Friday, April 27, 2012

Advanced Leadership Academy enhances skills

Santosh Pant, a Ph.D. candidate in Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, put in some extra Saturday class time at UT this semester. It didn’t have anything to do with the mechanical intricacies of engineering, but it had everything to do with building an outstanding career in his chosen field.

Pant and about 50 other UT graduate students in Business, Law, Engineering, Pharmacy and Education participated in the annual Advanced Leadership Academy (ALA), presented by the College of Business and Innovation.

“Being a graduate and international student, Advanced Leadership Academy (ALA) was a great learning experience for me,” Pant said. “Successful and distinguished personalities in different fields not only taught how to be a leader, how to cope with problems and move towards success.”

“We truly appreciate the opportunity to pull graduate leaders together from across our campus to learn from each other about the importance of leadership across all of our discipline, to discover what leaders can and must do to make the world a better place,” said Dr. Clint Longenecker, UT COBI professor of management.

Students were invited to participate based on their academic and professional records and the recommendation of graduate faculty. Sessions and COBI faculty presenting were: Careers in the 21st Century, by Dean Thomas Gutteridge; Leading and Developing Yourself, by Dr. Margaret Hopkins; Into the Trenches: Leading Your Team to Great Performance, by Dr. Jenell Wittmer and Dr. Robert Yonker; and Leading for Results, by Dr. Longenecker.

Participants also learned from leading area business professionals, including Joe Feudi, financial services professional with Caputo & Associates; UT Head Football Coach Matt Campbell; and Randy Oostra, President and Chief Executive Officer, ProMedica.

“With such talented faculty members and key community involvement, including ProMedica’s CEO Randy Oostra as our concluding speaker, the 2012 ALA certainly accomplished its goal of fulfilling what is the key COBI goal of developing lifelong leaders for the world of business, and, in this case, in other key disciplines across the University,” Dean Gutteridge said.

Participating students obviously agreed.

“The best part of the ALA experience was learning from the business college students and professors,” noted Kathryn Crawford, doctoral student, Judith Herb College of Education, Health Science and Human Service “They presented a different aspect to leadership that is more organizational than my current focus on educational leadership. I realize now how much more I have to learn to become an effective leader in an educational organization.”

“I loved Coach Campbell and how he applies leadership to his life, and Mr. Oostra was incredibly down to earth, showing us that you still need to treat everyone you meet with respect,” said Laura Bradey, who is working on her MBA in human resources. “We learned about the importance of communication, networking, and how it is important to get results. It was an honor to be invited.”

“The best part of ALA for me was getting to meet and work with graduate students from disciplines outside of business. I had no idea about the great things going on in the medical, pharmacy, education and engineering graduate programs. What an impressive group of graduate leaders,” observed Trent Miller, a Captain in the US Army and an MBA candidate.

Chris Trabbic, Ph.D. Program in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, said “My primary training in science includes dissecting hypothetical science proposals, translation of theory into practice, and staying up to date on innovative techniques. The ALA was extremely useful because the science was put into perspective. As with any other field, a leader with precise oral communication skills is vital. A leader with ‘emotional intelligence’ will be rewarded with quality results and hard work. “

“The ALA was a successful effort to expand the exposure to broader and practical learning,” said Nick Fasciana, CFO at Pinnacle Technologies and an MBA candidate. “This world-class program completely exceeded my expectations because it not only delivered relevant information designed to enhance my leadership skills, but also provided me an invaluable opportunity to network with senior business leaders in our region. An awesome learning experience.”

UT’s Pi Sigma Epsilon chapter wins

Twenty-three members of The University of Toledo Chapter of Pi Sigma Epsilon (PSE), the professional sales and marketing fraternity, participated in the recent PSE National Conference in Indianapolis in March. They came home with top finishes in some of the conference’s key competitions.

In the University Directories Marketing Challenge, the UT Chapter claimed second place; in the ADP Marketing Challenge, Jack Powers was on the team that took the first place prize; and in the National Pro-Am Sales Competition, Brittany Bodi finished in first place among the 88 students entered in that contest.

“The best part of the conference was the competitions,” observed Matt Devenport, President of the UT PSE Chapter. “There was a lot of emotion, a real close bond among the PSE members. We came together, and the bonding experience was different than it was in the classroom. We become more motivated to do better, and our chemistry builds success throughout the chapter.”

“To prepare for the conference, our chapter held organizational meetings every week to strategize and build a plan about how we would compete. We practiced every week, met with our professors in the Edward H. Schmidt School of Professional Sales (ESSPS),” Devenport said. “There are competitions to select chapters to recognition levels of gold, silver and amethyst, as well as competitions that reflect everything the chapter does throughout the year. We were one of the finalists for the silver level, and even though we did not win that particular award, being recognized as a chapter finalist was an accomplishment.”

UT chapter adviser Dr. Michael Mallin said, “The week-long conference provides student members extensive opportunities to learn. There are various events at the conference, including chapter officers focusing on marketing and sales training, leadership skill development, professional networking practice and activities to enhance selling skills.”

“PSE is important and beneficial because it promotes professionalism, exposes the students to recruitment and networking opportunities, and helps them with professional development. It helps members develop good communications skills, to get a job…and you make a lot of friends,” Mallin added.

“The role of the faculty is to be available for our students and to be positive, but the students did the work themselves,” Mallin explained. “Our chapter members did a good job, and I give a lot of credit to Matt for motivating them and leading the team, which positively reflects on the chapter, our Sales School, the College of Business and Innovation and The University of Toledo.”

The chapter paid for their trip through a variety of fundraisers and received additional support from the Edward H. Schmidt School of Professional Sales.

“PSE wants to thank ESSPS and The University of Toledo for giving us the opportunity to attend the 2012 PSE National Convention in Indianapolis,” observed Devenport, now in his second term as chapter president. “We look to only improve on the success of our chapter in the years to come.”

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Pacemaker Awards honor William Carroll, outstanding UT business students

The University of Toledo College of Business and Innovation (COBI) and the Business Engagement and Leadership Council recognized business and academic excellence during their annual Pacemaker Awards on Friday, March 23 at the Inverness Country Club.

Each year the prestigious Pacemaker Award recognizes an individual for outstanding achievement in business as well as contributions to the community and the University. The 2012 recipient of the Business Pacemaker Award is William J. Carroll, currently on the Board of Directors of Graco, Inc., and former President and Chief Operating Officer of Dana Corporation.


“William Carroll’s highly successful career, community involvement and outstanding integrity and leadership in the regional business arena make him the ideal business professional to receive this year’s Pacemaker Award, the College’s highest honor,” observed Thomas G. Gutteridge, Dean, UT College of Business and Innovation. “As a UT College of Business alumnus, current member of the UT COBI Business Engagement and Leadership Council (BELC) and a former chair of the BELC, Bill continues to live his deep personal commitment to the College and its important activities within the business community.”

Carroll, a member of the United States Marine Corps Reserve for six years, obtained his bachelor’s degree in accounting at UT and completed an advanced management program at Harvard Business School. He held several key positions at Dana Corporation, including that of President and Chief Operating Officer from 2003 to 2004.

Carroll also has been Director of Economic and Community Development for the City of Toledo; Chief Executive Officer of Limo-Reid, Inc.; and principal of Highland Jebco, LLC, where he is currently a consultant.

In addition to his involvement with the COBI BELC, Carroll is a trustee of Lourdes College, Chairman of the Lucas County Port Authority, and a member of the Toledo-Lucas County Convention and Visitors Bureau. He and his wife Cathy have four children.

Academic Excellence Pacemaker Awards are presented to UT College of Business and Innovation graduate and undergraduate students for their outstanding academic achievement, University and community service, and leadership.

The 2012 student Pacemakers are:
Accounting - Shane Sobczak and Lauren Stuck; Finance - John Doncaster and Colin McHugh; Information Operations Technology Management - Stephen James and Lindsay Vollmar; Marketing and International Business - Adam Covault and Rachael Kravitz; Management - Michael Schaffer and Sydney Smith; MBA - Kyle Kickbusch; Executive MBA - Eric Benington; Ph.D. - Vafa Saboorideilami; Dean’s Office - Frank Lindsay-Pangalos (MIB) and Thomas Schwann (EMBA).