inside - DeSales University

BUSINESS
MATTERS
Summer 2012
Alumni Success Story: Arjun Banerjee ’04
Eight years ago, I
graduated from DeSales
University, and I can still
vividly remember the day
I first arrived on campus
in the Fall of 2000.
Quiet Center Valley, Pa.,
was a far cry from the
bustling city of Calcutta,
India, where I was born
and brought up.The differences were quite
stark, but everyone on campus was supportive and made me feel welcomed. It took me
some time to adapt, but with the help of the
DeSales family, the transition was not as difficult as it might have been.
During my four years at DeSales, I
worked in the business department and the
academic computing center in Dooling Hall.
The people in the business department became like family and I enjoyed working there.
As a work study student, I had the opportunity to work with various staff and faculty here,
and to this day, I keep in touch with many of
them and hold them in the highest regard.
INSIDE:
Notes from the Division Head
2
MBA Students Travel to Peru 2
Freshman Wins Stock-Picking
Contest
2
Senior Business Award Dinner
3
Progress on the Gambet Center 3
for Business & Healthcare Education
DeSales Team Wins 2012
Ethics Bowl Competition
4
Student Research Leads to Professional Conferences
5
Accounting and Finance Club 5
Links to Area Businesses and Alumni
Save the Dates 6
I believe institutions like DeSales help students grow and
turn them into well-rounded individuals.
A suggestion from one faculty member,
Bill Dwyer, changed the course of my life.
I was majoring in management of information technology, but he recommended that
I take on accounting as my second major.
At 19 years old, the idea of a second major
seemed pretty daunting; however, I trusted
my instincts and Mr. Dwyer’s advice.
The rest, as they say, is history. I was
fortunate to receive an internship from
PricewaterhouseCoopers in my junior year.
After successfully completing my internship, I was offered a full-time position with
the firm and I have been with them since.
I’m currently a director in international tax
in their New York office. I also hold a CPA
license and am also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. I work with multinational companies
in a wide variety of industries. I help those
companies manage the cash and effective
tax rate impact of pending changes to the
U.S. international tax laws and with other
contemplated planning transactions.
During my years at DeSales, I met some
wonderful people and I remain in close touch
with many of them. I’ve had several mentors at the University and they all played an
instrumental role in shaping my future. I attribute my success to them and am humbled
by their sincere effort day in, day out.
I still have vivid memories of Dr. Christopher Cocozza’s taxation class and Dr. Tahereh Hojjat’s economics class. Those classes
weren’t easy, but they taught me a valuable
lesson—be persistent. That lesson continues
to help me in the business world.
A few years after graduating from
DeSales, I wanted to give back to my alma
mater. After all, DeSales played a key role in
transforming me into the person I am today
and I wanted to share that with others. I had
the opportunity to do just that by helping the
admissions department recruit international
students. We’ve had a number of successes.
One of those international students
graduated from DeSales in May 2012 and
now has a full-time position at PricewaterhouseCoopers as an auditor. The success of
our University rests in the hands of the students and the alumni, so it’s important to give
back, and I encourage everyone to do so.
In addition to the solid accounting and
management of information systems background I received at DeSales, the liberal arts
education helped me broaden my horizons
and discover new interests. DeSales is where
my appreciation for the performing arts and
classical music started, and today, I appreciate
art and music even more in the cultural hub
of New York City.
I believe institutions like DeSales help
students grow and turn them into wellrounded individuals. I look back at my years
at DeSales with both humility and pride.
Educators shape the world, and the staff and
faculty at DeSales has definitely shaped mine.
Notes from
the Division Head
I hope your
summer is off to a
good start and that
you get time to
catch up with family and friends. This
is a perfect time for
me to recharge my
batteries and spend
some time on the
golf course.
This edition of Business Matters
might be my favorite one yet. Looking
back on the 2011-12 academic year really makes me appreciate all of the great
people I crossed paths with and all of
the excellent events I was part of. It also
has me looking forward to next year.
Once again, The Fleming Ethics Bowl was a huge success. All of the
time put in by the organizers (Dr. Sue
McGorry and Joyce Rhoads ’02 in particular), participants, and judges really
make it a special event. To top it off, we
finally captured the big prize.
The highlight of my year was the
trip to Peru.Visiting Machu Picchu
and Cusco was truly special and the
people of Lima were terrific. Our host,
Universidad Peruana de Ciensias Aplicadas, put together a great educational
week and kudos to Mary Ann Falk
for organizing such a wonderful trip.
I was fortunate to take my daughter
Lauren on the trip with me. She had
an experience of a lifetime and I can’t
thank the great group of MBA students
enough—they really made her feel part
of the group.
The Accounting and Finance Club
had an active year and so many alumni
gave generously of their time. Certainly
meeting the gregarious Jim Cramer of
Mad Money was fun, too. And having
Arjun Banerjee ’04 write the alumni
spotlight really puts a perspective on
my time at DeSales. I remember him as
the 19-year-old kid from Calcutta, and
seeing him as a successful husband and
dad brings me a sense of pride.
Next academic year the Gambet
Center will finally open and I’ll finally
have a window after 12 years—I can’t
wait. Please stop by and see me and the
Gambet Center as soon as you can.
Enjoy this edition of Business Matters, and have a great summer!
MBA Students Travel To Peru for Study Tour
By Joyce C. Rhoads ’02
In the spring session, a unique course
was offered to MBA students that included a
trip to Lima, Peru, to promote learning about
international business in South America. The
EL 550: International Practicum course was
organized as a special topics class covering accounting, finance, management, and marketing. In the multidisciplinary course, graduate
students had the opportunity to learn about
global issues in the
classroom and in Peru.
In particular, plans for the Peruvian trip
included a visit to the U.S. Embassy and
company tours of Alicorp—a Peruvian firm
that manufactures plant oil and noodles—
and Gloria—a fast-growing company that
manufactures evaporated milk and dairy
products. Bonna Tours Cusco handled
historical and archeological excursions to
Cusco and Machu Picchu, as well as tours of
Lima. After returning to the U.S., the group
shared stories complimenting the tour
company and how
much they thoroughly
enjoyed the trip.
The accounting
and finance modules
taught by Dr. Chris“Traveling to
topher R. Cocozza,
Machu Picchu and
head of the Division
Cusco was truly the
of Business, addressed
trip of a lifetime,”
international finance,
said Cocozza, “and I
international accountfound it very interesting, and international
ing learning about
law. The management
the Inca history and
and marketing modculture. Our trip to
ules taught by Dr. DaPeru was an incredible
vid M. Gilfoil, MBA
experience.”
program director,
“MBA students
addressed international
can expect more
management and marof these kinds of
keting basics, global
educational/cultural
competency, and busistudy tours,” said Dr.
ness ethics, Hofstede’s
Gilfoil. “We are
cultural dimensions,
Members of the DeSales group at Machu Picchu during absolutely delighted
and topics related
with the feedback
the MBA trip to Peru.
to doing business in
from our students
South America.
and the cooperation from UPC faculty and
Ten MBA students, four guests, Cocozza, their corporate partners. Our students had
and Gilfoil traveled to Lima for the eight-day
the opportunity to study and discuss South
study tour in May. The MBA staff coordinated American and Peruvian business and ecolectures and talks at the Universidad Peruana
nomic variables as well as social, technologide Ciensias Aplicadas, where students learned
cal, and environment factors before making
about the Peruvian economic situation, major the trip. We’re now engaged in a comparative
development projects, legal aspects, social
debriefing process to inventory what we
security, and universal insurance in Peru.
learned during our trip.”
Freshman Wins Stock-Picking Contest
The DeSales Accounting and Finance
Club held a stock-picking contest where
members suggested stocks to add to the club
portfolio. At stake was a $100 prize for the
best return over the contest period.
portfolio used to illustrate investment performance over time as students evaluate their
stock picks. Unfortunately, not all of the stock
picks have done as well as Foster’s and the
portfolio overall is down 6% since inception.
Michelle Foster ’15 picked VMWare Inc.,
and edged out the competition (including
two professors!) with a 13% return to earn the
prize. “What a great surprise! I really didn’t
expect to win,” Michelle said of her victory.
Amitabh Varma ’12 took second place with
his pick of Wells Fargo and a 10% return.
“The true value of the portfolio comes
from engaging students and getting them
excited about the markets,” said Bradley C.
Barnhorst, CFA, one of the faculty advisers to
the club. “Students are really excited about
their picks, and some of the more competitive ones track their performance day to day.”
The student-run portfolio is a new
feature of the club. It’s a $10 million “mock”
The club will continue managing the
portfolio into the next academic year.
Business Matters
Page 2
Senior Business Award Dinner
At the annual senior awards dinner on
May 2, the program included an opening prayer by Fr. Thomas Dailey, OSFS, a
keynote speech by Kevin Flemming ’97,
presentations to the Fleming Ethics Bowl
Competition winners and the business division awards, and faculty announcements.
Richard Fleming, founder of the Fleming
Institute, Deborah Booros, dean of lifelong
learning, and members of the Business
Advisory Council joined the seniors for
the celebration.
In his speech, Flemming discussed
his roles in business and what led him
to his position as president of Integrity
Personnel, Inc.­—a business services firm
in the Lehigh Valley. Integrity provides
recruitment, staffing, workforce planning,
and outsourcing services to companies
throughout Pennsylvania. Flemming also
serves on the Economic Advisory Council
of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadel-
phia, the DeSales University
President’s Council, and the
board of directors of the Forum for Ethics in the Workplace. He earned his B.A. in
business management from
DeSales and a CSP (Certified
Staffing Professional) designation from the American Staffing Association.
Kevin Flemming ’97 was
the keynote speaker.
In his speech, Flemming also described
the positive and negative aspects of business
and how disappointments must be taken
in stride. He encouraged students to learn
and grow from every position they hold
in business. He finished by recommending that students investigate several books
to support them through their business
careers.
A highlight of the evening was the
presentation of the Fleming Ethics Bowl
Tom Allen ’12, Mary Bielski ’12, Deb
Lubov ’12, and Amitabh Varma ’12.
awards for the champions, first, and second
runners-up, presented by Dr. Christopher
Cocozza. Cocozza also announced the
2012 senior business awards (listed below).
Dr. Amy Scott announced the 2012
Kappa Xi Chapter inductees and Dr.
Tahereh Hojjat recognized the business
students (highlighted on page 5).
Cocozza also announced the 2012
senior business awards listed below.
Business Awards 2012
The Business Faculty Award for Excellence in Finance .......................................................................................................................Amitabh Varma
The Business Faculty Award for Excellence in Management.................................................................................................................David F. Evans
The Business Faculty Award for Excellence in Marketing............................................................................................................... Christina A. Colon
The Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants Award for Excellence in Accounting.................................................. Thomas P. Allen
The Sport Management Achievement Award..........................................................................................Nicholas A. Ardito and Kenneth M. Ridge
Institute of Management Accountants Award ....................................................................................... Mary D. Bielski and Alexander J. Clemson
Institute of Internal Auditors for Excellence in Auditing Studies...................................................................................................Deborah C. Lubov
Progress on The Gambet Center for Business and Healthcare Education
Construction of the Gambet Center
for Business and Healthcare Education has
moved ahead very quickly—helped along
by the mild winter. The DeSales community
has watched the building grow from last
spring’s groundbreaking through enormous
excavation over the winter months. Now the
exteriors of some of the main sections are
nearing completion.
In May, Fr. Bernard O’Connor, OSFS,
the University’s president, announced the
construction timeline. The Gambet Center
will be completed in early October and
the instillation of furniture and technology
will follow. The Gambet Center will be the
first building on campus to receive a LEED
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design) certification. LEED certification is
administered by the U.S. Green Building
Council. This certification signifies sustainable site development, water savings, energy
efficiency, materials selection, and indoor
environment quality.
Robert Snyder, DeSales’ vice president
for administration and finance, says that the
Gambet Center will also include significant
“state of the art technology. The facility will
include medical school-quality simulation
laboratories, standardized patient laboratories, and the Lehigh Valley’s first cadaver lab
in a teaching environment. In addition, the
building will be completely wireless with
high speed network access and a stock trading room will be constructed, simulating a
‘Wall Street’ experience.”
One of the first events scheduled for the
Gambet Center is the February 2013 faculty
meeting, followed by the move for the various programs (physician assistant, nursing,
and business) during the 2013 spring break.
The Office of Institutional Advancement
will hold open houses for individuals and
select groups, and the March 2013 Board of
Trustees’ meeting will be held here.
The DeSales community is looking
forward to the formal ribbon cutting on
Friday, April 5, 2013, at 12:00 p.m., followed
by tours for the general public.
Business Matters
Page 3
DeSales Team Wins 2012 Ethics Bowl Competition
By Joyce C. Rhoads ’02
We have great news—a team from
DeSales was the champion in this year’s Fleming Institute Ethics Bowl Competition.
The Division of Business hosted the
third Fleming Ethics Bowl at the University
Center on March 28 with eight undergraduate teams participating. This year’s competitors included four teams from DeSales, two
teams from Muhlenberg College, and one
team each from Moravian College and Penn
State Lehigh Valley.
Dr. Sue McGorry, planning committee
chair, welcomed the judges and teams and
outlined the competition protocol. Then the
teams began their presentations—presenting
for 20 minutes, with 10 minutes reserved for
the judges’ feedback and critiques.
Four teams moved into the final round,
each showing excitement, determination,
and some anxiety. The judges reevaluated
these teams and Shelbi Gourniak, a judge
and assistant product and marketing manager
at Rodale Inc., announced the winners.
The champion for 2012 was a DeSales
team led by Dr. Charles Jobs, and the first
runner-up was also a team from DeSales, led
by Dr. David Gilfoil. The third place team
from DeSales was advised by Robert Spicer
and the fourth place team from Muhlenberg
College was advised by Dr. Donna Bergenstock and Dr. Daniel Doviak.
Key scoring in the competition came
from the case study that the teams researched
and from the quality of their presentations
related to social media in the workplace.
Competitors discussed the ethical issues from
both the employer and employee viewpoints
of the use of social websites in the workplace.
“The case had a real application to our
careers,” said Matthew Powell ’12. “It was a
case in which everyone—participants, judges,
and spectators—could learn something new.”
The social media case described employers’ concerns that internet use by employees
could lead to security breaches—hackers
accessing confidential information—and that
technology crashes would impact productivity. Social media could affect employers’ trust
and control, and this could breed employee
displeasure. Also, HR professionals may
contend that employees need downtime as
opposed to hanging by a water cooler and
accessing social media.
We appreciate the generous support we
receive from the Fleming Ethics Bowl judges
who take time from their work to judge the
competition. This year, we’d like to thank:
The DeSales winning team: Dr. Charles Jobs, Brennan
Gmeiner ’13, Mary Bielski ’12,William Schmoyer
’12, and Matthew Powell ’12.
The DSU runner-up team, left to right: Steven Iacocca
’12, Kelcie Walter ’12, Dr. David Gilfoil, Ethan
Robles ’13, and Andrew Ritter ’12.
Larry Deal, executive director, The Heart
Care Group
Andrew Gildner, owner and operator,
Keystone Technology, LLC
Shelbi R. Gourniak, family owner and
assistant product and marketing manager at
Rodale Inc.
Richard Jennings, vice president and
financial advisor, Fulton Financial Advisors
Audra J. Kahr, chief financial officer and
treasurer, Cedar Crest College
Emil W. Kantra II, Esq., shareholder and
chairman, family law group, Fitzpatrick, Lentz
& Bubba, P.C.
Christopher J. Romano, vice president and
administrative manager, Merrill Lynch
Kevin Schmidt, president and chief executive
officer, The Neffs National Bank
Rev. Dr. Sherrie Sneed, chaplain and director
of pastoral care, Pocono Medical Center
Gene Yacapsin, regional sales manager,
Hertz Equipment Corporation
The Fleming Institute for Business Ethics
Through the generosity of Richard
Fleming and his family foundation, The
Fleming Institute for Business Ethics was
established in 2009. The programs and activities of the institute are administered by the
Division of Business in collaboration with
the Salesian Center for Faith and Culture.
The institute seeks to develop business
graduates who are poised, mature, articulate,
and prepared to work in diverse environments,
all with a conviction that doing what is right
and good is the ultimate measure of success.
The programs and activities are also offered to
the local and regional business communities.
The Fleming Institute Ethics Bowl
Competition sets a high mark in raising
awareness of principles and practical case histories and examples so that today’s students—
who will be our business leaders tomorrow—
will become genuine business leaders today.
Business Matters
The DSU third-place team: Padraic Farrell ’13, Advisor Robert Spicer, Dilesh Chudasama ’13, and Nate
Kumar ’13.
BUSINESS MATTERS
Editor
Joyce Rhoads ’02
Design
Laura Zielinski
Contributing Writers
Thomas Allen ’12
Arjun Banerjee ’04
Bradley Barnhorst, CFA
Christina Colon ’12
David M. Gilfoil, Ph.D.
Tahereh Hojjat, Ph.D.
Hank Miller ’12
Robert Snyder
Division Head
Christopher R. Cocozza, CPA, JD, LL.M.
Business Matters is published for the students, faculty,
alumni, and friends of the DeSales University
Business Division. Comments and suggestions are
welcome. Contact Joyce Rhoads at 610.282.1100,
ext. 1377, or e-mail joyce.rhoads@desales.edu.
Page 4
Students’ Research Leads to Professional Conferences
By Hank Miller ’12 and Christina Colon ’12
In April 2012, accounting major Hank
Miller ’12 and marketing and finance
major Christina Colon ’12 attended the
9th Annual LVAIC Social Research Social
Justice Conference (SRSJ) at Muhlenberg College. Miller presented his paper:
“The Widening Income Inequality Gap
and Shrinking Middle Class in the United
States” and Colon presented: “The Economic and Social Impacts of Illegal Immigration in America.”
The conference was a forum for undergraduate students to share innovative
research that addressed some of the challenging issues of social justice in both contemporary and historical context. Conference
participants and moderators were affiliated
with Cedar Crest, Lafayette, Moravian, and
Muhlenberg Colleges, and DeSales, Kutztown, and Lehigh Universities.
“I really enjoyed
presenting at the SRSJ
conference,” said Colon.
“Students from different campuses across the
Lehigh Valley came together and had conversations about social justice
issues that matter to them.
I discussed the economic Christina Colon ’12
and social impacts of illegal immigration and anti-immigration policies in America, which is something I have
been interested in for a while. It also gave me
a chance to explore the immigration topic
in more depth and share my concerns with
peers—raising awareness and bringing attention to the issue for at least one day.”
Miller described how he thoroughly enjoyed his time attending the conference and
presenting his paper at the SRSJ conference.
“My favorite experience was having the
opportunity to listen to other panels and the
discussions that arose. The conference was
really insightful and brought to light many
different social issues facing our society.
“I was impressed how the panels were
organized, “ he added. “And the format
allowed for different presenters to build
off each other and tie in many of the same
themes and arguments. The amount of
research was impressive, and that made the
presentations very advanced in every term.
I feel the conference helped open my eyes
and informed me of some issues I previously
didn’t know much about.”
Accounting and Finance Club Links with Area Businesses and Alumni
By Thomas Allen ’12
The 2011-12 academic year was busy
for the Accounting and Finance Club.
In September, the club invited three
accounting alumni to discuss their experiences and give advice to students. The
alumni were diverse in their backgrounds.
Tom Pany ’11 works at Concannon,
Miller & Co., an accounting firm in the
Lehigh Valley, and he discussed his work experience since graduating and how he got
a job. Pany described the transition from
school to the working life.
Nick Staats ’10 provided information
about working at ParenteBeard—a regional
accounting firm—and discussed his experiences during his first two years in public
accounting. Both Pany and Staats talked
about preparing for and taking the CPA
exam while working full-time jobs.
Frank Mancuso ’04, manager at
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, provided a
perspective of what to expect after several years of working, and he discussed his
experience working at a big four accounting firm.
In October, the Accounting and
Finance Club hosted Becker Professional
Education. This firm periodically visits the
club to help students prepare to take the
CPA exam. Jen Rodriguez and Dr. Christopher R. Cocozza presented. They gave an
overview of the format and make-up of the
four CPA exams. They also explained ways
students should prepare for the exam. Becker
is the county’s largest CPA exam prep-
course and they also discussed how Becker
helps students to prepare for the exams.
Also in October, the Pennsylvania
Institute of CPAs (PICPA) hosted a Casino
Night Networking event in Conshohocken,
Pa. Dr. Michael Gallagher and six students
attended the event. Numerous accounting
firms also attended, accepted resumes, and
spoke to students seeking jobs and internships. After students networked, the PICPA
provided dinner and a fun-filled night of
casino games. At the end of the night there
was a raffle and Michael Lindenfelser ’12
won a free Becker review course.
Francis M.
(Skip) Bedics
’85, a special
agent for the U.S.
Treasury Department, met with
the Accounting
and Finance Club
in November. He
discussed his criminal justice and
accounting degrees
from DeSales
and how they’ve
Skip Bedics ’85
helped him.
Bedics’ exciting stories opened students’ eyes to the field of forensic accounting. “If you want to sit behind a desk and
play with numbers, this isn’t the job for
you.You can’t be afraid to get in people’s
faces,” Bedics told the students. He explained that everything he has done in his
career is a result of his accounting degree.
Business Matters
Arrangements were made in spring for
a tour to local accounting firm Concannon, Miller & Co., P.C. A few employees at
Concannon, including DeSales alums Andrea Sterner ’07, Amy Duncan 10, Dan
Fratantoro ’06, and Danielle Millross
’08, led a presentation about applying and
interviewing for jobs. The firm generously
provided students with a dinner where they
could network with employees.
In March, club members traveled
with Dr. Christopher R. Cocozza and
Bradley Barnhorst for a guided tour of the
Yuengling Brewery, where they learned
about the operations and history of
Yuengling. Students over 21 years old also
tried some of the Yuengling products.
The highlight of the year
occurred in
April when students took a trip
to New York
City and visited and learned
about the New
Dr. Cocozza and Mad
York Stock
Money’s Jim Cramer
Exchange.
They were also
allowed to briefly walk around the trading floor and get a close look at the action.
Everyone also had the chance to see the
television set for Squawk on the Street with
co-anchor and television personality Jim
Cramer, who also hosts CNBC’s Mad Money.
Later in the day, the club attended a
Yankees game for some fun.
Page 5
Division of Business
2755 Station Avenue
Center Valley, PA 18034-9568
Address Service Requested
SAVE THE DATES FALL 2012
MBA Information Sessions
Career Services Events
Details at www.desales.edu/MBA
9/5 • 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Open House – Career Services Office
Tuesdays with ACCESS
Details at www.desales.edu/tuesdayswaccess
ACCESS Information Sessions
8/1, 8/6, 9/6 • 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Lansdale Area Campus
9/12 • 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Majors and Club Organization Fair – Hurd Room, DUC
10/24 • 5:30 p.m.
Career Fair Prep – Trexler Room., DUC
Homecoming Weekend
10/31 • 12:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Career & Internship Fair – DUC
9/28 - 9/19
Details at www.desales.edu/homecoming
11/13 • 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Careers in STEM – Commonwealth Rm., DUC
9/28
Business Alumni Cocktail Reception – White Pavilion, DUC
11/14 • 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
National Career Development Day – Career Services Office