The W. Frank Barton School of Business has hired three new faculty members, all of whom bring a wide breadth of industry knowledge and innovative research to their departments.
Justin Keeler, clinical associate professor of business analytics: Before joining the world of academia, Keeler spent 15 years in corporate analytics and finance leadership, as well as small business ownership.
Murtaza Nasir, assistant professor of business analytics: As a former manager and entrepreneur in various industries, Nasir is a proponent of application and theory when it comes to academics.
Mohammad Najjar, assistant professor of management information systems: Najjar joins the Barton School after eight years of teaching experience and five years of practical experience in systems analysis and development.
Faculty, staff and administration can provide feedback on the rpk Group academic portfolio review section (pages 5-11) of the final written report* by completing this online form. Feedback will be accepted until 5 p.m. Feb. 17.
The board will discuss taking action on the recommendations made in the academic portfolio review section of the final written report at their March 22 meeting.
* This feedback is limited to the academic portfolio review section because the board will not take action on the teaching workload section of the final written report (pages 12-16). The teaching workload section is for campus review only.
Fall 2022 Student Perception of Teaching Effectiveness (SPTE) results are being mailed to departments this week. Additionally, information regarding spring 2023 course evaluations has been included in the result packets.
The Barton School of Business has appointed Mel Whiteside as the inaugural executive director of the school’s Office of Career and Professional Development (OCPD).
The new OCPD was announced in fall 2022 along with a $540,000 gift from Meritrust Credit Union to expand the career efforts of the Barton School. Many of the college’s career programs are now housed within OCPD including Executive-in-Residence, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Widener Global Leaders Program, Professional Edge and others.
Whiteside has more than 15 years of higher education experience and more than 20 years of private industry experience with FlightSafety International, Koch Industries and others. He most recently served as the dean of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics at Butler Community College.
Measuring the social impact of academic research has become a major topic of discussion among social scientists, accreditation bodies (such as the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), and grant-bestowing agencies. A new globally distributed, peer-reviewed white paper from SAGE adds to the discussion.
The white paper is co-authored by Dr. Usha Haley, W. Frank Barton Distinguished Chair in International Business and Kansas Faculty of Distinction, and Andrew Jack, a global education editor for the Financial Times. “Measuring Societal Impact in Business & Management Research: From Challenges to Change”, which is free to download, examines the challenges of measuring societal impact in business research.
Pulling from surveys of business school academics from the Academy of Management, SAGE, Financial Times and Times Higher Education, the authors review the commonly used measures of scholarly impact and address their concerns, including policies and practices of academic journals. They conclude with recommendations for a more responsible research environment within the business school ecosystem.
Wichita State University has appointed Brandy Willett as regional director of the Kansas Small Business Development Center (SBDC), following the retirement of Marcia Stevens.
Stevens led the SBDC at WSU for more than 20 years and leaves a legacy of a solid and thriving program.
As the new regional director, Willett is dedicated to individualized service of small Kansas businesses and plans to grow SBDC’s influence and partnerships in the region. A graduate of Wichita State’s Elliott School of Communication, Willett has championed Kansas small businesses since her arrival to Wichita in 2016.
Her experience spans the breadth of small business challenges and success. Willett is committed to promoting Wichita’s entrepreneurial spirit and volunteers with many related organizations – including 1 Million Cups, a weekly forum showcasing local startups, and Designation Innovation, a youth empowerment nonprofit that includes youth entrepreneurship as one of its central concepts.
“We are deeply grateful to Marcia Stevens for her decades of dedicated service to Wichita State University via the Kansas Small Business Development Center,” said Shirley Lefever, WSU provost and executive vice president. “We are confident that under Brandy Willett’s leadership, the SBDC will continue to thrive.”
WSU also welcomes Rebecca Ignowski, business advisor at the SBDC, and greatly appreciates the continued contributions of Assistant Director Frank Choriego, 10 years with Kansas SBDC, and Karen Loyd, administrative specialist of 22 years.
The WSU Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance (OIEC) has hired Courtney McHenry as its new executive director. He will begin in the role Monday, Jan. 9.
McHenry comes to WSU from Ohio after serving as the City of Columbus’ Department of Public Safety EEO compliance officer and assistant safety director. He has also served as acting director and Title IX coordinator for Florida A&M University and senior deputy Title IX coordinator for Florida International University. McHenry is currently pursuing a doctorate in ethical leadership, which he anticipates completing in May.
The OIEC is focused on advancing equal opportunity and inclusion, eliminating harassment and discrimination based on a protected class, and cultivating the benefits of diversity within the university. It houses the offices of Title IX and EEO.
It’s again time to begin the process for submission of funding requests through the Student Government for the Educational Opportunity Fund and Student Services fee for FY ‘24.
Through the student services fee, these programs provide financial support to facilitate students’ academic pursuits (Educational Opportunity Fund) or the funding of programs and activities delivered directly to students (Student Services).
If you’ve submitted requests in the past, the budget/review officer should have received an email from the Budget Office to kick off the submission process. If you have not submitted requests in the past but are considering submitting a new request, please contact Lyndsay Pletcher, Jason Post or David Miller in the Budget Office at 978-3030 for additional information.
