BLACK SCHOOL OF BUSINESSP E N N S T A T E B E H R E N D

MAGAZINE

30CELEBRATING YEARS OF IMPACT

INSIDE:• Three Decades of Creating Business Leaders • Innovating Through Collaboration• Outreach Programs Form Connections

Encouraging EntrepreneurshipHow the Black School of Business helped student Phil Shank build his website business

2 BLACK SCHOOL OF BUSINESS MAGAZINE behrend.psu.edu/businessDecember 2015

I t gives me great pleasure to join Dr. Balaji Rajagopalan in introducing the Fall 2015 issue of the Black School of Business Magazine. This issue celebrates the 30th year of the launch of the school—a milestone that offers an opportunity to reflect on the successes of the school’s past as well as its exciting future. And that’s what you will find in this issue of the magazine.

I hope you will take time to read about the key events that have shaped the Black School of Business over the last thirty years. From its roots in the social sciences to earning accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business to its naming for the Black Family and establishment of the Intrieri Family Student Managed Fund, the school has come a long way. I am pleased with the vision for the future and the phenomenal progress the school is making toward achieving that vision.

You will find strong evidence of that in this issue of the magazine. Read about Phil Shank, a Management Information Systems student and aspiring entrepreneur who is pursuing his passion for website design. The feature story about an Innovating Through Collaboration (ITC) project with PSNergy exemplifies how the school is fostering entrepreneurship in the region, and the article about the Ignite Erie collaborative gives you a glimpse of initiatives that will further support entrepreneurial initiatives in the school and beyond. In reading about the activities of the Economic Research Institute of Erie and Partnership Erie, you will see how the school is engaging with key agencies in the community and putting the distinctive expertise of its faculty and students to work for the greater good. Finally, you will read about how Jana Goodrich, an alumna and former faculty member in the school, has engaged and inspired many others in both the business world and higher education.

The ultimate measure of the progress of any educational institution is the impact it makes on its students, alumni, and community. Graduates of the school are employed by some of the top enterprises in the country, and our alumni are taking on leadership positions in a range of organizations. By all accounts, the school is having a transformational impact on those it serves.

I hope you will join me in recognizing the many successes of the Black School of Business and in engaging with the school as it continues this exciting journey.

Message from the Black School of Business

Thirty years of Transformational Impact

To learn more about engaging with the Black School of Business, call 814-898-6107.

Vince IntrieriDr. Balaji RajagopalanToudy Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Director, Black School of Business

Vince Intrieri Board of Advisors Black School of Business Senior Managing Director, Icahn Associates Corp.

Balaji Rajagopalan

3behrend.psu.edu/business BLACK SCHOOL OF BUSINESS MAGAZINEDecember 2015

ON THE COVER

CONTACT

ABOUT

Though Phil Shank, a senior Management Information Systems student, hasn’t graduated yet, he’s already honing his business skills by running Prometheu5, a website design and hosting service he started with friends. Shank was photographed in the Innovation Commons laboratory in Burke Center, a collaborative lab where students, faculty members and industry partners can develop product ideas, create prototypes and consult with lawyers, bankers, marketing experts, and others who can support entrepreneurial projects.

The Black School of Business magazine is published and provided free to alumni and friends of Penn State Behrend by the Office of Marketing Communication. Director: William V. Gonda, wvg2@psu.edu. Editor: Heather Cass, hjc13@psu.edu.

Copyright 2015 Penn State Behrend. This publication is available in alternative media upon request. Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. U. Ed. EBO 16-192.

Contents

Standout Students Make the Grade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Black School Timeline – 30 Years of Impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Innovating Through Collaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Outreach Programs Enrich, Educate Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Meet Jana Goodrich, a Black School Pioneer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Black School of Business 281 Burke Center 5101 Jordan Road Erie, PA 16563 814-898-6107 behrend.psu.edu/business

The Black School of Business offers students a high-tech environment with distinctive opportunities for learning, including nine bachelor’s degrees, three master’s degrees, and a range of minors and certificates. The Black School of Business is the only school in the region accredited by AACSB International, the premier accrediting agency for schools of business worldwide. The school is also listed in U.S. News and World Report’s America’s Best Business Schools and The Princeton Review’s Best 296 Business Schools. Our mission is to educate and empower minds to learn, adapt, and reinvent business—the right way.

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Students who will MAKE AN IMPACT

Phil Shank, a senior Management Information Systems student, had an idea

for a website design business when he was in middle school. He even

had a name for the business—Prometheus,

the moniker of a titan in Greek mythology whose

name translates into “forward thinking.”

But it was at the Black School that Shank, who

has been dabbling in programming and website

design for more than a decade, found the

collaborators and interdisciplinary talent he needed to launch and grow the site.

“When I first started working on the site in high school, there were five of us working on the concept, so we thought it would be cool

to replace the ‘s’ in Prometheus with a numeral five. Also, the domain name Prometheus.com was taken.”

Today, there are eight people working at Prometheu5, which offers website design and

hosting services. The business has several clients, including a car repair service and a bakery.

The majority of those working on the site are Black School of Business students,

including Kevin Pascale, a Finance major, and Logan Carrigan, a Business Economics and Finance double major, who are helping file business documents such as the articles of incorporation and trademarks.

“We’ll be incorporated this year,” Shank said. “Right now, in the eyes of the law, we’re just college students doing this for fun and experience, but once we are incorporated, it will be a legitimate business entity.”

Shank enrolled at Penn State Behrend as a Software Engineering major, but after taking an MIS class, he found that he loved website design and data management.

Prometheu5, too, has taken a slight right from the original concept of a website design company. It now creates software solutions and applications.

Student Launches Website Venture

“ ...in the Black School, I’m learning how to apply that knowledge and make it profitable.”Phil Shank, senior majoring in Management Information Systems

Advice for current students Student entrepreneur Phil Shank offers this advice for those who

want to follow in his footsteps:

“Use every possible resource available to you while you’re at Behrend,” he said. “You’re paying a lot of money to go to college, so take full advantage of it. Talk to your professors, go to lectures, join clubs, hang out with students who inspire you to think because ideas can quickly become products.”

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Students who will MAKE AN IMPACT

The company’s current project, Khromnesty, is an appointment-scheduling manager that Shank plans to beta-test soon with the faculty and staff of the Black School of Business.

“My default mindset is that of an engineer,” Shank said. “I solve problems, like how to easily schedule a meeting with several people with Khromnesty, but in the Black School, I’m learning how to apply that knowledge and make it profitable.”

Though Prometheu5 is not making a lot of money yet, Shank fully expects that it will one day.

For now, he’s making inroads with the help of Dr. Kathleen Noce, senior lecturer in MIS and director of Partnership Erie, an outreach program of the Black School that develops websites for nonprofit organizations.

“We’re working toward having Partnership Erie develop its sites on the Promethu5 infrastructure,” Shank said, “so, during the development phase, we’d host the sites that Partnership Erie builds.”

Though Shank will graduate in May, he’ll have another year to tap into the resources available at Penn State Behrend, as he plans to stay an additional year to earn a Master of Business Administration degree.

“Earning an MBA will help me advance Prometheu5 even further,” Shank said.

No surprise that he’s thinking forward.

Meet Two More Standout Students

Sta

nd o

utAriana Gloeckner

Ariana Gloeckner, a junior majoring in both Accounting and International Business, credits a study-abroad experience in Spain

with helping her pinpoint her career goal.

“I want to stay at Behrend to earn my Master of Professional Accounting degree and then work in Spain,” she said.

Right now, she’s gaining valuable leadership and career experience working as an assistant in the Black School of Business office, coordinating the school’s program newsletters and reviving the International Business Club, which offers students the chance to learn from guest speakers, share experiences, and network. She also serves as central coordinator for all business clubs, regularly meeting with club presidents to share ideas and strategies.

Josh McAleer

J osh McAleer, a senior Finance major, is an adult learner who enrolled at Behrend

after a six-year career in cryptologic intelligence in the U.S. Navy.

“I went to college right after high school, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do and dropped out,” he said. “Now, I have the focus and realization that my education is an investment.”

And McAleer is all in, tackling not just Finance but also adding advanced math and statistics classes to earn a minor in Actuarial Science.

He recently tied for fifth-best score in the Americas region, which

includes all North and South American countries, on the Bloomberg Aptitude Test. The two-hour exam measures knowledge of economics, global markets, investment banking, and other business and finance topics.

December 2015 behrend.psu.edu/business

Stepping Stones to ExcellenceThe Black School of Business through the years

‘71

‘82

‘98

‘87

‘01

‘03‘86

‘95

Penn State Behrend becomes the first Penn State location outside of University Park to offer baccalaureate programs and award degrees.

The Economic Research Institute of Erie (E.R.I.E.) is established as an applied research unit to collect, analyze, interpret, and disseminate data on the Erie region’s economy. Above: E.R.I.E. directors over the years. From left, Dr. Kenneth Louie, Dr. James Kurre, and Dr. Barry Weller.

Above: Dr. Magenau, center, with students.

The school receives the third largest gift in Penn State’s history, a total of $20 million from a then-anonymous donor.

Dr. John M. Magenau III begins a 26-year term as director of the school.

Provost and Dean Dr. John M. Lilley publicly recognizes that the $20 million estate gift given in 1998 was a gift from insurance entrepreneur Sam Black and his wife, Irene. The school is named in their honor.

The Black School of Business earns accreditation through AACSB International, a designation that only 5 percent of business programs in the world have attained.

The Penn State Board of Trustees establishes the School of Business. Dr. Chuck Redenius is named its first director.

The school applies for admission to the pre-candidacy program of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International.

‘04The college breaks ground on a $30 million Research and Economic Development Center (REDC) on the south side of Jordan Road.

Above: Dr. Kathleen Noce, director of Partnership Erie, discusses a website with students.

From left, former chancellor, Jack Burke, former Black school director, Dr. John Magenau, and Pat Black.

30CELEBRATING YEARS OF IMPACT

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Partnership Erie, an outreach program of Penn State Behrend, is established to provide web planning, development, hosting, and maintenance to nonprofit organizations.

December 2015behrend.psu.edu/business

‘07

‘15

‘06

The Black School establishes a partnership with Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand.

The iMBA program is ranked seventh-best online MBA in the country by U.S. News and World Report, tied with Carnegie Mellon.

U.S. News and World Report lists the Black School of Business among the best business programs in the country.

The REDC, featuring 160,000 square feet of classroom and laboratory space and the co-located School of Business and School of Engineering, opens.

‘10 ‘14‘12

‘13

The REDC is renamed the Jack Burke Research and Development Center, in honor of Dr. John D. “Jack” Burke, former chancellor of the college.

The Black School establishes a partnership with Rosenheim University of Applied Sciences in Germany to collaborate on academic projects, joint research efforts, and faculty and student exchanges.

The Masters in Project Management program is ranked No. 5 by bestmastersprograms.org.

The Black School successfully establishes reaccreditation through AACSB International.

The MBA program is ranked among the best in the country by both U.S. News and World Report and The Princeton Review. Dr. Balaji Rajagopalan becomes

director of the Black School.

The Black School unveils VISION 2020 based on three themes—Thinking across boundaries, Learning by doing, Innovating through collaboration.

BLACK SCHOOL OF BUSINESS MAGAZINE 7

The MBA program is launched in Pittsburgh at the Regional Learning Alliance.

Alumnus Vince Intrieri launches the Intrieri Family Student Managed Fund with an initial contribution of $100,000.

The Samuel P. “Pat” Black III Conference Center opens for both college and community use.

30CELEBRATING YEARS OF IMPACT

Former Director Reflects I was presented with the most significant and challenging opportunity of my career when I became the director of the School of Business in 1987. For the next twenty-six years, I had the pleasure of working with a wonderful team of faculty, staff, administrators, benefactors, and friends. Together, we made great things happen. We added several majors,

started outreach programs, leveraged the faculty resources of our successful MBA program, and became leaders in online programs within Penn State. Over the years, the Black School faculty has tripled in size, and student enrollment has increased and become more internationally diverse. I’m pleased to see all the exciting new developments that have occurred during Dr. Rajagopalan’s leadership and look forward to what the future will bring. —Dr. John Magenau III, Black School director, 1987-2013

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About PSNergyPSNergy is an industrial energy solutions company established to develop, manufacture, and market on-site services and specialty components that increase energy efficiency for industrial processes. The company’s radiant tube inserts (RTIs) increase furnace productivity and radiant tube efficiency by capturing the available flue gas energy in the exhaust leg and radiating it into the furnace.

Innovating Through Collaboration

ITC Project

I n the business world, collaboration is king. Rarely is the successful product, service, or solution developed by a single mind. Rather,

corporations build cross-functional teams of people with different strengths, skill sets, and experiences to use their collective insights to come up with innovative ideas and solutions.

But what if it is a very small business, or a start-up with few resources, or a scenario where the firm simply can’t spare employees’ time for new projects?

They can turn to the Black School of Business and partner with students and faculty members on an Innovating Through Collaboration (ITC) project.

“Part of our mission in the Black School of Business is to create an intellectual learning environment that encourages collaboration among scholars, learners, disciplines, and the corporate community,” said Dr. Kathleen Noce, a senior lecturer in management information systems and co-chair of ITC projects. “That’s why we chose to implement these collaborative learning projects for our students.”

The ITC program was established in fall 2014 with a variety of finance, marketing, and general

business projects for actual clients, including Advanced Finishing USA, UPMC Hamot, and PSNergy.

When PSNergy, an Erie startup company that sells radiant tube inserts that increase the fuel efficiency of furnaces, wanted to explore finding international business partners, president Carl Nicolia turned to Frank DeWolf, senior lecturer in management at the Black School for advice.

DeWolf, who had worked with PSNergy as a consultant, suggested Nicolia partner with the school on an ITC project.

Three stand-out students from different business disciplines were chosen and were offered independent study credits or a stipend to participate in the project.

“These young people are phenomenally smart, and they’re educated in the newest methodolo-gies. I learned never to underestimate their ability to contribute from the first day.”Carl Nicolia, President of PSNergy

Black School of Business establishes program to help businesses and students learn from—and with—one another

From left, Carl Nicolia, president of PSNergy; Taryn Testa, Project and Supply Chain Management major; Frank DeWolf, senior lecturer in management.

behrend.psu.edu/business December 2015

ITC Project

“We knew we needed someone in Marketing to be on the team, so we chose Matt Slippy, who was a senior at the time,” DeWolf said. “We also wanted an M.B.A. with a technical background, so we chose Drashti Patel because she had an engineering degree. The final member of the team was Taryn Testa, a Project and Supply Chain Management major, who though only a sophomore, had already proven herself to be a self-motivated, smart leader.”

Team members worked on the project outside of class time, conducting market research and exploring options for PSNergy. They met weekly with Nicolia, who along with faculty adviser DeWolf, helped steer the project.

“This is real work that our company needed to have done so I had no trouble finding time to meet with them,” Nicolia said. “I wouldn’t give employees a task and then say, ‘See you in six weeks.’ This was a very collaborative project in which they had to report back to me, just as if they worked here.”

Nicolia, who has had an impressive career as a business leader, said he has long valued the contributions of students in the workplace.

“These young people are phenomenally smart, and they are educated in the newest methodologies,” he said. “I learned to never

underestimate their ability to contribute from the first day, and I’ve also learned to give them more work than you think they can handle because they will almost always surprise you.”

Nicolia said the Black School of Business team did just that.

Testa, now a junior, said it was an eye-opening experience for her.

“In classes, when you have an assignment, you’re given all the steps you need to take, but with the PSNergy project, we just had an end goal and we had to figure out how to accomplish it,” she said.

Testa relied on her knack for organization and management, traits that will serve her well in her chosen field.

“The project management aspect was the part that Taryn really latched onto,” DeWolf said. “She drove the bus on this project and kept it moving.”

In the end, Nicolia received what he most wanted out of the project.

“I formed a mutually beneficial business partnership with a major furnace manufacturer in Europe thanks to the research work of the ITC team,” he said.

It’s not the only useful relationship Nicolia established.

“We already have plans to do another ITC project with the Black School of Business this year,” he said. “We have a ton of work to do, and if we can get some of that done through a partnership with the school that helps both of us, well, that’s a no-brainer.”

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Outreach Programs

Economic Research Institute of Erie (E.R.I.E.)

Established in 1982, the Economic Research Institute of Erie is an applied research unit of the Black School of

Business focused on collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and disseminating data and information on the Erie region’s economy.

While predicting the future of the economy with certainty is, of course, impossible, E.R.I.E. has developed the Erie Leading Index (ELI), a set of eight variables that can be used to help forecast the economic future of the Erie area. No single variable by itself tells the whole tale, but taken together and with the correct weights applied, these eight indicators can give Erie leaders a “heads up” on whether they need to brace for a downturn or might enjoy a steady climb up.

“It’s our goal to help the community better understand the local economy and how it relates to the national economy,” said Dr. Kenneth Louie, associate professor of economics and director of E.R.I.E.

E.R.I.E. has employed nearly fifty student research assistants over the years, giving undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to learn by doing and get valuable experience in economic data collection and analysis.

Every spring, nearly 100 Erie-area leaders attend a conference presented by E.R.I.E. at the Black School of Business to get an overview of the national, international, and regional economies, and an up-to-date forecast for the Erie area. Armed with this information, community, government, and business leaders can make more informed decisions about the future.

For more information, visit eriedata.bd.psu.edu.

Outreach programs connect students, faculty, and community

The outreach programs of the Black School of Business transcend all aspects of college life—from research and education to community service. Whether it’s offering research-based information to private and public entities, providing website and information management

services to nonprofit organizations, or encouraging innovation and entrepreneurial projects, the Black School helps meet community needs while expanding the creative and intellectual experiences of students and faculty members. Here are three good examples.

Every year, nearly 100 Erie-area leaders attend a conference presented by E.R.I.E. at the Black School to get an overview of the national, international, and regional economies, and an up-to-date forecast for the Erie area. Armed with this information, community, governmental, and business leaders can make more informed decisions about the future.

behrend.psu.edu/business

“It’s our goal to help the community better understand the local economy and how it relates to the national economy.”Dr. Kenneth Louie, associate professor of economics and director of E.R.I.E.

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Outreach Programs

Partnership Erie

Twenty years ago, websites for businesses and organizations were a novelty. Today, they are a necessity. Consumers

expect to be able to learn more online.

Those expectations put cash- and volunteer-strapped nonprofits in the difficult position of having to allocate resources to creating websites.

In that conundrum, Dr. Kathleen Noce, senior lecturer in management information systems, saw an opportunity for Black School of Business students who were learning to design and manage websites.

“I realized I could bring students together with nonprofits in need and incorporate an element of community service into my coursework, while giving students the benefit of real-world experience,” Noce said.

In 2000, Noce formed Partnership Erie, a nonprofit outreach extension of the college, to provide web services, hosting, marketing, and content management for nonprofit organizations free of charge.

The majority of the work is done by students in MIS 387 Website Design and Administration

who work in teams with outside organizations. Several students also work part-time and as interns for Partnership Erie.

To date, Noce estimates Partnership Erie has built nearly 150 websites for organizations, including hospitals, schools, churches, and social service agencies.

For more information, visit partnership-erie.org.

Ignite Erie

The school’s newest outreach effort is a three-year, $1.5-million initiative to spur business innovation and

support entrepreneurs across the Erie region. The program, which is a collaboration between the Black School of Business and the School of Engineering at Behrend and Mercyhurst University, is intended to boost small businesses and start-ups by creating a network of educational, industry, and community institutions that are committed to improving the region’s economy.

The Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority provided $750,000 in initial funding for the program, called the Ignite Erie Industry+University Business Acceleration Collaborative. The universities are matching that funding to focus on four areas:

• Growth of existing businesses, including market expansion and new-product development.

• Creation of “maker spaces” – laboratories and centers where teams can prototype, experiment, and develop products.

• Support for student innovation teams, led by faculty and staff members, as they solve manufacturing challenges.

• Promotion of networking events, where students, faculty members, and industry and community leaders can explore ideas, business models, and financing.

Some of the funds, including a $50,000 “Invent Penn State” grant, were used to create a business lab called “Innovation Commons,” located in Burke Center. This lab, equipped with AutoCAD modeling programs, scanners, and 3D printers, offers students, faculty members, and industry partners a place to develop product ideas and create prototypes. The lab also includes conference space where entrepreneurs can consult with lawyers, bankers, marketing experts, and other professionals who can support their projects.

Dr. Kathleen Noce, above, formed Partnership Erie in 2000.

Student-based initiatives, such as Innovating Through Collaboration (ITC) teams and intern mashups that bring together teams of students from different disciplines (and even different institutions), are key to the Ignite Erie effort, as well.

For more information visit behrend.psu.edu/igniteerie.

Black School of Business281 Burke Center 5101 Jordan Road Erie, PA 16563-1400

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Meet Jana GoodrichBlack School Alumna and Pioneer Turned Champion for the School

“During the summer of 2014, I had the amazing opportunity to complete a seven-week internship in Rosenheim, Germany. My tasks ranged from working with local engineers to traveling to their corporate headquarters and meeting with customers. This experience helped to not only shape me as a student, but also as a person.”Madelynn Monte ’15 Interdisciplinary Business with Engineering Studies graduate

Jana Goodrich ’95 MBA CEO, Seaway Manufacturing

J ana Glenzer Goodrich’s life and career are as intertwined with the Black School of Business as they are with her family’s business, Seaway Manufacturing Company.

Goodrich’s Black School story starts thirty years ago when she quit her job as a systems engineer with IBM to raise a family with her husband, Michael. While Goodrich cared for their son and daughter, she also formed a management consulting firm, earned her Master of Business Administration degree from Penn State Behrend in 1995, and worked as a consultant for the college’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations before becoming an adjunct business professor.

For the next two decades, Goodrich contributed in numerous ways to building the Black School. She taught marketing and management classes, coordinated internships, and participated in numerous initiatives. These initiatives included helping develop the school’s innovative and popular Interdisciplinary Business with Engineering Studies degree program.

In 2005, she left Behrend to join Seaway Manufacturing, an Erie-based manufacturer of windows, doors and sunroom products that has been consistently ranked among the top 100 by the nationally recognized Window and Door Magazine. The business was founded by her father-in-law in 1959 and later purchased by her husband.

“He needed to hire an upper-level manager with a good combination of management and marketing expertise, combined with an understanding of the engineering and technical concepts involved in the design and

manufacture of our products,” Goodrich said. “We call these types of employees with a specific combination of skills ‘unicorns’ because they are hard to find.”

Lucky for Michael Goodrich, he found a unicorn right in his own home.“I will be forever grateful that my education and unusual career path prepared me so well for what I needed to be successful at Seaway,” said Jana

Goodrich, who serves as president of the company. While she no longer lectures, Goodrich remains involved with the college, serving on the Black School of Business’ Board of Advisors,

collaborating on projects with faculty members and working with students when opportunity arises. She says there are both practical and philosophical reasons for that.

“If we want to ensure a skilled labor pool for local business, it’s our responsibility to support that,” she said. “But, that said, it’s my honor and privilege to help develop tomorrow’s leaders. Most of us in business today have benefitted from the experience and advice of others as we have developed our careers, and it’s our obligation to do the same.”