Summer 2013

A Publication of the Will iam G. Rohrer College of Business

Dean’smessage

As my first year as dean draws to a close, I would like to thank the Rohrer College of Business family

members for their support. Our year-long 40th anniversary celebration was an astounding success, culminating with the announcement that President Dr. Ali Houshmand, Provost Dr. James Newell and other University leaders had partnered successfully with State Senate President Steve Sweeney and other state legislators to secure $46 million from the State of New Jersey to construct a $63-million Rohrer College of Business building. Anticipated to be completed in the next few years, the building promises to be “South Jersey’s New Home for Business.” The College will build on last year’s success by developing a new strategic plan detailing its top priorities for the next three years. We started this initiative by conduct-ing a full-day retreat with our faculty and staff. This meeting, held at the end of the spring semester, identified many outstanding strengths and wonderful opportunities that we can pursue. Work continues this summer by involving multiple stakeholder groups. I look forward to sharing strategic planning updates with you in the near future!

Sincerely,

Dr. Robert C. BeattyDean and Professor of Management Information Systems

Running shoes? Check. Tennis shoes? Check. Softball shoes? Check. Footwear costs mount up quickly when you live an athletic lifestyle, but a Rohrer College of Business student may have a money-saving answer — a multitasking ath-letic shoe with interchangeable bottoms. For this innovative concept, Marisa Bush¸’14, an entrepreneurship major from Mul-lica Hill, N.J., earned first prize and $5,000 in this year’s Business Plan Competition.

A former equine major at another college who transferred to Rowan last semester, Bush developed the concept for the sneaker based on her own experience and wrote her business plan as part of Professor Kimble Byrd’s New Venture Development class. “It’s a need that I feel really exists,” she said. “I personally get very tired of having to dish out money for various types of sneakers. I thought: No one else is making it, so why don’t I try?”

Innovative sneaker clinches first place in annual competition

continued on page 2

Marisa Bush (third from left) accepts a $5,000 check for capturing first prize in this year’s Business Plan Competition. Dean Dr. Bob Beatty (fourth from left) and judges (from left) Katherine O’Neill, William Niland, Linda Rohrer, Howard Lubert, Ray Rastelli and Ed Remster celebrate with the winner.

When accounting and finance major Rebekah Calverley speaks, Rohrer

College of Business Dean Dr. Bob Beatty listens. Beatty is banking on the fact that Calverley — and her fellow members of the newly launched Dean’s Student Advisory Board — will offer an indispensable perspective as the Col-lege strives to provide students with a world-class business education. “It’s essential that the Rohrer College of Business has its finger on the pulse of what is happening with students as they progress through their educational experience,” Beatty said. “It’s important that the staff members in leader-ship roles within the College have students whom they can consult on specific topics. Members will serve as trusted advisors on strategies, potential events, curriculum and other issues that impact students.” Calverley, a junior from Whitehouse

Station, N.J., who is president of the College’s Bureau of Business Associations (BOBA), appreciates that she and other students have the dean’s ear. “We can share ideas re-garding what we want, and the dean backs us 100 percent,” she said. The board currently is staffed by the executive board members of BOBA and presidents of each of the College’s student business organi-zations. This fall, the College will recruit additional members. Calverley hopes to see more stu-dents — from freshmen to seniors

— apply for positions to take advantage of this opportunity to exchange ideas with the dean. “I think it makes it a stronger school if there is student input, as well as faculty and executive input, because students are the ones who are ultimately gaining from the College,” she said. “I think the ultimate goal would be to see more involvement from everybody.”

This spring, the Rohrer Col-lege of Business drafted a new set of recruits from the

area for its inaugural Business Boot Camp, a program designed to intro-duce community college students to a range of career opportunities in the field of business. The competitive, multidisciplinary, five-day camp, held from June 24 to June 28, drew applicants from Bur-lington, Camden, Cumberland and Gloucester county colleges. Participants chosen by their respec-tive colleges toured the Glassboro campus and explored various business disciplines. These included account-ing, entrepreneurship, finance, management information systems, marketing and operations. In addition, students attended ses-sions on tactics for preparing effective presentations and strategies to sharpen their business etiquette. The program included midweek rest and relaxation at a Camden Riversharks baseball game.

“The Rohrer College of Business is committed to working with the com-munity at all levels, including stu-dents in K-12 and county colleges,” said Dr. Bob Beatty, dean. “Our Boot Camp introduced county college stu-dents to the fundamentals they will need to be successful in a university’s business program and started prepar-ing them for their professions.” Each student selected to partici-pate in the program earned a $1,000 scholarship toward attending the Rohrer College of Business as well as a certificate of completion.

Students step up to share their advice about RCOB

College boot camp recruits fresh new talent

Dean’s Student Advisory Board members (from left) Alyssa Mills, Jeffrey Ritter, Rebekah Calverley, Brendon Dluhi, Danielle Magazu, Brian Skarbnik and Leigha Bannon, as well as Rachel Hallion, Charlton Hovis, Alexandria Perez, Rachael Rosenhouse and Angela Saggiomo (not pictured), are providing valuable insight to the Rohrer College of Business.

2 3

Innovative sneaker clinches first place in annual competition

continued from page 1

Bush will use the prize money towards trademarks, applying for a patent and financing the prototype. When the initial round of the Business Plan Competition began in September, it drew more than 60 individuals and teams. During subsequent months, students developed an assortment of products and services and learned how to market them. When the final competition was held in March, five finalists presented their products and plans to a panel of seasoned business leaders. “The competition encourages our stu-dents from all majors to pursue entrepre-neurial ventures and provides them with a forum to present — and test — their ideas and win cash prizes that they can use to help turn their initiatives into reality,” said Stephen Kozachyn, the College’s director of External Affairs and coordinator of the contest.

At the Rohrer College of Business, tomorrow’s entrepreneurs gain the knowledge and practical skills they need to suc- ceed in business. As they continue their educational jour-

ney, a powerful new team of allies will guide them on this path. The Rohrer College of Business, in fall 2012, launched the Rowan University Entrepreneurship Advisory Council (ENTAC), which will provide invaluable input from the business community, resources and support to budding entrepreneurs and faculty. ENTAC’s 12 business members are serial entrepreneurs and businesspeople who have provided services or funding to entre-preneurs. Two student representatives and one faculty representa-tive also serve on ENTAC.

“Having people from the outside from various entrepreneurial backgrounds can provide a lot of service to the entrepreneurship program and the faculty, as well as the students,” said Dr. Rich-ard Woodward, ENTAC member and president, chief operating officer and co-founder of Vascular Magnetics, which is located in the University City Science Center in Philadelphia. Woodward believes true entrepreneurs have an innate drive to be self-employed. He hopes ENTAC can help those with this desire foresee obstacles that will arise and overcome them. “There are a lot of things that are going to happen, and it doesn’t matter what your industry is,” said Woodward, who has served the College in numerous ways. “You’re going to run into problems. By sharing how other people have dealt with those problems, we hope we will help students be better equipped to deal with them themselves.” ENTAC will offer indispensable guidance to faculty as they train the next generation of entrepreneurs and perform business research, said Kimble Byrd, professor of management and entre-preneurship. Members also will link students to vital networks. “These are people who are prominent in the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the region, so they have networks that could provide valuable contacts for our students,” Byrd said.

As fledgling startups begin to take root, business incuba-tors offer nurturing support to help them develop and prosper.

With these benefits in mind, the Borough of Glassboro recently turned to a Rohrer College of Business undergraduate student team for guidance when it began exploring the concept of establishing a business incubator in its downtown area. The Borough asked the group to develop a feasibility study, for which students investigated potential locations and per-formed a range of analyses and tasks, explained Ronda Abbruzz-ese, Glassboro’s director of business development. Abbruzzese valued the students’ work and unique contribu-tions to the project. “They brought all of these fresh ideas, perspectives,” she said. “Their outlook was completely different than viewpoints you would get elsewhere. I love that energy.” The project fulfills requirements for the students’ Manage-ment Consulting Field Study course, the capstone experience for entrepreneurship majors, explained their entrepreneurship professor, Dr. Steven Phelan. “Through this course, they take the skills they’ve learned … and apply them to real-world business problems,” he said. This is just one of the many projects student teams from the College managed during the spring semester. A signature fea-ture of the Rohrer College of Business educational experience, project-based learning enables students to develop hands-on business skills while providing invaluable services for clients locally and throughout the region. “The program provides a great opportunity for any organiza-tion, particularly small business owners,” Phelan said. “They can use these skills that the students are developing in their degree program to work on their businesses. The students get real-world experience, and the client obtains basic help that may not other-wise be available.”

New council leads the way for aspiring entrepreneurs

Students boost business and fine-tune their skills

Katherine O’Neill, executive director, Jumpstart; Laurie Petersen, principal, LP Strategic Communications; Richard Woodward, president, chief operating officer and co-founder, Vascular Magnetics; and Mike Lucca, independent technology executive (left to right), work with other ENTAC members to promote entrepreneurship.

Part of ongoing development in the downtown Glassboro area, the Whitney Center is Rowan Boule-vard’s first mixed-use retail/residential building.

2 3

Rohrer College of Business201 Mullica Hill Road • Glassboro, NJ 08028

Nonprofit Org.U.S. Postage

PaidBellmawr, NJPermit #1047

The Rohrer ReviewVolume 8, Issue 3, Summer 2013

Dr. Robert C. Beatty Dean Dr. Daniel McFarland Associate Dean Margaret Van Brunt Assistant DeanJames Jordan M.B.A. DirectorStephen Kozachyn Director of External Affairs Patricia Quigley Editor/WriterDiane Donofrio Writer/ Angelucci Project ManagerTraci Belli DesignerCraig Terry Photographer

The Rohrer Review is published by the Rohrer College of Business to highlight the achieve-ments of its faculty, staff, students and alumni. We welcome comments and suggestions. Send correspondence to: Rohrer College of Business c/o Editor — The Rohrer Review Rowan University 201 Mullica Hill Road Glassboro, NJ 08028-1701

Contact: (856) 256-4025; (856) 256-4439 (fax) www.rowan.edu/business Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RowanBusiness

Postmaster:Send address changes to: Rohrer College of Business c/o Editor — Rohrer Review Rowan University 201 Mullica Hill Road Glassboro, NJ 08028-1701

Student Rachel Hallion masters the mechanical bull during the Rohrer College of Business Rodeo in April, organized by the Dean’s Student Advisory Board.

AACSB extends College’s accreditation

Among business schools, the Rohrer College of Business is head and shoulders above the crowd — a

distinction that was underscored this spring. In March, the College received notifica-tion that the Association to Advance Col-legiate Schools of Business (AACSB) ex-tended its accreditation. Programs earning AACSB accreditation must demonstrate a wide range of quality standards relating to curriculum, faculty resources, admissions, degree requirements, facilities, financial resources and intellectual climate. “AACSB accreditation is the key indicator of excellence in business education, assuring quality in students, faculty, facilities and ser-vices,” said Dr. Bob Beatty, dean. “Less than five percent of the world’s business pro-grams have earned AACSB accreditation.” “During the Maintenance of Accredita-tion process, the Rohrer College of Busi-ness underwent a thorough review that was strategic and focused on the delivery of high-quality education, continuous

improve- ment, market relevance and currency,” said Margaret Van Brunt, assistant dean. This prestigious recognition, combined with other honors, advances the College beyond most other schools in the field. The Rohrer College of Business is one of seven institutions in the world to simultaneously hold the AACSB accredita-tion and accreditation by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET for its Management Information Systems pro-gram, according to Dr. Daniel McFarland, associate dean. The College’s ongoing accomplishments can be credited to many in the College. “The efforts of our faculty, staff and students make it possible for the College to continue to build on its remarkable reputa-tion as one of the leading business schools around the globe,” Beatty said.

4