Friends,
As we kick off our first May-Term and look ahead to an exciting summer,
I’m happy to share with you this report on a successful spring semester.
As we often say, the success of our business school
is due to the strength of our faculty. And, we truly have some great ones!
This semester, we were thrilled to learn that retired Professor Kay Guess was named a fellow
of the North American Case Research Association, the leading organization of case-based
researchers, writers and teachers. This award showcases Professor Guess’ incredible career and
shows the impact she has had on Brock School of Business and our accounting program. In addition,
several faculty members completed new research. Professor Sara McCarty completed
cross disciplinary research with Professor Rachel Hagues in Samford’s School of Public Health which
was published by the Journal of Human Rights and Social Work. Assistant Professor of Finance,
Anna-Leigh Stone’s, new research was selected for publication in Finance Research Letters.
Last semester we announced that Associate Professor Matt
Mazzei had been appointed as the Brock Family Chair in Entrepreneurship.
Since his appointment, he has already taken our entrepreneurship program to a new level.
By working with Samford’s division of marketing and communication, newly refreshed branding and
rebooted promotional efforts for our Samford Startup student business incubator have shone
a bright light on this integral program. The student residents have had incredible success
this semester including several who have represented the program on regional, national, and
even global stages. I’m truly excited about the future of this program for all Samford students!
Speaking of enhanced opportunities for our students, I’m ecstatic at the work Associate
Professor of Finance Rusty Yerkes has done with our new risk management and insurance program.
After the opening of our Alfa Risk Management and Insurance Lab last fall,
we have officially launched the RM&I concentration which students will begin in the fall.
But, what’s even more exciting is the success our students have already had taking some of
the applicable courses. By partnering with Associate Professor of Marketing Clif Eason
and our professional sales program, our students placed second in the nation in the National
Intercollegiate Insurance Sales Challenge. This success truly showcases the potential
of the young program and illustrates one of the strengths of the Brock School – the ability of
our faculty to work together across departmental and discipline lines to benefit our students.
To further illustrate why Samford is #1 in Student engagement, our business students
didn’t stop there. Catherine Buchanan and Sydney Rennich won first and third places in the APEE’s
national undergraduate research competition in Las Vegas, and our sports marketing students completed
a successful marketing research project for the LA Dodgers Foundation. These students received
these opportunities due to the diligent work of Dr. Art Carden and Dr. Darin White respectively.
Of course, April was our busiest month this semester,
but we always love the chance to get to honor the success of our people. Thanks to the
generosity of our donors, we awarded more than $300,000 in scholarships to deserving students
and recognized four faculty members for their excellence in undergraduate teaching, graduate
teaching, scholarship, and service. On top of that, we honored several faculty and staff members
who have dedicated more than 160 years of combined service to Samford and Brock School of Business.
As we say goodbye to a truly incredible semester,
we say “congratulations” to Professor Archie Lockamy. I am grateful for his dedication to
Samford and Brock School of Business for over 20 years. We will all miss his friendship
and his presence on campus as he enters his well-deserved season of retirement.
Finally, I want to say “thank you” to our advisory board members, alumni, families and friends for
your continued support. It’s because of your involvement, gifts, mentorship and prayers that
we are able to continue on our path of developing the next generation of Christian business leaders.
Thank you and have a wonderful summer.