T HE S CHOOL OF B USINESS C LAYTON S TATE U NIVERSITY B USINESS . CLAYTON . EDU N EWSLETTER M ARCH 2009 President and COO of Chick-fil-A Speaks on Business Strategy Mr. Dan Cathy, President and COO of Chick-fil-A, one of the nation’s largest family owned businesses, is a speaker in the School of Business’ Jim Wood Speakers Series. The Speaker Series provides a forum for Georgia’s most celebrated business personalities to engage in insightful discussion with the School’s Dan Cathy students, faculty, and staff. The goal is to create opportunities for students to gain insights into current business trends and corporate strategies. Since 2001, Cathy has served as President and COO for Chick-fil-A, representing the next generation of leadership for the Atlanta based restaurant chain founded by his father, S. Truett Cathy. In 1946, Truett Cathy opened the first restaurant, Dwarf Grill, in Hapeville, Georgia. Credited with inventing the boneless breast of chicken sandwich, Truett Cathy founded Chickfil-A in the early 1960s and pioneered the establishment of restaurants in shopping malls in 1967. Since then, Chickfil-A has grown to become the second largest quick service chicken restaurant in the United States, with more than 1,400 locations in 37 states and Washington D.C. Known for his Service Leadership approach to running the family business, the company is flourishing under Dan Cathy, boasting more than $2 billion in annual sales and 16 percent growth. According to Jacob M. Chacko, Dean of the School of Business, “Dan Cathy is a special guest for us because he represents the leadership of well respected, highly successful, family based business. The company is also from the south side of Atlanta; Chickfil-A is homegrown for us. Dan Cathy’s presentation is also personally special for me because he is an example that hard work, high ethics, and closely held principles can lead to success. Our students need this message. Frankly, everything about Dan Cathy and Chick-fil-A is inspirational. I’m delighted and honored that he is part of the series.” Advisory Board Engaged with Strategic Initiatives Last October, the School of Business Advisory Board met to review the new strategic plan initiatives designed by the School’s faculty and staff to take the School toward the next step in the five year plan -- to be the school of first choice for parents, students, and businesses in Southern Metropolitan Atlanta. The board created committees and subdivided the plans into three focus areas: Branding and Marketing; Executive Education, Management Training and Increasing Resources; and Career Development and Mentoring. These three committees will reconvene on March 20 to report on their progress. Mike Brady, retired airline CEO, and Bob White, Executive Director of the Henry County Development Authority, chair the Branding and Marketing Committee. According to Brady, the School has brought together an impressive team to tackle branding the School of Business. He says the team’s initial challenge is to decide, “What do we call our product? There has been a lot of Mike Brady confusion surrounding Clayton State University’s name because of the recent accreditation problems associated with the Clayton County Board of Education. Clayton State Uni- versity is an entirely separate entity.” In March, Brady plans to seek counsel from the board, faculty, and staff regarding taking a traditional naming approach for the School of Business by seeking a primary donor, which would raise money for the school and eliminate some of the confusion related to the Clayton Board of Education. Brady also would like to see a partnership develop between the committee’s co-chairs, professors, local business people, and students from the School who want to focus on business development. “Once we settle on a course of action, there are several decision paths our team could follow,” says Continued on page 2 THE P AGE 2 ~N EWSLETTER S CHOOL OF B USINESS Speaker from Georgia-Pacific Corporation Challenges MBA Candidates On February 28, 2009, the School of Business held the MBA Networking Event. Charmaine Ward, Director of Community Affairs for Georgia-Pacific Corporation, keynoted the event, offering advice on the importance of networking for career growth and development. Faculty and staff joined students at a barbeque luncheon that followed Ward’s presentation. With the four MBA cohorts studying on different campuses in Clayton and Fayette County, the event was the first time all cohorts have been at the same location at the same time, offering them the rare opportunity to network with each other. “We want the students to utilize each other’s social, business, and collegiate networks,” says Dr. Michael Tidwell, Assistant Dean-External Relations. “You can talk about the importance of networking, but it’s a learned skillset that can only be learned by doing. The contacts students make at events like these will serve to further their career interests.” Pam Davis, Vice President of Real Estate Services for Charmaine Ward Delta Community Credit Union, is a member of the third MBA cohort that meets on the Peachtree City campus. Davis says students have often discussed the importance of the cohorts getting to know each other. “These are the people I will keep in touch with after I’ve finished my degree. It’s important to know the other students and their skill levels so you can reach out to them in the corporate environment,” says Davis. Myesha Cottom, a labor unemployment paralegal, is a member of the second cohort that meets on the Clayton Campus. Cottom is hoping to use her degree to make a career change into Human Resources. She says, “My entire career has been about relationships in and outside the work place. I’m trying to make a career change, which is difficult because most of my contacts are associated with my current work. Events like these are vital to my career development.” In the future, the School of Business plans to host at least two similar events each year--one in the spring and one in the fall when a new cohort begins classes. Advisory Board...continued from page 1 Brady. “What a great opportunity for students. This project would offer them a chance to take their academic training and temper it in the real world with real business executives.” Virginia Gibbs, President of the Fayette Chamber of Commerce, and Sabrina Crawford, owner of Heritage Cadillac/ Saab, head up the Executive Education Committee. Their job is to find good matches for the School of Business’ community outreach and development programs, as well as create new resource opportunities for the School. Nancy Whatley, CEO of Vantage Point Staffing Solutions, and Janice Rys, Senior Vice President of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, chair the Career Development and Mentoring Committee. Whatley and Rys have worked to put together a mentoring program for the School of Business’ MBA program. Editor: Michael V. Tidwell, Ph.D. Principal Writer: Jennifer Hebblethwaite Photos: Christopher White or Michael Tidwell, Ph.D. Currently, they have established about a dozen matches, but the ultimate goal is to match every student, who wants a mentor, with a mentor. Whatley’s committee has created a brochure for potential students and executives, containing information about how to be a good mentor and mentee. When someone expresses an interest in the program, they complete a questionnaire that asks for information regarding Janice Rys work experience and goals, as well as interests outside of work. The committee then tries to match people with shared commonalities. Whatley adds “most business executives have been very happy to mentor a student and share their time, especially those on the Advisory Board and those with businesses on the Southside of town who understand Clayton State’s relationship to the community. We’re excited to see our program grow.” According to William F. Flynn, Chair of the Advisory Board and School of Business Executive in Residence, “We are blessed to have the quality of people we have on the Advisory Board. We are made up of top executives and business leaders, as well as political leaders in the community. These people are making the contributions that will make our school the first choice for the Southern crescent.” Correction In the February 2009 newsletter, the term Career Planning should have been used instead of Career Services. Career Services is a University department. Dean: Jacob Chacko, D.B.A. Associate Dean: Diane Prince, Ph.D. Phone: (678) 466466-4500