Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Dunham School of Business newsletter
Shawn Green
Director, Dunham School of Business
Aurora University
E-mail: sgreen@aurora.edu
As Director of the Dunham School of Business at Aurora University, I would like to welcome you to this inaugural edition of The Dunham Business Chronicle. This newsletter is designed to provide you with a semi-annual update on the activities taking place within the business school.
Here's a look at what this first edition has to offer:
- VITA program continues to serve students and community
- M.B.A. program takes 'today and tomorrow' approach
- Vision for Human Resources Institute being fulfilled
- Graduate students immersed in topic of servant leadership
- MIT program, club get off to great start
- Speaker series, honor society events benefit students
I hope you value and enjoy this issue.
VITA program continues to serve students and community
By Len Scholl, Tim Moran and Dave Diehl
Dunham School of Business Faculty
Most accounting offices don't prepare as many as 500 tax returns in a single season. But Dunham School of Business students participating in the Voluntary Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program under the direction of Len Scholl, Tim Moran and David Diehl prepared 525 federal tax returns last spring!
VITA is a partnership between the Internal Revenue Service and Aurora University. Introduced at AU in 2002 by Professor Scholl, it provides free federal and Illinois tax-return preparation for low-income and elderly taxpayers. The services are provided by Dunham School of Business students in the course "Federal Taxation of Individuals" (ACC3310); this innovative class benefits students and the community.
Our students learn income-tax preparation through classroom lectures, practice, discussion and serving as VITA volunteers. Students get hands-on experience that cannot be replicated through homework, cases or simulation. The experiential learning builds technical competence and valuable practical skills. Students also benefit from immediate application of classroom instruction.
The community benefits from free high-quality tax services. A unique feature of AU's VITA program is that every tax return prepared is subjected to rigorous quality control, including review by at least one of three licensed CPAs who are members of the Dunham School of Business faculty.
In the seven years since VITA was introduced, more than 2,000 tax returns have been prepared, and more than $2 million in refunds have been generated for taxpayers.
In 2009, an additional dimension was added to the VITA program: the Health and Community Resource Expo. Planned in cooperation with AU's nursing and social work schools, the expo provides VITA patrons with valuable health and community-service information while they wait for their tax returns to be completed and reviewed.
Planning has already started for the 2010 VITA program. We look forward to another season of experiential learning for our students and service to our community.
M.B.A. program takes 'today and tomorrow' approach
By Tom Berliner
Director, M.B.A. Program
Did you know that our M.B.A. program has been around since the early 1980s; that enrollment has grown to 187 students, up from 112 just three years ago; that the average age of our M.B.A. students is 37, with many being in their late 20s; and that more than 40 percent have undergraduate degrees in fields other than business?
Folks not familiar with us are often surprised by those facts, but they shouldn't be. AU's M.B.A. program is based on three solid foundations:
- Content — What we teach (courses and concentrations)
- Application — How we teach (real world, practical, current)
- Networking — Exchanging ideas and contacts with one another, both students and faculty
Along with a general master's degree in business administration, students are offered concentrations in accounting, human resource management, leadership and operations. Courses are taught by faculty whose expertise has been forged by extensive business experience and solid academic study. Each course draws from that expertise while also capitalizing on the amazing diversity of students drawn from a multitude of industries, performing a wide variety of functions at varying levels in their respective hierarchies. This breadth allows courses to offer opportunities for learning and personal transformation in the classroom.
Valuable, demanding and prestigious — that's today's Aurora University M.B.A. program. For alumni, that means the value of your legacy is growing. If you're currently enrolled in the program, you are benefiting from its "today and tomorrow" approach. If you're simply interested in learning more, we invite you to do so.
Vision for Human Resources Institute being fulfilled
By Vince Pellettiere
Assistant Professor
Next year, Aurora University's Human Resources Institute (HRI) will celebrate nine years of providing learning and networking opportunities for area HR professionals, business leaders, faculty and students.
HRI was created on March 14, 2001, by four people: Larry Quick, Associate Professor of Management; Jim Sweet of HRMS, our current sponsor; Mary Pellico of AT&T; and Terri Hoehne, AU's Director of Human Resources. Their mission statement was "to provide a forum for learning and affiliation for human resource professionals and other interested persons." They envisioned HRI to do the following:
- Provide forums, conferences and workshops using experts in human resource management, focusing on issues of practical concern to HR professionals.
- Develop graduate and undergraduate academic programs in human resources management.
- Co-sponsor events with other organizations interested in issues of human resource management and organizational development.
The HRI founders' vision has become a reality. We have continually offered monthly sessions on various human resources topics, with average attendance growing from 10 to 15 people at the beginning to more than 50 today. Aurora University offers human resources courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as the SHRM Learning System Certification Program. HRI has also been a great forum for attendees to learn about AU's educational programs, which has provided internship opportunities for our students and projects for student chapters.
We are currently working on co-sponsorships for future events with DuPage SHRM and Benedictine University's Organizational Development Program.
Because of the high number of HR experts interested in presenting at our monthly sessions, we have speakers lined up through October 2010. Scheduled topics include training and development, mind mapping, sustainability, leadership, how to meet the best employers, organizational development, legal trends, networking, employee assistance programs and wellness. We expect to soon have a Web page to further promote HRI's services to the community and university.
Graduate students take first Servant Leadership course
By Mary Tarling
Assistant Professor
Seventeen graduate students took advantage of a unique opportunity last spring when they came together from different backgrounds — including business, education and social work — to take AU's "Servant Leadership" course (STMBA6810). The group met for two weekends at the Aurora campus, followed by a third weekend at the George Williams College campus.
The new course addresses people-centered, ethical, moral leadership and is based in part upon Robert K. Greenleaf's concept that leadership begins with the desire to serve.
The course blended traditional lecture and discussion with guest presentations by experts in the represented disciplines. Dennis Hastert, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, also spoke to the students. The final weekend was organized as a retreat, with the students staying overnight at AU's beautiful Wisconsin campus on Geneva Lake. The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership conducted a seminar presentation during the retreat.
The experience was enhanced by the multidisciplinary nature of the students and the opportunity to be immersed in the topic of servant leadership in a retreat setting.
Aurora University is pursuing a servant leadership initiative to offer more coursework and opportunities for application, networking and seminars for those aspiring to and practicing servant leadership.
MIT program, club get off to great start
By David Dulany
Assistant Professor
The Management Information Technology program got off to a great start this academic year. Many students majoring in other business areas are now pursuing an MIT minor.
The MIT Club is in full swing and has elected its new officers. As one of its activities, the club plans to hold two PC check-up events again this year. Last year, the public event helped almost 200 local residents clean and tune up their personal computers. The university check-up event drew more than 60 AU students whose PCs were cleaned to remove viruses. The 2010 check-up days will be held in the spring.
Advanced MIT students taking the "Selected Topics in MIT" course will be working on real-world projects with local businesses and organizations. It is important for students to work with business managers and ask questions that help identify problems. Is your organization interested in being involved with this experiential learning course? If so, please contact me at ddulany@aurora.edu.
Speaker series, honor society events benefit students
By Ileana Brooks
Vernon Haase Chair
This fall, the Vernon Haase Speaker Series provided two terrific speakers on leadership:
- Susan Lucia Annunzio, October 7 — A strategic adviser to CEOs of global companies on strategy attainment and business transformation, Annunzio explored the concept of branding and how it applies to leadership and future career progression.
- Carlos Ojeda Jr., October 16 — Known as one of the most dynamic speakers under the age of 30 nationwide, Ojeda inspired our students with a lecture on the power of networking. Dynamic and funny, Ojeda was able to relate to our students.
The Delta Mu Delta honor society hosted three student professional development opportunities:
- Resumé workshop, October 21 — Financial advisor Paul Weeden and professors Brian Vander Schee, Dave Diehl, Dennis Kripp and Vince Pellettiere helped students write effective resumés for internships and jobs.
- Innovation presenter, October 28 — Local inventor Greg Zanis shared the power of innovation with students by demonstrating his pyramid electric car. Students were inspired by his drive to make his dream come true.
- Etiquette lunch, November 12 — Presenters from the Crouse Center for Student Success demonstrated to AU students how to conduct themselves appropriately during lunch interviews.
