Senior Reflections: Alexander Cragg

As graduation quickly approaches, the College of Business will feature a new senior blog post each week. Our inaugural post is from Alex Cragg.  Alex is majoring in business administration and plans to attend graduate school for his MBA degree. There’s a science in everything It absolutely astonishes me how much we know about the natural world.  The way we have evolved, not just physically, but in our capacity to reason and understand what’s around us is staggering, and there doesn’t seem to be a ceiling.  The immensity of the universe can often make one feel small and inconsequential, but the silver lining for me is that there’s simply so much out there to be gained – in knowledge, and in ability. When I began college in 2013, I hadn’t the slightest clue about where I wished to go afterwards, much less what I would major in.  All I knew was that I never wanted to stop learning, so keeping an open mind and a variety of options seemed essential.  It eventually became clear that … [Read more...]

Marketing Down Under

Early this January, 13 UMW students took a 3-mile kayak trip across the Hauraki Gulf from Auckland to Rangitoto Island. Hiking to the summit of the island’s volcano, the class watched the sun set over the city in the distance before paddling back under a star-filled sky. … [Read more...]

Dr. Kashef Majid’s First-Year Seminar Students Tour FBI Headquarters

College of Business professor Kashef Majid accompanied students from his First-Year Seminar course entitled Finding Bad to FBI Headquarters in late November. Accounting professor Sayan Sarkar also attended the trip with some of his accounting students. Majid's course uses economic theories that won their authors the Nobel Prize, and examines what happens when one cannot distinguish between the good and the bad to find the better choice. The trip to the FBI Headquarters was a natural choice and excellent chance to experience real-world examples to complement the course. The students arrived in the morning and were greeted by FBI staff and then taken on a tour of the Strategic Information Operations Center. Later, they were formally welcomed by the section chief of the accounting section, enjoyed lunch and then attended three presentations from agents in differing areas of expertise: The FBI from a Field Agent's Perspective Forensic Accounting in the Field using the Bank of the … [Read more...]

Dr. Kim Gower’s Class Impacts Local Community With Service Learning Projects

Assistant Professor Kim Gower joined the College of Business faculty this fall and is already inspiring her students. Gower currently teaches two Leadership Theory and Practice (MGMT 425) classes. Each student was asked to commit 15 hours of volunteer time to the organization of their choice.  More than 80 students participated and over 1,200 hours were devoted to helping the local community. “I assigned the project because of the list of things from Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy and head of the Equal Justice Initiative, on How to Change the World, Gower said when asked about the purpose of the project. “I have always believed we all have the power to change the world and I was thrilled to see that Bryan had a list of ways to do it. His first point is the idea of Proximity. We often judge situations without really knowing what we are talking about or dealing with because we fail to get close to the situation. As business students and future managers and leaders we often make … [Read more...]

Students Visit NYC During Fall Break

Lynne Richardson, dean of the College of Business, and Ken Machande, associate dean,  accompanied a group of business students on a fall break trip to New York in October. During the trip, eleven students explored the city and met with several business alums and friends of the college. Upon their arrival, the students enjoyed dinner and a city tour with Frederick Smith, financial advisor at UBS. The students also met with Adam Raiken, CFO or MetLife Stadium. They received a full tour of the stadium before returning to the city for a visit with Fitz Maro '11 at 360i. Later that day, Freddy Smith welcomed the students to the offices for UBS. The trip also included a trip to Hazel Tree to meet with CEO, Sameer Shalaby and Jim Coppola, director of institutional partnerships at the CFA Institute. A portion of the trip was made possible by Dave Carey '96, Co-founder and President of ROI Training. … [Read more...]

2016 Executive-in-Residence Urges Students to Make Passion a Goal

The College of Business’ Executive-in-Residence, Kyle Ragsdale paired his love of golf with his mind for business to build a sports-marketing career that’s on par with the industry’s best. … [Read more...]

Alumni Spotlight: Charles Reed ’11

"The business field is a rewarding career. Try to relate everything you learn in the classroom to what you may potentially do regarding your profession." … [Read more...]

Alumni Spotlight: Ivy Jacobs Lustig ’13

"I feel like my time at UMW gave me the underlying foundation that I needed to succeed in the business world. I had professors that took the time to help me develop skills like speaking to audiences, preparing concise reports, and analyzing data." … [Read more...]

Rhonda Stills Joins the College of Business as its Academic Advisor

The College of Business is thrilled to welcome Rhonda Stills, the new academic advisor for the College of Business. COB: How long have you worked at UMW? RS: Almost 5 years. Prior to joining the College of Business, I worked in the Registrar's office as the assistant registrar for academic success. COB: What is your new role? Who do you advise? RS: I am the academic advisor for the College of Business. I advise undergraduate and graduate business students as well as potential business majors. COB: How can students get in touch with you? RS: Students can book appointments online with EAB. They can also make appointments via email at cobadvising@umw.edu. COB: When/how often should a student plan to meet with you? RS: Students should plan to meet once per semester unless they have opted out of advising. (students with a GPA of  3.25 or higher may opt out by filling out the advising opt out form. The form may be found out-side of Woodard 232) COB: What should … [Read more...]

Center for Business Research

The Center for Business Research (CBR) has been established in the College of Business.  In partnership with the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance and the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce, the CBR will undertake commissioned research projects in support of the business needs of the region.  The Center for Business Research will be directed by Dr. Mukesh Srivastava, professor of management information systems in the College of Business. … [Read more...]