Family Weekend at the College of Business provided an opportunity for students to show off the building to family and friends.  Faculty were on hand to greet visitors and there were plenty of bagels and doughnuts to go around.  Classrooms were open for viewing and a special study abroad session in the Caterpillar Auditorium profiled the many international opportunities available for business students.  The weather provided a beautiful backdrop for an enjoyable weekend to honor parents and family.

Leadership training consultant and Illinois State University alumnus Michael Stallard will present “Fired Up Leadership: How Work Environment Fires Up the Human Brain to Improve Individual and Organizational Performance” on Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 11 a.m. – 12:10 p.m., in Illinois State University’s College of Business Building Room 139.

Stallard’s presentation will examine elements in a work environment that fire up the human brain so that people perform to the best of their ability and align their behavior with organizational goals.   By sharing knowledge integrated from research in multiple fields including neuroscience, organizational behavior, psychology, sociology, and history, stories of great leaders, as well as his own firm’s research, he unveils what he calls “The Connection Culture.”

Stallard is president of E Pluribus Partners, a leadership training and consulting firm.  He is the primary author of the bestselling book Fired Up or Burned Out.  His career has included jobs in marketing, business development, finance and investment banking at organizations including Morgan Stanley, Barclays PLC and Texas Instruments. He graduated from Illinois State with a bachelor’s degree in 1981 and went on to earn an MBA from the University of Texas Permian Basin and an law degree from DePaul University School of Law.

Stallard’s presentation is hosted by Illinois State’s Department of Management & Quantitative Methods.  The event is free and open to the public.  Contact Department Chair Jim Jawahar at jimoham@ilstu.edu by Oct. 19 to reserve a seat.

Illinois State University’s Export Project is able to help more Illinois-based businesses expand into overseas markets thanks to a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).  The funding supports the Export Project’s work with the agriculture equipment and technology firms Dickey-John and Brandt Consolidated, and the paint manufacturer Rust-Oleum Corporation.

Since 2006, Export Project faculty and student teams have traveled to New Zealand, Germany, Argentina, Poland, China, and India to help companies explore international market opportunities.  Plans are currently underway to send teams working with Dickey-John, Brandt Consolidated and Rust-Oleum to Romania, Brazil and South Africa during the summer of 2010.

Export Project team members include faculty and students from Illinois State’s College of Business and College of Applied Science and Technology. Throughout the year, the teams work with medium-sized companies to identify, evaluate, and actively develop international business opportunities and prepare export plans. The teams act as consultants and prepare targeted marketing studies for specific countries. During the summer months, Export Project teams travel overseas to selected countries to evaluate potential export market opportunities. In addition to helping businesses grow, the multidisciplinary project gives Illinois State students a unique opportunity to gain international business and marketing experience.

Members of the Export Team are:

• Iris Varner, Director of the International Business Institute,
• Peter Kaufman, Associate Professor in Marketing;
• Mark Hoelscher, Associate Professor in Management and Quantitative Methods;
• Klaus Schmidt, Associate Professor in technology,
• Aslihan Spaulding, Associate Professor in Agriculture.

In 2007, the Export Project received a two-year, $165,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education.  That funding was used to expand partnerships with small and medium-sized agriculturally-focused businesses, enhance the University’s international business curriculum, and provide faculty development opportunities.

The Great Urban Race is exactly that.  Founded by College of Business entrepreneurial program graduate Joseph Reynolds ’03 these fun challenges have already been a hit in 20 major cities across the United States.

So grab a partner, solve 12 clues and complete fun challenges while discovering the Normal community in a fresh way. The Great Urban Race, which is just one fun part of Homecoming, begins at 10 a.m. on October 16th  at the Alumni Center and ends on the Quad.

A portion of your registration fee will help establish the ISU Student Foundation Service Award Scholarship.

Prizes: $300 and free entry to the New Orleans national championship for first place, $150 and free championship entry for second place, free championship entry for third place, best costume, funniest pictures, and top family team. There is a $1,000 cash prize to the group that signs up the most teams.

To register go to www.greaturbanrace.com. The cost is $45 per person through September 21, with the fee then increasing to $55 per person until October 15, and $70 per person on race day.

Interested in learning more? Visit http://illinoisstatehomecoming.com/events/great-urban-race to find out about the company go to www.greaturbanrace.com.

We continue Part 2 of our conversation with Stephanie LH Calahan with specifics on how to more effectively use the COBAN group. Stephanie ’95 (BIS/HR) is an entrepreneur, nationally known speaker, media personality, author, publisher; and productivity / organization specialist about social networking and how she uses tools to build and maintain vital business relationships.

Her clients have included fortune 500 companies, startups, nonprofits, universities and numerous individuals across the country.  Rolodex, Stacks & Stacks, and the Neat Company are a few of the international companies that have sought her expertise.

Read Part 2 of our conversation with Stephanie…

Stephanie LH Calahan ’95 (BIS/HR) is a dynamic entrepreneur, nationally known speaker, media personality, author, publisher; and productivity / organization specialist.  She and her consultants focus on helping you make the most of your time, space, information and ideas.

Her clients have included fortune 500 companies, startups, nonprofits, universities and numerous individuals across the country.  Rolodex, Stacks & Stacks, and the Neat Company are a few of the international companies that have sought her expertise.  We recently sat down with Stephanie to talk about social networking and how she uses tools to build and maintain vital business relationships.

Read more about networking on LinkedIn from Stephanie Calahan…

Andrew Jackson ’80 BUA, president, BravoTECH Inc., is a successful entrepreneur and member of the College of Business Alumni Hall of Fame.

Beyond technical know-how, Jackson believes professional success depends on personal ethics.

Listen to presentation by Andrew Jackson of BravoTECH Inc. - “The law of karma in business: Build success one good deed at a time.” (mp3)

Peoria native Zach Jeremiah ’08 earned his degree in Organizational Management and is putting those skills to good use as a member of the Peace Corps. He recently shared his experiences with us.

Q:  What led you to join the Peace Corps and what sorts of experiences were you hoping it would provide?

A:  Well, I had a classic fork in the road experience that led me here.  My first love is baseball, and I hope to one day work in the front office of a major league club.  Towards the end of college I was talking with the Pittsburgh Pirates front office about an internship doing exactly that.  However, I also wanted to cover my bases, and doing service was the other path I had great interest in.  I interviewed with Teach for America and the Peace Corps, but my wanderlust made the Peace Corps my far and away first choice.  For awhile it looked like I¨d have to make the tough decision between PC and the Pirates, but when the internship fell through at the last moment I was spared that.  And when I saw that I would be going to Peru, I was instantly pleased that it worked out like it did.

As for what I was hoping to gain from the experience- complete immersion in a new culture and the ability to live and travel in a continent I was so unfamiliar with were the prime motivators.  And to be able to do all this while using the education I was lucky enough to receive to help others was about as ideal as it gets.

Read more Q & A about Zach Jeremiah’s experiences in the Peace Corps.  (pdf)

Members of our various Advisory Councils, our corporate partners and recruiters consistently tell us that students entering the work force must have soft skills that compliment all they are mastering through coursework. They know Illinois State’s College of Business students are very well-prepared academically, but have asked that we continue helping our graduates develop skills that truly differentiate them from other candidates competing for the same positions.

The array of events that comprise Business Week 2009 are designed specifically to build these competencies and truly capture the spirit of Educating Illinois. They also provide valuable opportunities for alumni and external partners to get connected and hear the perspectives of top business leaders from across the nation. The Business Week 2009 brochure has all the details you’ll need.

http://www.cob.ilstu.edu/pdfs/business_week_brochure09.pdf

Jack North, retired Senior Executive Vice President of Financial Services, State Farm will be presenting on March 25, 2009 from 3:30 - 4:45 pm in COB 139.  The topic of his presentation will be “The Art of Leadership”

The presentation is sponsored by the Management and Quantitative Methods Department and Organizational Leadership Club.

Jack North retired in 2007 as a senior executive vice president for State Farm Insurance Companies. North’s State Farm career began in 1981 when he was appointed as an agent in western Pennsylvania. He was promoted to agency manager in suburban Pittsburgh and agency director in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

North and his family moved to Bloomington in 1992 when he was named executive assistant in the president’s office. North was appointed deputy regional vice president in the Illinois Office of State Farm in Bloomington and soon after became regional vice president. In 1998 North was asked to join the president’s office as a senior vice president. He had numerous responsibilities during his nine years in the president’s office/chairman’s council, retiring as a member of the office of the chairman.

North served on several non-profit boards. He is currently a board member of the Timber Pointe Charitable Foundation and a member of the foundation board at Second Presbyterian Church in Bloomington. North is the president of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame board of directors, a reflection of his long time commitment to advancing women’s athletics. He remains an avid Redbird fan.

Jack earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and his master’s degree in education from Slippery Rock State University. His commitment to the insurance industry is also reflected in his CLU and CHFC designations.