that an internship is one of the most valuable experiences I have had during my academic career."
View the Career Services 2008 Internship/Co-op Student of the Month Winners article
Davorka Zeba, NIU management major, received the NIU Internship/Co-op Student of the Month for October 2008. Zeba interned with Kohl's in Chicago Ridge, Illinois. In describing her internship experience, Zeba stated, "My ten weeks at Kohl's were so amazing that I decided to pursue a career in retail. I have had the opportunity to learn from some of the best management teams in the retail industry. Every day that I went to work I learned something new about being a manager. It wasn't always a good day, but there were more good than bad. During my internship with Kohl's, I dealt with diverse groups of people, managed difficult employees, witnessed an internal sexual harassment case, saw the Family Medical Leave Act in action, and saw the impact of a struggling economy on the retail industry. At the completion of my internship, I knew I wanted to stay with Kohl's; and, on my last date, I was offered a Management in Training position upon graduation."
Paul Weibel, Store Manager, Kohl's Chicago Ridge, spoke highly of Davorka stating, "Davorka quickly learned the retail business and by the end of her internship was a valued member of our store management team. Davorka possesses a strong desire to learn and has a very positive attitude which helped her fit into her role as an intern. She was able to learn many of the technical aspects of the business such as point of sale operations, customer service, markdown processing, ad set, replenishment and merchandising. Davorka also developed her skills as a leader, helping others with these various store functions."
Regarding Davorka's academic work, Luis G. Flores, NIU Associate Professor of Management, says, "Davorka was my student in one of the most difficult courses of the undergraduate business program. She was a very active, hard-working, interested, eager-to-learn and involved student in my class. Her personality and passion for learning helped me establish a very positive learning environment in my class. I also had the opportunity to interact with Davorka outside of class. She is a member of the Management Student Advisory Board and the Dean's Student Advisory Board. Those two organizations require developing and maintaining strong relationships with faculty and students throughout the entire university. Her transparency in character, authenticity, care and ability to relate to people has helped her well to become an effective student leader. "
Career Services established the Student of the Month and Student of the Year awards to recognize outstanding internship/co-op students for excellence in applying their academic training in an internship or co-op setting. They are chosen on the basis of the following criteria: scholarship, writing sample, and letters of recommendation from their internship/co-op employer and a NIU faculty member.
The NIU College of Business team participating in the Deloitte Tax Case Competition received a national Honorable Mention for its efforts in the regional competition on October 18, 2008. Over 60 undergraduate and graduate teams from 44 colleges and universities worked to complete a complex, hypothetical case study that draws on students' knowledge of tax and business topics. This is the third time in five years that one of our teams placed in the top ten in the graduate division of this competition. Congratulations to Accountancy graduate students: John Garama, Helena Phan, Tracy Cione, Suqin Chen, and Dave Siebold. Congratulations also to team advisor, Accountancy professor Kate Mantzke.
Four NIU finance students sat for the Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) exam in Summer 2008 and the results are now in. And having passed the CTP exam, the four NIU students - Joel D'souza, Gregory Flynn, Ryan Foelske, and Steven Galloway - are in a class of their own. Of the approximately 50 universities partnered with the Association for Financial Management (AFP) only 5 universities had successful candidates. A very elite group of 8 students passed the CTP exam; 4 NIU students passed, which means that 50% of the successful candidates who now carry the CTP credential come from NIU. NIU continues to have the largest and most successful treasury program at any of the 50 AFP-affiliated universities. Congratulations to Joel, Gregory, Ryan, and Steven, to their academic advisor Norm Goldstein, and to the Department of Finance.
NIU students and freshly-minted graduates John Hall (B.S. OM&IS 2008), Michael Rendak (B.S.B.A. 2008) and Sindre Ronningen (Communications major) won $250 for their video production of the inventory management process at Eagle Ridge Resort and Spa. Eagle Ridge - located in Galena, Illinois - is a 68,000 acre resort with all the amenities, including golf courses and five major restaurant locations on the premises. The three NIU students visited Eagle Ridge several times, spoke with employees about the firm's inventory system, and, afterwards, made business recommendations to the company representatives. As for the students' learning experience, they discovered that their team mix greatly enhanced their learning, as did the 
opportunity to serve as mini-consultants to an existing firm that is dealing with a real business issue. The three students collaborated on creating the video documentary, with Sindre Ronningen leading that effort by spending a total of nearly 30 hours to shape all elements of the video (script, filming, and editing). The three students said it was "eye opening" to learn about each others' disciplines by working together with team members who had such different perspectives and skills. John Hall shared insights about inventory management; Michael Rendak, supply chains, and; Sindre Ronningen, communications and film. The students also were quite energized by having the opportunity to make a positive impact within an existing organization.
The national video contest was sponsored by John Wiley & Sons, and required students to create a 3-5 minute video clip that demonstrated an operations management principle. The video entries were reviewed and judged by an advisory panel comprised of operations management professors throughout the US. Student teams in the NIU College of Business service operations class, taught by OM&IS Professor Kathy McFadden, were encouraged to participate. For the NIU students, the video contest coincided well with their group project in the service operations class, as the project required student teams to describe the implementation of an operations management concept within a specific company. As a communications major, Sindre Ronningen was not enrolled in McFadden's service operations class, but participated in the team presentation at the invitation of Kathy McFadden and Sindre's team members. Sindre's participation came about because of his long-standing friendship with John Hall...a friendship which was first developed four years ago when Hall and Ronningen were both first-semester freshmen at NIU.
The NIU Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) student chapter has been honored with a Superior Merit Award for 2007-2008. This award is the most selective award from the SHRM national organization; it recognizes the highest achieving student chapters in the country for their exceptional ability in operations, the professional development of chapter members, and promotion of the profession. Congratulations to all NIU SHRM student members. The NIU SHRM student chapter is lead by student officers: Bill Roman, Andrew Landon, Jeff Prigge, Joe Majewski, Aimee Carey, Tony Leifert, and Ricardo Acevedo. NIU Management professors who advise the NIU SHRM members are: Curt Behrens, Associate Professor of Management; Terry Bishop, Associate Professor of Management, and; Chris Thomas, Assistant Professor of Management.
NIU members of the Society for the Advancement of Management (SAM) - a professional organization for students - traveled to Arlington, Virginia, where they competed in the April 2008 SAM International Conference Case Competition. The theme for this year's case competition was Innovation. Approximately 350 conference participants were challenged to recommend strategies for revitalizing a struggling company in the restaurant industry. The company had over-
saturated the market and had failed to adjust to marketplace trends, which resulted in lost market share and falling revenues. SAM conference participants were allowed one month prior to the conference to work on the project. Then, during the conference more than 30 student teams presented their recommendations for review by a panel of both faculty and industry leaders.
For several years, NIU students have competed in the case competitions that are held during SAM International Conferences. The NIU students who participated in the 2008 SAM conference are business majors: Nick Del Monaco, Jennifer Reckwerdt, Paul Berkes, Alyssa Gaenzle, and Ryan Becker. Visit www.sa.niu.edu/sfam/ to access the NIU SAM student chapter website.
Congratulations to our NIU Human Resource Management students for their participation in the 2008 HR Games and Student Conference for the North Central Region of SHRM. Eight NIU students attended the games, which were recently held at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Team Red included Aimee Carey (captain), Nick Del Monaco, Joe Majewski, Bill Roman. Team Black included Andy Landon (captain), Michelle Jurinak, Natisha Franklin, Riccardo Acevedo. The NIU Black team finished in sixth place of the 20 teams participating.
The HR Games are an opportunity for HR students to demonstrate their knowledge of HR subjects in a competitive framework. There were eight preliminary rounds, culminating in semi-final and final rounds. The HR Games also fosters interaction among students and professionals and encourages preparation for HR certification. Teams came from 7 states (Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin).
Management Department faculty members and NIU SHRM advisors Terry Bishop and Chris Thomas attended the HR Games with the students.