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STUDENT
Michael Babich ('19)
The UNT Career Center featured BS/MS accounting student Michael Babich as their inaugural Quarterly Student Spotlight.
Babich currently serves as the Department of Accounting’s student employee, helping to manage internship programs and working closely with the Career Center to ensure students are signing up for on-campus interviews and following up with employers when necessary. He assists with maintaining internship records to help promote programs to prospective employers and, in the recent absence of the main faculty coordinator, he has stepped up to manage an Etiquette Dinner for the department, which hosted more than 90 students and 11 employers.
“Michael is a wonderful employee,” said Christine Ellis, graduate advisor for the Department of Accounting and Babich’s supervisor. “He goes above and beyond in working with students, staff, faculty and employers. He is hungry for challenges and excels in difficult times. He has made a significant impression on me this semester and the accounting department.”
In addition to his efforts to help better prepare his peers for employment, Babich also serves as the vice president of Beta Alpha Psi and has been a supplemental instructor for Intermediate Accounting I, with the UNT Learning Center.
“Michael is just one example of the many excellent students doing work both on and off campus,” said Dan Naegeli, executive director of career and leadership development. “They contribute in significant ways, and the Career Center is proud to have Michael as our first Quarterly Student Spotlight.”
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ALUMNAE
Telea Stafford ('03)
Telea Stafford has helped people meet their spouses thanks to her marketing skills. Sixteen years ago, she was on the team that crafted ad campaigns for match.com, when the internet was in its infancy.
Now Stafford is running her own firm, Phenixx Marketing and Media, bringing in the knowledge she learned from years of experience working for brands such as Dr Pepper and Miller Brewing Co. and her courses at UNT.
As a college student, Stafford worked as an intern for Dallas Area Rapid Transit. Twenty years later, armed with an M.B.A. from UNT and serving as president of her own marketing firm, she headed DART's campaign to promote its new line to DFW Airport.
"To go from intern to agency of record is huge," she says. "We made a mark on the city to be a part of connecting DART to the airport after 20 years in the making."
She landed at match.com, where she helped make online dating commonplace. She then moved on to Dr Pepper and launched its licensing division so fans could wear "I'm a Pepper" T-shirts and eat Dr Pepper-flavored jelly beans.
During that time, Stafford studied for her M.B.A. at UNT, where her classes in finance, operations and law taught her the complexities of business.
"I learned about all of the strategy and thinking that goes into a creative decision," she says. "What my UNT degree did was lay a plan for me, instead of me relying on pure instinct. This is important because when you're meeting with clients, you don't just show them the end product. You have to show them the thought process and strategy behind it to gain their trust."
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Janet and Rob Pittman have been consistent UNT supporters since their graduation. Janet’s father, Marvin Berkeley, was the Dean and a professor of management in the College of Business, and her mother, Betty Berkeley, received her Ph.D. from UNT in 1980. Janet met Rob while they were both pursuing master’s degrees in 1982 and they married in 1984.
Janet learned the value of giving back from her parents. Janet’s father established the Dr. Betty Berkeley Graduate Award in Interdisciplinary Studies in the Toulouse Graduate School in 2003.
“When my father passed away in 2009, my family wanted to establish a scholarship to honor his contributions to the College of Business and support the students,” said Janet. “The Division of Advancement was very supportive and quickly established the Dean Marvin Berkeley Scholarship. They made the process so easy for us during a difficult time in our lives.” Janet’s mother also arranged for memorial contributions to benefit students.
In 2012, UNT dedicated a tree at the Business Leadership Building in honor of her parents. Janet has served as a mentor with the Professional Leadership Program. She is passionate about supporting the College of Business because of the opportunities afforded to her as a result of her education.
Through giving back, Janet has been able to honor her family, and her memories, in perpetuity. “You don’t have to be a multi-millionaire to support our students,” she says. “You can be someone like me or a member of my family who has a heart for the university.”
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Senior Rebecca Boyle lands top spot in national financial planning competition
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Senior Rebecca Boyle has landed herself a spot amongst the top three finalists in the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants (IARFC) National Financial Plan Competition.
The competition, which is open to undergraduate students who are enrolled in a financial services curriculum, requires participants to craft a financial plan for judging based on a fictional case narrative. Finalist teams were selected from 56 entries submitted by 13 universities nationwide.
“Reaching the finals in this IARFC Plan Competition is not easy to achieve,” said Professor Dave Ragan. “Rebecca constructed a financial plan so well that it beat out other students’ plans from all over the country. She is now in an elite league of students who can say they made it to the finals.”
Incorporating five years of federal and state tax projections, eleven years of cash flow projections, an analysis of life, long-term care and disability insurance needs, a review of asset allocation and recommendations on achieving retirement, college funding and estate planning goals, Boyle’s comprehensive plan impressed the judges.
Boyle was selected as one of six semi-finalists who presented a virtual plan presentation to mock clients, and from there, was chosen as one of three finalists to present her plan in person at the IARFC Annual Conference in Nashville this March.
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AACSB International renews business and accounting accreditation for UNT College of Business
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On January 30, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) announced that the University of North Texas College of Business is one of seventeen schools to renew their accreditation in both business and accounting.
Founded in 1916, AACSB is the longest-serving global accrediting body for business schools, and the largest business education network connecting students, educators, and businesses worldwide.
For over a century, AACSB accreditation has been synonymous with the highest standards in business education and has been earned by only 5 percent of the world's schools offering business degrees at the bachelor level or higher. Today, 831 institutions across 54 countries and territories have earned AACSB accreditation. Further, 189 institutions hold supplemental AACSB accreditation for their accounting programs.
"AACSB congratulates each institution on their achievement," said Stephanie M. Bryant, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB. "Every AACSB-accredited school has demonstrated a focus on excellence in all areas, including teaching, research, curricula development, and student learning. The intense peer-review process exemplifies their commitment to quality business education."
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UNT College of Business ranks among top 100 business schools
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The UNT College of Business has earned a spot amongst the University of Texas Dallas (UTD) Top 100 Business School Research Rankings list for its contributions to marketing research—positioning itself above renowned universities such as Purdue, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Illinois at Chicago.
The UTD Naveen Jindal School of Management developed the list to track publications within twenty-four of the most premier business journals. In doing so, the database has become an elite list of schools leading the way in research since 1990, based on the total number of articles published by faculty.
Associate Professor of Marketing Dr. Blair Kidwell was responsible for the two focal publications that resulted in the College of Business’ new rank on the UTD list. These included “Emotional Ability and Associative Learning: How Experiencing and Reasoning about Emotions Impacts Evaluative Conditioning” and “Happy Wife, Happy Life: Food Choices in Romantic Relationships,” which he co-authored with Assistant Professor of Management Dr. Virginie Lopez-Kidwell.
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Associate Dean Audhesh Paswan offers marketing research insight to MRSI members in Mumbai, India
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Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Audhesh Paswan helped bridge the gap between practitioners and faculty for the Market Research Society of India (MRSI) at their head office in Mumbai.
MRSI invited Paswan to provide insights into the future of market research in general and market research at UNT in particular. Focusing on consumer value as the foundation for any business activity, including market research, Paswan explained how the UNT College of Business is successfully enhancing the value of students in its MBA program. Discussions also revolved around the role of big data, analytics, and various new tools and techniques in developing insights into the future to help decision makers create better value for their stakeholders.
By providing MRSI members with examples of what UNT students are achieving through their academic careers, they were able to gain a better understanding of the value UNT students can ultimately provide to the industry.
“Both academia and industry are using the same knowledge and skillset for their jobs, and yet there is still a large barrier between them,” explained Paswan. “I believe that more interactions like this help both sides—it helps academia understand if its research is useful in business, and it helps industry understand if academia is doing something useful that can benefit them.”
MRSI members were able to walk away with a better understanding of what is currently happening, and what is expected to happen in the future, through the evolution in marketing and market research that Paswan presented. |
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UNT and Inspire Frisco are empowering entrepreneurs
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UNT is collaborating with Inspire Frisco to provide mentoring, education and networking events for entrepreneurs at UNT’s Inspire Park in Frisco. UNT is a founding member of Inspire Frisco, a group of organizations and businesses in the Frisco entrepreneurial ecosystem working to invigorate North Texas entrepreneurs to take initiative, engage and guide the region’s growing startup community.
Since taking ownership of its Inspire Park facility in October, UNT has begun hosting free monthly talks for entrepreneurs across industries, in partnership with Inspire Frisco.
“We are trying to kickstart the innovation ecosystem in Frisco with the Inspire Frisco talks (IF Talks),” says Michael Rondelli, UNT associate vice president for innovation and commercialization.
Past speakers included leaders from drive.ai, Aireal and KidStrong. The next event, which is set for Feb. 13, will feature UNT alum and successful entrepreneur David Gorman. Gorman, the founding partner of Clearview Staffing Software, will discuss the life of the company from founding to exit in 2009.
“Mentoring at Inspire Park is targeted to the needs of the entrepreneur and can cover everything from launch strategy to making a successful pitch,” says Jon McCarry, senior director of the Murphy Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, adding that topics will vary according to the needs of a startup. “We look forward to helping grow new business and ultimately to develop a venture corridor in the region.”
McCarry has extensive experience in raising capital and is building a network of investors in the area.
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PHILANTHROPIC OPPORTUNITIES AT THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
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$10,000
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS GENERAL SCHOLARSHIP
Your gift toward the College of Business General Scholarship Fund gives all declared business majors an opportunity to reduce future debt and focus on their academic endeavors. All business students are eligible to apply for a College of Business general scholarship, which are competitively awarded on the basis of academic excellence and merit.
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$5,000
PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
The Professional Leadership Program (PLP) vision is to continually be recognized in the education and business sectors as an exceptional servant leadership development and mentoring program, serving as a model for partnerships between the university, students, community, and businesses. Your gift to support the program (now celebrating 25 years of investing in the next generation of global leaders) will enable students to strengthen their leadership style, expand their professional networks, and grow in key marketable skill development.
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$1,000
STUDENT FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
The Financial Management Association (FMA) C. Steven Cole Chapter, UNT was started in honor of Dr. Steven Cole, former professor of finance. FMA offers student members the opportunity to network with industry professionals and become part of an exclusive network of finance professionals, practitioners and students around the world. Your support will help faciliate these efforts to assist in the professional, educational and social development of college students interested in finance, banking and investments.
Click here or the "Make a Gift" link below to learn more
and solidify your support.
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