prospectus - fall 2014

PROSPECTUSC O L L E G E O F B U S I N E S S n A L U M N I M A G A Z I N E F A L L 2 0 1 4

Meet David SpaldingThe Fifth Dean of the College of Business

IN THIS ISSUE

n LABH HIRA RETIRES

n CRUM HEADS NEW UNIT

n WOMEN IN SUPPLY CHAIN

Raisbeck Endowed Dean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Spalding

Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dan Ryan

Photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Katie Raymon Bob Elbert

Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dennis Smith Dan Ryan

Deborah Martinez Elizabeth Salton

Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PUSH Branding and Design

Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tru Art Color Graphics

ContactCollege of BusinessRobert H . Cox Dean’s Suite2200 Gerdin Business BuildingAmes, Iowa 50011-1350515 294-5800business@iastate .eduwww .business .iastate .edu

Prospectus is prepared by the College of Business at Iowa State University . It is sent without charge to alumni, friends, parents, faculty, and staff of the College of Business . Third-class bulk rate postage paid to Ames, Iowa, and at additional mailing offices .

The views and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent official statements or policy of Iowa State University but are the personal views and opinions of the authors .

Prospectus welcomes correspondence from alumni and friends . Send your comments to Dan Ryan, editor, at the above e-mail or postal address . Prospectus reserves the right to edit all correspondence published for clarity and length .

Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, ethnicity, religion, national origin, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U .S . veteran . Inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies may be directed to Robinette Kelley, Director, Office of Equal Opportunity, Title IX/ADA Coordinator, and Affirmative Action Officer, 3350 Beardshear Hall, Ames, Iowa 50011, Tel . 515 294-7612, e-mail eooffice@iastate .edu .

PROSPECTUSV O L U M E 3 0 N U M B E R 1 n F A L L 2 0 1 4

The College of Business at Iowa State University is accred-ited by AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business . The AACSB is the premier accrediting and service agency and service organization for business schools .

Dean’s Message

Faculty and Staff News

Departments2

30

Development

Dr . Charles Handy

3436

ON THE COVERRAISBECK ENDOWED DEAN DAVID

SPALDING IS POISED TO BUILD ON

THE MOMENTUM OF HIS PREDECES-

SORS AND HELP ADVANCE THE

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS .

Features Spalding Takesthe Reins

3Meet David SpaldingThe Next in a Legacy of Leadership

11Labh Hira RetiresAn ISU Icon Says Goodbye

17Onward and UpwardRankings, Enrollment Are Climbing

18An International ExperienceTracing the Supply Chain - Backward

22Crum Heads Economic DevelopmentCentralizing the University’s Economic Growth

26Women In Supply ChainAlumna’s Op-ed Featured in WSJ

But the energy and spirit of my undergraduate

experiences stayed with me throughout my career

and ultimately led me to return to Dartmouth and

work in higher education. When I learned of the

opportunity at Iowa State – with a chance to

combine business and higher education, my two

passions – I jumped at the chance.

It’s been a great first academic year for me at

Iowa State, and I’ve truly enjoyed my adventure

so far. Perhaps my most important job has been

to serve as a willing listener, hearing stories from

students, alumni, faculty, and staff about why

they love this college and what it means to be

a Cyclone.

But as we reminisce about the past, we must

also pivot toward the future. We have been fortunate

to have great leadership that laid a strong foundation

for our future. My goal is simple: to build on that

foundation to make what I believe is a great College

of Business even greater.

I know firsthand how impactful out-of-classroom

experiences can be. We have to create more of

them, at home and abroad. As Iowa State University

grows, so too must we – not just our student

body, but our faculty. We will continue to raise

funds to keep college education affordable for

our students.

The challenges are many, but whatever

challenges we face are far outnumbered by the

opportunities in front of us.

I am excited to be on this adventure with you.

I look forward to meeting many more of you in

coming months and hearing your ideas about

how we can work together to take the next step.

Go Cyclones!

My name is David Spalding, and I am very excited

to serve as the newest Raisbeck Endowed Dean

here at the College of Business at Iowa State

University. I came to Iowa State from Dartmouth

College in Hanover, New Hampshire, where I spent

eight years as an administrator.

My undergraduate experience at Dartmouth

was very powerful and – as you’ll read in the

story on the next page – had a dramatic impact

on my life and career. I arrived in Hanover with

a plan: I knew what I wanted to do, and I knew

how to get there.

Until I didn’t.

Like so many young people who arrive on

college campuses, I was exposed to a lot of things

I hadn’t been exposed to before. New people, new

ideas, new concepts. Some of these were abstract

and changed the way I think. But many were

quite tangible and changed my trajectory entirely.

My college experience helped open doors for

me that led to a new career I hadn’t considered

before. And it wasn’t just the classroom that

impacted me, but the clubs and other activities

on campus – and most important, my experiential

learning opportunities. I had multiple internships

that helped me identify a career path in finance,

which led me to spend nearly 30 years on Wall

Street and co-found my own firm.

IN HIS OWN WORDS

ME

SS

AG

E F

RO

M T

HE

DE

AN

An Iowa State

education

confers the tools

to both survive

and thrive in

a challenging

job market.

David P . Spalding, Raisbeck Endowed Dean

2 VOLUME 30 NUMBER 1 n FALL 2014 n WWW.BUSINESS.IASTATE.EDU

IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY n COLLEGE OF BUSINESS n PROSPECTUS 3

DEAN SPALDING

Business Leader Brings His Passion for Education to Ames TAKES THE REINS

P R O S P E C T U S FA L L 2 0 1 4

The second summer session would

be winding down in just more than

a week. Faculty were slowly trickling

back into the Gerdin Business

Building in preparation for the fall

semester that was only 25 days away.

The sun streaked across the sky on its

way to a warm, cloudless afternoon.

The campus was relatively quiet – it

was summer, after all.

Yet the buildup was beginning, the

buzz palpable. Iowa State University

was readying itself to welcome what

would be its largest freshman class

ever on the way to its largest enroll-

ment in its history with more than

33,200 students. Virtually every

enrollment record would soon come

tumbling down – including under-

graduates, international students,

multicultural students, in-state, out-

of-state, and transfer students, among

others – en route to becoming the

state’s largest university.

For the faculty, staff, and – in 25

days, the students – of the College of

Business, there was another reason

to be excited. For the first time in 12

years, the College of Business was

welcoming a new dean. And for the

first time since 1989, that new dean

would come from outside the ranks of

its own faculty.

David Spalding couldn’t wait to get

started. The announcement of his

selection as the College of Business’

fifth dean came on May 9, the day

before spring commencement week-

end at Iowa State was to begin. The

flurry of e-mails and conference calls

began almost immediately as he jug-

gled the transition between two jobs

and two communities more than

1,200 miles apart.

But August had finally arrived.

Spalding walked into the Gerdin

Business Building, up to the Robert H.

Cox Dean’s Suite on the second floor,

and into his new office.

His new workspace has what might

be one of the most beautiful views on

the entire Iowa State campus, looking

directly at the Campanile and the lush

greenery blanketing the south end of

central campus. But Spalding would

have little opportunity to admire the

landscape, at least for awhile. There was

too much work to do, too many people

to meet, too many phone calls to make.

THE WHIRLWIND WAS UNDERWAY .

THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2013, LOOKED LIKE A PERFECTLY TYPICAL LATE SUMMER DAY IN AMES, IOWA .

David Spalding’s path to the dean-

ship in the College of Business at

Iowa State University is unusual by

traditional academic standards. He

wasn’t a decades-long faculty mem-

ber who rose through the ranks, first

becoming a department chair, then

an associate dean, and eventually

assuming the deanship. Instead,

Spalding built a highly successful

business career, only making his way

into academic administration

decades later.

Although his educational journey

played out in other parts of the

country, it bears a striking resem-

blance to the type of experience

many Iowa State graduates call their

own. Spalding grew up in a middle-

class family in Louisville, Kentucky,

one of four children of two first-

generation college graduates.

His father attended Dartmouth

College, the 6,300-student Ivy

League school in Hanover, New

Hampshire, after completing his ser-

vice in the Marine Corps. The elder

Spalding had used his college experi-

ence to vault himself from a broken

home to a better, more stable life. He

would go on to a long management

career with General Electric.

His mother attended nursing

school but eventually decided to be a

stay-at-home mom to their large and

active family.

Spalding was a typically busy

teenager, participating on his high

school debate team, even winning a

Kentucky state debate champion-

ship. He was in his church’s youth

group and high school senior play.

When it came time to choose a

college, his decision was an easy one.

His parents were from the Northeast,

and through his father he’d had exten-

sive exposure to Dartmouth his entire

life. “Dartmouth was in my blood,” he

said. “It was college to me.”

He was equally decisive about his

career path. “Back then, I thought I

had ‘the master plan.’ I was going to

go to college, then law school, then

back to Kentucky to become

Louisville’s version of Perry Mason,”

he joked.Spalding arrived in Hanover

and quickly saw firsthand how a

quality college education can alter a

young person’s trajectory.

Dartmouth first admitted women

beginning in 1972, and Spalding’s

was the first class to include women

for its full four-year cohort. It

instilled in him a passion for diver-

sity that he carries even now.

He didn’t know it, but his own

trajectory would change significantly

while at Dartmouth. “I did what under-

grads are supposed to do,” he said. “I

took courses in a variety of areas and

took advantage of internships.”

Dartmouth offered a robust intern-

ship program, and Spalding jumped

in headfirst. He learned that a bank

back in Louisville offered internships

through the program, and he spent

three stints there totaling 12 months.

He didn’t just gain valuable experi-

ence and build up his résumé. He

had found his professional path.

Spalding majored in history and

would earn his AB from Dartmouth

in 1976. But Louisville would have

to find another Perry Mason.

“Obviously my ‘master plan’

changed,” he laughed.

4

The first meeting of the Dean’s Advisory Council under new Raisbeck Endowed Dean David Spalding was held in October 2013.

A T R A J E C TO RY, C H A N G E D

SPALDING’S CLASS AT DARTMOUTH WAS THE FIRST TO INCLUDE WOMEN FOR ITS FULL FOUR-YEAR COHORT .


D E A N S PA L D I N G TA K E S T H E R E I N S

With his discovered interest in bank-

ing, and Dartmouth’s location just a

few hours north of the nation’s bank-

ing capital, perhaps it was inevitable

that Spalding would launch his

banking career in New York City. He

found Wall Street to be a perfect

match for his skills and interests.

“I really enjoyed finance and had an

interest in banking,” he said. “I liked

connecting with people and making

the intellectual sale of complicated

products. It’s a puzzle, to find the right

financial structure for a company, and I

really liked doing that.”

Spalding began his career as a tradi-

tional commercial banker with The

Chase Manhattan Bank, lending

money to small garment manufactur-

ers. As his career took off, he would

take evening courses and earn his

MBA in finance from New York

University in 1984.

His success would earn him an

opportunity as vice president with

The First National Bank of Chicago

(still located in New York), then as a

senior vice president with GE

Capital Corporate Finance group.

Eventually, he joined Lehman

Brothers Merchant Banking Partners,

becoming a senior vice president,

then a managing director. In 1989,

Lehman Brothers had $1 billion in

private equity commitments, among

the first of its size.

By 1994, Spalding felt it was time

for his own venture. He and three

partners co-founded The Cypress

Group LLC, a private equity firm

that managed funds ultimately total-

ing $3.5 billion, and served as its

vice chairman. Cypress bought busi-

nesses, then hired senior managers

to run them, working alongside

them to find the right strategy to

grow, prosper, and profit.

5

Age 60

Hometown Louisville, Kentucky

Undergraduate Degree

AB in history, Dartmouth College, 1976

Graduate Degree

MBA in finance, New York University, 1984

Family

Wife, Marianne; son, Andrew, a recent graduate of

Dartmouth College; daughter, Megan, an under-

graduate at Lewis and Clark College

Start Date at Iowa State August 1, 2013

THE SPALDING F ILE

L I F E O N WA L L S T R E E T



`

But by 2005, after nearly 30 years on

Wall Street and 11 years co-managing

his own firm, Spalding got the itch to

try something different. After rising

through the ranks at a number of

well-known financial firms, then

shepherding his own firm to success,

he had accomplished more than

what he had once thought possible.

Spalding decided it was time to give

something back.

It was around that time that James

Wright, one of Spalding’s former pro-

fessors who was seven years into his

presidency at Dartmouth, contacted

him and asked him to consider

returning to the institution as its vice

president for alumni relations.

Instead of managing investments,

mergers, and acquisitions in the fast-

paced world of high finance, he

would build bridges between his hal-

lowed institution and its 70,000

alumni spread around the United

States and throughout the world.

The idea wasn’t completely for-

eign to Spalding. He had extensive

nonprofit volunteer and board expe-

rience, including chairing the Make-

A-Wish Foundation of Metro New

York board. And he had been

engaged with his alma mater for

years, actively raising money for the

Dartmouth College Fund Committee

and serving on, and eventually co-

chairing, the giving committees for

four of his class reunions. His efforts

led to what was at that time the

largest 25th reunion class gift in

Dartmouth’s history. He also had

served on Dartmouth’s President’s

Leadership Council.

Spalding jumped on Wright’s offer

and threw himself into the job. “It

was similar to Wall Street in that it

was a very energizing environment,” he

said. “But it’s very gratifying to work

on a college campus helping to carry

out a mission of educating students.”

In 2009, Wright stepped down as

Dartmouth’s president and was suc-

ceeded by Jim Yong Kim. Kim, a

highly accomplished Harvard physi-

cian and anthropologist prior to his

presidency at Dartmouth, made

Spalding his chief of staff in June

2010. Spalding provided strategic

direction to a wide range of college

functions, including its investment

office, athletics, communications,

and oversight of the president’s office

and staff.

Spalding served Kim for two years

until President Obama nominated

Kim as the twelfth president of the

World Bank. Carol Folt, who had

been Dartmouth’s provost, was

tapped as the college’s interim presi-

dent. She elevated Spalding to senior

vice president and senior adviser to

give him more involvement in

strategic planning and decision

making. He would now partner

with the president to implement

strategy, vision, and direction for

the institution.

In November 2012, Dartmouth’s

Board of Trustees elected Philip

Hanlon as its eighteenth president.

Amidst the transition taking place,

Spalding began to ponder his

own future in higher education

and decided to explore other

opportunities. “I knew I loved

working in higher education, but I

thought I had a chance to find

something that would allow me to

work more closely with faculty and

students than I typically did in the

president’s office,” he said.

Only weeks earlier, the committee

in charge of finding the College of

Business’ next dean had launched its

search. Iowa State University was

soon on David Spalding’s radar.

G I V I N G B A C K , G O I N G B A C K

I THOUGHT I HAD THE CHANCE TO FIND SOMETHING THAT WOULD ALLOW ME TO WORK MORE CLOSELY WITH FACULTY AND STUDENTS THAN I TYPICALLY DID .

DAVID SPALDING


“


David Spalding addresses the audience at his medallion ceremony for the Raisbeck Endowed Deanship.

`

It’s a natural question, and one he

gets often: how does a Kentucky

native who spent his entire adult life

and professional career in the

Northeast end up in Ames, Iowa?

And what attracted him to the job?

“As I researched the institution

before and during my interview

process, I watched a video of

President Leath’s installation,”

Spalding said. “He made an

incredibly strong case that the land-

grant ideals of this university are as

relevant today as they were

150 years ago.

“As I watched it, I kept thinking

back to the impact that higher

education had on my father and me.

About how Iowa State’s land-grant

mission – to create and share

knowledge with Iowans, to make a

quality education accessible to

everyone, to be a resource for the

state – appeals to me. It was

very powerful.”

Spalding was equally impressed

with Iowa State’s momentum as a

university and its commitment to

being an important resource for

economic development in Iowa.

“It was an opportunity for me to

combine my passions for business

and higher education in a college

that is well-positioned for success

at a university that is on the move,”

he said.

One of Dean Spalding’s first official events was the annual faculty-staff picnic held just prior to the start of the fall semester.

W H Y I OWA S TAT E ?

I KEPT THINKING BACK TO THE IMPACT THAT HIGHER EDUCATION HAD ON MY FATHER AND ME . ABOUT HOW IOWA STATE’S LAND-GRANT MISSION APPEALS TO ME .

DAVID SPALDING

“




With any change in leadership,

constituent groups like students,

alumni, faculty, and staff all want

to know: What will this person’s

priorities be? What vision does he

have for us? How will he set about

achieving it?

There is excitement. There is

uncertainty. But most of all, people

just want to know, what is he going

to do?

This often creates a mental tug-

of-war within a new leader. On one

side is the desire to be inclusive, to

seek out input from stakeholders

in the organization, to absorb as

much information as possible – the

proverbial “drinking from the fire

hose.” On the other side is a leader’s

instinct to take swift action, to make

a mark and set a tone of decisive

progress. Spalding wrestles with it

himself. “Certainly as a new dean,

you want to make an impact right

away,” he said. “But I’m trying to

strike the right balance between

making immediate progress today

and planning for tomorrow.

“As I told the president, provost,

and Iowa State community when

I interviewed, there isn’t anything

broken in this college that needs

to be fixed. There is no crisis to

weather. We’ve had strong leaders

who have set us on a path to achieve

greatness. That affords me the

opportunity to engage in thoughtful

conversation with the people who

care about this college.”

It’s an opportunity he has taken

seriously. He made it a priority to

meet with every member of the

faculty individually, a lengthy series

of nearly 90 meetings which he

wrapped up in only two months.

He has been equally eager to meet

with the college’s alumni, supporters,

and members of the business

community. Barely a month after his

first day, he was being introduced by

President Leath before an audience

of influential business leaders in

Des Moines. He has sought to

improve the college’s ties with

business and industry, visiting

numerous companies and booking

speaking engagements to share his –

admittedly very preliminary – vision

for the College of Business’ future.

But while that vision is just

now, barely a year into his tenure,

starting to come into focus, an

examination of his speeches

and interactions with College of

Business constituent groups brings

a few themes to the forefront.

Dean Spalding has been active in meeting with student groups and classes, like this entrepreneurship group earlier this spring.

E L E VAT I N G H I S P R I O R I T I E S


EMPHASIZING STUDENT

RECRUITMENT .

College of Business enrollment took a

sharp uptick in fall 2013 with total under-

graduate and graduate enrollment at

3,908 students – as large as the college

has been in the last 10 years . The col-

lege educates more Iowa high school

graduates than any other business pro-

gram in the country . Spalding wants to

see that growth continue, especially

among women and underrepresented

minority students .

ELEVATING FACULTY RESEARCH .

Spalding increased faculty research

funding by 40 percent through a series of

mini-grants and summer research grants .

He also altered the title of his associate

dean for graduate programs, Dr . Qing Hu,

to add the words “and research” to raise

the prominence of research among faculty

and across campus .

CyBIZ LAB . In January, the College of Business

publicly launched a new program to help

connect its students and faculty with

industry . CyBIZ Lab will create more

opportunities for live business cases in the

classroom, which have increased

significantly in recent years . But the lab

goes further by offering more opportunities

outside the classroom . Companies and

nonprofits will bring their business

problems to the lab to connect with teams

of students who will bring fresh

perspectives and solutions . CyBIZ Lab will

provide more experiential learning

opportunities for students, more consulting

opportunities for faculty, and improve the

college’s connection to Iowa’s economic

development efforts .

HIRING FACULTY . In order to keep up with current and

projected enrollment growth, as well as

add expertise in strategically important

areas like big data, Spalding has

emphasized faculty recruitment .

INCREASING INTERNATIONAL STUDY

OPPORTUNITIES . Study abroad experiences are among

the most impactful students can have,

from both a personal and professional

development standpoint . But at present,

only around 4 percent of College of

Business students are able to do, in part

because of logistical issues like course

scheduling, but primarily because of the

cost . Spalding is committed to increasing

support for students who wish to study

abroad, as well as exploring new pro-

grams that might reduce these barriers,

like shorter study tours rather than full

semesters abroad .

ACHIEVE REACCREDITATION .

This fall, the college is up for reaccredi-

tation by AACSB International – The

Association to Advance Collegiate

Schools of Business . Earning reaccredi-

tation requires a rigorous assessment

process as well as a site visit by a com-

mittee of faculty from peer institutions .

If it sounds like a lot to manage,

it is. It would be a lot to absorb for

any new dean, let alone one that is

getting acclimated not only to his

new job, but a new town and

university. But Spalding relishes

the challenge.

“I’m just happy to be here,”

Spalding said. “This community has

welcomed us with open arms, and

I’m thankful for that warm reception.

Labh Hira and Mike Crum have been

enormously valuable resources to me

during my transition. President

Leath and Provost Wickert have

given me all the support I could have

asked for. “THIS REALLY IS A GREAT

PLACE TO BE .” n

D E A N ’ S T H E M E S



ReactionTO

DAVID SPALDING’S APPOINTMENT

“ David has an outstanding record, both in the business world and in higher education administration . I am confident he will take Iowa State’s business programs to the next level, broaden the range of experiences available to our students and faculty, and expand the college’s impact in every corner of the state and beyond .”

STEVEN LEATH, PRESIDENT Iowa State University

“ David is already making an outstanding contribution to our College of Business . He’s leveraging his experience in the private sector and academia to strengthen experiential learning for business students, increase their understanding of global business and ethical decision making, and build the college’s research portfolio . I’m excited by David’s leadership and his collaborative management style and by the deep engagement of business faculty, staff, and students in charting the college’s future course .”

JONATHAN WICKERT, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND PROVOST Iowa State University

“ David’s wise counsel and valued judgment made him one of the most effective and trusted administrators I worked with during my tenure as Dartmouth’s president . His impressive career in business and finance followed by his success in multiple key leadership roles at Dartmouth provide a unique perspective that make David the ideal person to take on the challenges facing a business school dean . Iowa State is fortunate to have him .”

JIM YONG KIM, PRESIDENT World Bank FORMER PRESIDENT Dartmouth College

“ David comes with a rare blend of impressive leadership achievements in both business and academia . He is a great listener who understands the need to invest in our programs and people .”

ARNIE COWAN, WELLS FARGO PROFESSOR IN FINANCE Search Committee Member

“ David’s hiring brings new ideas and a commitment to relationships that will help the college expand its reputation, both throughout the state and across the nation . I am truly excited for the future of the College of Business at Iowa State .”

SUKU RADIA (’74 INDUSTRIAL ADMINISTRATION), CEO AND PRESIDENT Bankers Trust, Des Moines


Labh Hira’s management philosophy – as anyone who worked with him would tell you – was pretty straightforward. Avoid the trendy, and stick to the fundamentals.

He frames it in terms of fashion. “There are three C’s to it,” Hira says. “First, you have to be consistent – you can’t show up in jeans today and a suit tomorrow. Second, you have to be comprehensive – you can’t really have a good suit and terrible shoes. And third, you have to be classic, not trendy.”

While fashion might seem like an unusual choice of analogies, it’s actually pretty apt. Because if Hira had one job in his nearly 11-year run as dean of the College of Business,

it was to “dress” the up-and-coming college for success on a larger stage. And it’s hard to imagine anyone doing it better.

“You have to think through your decisions consistently,” Hira says. “You can’t say we’re going to hire good faculty this year, then recruit good students the next. You have to be in the game every day, every semester, every year.

“Likewise,” he continues, “you have to be comprehensive. You can’t say we’re going to concentrate on facilities, so forget about faculty development. You can’t let one thing go away. And you can’t be trendy. You can’t say, ‘Oh, let’s have a new major, let’s introduce an MBA in health care systems, the flavor-of-the-month MBA.’”

Consistent. Comprehensive. Classic. The Hira Way.

HIRA RETIRES FROM IOWA STATE UNIVERSITYAT F I R S T A R E L U C TA N T D E A N , H E W A L K S A W AY A S O N E O F T H E U N I V E R S I T Y ’ S M O S T R E S P E C T E D F I G U R E S

Hira originally announced his retirement in October 2011, planning to wind down his tenure as dean with a smooth handoff to his own successor and a return to the faculty .


A UNIVERSITY CITIZEN UNTIL THE END

Hira originally announced his retirement in October 2011, shortly

after Steven Leath was named to succeed Gregory Geoffroy as Iowa State

University’s new president. Hira had co-chaired the search and planned to wind down

his tenure as dean with a smooth handoff to his own successor and a return to the faculty.

But duty called. When the ISU Foundation needed an interim president in March 2012, it was Hira they asked to fill the role. With his experience and success as a fundraising dean, it was a natural fit.

Hira served until its new president, Roger Neuhaus, took over in January 2013. He transitioned back to the College of Business faculty, teaching and helping David Spalding, the new College of Business dean, transition into his new role.

Finally this spring, he felt it was time to make the announcement. No more administrative roles. No more interim appointments. He was done. Retired.

SUCCESS NO ACCIDENT FOR “ACCIDENTAL” DEAN When Hira took the reins of the College of Business as interim dean in 2001, he had two tough acts to follow. One of his predecessors, Charles Handy, was the college’s founding dean, and the other, Benjamin Allen, had, in a few short years, built it into a major presence on the Iowa State campus.

By the time Allen left the dean’s chair to become Iowa State’s provost in 2001, so effective had his leadership been in building and securing the college’s reputation that the search committee tasked with finding his replacement felt it was time to conduct a national search. Hira, who had been an associate dean for several years, was encouraged to throw his hat in the ring.

The self-effacing professor of accounting would have none of it.

“I decided it was a time to bring in somebody from outside,” Hira recalls. “We were at a stage where we could benefit from some outside experience and knowledge, and it was not the right move for me to be in that position.”

That might have been the only wrong call Hira ever made with regard to the college. Hira agreed to serve as interim dean while the search committee spread its nets for the ideal candidate. And they thought they had found that person – until 10 days after accepting an offer, he declined the position. The committee turned its eyes once again to Hira.

“Of course,” Hira says, “I graciously accepted.”

While the circumstances of his rise to dean have led some (including Hira himself) to refer to him as an “accidental” dean, Hira’s selection was hardly a matter of mere convenience – he had a solid track record in administration, first as the chair of the accounting and finance departments, then as an associate dean.

But this was the early 2000s. The bursting of the dot-com bubble and the 2001 terrorist attacks had ended one of the longest growth periods in U.S. history and signaled a rising budgetary crisis that would explode with the bursting of the housing bubble and economic collapse later in the decade.

It also signaled an era of retrenchment in public support of higher education, as year after year state government slashed appropriations and left Iowa’s Regents institutions struggling to replace funding streams.

“Even then we were going through some serious budget challenges, and that’s one of my strengths,” Hira says. “And I had developed a very good network of relationships with our alumni.”

The strengths the search committee saw in Hira were, in fact, precisely what the college would need, not just to survive, but to thrive in a decade when other programs at Iowa State and across the nation were struggling just to stay in place.

VISION STANDS ON BROAD SHOULDERS “Handy, Allen, and Hira – they’ve been phenomenal building blocks to achieve our vision,” says Cara Heiden, a 1978 graduate of the old Industrial Administration program.

Labh Hira addresses the audience at the dedication of the Gerdin Business Building in February 2004.

The strengths the search committee saw in Hira were precisely what the college would

need when other programs were struggling just to stay in place .


A retired co-president of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Heiden’s service on the Dean’s Advisory Council (DAC) since 1994 has given her a front row seat to some of the most exciting developments in the college’s short history. She does not stint her praise for those who led the college into the 21st century.

“Iowa State is extremely fortunate to have had both Ben Allen and Labh Hira,” Heiden says. “They were the right leaders for the time. They both have an ability to be part of the business community because they think that way.

“The huge value Labh added was his customer focus,” Heiden adds. “What does our client want? And by ‘client’ I mean a company that hires Iowa State graduates – the Wells Fargos and Principals. There became, under Labh’s leadership, this tighter connection with business leaders in Des Moines.”

HOW TO BECOME THE BEST? Another of those leaders is Steve Schuler, executive vice president and chief financial officer of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines. Like Heiden, Schuler is “old school,” a 1973 graduate of the Industrial Administration program. And like Heiden as well, he’s a long-standing member of the DAC, serving since the early 1980s and chairing the DAC under Ben Allen.

“One of the things I remember so vividly about Labh,” Schuler recalls, “is that he had a wonderful relationship with Russ and Ann Gerdin. They really asked him to steward the development of the college’s building.”

The relationship with the Gerdins, Schuler says, was first cultivated by Ben Allen before he left to become ISU provost. An associate dean at the time the Gerdins made their groundbreaking gift to the college, Hira agreed to oversee construction of the building.

“And he did a marvelous job,” Schuler remarks. “The building came in on time and under budget, which is not all that common in that business. Really, Labh and his wife Tahira literally walked through that building every day it was under construction.”

Hira’s vision did not stop at fulfilling Allen’s vision of a first-class facility for business studies but rapidly moved to the next level: How, in an era of budget slashing and

retrenchment, would the college take its place among the best land-grant business schools in the nation?

BUILDING BEYOND THE BUILDING Hira knew the College of Business needed more. And it needed it quickly to catch up, let alone compete on a national stage. To do so, Hira understood that to realize the college’s promise, he had to focus on what is inarguably its most important element: its people.

Business studies at Iowa State had always been acknowledged for their concentration on undergraduate students. But narrowly focusing on undergraduate education, critics say, is a kind of tunnel vision that not only disregards the groundwork laid by Handy and Allen, but ultimately shortchanges the very undergraduates the college exists to serve in the first place.

In order even to stay where you are, there’s a lot of building that goes on . It has to be a

continuous battle to stay in front .Labh Hira

13IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY n COLLEGE OF BUSINESS n PROSPECTUS

Without a PhD program, the college ultimately could not attract and retain the kind of faculty needed to

take it to a national level .

“In order even to stay where you are,” Hira notes, “there’s a lot of building that goes on, whether it’s

hiring the right faculty, enhancing the quality of staff, enhancing the recruitment of our students

or our infrastructure and technology – it has to be a continuous battle to stay in front.”

A world-class education demanded a world-class faculty whose research and publications could extend to the global community while at the same time enriching the classroom experience of their students. And that meant providing the resources to attract top talent – both rising and established – to teach at Iowa State. It meant funding for endowed chairs and professorships, something Hira knew instinctively.

“Nobody told me I had to create named faculty positions,” Hira said. “It is a matter of necessity, to some extent, a matter of circumstances – a matter of a mature development process.”

PHD, THE COLLEGE CAPSTONE Yet Hira knew as well that no number of endowed chairs could compensate for the college’s lack of a PhD program. Without it, the college ultimately could not attract and retain the kind of faculty needed to take it to a national level. The best scholars demand younger protégés who challenge and inspire them on a daily basis and who assist with their research and teaching. In turn, these new PhDs would take the Iowa State

“brand” to schools across the globe, enhancing the visibility of the college and, not coincidentally, the value of an Iowa State business degree both to potential employers and future students.

Still, Hira had to push hard to pitch the concept to both internal and external constituents.

“The PhD program was a move that required quite a bit of juggling,” Hira recalls, “both politically in this state as well as internally in the college – most importantly with our Dean’s Advisory Council.”

After all, the University of Iowa already offered doctoral studies in business – what could Iowa State bring to the table to justify another such program? And why should leaders from the business community sitting on the DAC – people unlikely to hire PhDs, who typically go on to teach in higher education – support diverting resources to purely “academic” interests?

“There were some conversations,” Schuler acknowledges. “Why do this? What is the value? Labh really believed that it was good for the college and good for the college’s product, and that is higher quality students who are educated by faculty who are broad-thinking, research-oriented individuals.

“And,” adds Schuler, “I think that was bought into pretty well by the DAC.”

Labh Hira in front of the Gerdin Business Building construction site, August 2002.


Indeed, Schuler’s DAC colleague Cara Heiden was initially skeptical herself – until Hira brought in several doctoral students to present their work to the council.

“I came around,” Heiden admits. “To have a really strong undergraduate program, a really strong master’s program, and a really strong PhD program? That’s a comprehensive solution that is good for our students and good for business. And in the end, it does elevate the Iowa State University College of Business.”

CHALLENGES REMAIN Despite these accom-plishments, Hira left the dean’s chair with no small concern for the work remaining to his successors. Higher education is in flux. The pres-sures of budget cuts and competition from both bricks-and-mortar schools and online upstarts often sit uneasy with the democratic mission of a land-grant institution. And while Hira believes that Iowa State has stayed true to its land-grant origins, affordability of a college education is a growing problem.

Another area in which Hira feels his successor must focus is the breakneck speed at which technological change occurs, threatening constantly to outstrip the resources of a college whose graduates must hit the ground running in jobs that demand they be fully versed in the latest tools and techniques for doing business.

“A former colleague of mine said that you have to aim in front of the duck to shoot a flying duck,” Hira notes. “Technology creates those challenges for us.”

But how do you lead “technologically”? Hira would tell you that it’s no different from any other kind of leadership that depends on teamwork and seeking the input of others.

“There’s no doubt that anyone who sits in that chair doesn’t know everything,” Hira insists. “If they do, they’re the wrong person to sit in that chair.”

But perhaps the biggest challenge for his successor, Hira says, will be to accomplish a goal that eluded him in his tenure as dean: to cultivate and close the deal with the one benefactor

whose gift will be so substantial as to give Iowa State a named College of Business.

“Continuous reinvestment in the college is necessary,” Hira says. “Besides the resources it brings, there is a prestige, an exposure, a visibility – whatever you want to call it – that goes with having a named college. So I would say that’s the next big initiative leadership will have to address.

“It has been a goal of mine, but I did not succeed. But strange things can happen,” he adds with a smile. “Who knows? We could get that gift tomorrow.”

Indeed, with the relationships he’s forged, the friends he’s made, the bridges he built – not to mention the thousands of lives he touched in a lifetime of teaching prior to his deanship – Labh Hira’s legacy has been nothing short of transformational and transcends the sum of his accomplishments as dean.

“I think I speak for all when I say that we all very much respect and deeply appreciate where he has taken our College of Business,” says Cara Heiden. “And I also want to add that Dean Hira did it in a very humble way. It was never about Labh Hira; it was always about the College of Business and what the students and the faculty and the alums could make it.”

It was, in short, leadership that was consistent, comprehensive – and already a classic.

Labh Hira’s legacy has been nothing short of transformational and transcends the sum of

his accomplishments as dean .

Clockwise from top left: Labh Hira, Mike Crum, Charles Handy, and Ben Allen together at a College of Business reception thanking Labh Hira for his service as dean.


COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ISU COMMUNITY HONORS HIRAS

Tahira Hira built a long career of service and distinction at Iowa State. Also retiring this spring, she leaves Iowa State as President Leath’s senior policy adviser after serving previously as associate vice provost for ISU Extension, then as executive assistant to President Geoffroy. A professor of personal finance and consumer economics in the College of Human Sciences, she is internationally recognized for her research in a wide range of topics. She served a term on the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy.

Despite her distinguished and demanding career, she helped Labh shepherd the Gerdin Business Building to its completion and opening 10 years ago. She worked tirelessly to raise funds and build relationships that would enhance the College of Business’ programs and enrich its students.

In honor of Labh’s deanship and Tahira’s many contributions, the College of Business awarded them with its Russ and Ann Gerdin Award, which honors contributions from individuals who are not College of Business graduates. The award is named for the Gerdins, who made the lead gift for the Gerdin Business Building even though they did not attend Iowa State.

The award was presented at the 83rd Honors and Awards Ceremony on October 10. Also that day, the university honored the Hiras with a retirement reception. Hundreds of people attended to pay tribute to their more than 30 years of service to Iowa State.

Labh Hira was honored in May 2014 by the ISU Alumni Association with its Faculty-Staff Inspiration Award. The award recognizes ISU faculty or staff who had a significant influence on the lives of students.

The Hiras were previously honored in 2010 by the ISU Foundation as its Order of the Knoll Faculty and Staff Award winner, which recognized their dedication and long-term professional and volunteer service to the foundation through advancement of philanthropy. n

While Labh’s accomplishments as dean are well documented,

perhaps lesser known is the important role that his wife

Tahira played in the college’s development during her

husband’s deanship.

The contributions that Labh and Tahira Hira made to the College of Business changed

the course of its history and improved the experience for generations of

students to come .

Tahira and Labh Hira


THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS IS ON THE CLIMB . ON

ONE EARLY SEPTEMBER DAY, THE COLLEGE LEARNED

THAT ITS PLACE IN U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT’S

2015 “AMERICA’S BEST COLLEGES” JUMPED BY 22

SPOTS . The next day, Iowa State’s official enrollment figures were released, and it was more good news as the college kept pace with Iowa State University’s explosive growth.

In the U.S.News rankings, Iowa State University came in at No. 50 among the top 173 public national universities in the United States. It was tied with the University of Kansas, Lawrence; University of Oklahoma, Norman; University of Oregon, Eugene; and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

The College of Business was also tied for 50th among public institutions, an increase of nine spots from the previous year’s ranking, and tied for 79th overall among schools accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The ranking among AACSB-accredited schools represented a jump of 22 spots.

Only around 5 percent of business programs worldwide earn AACSB accreditation. The College of Business’ ranking of 79th out of 508 AACSB-accredited U.S. programs places it in the top 16 percent in the country.

Iowa State was again listed among U.S.News’ list of “A-plus Schools for B Students,” described as those schools “where non-superstars have a decent shot at being accepted and thriving – where spirit and hard work could make all the difference in admissions offices.” Iowa State is again included (at No. 91) in U.S.News’ top 100 rankings by high school counselors.

Meanwhile, Iowa State is again enjoying a record year for enrollment. Its fall 2014 enrollment of 34,732 is the largest in school history, an increase of 4.5 percent (1,491 students) over the previous record of 33,241 in fall 2013.

College of Business enrollment is at 4,082 students – 3,836 undergraduates and 246 graduate and PhD students. This is the fifth-highest enrollment in the college’s history and its largest since 1988. Like the university, the College of Business grew by 4.5 percent over its previous year’s enrollment.

It’s the sixth year of record enrollment and the eighth consecutive year of growth at Iowa State. The university’s student body represents every Iowa county, every U.S. state (plus the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and Mariana Islands), and 110 countries.

More Iowa undergraduates are attending Iowa State than ever before: 18,478 students, or 64 percent of ISU’s undergraduate student body, are Iowans. Overall, 20,260 Iowans attend ISU, also a record.

Iowa State’s freshman class of 6,041 students includes 3,509 (58.1 percent) Iowa residents. Each year, Iowa State enrolls more Iowa high school graduates as new freshmen than any other four-year school. Similarly, the College of Business enrolls more Iowa high school graduates than any other four-year business program. This fall, 62.4 percent of College of Business enrollment is comprised of Iowa residents.

The university set records in numerous categories this fall, including undergraduate enrollment, graduate enrollment, international student enrollment, diversity, U.S. multicultural enrollment, and enrollment among both Iowa resident and non-resident undergraduate students. n

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS RANKINGS, ENROLLMENT

ON

THE R

ISE

The College of Business is among the top 50 public business programs in the country. Its fall 2014 enrollment is 4,082

students, an increase of 4.5 percent over a year ago.


“We talked about how we get supply chain management students ready for a career with Target or with anyone else for that matter,” said Grawe. “Here in the middle of Iowa, there isn’t a whole lot to see from an inter-national logistics perspective.” More than simply career preparation, his goal was to provide a once-in-a-life-time experience.

With the help of Target and a sup-portive College of Business admin-istration, Grawe was able to do just that. He took his students back-ward through the supply chain, from seeing products – in this case,

kitchen utensils – on one of Target’s retail store shelves to the factories in China where they are produced.

Increasing international opportuni-ties for its students has long been a priority for the College of Business, so when Associate Dean of Graduate Programs and Research Qing Hu heard Grawe’s pitch for the study tour, he jumped at the opportunity. Hu, a former supply chain and infor-mation systems (SCIS) department

chair, quickly recognized the trip’s value. A native of China, Hu also lent his cultural and logistical expertise in helping to plan the trip.

Now that Grawe had the support of the college, he needed support from the students. And given the short turnaround from idea to a full-fledged course, he had his work cut out for him.

Grawe was asking a lot. He, and the college, knew that the cost of the course would make it prohibitive to some students. The total cost for the trip, including airfare, ground transportation, hotels, and several

SUPPLY CHAIN CHINA MANAGEMENTA N I N T E R N AT I O N A L E X P E R I E N C E

Grawe took his students backward through the supply chain, from seeing products on one of Target’s retail store shelves to the factories in China where they are produced.

What started with a dinner conversation between assistant professor of supply chain management Scott Grawe and a former colleague from Target quickly escalated into a life-changing, international experience for 27 students in the College of Business: participation at every stop along a real-life supply chain .


meals was well over $3,700 – no small amount for college students already living on limited means. But would that be enough to put a halt to the class entirely? The answer, fortunately, was no. Like Associate Dean Hu, students imme-diately realized that the benefits of the trip – both to their undergraduate experience and their marketability as future employees – far exceeded its cost. There was an overwhelming sense that this was an opportunity students rarely get and might never get again. And it simply couldn’t be simulated in a classroom.

Many of the students in the course had family help or student loans to cover the cost, and the College

of Business offered a onetime $500 scholarship for each student. Still, the ones who couldn’t participate stuck with Grawe. “I had one student in my office saying that he thought that his mom could get another credit card to allow them to be able to make this trip happen,” Grawe said, recalling the unfortunate circumstances that led him to turn the student away. “That was frustrating.”

For those who were able to take the trip, it represented more than just a financial sacrifice. These were upper-level students forfeiting their week of spring break. And while many had taken another of Grawe’s courses the previous semester, they quickly had to adjust to a more independent style of learning in order to succeed on this journey.

As a nontraditional class, these stu-dents pulled from a different skill set in order to excel. The structure of the class meant they weren’t going to meet at a regular time each week in the same classroom taking diligent notes in order to prepare for a test at a later date. Instead, they were given a series of articles to read indepen-dently regarding supply chains in China and about Target. They were also directed to learn and understand as much about what they were about to see as possible.

In teams of three or four, students were assigned a case study about how to improve Target’s supply chain. From the start, Grawe meant for the course to be interactive rather than a passive guided tour; students were graded pri-marily on their participation and pro-fessionalism, a white paper, executive summary, and their case study findings to Target’s executive team.

The group gathered a few times prior to the trip so Grawe could prepare them for what to expect. “Selfishly, I wanted the students and ISU to look really good,” Grawe said. In anticipa

tion of more general questions that the students might be asking, Grawe went through what the students should expect to see at each facility so they were familiar with the basics, such as what types of machinery they were going to see. That way, they could maximize their limited time on more focused questions that would help them with the case study.

Grawe worked closely with Target to ensure a rigorous case study and that the students would have the data they needed to make sound recom-mendations. Target sent along two spreadsheets totaling 30,000 lines of data in Microsoft Excel. Their chal-lenges included supply chain issues such as taking one full day off the supply chain from factory to store and finding ways to put more prod-ucts in overseas shipping containers to save on costs.

Then it was time for the trip. While Target offers thousands of products with varied and complex supply chains, Grawe’s course focused on Target’s kitchen utensils, such as plastic bowls, plates, and cups.

Grawe worked closely with Target to ensure a rigorous case study that would challenge students to improve Target’s supply chain.


At each stop along the supply chain, students were given a behind-the-scenes look at the facility’s processes, including everything from production, packaging, shipping, and distribution. Target provided full access to its facilities, including spaces that are rarely open to outsiders in today’s post-9/11 environment.

Target employees stated throughout the trip how impressed they were with the students’ questions. “It really helped to keep the students engaged along the way when they knew their grade hinged on solving a problem. I was amazed at the level of engagement for this group of students,” Grawe said. Once the students returned to the United States, they traveled to Target headquarters in Minneapolis to present their ideas to Target’s senior supply chain leaders.

The 2013 trip was such a success – a life-changing experience in every way for its students – that Grawe was deter-mined to continue to offer the experi-ence. And in 2014, he did, taking stu-dents on a similar trek through Target’s

supply chain, this time with Frank Montabon, associate professor of supply chain management, who traveled to China with a group of MBA students in 2012. A third expedition is planned for 2015. As word spread about the unique experience the course provides, Grawe no longer has to do much persuading to find interested students.

Over the course of these trips, Grawe and his students have realized how fortune they are to have this kind of exposure to a company’s supply chain. Many of the students from the trips have found the course to be an important differentiator in their interviews with potential employers.

The course isn’t just yielding benefits for students. Target is gaining valuable insight from outsiders on its supply chain practices, and even picking up a few of Iowa State’s best and brightest in the process. Three Iowa State supply chain graduates in the past two years have launched their careers at Target, in part because of the exposure they gained by presenting to Target executives.

“These are students that now have a huge advantage in the marketplace,” Grawe says. “They are more marketable than any other supply chain students in the country.” n

CEDAR FALLS, IOWA

LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA

SHENZHEN, CHINA

PANYU, CHINA

GUANGZHOU, CHINA

BEJING, CHINA

Target store visit Distribution center tour

Port of Long Beach Yusen deconsolidation facility Target store visit Distribution center tour

Port of Yantian CFS Warehouse

Target supplier (plastic bowls, plates, cups) Target Sourcing Services

Supply chain lecture at Sun Yat-Sen University Guangzhou Honda

Silk Street Market Tiananmen Square The Great Wall Forbidden Palace Temple of Heaven Olympic Park Ming Tombs

“These students are more marketable than any other supply chain students in the country.” Scott Grawe


Even those who have not traveled abroad understand the benefits they can get from the experience – expo-sure to other cultures, the confidence gained from navigating an unfamiliar country, interaction with people whose life experiences are very different – and how those benefits can positively impact their lives and careers.

Yet despite their initial interest, the obstacles to studying abroad quickly pile up, and only around 4 percent of College of Business students are actually able to complete a study abroad opportunity.

The biggest of those obstacles? Time and money. It is often difficult for stu-dents to leave campus for an extended

period. Housing commitments, on-campus leadership opportunities, jobs, family obligations – the list of reasons not to leave can get long very quickly. And the issue of cost needs no further explanation. Knowing how crucial it is for stu-dents to gain international exposure in a modern, globalized economy, the College of Business has introduced study tours as an alternative to the traditional semester or year spent studying abroad. It addresses both of these major obstacles by offering a shorter international experience with a smaller price tag. College of Business study tours are led by a faculty or staff member and travel

during spring and summer breaks. They allow students to approach their area of study in a hands-on and experi-ential manner, combining theory with real-life experience and cultural per-spective. Students learn about a coun-try’s business and industry through visits to local businesses and organiza-tions, as well as the cultural attractions of the region.

Past College of Business study tours have included trips to Italy (Florence, Rome, and Turin) and an MBA trip to Ireland. For 2014–2015, there are even more options, including the supply chain Target trip to Hong Kong and China, Italy, marketing trips to Hong

Kong and Rome, and Spain. n

Ireland: Earlier this year, a group of MBA students took a study tour to Ireland. Destinations included the Jameson Distillery and Siemens, shown in this photo.

Italy: A College of Business study tour in Italy included a stop at St. Peter’s Basilica within Vatican City.

STUDY TOURS OFFER NEW INTERNATIONAL OPTIONSSurveys of incoming students have shown that nearly four in five of them express an interest in studying abroad when they arrive on campus at Iowa State .


CRUM WILL MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO LEATH ON ALL MATTERS RELATED TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, TO EXPAND THE UNIVERSITY’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO IOWA’S AND THE NATIONAL ECONOMY .

Having served for more than 16 months as the interim Raisbeck Endowed Dean of the College of Business, Michael Crum – a longtime member of the supply chain management faculty and holder of the Ruan Chair in Supply Chain Management – is now serving as President Leath’s senior policy adviser on economic development. The appointment was announced in July 2013.

“I’m extremely happy to appoint Mike to this post,” Leath

said at the time of the announcement. “He is uniquely

qualified, given his years of experience in the College of

Business and on the board of the ISU Research Park. He

knows all the relevant stakeholders - both on and off

campus - and those relationships will be essential as the

university strives to promote economic development across

the state and beyond.”

In this role, Crum makes recommendations to Leath on all

matters related to economic development, to facilitate

expansion of the university’s contributions to Iowa’s and the

national economy. Such considerations include strategic

goals and priorities, allocation of resources, and the

integration and coordination of functions and activities. He

also will develop a plan for strengthening Iowa State’s

economic development enterprise, including its marketing,

organization, and alignment; efficiency; effectiveness;

accessibility; and responsiveness.

He will work with groups internal and external to the

university on matters of economic development. In addition

to representing Iowa State on economic development

boards, he’ll work to strengthen coordination with

constituents that include those boards, business

associations, government agencies, communities, and

foundations. Crum will serve as a gateway for Iowa’s

business community to the expertise and business services

offered through Iowa State.

“It really is inspiring to see how much we’re doing,” Crum

said. “Economic development activities occur all over

campus. There are many opportunities for us, through

better coordination and integration, to leverage these efforts

and do even more.”

Crum’s appointment spearheaded the January 2014 creation

of a new unit at Iowa State University, the Office of

Economic Development and Industry Relations (EDIR).

Crum will head this office, which will help to centralize the

university’s economic development efforts and create a hub

to make it easier for external partners, like Iowa businesses,

to seek assistance.

“I am excited about the creation of this new office, which

makes it easier for our external partners to connect with the

university’s expertise and capabilities related to economic

development and industry needs,” President Steven Leath

said. “It furthers our goals of being more accessible and more

responsive, and most importantly, becoming an even greater

contributor to the state, national, and global economies.”

HEADSNEW UNIVERSITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICE CRUM


THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORE FACILITY WILL BE THE GATEWAY TO CAMPUS FOR BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY SEEKING TECHNOLOGY OR BUSINESS EXPERTISE . Mike Crum

”

”

In explaining the role of this new office to the Board of

Regents, State of Iowa, Crum asked, “How do we become more

accessible and how do we become easier to work with?”

Beginning immediately upon the creation of EDIR in

January, a number of university units related to economic

development began reporting to it. Some have dual

reporting arrangements and will retain their current

reporting lines. The units now reporting to EDIR are:

ISU Research Foundation, Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer .

Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS) . This unit also will continue to report to the College of Engineering.

Institute for Physical Research and Technology (IPRT) Company Assistance . This unit’s administrative home is CIRAS.

Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship . This unit also will continue to report to the College of Business.

Small Business Development Center . This unit also will continue to report to the College of Business.

By mid-2016, EDIR and its units will be housed in the new

Economic Development Core Facility at the ISU Research

Park. A $12 million state appropriation is supporting

construction of the 49,210-square-foot core facility south of

the existing research park. It will serve as a one-stop shop

for business and industry to seek Iowa State expertise and

assistance. In addition to the units now reporting to EDIR,

the facility also will house the Cultivation Corridor regional

economic development project.

“This building really will be transformational for the

economic development efforts we’re making,” Leath said.

“For the first time, all Iowa State economic development

service units will be together, enabling us to provide services

in a much more comprehensive and integrated fashion.”

The research park currently has nearly 60 tenants with

more than 1,300 employees and a total payroll of more than

$70 million. A third phase of expansion at the research park

calls for developing another 200 acres, growing the park’s

employee base to more than 6,000 people.

“The Economic Development Core Facility will be the

signature building of the research park’s phase-three

development,” said Crum. “It will be the gateway to

campus for business and industry seeking technology or

business expertise. And it’s going to be a catalyst for a lot of

greater things to come.”

Crum joined the College of Business in 1980. He served as

a department chair from 1998 to 2001, and held the John

and Ruth DeVries Endowed Chair in Business from 2004 to

2011. He has served on many committees, whose purposes

were as varied as academic searches and reviews, Faculty

Senate proceedings, student athletes’ academic progress,

and strategic planning. Prior to his 16 months as interim

dean of the College of Business, he served as its associate

dean for graduate programs from 2005 to 2012.

Crum has served as chairman of the ISU Research Park’s board

of directors since 2004, joining the board two years earlier. n


E A R L I E R T H I S Y E A R , T H E C O L L E G E O F B U S I N E S S P U B L I C LY L A U N C H E D C Y B I Z L A B A S A N I N I T I AT I V E T O E X PA N D E X P E R I E N T I A L L E A R N I N G F O R I O W A S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y S T U D E N T S I N A W AY T H AT A L S O P R O V I D E S B U S I N E S S E S W I T H A C C E S S T O M A R K E T R E S E A R C H A N D C O N S U LT I N G S E R V I C E S .

The College of Business created CyBIZ Lab as a way for students to gain real work experience. College of Business faculty members have worked for years with private business and industry, as well as nonprofits, to provide students with hands-on learning in the classroom. The new lab will generate more opportunities for students, of all majors, to work with businesses both in and out of the classroom. It will also streamline the process for organizations wanting to partner with faculty and students on research projects.

“We want to enhance the student experience and one way to do that is through this new experiential learning initiative,” said David Spalding, the Raisbeck Endowed Dean of the College of Business. “Giving students the opportunity to work directly with businesses will further develop the skills they’re learning in the classroom and give them a competitive edge in their job search and after graduation.”

Students will have the opportunity to work on live case studies, to be part of a team working to solve problems or conduct research for businesses, as well as support existing or launch new entrepreneurial ideas. Depending on the nature of the project, companies will pay a fee to sponsor the students, with the support of faculty, for the work.

Judi Eyles, interim director of CyBIZ Lab, works directly with businesses interested in the services CyBIZ Lab has to offer. “Students bring a different perspective that the companies value. This experience allows students to demonstrate their skills and abilities to companies that may very well be potential employers,” Eyles said. “It also

gives faculty an opportunity to engage with businesses and they can bring that experience to the classroom and their research.”

C.H. Robinson, a third-party logistics provider based in Minnesota, is an initial founding sponsor for CyBIZ Lab. The company values the expertise faculty and students provide for research and it knows working with students is a good recruiting tool. ISU students will be part of a project this spring to analyze how C.H. Robinson can differentiate between price and the value of the service it provides for its customers.

Mark Walker (’79 Industrial Administration), a senior vice president who serves on the lab’s advisory board, hopes the project will lead to new ideas for supply chains that

will benefit the company’s relationship with clients. The Iowa State alum knows the CyBIZ model also will give students the skills they need to compete in the workforce.

“What I’ve learned over the years is that experience is really the best means to truly grasp and understand a concept,” Walker said. “CyBIZ Lab is designed to give students a current business problem to solve. I think having that problem in front of them forces them to apply all their learned skills simultaneously.”

Interested businesses can learn more about CyBIZ Lab at www.business.iastate.edu/cybizlab. n

WHAT I ’VE LEARNED OVER THE YEARS IS THAT

EXPERIENCE IS REALLY THE BEST MEANS TO

TRULY GRASP AND UNDERSTAND A CONCEPT .

MARK WALKER

CONNECTS STUDENTS TO INDUSTRY


The SBDCs are a great example of carrying Iowa State’s land-grant

mission of research, education, and service throughout the state of Iowa .

LISA SHIMKAT

“

For nearly 10 years, Shimkat has

worked in the SBDC’s North Central

Iowa region based in Fort Dodge,

counseling clients looking to start

or expand an existing business. Her

efforts helped her center earn the 2014

Small Business Development Center

Excellence and Innovation Award from

the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Shimkat also was recognized in 2010

by the SBDC’s national organization

as Iowa’s “State Star” for her

contributions to the SBDC’s economic

development efforts and commitment

to small businesses. She completed

both her undergraduate and MBA

degrees at Iowa State University.

In January, President Steven Leath

announced the creation of the Office of

Economic Development and Industry

Relations, to make it easier for the

university’s external partners to access

Iowa State’s economic development

resources. As SBDC statewide director,

Shimkat will work closely with Michael

Crum, senior policy adviser and head

of the Office of Economic Development

and Industry Relations, as well as David

Spalding, Raisbeck Endowed Dean in

the College of Business.

“As we work to reorganize and

centralize the university’s economic

development enterprise, the Iowa

Small Business Development Center

continues to be a critical component of

our economic development efforts,”

said President Leath. “I’m very pleased

to have Lisa on board to not only

lead the SBDC network and ensure

we’re providing excellent service

to our clients, but also build strong

relationships with our partners.”

Shimkat wants to make Iowa a model

for small business success.

“I’m excited to continue the mission of

the Iowa Small Business Development

Center at the state level,” Shimkat

said. The SBDCs are a great example

of carrying Iowa State’s land-grant

mission of research, education, and

service throughout the state of Iowa.

I’ve seen firsthand the impact our

centers have, and I’m eager to help

build on our successes.”

Spalding says Shimkat understands

the SBDC’s mission. “Lisa is an

outstanding choice as the next

statewide director for Iowa’s Small

Business Development Center,” he

said. “Her years of experience as an

award-winning regional director make

her well equipped to move the SBDC

forward and strengthen its position

as a valuable economic development

resource for Iowa.”

SBDC’S IMPACT ON IOWA

The Iowa Small Business Development

Center is part of the College of Business.

The SBDC offers free, confidential

business advice to entrepreneurs and

existing businesses with 500 or fewer

employees. In 2013, SBDC worked

with more than 2,500 clients, held 140

training workshops, and helped start

more than 200 new businesses. Those

clients added or retained 1,547 jobs

and raised nearly $49 million in capital

for their Iowa businesses. SBDC has 16

regional offices across the state. n

LISA SHIMKAT, A REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR THE IOWA SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER, ASSUMED HER NEW ROLE AS STATEWIDE DIRECTOR OF THE ORGANIZATION ON AUGUST 18 . SHE SUCCEEDS JIM HECKMANN, WHO RETIRED IN FEBRUARY .

SHIMKAT NAMED SBDC STATE DIRECTOR


”

MARY BARRA’S ASCENT TO CEO

at General Motors was a milestone

in many ways, including marking

the first time a woman had risen

to the top at a Big Three automaker.

It also serves as an example of the

importance that broad functional

expertise plays in modern corporate

leadership. Ms. Barra’s career path

is noteworthy for its progression

of assignments across a wide

spectrum of functional areas including

manufacturing and, most recently,

product development, purchasing,

and supply chain. GM selected

Ms. Barra as CEO not necessarily

because it is more enlightened than

others, but because it had a candidate

with the right breadth of relevant

functional expertise to navigate

this modern era’s challenges

and opportunities.

Supply chain management as a

proving ground for senior leadership

roles, including CEO, is increasingly

evident, with high profile examples

that include Apple Inc. CEO Tim

Cook and Intel Corp. CEO Brian

Krzanich. One reason for this

phenomenon is that supply chain

leaders typically have integrated

experience across very different

and key functions in purchasing,

manufacturing, engineering,

strategy, and logistics and often oversee

new product launches and customer

service. This unique set of functional

skills is increasingly important to

corporate competitiveness.

The role itself has undergone

a fairly dramatic transformation

over the last several decades as the

velocity of business has necessitated

that supply chain functions operate

in partnership with traditional

business units in lieu of the old

“service provider” model. In fact,

many of the most dynamic companies

in the world including Amazon.com

Inc., Intel, and Apple have built

many of their competitive advantages

around deeply integrated supply

chain operations. In these companies,

supply chain is as much about

innovation as cost control.

Given the significance the chief

supply chain officer, or CSCO, role

can play within a corporate structure,

and the potential leadership path

it can provide, the number of women

currently serving in the function isn’t

compelling. A recent study by industry

group SCM World found that less

than five percent of Fortune 500

Global companies with physical

supply chains are headed by a woman.

On a more positive note, the pipeline

for future CSCOs is much richer in

terms of gender balance, with women

making up approximately 37 percent

of college students majoring in supply

chain disciplines. At the same time,

there is clearly a desire by many

to continue to achieve diversity

within senior corporate levels.

Beyond equity arguments, it is

simply good business – as Land

O’Lakes CEO, Chris Policinski,

said recently, “One of the keys to

our current success is having more

diversity in our senior leadership

team. Continuing this increased

representation across our corporate

structure is critical, as our future

growth is directly linked to serving

an ever broader customer base.”

Although these factors make it

entirely possible that the number

of women in the CSCO role will

improve over the next decade, it

may not happen in a meaningful

way unless women coming into

the field recognize the necessity for

SUPPLY CHAINFUNCTIONAL EXPERTISE OFFERS A LEADERSHIP PATH FOR WOMEN

Beth Ford (’86 Management) is the executive vice president, chief supply chain

and operations office at Land O’Lakes in Arden Hills, Minnesota. She wrote

this piece, which appeared in the Wall Street Journal’s CIO Journal in February.


core line leadership experience and

broad functional expertise. A recent

report published by McKinsey &

Company noted the importance

line level experience plays in career

advancement for women generally.

Annette Clayton, CSCO at Schneider

Electric SA, agrees, “Line leadership

is crucial. If I could point to a single

thing, it is the ability to walk through

a factory, know what I am looking at,

and drive decisions based upon actual

experience. It is the ability to meet

with customers and understand

how we can help resolve their pain

points.” Seeking out rotational

or cross functional assignments

– even if the job spec appears to

stretch beyond your current résumé

– is also key for broadening technical

skills and competencies.

Achieving these critical compo-

nents in most companies requires

mobility and flexibility, particularly in

the early to middle years of a career.

The pursuit of broad functional exper-

tise can require geographic, positional,

and company movement and line

leadership roles tend to have taxing

schedules and demands. A survey of

CSCO résumés paints a clear picture

of this type of career fluidity. My

path is not dissimilar —over the

course of more than 25 years in vari-

ous supply chain and operations

functions, I have served in roles as

varied as a night shift production line

foreman to crude oil trading analyst,

relocated eight times, worked for

seven companies across six industries,

and pursued an MBA in finance

to round out my core skills. The

yield for this mobility was credible

leadership experience, responsibility

at various times for each function

within the supply chain, as well

as IT, HR, and strategy, and now

a role that I love at Land O’Lakes,

a Fortune 200 Food Production

and Agribusiness Company.

No doubt, this level of career

fluidity has traditionally been more

problematic for women than men

– particularly when factoring in the

need to balance family commitments.

These factors are often cited as reasons

why some women shift into staff

roles or fail to pursue assignments

that broaden their technical skills

in the early to middle of their

careers, greatly limiting their overall

opportunities for advancement.

How then to prevent the 37

percent from dwindling to five

percent a decade from now? While

there are no magic bullets, those

seeking advancement must be active

stewards of their own careers – which

means recognizing the skills required

to achieve a senior leadership role

and not self-selecting out of the

pool of high potential candidates.

At the same time, senior leaders

have a critical role to play: they must

sponsor high potential women, which

means actively working to position

them effectively; understanding

the challenges presented; working

to make transitions as accessible

as possible; avoiding assuming

that challenging roles would not

be attractive to women with family

responsibilities; and being direct

in counseling about the importance

of these moves on career trajectory.

I believe in the 37 percent—the

time is now. n

A RECENT STUDY BY INDUSTRY GROUP SCM WORLD FOUND THAT

LESS THAN FIVE PERCENT OF FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES WITH PHYSICAL SUPPLY CHAINS ARE

HEADED BY A WOMAN .


In the study, published in Substance Use and

Misuse, participants were asked to pour what they

considered a normal drink using different types of

glasses in various settings. The results show how

easy it is to overdo it. Participants poured about 12

percent more wine into a wide glass than a standard

one. The same was true when holding a glass while

pouring compared to placing the glass on a table.

“People have trouble assessing volumes,” said Laura

Smarandescu, assistant professor of marketing.

“They tend to focus more on the vertical than the

horizontal measures. That’s why people tend to

drink less when they drink from a narrow glass,

because they think they’re drinking more.”

Researchers tested six environmental cues to

understand how each influenced the amount poured.

The contrast between the glass and color of the wine

also made a significant difference. For example,

when pouring white wine into a clear glass,

participants poured 9 percent more than pouring

red, which had a greater contrast to the glass.

Wine is different from alcoholic drinks that are

served in a bottle or measured with a shot glass,

making it easy for individuals to overpour. Doug

Walker, assistant professor of marketing and lead

author of the study, said it’s easy to lose track of

how many drinks you’ve had if you are pouring

more than you realize.

“If you ask someone how much they drink and they report it in a number of servings, for a self-pour, that’s just not telling the whole story. One person’s two is totally different than another person’s two,” Walker said.

Brian Wansink, director of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell, offered some easy tips to help people drink less. “If you want to pour and drink less wine, stick to the narrow wine glasses and only pour if your glass is on the table or counter and not in your hand – in either case, you’ll pour about 9—12 percent less,” he said.

“I think this helps us understand drinking behaviors to see how these cues influence individual pours. When you add this information about how people pour to survey data of how much people drink, then you have a more complete picture about how people drink,” Smarandescu said.

Eliminating all bias to guarantee a perfect serving size is not practical, but making wine drinkers aware of environmental factors can limit the extent to which they overpour. To better understand this impact, researchers asked participants to identify which factors may have caused them to pour too much. The factors that ranked highest, such as the wide glass, were those with the greatest influence on pouring.

Researchers add that even though participants could identify those environmental factors, it does not suggest they knew how much more they were pouring to accurately track their alcohol intake. n

JUST HOW MUCH WINE ONE POURS INTO ONE’S GLASS IS INFLUENCED BY A VARIETY OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS .

DOES YOUR WINE GLASS

Pouring a glass of wine is rarely an exact measurement, especially in a social setting . Just how much one pours is influenced by a variety of environmental factors, researchers at Iowa State and Cornell universities discovered, and that could have serious consequences when it comes to overconsumption .

A F F E C T H O W M U C H Y O U P O U R ?


Andreea Kiss, assistant professor of man-

agement, wanted to give her business

management students a hands-on

entrepreneurial experience rather than

a scenario-based simulation. So she

presented her business management

class with a challenge: they had four

weeks to create a concept that would

make as much money as possible and

avoid bankruptcy.

But there was a catch; the initial

investment would be no more than

five dollars.

“Most entrepreneurs start very

small, with a very limited amount of

resources, and that’s what I tried to

emphasize to students,” Kiss said. “I

think the very essence of entrepreneur-

ship is working under conditions of

uncertainty and ambiguity with a lim-

ited amount of resources.”

Not only did Kiss get a return on her

investment, several local charities ben-

efited from the thousands of dollars

raised through the challenge. Nearly

$14,000 was donated to veterans’

organizations, food banks, shelters for

homeless youth, and other groups.

Students found investors and cus-

tomers were more willing to support

their effort if it benefited a charitable

organization. Some of the successful

student projects included:

STORY COUNTY FREEDOM FLIGHT: students organized a 5k run that attracted 75 participants and raised more than $1,600 for the organization that sends veterans to Washington, D .C . to visit the war memori-als . It costs around $650 to send one Story County veteran .

CHILDREN’S CANCER CONNECTION: students partnered to make personalized Christmas ornaments featuring the organiza-tion’s logo, then selling them and raising $300 for this group that provides programs to Iowa children diagnosed with cancer .

IOWA HOMELESS YOUTH CENTERS: one team joined other college and high school students to build a giant Lego® man entirely out of cardboard for Reggie’s Sleepout, a Des Moines event that raises money and awareness for homeless youth in Iowa . Working as part of a larger student initiative, the group helped raise $7,500 .

COLLEGES AGAINST CANCER: students coordinated with the Iowa State chapter of Colleges Against Cancer to sell 1,600 pink mugs at four Campustown bars . Those who purchased a mug received a drink discount . This effort raised $4,000 for breast cancer research .

Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship

at Iowa State: students offered to

advertise local businesses’ products

or services during the team’s class

presentation. The group contacted 11

area businesses, created nine advertise-

ments, and raised $395. The money

will benefit other student entrepre-

neurs who win business competitions

sponsored by the Pappajohn Center.

While not every project was a home

run, Kiss says students still learned

valuable lessons about researching a

target audience and product devel-

opment, as well as the challenges of

making a pitch to a potential customer

or investor.

“I think one of the first lessons they

learn is that selling something is rela-

tively difficult. It takes a certain art to

describe your product in a positive light

and emphasize the benefits that the cus-

tomer might gain from purchasing the

product,” Kiss said. “Students learn to

explain their idea, why they’re qualified

to execute it, how much money they

need, and what can the investor gain by

investing in you.” n

THE FIVE-DOLLAR BUSINESS IDEA

andreea kiss gave each team in her business management class five dollars and four weeks to create a successful business concept.


College Welcomes New Faculty Hires

Tony Craig, assistant professor of sup-ply chain management . Earned PhD and a master of engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . He earned his BS with distinction in computer engineering from Iowa State .

Lei Gao, assistant professor of finance . Earned PhD in finance from the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, an MS in industrial math from Michigan State University, and a BS in computer science from Peking University in Beijing .

Jake Holwerda, assistant professor of management . Earned PhD and MS in human resource studies, as well as a BS with honors in industrial and labor relations from Cornell University .

Tyler Jensen, assistant professor of finance . Earned PhD in finance from the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah . He also holds a BS in finance from the University of Nebraska .

Jennifer Kreiser, senior lecturer of accounting . Earned master of tax accounting and a BS in commerce and business administration from the University of Alabama .

Patrick Kreiser, Bob and Kay Smith Fellow in Entrepreneurship and associ-ate professor of management . Earned PhD and MBA from the University of Alabama and his BA from John Carroll University .

Sam Lee, assistant professor of accounting . Earned PhD from the University of Southern California, MBAs from Southern Methodist University and Seoul National University in South Korea, where he also earned a BBA .

Jenny Lin, adjunct assistant professor of marketing . Currently completing PhD at Iowa State, she also holds an ISU MBA and an ISU MS in biomedical science .

Joonwook Park, assistant professor of marketing . Earned PhD in marketing from the Smeal College of Business at Pennsylvania State University, an MS in marketing research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a BA in business from Korea University . Part of the High-Impact Hires Initiative in the area of big data .

Beatriz Pereira assistant professor of marketing . Earned PhD from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and an MS and BS in busi-ness administration from the University of São Paulo .

Mike Prindle, lecturer of accounting . Earned a master’s in management and accounting degree from the University of Mary, as well as a BS in business from the University of Montana .

Hua Sun, assistant professor of finance . Earned PhD in real estate finance from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia, an MS in real estate man-agement from the National University of Singapore, and a BA in economics from Nankai University in China .

Drew Zhang, assistant professor of management information systems . Earned PhD in information and com-puter science and engineering from the University of Michigan, an MS in infor-mation systems from Fudan University in China, and a BE in information sys-tems from Tongji University in China . Part of the High-Impact Hires Initiative in the area of big data .

FAC

ULT

Y A

ND

STA

FF

NE

WS


The College of Business welcomed 13 new faculty and staff hires this year. The faculty hires are among the 105 tenured or tenure-track hires joining Iowa State this fall. Many, including two from the College of Business, are a part of President Leath’s High-Impact Hires Initiative, which supports faculty hiring in areas of strategic importance to the university and Iowa.

New College of Business faculty include, in alphabetical order:

R E C E N T S TA F F H I R E S R E C E N T P R O M O T I O N S

F A C U LT Y A N D S TA F F H O N O R S

FAC

ULT

Y A

ND

STA

FF

NE

WS


Jim McElroy, Raisbeck Professor of Business and University Professor in Management, has been honored by the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University as one of its “100 graduates over the past 100 years who exemplify the Oklahoma State University and Spears School of Business spirit .” McElroy earned his PhD from Oklahoma State in 1979 and joined the ISU faculty soon after . He has published more than 80 refereed journal articles and served as a department chair and associate dean in the College of Business .

Russ Laczniak, chair of the management and marketing departments and John and Connie Stafford Fellow in Business, and Terry Childers, professor emeritus of market-ing, and 11 co-authors have been voted as the recipients of the Thomas C . Kinnear/Journal of Public Policy & Marketing Award for their article “From Nutrients to Nurturance: A Conceptual Introduction to Food Well-Being .” The award honors articles published in the journal that have made a significant contribution to the under-standing of marketing and public policy issues .

Qing Hu, associate dean for graduate programs and research and the Union Pacific Professor in Information Systems, was ranked among the top 100 researchers by the Association for Information Systems earlier this year . In a survey of six of the top information systems journals from 2011 to 2013, Hu came in tied for 56th place .

Mark Peterson, director of graduate career services, com-pleted his two-year term as president of the MBA Career Services and Employer Alliance, and his second three-year term on its board of directors, in June . He has been reap-pointed to the board of directors as president emeritus and will co-chair its Employment Standards Committee .

Sarah Adams, recruiter and international programs coordinator in Undergraduate Programs . She earned bachelor’s degrees in political science and journalism and mass communication and a master of public administration, all from Iowa State .

Melanie Gella, career coordinator in Business Career Services . Gella will be working with finance and business economics majors . She has a bachelor’s degree in finance and international business and an MBA, all from Iowa State .

Sabrina Shields-Cook, graduate adviser in Undergraduate Programs . Shields-Cook was previously a communications manager at ISU’s Institute for Transportation .

Diana Sloan, director of graduate marketing and alumni relations in Graduate Programs . She is a graduate of Iowa State’s MBA program and holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education .

Jennifer Blackhurst has been promoted to professor of supply chain management .

Yoshinori Suzuki has been promoted to professor of supply chain management .

Dengpan Liu has been promoted to associate professor of information systems, with tenure .

Tammy Stegman has been promoted to assistant director of Business Career Services .

THREE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS FACULTY AND STAFF

WERE HONORED AT THE UNIVERSITY AWARDS

CEREMONY IN SEPTEMBER:

JAN DUFFY,

adjunct instructor of accounting, received the Louis Thompson Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award, which recognizes an outstanding teacher who is dedicated to helping undergraduate students .

MARK PETERSON,

director of graduate career services, received the Professional and Scientific Staff Excellence Award for career accomplishments at Iowa State .

SARAH WILSON,

classification officer for undergraduate programs, received the Professional and Scientific Outstanding New Professional Award for early career accomplish-ment . Wilson recently accepted a promotion as the director of student services in ISU’s College of Human Sciences .

David Hunger, professor emeritus of man-agement, passed away on April 10, 2014. Hunger spent 23 years in the College of Business before retiring in 2006. Brad Shrader, Eucher Faculty Fellow in the College of Business, delivered this tribute in honor of Dr. Hunger at this year’s ISU Memorial Day Ceremony. This has been edited for length.

Dr. John David Hunger was the first person I met at Iowa State University. He was the first chair of the Department of Management in 1984 and hired me in June of that year.

He died at the age of 72 at Country Manor under the care of Saint Cloud Hospital Hospice in Saint Joseph, Minnesota. His early death was the result of stomach cancer.

David was born May 17, 1941, in New Kensington, Penn., to Jack and Betty (Carey) Hunger. He married Betty Johnson on August 2, 1969, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He graduated from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, in 1963, and went on to serve as a Captain in U.S. Army Intelligence during the Vietnam War. After the war, he received a PhD from The Ohio State University.

Dr. Hunger taught at Baldwin Wallace College, University of Virginia, George Mason University, and, most important, at Iowa State University – where he was professor emeritus and where he taught for 23 years.

Most recently, he was the Strategic Management Scholar in Residence at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. Along with co-author Thomas L. Wheelen, he authored a variety of widely acclaimed and widely used strategic management textbooks. He was a member of numerous research organizations, including past president of the North American Case Research Association, the Society for Case Research, and the Iowa State University

Press Board of Directors. He also served as a vice president of the U.S. Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. He was elected a Fellow of the Teaching and Academic Authors Association and of the North American Case Research Association.

He is survived by his wife Betty and his four daughters: Kari, Suzi, Lori, and Merry, as well as five grandchildren.

Dr. Hunger was instrumental in helping build the College of Business. He enhanced the college’s reputation with his very visible textbook, Strategic Management and Business Policy, co-authored with Thomas Wheelen, which is now in its 14th edition. This text was voted the top quality text one year by the Academy of Management.

David helped develop what is now the university-wide entrepreneurship curriculum. He also led the college’s efforts in case writing with the Czech and Slovak republics. The groundwork for this project took place in 1993 immediately after these two countries’ velvet divorce, and their leaving Soviet control while moving toward privatization. Dr. Hunger became a founding member of the Czech Association of Case Research and Application.

The first case I wrote as a new faculty member was with David Hunger. It dealt with Walt Disney Productions and the governance issues that company faced in 1984. The case was widely published and earned the Case Research Journal “classic case” distinction. The success of this case was clearly due to Dr. Hunger’s mentorship.

David was my boss, mentor, colleague and co-author, and friend. We in the College of Business miss him very much. n

David Hunger 1941–2014

Dr. Hunger was

instrumental in

helping build

the College

of Business.


FAC

ULT

Y A

ND

STA

FF

NE

WS

The College of Business honored four individuals and one valuable corporate partner at the 83rd Honors and Awards Ceremony on October 10.

C I TAT I O N O F A C H I E V E M E N T A W A R D

Established in 1985 to honor distinguished alumni who

have demonstrated outstanding achievement in life beyond

the campus.

Jerry Ivy (’53 Industrial Administration) is the president of Auto-Chlor System. Auto-Chlor System is the national leader in the production and installation of Energy Star-certified dish machines. The company also manages the distribution, maintenance, and replacement of

restaurant-scale dish machines, as well as distributing the chemicals and other residual supplies necessary for the operation of the equipment.

Under Ivy’s leadership, the company has expanded from a

small dishwashing company into a national business,

diversifying from dishwashing into hard surface cleaning,

housekeeping, floor care, and laundry. Though production

and operations have been in the same place for 75 years, the

Auto-Chlor System has expanded nationwide to more than

70,000 customers.

J O H N D . D E V R I E S S E R V I C E A W A R D

Established in 1985 to recognize individuals who have dem-

onstrated outstanding service to the College of Business.

David Kingland (’80 Industrial Administration) has displayed an impressive level of service to the College of Business and the entire Iowa State University community. He is the founder, chief executive officer, and chair of the board of direc-tors of Kingland Systems in Clear Lake, Iowa.

For 10 years, his firm has had a major presence in

Campustown, during which time the company has employed

more than 1,000 students and repeatedly been ranked the num-

ber one intern employer at Iowa State. The company is leading

the Campustown revitalization project currently underway.

Kingland served on the business dean search committee in

2013. A member of the college’s Dean’s Advisory Council

since 2009, he assumed the role of chair in 2010. He and his

wife Deb (’80 Child Development) made a major gift that

named the Supply Chain and Information Systems Suite in

the Gerdin Business Building in 2008.

R U S S A N D A N N G E R D I N A W A R D

Established in 2009 to honor contributions from valuable

corporate partners or individuals who are not College of

Business graduates. The award honors Russ and Ann Gerdin,

who made the lead gift for the Gerdin Business Building.

Neither attended Iowa State.

Aegon/Transamerica provides

insurance, pensions, and asset

management in more than 25 countries. With more than

27,000 employees, its U.S. headquarters are based in Cedar

Rapids, Iowa. Over the past decade, the Aegon/Transamerica

Foundation and its associated companies have contributed

more than $1 million to the College of Business. Its funding

led to the creation of the Aegon/Transamerica Trading

Simulation Lab in the Gerdin Business Building. Aegon also

funded and collaborated in fixed income classes in the col-

lege where students interact with Aegon portfolio managers.

Aegon also has provided scholarships for more than 40

College of Business students, created 177 co-op or intern-

ship opportunities, and made 24 full-time hires in the past

nine years.

Labh and Tahira Hira were also recipients of the Russ and

Ann Gerdin Award. For more details on their nomination,

see page 16. n

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS 2014 HOMECOMING AWARDS


Ever since I accepted

my position with the

Iowa State University

Foundation, I am often

asked to identify the

biggest difference

between my old job

and new.

My response usually surprises people: hugs. While silly

and certainly not profound, my answer is true in the

word’s most commonly recognized definition of “an

embrace”; Iowa State’s alumni and supporters are

a family, and many, I have discovered, hug family.

While I appreciate the hugs and will readily return

the gesture, I have more recently found the depth

of my one-word answer in a definition for hug

that is less commonly recognized. The difference

I have found at Iowa State is that you, our alumni

and supporters, have a passion, loyalty, and spirit

for Iowa State that you have and will forever keep

close while moving forward. You hug Iowa State

University even when your journey may have put

time, distance, and life between you.

My return to Iowa State has given me a unique

opportunity to view my favorite educational

institution through a more mature lens,

appreciating that which I was unable to in my years

as a student. What I failed to see then was the

complexity of a successful educational program.

Without each part, the whole fails. And what I

have come to discover is the important part that

you play in the strength of our institution. You are

our backbone.

In my many years of development work, I have

seen no greater example of generosity than from

Iowa State supporters. Whether living down the

street from campus or halfway around the world,

you are proud to be a Cyclone and ready to stand

up for your school. The Iowa State community

is powerful, and today, I invite you to put your

passion, loyalty, and spirit for Iowa State to work.

Now I know, this is where you stop reading. “She

is going to ask for something,” you’re thinking.

But hold on. Margaret Mead once said, “A small

group of thoughtful people could change the world.

Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Believe

it or not, my job is not to ask for your gifts, but

is instead to connect your desire to improve and

support your cherished Iowa State with others who

want to do the same. Your hug alone is meaningful

and valuable, but imagine the power of all our hugs

put behind the same vision.

It has been a great pleasure to meet so many of you

this past year, and I look forward to working with

many more of you in the years to come. Let’s hug

Iowa State together! n

Azure Christensen (’01 Liberal Studies) joined the

ISU Foundation in 2013 as its senior director of

development for the College of Business. Before Iowa

State, she worked in the Des Moines area in nonprofit

event planning and development.

Contact Azure at 515 294-1586 or by e-mail at

[email protected].

Cherishing Iowa State

DE

VE

LO

PM

EN

T

You have a passion, loyalty, and spirit for Iowa State that you have and will forever keep close while moving forward.


Kurt (’85 Accounting) and Kristyn (’85 Speech

Communication) Tjadens’ stories started at Iowa State,

and while life has taken them around the world, they have

made it a priority to stay connected to their origins. As

the next generation of Tjadens continues their Cyclone

legacy, they have pledged to create more opportunities for

students, like their son, to travel abroad.

Kurt is the chief financial officer for HNI corporation in

Muscatine, Iowa. The corporation is one of the leading

office furniture and hearth companies in the world. He sees

firsthand how Iowa’s economy has become integrated with

the rest of the world.

Studying abroad wasn’t an opportunity that was available

to the Tjadens during their time at Iowa State. During

Kurt’s career, however, the Tjadens spent a total of 12 years

living abroad in four different countries in Asia. These

experiences have shown them that living and traveling

abroad has a valuable impact on a person’s perspective.

“Being able to interact with people from all over the

world, you realize that the world isn’t so big after all,”

said Kristyn.

The Tjadens recognize that an accessible international

study and travel program is a significant asset in higher

education. Kurt said that when he hires for his company,

this is one of the key experiences he seeks out. “A study

abroad program is important and keeps the university

competitive. It is a valuable part of the experience of

college.” said Kurt.

Today, only 4 percent of College of Business students take

part in a study abroad program, despite 80 percent of

them expressing an interest when they arrive on campus.

Since arriving last fall, Raisbeck Endowed Dean David

Spalding was quick to set growth in international study

opportunities as a priority.

“Once David came on board, we saw his vision and felt a

strong connection. We are blessed to be able to help David

with his goals and offer this gift,” said Kurt. The Tjadens’

gift will help support the college’s international programs

and help allow it to hire, for the first time, a staff member

dedicated to marketing, promotion, and logistical issues

surrounding student study abroad opportunities.

“ISU has been a significant part of our lives for a long

time,” Kurt said. “Iowa State is where we met, and we have

worked to maintain a strong bond with the university.” The

Tjadens have continued a strong alumni connection despite

the challenges of spending years living abroad.

Thanks to the Tjadens and their gift to advance

international offerings, Iowa State University can provide

a comprehensive education to tomorrow’s business

leaders. “All Iowa State students deserve an opportunity

to understand the value of the experience of living and

studying abroad,” said Kristyn. n

Tjadens Support International Experiences

DE

VE

LO

PM

EN

T

KURT AND KRISTYN TJADEN RECENTLY MADE A GIFT TO SUPPORT INTERNATIONAL

PROGRAMS IN THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS . THE TJADEN FAMILY, LEFT TO RIGHT: DANIEL,

ANDREW (“AJ” – A JUNIOR AT IOWA STATE), KRISTYN, CLARE, KURT, MICHAEL,

AND MATTHEW .


From the Desk of Founding Dean Charles HandyIn times of transition – such as those

the College of Business recently experienced with

the retirement of Labh Hira and the welcoming of

David Spalding – it is natural to reflect on our

past and celebrate just how far we’ve come.

The strong position the College of Business has

built prior to its most recent leadership transition

is in contrast with the circumstances surrounding

Iowa State’s business program in the late 1970s.

Some of you reading this will remember us as a

department called Industrial Administration

(I Ad) in the College of Sciences and Humanities

(S&H), now called Liberal Arts and Sciences. At

that time, we had an ambition to become a free-

standing college of business. I had just chaired a

search committee for a new leader, one to lead us

to the “promised land.” A candidate had been

found and an offer made. We were hopeful.

Our hopes were soon shattered. Our candidate

told me he feared that he would fail to achieve

our goal, and turned us down. He went into no

greater detail. At any rate, time was of the

essence. S&H Dean Wallace Russell was about to

leave on a summer sabbatical, so he needed to

make a move. He asked if I would fill in as a tem-

porary department chair for I Ad. I agreed, and as

the saying goes, “I never looked back.”

It was Dean Russell who first suggested the possi-

bility of school status for our business program.

Whether he saw it as a means to maintain control

of our program – with more budget resources at his

disposal – or felt we needed a period to “practice”

as a separate entity before we became a college, I

do not know. I viewed it as the latter and sold it

to the department faculty on that basis.

A committee entitled “The Industrial

Administration Long Range Planning Committee”

was formed. By May 1979, we had developed a

45-page report that recommended the future

administrative direction for the Department of

Industrial Administration. This recommendation

was, of course, school status. Dean Russell wasted

no time in establishing another committee to

study our report. At the close of 1979, the

committee recommended that the Department of

Industrial Administration become a school within

the College of Sciences and Humanities, effective

September 1, 1980.

During the four-year life of the School of Business

Administration, we developed plans to become a

college. As stated above, I’m not sure how Dean

Russell felt about the move but, as things turned

out, that became an unnecessary consideration.

During that four-year period, Dean Russell left

for a position at the University of South Florida.

This gave us an opportunity to push for our busi-

ness college. During the search for a new S&H

dean, we presented our position. Four of the five

finalists supported our position and the selected

candidate, William Kelly, was one of the four.

We became a college on July 1, 1984.

Ah yes, life is good. For proof, just reflect back on

the situation that existed in 1978. n

The college’s current strong position is in contrast with the circum-stances in the late 1970s.

DR

. C

HA

RL

ES

HA

ND

Y


AdministrationDavid P . SpaldingRaisbeck Endowed Dean

Qing HuAssociate Dean, Graduate Programs and Research

Danny J . JohnsonAssociate Dean, Undergraduate Programs

Frederick H . DarkChair, Department of Accounting Chair, Department of Finance

Russell N . LaczniakChair, Department of Management Chair, Department of Marketing

Sree NilakantaChair, Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems

Ronald J . AckermanDirector, Graduate Admissions

Diann L . BurrightDirector, Undergraduate Programs

Steven T . CarterDirector, Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship

Azure S . ChristensenSenior Director of Development

Joey F . GeorgeDirector, PhD Program

Cory M . HansonDirector of Development

Soma MitraAcademic Fiscal Officer

Mark S . PetersonDirector, Graduate Career Services

Abhijit RaoDirector, Communications Center

Daniel J . RyanDirector, Marketing and Alumni Relations

Lisa M . ShimkatDirector, Small Business Development Center

Diana SloanDirector, Graduate Marketing and Alumni Relations

Kathryn K . WielandDirector, Business Career Services

Dean’s Advisory Council

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

David J . Kingland ’80, ChairPresident and CEOKingland Systems Ronald D . Banse ‘75Assistant General AuditorUnion Pacific Corporation

Kelley A . Bergstrom ‘65President Bergstrom Investment Management, LLC

Gregory S . Churchill ‘80Executive VP, International and Service Solutions, RetiredRockwell Collins

Brenda J . Cushing ‘86Executive Vice President and CFOAthene USA

G . Steven Dapper ‘69Founder and Chairmanhawkeye | GROUP

John D . DeVries ‘59CEO, RetiredColorfx

Jerald K . Dittmer ‘80President and Executive Vice PresidentThe HON Company and HNI Corporation

Nancy K . Dittmer ‘84Managing DirectorVerisight, Inc .

Curt E . Espeland ‘86Senior Vice President and CFOEastman Chemical Company

Beth E . Ford ‘86Executive Vice President, Chief Supply Chain and Operations OfficerLand O’Lakes, Inc .

Michael J . GerdinChairman and CEOHeartland Express, Inc .

Peter H . Gilman ‘86President and CEOCarbry Capital, Inc .

Craig E . Hansen ‘80Senior VP, Secretary, Treasurer Holmes Murphy

Cara K . Heiden ‘78Co-President, RetiredWells Fargo Home Mortgage

Daniel J . Houston ‘84President, Retirement and Investor ServicesPrincipal Financial Group

Richard N . Jurgens ‘71Chairman, CEO, President, RetiredHy-Vee, Inc .

Michael F . McBreen ‘88Senior Vice President, Global Sourcing and Product DevelopmentCollective Brands, Inc .

Donald J . PearsonLead Regional PresidentWells Fargo

Craig A . Petermeier ’78President and CEO, RetiredJacobson Companies

Suku Radia ‘74President and CEOBankers Trust

Ann Madden Rice ‘79CEOUniversity of California, Davis Medical Center

Randal J . Richardson ‘79PresidentVi Living

Steven T . Schuler ‘73Executive Vice President and CFOFederal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines

John H . Stafford ‘76Vice President, Global Business Services, RetiredGeneral Mills, Inc .

Mark E . Stoering ‘84President and CEOXcel Energy

Jane E . Sturgeon ‘85CEOBarr-Nunn Transportation, Inc .

Kurt A . Tjaden ‘85Vice President and CFOHNI Corporation

Mark A . Walker ‘79Senior Vice PresidentC .H . Robinson Worldwide, Inc .

IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY n COLLEGE OF BUSINESS n PROSPECTUS

2200 Gerdin Business Building

Ames, IA 50011-1350

INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING OUR STUDENTS?

Explore additional ways to give at www.isugift.org

or contact us at: 800-621-8515

Including ISU as beneficiary of your will, life insurance policy, or retirement account is an easy way to have a greater impact on the College of Business. Whether you are young or old, wealthy or middle class, including ISU is: FLEXIBLE. Because you are not actually making a gift until after your lifetime, you can change your mind atany time.

VERSATILE. You can structure the bequest in many ways, including leaving a percentage of your estate to us, ensuring family is taken care of first.

CONVENIENT. You have access to your assets throughout your lifetime.

REMEMBER: Telling the Iowa State University Foundation about your gift is an important step in your planning and ours.

prospectus - fall 2014

Documents

business schools

e g e o f b u s i n

collegiate schools of

n crum heads new unit

issue n labh hira

college of businessin

prospectusv o

prospectusc o