T H E C U L V E R H O U S E C O L L E G E O F C O M M E R C E

EXECUTIVEM A G A Z I N E

NCAA BRACketProfessors offer scheduling advice.

CulveRhouse i s oN A m i s s ioNThe bar is being raised.

CommuN ity outReAChAccounting students mix learning with service.

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2 C u lv e Rhou s e i s o N A m i s s i oN The bar is being raised.

1 0 A C CouNt i Ng s tANdARd s London class provides insight.

1 2 B u s i N e s s A NA ly t i C s Program marks 10 years of success.

1 5 A lumN i N ews

1 6 N C A A B R ACket Professors offer scheduling advice.

2 0 g ood J o B MBAA honored for tornado-relief efforts.

2 2 C o l l eg e s Av i Ng s t i p s Gary Hoover offers insight.

2 4 FA R - R e ACh i Ng Culverhouse spins wide web of business-school leadership.

2 8 C ommuN i t y o u tR e ACh Accounting students mix learning with service.

3 1 A C R e New advisory board member, officers announced.

3 2 h i gh - F i v e UA prepares champions on and off the field.

3 6 B u s i N e s s h A l l o F FAme Five are 39th class of inductees.

4 0 p R i vAC y o N l i N e How much will consumers divulge?

4 2 FA C u lt y h A l l o F FAme Sterling, Misiolek and Barron are new inductees.

4 4 i N s u R ANCe d Ay 2 0 1 2 Motivational speaker headlines event.

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or years, business schools have produced a workforce for the existing landscape, but the mentality of today is no longer sufficient. Graduates

must be prepared to succeed in a world where business is moving faster than ever before, and the foundation of relevance shifts forward every day.

To compete with other top-tier schools, Culverhouse must be in the business of tomorrow.

When Dr. Michael Hardin was appointed dean at Culverhouse in August 2011, he found himself facing the same problem that CEOs all over the world are dealing with: an aging, inefficient website structure; a dated brand identity; and the advent of mobile devices as a powerful force in brand discovery and Web standards.

We found ourselves at a fork in the road that presented us with the options of, for lack of a better term, duct taping new technologies and branding on the old website or having the courage to start from scratch and embrace the new Web and a new identity, Hardin said. It takes a lot of courage to make that call.

Hardins five-year goal for the College hinges on bringing Culverhouse into the top 25 public business schools in the nation. After an in-depth study by Dr. Bruce Barrett, professor of statistics at Culverhouse, it was determined that the Colleges weakest areas in ranking criteria were in the more subjective areas of recruiter perception, peer perception and visibility. To begin to address the misconception, the College needed a new, bold way of presenting to the world its culture of innovation, relevance and rigor in its curriculum and programs.

We needed an identity that mirrored our principles here at Culverhouse. It must be true to our tradition, tasteful, elegant, iconic and, at the same time, deliver that message in a way that

speaks to the 21st century, Hardin said.In early December, the College got in

touch with Red Square Agency, a Mobile, Ala.-based creative and advertising firm led by UA alumnus Rich Sullivan Jr., to begin preliminary work on redesigning the College website and branding.

the B A R i s B e i Ng R A i s e d, A Nd d e AN h A Rd i N s

C u lv e Rhou s e i s B e Com iNg A F o Rm i dA B l e F o R C e i N

2 1 s t C eNtuRy B u s i N e s s e duC At i oN

By kyle FoNdReN

culverhouse is on a mission

Weve worked with Culverhouse for many years, so Im familiar with the College, Sullivan said. Its world-class, and I feel very fortunate to work with Dean Hardin. My first impression is that he is very, very intelligent. Hes a rocket scientist, right? But whats unexpected is how approachable he is. Hes easy and fun to speak with because he possesses an innate curiosity that makes him interested and conversant in just about anything. And hes got a defined vision for the future of Culverhouse.

Our initiative seeks first to clearly articulate Dean Hardins vision, then state a single-minded creative strategy based upon this vision, Sullivan said. The design and executions are governed such that we will avoid any

sort of rogue materials that dont support our strategy and guidelines. Weve attended to the most minute details.

In order to define a digital-age brand, Hardin, Red Square and the Culverhouse media team had to make sure that the new website reflected and championed the new direction in design, function and structure. The first challenge was evaluating the information architecture of the previous site and determining where to start cutting pages and making navigation more efficient.

The old website structure was built in a very Web 1.0 manner, when the general consensus on Web design and content management was to put every-thing out there and let the user have a vast landscape to explore. But today, the Web is moving in a direction where

brevity in content, calls-to-action and smaller site footprints have been shown to increase the value a user receives from an experience with just about any website.

The project allowed the Culverhouse site map to shrink from over 1,600 individual pages to 52.

In addition to the streamlined home page and navigation, the College launched a state-of-the-art mobile site that mimics an app experience for phone and tablet Web browsers. Users on mobile devices will find an even further simplified site structure offering easy access to news, events and faculty profiles with tap-to-call and tap-to-email functionality.

The theme of simplicity is also at the core of the overall branding strategy.

Focusing on the architecture of Bidgood, a graphic interpretation of the buildings facade becomes the cornerstone of the brand. The typographic treatment conveys sophistication by combining a classic serif typeface with a contemporary sans serif.

In order to define a digital-age brand, Hardin, Red Square and the Culverhouse media team had to make sure that the new website reflected and championed the new direction in design, function and structure.

harDins five-year Goal for the colleGe hinGes on brinGinG culverhouse into the top 25 public

business schools in the nation.

1. If you truly want to be serious about the

future, you build an optimized version of

your website for mobile devices. And thats

certainly the case here, with streamlined

access to Culverhouse information.

2. More and more, students and business

executives are getting their news through

mobile devices, so it was crucial that

this was featured on the Culverhouse

mobile site.

3. Faculty members are all about connect-

ing, both to students and the business

world. There is no more effective and imme-

diate method than through mobile; calling

and emailing are a single touch away.

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The Culverhouse website epitomizes what it means to be in the business of tomorrow streamlined, fluid and intuitive with a modern look. Call it a hub, a dashboard or a command center the new home page gives users quick reads and simple access to the core information on the site: (1) Recent news, (2) Upcoming events, (3) Department overviews.

Business news just evolved to an entirely new level. Users can collectively share articles right on the site, creating a potent news source for everyone involved: (1) News categories, (2) Article archive, (3) News RSS feed, (4) Quick glance at articles.

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Simplicity is the result of thoughtful reduction, Sullivan said. It is not easy deciding what stays and what goes. My biggest role in all of the design was pushing our teams to continually take away the unnecessary in the hopes of arriving at design and architecture that is simple, beautiful and intuitive. For example, on the logo itself, we started with the old mark and its very literal icon of Bidgood Hall. Our firm designed this several years ago. We decided to stick with Bidgood as the icon for the logo, but pared it way, way back. This left a mark that is equally modern and traditional. Thats thoughtful reduction.

Another example of the simple, forward-thinking Web and branding practices is the set of glyphs designed for academic departments to identify themselves within the brand style. On the website, the glyphs serve as

a visual navigation cue to academic content and a reminder of what section of the site a user is in. On campus, students can be seen donning T-shirts with their academic glyphs, and each professors door nameplate now indicates their specialty.

The glyphs, in concert with the new logo, are designed to produce a powerful iconography that can be easily identified as Culverhouse.

The College has a solid foundation and a tremendous history. Now, with Dean Hardin guiding the school, I think were going to compete consistently at a higher level. There exists a mission and a sense of urgency about it. In five years, Culverhouse will be in the national conversation regularly, an established educational thought leader and ranked appropriately, Sullivan said.

Rankings and image are important parts of Hardins strategy, but the heart of the effort lies in providing the best possible education and placement opportunities for The University of Alabamas students.

The branding and website fit together as a system. Having these new methods will help to improve our rankings, attract new employers to begin relationships with us, and help our students get better jobs and be more satisfied with their experiences here. This feeds back into our rankings and attracts competitive students to consider The University of Alabama. It all works together to improve every aspect of what we do, Hardin said.

The bar is being raised, and the Culverhouse College of Commerce is becoming a formidable force in 21st century business education.

A system of hieroglyphics gives each degree program within Culverhouse its own identity. The illustration style of these symbols is in keeping with the overall design of the Culverhouse logo, and each one visually represents aspects of its corresponding program.

rankinGs anD imaGe are important parts of harDins strateGy, but the heart of the

effort lies in proviDinG the best possible eDucation anD pl acement opportunities

for the universit y of al abamas stuDents.

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accountinG stanDarDsloNdoN C l A s s p R ov i d e s i N s i ght

London is the center of international financial standards reporting activity, Lopez said. More than 120 nations and reporting jurisdictions require or allow the use of International Financial Reporting Standards for preparation of financial statements. IFRS is a set of international accounting standards stating how particular types of transactions and other events should be reported in financial statements. IFRS is issued by the International Accounting Standards Board.

The purpose of the trip was to familiarize accounting students with these topics so they are better prepared to participate in a global business environment, Lopez said. The course included discussions of the complications that arise for investors, preparers, auditors and users of financial statements because of variations in accounting rules around the world.

The students were great, Lopez said. They acted respectfully and took the trip and the coursework seriously. They were active and asked a lot of questions. I was really pleased with the way things turned out. Eight of the 10 students were undergraduates and two were graduate students, including one Troy University graduate student.

The trip lasted 15 days, 10 of which were spent on class or coursework. Five days were spent in London where the students visited with KPMG executives and visited the International Accounting Standards Board. They also attended classes at the University College Dublin to gain perspective on issues discussed in class and how those issues relate to accounting in the United States.

Accounting student Will Derzis said he enjoyed the trip for several reasons.

As an accounting student it was interesting to actually discuss the GAAP versus IFRS topic with the head of the IASB, as opposed to simply reading through the textbook. Dr. Lopez kept us busy with sightseeing and class, and I can honestly say I got more out of a week of class and class discussions than I expected, Derzis said.

Of course, touring the Guinness and Jamison factories had its benefits, as well, but examining differences in IFRS and GAAP proved more interesting than I had expected, and Dr. Lopez made it all the more worthwhile. I had a great time with the group that came along and have made new friends with several future classmates.

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business analy ticsp RogR Am mARk s 1 0 y e A R s o F s uC C e s s

By ChARlotte vo s s

retail-business owner needed to increase sales, but he didnt know

how to attract more customers. A friend with a noncompeting, successful business shared his secret: He hired a University of Alabama business-school graduate who understood business analytics.

During the last decade, 247 graduates have left the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration with masters degrees, business-

analytics training and SAS certificates. And the market is asking for more graduates with the same training.

Thats why Im so proud of what were doing here, said Dean J. Michael Hardin. We were the first business school to offer this kind of program, and we are meeting a worldwide demand.

When Hardin joined the UA faculty in 2001, he saw the need for graduate students who could immediately enter

the workforce with business-analytical skills. He also wanted graduates to be leaders in the same arena.

Having dealt with large data files, Hardin was impressed with SAS, a worldwide software company that offers the ability and speed to process large amounts of data. He became the first SAS alliance partner in the state of Alabama. SAS is a leader in business-analytics software and is now

the largest independent vendor in the business-intelligence market. The SAS global-academic program supports teaching, learning and research in higher education, making it the perfect partner to help Culverhouse graduates successfully compete in the job market that covets students with advanced analytical skills.

Hardin credits some of the Colleges success in business-analytics to Jerry Oglesby, senior director of Global Academic Programs and Global Certification at SAS. Hardin and Oglesby worked together to develop a program to provide colleges with software that SAS uses for corporate training. SAS allowed Hardin and his staff to adapt the popular tool for academic use.

Erin Green Lambert received a masters degree in applied economics in 2005. As Hardin predicted, graduates who have analytics and business degrees are in high demand. Lambert is proof: BBVA Compass agreed to hold a position for her while she completed a four-month internship in Washington, D.C. Business analytics was sort of an unknown at that time, but the bank created a new department for Lambert and another Culverhouse business-analytics graduate. Quickly, management realized the value of its new staff.

Everybody started coming to us for everything because they realized we can do anything they wanted, Lambert said. Weve gone from being specialized to being a one-stop shop for getting information on anything you need.

Lambert knows the graduate program prepared her for immediate success. I

spent one year in the graduate program learning specialized training to use what I had been learning the previous two years, she said, and I probably doubled my earning potential.

Business analysts, such as Lambert, collect and analyze data and communicate the information to assist management in making educated business decisions that can give the organization a competitive advantage. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of business analysts is expected to grow 41 percent through 2020, much faster than the average for all other occupations. Job prospects are even better for those with masters degrees.

After earning an engineering degree in India, Biju Abraham worked in his native country. When he started his search for a graduate program, he was looking for one that met specific criteria.

I was adamant about getting a good financial assistantship and one that gave me a solid working experience while I was in the program, Abraham said. That is how I selected Alabama; no other school offered that good of an experience. Graduating with an MBA in business intelligence, Abraham is a senior analyst at Regions Bank, a company that he said has done a great job recruiting at the University.

During the Iron Bowl season, this building is filled with Alabama fans, he

said, verifying reports of the number of graduates hired by Birmingham banks. His teammate is also a UA graduate with SAS certification. An appreciation of his post-graduate experience is evident as

he talks about his education. You can do a program anywhere, but its the people, not the program, that makes it great, he said. Those people are your friends for life, and if you have a need, you go to them and they come to you; you form a relationship.

Mike Rowell, vice president of Corporate Development at Alfa Insurance Co., was tasked with building an analytics team within the organization. The teams assignment was to transition the organization to an analytics-based business. He needed staff with specific business intelligence and analytics training. The Universitys business-intelligence program was a natural place to look for new team members.

The University has a niche program with business intell igence and analytics, a growing area in business today, Rowell said. There are not many universities offering similar programs today and if they do, the curriculum and faculty have not been in place long. Having a business-intelligence program for almost a decade and a strategic partnership with SAS is instrumental to UAs success.

there are not many universities offerinG simil ar proGrams toDay anD if they Do, the curriculum anD

facult y have not been in pl ace lonG. Mike Rowel l

V ice Pres ident of Corporate Development , A l fa Insurance Co.

C U L V E R H O U S E1 4 1 5

Rowell hired Jason Thompson as the director of analytics at Alfa. Thompson is a UA graduate with an MBA/business intelligence concentration. He was instrumental in hiring the additional team members in the group. Thompson speaks from experience when he said that he knows the value of graduating with an SAS certification. Of the five members on Alfas analytics team, three are graduates of UAs business-intelligence or applied-economics programs. Graduates of the program come in with SAS and predictive modeling skills and are ready to work, Thompson said. They are valuable from day one.

Prior to joining the College faculty, Dr. Denise McManus worked with Fortune 100 companies, including IBM, Boeing and Motorola. Sharing her knowledge of telecommunications, capital-project evaluation, crisis recovery and knowledge management with UA students was an easy transition to an academic career. Her experience helps her understand corporate executives complaints about the communication gap between hard-core technical employees and other staff. The business-analytics program implements the Colleges initiative of innovation, rigor and relevance to provide knowledge and tools that help graduates communicate data and models to other staff members.

McManus is director of the Institute of Business Analytics. Led by a board of directors made up of executives from the corporate world, the institute sponsors an annual business-analytics symposium, promotes the business-analytics program at conferences, and manages corporate

projects using graduate students in real-time business situations.

The first corporate project occurred 10 years ago when an aluminum processing plant in Muscle Shoals, Ala., needed to improve quality control. Faculty and students studied the manufacturing process and data to develop a model that allowed the company to predict when the product may be defective.

The experience gave the students valuable experience before graduation.

Our students had the opportunity to study a real problem and provide a real solution, said Hardin, who participated in the project. They could see how the theory learned in the classroom was applied in the real world and the company benefited from the model.

In summer 2012, McManus took business-analytics students to Dublin, Ireland, where their International Advanced Business Analytics course introduced them to analytics implemented by leading international companies. Students also researched complex business problems and solutions used by Guinness Beer; analytically reviewed the five-year history of the euro, British pound and U.S. dollar; and analyzed data to predict

airline traffic, car rentals and visitors expected during the 2012 Olympics in London. The students experience is the result of the partnering of the College/SAS Global Academic Program. McManus also taught SAS Enterprise Guide at University College Dublin.

Each year, the institute sponsors the Business Analytics Symposium that brings corporate executives to campus to discuss analytics and models in the business world. The corporations represented at this symposium are the most important players in the world in business analytics, Hardin said. The 2012 symposium speakers included leaders from Sams Club, SAS, BBVA Compass, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, AutoGov, PQC International, Alfa and State Farm. The symposium also gives students an opportunity to meet business leaders, participate in job interviews and inquire about internships.

McManus is proud of the Colleges leadership role in business analytics. Now everyone is jumping on the business-analytics bandwagon, McManus said, but UA has been doing this for 10 years.

From experience, Lambert sees major growth in the demand for business analytics. Its endless, she said. It will continue to grow. What I do is not industry-specific. Even though I work for a bank, I do stuff all day long I can do anywhere. Graduates of the program have unlimited potential because of that.

Charlotte Voss is a freelance writer who lives in Moundville, Ala.

no w everyone is jumpinG on the business-analy tics

banD waGon. but ua has been DoinG this for 10 years.

DR. DenIse mCmAnusDirector, Inst i tute of Bus iness Analyt ics

Gillespy nameD presiDent of Duke enerGys south carolina reGion

Clark Gillespy, a 1984 graduate of the Culverhouse College of Commerce, has been named president of Duke Energys South Carolina service region.

Gillespy will be responsible for representing the company in its rate and regulatory initiatives and for managing state and local regulatory and government relations, economic development and community affairs. Previously, he served as vice president of economic development, business development and territorial strategies for Duke Energy in North Carolina and South Carolina.

In addition, Gillespy has been selected to lead South Carolina when Duke Energy merges with Progress Energy. In South Carolina, Duke Energy serves more than 600,000 retail customers and operates $3 billion in assets, including more than 6,818 megawatts of power generation and distribution facilities. In addition, the company has about 6,000 employees and contractors who live and work in the upstate region.

Gillespy joined Duke Energy in 2004 and has more than 25 years of combined experience in economic development, site-selection consulting and the practice of international law in both the United States and Europe.

Gillespy earned a bachelors degree in business administration from The University of Alabama. He holds a juris doctor from Samford Universitys

Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Ala.; a diploma in advanced international legal studies from the McGeorge School of Law in Salzburg, Austria; and a masters degree from European University in Brussels, Belgium.

Gillespy is a member of the North Carolina Economic Developers Association, South Carolina Economic Developers Association and Utility Economic Development Association, and serves as a board member for New Carolina and the North Carolina Military Foundation. He is a member of the state bar associations of Alabama, Georgia and the District of Columbia.

lufkin nameD manaGinG Director at morGan joseph triartisan

Timothy B. Lufkin has been named managing director in Morgan Joseph TriArtisan LLCs Industrials Investment Banking Group. Lufkin, who has a 20-year career on Wall Street, was most recently a managing director in the Industrials and Financial Sponsors Group at Cowen & Company. He earned his UA degree in 1989

perry nameD senior vp, General counsel for southern co., southern nuclear

Leigh Davis Perry, a 1994 graduate of the Culverhouse College of Commerce, has been named senior vice president and

general counsel for the Southern Co. operations and Southern Nuclear. She was formerly vice president of charitable giving for Alabama Power and president of the Alabama Power Foundation.

During her career, Perry has held various positions at Alabama Power and Southern Co., including serving as an attorney in the companys Washington, D.C., office. She has held leadership roles in governmental affairs, environmental affairs, economic and community development, generation, compliance, information technology and real estate.

Ginn nameD a partner at baker tilly virchow krause

Kimberly Ginn has been named one of 12 new partners in the accounting and advisory firm Baker Tilly Virchow Krause LLP. She is located in the Washington, D.C., office.

Ginn, a CPA, is a member of the Higher Education and Research Institutions industry practice. She has more than 12 years of experience helping organizations enhance their business processes, reduce costs, design robust and compliant infrastructures, and navigate myriad federal regulations that affect higher education, research institutions and government contractors.

She holds a bachelors degree in finance from The University of Alabama (1995) and a bachelors degree in accounting from The University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is a certified internal auditor.

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rofessors Sharif Melouk and Burcu Keskin of the Culverhouse College of Commerce are admittedly big

college basketball fans, cheering on their favorite teams Oklahoma State University and The University of Alabama, respectively each year, with hopes that they will get to see them play and progress in the annual NCAA mens basketball tournament.

While March Madness is highly anticipated by countless fans each year, only a select few of these fans actually get to see their teams play in the initial matchups of the tournament due to the high travel costs and hassle associated with traveling, sometimes hundreds of miles from home, to watch the games. Also, the NCAA reimburses participating schools for travel expenses to and from tournament game sites, which may be unnecessarily far from a schools hometown, according to Melouk and Keskin.

After noticing declining fan attendance at tournament games and an increasing financial burden on the NCAA in

reimbursing teams for travel expenses, the professors were motivated to design a mathematical model that optimizes team assignments by minimizing the distances teams must travel to games and corresponding costs, according to a paper titled Team assignments and scheduling for the NCAA basketball tournament, which they published in 2011.

The goal is to increase tournament accessibility to fans as well as lessen the financial impact to the NCAA while maintaining the integrity of the tournament, co-authors Keskin and Melouk wrote in the papers introduction. We test our model against actual tournament assignments from the past five years. Results show consistent and significant cost savings and reductions in distance travelled without compromising the fairness and structure of the tournament.

Melouk said that this model presents a win-win on both fronts.

When teams play closer to home, there is a reduction in costs, and more fans can go travel to see them play, he said.

ncaa bracketp Ro F e s s oR s o F F e R s Chedu l i Ng A dv i C e

By AmANdA s Ams

C U L V E R H O U S E1 8 1 9

weekend of the tournament, whereas previous research attempted to develop assignments over the entire tournament and took hours to run. The accompanying graphic shows the assignment of the top 16 teams in the 2010 NCAA tournament in terms of actual assignment by the NCAA and assignment through use of the model.

Inspection of Table 6 reveals that the model maintains or improves the assignment (in terms of distance travelled) for 12 of the top 16 teams, according to the paper. More importantly, we observe that the top eight tournament teams (i.e. the top two seeds in each region) maintain or improve their actual game site assignment.

Results show that a top four-seeded team would have reduced its travel distance, on average, by 301 miles (one-way) to its game site, the professors concluded. The model, over the same five-year period, would have produced an average savings of 36,773 miles.

Keskin and Melouk used the table to demonstrate that both lower and higher seeded teams can be placed closer to home while still maintaining tournament integrity.

Overall, this accomplishes the goals of making the tournament more fan-friendly and lessening the financial burden of the NCAA, they said.

However, the authors explained that the NCAA keeps a very closed book, and that they are doubtful that the selection committee is even aware of their model yet.

They dont necessarily use a formal model to determine where teams go, Melouk said. They do a pretty good job, but we think they could do better. The idea is that we can still maintain the integrity of the tournament and get teams closer to their home sites.

In 2012, the model suggests that about 35,000 miles, or about 30 percent of round-trip miles, could be saved by moving a few teams from one bracket to another, with a reduction in costs of about 20 percent, according to an ESPN article on Keskin and Melouks research that was published in March.

When designing the optimization model, the professors said they wanted to reduce costs and increase fan attendance but were not willing to do so by compromising the integrity of the tournament. As Melouk said in an interview, following this model will still create a fair tournament, just a different fair tournament.

The selection committee creates a seed list (1-68) used to assess competitive balance of top teams across the four regions of this national championship, according to Selection 101, an NCAA website that breaks down the complex bracketology. The seed list reflects the order in which teams are placed in the bracket. The committee must achieve competitive balance in each region of the bracket.

Keskin explains that this would remain unchanged when using their optimization model.

Some considerations are actually established by the tournament, she

said. For example, teams from the same conference cant play each other in early games, and rematches of previous years tournament games should be avoided in the second and third rounds.

While abiding by NCAA tournament rules, Keskin and Melouks model has proven to provide considerable savings in distance travelled over the actual NCAA assignments in the 2010, 2011 and 2012 tournaments across all three models: a weighted model, which accounts for NCAA preferential consideration in placing higher seed teams closer to home; an unweighted model; and a weighted model that also takes projected fan base into consideration.

The fan base estimates impact the assignments, the professors wrote. For instance, Louisville was assigned to Portland in the actual [2012] tournament. The preferential seed model assigns Louisville to Albuquerque for a distance

savings of 2,000 miles whereas the fan base model assigns Louisville to Nashville for a distance savings of more than 4,200 miles. Having a larger fan base helps Louisvilles placement in the tournament.

While previous research has been performed in the past to attempt to reduce travel costs and maximize attendance in March Madness, Keskin and Melouks model is unique in that the algorithm runs fast enough to produce results in approximately one second.

It accounts for the uncertainty on Selection Sunday of who will actually make it to the tournament, Melouk said. Essentially you can have all of these contingency plans and run them all with the model, receiving results within a few seconds. This is very important.

Keskin explained that the results can process faster because their model focuses on optimization of team placement during only the first

This table reveals that the model maintains or improves the assignment (in terms of distance travelled) for 12 of the top 16 teams.

seed game sites Distance

Team actual model actual model Difference

1 Duke Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville, FL 480 480 0

1 Kansas Oklahoma City, OK Oklahoma City, OK 317 317 0

1 Kentucky New Orleans, LA Milwaukee, WI 744 468 276

1 Syracuse Buffalo, NY Buffalo, NY 150 150 0

2 Kansas State Oklahoma City, OK Oklahoma City, OK 316 316 0

2 Ohio State Milwaukee, WI Milwaukee, WI 458 458 0

2 Villanova Providence, RI Providence, RI 284 284 0

2 West Virginia Buffalo, NY Buffalo, NY 285 285 0

3 Baylor New Orleans, LA New Orleans, LA 531 531 0

3 Georgetown Providence, RI Jacksonville, FL 405 712 307

3 New Mexico San Jose, CA San Jose, CA 1047 1047 0

3 Pittsburgh Milwaukee, WI Spokane, WA 553 2247 1695

4 Maryland Spokane, WA Providence, RI 2485 400 2085

4 Purdue Spokane, WA San Jose, CA 1909 2262 354

4 Vanderbilt San Jose, CA New Orleans, LA 2266 532 1734

4 Wisconsin Jacksonville, FL Spokane, WA 1215 1648 432

C U L V E R H O U S E2 0 2 1

GooD jobmBAA hoNoRed F o R t o RNAdo - R e l i e F e F F oRt s

By AmANdA s Ams

Members of The University of Alabama Master of Business Administration Association student chapter mobilized to raise $7,000 for long-term-tornado relief in the aftermath of the devastating storms that pummeled Tuscaloosa in 2011 and won the Community Service Project of the Year award for their efforts.

The grand total of $7,000 that MBAA donated to local charities was a culmination of one major service project and several smaller fundraising efforts, all sponsored within six months of the time that the natural disaster struck. The first project, which students referred to as Teaming Together for a Good Cause, was inspired while MBAAs vice president, Thomas Ganey, was interning at CVS Pharmacy in Rhode Island during the summer of 2011.

One day an executive at CVS asked Thomas how they could help with the cleanup efforts, said Elizabeth Ganey, MBAA president. They offered to give us $3,000 to sponsor a cleanup project. Meanwhile, the University of Georgias MBA program reached out to me to see what they could do to help Tuscaloosa. Thomas and I put our heads together along with our community services coordinator, Zach Tanner, and started planning a weekend full of volunteering and teamwork.

Four months after tornadoes demolished much of Tuscaloosa, more than 110 MBA students from the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration joined forces with students from the University of

Georgias MBA program to clean up debris under Project TeamUp.

It wasnt the most glamorous work to be in the sun moving tree branches to the side of the road, but we all felt so accomplished when we looked back at the end of the day into an empty field, Ganey wrote on the project description form used to nominate MBAA for the service project award. Houses will be rebuilt on those sites, and it felt so amazing to be a part of someones dreams.

CVS employees from local stores, as well as those from the distribution center in Bessemer, Ala., joined more than 180

student volunteers for an even bigger project: to remodel four different houses across Tuscaloosa under Project Blessings.

One family was present during some of the remodeling, and the looks on their faces was worth all the blood, sweat, and tears we put in that day, Ganey wrote on the nomination form. The family whose house we put the most work into is one of only four houses left standing by what used to be Hobby Lobby. Knowing what used to be there and knowing that we were again a part of something so amazing was such a great experience for all of us.

CVS also presented Project Blessings with a check for $3,000 from its corporate office in Rhode Island. Money came pouring in from other places as well to aid the relief efforts, LSUs MBA program hosted a car wash to help Tuscaloosa recover and sent Ganey a check for nearly $400 to donate to the relief efforts. The UA MBAA members unanimously decided to donate $1,000, which they had previously allocated for a graduation party to be held the night after the tornado, to the American Red Cross. Finally, MBAA donated $4,000, its

entire profit from its annual charity golf tournament, to Project Blessings for tornado relief instead of funding student scholarships. Ganey said it is incredible that so many students came to help out just because they wanted to give back and serve the community.

Our program is unique in that students can join straight out of undergrad, while many MBA programs require members to have at least five years of work experience to be eligible to join, Ganey said. I think this was an advantage in the tornado-relief efforts. Many of our students are coming straight out of sororities and fraternities where they are used to volunteering all of the time. They then look to get really involved in MBAA, whereas people who

have been in the workforce for five or more years may not be as motivated to go out and volunteer.

This project absolutely exceeded my expectations, said Zach Tanner, community service coordinator for MBAA. I remember near the end of the day when we partnered with CVS, I stepped back and looked around at the sheer number of people we had working on that house. There were MBA students, CVS employees and volunteers from the local service organization Project Blessings everywhere, all working on

something different. It was amazing the transformation after just that one day of working on that house. New cabinets were on the wall, the entire house and the shed outside had a fresh coat of paint, and walls that had been destroyed had been patched and replaced. It was almost surreal to think that was the same house we set to work on that same morning.

Ganey and Tanner said that their education in the UA business school prepared them well when undertaking these major service projects.

First of all, this wouldnt have happened without Thomas Ganey reaching out to the management at CVS to get the ball rolling on this project, Tanner said. Our program puts a lot of emphasis on networking,

and I think this is a perfect example of what can happen when we put some of those skills to use.

Additionally, Ganey said that her project-management and business-strategy classes helped prepare her to manage and organize such a large group of volunteers.

It just speaks to our character as business students, she said. We put into use everything they have taught us about social responsibility, ethics and character building. It felt really good to help out and know that we made an impact on the community.

we put into use every thinG they have tauGht us about social responsibilit y, ethics anD character builDinG. it felt really GooD to help out anD kno w

that we maDe an impact on the communit y. e l i z a b e t h G a n e y

C U L V E R H O U S E2 2 2 3

We reached out to some experts to try to gain greater insight into these issues. We spoke with Dr. Gary Hoover, Professor of Economics and Assistant Dean of Faculty and Graduate Student Development, Ph.D. at The University of Alabamas Culverhouse College of Commerce. Hes the William White McDonald Family Distinguished Faculty Fellow and has published papers in the American Economic Review P&P, Southern Economic Journal, Public Choice, Journal of Economic Literature, International Tax and Public Finance, Applied Economics, and the European Journal of Political Economy. We reached out to him to get a better idea of what parents can do to help their kids save for college.

Q: Once a ch i ld gets accepted in to college, the thought of paying for it can be frightening. What can parents do beforehand to help their chances at getting financial assistance?

A: Parents should be willing and able to wade through a mountain of paperwork. In the end, it might not help but has to be attempted. Certain types of funds are available until the source is extinguished. In which case, it is best to get all necessary forms in early. These will definitely include income statements. Making direct contact with personnel in the financial aid office is always a good idea. You cannot address an issue that you are not aware of and who better to know the ins and outs of financial aid better than people working in the area?

Q: How best can a prospective student contribute to their college savings plan?

A: The best thing that a student can do to help with college costs is to get good grades and be an engaged and

active high school student. When academic scholarships are available, there is no reason that the decision of administrators should be an easy one. By getting good grades and being actively engaged in high school activities, students make themselves more attractive for partial or full scholarships. If there are more students than money, good. Make administrators do their jobs. However, if grades are set and no scholarships are coming, savings habits (which will last a life-time) can be set by contributing monies from after-school or summer jobs.

One OF The Big PersOnal Finance TOPics OF The lasT

year has Been The skyrOckeTing cOsT OF higher

educaTiOn. iTs a Big TOPic Because were Talking

enOrmOus sums OF mOney. sTudenTs are graduaTing

wiTh an aBsurd level OF sTudenT lOan deBT, very

liTTle in savings, and wiTh The recenT Failure OF a

mOTiOn TO exTend lOw cOsT lOans, cOsTs are PrOBaBly

nOT cOming Back dOwn anyTime sOOn.

colleGe savinGs tips gARy hooveR o F F e R s i N s i ght

by GettinG GooD GraDes

anD beinG actively

enGaGeD in hiGh school

activities, stuDents

make themselves more

attractive for partial or

full schol arships.

a 529 pl an offers parents Great aDvantaGes in that they can be

useD nationwiDe. in fact, you neeD not be in the state you invest your funDs in

anD senD your chilD to school at an entirely Different state.

Q: A g re e o r d i s a g re e : 5 2 9 co l le g e s a v i n g s p l a n s a re t h e w a y to g o .

A: I mostly agree but not entirely. A 529 plan offers parents great advantages in that they can be used nationwide. In fact, you need not be in the state you invest your funds in and send your child to school at an entirely different state. Given that these plans are typically either something like an IRA or 401k (which can go up or down in value) or a prepaid plan, I would probably think the latter is a better option than the former. However, my hesitancy to fully endorse these plans is because all plans are not created equally. Some are well managed while others are facing difficulty. As

a result, parents need to do their homework and investigate their plan.

Q: Are parents eligible for any college-savings tax deductions?

A: There actually are. The details are complicated to explain but the tax benefits vary if the funds are kept in certain Education Savings Bonds or the various state 529 plans. Special attention should be paid to maximum contribution limits which allow initial contributions to be larger. In addition, parents should be aware that funds for only qualified education expenses can be withdrawn without paying taxes but that varies also.

Q : B a c h e lo r s d e g re e s a re q u i c k ly becoming a baseline necessity and not a perk; should parents include post-graduate education costs into their savings plan?

A: No. Good performance in undergraduate learning can help to defray costs of advanced degrees. By helping to pay for an undergraduate degree, parents have allowed their children time to concentrate and hopefully receive grades that will allow them to receive advanced degrees at reduced or no costs.

Article printed from Bargaineering:

http://www.bargaineering.com/articles

Cu lv eRhou s e s p i N s w i d e we Bo F B u s i N e s s - s Choo l l e Ad eR sh i p

b y a m a n D a s a m s

endowed chair holder and then as an administrator during his time there. At FGCU, Finch also served as a department head, an associate dean and an acting dean and also helped in all aspects of the design, construction and funding of a new business-school building.

His leaving was a huge loss for FGCU and we miss him, but I think he will be a great dean for Samford and the Brock School, said H. Shelton Weeks, chair of the department of economics and finance at FGCU.

Weeks said Finchs biggest contribution to the field of business is the impact he has on students, which ranges from teaching and giving career advice to developing academic programs and building relationships with the business community that enhances the students educational experiences.

In addition to being a great friend that I enjoyed working with, I knew that

Howard had the skill set to make a huge difference in the development of the college of business at FGCU, Weeks said of his decision to recruit Finch to join the FGCU faculty. We needed someone who could mentor junior faculty, do a great job in the classroom, be a productive scholar and build relationships in the business community. All of these things are second nature to Howard.

Weeks has known Finch since 1988, when they studied together in The University of Alabama business school.

Our training at the Capstone was outstanding, said Weeks, who earned his bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees from UA. Perhaps the greatest value comes from the foundation in economics that underlies everything we do. We were fortunate to have some excellent faculty who cared a great deal about the program and the quality of the education that they were delivering.

Finch agreed with Weeks that Culverhouse provides a strong foundation for business academics.

Without question, I feel that I received an outstanding foundational knowledge base in finance and economics at UA, he said. The faculty stressed a clear understanding of the seminal thought pieces in financial economics, and when I graduated, I was grounded in the theories which form the basis for asset pricing, modern portfolio theory, capital-structure theory, agency problems and signaling, and option-pricing theory.

The UA business program is structured to cover a variety of topics, and Finch said he attempts to structure the Samford business program in much the same way.

My experience and subsequent impressions since graduation is that the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration provides

The culverhOuse cOllege OF cOmmerce

and Business adminisTraTiOn has lOng

Been a majOr PrOvider OF qualiTy

Business educaTiOn as evidenced By

iTs lOng lisT OF nOTaBle and highly

successFul alumni.

In fact, as incoming freshmen come to Culverhouse this fall, a number of their predecessors have gone on from The University of Alabama to acquire high-profile positions as deans of other business schools.

Howard Finch, a UA alumnus who now serves as dean of the Brock School of Business at Samford in Birmingham, said he attributes much of his success to his outstanding business-school education.

First of all, (former) Dean Barry Mason provided a wonderful example of how to provide servant leadership. He always put the University, Culverhouse College and all of its stakeholders ahead of himself, and that is something I try to remember each day, said Finch, who earned his doctorate in finance in 1992. Additionally, the Alabama business tradition taught me that the institution is greater than any single individual. Thus, my role is to lead and manage in such a way that when my time here is complete, the Brock School is a better place for the next generation of business students, faculty and staff.

Before becoming dean at Samford in 2011, Finch spent nine years on the faculty at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, rising through the rankings and learning to be a successful university teacher and researcher. He then spent 11 years at Florida Gulf Coast University, serving first as an

C U L V E R H O U S E2 6 2 7

students with a business education that has both depth and breadth, teaching technical skills together with managerial insights and perspective, Finch said. That is a model we want to emulate at the Brock School of Business at Samford, and I believe we are doing so very effectively.

Kathy, Finchs wife of nearly 30 years, said she believes that her husband is effective as a dean not only because of his knowledge and business expertise but also because he has a compassionate heart and is a good listener.

Howard is one of those people who never meets a stranger, she said. He is friendly and always has an encouraging attitude.

But, she said her husbands greatest accomplishment is their family.

We have two very successful children, Ashley, a graduate of the Culverhouse School of Accountancy, and Austin, a National Merit finalist who will be attending The University of Alabama this fall.

She said her husband has the gift of teaching and leadership, which he uses in all of his roles as father, professor and dean.

Finch credi ts h is professional success to his opportunity to work with great people. He said he owes a debt of gratitude to two mentors who were instrumental in preparing him to become a dean: Richard Pegnetter, the

dean who hired him at FGCU; and John Fulmer, Finchs first department head and later the associate dean at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, who also earned his doctorate from The University of Alabama.

At Culverhouse in particular, Finch said he was fortunate to study under a number of outstanding faculty members.

Patricia Rudolph was my dissertation adviser, and I learned the value of discipline and perseverance in research from her, Finch said. Robert Brooks taught my investments seminars, and he defined rigor and depth of theoretical understanding behind the models and numbers. Carolyn Carroll taught me empathy in dealing with students and colleagues.

In addition to these, Finch listed other professors who played key roles and influenced him, including Dr. James Cover, Dr. Robert McLeod, Dr. H.K. Wu, Dr. Harris Schlesinger and Dr. Billy Helms.

Helms, head of the economics, finance and legal studies department at UA, also greatly influenced his daughter Sara Helms Robicheaux in her pursuit of business. She earned her doctorate in finance from Alabama in 2000 and now serves as the dean of business programs at Birmingham-Southern College.

I have been at UA for 39 years, Helms said. I am sure that growing up

in Tuscaloosa had some influence on her returning to do graduate work here.

Robicheaux said her dad, a former professor of marketing at UA, is definitely her role model when it comes to serving as a faculty leader.

He is very level-headed and good at mitigating conflicts, Robicheaux said. He never has a personal agenda and is respected by his peers and students. He is also very calm under pressure.

She has met many graduate students at conferences who introduce themselves and share a story about a time when they needed help and her dad helped them out, years after the fact.

The relationship my dad has with the graduate students in his department is one I try to emulate with all the students at Birmingham-Southern, Robicheaux said.

She was appointed the dean of business programs at Birmingham-Southern College in 2011. Previously, Robicheaux served as associate professor of finance and economics at Birmingham-Southern and as a visiting assistant professor of finance at the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Robicheaux said she loves her current position as dean of business programs at Birmingham-Southern, and she attributes some of her professional success to her experience as a UA business student.

While I do not believe the education in and of itself prepared me for my role as a dean, I think the personal relationships I developed with the faculty members who taught me and served on my dissertation committee helped me to mature and prepared me for interactions with future colleagues, she said. The dissertation process is also a very independent project, and I find to be good at administration, you

have to be a self-starter and a very motivated person.

Robicheaux said that the UA faculty and students enriched her experience as a doctoral student, as well.

I found UAs business school to be a very friendly environment, she said. It was not a cut-throat competitive environment like you find in some PhD programs. All of the PhD students wanted everyone else to succeed, and we all worked together. Still today, many of the PhD students stay in contact with each other, co-author papers together and help with job placement.

She said her favorite professors at Culverhouse were Dr. James Ligon, her dissertation chair, and Schlesinger.

Both are outstanding teachers, and I gained a lot of knowledge in every one of their classes, Robicheaux said. Dr. Schlesinger taught my all-time favorite class, microeconomics. It was that class that convinced me that I wanted to become a college professor and stay at Alabama to get my Ph.D.

Dr. Ligon would read my dissertation drafts and have detailed feedback to me in less than 48 hours. He was amazing. Even after graduating, Dr. Ligon continued to work with me on publishing articles and remained as responsive to my questions as when I was a student in his class.

Now as a dean herself, Robicheaux greatly admires aspects of the Culverhouse business program such as the womens mentoring program, which was developed for undergraduate students, and the way that the college maintains contact with alumni. Just as faculty at Culverhouse go above and beyond to help their students, Robicheaux said she constantly strives to enhance the educational experience of all students at Birmingham-Southern College.

To be effective at this job, you cannot be worried about losing it, Robicheaux said. If all your decisions are based on what will make you popular and well-liked, then you are not doing your job. It is certainly important to hear all sides and opinions, but when it comes down to it, to be a college administrator you have to make business decisions.

However, in spite of the fact that Robicheaux sometimes has to make unpopular decisions, Helms said his daughter always tries to treat people fairly.

She listens to other people, he said. Shes modest about her own ideas and is willing to consider other peoples input.

Robicheaux can easily make connections outside of the business program because she was a student and professor at Birmingham-Southern College first and understands the culture of the institution, which allows her to be empathetic when issues arise,

explained Dr. Byron Chew, former dean at Birmingham-Southern College and Monaghan Professor of Management.

She was a good candidate for dean because she was one of the best teachers and researchers in the business program, he said. Sara is also greatly loved by multiple groups of stakeholders. Students think she is wonderful. She has all the bases covered, and she is a natural leader and representative of the business program.

In addition to Robicheaux, Chew graduated from the UA business school, proof that the Culverhouse network extends far and wide, encompassing current and former business leaders. He graduated in 1971 with a doctorate in business administration and held various positions in teaching and leadership at Birmingham-Southern College, serving as a dean partner in the business program from 1996 to 2002 before his retirement.

My University of Alabama education helped significantly in developing my understanding of management and helping me to appreciate the practice of management throughout my career, Chew said.

He remembers and admires that the UA business school demonstrated an early commitment to the importance of internationalization and inculcated this to students in the 1970s when then Dean Paul Garner made the UA business program known worldwide. Chew also said the faculty members were very talented, and he fondly remembers his mentor, Dr. William Bennett.

The University does a great job of serving the citizenry in the state of Alabama, Chew said. It has a three-pronged mission, standing for teaching, research and service, and it has always fulfilled its mission in each of these areas.

m y u n i v e r s i t y o f

a l a b a m a e D u c at i o n h e l p e D

s i G n i f i c a n t ly i n D e v e l o p i n G m y

u n D e r s ta n D i n G o f m a n a G e m e n t

a n D h e l p i n G m e t o a p p r e c i at e

t h e p r a c t i c e o f m a n a G e m e n t

t h r o u G h o u t m y c a r e e r .

D r. B y ro n C h e w

C U L V E R H O U S E2 8 2 9

communit y outreachAC CouNt i Ng s t udeNt s

m i x l e A RN i Ng w i th s e Rv i C e By AmANdA s Ams

This past spring, accounting instructor Lisa McKinneys goal was to teach the students in her service-learning-accounting course about tax software and the basics of tax returns, while helping the community at the same time. The honors class was a component of the SaveFirst Tax Preparation Initiative, which is sponsored by UAs Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility. SaveFirst uses volunteers to provide income-tax assistance. It is the largest campus-based initiative of its kind, according to Stephen Black, director of CESR.

During our sixth season, 137 UA undergraduate and law students worked at free tax preparation sites across the state to prepare over 3,200 returns for working families helping them to secure $5.8 million in tax refunds and saving them $960,000 in commercial tax preparation fees, Black wrote in an email about the program as the semester came to a close. Statewide, UA students collaborated with more than 300 additional students from more than twelve campuses to assist 5,157 low-to-middle-income families. In total, our volunteers helped these Alabamians to claim approximately $9.2 million in refunds and to simultaneously save an estimated $1.5 million in commercial tax preparation fees.

The 40 students in McKinneys accounting class in the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration each donated more than 40 hours of their time, McKinney said.

Students were trained to use tax-preparation software to complete simple tax returns at SaveFirst sites located directly in communities of need and then traveled to these communities to provide the service, McKinney said. This was a very significant course to most of them. They all describe how much they got out of it and how they were really changed by it.

McKinney evaluated the students performances throughout the semester, which culminated in a final paper detailing their volunteer experiences with SaveFirst.

My experience with the SaveFirst program was very rewarding, Rebecca Jones wrote in her final paper for the course. At first, I chose this program because I thought that it would be the best choice for my grade in Mrs. McKinneys accounting class. Little did I know that the experience would substantially increase my knowledge about tax filing and also change my perspective on the low-income population. It was refreshing to get off campus, away from the classroom, and

Lisa McKinney

C U L V E R H O U S E3 0 3 1

help those who need it most. From this program I will take away new skills, knowledge, and understanding about the government process of tax returns. I will also take away the experience that I had interacting with low-income taxpayers and getting them the refund that they deserve.

Jones said McKinney is by far one of the best teachers she has had in the business school, and her guidance was a big factor in Jones decision to change her major to accounting.

She was very engaging with her lectures and made the material very easy to understand, said Jones, a junior who is now majoring in accounting. Her sense of humor kept it interesting. She is also quite helpful outside of the classroom and truly has a desire to see her students excel in their futures.

Jones explained that while the material was challenging, McKinney had a way of putting it into context that students can understand. Jones also said that the service-learning experience with SaveFirst opened her eyes to a lot of issues, such as poverty in the community.

I distinctly remember the first taxpayer that I helped during the SaveFirst program, Jones said. She was a sweet elderly lady whose only source of income was a substitute teaching job. She lived in government-paid housing with her two adult children.

We had some difficulty determining her filing status because she had told us that the three of them pooled their incomes together for expenses. Her situation was heartbreaking.

She had a low four-figure income and only received about $50 back from her taxes, Jones recalled. When I told her

the amount, I thought that she was going to be upset. However, she was actually quite happy about it. Her situation really opened my eyes to how I take everything that I have for granted. It set the tone for the rest of my time there.

Jones said the course made her grateful for her opportunity to pursue higher education at The University of Alabama.

Francis Tre Nisi, another student, said he also enjoyed the service-learning portion of the course because it gave him valuable experience in filing tax returns and provided the opportunity to help different people in the community.

I would most definitely recommend this class to a friend or anyone for that matter due to the superb teaching and variety of lab options, Nisi said. She (McKinney) definitely lived up to her stellar reputation. She is an amazing teacher.

Davis Hill, a junior double majoring in accounting and Spanish, also said McKinney has been his favorite teacher in the business school.

Her teaching techniques are the best I have seen, he said. She relates to her students and makes what is

stereotypically a boring subject into one that is intriguing, humorous and thought-provoking.

McKinney said she agreed to teach this service-learning course because she wanted to be a part of Stephen Blacks SaveFirst initiative, which she knew would be meaningful and successful. This was her second time to teach the course, and she said she wants to teach it as many times as possible in the future.

The satisfaction for me came from the enormously significant experience each student had in the program, she said. Their papers explaining their experience were very touching. All feedback was very, very positive. Clients were vocally thankful, some leaving in tears.

Hill said the class not only taught him more about tax accounting but also helped develop his character and social skills by pushing him out of his comfort zone to work with people he otherwise would not have met. Hill estimates that he personally helped 10 clients over the course of the semester.

SaveFirst taught me the true value of an education, Hill said. It also was a key factor in convincing me to change my major from finance to accounting. It is a program that I will continue to be involved in each year while at The University of Alabama.

acreNew A dv i s o Ry B oA Rd memBeR , o F F i C e R s A NNouNCed

ynn Corder, a founding partner in The Builders Group of West Alabama, a firm that specializes in residential home

building, has been named to the advisory board of trustees of the Alabama Center for Real Estate at The University of Alabamas Culverhouse College of Commerce.

Our advisory board of trustees is a vital part of ACRE, said Grayson Glaze, executive director of the Alabama Center for Real Estate.

The board members represent a vast wealth of knowledge of all facets of the real-estate industry, and we are grateful that they are willing to share it with us and all of our constituents.

Corder is active in the local, state and national homebuilders associations. He served as president of the local chapter, and he chairs the Regulatory Affairs Committee and sits on the executive board at the state level. At the national level, Corder is a member of the Production Builders Committee.

He is a member of the Tuscaloosa Electrical Examining Board. He holds a real-estate-brokers license, a residential homebuilders license and a general contractors license. He sits on the boards of the Home Builders Association of Tuscaloosa, First National Bank of Central Alabama, West Alabama Hospice and the DCH Construction Board.

Glaze also said Hal Tillman Jr. was elected the 2012 chair of ACRE, and Tom Chambers was elected vice chair.

Tillman, of Birmingham, Ala., is president of Tillman Realty LLC. He was recognized as the 2009 Alabama Realtor of the Year.

Tillman is a 1980 graduate of The University of Alabama with a degree in finance. He is a real-estate broker, property developer and chairman and qualifying broker of Tillman Real Estate. Tillman has received Certified Property Manager of the Year, Birmingham Realtor of the Year and Alabama Realtor of the Year awards. He is a former president of the Birmingham Association of Realtors and a former member of the National Association of Realtors board of directors.

Chambers, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., is vice president of Westervelt Communities, a division of the Westervelt Co. Prior to joining Westervelt Communities, Chambers owned a construction-management business. He is responsible for developing and maintaining business relationships in residential and commercial real estate.

Chambers is a member of the Urban Land Institute, the Home Builders Association of Tuscaloosa and the National Association of Realtors.

ACRE, housed within UAs Culverhouse College of Commerce, collects, maintains and analyzes the states real-estate statistics. It is a resource for Alabama real-estate research, education and outreach that includes hosting its annual Alabama Commercial Real Estate Conference and Expo. The center, established in 1996, acts as an industry liaison for business-school students pursuing a career in real estate by providing interaction with real-estate alumni.

in total, our volunteers helpeD these al abamians to cl aim approximately $9.2 million in refunDs anD

to simultaneously save an estimateD $1.5 million in commercial tax preparation fees.

stephen Black CesR Di rector

C U L V E R H O U S E3 2 3 3

here are 24 students walking around the Culverhouse

College of Commerce with national championships under their belts.

The Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration at The University of Alabama generates more than just research and statistics. Year after year; it also produces champion student-athletes.

Eighteen football players, three members of the womens golf team, one gymnast and two softball players are majoring in some area of business, and all are members of national championship programs. They are part of 111 student-athletes enrolled in the business school.

And some of them attribute part of their success to their education at the Culverhouse College of Commerce, from the professors who helped them juggle sports and academics to the lessons learned from classmates with varied and diverse backgrounds and even to the challenging course materials.

Football and business go hand and hand with each other, said Carson Tinker, the football teams long snapper, who received his bachelors degree in marketing in May 2012 and plans to start his masters degree in marketing in August. Things like competition, strategy, leadership, competitive advantage and culture are all things

that Ive learned in the classroom that I have been able to relate to football.

Tinker learned what it truly means to be a member of the Culverhouse family after a tornado tore through Tuscaloosa on April 27, 2011, killing his longtime girlfriend, Ashley Harrison, and landing him in the hospital with serious injuries.

Dr. Alex Ellinger came and saw me every day while I was in the hospital,

Tinker said of the management and marketing professor. He brought his wife with him on some occasions, and she brought me brownies. That obviously meant a lot to me. Dr. Ellinger has so much devotion and affection for his students and the business school.

I feel like this is what make this school great. Ellinger would have gone to see any of his students. He went around and worked in the community as well, as Im sure a lot of our teachers did. And no one ever hears about this kind of stuff. They didnt do it for the attention; they did it because it was the right thing to do.

Tinker said Ellinger and Dr. Ron Dulek, professor of management, are his favorite teachers because of their passion, energy and enthusiasm in the classroom.

Dulek along with Ellinger and, Id say, the majority of our professors genuinely care about our students not only their education but their futures, Tinker said.

Tinker said that his biggest motivation for success, both in academics and

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By AmANdA s Ams

eiGhteen football pl ayers, three members of the w omens Golf team, one Gymnast anD t w o softball

pl ayers are ma jorinG in some area of business, anD all are members of national championship proGrams.

Carson Tinker

C U L V E R H O U S E3 4 3 5

me that would not have been open otherwise, he said.

Another academic and athletic champion, Brooke Pancake, graduated from Culverhouse with a degree in marketing in May after winning numerous awards and leading the UA womens golf team to its first national championship. Now a professional golfer, Pancake said she is extremely grateful for everything that The University of Alabama and the Culverhouse College of Commerce provided. She said she would not have made it to the position she is in without the support and motivation of the business-school family, including her favorite professors: Ellinger, and Drs. Louis Marino and Glenn Richey Jr., both professors of marketing.

Now that I am at the end of my amateur career and pursuing my career further as a professional, the marketing school has taught me how to network and put myself in a good position since being a professional consists of a lot more than just playing the game, she said.

Academically, Pancake said that she learned the most from her GBA 490 course, which challenged her and encouraged her to embrace everything she had learned during her four years in the business school.

She said she also learned a great deal from extracurricular pursuits outside of golf, including membership in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the senior womens honor society and Emerging Tide Leaders, and as the Southeastern Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative for the golf program. And of course, Pancake took away many lessons from the teams championship this year.

Winning the national championship and being a part of a team has taught

me to be appreciative of hard work and made me proud to be a part of something bigger than myself, Pancake said. We had to push through and fight till the end and never give up.

Softball player Jordan Patterson, a junior double majoring in accounting and marketing, helped her team bring home a national championship, as well.

I think that this past season and winning the national championship has taught me a lot of life lessons, Patterson said. It sounds cheesy, but hard work really does pay off. Even if its not in the way you imagined, it always pays off in some fashion.

Patterson did just that these past two years and has been on the Presidents List with a 4.0 every year. She is also a member of Phi Eta Sigma honor society. She explained that the work ethic she developed through softball has transferred to her academics, and she plans to eventually attend law school.

Patterson, daughter of gymnastics coach Sarah Patterson, said she chose UA because it is in her blood.

My parents have coached gymnastics here my whole life, so I grew up around this University, Patterson said. I used to go to all of the softball games, and I remember wanting so badly to be like those girls. When I got older and started thinking seriously about college and academics, I realized how great of a business school UA has. This school had everything I wanted, so when Coach Murphy (head softball coach) called and asked me to join the team there was not one thing to think about. This is where Ive always wanted to be.

Patterson said she has been blessed with the opportunity to receive a great education while playing the sport she loves. Softball has taught me that winning comes to those who chase it with every fiber of their being, Patterson said. You cant just go through the motions and expect greatness. You have to fight for it and fight hard. School is no different. I cant just go to class and expect to make As. I have to put the work in.

in football, comes from a piece of advice from head football coach Nick Saban. Youre either hungry or youre satisfied. You cant be both, the three-time National Coach of the Year told his team, according to Tinker. And the athlete took this advice to heart.

Im hungry; Im hungry to do everything I want to do, Tinker said. I have goals that I have written down and I want to see all of those goals through. Ive made those goals for myself, in my handwriting; Im not going to let myself down.

In addition to football and school, Tinker serves as president of the Executive Business Council and is the assistant to the executive vice president for the Student Government Association.

Tinker said he is willing to do whatever it takes in order to achieve his goals.

Everyone has the same amount of time in the day, he said. Its all about time management. You have to be able to sacrifice some of the things you would like to do, like sleep, in order to get your school work done.

Tinker has a lot of dream jobs, but he currently aspires to be a marketing c o n s u l t a n t a f t e r c o m p l e t i n g h i s masters degree.

Tinkers teammate Morgan Ogilvie, a Crimson Tide quarterback who graduated with his bachelors degree in August 2011 and is currently pursuing his masters degree in finance, has spent five years as a business student and has played on the last two national championship teams. He agrees that its all about time management and has mastered the art of balancing school and sports.

Being on the football team teaches you discipline, and that always helped me when working on something for school, Ogilvie said. Also, I think that being on the football team helped motivate me to want to do well in all areas of my life.

He said he learned that hard work offers the best opportunity for success through football and winning national championships, although it does not necessarily guarantee it.

I knew that at the end of the day, as long as I knew that I gave my best effort, that I would be content and happy, Ogilvie said.

But playing for Coach Saban was not the only deciding factor for Ogilvie when he chose to attend UA. The business school attracts a number of talented athletes who want to gain a quality education as well as pursue their sport of choice.

Obviously playing football for Alabama is something that I dreamed about as a kid and fortunately those dreams came true, Ogilvie said. Also,

I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in business, and since Alabama has a reputable business school, I thought that Alabama would be a good fit for me.

As an undergraduate student, Ogilvie achieved recognition on the Presidents List for his grades, won the Business Executive Award and joined the Business Honor Society and the prestigious senior honor society Omicron Delta Kappa. He also frequently participated in the Christian organization Campus Crusades.

My biggest motivation in sports and football was to glorify Jesus, he said. Also, I wanted to do well and be happy.

To achieve these goals, including the success that has followed his collegiate football career, Ogilvie often relied on lessons he learned from business courses.

I felt like I was able to better cope with situations on and off the field because of the analytical skills I learned in the business school, Ogilvie said. My ability to analyze either a problem or situation improved.

He said that his favorite professor was Dr. Robert Brooks, professor of finance, because Brooks challenges his students. Post graduation, Ogilvie plans to get a job in investment banking.

Both my undergrad and graduate degrees will help open doors for

i felt like i was able to better cope with situations on anD off the fielD because of the

analy tical skills i learneD in the business school.morgan ogi lv ie

Morgan Ogilvie

Brooke Pancake

Jordan Patterson

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richarD e. anthonyR e t i R ed Ch a i Rman o f th e B oa Rd a nd C e o o f S y novu S

Richard E. Anthony was chairman and CEO of Synovus F inancial Corp., a regional banking company headquartered in Columbus, Ga., with banking offices in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee.

He received his bachelors degree in finance from The University of Alabama and his masters in business administration from the University of Virginia. His banking career began at AmSouth Bank, where he served as executive vice president. As a co-founder of First Commercial Bancshares in 1985, he helped lead the companys expansion into the Alabama cities of Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Montgomery and Huntsville, using its Jasper community banking presence as a foundation.

Anthony was president of First Commercial Bancshares when it merged with Synovus in 1992. He became vice chairman of Synovus in 1996, overseeing S y n o v u s b a n k i n g o p e r a t i o n s . I n 2003 he became president and chief operating officer, then assumed CEO responsibilities in 2005. In 2006 he was named chairman and CEO. His service at Synovus concluded in April 2012, when he retired as a board member.

His leadership responsibilities at Synovus covered a tumultuous period of

financial stress, and he led the company through two major capital raises, a dramatic restructuring and a successful spinoff of Total Systems Services, its credit-card-processing subsidiary.

Civic affiliations have included being president of the Birmingham Kiwanis Club; captain of the Monday Morning Quarterback Club; a member of Leadership Birmingham; a member of Leadership Alabama; a member of The University of Alabama Presidents Cabinet; a member of the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administrations board of visitors; and director of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama. He also led the United Way Campaign in Columbus and was chairman of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce.

Anthony served on the board of directors of the American Bankers Association, the Financial Services Roundtable and Total Systems Services Inc.

john a. caDDellCha i Rman o f th e B oa Rd o f

C a dde l l C on S t RuCt i on

John A . Caddel l , o f Montgomery, was president and CEO at Blount Construction and later founded Caddell Construction, where he currently serves as chairman of the board.

Caddell Construction is a major player in domestic and international markets, including U.S. diplomatic facilities, federal courthouses, high-tech research and development centers, prisons, hospitals, airports, hotels, power plants, manufacturing facilities, military barracks and an even longer list of unique specialty projects.

He earned a bachelors degree in building construction from the Georgia Institute of Technology and attended Harvard Business Schools AMP program, the University of Virginias advanced management program, and the Top Management Briefing Course provided by the American Management Association. He also attended Officer Engineer Technical School, USAF Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and served two years in the United States Air Force.

Caddell began his construction career as an estimator with Blount Construction in 1952. He was promoted to vice president of Blount in 1963 and assumed duties of president and CEO from 1969 to 1983. Under Caddells leadership, Blount was responsible for some of the largest and most challenging projects in the world and attained a position of international prominence.

He established Caddell Construction Co . Inc . in 1983 , wh ich has s ince emerged as one of the most respected general contractors in the nation. Caddell Construction has completed more than $7 billion in public and private projects and received multiple national honors from construction industry peers. Caddell has become a premier contractor for U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide, including the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, and is among a handful of U.S. general contractors with the sophisticated management

BusiNess hAll oF FAmeF i v e a r e 3 9 t h c l a s s o F i n d u c t e e s

The five will be the 39th class of inductees.Each of these business leaders has certainly left

their mark on their community, their state, in fact the world, said J. Michael Hardin, dean of The University of Alabamas Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. The College Board of Visitors founded the Alabama Business Hall of Fame in 1973.

Each inductee has demonstrated hard work and vision in their chosen fields, from banking to finance and insurance to construction and engineering.

The hall honors the names and accomplishments of more than 130 men and women who are some of the states most distinguished business leaders.

The history of the Business Hall of Fame reaches back to 1973 and honors the names and accomplishments of some of the states most distinguished business leaders, people such as George Washington Carver, William Albert Bellingrath, the late Mildred Westervelt Warner and William H. Blount, Hardin said.

To be eligible for selection, a person must by his or her business accomplishments brought fame and honor to the state of Alabama. He or she should have made a significant impact on the development of community and state by promoting the free enterprise system and entrepreneurship, and by demonstrating civic leadership, philanthropy and humanitarianism toward their fellow citizens.

Nominees must be retired for three years or more or be at least 65. A continuing list of nominees is maintained, and each year new names are added for consideration. Nominations from anyone are welcome.

For ticket information to the Alabama Business Hall of Fame or to purchase tables, contact Diane Harrison, director of alumni and corporate initiatives at the Culverhouse College of Commerce, dharriso@cba.ua.edu, 205-348-2930.

The 2012 inductees are Richard Anthony, of Birmingham, chairman of the board of Synovus; John A. Caddell, of Montgomery, Ala., former president and CEO of Blount Construction; T. Michael Goodrich, of Birmingham, former chairman and CEO of BE&K; James S. Holbrook Jr., of Birmingham, chairman and CEO of Sterne Agee Group Inc.; and Grace E. Pilot, of Mobile, Ala., chairwoman of the board of Pilot Catastrophe Services Inc.

Following are brief biographies of the 2012 inductees.

FIVe DIsTInGuIsHeD BusIness leADeRs wIll Be InDuCTeD InTo THe Al ABAmA BusIness HAll oF FAme on noV. 1 In BIRmInGHAm, Al A . , AT THe CAHABA GRAnD ConFeRenCe CenTeR. THe ReCePTIon wIll BeGIn AT 5:30 P.m., FolloweD By THe InDuCTIon CeRemony AnD DInneR AT 7 P.m.

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remained at the helm of the investment bank for 22 years since the consolidation of Sterne, Agee & Leach Inc., its securities firm, with First Birmingham Securities Corp., the company Holbrook operated from 1970 to 1990.

Holbrook has kept the companys headquarters in Birmingham, providing economic sustainability and employing more than 400 residents of the city and suburbs and more than 500 statewide. The company employs 1,300 people and operates across the United States.

Ho