EMBA XIV Graduates

On Saturday, September 10, in the Don Powell Theater on campus, the fourteenth class from the Executive MBA program participated in a commencement ceremony. Over 400 friends and family members attended to see their loved ones walk across the stage to accept their diploma and customary medallion. SDSU President Weber presided over the ceremony alongside CBA Dean Gail Naughton.  The class chose one of their own, Kathy Pennington, president of Bridge Consulting, to deliver the commencement address at the ceremony. Student Abhay Kumar presented the class outstanding faculty award to finance chair Nikhil Varaiya in a heartfelt speech.

To honor their accomplishment and leave a legacy to future classes, the graduates made a $3,000 donation to the EMBA program, which will be matched by Beckman Coulter, Inc., a leading manufacturer of biomedical testing instrument systems, tests and supplies.

This group joins nearly 350 alumni of the program, which began in 1990. This month, a class of 32 enthusiastic mid-to-upper level executives started on their MBA journey as "EMBA XVI."

Accounting Students Win IRS Recognition

SDSU’s Beta Alpha Psi chapter was presented a plaque for winning the largest number of volunteer hours in the IRS VITA program.  “This award is attributable to the great job accounting student Kent Pham did with the VITA program this spring under the supervision of professor Gene Whittenburg,” said School of Accountancy Director Sharon Lightner. Pham was the Beta Alpha Psi officer in charge of VITA. He developed a web page (http://vita.sdsu.edu), recruited the students, and did all the reporting.  He graduated with an MSA in tax in August and is now working for Deloitte and Touche, LLP.

VITA, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, is a free program designed to assist residents of the San Diego area who make less than $40,000 a year. SDSU accounting students are trained and certified by the IRS to prepare the tax returns. This year, the program assisted 205 participants.

College Welcomes Upper Division Students

The CBA held a welcome orientation for new upper division students on Monday, September 12 in Montezuma Hall. Over 130 students attended to hear from Associate Dean Jim Lackritz and Rebecca McArthur, a current upper division student, on what to expect in this portion of their undergraduate experience. Students also heard about how to prepare for life after college from Phil Blair, co-owner and executive officer of Manpower Staffing Services. Blair also gave the students tips on how to make the most of their college experience. The students in attendance were treated to lunch, t-shirts and raffle prizes in celebration of the college’s 50th anniversary. This fall, over 840 students will begin their upper division track. Another orientation will be held in the spring semester.

Accounting Student Appointed to National Standards Board

Amy Schmidt, a candidate for a Masters of Science in Accountancy, has accepted an offer to serve as a Postgraduate Technical Assistant (PTA) at the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). The GASB is a major organization charged with developing generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for state and local governments and nonprofit organizations controlled by government agencies. The mission of the GASB is to establish and improve standards of state and local governmental accounting and financial reporting that will result in useful information for users of financial reports and guide and educate the public, including issuers, auditors, and users of those financial reports.

Each year, the Financial Accounting Foundation selects graduating college students to fill PTA positions at both the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB).   San Diego State University’s School of Accountancy has placed students in the FASB PTA positions the last three years.  Amy Schmidt is SDSU’s first student to receive an offer for a GASB PTA position.  She will be leaving for Connecticut and the GASB shortly after graduation in December to begin her year of service to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. 

Schmidt is a native San Diegan who earned her Bachelors of Science in Business Administration with academic distinction from SDSU in December 2003.  She also is a full-time employee at Fairfield Residential LLC, where she has worked for eight years as the Accounting Systems Administrator. 

Marketing Student Is One of Six Nationally Chosen for Unique Internship

Justin Walsh, a marketing senior in the honors program, was one of six students throughout the country to be chosen for an internship with the Alaskan Brewing Company this past summer.   The “Alaskan Summer Six Pack” internship program was launched to more effectively promote the Alaskan Brewery product line to the 21-30 year old demographic, and to gain a younger perspective when creating new, innovative marketing strategies.

Walsh was chosen for the internship by describing how he would bring energy to the company, how his personal passions made him ideal for the position, and what he hoped to achieve during the internship. The judges were looking for creativity, originality, diversity, and the ability to persuade.

Walsh, along with the five other men and women selected, served as a spokesperson for the brewery from July 18 to August 14. Each intern received $5,000, the opportunity to travel Alaska, and the opportunity to enhance their marketing and sales skills.  “The internship far exceeded my wildest dreams,” Walsh said. “The other interns were top notch and we all really pushed each other to step up our game.” 

The first two weeks of the four-week internship were spent in Juneau, Alaska assisting the company’s marketing and promotions department. For the final two weeks, they came back to their hometowns to work with their local Alaskan Brew Crew.  “We did more in two weeks than most could do in a year. One of the best parts was implementing classroom knowledge in a real world environment and actually having the big wig execs listen to what we were saying.”

Accounting and Finance Students Honored

Students in SDSU’s Accounting and Finance programs were honored last May at the San Diego Financial Executive’s International (SDFEI) Student Scholarships Award dinner. Accounting student Edward Burke was awarded the Robert Barrett Family Scholarship and Finance student Takeshi Hoshino received the Bowne Company Scholarship. Each student received $1,000. Accounting students Kelly Hereld and Shillan Maronsesy and Finance students Jason Martin and Diego Cicuttini were awarded FEI medallions and certificates in recognition of being outstanding students. Finance professor and department chair, Nikhil Varaiya, serves as vice president of professional development for SDFEI. Scott DiValerio, Microsoft’s vice president and corporate controller, was the keynote speaker for the event.

Finance Major Recognized Through “Quest for the Best”

Under the theme of “Quest for the Best,” the vice presidential student service awards are given each spring to up to 10 outstanding students who demonstrate campus leadership skills and who lend their time and talents to community service. This past spring, finance major Augustus Gatto was chosen as one of the top students to receive this honor. Each student awarded the Quest for the Best honor nominates the SDSU professor or mentor who has made the most significant contribution to his or her personal growth. Gatto chose Finance Professor Allan Zebedee.  Both student and professor were honored at an banquet last April.

Guest Speakers Visit Sports Business Management MBA Program; Students Provide Expertise to Non-Profit Golf Learning Academy  

The inaugural class of the Sports Business Management MBA program has been learning about the business of sports both inside and outside the classroom.  In addition to a sports-related curriculum, students benefit from extensive interaction with sports industry experts.

In the classroom, students in Dr. Gangaram Singh’s Human Resource Management course recently conducted a collective bargaining session based on the dispute between the National Hockey League and its players’ association.  Students negotiated mock issues such as league sponsorship deals, salary cap, amateur draft, minimum player salary, and length of the collective bargaining agreement.  “Participating in the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement was one of the most fun and relevant classroom exercises we’ve had this year,” said student Eileen Connors.

In addition to their work in the classroom, the class has been visited by a number of high profile guest speakers including:

Mark Tuohey, Chairman of the DC Sports & Entertainment Commission, who discussed the legal and financial issues involved with the creation of the Washington Nationals;           

Ed McGuire, Vice President of Football Operations for the San Diego Chargers, who discussed the salary cap and contract issues facing teams in today’s National Football League; and

Kevin Towers, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the San Diego Padres, who discussed his career in baseball front offices and gave students first-hand insight on baseball operations. 

As part of the program’s ongoing partnership with the San Diego Padres, students visited PETCO Park for a Padres game and behind-the-scenes, all-access tour of the ballpark hosted by Padres Executive Vice President of External Relations Erik Judson.

As if they aren’t busy enough, the students also conducted pro bono work for ProKids Golf Academy and Learning Center, a not-for-profit organization located a few minutes from campus at Colina Park Golf Course in City Heights.  Martha Remmell, CEO of ProKids, reached out to SDSU’s Sports Business Management MBA students to develop a comprehensive marketing plan to increase the course’s revenue to support its programs that aim to teach golf and life lessons to children in the community. On September 1, students celebrated the culmination of this project with a golf outing with local children at Colina Park. 

For more information on the current happenings of the Sports Management MBA program, visit the website at www.sdsu.edu/sportsmba.

email: business@sdsu.edu