Constant Hall News

January, 2004


Message From the Dean

Dr. Nancy Bagranoff

Happy New Year! We had hoped to have this published in December but with graduation, holiday parties, studying and grading, and all those committee meetings...

My first semester in the College of Business Administration is now behind me and it has been terrific. The faculty, staff, students, alumni, and advisors have been very supportive and productive. The ad hoc strategic planning committee (Nancy Bagranoff, John Ford, Laurie Henry, Gil Yochum, Ed Markowski, Berhanu Mengistu) has been meeting bi-weekly. We have developed a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threat (SWOT) analysis that we used to create a draft mission statement. We’ll be seeking feedback on the mission statement in January and will then work on goals and action plans.

Our Executive Advisory Council is undergoing some changes. Jim Babcock stepped down as Chair recently, after three years of dedicated service under Acting Dean Bruce Rubin. Our new chair is Bruce Bradley, President of Landmark Publishing Group. John Matson, Senior VP and Director of Commercial Services for Wachovia Bank, has agreed to serve as Vice Chair. We will be meeting in January and May when we will vote on a revision of the bylaws, consider performance metrics for the business school, and discuss the strategic planning process. A subcommittee of the Executive Advisory Council will be actively involved with the college faculty in creating the strategic plan. Members of the strategic planning subcommittee are: James Baur (Wartsila), David Beatty (Towne Bank Commercial Mortgage), Ed Greene (Don Richards Associates), John Hornbeck (Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce), David Kaufman (Envest Ventures), Delceno Miles (The Miles Agency), Mark Warden (Wilbanks, Smith, and Thomas Asset Management), Bill Romig (Norfolk Southern), and Regina Williams (City of Norfolk).

We hope you enjoy this edition of the Constant Hall News. As always, please feel free to send us anything you think might be of interest in future issues (constantnews@odu.edu).

Faculty News

Faculty Transitions

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Mahesh Gopinath will be joining us next year as Associate Professor of Marketing. He received his Ph.D. in marketing in 1996 from the University of Michigan. He has been teaching at Tulane University in New Orleans. His principal areas of teaching and research include international marketing.

We are also pleased to announce that Andre Liebenberg will be joining us in the Fall Semester of 2004 as an Assistant Professor of Finance. He is graduating in May with a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia.

Carol Pickett, Assistant Director of the Center for Global Business and Executive Education, will be retiring effective January 5 following a distinguished 16-year career.

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Professional News

Dr. Abdel M. Agami, Professor of Accounting at Old Dominion University, presented a paper entitled "Convergence of International Financial Reporting Standards and U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Standards: Justification, Progress and Evaluation" at the 2003 Annual Meeting of the Academy of International Business--Southeast Region, in Clearwater Florida, on November 14, 2003.

Dr. John Doukas, Professor and Eminent Scholar of Finance at Old Dominion University, and Managing Editor of EFM, a leading journal of European Finance, recently had his paper entitled "European Momentum Strategies, Information Diffusion, and Investor Conservatism" ranked among the top 10 downloaded list on the subject of European Finance by the Social Science Research Network. Dr. Doukas was invited to speak about this paper at Inquire Europe in December, 2003. Dr Doukas has also recently published "Geographic Diversification and Agency Costs of Debt of Multinational Firms" in the Journal of Corporate Finance (2003, 9, 59-92), "Foreign Direct Investment, Diversification and Firm Performance" in the Journal of International Business Studies (2003) and "Exchange Rate Exposure at the Firm and Industry Level" in the Financial Markets Institutions and Instruments (2003). Dr. Doukas has been invited to speak about his paper "Investor Uncertainty and the Superior Performance of Value Stocks" at the Durham Business School in England, December 2003. Dr. Doukas has also been invited to the Editorial Board of the Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS), the top Journal in International Business, as well as being invited to the Business Board of Alternative Investments Advisory Specialists (AIAS) Group, LLC. Dr. Doukas has also agreed to be a preliminary examiner for Finnish Ph.D. candidate Marko Maukonen's Ph.D. manuscript entitled "Three essays on the volatility of Finnish asset price returns.:

Dr. Pamela Gibson, Assistant Professor of Urban Studies and Public Administration, co-chaired a roundtable at the Annual Conference for the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration entitled, "Camelot Revisited: Public Administration Education in a Business School" in Pittsburgh, PA, October, 2003. Dr. Gibson also presented a paper at the Annual Meetings of the Southern Conference of Public Administration entitled "Common Interest Communities: State Level Support in Identifying, Educating and Collaborating with Community Associations" in Savannah, GA., October, 2003. Additionally, Dr. Gibson chaired a panel and presented a paper at the Virginia Political Science Association meeting entitled, "Political Theory and Public Administration Practice: Convergence in Public Administration Curriculum" in Newport News, VA, November, 2003.

Dr. Anil Nair and Dr. Shaomin Li, Associate Professors of Management at Old Dominion University, presented their paper titled "The Tortoise and the Hare: Economic Development in India and China" to the Institute of Asian Studies at Old Dominion University on November 19, 2003.

Dr. Leonard Ruchelman, Eminent Professor of the Department of Urban Studies and Public Administration, has coauthored an article with James Prosdorfer, A Ph.D. Graduate of the Urban Services Program, and Dr. Roger Richman, Professor of Urban Studies and Public Administration titled "The Pursuit of Regional Cooperation: Networking Hampton Roads" which appeared in the Virginia Social Science Journal, Vol. 38, Winter 2003.

The Transportation Research E: Logistics and Transportation Review (TRE), a journal whose Executive Director is Dr. Wayne K. Talley, Beazley Professor of Economics at Old Dominion University, was honored by the Institute of Transport Studies of the University of Sydney, Australia when the Institute undertook an assessment of the rankings of the worldwide academic logistics and transportation journals. The TRE was ranked a tier 1 journal in the category of logistics and supply chain management. The TRE was established in 1964 at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, where it's editorial office remained until moving to ODU in January of 2000.

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Faculty Profile
Ms. Pat Doherty
Accounting Lecturer

Pat Doherty’s affiliation with ODU started with her Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting in May 1982. She taught as an adjunct for a few years and after receiving her Master’s Degree and became a full time instructor in the Department of Accounting in August 1991. In 1994, she was promoted to her current position of Lecturer. Ms. Doherty teaches Principles of Accounting and Intermediate Accounting I and is responsible for the Department's Internship Program. She also has been affiliated with the ODU Academic Honors College since 1992, teaching the principles of accounting classes to students who are members of this program within the University.

If you asked her about her most privileged position, she would tell you that she has been the faculty advisor to Beta Alpha Psi (the academic honors fraternity for Accounting Information Professionals) since the fall 1993. As advisor to this group of talented and motivated students, she participates in their continuing development through professional programs, national and regional conferences, visits to firms and other leadership and service activities. Her reward for her effort has come in the form of seven university citations as the "Most Inspiring Faculty Member" to Outstanding ODU Scholars since 1996, the Arthur Anderson "Faculty Advisor of the Year" award from the Beta Alpha Psi National Membership in 1998, and the Faculty Advising Award from the CBPA in May 2001.

Pass her office and you will always find a lot of activity; Ms. Doherty will tell you that her interaction with these exceptional students has not only made her a better educator but also keeps her young at heart. When not working at ODU, Ms. Doherty loves to hang with her family, windsurf in the outer banks, and hike the National Parks.

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Upcoming Events

Economics Club of Hampton Roads Guest Speaker List

For information about how to attend any of these luncheons, contact Katrina Davenport at 757-683-4058.

  • January 21, 2004
    Annual Economic Outlook Conference
    Mark Zandi -     nationally known economist with Regional Financial Association, and founder of Economy.com, will present his national forecast. The Old Dominion University team of Drs. Vinod Agarwal, Mohammed Najand, and Gil Yochum will present their regional forecast.
  • February 11, 2004
    Thomas C. Schievelbein -     President of Northrop Grumman Newport News. Mr. Schievelbein has responsibilities for the design, construction, and maintenance of the most sophisticated nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines in the world. Mr. Schievelbein is also a member of the Northrop Grumman Corporate Policy Council.
  • February 25, 2004 (rescheduled date)
    Lynn Martin -     former United States Secretary of Labor and Congresswoman from Illinois. Her focus has been on the future of the American workplace, reshaping workplace practices and developing global strategies. She chairs Deloitte & Touche's Council on Advancement of Women, and is an advisor to several corporations, including Coca-Cola and Mitsubishi Motors. Lynn Martin is also the first woman chosen as the Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference.
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Landmark Executive-in-Residence Speaker Series

The Landmark Executive-in-Residence program is designed to enrich students' entrepreneurial spirit, their sense of global mobility, and their awareness of the success that can be built on their academic experience. Providing students practical experience while they are enrolled in classes at Old Dominion means offering activities and opportunities that challenge and enrich their thinking. This program is dedicated to bringing accomplished business leaders to campus to share their history and vision, giving students the opportunity to learn first-hand the strategies and experiences that forge great leaders.

Through the Landmark Executive-in-Residence Series, Old Dominion University provides its students, faculty and community with access to accomplished leaders of business and industry. This program is just part of the reason the College of Business and Public Administration excels in providing quality business education.

The Following events will be held on their respective dates at 12:30 PM in Room 1005, Constant Hall.

  • February 19, 2004
    Tony Nicely -     CEO of GEICO, Inc.
  • March 23, 2004
    Conrad Hall -     President and CEO of Trader Publishing Co.
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Student News

Graduate Student Profile
Gregory G. Mullen
Deputy Chief of Police
City of Virginia Beach, Virginia

Greg Mullen is a native of North Carolina, having grown up in Rocky Mount. He began his career with the Virginia Beach Police Department in January 1985. Prior to joining the police department, he served in the United States Air Force as a Special Agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

Since becoming a sworn officer, Greg has served in many varied assignments, including Uniform Patrol, Narcotics, Intelligence, Resort Operations, and Training. In March 2002 he was appointed Deputy Chief of Investigations, responsible for the management and leadership of all department investigative personnel and assets, including 207 sworn and civilian personnel.

Greg holds an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the Community College of the Air Force, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminology from Saint Leo College, and a Master of Public Administration degree from Old Dominion University. He is also a graduate of the 201st Class of the FBI National Academy, Criminal Justice Supervision Institute at Radford University, and Leadership Hampton Roads. In 1998, he was selected to participate in a law enforcement exchange program with the Victoria Police Service, Victoria, Australia.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of Angel Flight, Virginia; serves as law enforcement liaison for two public education programs involving mentoring for At-Risk children and a new Legal Studies Academy at First Colonial High School. He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Major Cities Chiefs, the Police Executive Research Forum, and the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police. He is also retired from the United States Air Force Reserves after serving 22 years of active and reserve duty.

Virginia Beach is the 38th largest city in the nation. The Virginia Beach Police Department has an authorized staff of 807 sworn and 164 civilian personnel, and an annual budget of $69 million, serving a population of more than 430,000 and 3 million visitors annually.

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Alumni, Advisors, and Friends

Local IT Professionals Praise Old Dominion University's IT Department

During the month of October two recent guest speakers at ODUs student chapter of the Association for Information Technology Professionals highlighted the value of Information Technology skills taught in the IT curriculum.

The first speaker, Mr. Joe Burns is a graduate of the ODU IT program. He is the owner and president of Compugeek, a local IT service and networking company. After hurricane Isabel Mr. Burns and his company were the subject of an article in the Virginia Pilot discussing his experiences in the restoration of IT services for local companies and individuals. Compugeek’s largest customer is the Chrysler Museum and Mr. Burns shared his entrepreneurial experience in building a company that supports individual computer users as well as small businesses. Mr. Burns shared his personal experience of building a company. He emphasized the importance of mastering cutting edge technical skills as well as a having a solid background in programming. Of particular note, when Mr. Burns embarked upon his degree at ODU he was physics major. However, a programming instructor who challenged him inspired him to change his major which orchestrated the way for his current, very successful entrepreneurial journey.

Mr. Matthew Mizenko, is Vice President of Fortis Logic, a local full service technology consulting firm built on the theory that all businesses need a competitive edge, and that edge can often be achieved through the proper deployment of technology. Fortis Logic specializes in networking, database design, web design, and custom applications. Fortis Logic currently has three ODU graduates on their staff. He was complementary of the contributions that these ODU graduates have made to his company and looks to ODU as a resource pool for future employees. Mr. Mizenko discussed strategies for success during a technical interview and recommended reading How Would You Move Mount Fuji? by William Poundstone and Programming Interviews Exposed by John Mongan and Noah Suojanen. Mr. Mizenko ended his presentation with a discussion of several critical factors to ensure an individual’s success in an environment characterized by rapid change and technical innovations.

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Executive Advisory Council News

Bruce Bradley, President of Landmark Publishing Group, had been named Chair of the Executive Advisory Council following the recent departure of Jim Babcock.

John Matson, Senior Vice President and Director of Commercial Services for Wachovia Bank, has agreed to serve as Vice Chair of the Executive Advisory Council.

Regina Williams was named one of 11 "Public Officials of the Year" in the November issue of Governing Magazine. She was acknowledged for her creativity in funding projects and her ability to create consensus.

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