fall 2009 indicator

Fall/Winter 2009 Community Businesses Capitalize on Mihaylo College’s Services Mihaylo College provides valuable resources and research to entrepreneurs, small businesses and family-owned enterprises in Orange County and beyond.

Entertainment & Tourism Management Program Debuts Program prepares students for the business side of entertainment and tourism.

Tax Return Preparation Program Pairs Students and Clients Mihaylo student volunteers prepared 481 tax returns and claimed refunds of $446,382.

California State University, FullertonMihaylo College of Business and Economics Magazine

2 the IndIcator Fall/Winter 2009

A solid foundation makes all the difference in tough economic times.

We have just completed a $50 million campaign that emphasized “building on excellence” which concluded with the completion of our state-of-the-art Steven G. Mihaylo Hall and the naming of the Mihaylo College of Business and Economics. Our foundation is very strong, and while all that we have accomplished is very impressive, this is just the beginning for us.

These are challenging times in California, and state universities have experienced huge budget cuts, but at Mihaylo College, we continue with our well-constructed strategic vision. Our challenge now is to “build for the future.”

As we build for the future, we will continue to enhance Mihaylo College’s reputation and all it has to offer our students. We also continue to support our business community as Mihaylo’s well-educated graduates start their careers in record numbers each year and become recognized leaders. It has been proven time and again that our alumni are the driving force of business, and they have a major impact in our region, in the nation and around the globe.

Enhancing business is a hands-on relationship for us with the companies and organizations – both large and small – within Orange County’s vibrant economy and beyond. Our Centers of Excellence work with an impressive range of companies, from micro-enterprise entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 CEOs. In this issue, we showcase many of our successful programs bringing students, faculty and business professionals together. These are not just classroom projects that are turned in for a grade; these are well-organized, serious consultant experiences that serve as a bridge between the college and these varied companies, while providing experience for students and faculty in the business world.

A solid foundation. That’s what we’ve created – both here on campus with our rigorous curriculum and impressive facility and in the community with our strong, mutually productive relationships.

Despite what we consider temporary financial setbacks in state funding, we are on schedule with our strategic

vision to cement our place as not only the largest but also the preeminent business school in the state. We

are able to forge ahead because of the continuous and resounding support of our alumni and

corporate partners who believe strongly in our unrelenting mission to build for the future.

Anil Puri, DeanMihaylo College of Business and EconomicsCalifornia State University, Fullerton

the InDICaToR® Magazine

Editor-in-chief Kathleen [email protected]

Executive EditorLaurie McLaughlin

Contributing Writers Ray BenedicktusPamela EzellChristopher KondoPam McLarenLaurie McLaughlinKatie NguyenAnn ShepphirdMichael van Lunenburg

Graphic Design Brenda Buffalin; Bb’s Creative LLC

Photography Stephanie ChristinKelly LacefieldPat O’DonnellNancy Sanchez

Mihaylo CollegeDean Anil [email protected]

associate DeansTom Boyd, Academic Programsand Faculty [email protected]

Mohsen Sharifi, Administration [email protected]

assistant DeansRobert Miyake, Academic [email protected]

Emeline Yong, Student [email protected]

Senior Director, DevelopmentMichele [email protected]

Director, Community affairsGinny [email protected]

Executive Director, alumni RelationsDianna [email protected]

Marketing SpecialistKathleen [email protected]

Mihaylo College of Business and EconomicsSteven G. Mihaylo Hall, Suite 3100California State University, FullertonP.O. Box 6848Fullerton, CA 92834-6848Phone: 657-278-4652E-mail: [email protected]: business.fullerton.edu

D e A n ’ s M e s s A g e


Fall/Winter 2009 the IndIcator 3

the INDICATOR® Fall/Winter 2009

News Briefs.................................................. 4Current news, notes and accomplishments

Leaders in Business......................................6Respected business leaders share their expertise with Mihaylo College

Feature Story: In Tough Times, The Tough Get Going...................................8Mihaylo College’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Family Business Council Provide Businesses with Resources and Support to Survive and Thrive

Locally Global.............................................12Exploring the worldwide impact of the Mihaylo College community

Centers of Excellence................................14Bridging academia and the corporate world, the centers provide support and knowledge to bothstudents and business

Student Achievement................................16The best and the brightest pursue excellence in business education

Faculty News..............................................20Prestigious honors for professors; impressive new faculty

Academics ..................................................24Mihaylo College offers valuable new programs for students

Alumni.........................................................26Profiles and networking opportunities for Mihaylo’s successful alumni

Events & Donors .......................................29Noteworthy people, events and support for Mihaylo College

t A b l e o f C o n t e n t s

Fall/Winter 2009 Community Businesses Capitalize on Mihaylo College’s Services Mihaylo College provides valuable resources and research to entrepreneurs, small businesses and family-owned enterprises in Orange County and beyond.

Entertainment & Tourism Management Program Debuts Program prepares students for the business side of entertainment and tourism.

Tax Return Preparation Program Pairs Students and Clients Mihaylo student volunteers prepared 481 tax returns and claimed refunds of $446,382.

California State University, FullertonMihaylo College of Business and Economics Magazine

On the cover: Members of the Mihaylo College Family Business Council gathered at Cascade Pump and toured the expansion of their manufacturing facility. From left, John Summerfield, Cascade Pump; Ron Stein, Principal Technical Services; Ron Hill, Hill Brothers Chemical; Tom Schwarz, Rick Muth Fam-ily Chair in Family Business; Rick Muth, ORCO Block; Tom Summerfield, Cascade Pump; and Mike Trueblood, Family Business Council director.

In the world of corporate finance,

Greg Waller ’78 MBA is a Business

Titan. He is the CFO of Universal

Building Products, the largest

privately held manufacturer of

concrete forms in North America.

His expertise and experience have

earned him a seat on the boards

of four companies with annual

revenues up to $100 million.

Greg Waller’s proven career

strategy and evolving success

is what Mihaylo is

all about.

Mihaylo College of business and economics: • Anetworkof50,000+graduatesinSouthernCalifornia• DualAACSBaccreditation• Recognizedforqualitynationallyandfor

economicimpactregionally• MBAforworkingprofessionalsinIrvine

Michael A. Reagan Scholarships and financial aid available.

— Greg Waller ‘78 MBA, Chief Financial Officer,

Universal Building Products, Inc.

“Mihaylo College gave me the opportunity for success

in my career. Earning my MBA from Mihaylo was

the best investment of my life.”

Mihaylo College


TheSourceforValuableConnectionsThe OC Networking Directory is a valuable resource for networking in Orange County. Published by Mihaylo College’s Center for Entrepreneurship, the directory features nearly 600 current contacts – trade organizations, leads, networking groups, women’s organizations,

chambers of commerce, fundraising groups, computer user’s groups and more. For ordering information, visit www.ocnetworkingdirectory.com.

MihayloMBAStudentstoCompetein ACGCupEventOnce again, top Mihaylo College MBA students will showcase their talent at the ACG Cup in February 2010. Presented by the Association for Corporate Growth, the event is a deal-analysis

competition designed to give top business school students real- world experience while networking with the region’s merger and acquisition professionals. During the challenging 2009 ACG Cup event, the Mihaylo MBA team garnered third place, ahead of teams from Chapman, Pepperdine, UC Irvine and UC San Diego.

The 2009 Mihaylo MBA team placed third in a field of seven. Team members included Greg Lewis, George Milchev, Phuong Nguyen and Philip Cook.

Prestige:MihayloCollegeAwardedMaximumExtensionforAccreditationAccreditation for Mihaylo College has been extended for the full five-year term granted by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, AACSB, the international accrediting body for business schools. Mihaylo is among only 5 percent of business schools worldwide and 28 percent of those nationwide to have earned AACSB accreditation. “It takes a great deal of self-evaluation and determination to earn and maintain AACSB accreditation,” says Jerry Trapnell, AACSB’s chief accreditation officer. “Schools not only must meet specific standards of excellence, but their deans, faculty and staff must make a commitment to ongoing improvement to ensure continued delivery of high-quality education to students.”

BigNumbersin2009:TheLargestGraduatingClassin

MihayloCollegeHistory

n e w s B R I E f S

Mihaylo College ranks first in California and sixth in the nation for bachelor’s degrees awarded to Hispanics majoring in business and marketing, as reported in Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education’s “Top 100.”

firstinCalifornia


MohsenSharifiAppointed ActingAssociateDeanfor AdministrationA professor of accounting at Mihaylo College since 2001, Mohsen Sharifi has been appointed acting associate dean for administration. Sharifi’s areas of specialization include accounting information systems and internal auditing. He has served as faculty advisor to Alpha Beta Psi and the student Accounting Association. He has received a number of university awards for outstanding service, teaching and research and has served multiple terms as chair of the college senate.

TomBoydisAppointedAssociateDeanforAcademicProgramsRecipient of this year’s Outstanding Professor award for Mihaylo College, Tom Boyd, professor of marketing, has been appointed associate dean for academic programs and faculty development for the college. A Mihaylo faculty member since 2001, his research focuses on sports marketing, and his courses on this industry are popular among students. Previously, Boyd served on the faculty of Miami University and worked for Motorola Inc. He’s played a pivotal role in the past three years in revamping the MBA program and creating a branding campaign for the college.

AccountingfirmEstablishesProfessorshipA $100,000 gift from an Orange County accounting firm has established the White, Nelson Professor of Accounting, and Vivek Mande, professor of accounting, has been named to the post. “White, Nelson & Co., LLP is a very well-known and highly respected firm in the region, and I’m honored to be selected for this recognition,” says Mande, who was chosen for his outstanding record as a faculty member. Mande is also the director of the college’s Center for Corporate Reporting and Governance. Alumnus Dave Doran ’75, managing partner of White, Nelson & Co., LLP, led the commitment to establish the professorship – seven of the 12 partners in the Irvine-based accounting firm are graduates of Mihaylo College’s accounting program.

ThomasSchwarzJoinsMihayloasRickMuthfamilyChairinfamilybusinessCal State Fullerton’s first-ever endowed chair stems from a successful fundraising drive led by donor Rick Muth, president of ORCO Block. Thomas Schwarz has been appointed to the chair, and he joined Mihaylo College in the new position this fall. Schwarz will teach courses, conduct research, help develop curriculum, advise students in family business and serve as an integral member of the Family Business Council. Schwarz is also on the board of the international Family Firm Institute, a powerful network of family-owned business resources. Previously, he served as director of the Center for Free Enterprise: Family Owned Business Institute and Center for Entrepreneurship at Grand Valley State University in Michigan.

n e w s B R I E f S

forthelatestnewsandevents,checkoutMihayloCollegeof business and economics on:

Vivek Mande

ByAppointment

Tom Boyd

Mohsen Sharifi


A partner in the law firm of Robinson, Calcagnie & Robinson Inc. in Newport Beach, Kevin Calcagnie ’77 is a civil litigator specializing in products liability. He’s been a lawyer for 26 years, starting as a law clerk and now overseeing a firm with 21 lawyers and 60 employees. Calcagnie and his partners represented the County of Los Angeles in its lawsuit against the tobacco industry to recover the costs of health care associated with treating county residents with smoking-related illnesses. As part of a settlement, the county will receive $3.3 billion over a 25-year period. The firm also represented the County of Orange as co-counsel with the District Attorney’s office in actions against oil companies to remediate contamination from underground storage tank leakage. Calcagnie also actively supports Mihaylo College and participates in events that help students understand both the value of their education and prepare for their careers. He recently shared some of his thoughts with INDICATOR:

With the economic downturn, job prospects may be harder to come by for recent college graduates. What is your advice for them? My advice to students coming out of college now is to be patient, and make the most of your experience at Cal State Fullerton. It doesn’t happen over night. The job market and the economy were pretty gloomy in the late 1970s when I graduated. It took me a few years and a few career changes to discover what I really wanted to do. Use the placement center, take advantage of everything the school has to offer, find out what you do best, keep asking questions – and don’t get discouraged.How has attending Cal State Fullerton helped you in your career? I still have a number of connections today with the people I met in college. I don’t think I realized at the time what an impact Cal State Fullerton would have on my life, but many of my closest friends today I met at Fullerton. And I’m still using and applying the skills and knowledge I acquired in the business school: accounting, finance, management and writing. The more time goes by, the more I realize how valuable the education was.What is your current involvement with the Mihaylo College? My wife and I joined the Cornerstone Society. We wanted to be part of the new business school and the new building. I also serve on the Executive Council and the advisory board, which I discovered when our daughter started attending Cal State Fullerton. And I’ve participated in the Professor for a Day program, which is something I would recommend to other alumni. I taught the same marketing class I took in 1976 and with the same professor – Bob Jones – 31 years later. Why do you feel it’s important to give back? I would have to say a sense of gratitude, but it could also be a sense of guilt. I received a great education for almost nothing. Tuition was $96 my first semester. Also, CSUF is the educational center of Orange County, and its students are the future of the region. It’s a shame that in this economic climate the CSU budget is being cut back, because it’s so important that people have an opportunity for an affordable, high-quality education.

— Ann Shepphird

L E A D E R S I N B u S I N E S S

InvestinginMihaylo:AConversationwithKevinCalcagnie‘77



GoldSponsorshipsCraig Brown ’89

Director of Fullerton Operations

Alcoa Fastening Systems

Scott Coler ’85 President, Southern California DivisionCapital Pacific Homes

Peter agarwalVice President

Citizens Business Bank

arthur CooperPresident

Cooper McManus

Paul FolinoExecutive ChairmanEmulex Corporation

Boris Bugarski ’97 President and CEOmUrgent Corporation

William Gregg ’80 President and CEO

SDC Technologies

Joe CervantesSenior Executive Vice

President of OperationsR.D. Olson Construction

SilverSponsorshipsGuy Knuf ’87

Managing PartnerAnderson & Knuf LLP

Joe Ferrucci ’93 Attorney at Law

Brown & Charbonneau, LLP

Greg arbuesPresident/Chief Client Advocate

Client Advocate Network

Jan MittermeierSenior Vice President

Operations Cofiroute USA91 Express Lanes

Fran Inman ’76, ’81 Senior Vice President

Majestic Realty Foundation

Dino Basdakis ’77 President

Morris Basdakis Wealth Management Group

Robert Ruffini ’84 Chief Financial OfficerOverhead Door Company

of the L.A. Basin

Richard Becktel ’77 President

Southern Counties Lubricants LLC

Gordon MacLean ’86 Partner

Windes & McClaughry Accountancy

For more information about the Executive Council,

please contact Alice Rodriguez, [email protected];

657-278-4229.

MakingaDifference:ExecutiveCouncilMembersSupportMihaylo

Among the Executive Council’s more than 70 members are, from the left, Joe Ferrucci ’93 and Greg Brown, Brown & Charbonneau; Joe Cervantes, R.D. Olson Construction; Yolanda De La Paz, First Regional Bank; Erick Lane ’93, HMWC CPAs & Business Advisors; Cindy Gonzales ’98, Mendoza, Berger & Company.

L E A D E R S I N B u S I N E S S

MihayloExecutiveCouncil:ANetwork ofOrangeCounty’sTopLeaders

He may have earned his accounting degree from Cal State Fullerton in 1986, but

Curtis Pilon still heads back to Mihaylo College regularly to stand up in front of a classroom as part of the Professor for a Day program to share his considerable business experience and to field the many questions the students have for him. “Participating in Professor for a Day is great for the students, but I get a lot out of it as well,” says Pilon, who is president and CEO of Spectrum Information Services headquartered in Santa Ana. Pilon is a member of Mihaylo’s Executive Council, which facilitates the connection between the business school and the business community. Members include a network of some of Orange County’s top business, academic and community leaders who

provide advice to and assist the collegein achieving its goal of academic excel-lence and community recognition. Pilon most recently served on the Outstanding Student Award selection

committee and has helped place students in jobs through the mentoring program. The council also assists the college in its fundraising efforts in support of educational programs through the dean’s annual golf tournament, participates in college strategic planning, and provides student mentoring and internships. In addition, the group serves as a valuable networking organization for its more than 70 members. During their summer mixer at the Winery in Tustin, Pilon was able to sit and chat with another member and gain some insight into a project Pilon’s company is undertaking. “Being part of the Executive Council keeps me engaged with the school, but it also engages me with other executives in the Orange County marketplace,” he says. “It’s very rewarding for me personally.”

‘Participating in

Professor for a Day

is great for the students,

but I get a lot out of it as well.’


Terry Splane was in for a very pleasant, and productive, sur-prise: When Splane and his

company agreed to work with students in Mihaylo College’s entrepreneurial program on a market-research project, he admits his expectations weren’t particularly high. “Our objective was to help the students as much as we could to expose them to real life and the business world,” he says. “I fully expect-ed the students to learn a lot and for us to gain insights, but expectations were somewhat limited. Instead, they gave us good direction, good information, and they presented it in an extremely pro-fessional manner.” His company is now using the students’ research, which fo-cused on an extensive purchase-intent survey, to improve the company. “We are in the process of rebranding some of our products within this category, and we are absolutely taking into con-sideration the key points that we got out of the work that the students did.” Splane is the vice president of marketing for Ventura Foods head-quartered in Brea, which manufactures food-service products for restaurants and university dining operations. It’s a multibillion-dollar enterprise with thousands of employees, and as Splane says, they were happy to participate in the project through the Mihaylo Col-lege Small Business Institute’s pro-gram in Entrepreneurial Marketing, which is directed by the Center for Entrepreneurship, one of the college’s dozen Centers of Excellence. Ventura Foods contracted the students in Professor John Bradley Jackson’s marketing class at Mihaylo. “We had six students on the project,

and Ventura wanted us to do a qualita-tive survey. We were talking to restau-rant managers, and most of these were

commercial operations,” says Jackson, who is also the director of the Center for Entrepreneurship. “This particular project was a very intense, detailed qualitative survey over the phone with operators, restaurant owners and managers across the United States. The interviews were up to 45 minutes long, and it’s really hard to keep anybody on the phone for that amount of time, but students can do it. If you’re a student, and you need some help, that resonates with people.” Ventura Foods had asked for about 30 interviews, and the stu-

In Tough Times, the Tough Get GoingMihayloCollege’sCenterforEntrepreneurshipandfamilyBusinessCouncilProvideBusinesseswith ResourcesandSupporttoSurviveandThrive

“We are in the process of

rebranding some of our products and

taking into consideration the key

points that we got out of the

work that the students did,”

says Terry Splane, vice president of

marketing for Ventura Foods.

8 the IndIcator Fall/Winter 2009continued on page 10

Fall/Winter 2009 the IndIcator 9Fall/Winter 2009 the IndIcator 9

In Tough Times, the Tough Get GoingBy Laurie McLaughlin

Rick Muth, president of ORCO Block, led the successful fundraising drive to establish the Rick Muth Family Chair in Family Business at Mihaylo College.


dents delivered more than 100. “They gathered all this information and analyzed what it meant, and they told the client things they didn’t know,” says Jackson. “Ventura was delighted with what we did.” The Center for Entrepreneurship is a self-sustaining nonprofit within Mihaylo College and has provided this type of professional-level consulting for more than 1,500 client companies in the last 30 years. It’s not lost on anyone that the high-quality, readily applicable research accomplished by the students within a 16-week semes-ter for a nominal fee stands in favor-able contrast to the very same services from a commercial vendor that may take up to a year to provide similar data. “Our target is mostly Orange County companies, and admittedly we’ve worked primarily with com-panies smaller than Ventura Foods – those below $10 million annually. Our charter is to support the academic experience and reach out to companies that want to collaborate with us and benefit the entrepreneur-ship students’ education. On average, the students put in 300 hours on a client consulting project. This one required much more.” “This is the perfect time, even a strategic time, for companies to get themselves tuned up with our center and get a team to visit them and do a research project,” says Andrea Hurt, associate director for the Center for Entrepreneurship, who also notes that it was the innovation of dedicated entrepreneurs who brought the United States out of the Great Depression. The Center for Entrepreneurship fields hundreds of requests from businesses each year, and they work with all of them. “If they send in an application, we match them with a team,” says Hurt. “A student-consulting project

could result in something that would benefit the client’s company for the next five years.”

fortheNextGeneration: Mihaylo’s family business Council ProvidesGuidanceandResources“When we build a factory, we want to invest extra so that there isn’t as much trouble with maintenance, and we’d like to pour more into the footings so that the machinery is going to be easier to run,” says Rick Muth, president of ORCO Block headquartered in Stan-ton. “The family business thinks about spending more because they’re looking at the long-term. That seems rather

silly to those who just invest money, but it works for family businesses. “The truth is it’s a lot different when you’re using somebody else’s money than when you’re using your own kids’ or grandkids’ money.” Muth’s insight as the president of a particularly successful family-owned company reflects the No. 1 characteris-tic of these filial businesses: Plan wisely for the future. However, family-owned businesses have distinct structural and emotional challenges, and all are surmount-able, says Mike Trueblood. He’s the director of Mihaylo’s Family Business Council, which provides a popular program of workshops along with extensive resources and research for family-owned businesses. Mihaylo College’s dedication to this sector is a strong assertion that as the university helps family businesses be more suc-cessful and aids them in keeping the ownership of the enterprise within the family, this in turn helps the overall economy as these businesses grow and prosper well into the future. “Research both nationally and globally confirms that family-owned businesses generate 49 percent of gross domestic product,” says Trueblood, “and they create 86 percent of all new jobs in the United States.” Trueblood debunks the myth that family businesses are inherently small businesses. “People think about the corner pizzeria or drycleaners, but family businesses are predominantly mid-sized, and to belong to the Family Business Council, members must have $5 million in revenues and employ more than 25 people.” A founding member of the Family Business Council, Muth has consider-able confidence in the college’s commitment to this business sector and led the fundraising drive to establish

“The truth is it’s a lot different

when you’re using somebody

else’s money than when

you’re using your

own kids’ or grandkids’

money,”says Rick Muth,

ORCO Block president.

In Tough Times, the Tough Get Goingcontinued from page 8


In a recent piece published in the Orange County Register’s Small Business Blog, Mihaylo College Marketing Professor Ray Benedicktus says that in the face of a recessionary economy, marketing budgets tend to suffer. However, he adds, marketing activities are the primary determinant of revenue (i.e., customers). Thus, a substantive reduction in marketing logically inhibits the business’ ability to generate sales at one of the most crucial points in its existence. Marketing spending is an investment – no matter how it looks on income statements. When businesses stop investing in the resources required to meet customer needs, customers’ value perceptions begin to falter. Benedicktus shares an excerpt from his article with INDICATOR, and suggests small businesses can do a few things to hedge against consumers’ recessionary behavior:

Know thy customer: It is essential that firms discover how their customers are identifying value, searching for purchase alternatives, and/or changing their spending habits. At no other time in the economic cycle is it more important to fully understand customers’ needs and perceptions. Research gives us the knowledge to make good decisions, so let’s find out what’s important to our customers now and deliver it. Research is not cheap, but the good news for Orange County businesses is that there are a couple of great business schools nearby itching for interesting projects.

Maintain and communicate high standards: Certainly we are more price conscious, even in business purchasing, but none of us goes out searching for a lemon. Reduce psychological costs, such as uncertainty, by generating business through referrals, monitoring and communicating customer satisfaction levels, and increasing product trial and demon-stration opportunities. Evaluate your distributors’ performance and drop the weaklings who are not helping you meet your customers’ needs in terms of inventory-carrying arrangements, financing terms, delivery time, return policies and quality standards.

People make the difference: Marketing is known by most business people as a group of activities that consists of products, promotions, pricing and place (distribution strategies). However, without great people your company doesn’t produce satisfactory customer outcomes (more revenue). Now is the time for businesses to be most concerned with improving their sales teams, hiring customer-oriented employees, cross-training, and engaging existing employees about what is contributing to low morale or less than optimal performance. Employee profile assessments can provide very precise feedback for areas of “people improvement.”

Maintain marketing: As your competitors cut their marketing budgets and market presence, try increasing your advertising to gain market share. Advertising becomes less expensive when fewer businesses are purchasing spots, and deals are out there. Consumers view investment in advertising as an indicator of confidence in your own longevity. The key is to maintain or increase frequency of ads, and for goodness’ sake, differentiate yourself by not saying things like “in these difficult times.”

A full copy of this article may be obtained by contacting the editor of the INDICATOR.

Recession is the Most Important Time for Marketing

In Tough Times, the Tough Get Going

the Rick Muth Family Chair in Fam-ily Business, the university’s first-ever endowed chair. “The chair allows Mihaylo to have courses for the student body on the dynamics of family businesses, and it also enables the university to conduct the research that will be applicable and meaningful to the family-business community – how businesses operate, how they do their succession planning, how they support community charity efforts and more,” says Trueblood. “Family businesses are important to the nation and to the world, and 80 percent or more of businesses in non-communist countries are fam-ily-owned,” says Tom Schwarz, who joined Mihaylo this fall and holds the new Rick Muth Family Chair. “Family businesses are doing better on average right now than businesses in general, because family businesses tend to manage from a conservative, long-term perspective,” which means they have the reserves to weather a slow economy. He adds: “Most family companies have a low level of fam-ily debt and maintain a cash position as they look to build the business for their children.” In addition to providing guidance to the community, the Family Busi-ness Council and Schwarz will work together and continue to provide students with academic exposure to family-owned businesses. “Given the ethnic diversity among Mihaylo students,” he says, “an education about family business fits our student body very well.”

For more information:

CenterforEntrepreneurship: business.fullerton.edu/centers/cfe

family business Council: business.fullerton.edu/centers/fambusiness

SmallBusinessInstitute: business.fullerton.edu/centers/cfe/sbi.htm


l o C A l l y g l o b A l

In the late 1980s, SC Fuels in Orange was visited by many representatives from communist countries who were

working on reform. “They came largely to see the first unattended commercial fueling station in the United States, which was in front of our headquarters,” says Frank P. Greinke, CEO of SC Fuels. “In return, we were invited to Russia to visit in August of 1991, which was just two weeks after the coup attempt in Moscow. We gathered some fascinating stories observing this country that was once considered a mortal enemy of ours – as a child I had practiced dodging under my school desk to hide from nuclear fall-out.” Greinke and his late father, Frank H.

Greinke, saw opportunity in a new Eastern Europe and traveled to the former Soviet-bloc nation of Georgia. “We decided to try and build some gas stations there as a project,” says Greinke. “We had not been involved in doing business in another country prior to that.” A year later, SC Fuels was the first U.S. company to do business in Georgia after the country’s break from the Soviet Union in December 1991, and the Greinkes opened the first western-style gas station in the capital city of Tbilisi and established the Greko Oil company. Since that time, says Greinke, “my family has attempted to promote the interests of Georgia. The business culture is still quite different there for a number of

TheRepublicofGeorgia: MihayloSupporterfrankP.Greinke isAppointedHonoraryConsul

SC Fuels was

the first U.S.

company to do

business in

Georgia after

the country’s

independence.


l o C A l l y g l o b A l

Mandarin Immersion: MihayloStudent ReceivesPrestigiousScholarshipto StudyinChina

reasons. The country was occupied for 70 years under the failed economic system of communism. There is still some hangover as a result.” Georgia was invaded by Russia in the summer of 2008, and much of their infrastructure was destroyed during the short war, Greinke adds. “They have been a beacon for emerging democracies but made some mistakes that caused political conflicts resulting in business unrest that I’ve not experienced in the United States.” In May 2007, the Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili appointed Greinke to the position of honorary consul of the Republic of Georgia. Greinke succeeded his father who was honorary consul until he passed away. The position of honorary consul is the highest diplomatic honor that a foreign government can bestow on a U.S. citizen. As honorary consul, Greinke maintains a consulate in his office in Orange, where Georgian citizens conduct passport or visa procedures instead of the former requirement of presenting themselves in person at the embassy in Washington, D.C. “We would also be the liaison with the Georgian government should a Georgian citizen require legal assistance,” says Greinke. “We host a number of Georgian events as well as government officials, business people and students who visit the West Coast.” Greinke’s generosity is also manifest in his extensive involvement in Orange County, and he’s been a particularly strong advocate for Mihaylo College and serves on the college’s Dean’s Advisory Board. He’s also provided a scholarship for student Sergi Nakaidze to attend Mihaylo College. “I chose to support Sergi in earning a business degree because I recognized his talent and the probability that he would not get his degree without someone’s assistance,” Greinke says. “In order for our businesses to be successful, we need a steady supply of well-trained professionals to operate our companies. The firms that receive the benefits from this system should continue the process by both offering competitive, quality employment and financial support to Cal State Fullerton.” Greinke visits the Georgian Republic once or twice a year mostly for business, and his family has established deep personal ties with the people there, and his last two trips were each to attend a wedding and a funeral. He attributes his appointment to the extensive involvement in Georgia by his parents. Greinke’s own involvement has grown into numerous charitable and humanitarian projects as well as investments in real estate, oil and retail sectors. In Georgia, a particularly festive gathering is the supra, where many toasts are made and much wine shared. “The country is very family oriented, so spending time in people’s homes is a treat,” says Greinke. “And, the celebration of supra is always a joy.”

— Laurie McLaughlin

A lready fluent in Spanish and English, Steve Duran ’11 departed for Beijing in August to study Mandarin at Peking University. A business administration

major, Duran’s concentration is in entertainment and tourism management, and he hopes to use his trilingual skills to help build a career in the casino industry. “Macau has become the new Las Vegas over the last decade with millions of dollars pouring in from the three top Vegas casino conglomerates,” he says. “In fact, Macau has overtaken Las Vegas as the gaming capital of the world in terms of revenue … If possible, I’d like to work in Macau and learn about the differences between the typical Vegas casino and a casino in Macau.” Regardless, he adds, speaking Mandarin will be useful in his career as “China has become an economic powerhouse.” The 21-year-old Mihaylo student is the first Cal State Fullerton student to receive the highly competitive California State University Wang Family Scholarship for study in China. He will spend 10 months in the Asian country immersed in the language and culture. Since high school, Duran – whose parents came to the United States from El Salvador – has been studying Mandarin. The Wang Family Scholarship was established by former CSU Trustee Stanley Wang and his family to “provide students with an opportunity to learn in an international environment and another culture.” Each year, 20 scholarships of $4,000 each are awarded – 10 for study at either Peking or Shanghai Jiao Tong universities in China and 10 for students studying abroad at National Taiwan or National Tsing Hua universities in Taiwan. Steve Duran ’11


aving taught marketing, new venture creation and sales classes at Cal State Fullerton since 2003, John Bradley Jackson is now the new director of Mihaylo College’s Center for Entrepreneurship. An entrepreneur with his own small-business consulting firm, Jackson has served as a corporate vice president overseeing sales,

marketing and research for high-technology businesses, including Bowne and Co. and Forrester Research. “I’ve been a part of the college’s entrepreneurial team for six years,” says Jackson, who is a 1977 CSUF business administration alumnus. “I look forward to this new opportunity to work closely with students who share the spirit of entrepreneurship.” Established in 2002 to support the entrepreneurship concentration, the Center for Entrepreneurship helps students create new business concepts, write business plans and launch their own enterprises. Additionally, the students present their plans to an investor panel made up angel investors, venture capitalists, bankers and successful entrepreneurs. The center also operates the Small Business Institute, which supports local businesses. Under the direction of veteran entrepreneurs, student teams consult with local companies to help them increase profitability. The Center embraces new media by communicating to students and local companies with Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn along with its new interactive Web site. A unique feature of the new Web site is a collaborative blog written by faculty, students and alumni, which shares ideas about entrepreneurship. For more information about the Center for Entrepreneurship, visit business.fullerton.edu/centers/cfe.

C E N T E R S O f E x C E L L E N C E

John Bradley Jackson, the new director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Institute.

CenterforEntrepreneurship:JohnBradleyJackson‘77isNewDirector

ihaylo students celebrated as both the undergraduate and graduate teams placed third in the national Field Case of the Year Competition sponsored by the Small Business

Institute. Working through the institute, companies request a student team to consult with them, says John Bradley Jackson, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, which directs the institute. “During their initial meetings with the client, the students gather information about the company and their needs, explains Jackson. “Students then develop a proposal on the scope of work as they see it – and hope that it marries with the client’s expectations. The students have 10 to 12 weeks to complete the case study.” The graduate team, under the direction of Peng Chan, professor of management, worked with Morning Sun Shirt Company of Garden Grove. Members of the team were Chien-Ying Gong, Jerry Ramos, Albert Wang, Wendy Luciani, Audra Greenberg and Katrina Domela. “The students conducted a full analysis of the industry, competitors and the operations of the company, including financial, accounting, human resources and technology,” says Chan.

SmallBusinessInstitute:DoubleNationalHonorsforMihaylo

The Small Business Institute graduate team working with Morning Sun placed third in the national competition. Pictured, from left, James Kauhi Hookano, owner of Morning Sun; Wendy Luciani; Jerry Ramos; Audra Greenberg; Katrina Domela; Chien-Ying Gong; Albert Wang and Peng Chan, professor of management and team advisor.

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M PM Group of Lake Forest worked with the undergraduate team of Jennifer Angel, Robert Lescaille, Maria Lizarrange, Chris Sullivan and Brandon Tarnow. “They conducted a customer survey and analysis, analyzed competitors, reviewing branding and made recommendations on the company’s public relations Web site,” says Jackson, the team’s advisor. CSUF teams have served more than 1,500 area businesses and won national case championships eight times since 1991. For more information, visit business.fullerton/edu/centers/cfe/sbi.htm.


C E N T E R S O f E x C E L L E N C E

aul Krugman, the 2008 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, spoke about “The Return of Depression Economics” during the 2009 Teaching Symposium presented by Mihaylo College’s Center for Economic Education and Worth Publishers.

“His credentials speak for themselves,” says Morteza Rahmatian, chair of Mihaylo’s Economics Department, of Krugman’s presentation, which compared the similarities and differences between the Great Depression and today’s economic crisis. “When he talks, people listen. He’s a leader in this field.” Krugman, a professor of economics and international affairs at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School, is the author of The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2009, The Great Unraveling: Losing Our Way in the New Century and The Age of Diminished Expectations.

For more information about the Center for Economics Education, visit www.business.fullerton.edu/centers/econcenter.

Paul Krugman, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences, led a teaching symposium at Mihaylo.

artially funded by the national “stimulus package,” a summer internship program employed nine Mihaylo College students over the summer break. “This program is a collaborative effort

between four key groups,” says Chris Kondo, director of the Mihaylo College’s Sales Leadership Center, which developed the program and provided overall leadership, structure and coordination. The Orange County Summer Youth Employment Program provided the funding, administrative leadership and served as the actual hiring body. Funding originated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, more commonly known as the “stimulus package.” Participating companies included Nestle USA, Emerging Markets Division; Xerox Copier Products Group; Plethora, a business broker; PacifiCord, a biotech company; Safenet, a high-tech software enterprise; and Mihaylo College itself. “It’s a win-win-win for the intern, the host company and government in their effort to create jobs. Like many companies during these tough economic times, we’re looking to grow our sales pipeline by contacting prospective companies that may never have had interaction with us,” says Corey Hutchison, the western area enterprise sales director for Safenet and instructor for The Sales Leadership Center. “The internship program allowed us to take the energy of our intern, combined with a rapid training program, and execute on a targeted phone sales campaign with a special offer. While our outside sales teams worked to nurture and retain existing customer relationships, our

Participants in the Summer Internship Program included, back row from left, Joshua Wilbur, Tammy Hong, Maureen Rojsutivat, Veronica Ramirez, and front row from left, Rocio Reyes and Maureen Beckman.

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summer intern supplemented our efforts to provide new selling opportunities and sales contacts to their pipeline.” Mihaylo student Rocio Reyes interned with Nestle, and says, “Before my internship, I had no business experience other than my coursework. By working with more than one sales representative, I was able to learn about the strategies they use to address the challenges they face. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to work with an international company.” Reyes’ enthusiasm for the program is matched by Itzel Alvarado, one of the Nestle sales representatives that Reyes worked with: “Rocio has brought great insight and fresh ideas to our division, and we have been more than pleased with her performance.” For more information about The Sales Leadership Center, visit www.business.fullerton.edu/centers/sales.


S T u D E N T A C H I E V E M E N T

ChrisNagle’11MBA:Creativeby Nature,BusinessSavvybyDesign

In complementing his creative talents with the business training he’s receiving at Mihaylo College, Chris Nagle is taking his business plan to a whole other level. An accomplished artist and musician, Nagle is no stranger to taking on

challenge. He holds two bachelor’s degrees in marketing communications and graphic design, as well as a master of fine arts in graphic design. His career path has evolved from that of a successful New York graphic designer into the founder of his own San Francisco-based consulting firm. “I was unique, to other graphic designers, in my approach to design presentation. I would not begin a meeting by initially addressing the client’s design needs, but by first addressing their overall marketing concerns,” says Nagle. “I would show the client the strategic marketing benefits of my proposed design solution. I apply this same bilateral approach with my new business.” As president of Angeles Consulting Group, Nagle sought to provide brand management, marketing and design services to small- and medium-sized companies but was often asked by his clients to analyze and solve business problems that fell outside his realm of experience. Nagle knew that he could further reinforce his company and his clients by fortifying his knowledge of the world of business with an MBA in finance from Mihaylo, which he is scheduled to complete in May 2011. Offering his clients the combined force of both the creative and the quantitative, Angeles Consulting Group will ultimately provide an expanded and comprehensive package of business solution services. “The market has changed dramatically. Clients and employers are looking for individuals with cross-disciplinary skills,” says Nagle. “It is not enough anymore to be good at just one aspect of business. You have to be able to offer more.” He credits his decision to attend master’s training at Mihaylo College to its “strong combination of accounting, finance, economics and operation courses” which will provide the new core to his consulting firm.

— Michael van Lunenburg

or a year, Tara Simon was assigned to the Orange County Probation Department at Juvenile Hall as a volunteer teacher’s assistant in the psychiatric ward. “I helped teach the juvenile offenders basic reading,

writing and mathematical skills so that they could obtain their GED while in custody. Hopefully, an enthusiasm for learning might deter them from continuing down a destructive path,” says Tara Simon, a business honors student, who earned her B.A. in business administration in May 2009. Simon is the recipient of Mihaylo College’s Executive Council Outstanding Student Award, one of the college’s most prestigious awards for an undergraduate, which she

received not only for her superior scholarship but also for her community service. “Tara’s academic record and high GPA speak for themselves, but her accomplishments are not only academic,” says Jane V. Hall, professor of economics and co-director of

The 2009 Outstanding Student, Tara Simon, is congratulated by Greg Arbues, Executive Council president, and Mihaylo Dean Anil Puri.

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TaraSimon’09:LayingaSolidBusinessandSocialfoundationfortheCommunity


the Institute for Economic and Environmental Studies, who recommended Simon for the Executive Council Award. “She has contributed substantially to the Cal State Fullerton and Orange County communities, giving generously of her time to volunteer with the most difficult special needs children, using her education to improve their odds of success.” Originally from New Jersey, Simon received the Dean’s Advisory Board Outstanding Volunteerism Award, made the Dean’s List, received the Economics Emeriti Scholarship and the Economics Faculty Achievement award during her

four years at Cal State Fullerton. She’s currently enrolled at Chapman University School of Law studying for a juris doctorate and an MBA focusing on economics. “I was allowed to think abstractly and explore business subjects on a deeper level,” says Simon of her Mihaylo education. “It’s important when laying a strong business foundation that you are also actively working to lay a solid social one. This community is where our jobs will be and where our children will grow up and go to school one day.”

— Laurie McLaughlin


A number of students who attend Cal State Fullerton do so after taking a few years off after high school to work or travel. In Janet Lee’s case, it was both as she spent 11 years on the professional women’s tennis tour,

which took her to countless tournaments in more than 30 countries. Lee started playing tennis when she was 5 years old and turned pro in 1995, six months after high school. Although she was being recruited by a number of colleges, she felt that with the time and effort she – and her family – had put into her tennis career, she should give it her full attention. “You can be an athlete and a student at the same time, but it’s difficult,” says Lee. Highlights of her career include a quarterfinalist appearance in doubles at the US Open, wins over some of the top players in the world, gold medals at the 1998 and 2002 Asian Games – and playing in the Sydney Olympics. “The environment there was really humbling,” she says. “While tennis players have tournaments every week, most of the athletes train for four years for the Olympics and it’s the event. We were around so many athletes who had achieved so much. It was a great experience.” Once Lee decided to retire from professional tennis, Cal State Fullerton offered the ideal environment for her. “I’m very happy with my decision because even though Cal State Fullerton is one of the largest Cal State schools, I’ve never once felt lost in the system,” says Lee, who has been involved with a number of clubs and helped out as a volunteer assistant tennis coach. “Being able to speak with professors and have them help and mentor me has been really great.” Lee is studying business administration with an emphasis in accounting and finance and this year will serve as the president of Beta Alpha Psi. As for her future plans, Lee’s taking it day by day. “I have always wanted to meld tennis and business together in some way,” says Lee, who just finished a summer internship with Deloitte. “It hasn’t hit me how I want to do that, so in the meantime I’d like to get my CPA and start my career off in public accounting.” — Ann Shepphird


JanetLee’10:TennisChampion RetiresandAttendsMihayloCollege



Mihaylo College student volunteers prepared 481 tax returns and claimed refunds of $446,382 for the 2008 tax year as part of the college’s

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, called VITA. An IRS-sponsored community service, this year’s 109 student volunteers assisted low-income families and individuals in preparing federal and state returns, and the service to these clients is free. “My tax return was tedious to complete, but the volunteers at VITA diligently worked on the return and thoroughly answered all the questions that I had,” says one client, who also appreciated the professionalism and courteous atmosphere among the student tax preparers, as well as the fact that they were serving the community during the spring recess. “I know I am not alone in my appreciation for the program. I could not help but hear individuals speak about how beneficial this program was to them … many said that if it was not for VITA, they would have no place to turn to get their taxes completed.” Mihaylo student VITA volunteers – called “Vitans” – assist clients who meet the qualifications for the program: clients’ annual incomes may be no greater than $40,000 for single filers, $45,000 for family of three, or $50,000 for a family of four or more. Assistance is provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Active on campus for three years, the Mihaylo VITA program saved the low-income community about $5,500 in average tax return preparation fees this year. “The Cal State Fullerton VITA program was awarded the Franchise Tax Board April 2009 ‘site of the month’ for our phenomenal growth for the 2008 tax year,” says Kathleen Wright. “For the tax year 2007 we prepared approximately 129 tax returns compared to 481 returns for the 2008 tax year.” Wright is the program’s advisor and a professor of accounting. She received the 2008-09 Distinguished Faculty Student Service Award from the

TaxTime:StudentsOfferfreeTaxPreparation ServicetotheCommunity

VITA advisor Kathleen Wright, center, and student VITA coordinator, Anthony Kress, confer with a client.

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CSUF Alumni Association for development of VITA on campus. The Vitans (all CSUF students) go through a series of training sessions which provide not only technical tax training, but also instruction in electronic filing. The volunteers are all certified by the IRS to ensure certain basic skills are met. The volunteers then conduct client interviews and prepare, review and file the tax returns. “This is a great credential to have on resumes demonstrating real-world tax experience and a willingness to serve the community,” adds Wright. Together the Vitans contributed 2,715 hours to the program. The 2008 tax year student VITA coordinators were Anthony Kress, Olivia Mintah, Hieu Lam and John Nguyen. For the 2009 tax year VITA has been invited to work with the City of Placentia to offer its services to that community. For more information about becoming a VITA volunteer or about the service, call 657-278-8681 or e-mail [email protected].



They called themselves “Bullseye Consultants,” and these four aptly named team members were indeed victorious over eight other CSUF teams in the

Target Sustainability Case Study sponsored by the Target Corporation. “The competition was organized by Target because the company needed innovative ideas on how to showcase their sustainability/green incentives,” says Bullseye Consultants team captain Katie Nguyen. Her team also included Mark Hizon, Sandra Polvi and Tiffany Tse, and they received a $4,000 check for their winning proposal. The question presented to the student teams: How can Target fulfill the guests’ wants to support sustainability through its product offerings? How can Target communicate its commitment to sustainability in a meaningful and concise way? The Bullseye Consultants proposed a number of ideas in their comprehensive, face-to-face presentation including: Creation of the “Target Green Mark” to appear on personal care products that are environmentally friendly; initially working exclusively with Proctor and Gamble, a company they said had proven their dedication to improving the environment with their products; use of sustainable packaging; and a comprehensive public relations campaign. The plan included a situational analysis, a promotional campaign with slogans – “Today. Tomorrow. Target” and “Greener Tomorrow for Less” – as well as analyses of vendor, product, packaging, price and service. “The students successfully collaborated and produced an extremely professional presentation with creative suggestions,” says Erinkay Griffiths,

the campus recruiter for Target. “The Target Sustainability Case Study was a great opportunity for students to put their classroom learning to use as they suggested ways Target can continue our sustainable efforts.” “This team worked hard to understand the challenge, build a cohesive merchandising plan and present it in a clear and compelling way,” says the team’s mentor, Chris Kondo, professor of marketing and director of the Sales Leadership Center. Team members Polvi and Tse participated in the center’s Certificate of Professional Sales program, he adds, “and they were able to apply key lessons from the certificate program: Start with customer needs and make sure you meet them, think creatively on behalf of your customers and keep your communications clean and crisp.”

Marketing Professor Chris Kondo, far left, congratulates Bullseye Consultants, left to right, Mark Hizon, Sandra Polvi, Katie Nguyen and Tiffany Tse.

‘Today.Tomorrow.Target.’ StudentsPresentWinningCaseStudytoRetailGiant


Over several years, Tom Boyd, professor of marketing, has cultivated relationships with organizations outside the university

– including liaisons with former students who are now in leadership positions – to create consulting projects for his classes. “The best place to do this is in my sports marketing course where students have performed consulting projects for Nike, Cal State Fullerton athletics, the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Angels,” says Boyd. “Most recently, we have been doing work for the Auto Club Speedway, includ-ing work on race day for NASCAR. This gives the students a chance to see how marketing works at an event as well as to do some basic research and consulting.” The students’ project for Nike included ways to help the company connect to Latino markets in East Los Angeles. “We sent the students to East L.A. to do research, and one of their recommendations – to create basketball courts and special events around the courts – was used by Nike for their community outreach strategy,” says Boyd. This consistent and successful effort to expand the classroom beyond the campus earned Boyd Mihaylo College’s 2009 Executive Council Outstanding Faculty Award, which is presented by a group of 74 business leaders that serve and support the college. The annual award honors a faculty member who demonstrates outstanding teaching, research and professional activities, and service along with enhancing the prestige of Mihaylo College. One of the Executive Council members on the award’s selection committee is Mihaylo alumnus Steve Flynn ’88,

managing director and head of the office of Marsh Risk & Insurance Services in Newport Beach. In selecting Boyd for the award, according to Flynn, it underscores the Mihaylo faculty’s commitment to a real-world approach in teaching. “It links the students to the outside world, but it also links the business community to the school,” says Flynn. “So there is a direct benefit to the employer. It’s also a better education for the students – it’s not clinical and strictly out of a textbook.”

Tom Boyd, 2009 Outstanding Professor, with Mihaylo College Dean Anil Puri.

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Award-winningProfessorTomBoyd:HisStudentsHittheStreetsofEastL.A.todoResearchforNike

ThankyouandBestWishes! The administration, staff and faculty of Mihaylo College wish Joni Norby all the best as she transitions to her new life in Minnesota. Norby joined the business school in 1997 and served as a professor of business writing and then as Mihaylo’s associate dean of administration. She was responsible for Mihaylo College’s information technology, Assessment Program and human resources. Norby was also an important leader in the logistics around the creation, planning and building of the college’s new building, Steven G. Mihaylo Hall, along with a massive, yet smooth, move of people and equipment into the new space.



Wei Jiang, assistant professor of ac-counting, received the Moss Adams Faculty Fellowship. Peter Mark Hughes, lecturer in accounting, re-ceived the Hubbard Award from the Association of Certified Fraud Examin-ers. Vijay Karan, professor of accounting, is a recipi-

ent of a 2008-09 Scholar Award from Mihaylo College for his article, “Three Threats to Validity of Choice-based and Matched Sample Studies in Accounting Research,” published in the Journal of Accounting Research. KJ Kim, professor of accounting, is the recipient of the Ernst & Young Excellence in Teaching Award. Jose Miranda-Lopez, associ-ate professor of accounting, received the Ernst & Young Faculty Fellowship. Kathleen Wright, CPA, LLM, a lecturer in accounting and graduate advisor of the tax program, is the recipient of the Cal State Fullerton Distinguished Faculty Student Service Award for her leadership of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) student organization.

Jared Rubin, assistant professor of economics, has his article, “Social Insur-

ance, Commitment, and the Origin of Law: Interest Bans in Early Christianity,” in a forth-coming issue of Journal of Law and Economics. Yingying Dong, assistant professor of economics, had her paper, “Kept Back to Get Ahead? Kindergarten

Retention and Academic Performance,” accepted for publication by the European Economic Review.

Michael LaCour-Little, professor of finance and co-director of the Real Es-tate and Land Use Institute, presented his paper, “Pay Me Now or Pay Me Later: Alternative Mortgage Products and Mortgage Crisis,” at the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Meeting in San Francisco. Weili Lu, professor of finance and director of the Center for Insurance Studies, is a recipient of the 2008-09 Service to Students Award for the numer-ous benefits to students provided through the Center for Insurance Studies. Mark Stohs, professor of finance and former associate dean, has been named the director of the new Business Honors Program.

nimer alrushiedat, lecturer in ISDS, has been awarded the 2008-09 Outstanding Part-time Faculty Award for the second year in a row. Zvi Drezner, professor of ISDS, published four papers in the European Journal of Operational Research in 2009. Joseph Sherif, professor of opera-tions research and MIS, received an Emerald Literati Network 2009 Award of Excellence for his co-authored paper entitled “The semantic web: a catalyst for future e-business.” Dawit Zerom, associate professor of decision sciences, received the Mihaylo College 2008-09 Award for Innovation in Instruction for his student-centered approach to teaching statistics.

adelina Gnanlet, assistant professor of operations manage-ment, had her co-authored article, “Sequential and Simultaneous Decision Making for Optimizing Health Care Resource Flexibilities,” published in Decision Sciences, May 2009. Dmitry Khanin, assistant professor of management, is a recipient of Mihaylo College’s 2008-09 Scholar Award for his article “CEOs On the Edge: Earnings Manipulation and Stock-based Incentive Misalignment,” published in the Academy of Manage-ment Journal. Thomas Schwarz, Rick Muth Family Chair in Family Business and professor of management, has been elected to a three-year term as a direc-tor of the Family Firm Institute.

Susan Cadwallader, associate profes-sor of marketing, had her co-authored paper, “Frontline Employee Motivation to Participate in Service Innovation Implementation,” published online in May 2009 by the Journal of the Acad-emy of Marketing Science; it will appear in print in spring 2010. neil Granitz, associate professor of marketing, is a recipient of the 2008-09 Service to Students Award for his work as co-director of the Market-ing Honors Networking program. Matthew Lancellotti, associate professor of marketing, had his article, “Getting a second chance: the role of imagery in the influence of inaction regret on be-havioral intent,” published in the Jour-nal of the Academy of Marketing Science.

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WelcomingNewfacultyMembersMihaylo College is committed to bringing the best new researchers and teachers to Southern California. This year we welcome 13 new faculty members with exceptional credentials.

Lisa Eiler joins the college as an associate professor of accounting. Her research interests include cross-border mergers and acquisi-tions, disclosure, governance and tax. Her co-authored paper, “Taxes and Investment Opportu-nities: Valuing Perma-

nently Reinvested Foreign Earnings,” was published in the National Tax Journal. Eiler is a CPA and received her Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Oregon.

Hung-Yuan (Richard) Lu joins the college as an associate professor of account-ing. His research interests include financial reporting, voluntary disclosure and financing con-straints. He received the Best Ph.D. Student Paper Award at the AAA South-west Region Meet-

ing and presented at the AAA Annual Meeting in 2009. Lu earned his Ph.D. in accounting at the University of Florida where he was the recipient of an alumni fellowship.

Isho Tama-Sweet also joins Mihaylo College as an associate professor of accounting. His research interests are narrative disclosure, compensation, financial reporting and international reporting standards. He has presented

papers at several conferences in-cluding the 19th annual Finan-cial Economics and Account-ing Conference and Cornerstone Research. Tama-Sweet earned his

Ph.D. in accounting at the University of Oregon.

Rokon Bhuiyan joins the college as an assistant professor of economics. His research interests are macroeconomics, monetary policy, open economy macroeconom-ics, international finance, time series econo-metrics and asset pricing. His co-authored paper, “Real and Nominal Effects of Mon-etary Policy Shocks,” was published in the Canadian Journal of Economics, May 2007. Bhuiyan earned his Ph.D. in economics at Queens University in Ontario, Canada.

Yingying Dong joins the college as an as-sistant professor of economics. Dong earned her Ph.D. in economics from Boston Col-lege. Her research interests include econometric meth-

ods of causal inference and program evaluation, and applying or general-izing these methods to practical issues in health, labor and education. Dong has presented her work at national and international conferences. She was an Academic Achievement Award winner from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Boston College and has a paper forthcoming in the European Economic Review. She also worked as an outside consultant to the Workers Compensation Research Institute in Cambridge.

Kristin Kleinjans joins the college as an assistant professor of economics. She was previously a visiting assis-tant professor at Marshall School of Business, USC, and an assistant profes-sor at the School of Economics and Management at the University of Aarhus in Den-mark. In addition, she is an adjunct with the RAND Corporation and was a postdoc-toral fellow in aging at the National Institute of Aging (RAND). Klein-jans’ research interests include mi-croeconomics, public economics, the economics of health and aging, labor economics and development eco-nomics in Latin America. She earned her Ph.D. in economics at the Uni-versity of Pittsburgh.

Huiron Pan joins Mihaylo College as an assistant professor of econom-ics. She was previously an assistant professor in economics at Oklahoma State University. Pan earned her Ph.D. at the University of California, Davis.

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Lisa Eiler

Hung-Yuan (Richard) Lu

Isho Tama-Sweet

Rokon Bhuiyan

Yingying Dong

Kristin Kleinjans

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Her research interests include in-ternational finance, open economy macroeconomics, monetary econom-ics and applied econometrics.

Yi (Jenny) Jiang joins the college as an associate professor of finance. She

earned her Ph.D. in finance from the University of Iowa and her M.A. in economics from the City University of New York. Jiang’s research areas of in-terest include execu-tive compensation, security issuance,

corporate governance, and capital structure and investment.

Sojung Park joins Mihaylo College as an assistant professor of finance. Her research interests include insurance markets, empiri-cal asset pricing, behavioral finance and catastrophic risk. Park presented her papers at the Finance Manage-ment Association annual confer-ences in October 2008 and at the American Risk and Insurance Associa-tion annual conference in August 2009. She earned her Ph.D. at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and is a member of the American Risk and Insurance Association, American Finance Association and Financial Man-agement Association.

Gerard Beenen joins the college as an assistant professor of management. Previously, he was a postdoctoral fel-low at Carnegie Mellon University where he completed his Ph.D. in organizational behavior and theory. He also has an MBA from the Kel-logg School of Management at Northwestern University. His research focuses on understand-ing how individuals, leaders and organizations can facilitate both learn-ing and performance in high-impact, short-term work settings. He has published articles in Human Resource Management, Academy of Management Learning & Education and the Journal of Computer Mediated Communication. Prior to his academic career, he was CEO of the Block Center for Inte-grative Cancer Care, a co-founding executive of a dot-com, and a man-agement consultant with Bain & Company.

Shaun Pichler joins the college as an assistant professor of management teaching organizational behavior and human resource management. He received his Ph.D. in human resource management from Michigan State University. His research program seeks to understand fairness in organizations and involves research on gender and diversity, per-

formance management and appraisal, and international HRM. His research is published in the most distinguished management journals and has been cited by the United States Congress, as well as leading practitioner outlets, such as Forbes magazine. Thomas Schwarz joins the college with an appointment as the first Muth Family Chair in Family Business. Prior to joining Mihaylo College, Schwarz served as the director of the Center for Free Enterprise: Family Owned Business Institute and The Center for Entrepreneurship at the Seidman School of Business at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was a visiting professor of entrepreneurship at Athens University of Economics and Business in Athens, Greece, and earned his Ph.D. in finance from Florida State University.

Steven Chen joins the college as an assistant professor of marketing. Chen’s research areas of interest include design and marketing strategy, design and consumer identity projects, and information technology and user experiences. He has a B.A. in studio arts and earned his Ph.D. in management with a concentration in marketing from the University of California, Irvine.

Sojung Park

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Yi (Jenny) Jiang

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Gerard Beenen

Shaun Pichler

Thomas Schwarz

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Huiron Pan

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Mihaylo’sMBAProgramsWill Includeafull-timeDegree

Van Muse recently joined Mihaylo College as the new director to oversee its MBA programs, which currently enroll 466 students, including an accelerated program held at the Cal State Fullerton Irvine Campus. In addition, 227 students are working toward master of science degrees in informa-tion systems, taxation, accountancy and information technology (online). Another 30 students are pursuing a master of arts in economics. “It’s working the full gamut of developing the program, including recruitment, service to stu-dents and developing business connections toward internships and future jobs for our alumni,” says Muse, who holds a doctorate in higher education administration from Auburn University. He previ-ously served as dean of academic affairs for the Art Institute of California in Hollywood and dean of instruction at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. Muse discusses Mihaylo’s MBA programs with INDICATOR magazine:

InDICaToR: What are some of the changes in store for the MBa program?MUSE: As we look toward the future, our strategy includes enhancing our current MBA programs and selectively developing other options for students. We are working on creating a full-time option for prospective students as well as additional programs geared toward the working professional and experienced business people. We currently have the part-time MBA at the Fullerton main campus as well as the Fully Employed MBA (FEMBA) for working professionals, which is housed at the Cal State Fullerton Irvine Campus.

InDICaToR: In what ways is Mihaylo’s MBa program different than other universities’ programs?MUSE: The reality in most institutions accredited by the AACSB [Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the pre-eminent accrediting body for business schools] is that there is very little discernable difference in faculty quality. Mihaylo College is among the 5 percent of business schools worldwide that hold dual AACSB accreditation in business and accounting. We are one of only 168 such institutions in the nation, so we are in the upper echelon of business schools. In this group, the uniqueness for a program must come from how we perform as well as what we bring to the table. We already hold an untouchable position to our competitors in both the size of our alumni network in Southern California, which is more than 40,000 graduates living in the region, as well as our impact on the business environment in Orange County.

InDICaToR: The Mihaylo MBa program has become more selective.MUSE: We accepted fewer students even though our applications increased more than 25 percent. Enrollment in certain programs increased, but the selectivity for all

programs became much more pronounced. Over the next few years, we are looking to slightly increase our overall enrollment while continuing to increase the quality and diversity of our student populations.

InDICaToR: Is the downturn in the economy affecting the number of MBa applications?MUSE: In talking with my fellow MBA directors, the number of GMAT test takers didn’t dramatically increase, which points to the “economy effect” not being felt this fall. This is because the economy most likely caused those who were already considering graduate school to jump in. The increase in applications was most likely attributable to applicants applying to more schools than past years. My real concern, from an application “flood” standpoint, is for next fall. That will be where all MBA programs may be impacted by those whose personal “tipping point” was the economy.

InDICaToR: What advice do you have for those considering enrolling in an MBa program?MUSE: People go to graduate school to build upon an existing professional resume or to help them jump up a level or two. With overall hiring down and more candidates searching for jobs, the competition just rose. That means people need to increase their marketability and versatility. They can do this through pursuing additional work or a graduate program. But they have to remain vigilant – just taking classes doesn’t provide them with what they need. The overall experience of their graduate program as well as the professional development they pursue are important contributors to a student’s future success. For more information about Mihaylo College’s MBA programs, visit www.mba.fullerton.edu; contact us at [email protected], or call 657-278-3622.

Van Muse, director of MBA programs

A C A D E M I C S


Entertainment & Tourism Management (E & TM) board member Alan Perper, former senior vice president of marketing for Paramount Home Entertainment, at right, with E & TM students Holly Pratt and Dustin Fox.

The magazines at the check-out stand may focus on the actors and performers in the entertainment spotlight, but it’s often the executives, managers and decision-

makers behind the scenes who truly shape the entertainment industry. Since it’s just as hard to break into the business side of “the biz” as it is to make it out front, Mihaylo College of Business and Economics has established an undergraduate program in Entertainment & Tourism Management – the only one of its kind in the nation. “The industry was starving for a program like this,” says Randall Baumberger ’92, president of the Studio Group, Paramount Pictures and an MBA graduate of Mihaylo. “Cal State Fullerton will prepare a new generation of executives who are passionate about our business and will become the new industry leaders.” In May, a press conference announcing the first graduating class was held at Paramount Studios. In addition to students and VIPs from some of the program’s advisory board partners, Amy Lemisch, director of the California Film Commission, was in the audience and had high praise for the Entertainment & Tourism Management program. “The Southern California region is in fierce competition with many other states and countries to attract, retain and promote the entertainment industry, including film and television production and post-production,” said Lemisch. “This program will help reinforce our message that we are committed to this industry. As a representative of the state and of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, I am proud that

one of our foremost state universities is taking the lead.” Helmed jointly by a former Paramount Pictures senior executive and a longtime faculty member of the CSUF business school – with a hands-on advisory board consisting of heavyweight industry executives from Paramount, Universal Music Group, Fox Home Entertainment, Walt Disney Studios, Deluxe, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, Morongo Casino Resort & Spa and more – the Mihaylo College program ensures that graduates have real-world knowledge and experience before they earn their parchment. In order to foster internships and job opportunities for program participants, the school is linking with corporate entertainment partners. One of the program’s first “star-studded” events was an impressive presentation from Jill Gwen, chief financial officer and vice president of operations and finance at Fox Searchlight Pictures, the producers of the surprise hit, “Slumdog Millionaire.” Gwen discussed the marketing and positioning of the $15 million film that went on to win eight Oscars and earn $362 million worldwide. “A significant portion of the Southern California business environment is based on entertainment and tourism – film, TV, theme parks, home entertainment, recorded music, sports and casino management, meetings and events,” says Harold Fraser, one of the program’s directors. “As the largest business school in this state, we have not just an opportunity but an obligation to make sure students interested in these particular industries are prepared.”

Entertainment&TourismManagementProgram GivesStudentsanEdgeinto‘TheBiz’

A C A D E M I C S

Mihaylo Dean Anil Puri, left, and Randall Baumberger ’92 (MBA), president of the Studio Group, Paramount Pictures, participated in the May 2009 press conference announcing Mihaylo’s first Entertainment & Tourism Management program graduates.


I t’s one thing to make friends in college. It’s quite another when that friendship lasts 30 years, spans three

corners of the country (California, Georgia and New York) and results in the names of the friends on a building at their alma mater. That’s just what happened with MaryLouise Hlavac ’80, Debra Luther ’80 and Mary H. Devine ’81. The three, who have been called the “three amigas,” had their friendship etched in stone, as it were, when their names were added to three adjoining faculty offices on the fourth floor of the new Steven G. Mihaylo Hall. The friendship started in the 1970s when Hlavac and Luther met during their first accounting class at Cal State Fullerton. Hlavac noticed that she and Luther were the only two speaking

up in class. “I wanted to meet the only other person who had questions,” says Hlavac, who then found they had a lot in common. “We were not traditional straight-out-of-high-school students,” adds Luther, “and we were both vocal in class.” The two later took on leadership positions with Beta Alpha Psi and met Devine when they recruited her for the group. When their chapter won a national award in 1980, the three decided to go and accept the award at the national convention in Boston, stopping in New York City on the way. The trip solidified the friendship and instigated a big decision for Devine – she fell in love with New York City, took a job there after college and never moved back.

All three started their careers at Deloitte (then Deloitte, Haskins & Sells) and credit their time at Cal State Fullerton with preparing them. “I do not think if I had chosen a different university that I would’ve had the opportunity to be recruited,” says Hlavac. “Having the opportunity to work for a prestigious firm really opened doors.” Devine is still in New York City, serving as the chief financial officer for Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. Luther is president of her own business, Exceptional Restaurant Company, based in Atlanta. Hlavac has worked for Boeing in Seal Beach for more than 23 years, managing a variety of accounting and finance areas. Although living literally thousands of miles apart, the three are always on the lookout for events to bring them together. The most recent was the opening of Steven G. Mihaylo Hall, to which they’d each independently made identical contributions. “Maybe that’s why we’re such good friends,” says Hlavac. “We think alike.” When the university found out what the three friends had done, their names were put on three adjoining offices – a great testament to the university and their friendship. “It’s an awesome building,” says Luther. “What a great flagship for the university.”

— Ann Shepphird

The‘ThreeAmigas’PutTheirStamp on Mihaylo Hall

A L u M N I


Debra Luther, left, MaryLouiseHlavac, center, and Mary Hadley Devine in 1980 in New York City.


The goal of the newly chartered Business Finance Alumni chapter is to provide Mihaylo alumni opportunities to network and give back to the university. The chapter’s officers are, from left, President Thuan Lam ’06, Public Relations Officer Dung Vu ’04, Board Member Ivan Cardenas ’06, Vice President Judy Trong ’07 and Treasurer Nicole Dagampat ’07. For information regarding coming events or to be part of this chapter, visit www.fullerton.edu/alumni/finance.

NewBusinessfinanceAlumniChapterWelcomesMembers

Dan Hann, who earned his degree in economics in 1977, proudly displays his Titan pride everywhere he goes. Hann is the retired vice president, corporate development and strategic planning, for Biomet and lives in Leesburg, Ind.

Zoom,Zoom!

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Tony Vasquez ’67, ’68 (MBA), seated at right, visited Mihaylo Hall for the first time and ran into Herb Rutemiller, his former mentor and emeritus professor of Information Systems and Decision Sciences. Vasquez recently retired as the vice president, finance, and CFO for Geometrics Inc. and continues to consult for its parent company. A dedicated alumnus, Vasquez is a Cornerstone Society member and continues to support the college.

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Antonio Vasquez ’67, ’73 (quantitative analysis, MBA) retired in 2008 and is now a financial consultant for Oyo Corporation U.S.A., the parent of Geometrics, his former employer.

Jan Sturla ’68 (economics) has been appointed director of the California Department of Child Support Services by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Sturla has served as director for the Orange County Department of Child Support Services since 1999. Previously he worked for the Orange County District Attorney’s office.

Steven G. Mihaylo ’69 (accounting and finance) has assumed the role of CEO of iMergent Inc., a provider of e-commerce software for small businesses and entrepreneurs. His is the retired chairman and CEO of Inter-Tel Inc., which he founded in 1969. Mihaylo has also been elected to the CSUF Philanthropic Foundation Board of Governors and has been honored by the California State University Board of Trustees by naming Cal State Fullerton’s Steven G. Mihaylo College of Business and Economics following his $30 million gift to his alma mater.

Ken Guchereau ’74 (accounting) was honored with the Mihaylo College Department of Accounting’s 2009 Outstanding Alumnus Award. He is the president of Guchereau Company, a developer of outlet malls.

Fran Inman ’76, ’81 (finance, MBA) is chair of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, the third woman in the chamber’s 120-year history to hold the chair. Inman is also senior vice president of corporate development for Majestic Realty in the City of Industry.

Dave Butler ’78 (finance) is president of Ticketmaster North America. Butler is responsible for the company’s primary ticketing business in the United States and Canada and oversees Ticketmaster’s six North American regions.

Steven Martindale ’79 (accounting and finance) has been elected executive vice president, test and measurement, for Illinois Tool Works Inc. He was previously group president of test and measurement for ITW and CEO of Instron before it was acquired by ITW.

Jeff Black ’80, ’84 (management, MBA-finance) is managing principal consultant with McDermott & Bull Executive Search. Black is the longest tenured consultant with the firm and focuses primarily in manufacturing/technology, healthcare/life sciences and the building industry.

Henry Mendoza ’81 (accounting) has been reappointed to the California State University Board of Trustees, which he has served since 2008. Mendoza is the managing partner of Mendoza Berger & Co.

Margaret Palmgren ’81 (marketing) has released a new book – “…And Breakfast Too!” – about operating a bed and breakfast in Southern California.

Lisa A. Bartlett ’83 (finance) is mayor of Dana Point. Bartlett also serves on the boards of the Transportation Corridor Agency and the California JPIA. A certified project management professional and licensed real estate broker, she was a computer software executive for 14 years and is a partner in a real estate and investment firm.

Corinne Baughman ’84 (accounting and psychology) was honored with the Mihaylo College Department of Accounting’s 2009 Outstanding Alumna Award. She is a tax partner at the Orange County office of Moss Adams LLP.

Deborah Gavello ’84 (marketing) has been elected to the Tustin City Council. She has been a business owner for 14 years and is a volunteer for a number of organizations, including the Child Abuse Prevention Center of Orange County and Tustin Pride.

Mike Gregerson ’84 (marketing) has been appointed senior vice president of operations for Vision Logistics, a provider of expedited freight services to the U.S. energy production industry. Gregerson was previously vice president of customer service, strategic planning and Air Cargo Expedited for CRST Van Expedited.

Owen Jay Murphy ’85 (MBA) is a consultant to small and large businesses in the fields of business processes, analysis, project management, export compliance and marketing. He is also the author of two business books.

Francisco Valle ’85 (MBA) has been appointed to the Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. Valle has served as president and founder of Valle Consulting since 2002. He was chairman and CEO of SCDRG Inc. and regional vice president of operations for ARAMARK Corp.

James A. Mercer ’86 (MBA-finance) joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as partner in the firm’s corporate practice group. Mercer is based in the firm’s San Diego/Del Mar office.

Jeffrey D. Miller ’86 (management) has been appointed COO of SeaBright Insurance Holdings Inc., subsidiary of Total HealthCare Management. He has operational responsibility for all THM product offerings, including medical bill review and utilization review.

John P. Williamson ’86 (management) has been named president of ITT’s Water & Wastewater business, headquartered in Stockholm. He was previously president of ITT Residential and Commercial Water.

Andrew Glassman ’89 (accounting) has been promoted to president of Spectrum Numismatics International in Irvine. He has served as Spectrum’s CFO and on the company’s board of directors.

Tom Zech ’89 (MBA) founded Data World in Germany, a distributor of computer components with a focus on memory modules for Apple computers and one of the leading vendors in Europe. He and his wife and three daughters live in Lago di Garda in Italy.

Alan Cseresznyak ’90, ’07 (MBA-finance, MS-information technology) is senior vice president of administration in charge of finance, information technology, human resources, distribution and affiliated companies for Toyota Material Handling U.S.A. Inc. He has been with Toyota since 1990.

Thomas Charles Mako ’91 (international business, German) is manager of 7-Eleven program operations for CardTronics in Frisco, Texas. Mako also has a passion for western horse cutting and roping.

Paul Mittmann ’01 (finance) has been appointed director of West Coast acquisitions for Cincinnati-based shopping center owner/operator Phillips Edison & Company. Working out of Irvine, Mittmann is responsible for implementing the company’s strategic growth plans in the western United States.

Mark Manguera ’02 (management) has founded Kogi BBQ, a mobile food truck that has become a popular and much publicized attraction around Los Angeles. Manguera has also opened a small Kogi restaurant in the Alibi Room in Culver City.

Hoai-Anh Nguyen ’03, ’04 (finance and marketing, MBA-finance) is CFO of MDK, a top clothing manufacturer. She is also a co-founder of Mihaylo’s Vietnamese MBA alumni chapter, VAMBA, and hosted CSUF President Milton A. Gordon and Mihaylo College Dean Anil Puri in Vietnam. Nguyen has been tapped as an economic advisor to the U.S. Consulate General Office in Vietnam.

Dan Stetson ’03 (MBA) is president and CEO of the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, which offers programs for K-12 students allowing them to explore the ocean, study in labs and spend the night in its three ships. The institute was named Business of the Year in Dana Point in 2008, the first nonprofit organization to receive the award.

Mahmoud Karim ’04 (finance), formerly a top-ranked Egyptian tennis amateur, is co-founder and head coach of Advantage Tennis Academy in Irvine, which trains promising school-age players for tournament play.

Send your update to [email protected].

A L u M N I


ADayofGolfRaisesfundsforMihayloStudents

W ithin the stunning setting of the Dove Canyon Country Club, the 15th annual Dean’s Summer Golf Classic brought

teams together to raise funds for Mihaylo College business students. Tournament champions were White, Nelson & Company, whose foursome included Dave Vediner ’78, Brian Vediner, Abe Awasthi ’06 and Nick Rende. CSUF’s University Advancement foursome placed second with team members Paul Carey, Jeff Gilstrap ’01, Richard Tyler and Rito Armenta. Placing third was the Universal Building Products foursome with Eric Openshaw ’77, Adam Openshaw, Dave Cuffia ’77 and Greg Waller ’72, ’78. Support for the day’s friendly competition included Dinner Sponsor, Southern Counties Lubricants; Gar-ment Sponsors, Metropolitan West Capital Manage-ment and Wood Gutmann & Bogart Insurance Brokers;

Tournament Sponsors, PricewaterhouseCoopers and mUrgent; Hat and Golf Ball Sponsor, iMergent. Titan Sponsors included Bomel Construction; Cascade Pump Company; Client Advocate Network; Disneyland Re-sort; Kushner, Smith, Joanou & Gregson Certified Pub-lic Accountants; Mittermeier Consulting; Windes & McClaughry Accountancy Corporation; Wood Gutmann & Bogart Insurance Brokers; and Universal Building Products.

The Midyear Economic Forecast was held at the Hyatt Regency Irvine in April to a capacity crowd. Dean Anil Puri provided insightful analyses of the latest economic indicators. CommerceWest Bank was the presenting sponsor for this year’s annual event. The 15th Annual Economic Forecast Conference will be held on October 27, 2009.

The White, Nelson & Co. foursome of Abe Awasthi ’06, Brian Vediner, Dave Vediner ’78, and Nick Rende took first place in the tournament.

E V E N T S & D O N O R S

Eric Openshaw ’77 was honored at the CSUF Alumni Association’s Vision & Visionaries Gala in May. The annual event honors those who have both excelled in

their careers and generously supported their communities. Openshaw is vice chairman and U.S. technology leader for Deloitte & Touche LLP’s Technology, Media & Entertainment and Telecommunications industry practice in the Americas. He has participated as guest lecturer during Mihaylo College’s annual Professor for a Day event and is a longtime donor and member of the college’s Executive Council.

OpenshawHonoredbyCalStatefullerton

Eric Openshaw ’77, center, was honored at the Vision & Visionaries Gala. He is joined above by Cal State Fullerton President Milton A. Gordon, left, and Alumni Association President Patrick Gough.

MidyearEconomicforecast


A tax partner in the Orange County Office of Moss Adams LLP, Corinne D. Baugham ’84 is a member of the Mihaylo College Executive Council Advisory board. Professionally, she is a member of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and California Society of Certified Public Accountants. She earned her B.A. in business administration-accounting and psychology at CSUF as well as a master’s degree in taxation from Golden Gate University. David P. Doran ’75 is the managing partner at White, Nelson & Co., LLC. He’s also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and California Society of Certified Public Accountants, where he served as chair of the organization’s government relations activities. Doran is also a member of the Orange County California Society of Certified Public Accountants and a former chair of its Management of Accounting Practice Committee. He earned his bachelor’s degree at CSUF in business administration-accounting. A partner with Wood, Gutmann & Bogart Insurance Brokers, James E. Gutmann ’80 MBA joined the

industry after a 15-year career as a nuclear engineer. He has taught on campus, is a founding member of the college’s Center for Insurance Studies and serves on the Mihaylo College Dean’s Advisory Board. He also is a member of Cal State Fullerton’s President’s Associates. A member of CSUF’s Family Business Council Advisory Board, Joanne norton has taught management courses at Cal State Fullerton. Norton is a consultant with The Family Business Consulting Group, Inc. and a former vice president of shareholder relations for Freedom Communications. She holds a doctorate in organizational leadership from Pepperdine University. Mitch J. Zehner ’83 is executive vice president of Voit Commercial Brokerage, a member of the American Industrial Real Estate Association, Corporate Facilities Advisors and National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. He was a member of the Mihaylo College campaign cabinet. “Our Salute to Business Leaders event not only allows us the opportunity to honor the leadership of these executives,” says Puri, “but also provides the opportunity for the honorees to serve as role models for our students.”

MihayloSalutesfiveExecutiveswithitsHighestHonor

Students experienced first-hand stories from the front lines of business as five executives – four of them Mihaylo alumni – led classes as honored guests and recipients of the Salute to Business Leaders award this past March. The highest honor that Mihaylo College bestows on its alumni and friends of the college, each of the five were

feted at a luncheon, generously led classes and met with students and faculty members to discuss their backgrounds, experience and the skills necessary for success. “Our faculty and students benefit tremendously from staying connected with the business world and its most successful leaders,” says Anil Puri, Mihaylo College dean. “These are excellent representatives of today’s corporate leadership, and all serve companies that are leaders in their fields.”

Corinne D. Baugham ’84 David P. Doran ’75 James E. Gutmann ’80 JoAnne Norton Mitch J. Zehner ’83



SCHOLARSHIPDONORSMAKEEDuCATIONPOSSIBLEMihaylo College, our recent graduates and current students gratefully thank the following individuals and companies for their generous support of the college’s mission by providing scholarships for students.

ScholarshipDonors

Accounting Department, Mihaylo College

ADP

Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau

Aon Risk Services of Southern California

APICS Orange County

Association of IT Professionals (AITP), Southland Chapter

Auto Club of Southern California

Rose Barres in honor of Stephen J. Barres

Bemus Landscape

Ron Benigno Family

Boeing Company

Brown and Brown Insurance

Cynthia A. Brown ’84 Family

Burnham Benefits Insurance Services

California Real Estate Scholarship Fund

California Society of CPA’s, Orange County/ Long Beach Chapter

Sam Cargill

Center for Insurance Studies, Mihaylo College

Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters, Orange County Chapter

Chen da Su Family

Dr. Wen Chow

Colony West Insurance

Jerry Conrey, Conrey Insurance Brokers and Risk Managers

Corporate Directors of the MCBE Marketing Honors Networking Program

Dean’s Advisory Board

Deloitte & Touche, LLP

Family & Friends of Bill Doomey

Economics Department, Mihaylo College

Enterprise Rent-A-Car

Ernst & Young, LLP

Executive Council of Mihaylo College

Faculty and Staff, Mihaylo College

Financial Executives Institute

Financial Services Professionals of Orange County

Formuzis, Pickersgill & Hunt Economic Consulting

Foundation for Agency Management Excellence (FAME)

Myron Galchutt, Newmark Knight Frank

Grant Thorton, LLP

Ken Guchereau ’74

John Guthrie and the Family and Friends of Faith Guthrie

James Gutmann ’80 Family

Haskell & White, LLP

HCC Surety Group

Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt

Robert Hsu

Institute of Internal Auditors

Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF)

Insurance Professionals of Orange County

ISDS Department Chairs, Mihaylo College

George Joseph

Bob Kargenian ’81, TABR Capital Management

KPMG LLP

Liberty Mutual Group

Loman Foundation

Stewart Long

Management Department, Mihaylo College

Todd Marumoto in honor of Noriyuki & Toyoko Marumoto

Mercury Insurance Group

Mihaylo College Alumni

Moss Adams, LLP

mUrgent

Nestle Emerging Markets Division

New York Life Insurance

Old Republic Insurance

Pacific Life Foundation

Pacific Life Insurance

PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP

Risk & Insurance Management Society, Los Angeles Chapter

Risk & Insurance Management Society, Orange County Chapter

Frank Robitaille Family

RSM McGladrey, Inc.

Service Coporation of Retired Executives (SCORE)

Wally Shao Family

Charles Shellenbarger ’72

Society of Financial Service Representatives

St. Paul Travelers Insurance

Frank A. Stanek, Stanek Global Advisors

State Farm Insurance

Frances Stoller in honor of Dr. David S. Stoller

Surety Underwriters of Southern California

Target Corporation Foundation

Tax Executives Institute Orange County Chapter

Kathleen Taylor ’82

Greg and Alice Terlecky Family

The Travelers Companies, Inc.

Bill Tutton, Tutton Insurance Services

Utterberg Family

Francisco J. Valle ’85

Walthos Group/Northwestern Mutual Foundation

Stephen Wang in honor of Jonathame Wang

Wayne Partee Insurance

Kimjera Whittington ’98

Yokohama Tire Corporation

Zenith Insurance


Non-ProfitOrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDPermit 1635

Santa Ana, CA

California State University, Fullerton Mihaylo College of Business and EconomicsP.O. Box 6848Fullerton, CA 92834-6848

October 27 | 15th annual Economic Forecast Conference Hyatt Regency, Irvine11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.Anil Puri, dean of Mihaylo College and co-director of the Institute for Economic and Environmental Studies, presents analyses of the local, regional and national economic outlook. Lunch included.For more information, please contact Ginny Pace at 657-278-2566 or e-mail [email protected].

November 4 | “Establishing an Effective Compensation Structure”Family Business Council WorkshopFor more information, please contact Robbin Bretzing at 657-278-4182 or e-mail [email protected].

November 4,5 | Professor For a Day Orange County business leaders trade the boardroom for the classroom, sharing their experience and insight with future business leaders.For more information, please contact Tom Boyd, associate dean, at 657-278-3197 or e-mail [email protected].

November 19 | 10th annual Family-owned Business awards Hyatt Regency, IrvineFor more information, please contact Robbin Bretzing at 657-278-4182 or e-mail [email protected].

December 9 | “Finding your Way – In the Family and the Family Business” Family Business Council WorkshopFor more information, please contact Robbin Bretzing at 657-278-4182 or e-mail [email protected].

January 16 | accounting alumni association Wine Tasting For information, please contact Mark Krikorian at [email protected].

January 28 | Executive Council Breakfast Meeting Business Panel Forum For more information, please contact Alice Rodriguez at 657-278-4229 or e-mail [email protected].

Mihaylo College is once again a Princeton Review “Best Business School.”

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