Schools of Business faculty were honored for outstanding achievements during the annual Faculty Awards Recognition Ceremony held April 27 at the Paul J. Ciener Botanical Gardens in Kernersville.

Vice Dean Charles Iacovou welcomed attendees saying, “You are a very dedicated team of faculty members.  Our students are fortunate to have people like you helping them become the best they can be.”

Iacovou began the program by announcing the awarding of tenure to faculty members Kenny Herbst and Sean Hannah.

Herbst is a marketing professor whose research examines the effects of branding and trust on consumers. His history with Wake Forest dates back to his student days when he played basketball on back-to-back ACC Championship teams in 1995 and 1996.

Hannah is a leadership scholar and retired U.S. Army colonel. He was formerly the director of the Center for the Army Profession and Ethic (CAPE) at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Hannah will serve as a professor of management and the J. Tylee Wilson Chair in Business Ethics at Wake Forest Schools of Business.

Marketing professor Sheri Bridges announced the establishment of the Bob Fly Business and Enterprise Management Marketing Scholarship.  Bob Fly is a veteran advertising executive and has served as a marketing instructor at Wake Forest for 29 years.

Colleagues took time to celebrate the contributions of one of the longest serving faculty members of Wake Forest Schools of Business, Dr. Arun Dewasthali.  Deswasthali, who was described as “universally loved and adored by alumni,” is retiring after 37 years of service to the University.

Click to see a full list of faculty teaching, research and service awards »

The Interim Provost and the Undergraduate Admissions Office invite faculty and staff to Thursdays at Porter B. Byrum Hall (the Welcome and Admissions Center) on April 26.

A wine and cheese reception will run from 4-4:30 p.m., followed by a program from 4:30-5:15 p.m. that will feature Ajay Patel, Tanya Marsh and Jim Dunn.

Patel, professor and GMAC Chair in Finance at the Schools of Business and the director of the Center for Enterprise Research and Education (CERE), will share initial findings on CERE’s research in Nicaragua.

Nicaragua is the poorest country in Central America, with an economy hobbled by international debt, rickety legal and governmental systems and vast unemployment. Yet at the broad bottom of the economic pyramid, where almost 80 percent live on two dollars a day or less, and just above it, entrepreneurial activity is active, determined and resourceful.

There are many in the national and international domains who would like to see the micro and small enterprises that are percolating in Nicaragua become engines of economic and social change. Wake Forest, which annually sends teams of students from the College, and the Schools of Business, Law, Medicine and Divinity to Nicaragua on educational and service missions, is just one of many groups of students, faculty, companies, NGOs, not-for-profit organizations, and governments who seek to help.

But, what is helpful? What is needed?  What actions foster sustainable growth and change?

CERE set out three years ago to answer these questions though research partnerships in Nicaragua. Faculty associated with CERE crafted and launched part one of a two-part survey that offers interdisciplinary assessments of micro-to-medium sized enterprises. The goals of the longitudinal study are to (1) create a tool that describes the landscape of entrepreneurship at a relatively granular level, and identifies factors that inhibit or promote success, (2) assist in the development of training programs that are effective and culturally appropriate, and (3) train-the-trainers in Nicaragua to ensure that the program is sustainable.

Today at Thursday’s at Byrum, Patel will present findings on:

• the role of gender and education on the career motivations of the entrepreneur in Nicaragua

• access to and use of training and microcredit

• the performance of Nicaragua businesses

• information on why well-intentioned business training programs often miss the mark

Other presentations at Thursdays at Byrum

Marsh, an assistant professor of law, will discuss the tensions between commercialism, regulation, religious belief, and individual choice in the modern American cemetery.

Dunn, chief investment officer, will discuss the Wake Forest Office of Investments.

President Nathan Hatch and vice president for university advancement Mark Petersen sign the beam.

More than 200 Schools of Business students, faculty, staff, alumni and Board of Visitors members cheered as they watched the final steel beam being lifted and set into place on top of Farrell Hall, the future home of the Schools of Business.

Witnesses to this construction milestone were able to sign their names on the beam before it was hoisted up in the air by a crane and moved into place on April 13.

President Nathan O. Hatch said: “It has been exciting to watch Farrell Hall, the physical manifestation of our commitment to the teacher-scholar ideal and faculty-student interaction, rise up out of the ground. When complete, it will be a space that both reflects and supports the distinctive mission of our Schools of Business.”

Read more about the ceremony »

The Staff Advisory Council is very excited to have Steve Reinemund, Dean of Business, speak to staff on “What’s New at the Schools of Business” (including the new Charlotte location, a Farrell Hall update and other news) at our meeting on Tuesday, March 27, from 9:30-11 a.m. in Benson 401 C/D.

Also, Gary Willis, director of Strategic Initiatives in Human Resources, and Cathy Dillingham, director of payroll, will be speaking about the new time and attendance system, Novatime, and the changes this will mean for staff, as well as electronic disbursements for reimbursements.

SAC meetings are always open to staff, and all staff is encouraged to come, learn and ask questions. It’s a great way to learn what’s going on and what’s new at WFU. We look forward to seeing you at our meeting.

Also: The Staff Advisory Council extended the deadline to nominate new members. Nominations are due by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 27. Read more about how to nominate yourself or someone else »

See a list of employment milestones reached by staff in March 2012: Continue reading »

See a list of employees joining and leaving the University in January 2012: Continue reading »

See a list of employment milestones reached by staff in February 2012: Continue reading »

15 Years
William L. Davis, Professor of Practice, Schools of Business

See a list of employees joining and leaving the University in January 2012: Continue reading »

• Congratulations to Len Preslar, the executive director of Health Management Programs for the Schools of Business, whose proposal entitled “2012 Wake Forest Schools of Business Biotechnology Conference and Case Competition” has been funded by the N.C. Biotechnology Center.
• Congratulations to Ron Noftle, professor of chemistry, whose proposal entitled “Low Band-Gap Oligomers and Metal Organic Framework Ligands Based on Thiophene” has been funded by the Dreyfus Foundation.