The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

College of Business Adminstration at the University of Tennessee


E-Archways

September 2012

Burkhart Is UT’s Distinguished Accounting Alum

Renda Burkhart, 1976 alum of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Business Administration, has earned the 2012 Distinguished Accounting Alum Award from the college’s Department of Accounting and Information Management.

“Since the Department of Accounting and Information Management was first recognized in 1925, the department has had thousands of bright young men and women come through its program,” said Bruce Behn, head of UT’s Department of Accounting and Information Management. “Many, too numerous to mention, have gone on to become extraordinary leaders in the profession, industry, government, and education.  While many have made contributions to the profession, Distinguished Accounting Alum recipients have demonstrated the highest level of professional and personal excellence throughout their careers and have built their companies and/or significantly improved the organizations and communities that they have been a part of.”  

Previous recipients have included Jim Shelby (2009), Herbert Rhea (2007), Emerson Fly and Ed Boling (2004), and Bill Snodgrass (1998).

In 1982, Burkhart founded, and is president of, Burkhart & Company, P.C., a certified public accounting firm that offers financial, accounting, and tax consulting and compliance services to entrepreneurs and their businesses and to financially complex individuals and their families. In 1985, she co-founded Concorde Technologies, Inc., which provided integration of information system technologies and software solutions in specialized commercial environments; she was its president through 1996.

Prior to her entrepreneurial pursuits, Burkhart worked in the tax division of Arthur Andersen & Company, progressing to tax manager.

“Now that I am entering the next phase of my professional career, I am open to all the possibilities my life and work can hold,” said Burkhart. “My professional career has opened the doors to rich and enduring relationships with clients, colleagues, and community leaders.”
Burkhart is committed to the Knoxville community; she is vice chair of University Health Systems and a board director for the Cornerstone Foundation. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Executive Women’s Association, and Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church. She has held numerous other offices and chair positions in the East Tennessee Foundation, United Way of Knoxville, the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, just to name a few.

Burkhart maintains an avid interest in leadership development. After participating in the inaugural class of Leadership Knoxville in 1985, Burkhart joined with others to form a leadership forum for under-40 rising leaders known as Nucleus Knoxville. She enjoys hosting discussion groups in her home that are centered on books, interesting issues, or just good fellowship.
Throughout her career, Burkhart has remained active with the University of Tennessee. In addition to creating a scholarship for accounting students in the College of Business Administration, she has served on the Development Council, the Accounting Roundtable, and has chaired the Chancellor’s Associates, which acts as a bridge builder between “the town and the gown.” From her office in the Riverview Tower in downtown Knoxville, Burkhart enjoys a visual reminder each day of the importance the university has played in her formation and success. The view from her suite overlooks UT’s main campus with the tower of Ayers Hall falling directly in the line of vision as you enter her firm’s front door. Today, Burkhart’s UT connection remains firm and ranges from sports fan to recruiter to loyal alumnus.

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Alumni Board of Directors Honors Outstanding Alumni

Outstanding Alumni

Several outstanding alumni were honored by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, at its alumni board of directors awards dinner on Friday, September 7, including five College of Business Administration alumni. UT recognized eighteen outstanding alumni in four categories: Alumni Promise Award, Alumni Service Award, Alumni Professional Achievement Award, and Distinguished Alumni Award, which is the highest honor given. Lowry Kline, former chair and CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises, serves as president of the board and emceed the event.

“These alumni exemplify the Volunteer spirit by doing remarkable things that make a big difference in the lives of others,” said Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek. “They give back to enhance the learning experience for our students and set wonderful examples to be the best citizens they can be.”

The Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna Award recognizes those alumni who have attained extraordinary distinction and success in their chosen fields. Through their accomplishments, they have brought credit and acclaim to UT and have benefited society at large.

The winners of the 2012 Distinguished Alumna/Alumnus Award are:

Mark Dean, who holds three of the original nine patents on the standard IBM personal desktop computer, graduated in 1979 with a degree in electrical engineering. He is a native of Jefferson City, Tennessee. Dean’s work serves as the basis for all personal computers, earning him an induction into the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame in 1997. He holds more than forty patents or patents pending and is currently the chief technology officer for IBM Middle East and Africa.

Larry Patrick, managing partner of Patrick Communications LLC, graduated in 1973 with a master’s degree in communications. Patrick has handled more than 500 radio and 150 television broadcasting deals worth more than $7 billion throughout his career. A pre-eminent broadcast workout and restructuring expert, he’s the IRS’s appraiser of choice for broadcast valuations.

Pat Summitt, the iconic Lady Vols basketball coach, is the all-time winning basketball coach in NCAA history (men and women’s), bringing notoriety and acclaim to UT for the past thirty-eight years. She’s won eight NCAA Women’s Basketball Championships, sixteen SEC Women’s Regular Season Basketball Championships, sixteen SEC Women’s Tournament Championships, and 1,098 games. She also has a 100 percent graduation rate for women who complete their eligibility at UT. Summitt captured the nation’s attention with her struggles with Alzheimer’s disease through her courage and honesty and the formation of the nonprofit Pat Summitt Foundation.

John and Ann Tickle, of Bristol, Virginia, exemplify the spirit of giving back through financial contributions and the giving of their time and enthusiasm. As vice chairs for the recent Campaign for Tennessee, the Tickles passion for and personal contributions to their alma mater have made a significant positive impact on UT. John, founder of Strongwell Corporation, graduated in 1965 with a degree in engineering. His wife, Ann, graduated in 1965 with a degree in education. Ann hosted Romper Room, a popular children’s educational show.

The Alumni Service Award recognizes exceptional long term continuing service and leadership to UT. The winners of the Alumni Service Award were (CBA alumni in bold):

The Alumni Promise Award recognizes alumni forty years old or younger who have demonstrated distinctive achievement in their careers, civic involvement or both. The winners of the AlumniPromise Award were:

The Alumni Professional Achievement Award recognizes individuals who have achieved impressive heights in their careers. The winners of the Alumni Professional Achievement Award were:

The alumni board of directors provides advice and counsel to the university administration and guidance for alumni initiatives. 

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UT to Host National Business Analytics Conference Oct. 11-12

Business professionals looking to use data and modeling to achieve a competitive edge for their organizations are invited to attend a free, two-day conference at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, on the rapidly growing field of business analytics.
The national conference, Business Analytics as a Growth Strategy, will be held Oct. 11-12 in the James A. Haslam II Business Building. It will provide business analytics sales and marketing knowledge imperative for top management.

The event is for individuals wanting to learn best practices in the three most popular areas of business analytics:
· customer loyalty programs
· online business growth strategies (digital intelligence)
· the integration of “big data” into real-time business decisions

The keynote speakers are from the three leading companies in these fields—Kroger, Google and Teradata. There also will be speakers from Pilot-Flying J, Regal Entertainment Group and FedEx.

“UT is at the forefront of understanding business analytics as it relates to building customer loyalty and sustaining organizational growth,” said Ken Gilbert, head of the Department of Statistics, Operations and Management Science in UT’s College of Business Administration, which houses the business analytics programs. “In fact, the College of Business Administration was the first business college in the nation to launch degree programs in business analytics.”

Conference participants will be able to network with each other as well as with UT faculty and students.
For more information, or to register, visit http://baconference.utk.edu.

Conference keynote speakers are:
Ed Hudson, senior director of strategic initiatives at the Kroger Company, who will speak on Kroger’s pioneering achievements in customer loyalty programs. Kroger has used customer transactional data to drive 34 straight quarters of sales growth.
Justin Cutroni, analytics advocate at Google, who will talk about online digital strategies. He has worked with Toyota, Sony Music, Universal Music, the National Hockey League, Wells Fargo and HomeAway in the use online strategies to fuel business growth.
Bill Franks, chief analytics officer for Teradata Global Alliance programs, who will talk about the business opportunities that are hidden in the tidal wave of available data. For example, retailers can now deliver content seamlessly to customers in multiple channels.

There will be a panel discussion on customer loyalty by Drew Graham of Pilot-Flying J, Ken Thewes of Regal Entertainment Group and Jeff Maddock of FedEx.

The College of Business Administration and its Department of Statistics, Operations and Management Science are organizing the conference.

A McKinsey Global Institute report predicts that, by 2018, the United States will need 140,000 to 190,000 business analytics professionals and 1.5 million data-savvy managers. A strategic initiative of the college is to prepare business analytics majors for these professional positions.
Currently, the college offers an undergraduate major in business analytics, a master’s degree in business analytics and a dual Master’s of Science in business analytics/Master’s of Business Administration degree. In addition, UT offers business analytics as a concentration to MBA students and undergraduates majoring in other areas.

“UT students can acquire skills that are not available in other business schools, and recruiters who come to UT can hire talent that is not available elsewhere,” said Jan Williams, dean of the College of Business Administration.

UT also sponsors a Business Analytics Forum where representatives from noncompeting companies meet twice a year to share best practices. Forum members include Caterpillar, State Farm, Capital One, Jewelry TV, Pilot-Flying J and Bush Brothers.

In addition, the college will be launching a business analytics research center, directed by Management Science Professor Chanaka Edirisinghe. This center will allow companies to work with UT faculty and graduate students to discover new solutions to problems in their organization. A doctoral program in business analytics will be created in conjunction with the center.

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Four Student-owned Businesses Awarded $20K from Boyd Venture Fund

A snack dip company, an import distribution business, a children’s fitness initiative, and an information portal for fraternities and sororities will continue to grow, thanks to an infusion of dollars from a UT grant.

The four student-owned businesses were recently awarded a total of $20,000 from the Boyd Venture Fund. The fund aims to propel student entrepreneurs before they graduate. It is administered through the Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in UT’s College of Business Administration.

As part of the grant, the center also connects each winning enterprise to a mentor.

Since the Boyd Venture Fund’s inception in 2011, six UT student companies have received a total of $42,500 in seed money to invest in their businesses. Grants are available to any student-owned business and are awarded each spring and fall.
The spring 2012 winners are:

SummerSett Foods, a company that develops, markets, and sells high-quality snack dips. Jake Rheude, of Cincinnati, a management major, and Cedric Brown, of Columbus, Ohio, an accounting major, founded the business after they were frustrated by the lack of a frozen, pre-packaged buffalo chicken dip available in grocery freezers. They eventually sponsored a successful buffalo chicken dip recipe competition. A website is not yet available.

“We’ve received great mentoring through connections we’ve made through other Anderson Center competitions,” Rheude said. “The award will allow us to move forward with establishing a website, designing packaging, and meeting labeling requirements.”

Grassroots Uganda in North America (GUNA), an import and distribution company allied with a women’s empowerment organization in Uganda. It was founded by Jennifer Smith of Maryville, TN, a Russian/global studies major. The organization reaches out to homeless and HIV-positive women, teaches them how to make jewelry and handicrafts, pays them for their work, and gives them the opportunity to improve their health and well-being.

“A primary goal of GUNA is to create transparency in the supply chain so that GUNA’s customers can see the effect their purchases are having on the lives of Ugandan women,” Smith said.

The award will allow Smith to return to Uganda, develop additional contacts, acquire more merchandise for sale, and expand her distribution network. Currently, GUNA products can be purchased at online at Etsy.

PowerUp Fitness LLC, a children’s fitness company that promotes physical, mental, and social development of youngsters through educational fitness programs. Stacy Scott, of Memphis, a master’s student in exercise physiology, founded it.

“I developed PowerUp programs to energize and motivate youngsters and to make kids’ fitness fun,” Scott said. The award will cover Scott’s legal fees and liability insurance and will promote the business.

Visit the PowerUp website for more information on bringing their programs to fitness centers or schools.

Greek Connect LLC, an information portal for fraternities and sororities. The founders created it to enhance communication and interaction among Greek communities on college campuses. They are Collin Cope, of Knoxville, an architecture major; Richmond Watkins of Nashville, TN, a management major; Ryan McPherson of Nashville, TN, a communications major; Grant Blevins of Knoxville, TN, a management major; and Maggie Rubenstein of Nashville, TN, a marketing major.

“Greek Connect provides the resources and communication channels you need to stay connected with your chapter and with the larger Greek community,” Watkins said.

Founders will use their award to finalize and roll out their website.

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UT CBA Welcomes its Sixth Global Leadership Scholars Class

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Business Administration welcomes its sixth Global Leadership Scholars (GLS) class. Established in 2007 as the college’s undergraduate honors program, GLS is designed to inspire students who are academically successful, intellectually curious, and community-driven; it provides students with the skills to become future international business leaders.

“The GLS experience brings out the best in all of us,” said Lane Morris, PhD, GLS program director. “GLS challenges our community of faculty, mentors, coaches, and students to bring our A-game to the classroom and everywhere else we go.”

Students are admitted into GLS entering their sophomore year; up to 27 business majors are selected each year.

Candidates are evaluated on their academic record, a writing sample focused on leadership and interest in international business, an in-depth interview, and a commitment to contributing to an academic learning community.

The most recently admitted class of 27 students will graduate May 2015. Of the 75 men and 82 women (157 total) admitted into the program since its inception, 70 have graduated and are working for companies such as Deloitte Consulting, Scripps Networks Interactive, BB&T, Barclay’s Capital, Unilever, Nestle, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Procter & Gamble, Pilot-Flying J, Bechtel, and Nissan. Others are earning their Master of Accountancy, MBA, or law degree.
All are making a difference in the world.

The program’s structure creates an intensive learning experience that challenges students to realize their full potential. Students participate in a variety of experiential activities that enhance their global awareness, academic and non-academic engagement, and professionalism.

“The GLS program provides the college with an opportunity to experiment with teaching and learning ideas,” continued Morris. “GLS is an idea-incubator—a test-bed—for the rest of the college. We want the GLS learning experience to spill over to every student in the college. That’s really important to us.”

During the spring semester of their sophomore year, GLS students travel to London for a unique semester-long international experience. They complete honors coursework with in-residence UT faculty and immerse themselves in the business and cultural environment of one of the world’s leading financial centers.
The piece de resistance of the GLS London program is the students’ seven-week London internships with high-profile, global organizations such as Zurich Financial Services, Citibank, Maxus Global Media, the Fulbright Commission, and DLA Piper. GLS students even have interned with members of Parliament.
“These internship placements are designed to leverage the students’ interests while enabling them to develop and hone professional skills in an international context,” said Morris

“The GLS London experience has been the highlight of my two years at UT,” said Nate Massey, GLS Class of 2014. “During my four months in the United Kingdom, I grew personally, educationally, and professionally. Through my internship at Zurich Financial Services, I was able to dive into the corporate world and really experience a working environment. I never would have thought that I could learn and grow so much in such a short period of time.”

Dan Whitaker, a member of the GLS Class of 2013, interned at the Parliament in 2011. He said: “GLS has been, by far, the most defining experience of my college years. It has pushed me to the limit intellectually and given me the chance to interact in a close community of some of the most intelligent and talented students and faculty at the university.  

“The awe-factor of working in Parliament was both very exciting and daunting. I interacted with Angus MacNeil, member of Parliament for the Northwestern Isles of Scotland, as well as other members and lords every day. The research I did impacted how Mr. MacNeil and other members of the Scottish National Party set their policy and voted. I researched past legislation, monitored the media, and conducted economic forecasts, to name just a few of my experiences. 
“I do not believe that I would have been afforded the opportunities that I have had since nor do I think I would have been as successful without GLS and my work in Parliament.”

GLS students engage in other curricular and co-curricular activities throughout their three years in the program, including:
· an integrated honors curriculum with a dual concentration in international business.
· a comprehensive leadership curriculum that exposes students to thought-provoking business leaders through the college’s Executive-in-Residence program.
· completion of an honors thesis in each student’s area of study that helps students gain valuable experience in data analysis, research design, methodologies, and delivery. Students also represent the college at a university-wide undergraduate research symposium.
· business site visits throughout the Southeast United States.

Said Jan Williams, dean of UT’s College of Business Administration: “The Global Leadership Scholars program is a unique opportunity for a select set of UT business students.  It is designed to be the best of both worlds—an individually tailored program delivered at a large, comprehensive university.  After five years of experience, we are extremely pleased with the success of GLS and its emphasis on international business and the development strong leadership skills.  GLS students have many of the benefits they would have at a small college while having access to the wide range of activities and opportunities available at the University of Tennessee.  

“The three graduating GLS classes have gone out from UT into a wide range of business, government, and educational opportunities that build on the strong educational foundation they received in the program.  We look forward to continuing the success of this program.”

Because of the enormous benefits that the GLS program offers the college, GLS has become a strategic development initiative of the college.

“The financial need is high for our GLS students,” commented Morris. “The percentage of these students whose families have adjusted gross incomes below $40,000 is greater than that represented throughout the college.”

For more information on this development initiative, please contact Chip Bryant, senior director of development, at bryant00@utk.edu.

For more information on the Global Leadership Scholars program, please visit http://bus.utk.edu/undergrad/global_leadership/index.htm.

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CBA Invites Alumni and Friends to Homecoming 2012

The college will host its first Homecoming BBQ in the atrium of Haslam Business Building on November 3, three hours before the Vols take on Troy in the Homecoming 2012 football game (game time TBA). All alumni and friends are invited to join in for a great meal from popular local eatery, Dead End BBQ, including barbeque and all of the “fixins!” Pre-registration is required for this event ($12 per guest).

To register, click here.

For more information or questions, please contact Meredith Hulette at mhulette@utk.edu or 865-974-7392

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Alum Spotlight: Phil Jacobs

For nearly six years, Phil Jacobs has held the role of senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Service Corporation International (SCI), North America’s largest single provider of funeral, cremation, and cemetery services.  In this role, he is responsible for all marketing strategies, corporate communications, customer engagement, marketing partnerships, advertising, and digital channels for the organization. As the largest funeral home, cemetery, and pre-need company— and the only NYSE-listed company in this category—Jacobs’s marketing team works closely with all 1,800 North American locations affiliated with SCI and with major associated brands, including Dignity Memorial and Neptune Society. Prior to joining SCI, Jacobs was executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Dallas-based technology retailer CompUSA. With the CompUSA’s nearly 300 stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and company sales exceeding $5 billion, Jacobs was responsible for all corporate marketing and advertising programs for the business as well as in-store design and planning.  A member of the CompUSA team for four years, Jacobs made an immediate impact and played a key role in the company’s turnaround success.  In addition to the day-to-day management of the marketing, communications, and store planning functions at CompUSA, Jacobs was responsible for strengthening the retail brand to help sustain growth.  He launched a new branding campaign for CompUSA built around “Unleashing The Power of Technology,” inked the largest promotional deal in CompUSA’s 22-year history as a corporate sponsor of the NCAA, and helped build sales over $1 billion in less than two years.

Jacobs has nearly 30 years of experience in retail and marketing communications, including his work as chief marketing officer and in various other management roles at several of the nation’s top advertising agencies. His ability to spark agency growth as the marketing and new business leader has been noteworthy, and he is known for his retail prowess and turnaround abilities with brands such as JC Penney, Bombay, McDonald’s, and Hallmark. 

Jacobs also held key positions at marketing and advertising agencies including Publicis, where he served as executive vice president/chief marketing officer; DDB Worldwide as managing partner; and Earle Palmer Brown and Valentine Radford where he served in senior management positions. He led account work on well-known brands, including BMW, Philips Consumer Electronics, and FedEx.  He was also the CMO at a technology upstart, Data Return, leading the company’s growth from post-IPO through the successful sale.  Jacobs is known for his ability to use consumer insights to differentiate a brand’s positioning from its competition.

An Oak Ridge, Tennessee, native, Jacobs graduated with a bachelor’s degree in finance (’77) from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a master’s degree from Vanderbilt University.  Shortly after graduating from UT, Jacobs worked in the alumni affairs and development office where he met his wife, Margo, whom he has now been married to for over 28 years. They have a 15-year-old daughter, Leah, who is a 9th grader at The Kinkaid School in Houston, Texas, and five miniature Schnauzers.

Jacobs devotes time and support to several civic organizations and philanthropic organizations. He holds a national board position with the American Diabetes Association and the National Kidney Foundation; is a pilot for Angel Flight; is a member of the American Marketing Association; and involved with the Texas Children’s Medical Center.  Jacobs is also a well-known speaker at national marketing events.  In addition to being an instrument-rated pilot, he also enjoys golf, skiing, and a good workout in the pool.

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Faculty Spotlight: Robert M. Fuller

Robert M. Fuller is the inaugural Jan R. Williams Professor in the UT College of Business Administration and director of the information management (IM) program in the Department of Accounting and Information Management.  Since joining the faculty at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 2006, he has taught database systems and business process analysis at the undergraduate level, IT audit and security and enterprise systems in the Master of Accountancy program, and behavioral research methods in the PhD program.

“Since joining the UT faculty six years ago, I have been very impressed with the faculty, staff, students, and alumni support we have in the College of Business Administration,” says Fuller. “It has motivated me to do what I can to be involved in the college through my research, teaching, and service.”

Fuller performs research on the design and implementation of collaborative technologies to support virtual teams and organizations, the use of communication technologies, and the improvement of systems development and requirements elicitation through semi-structured communication techniques. His research has been published in MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, Decision Support Systems, the Journal of the Association for Information Systems, and others.  His work on communication media won MIS Quarterly’s and the Association for Information Systems paper of the year awards, one of the highest awards for information systems academic research.  He was also awarded MIS Quarterly’s Reviewer of the Year award. 

“Much of my research deals with how individuals and virtual teams can best utilize information and communication technologies to improve performance,” says Fuller. “One thing I have found is that in an attempt to improve a virtual team performance, we often invest in technologies, such as videoconferencing, to make virtual team meetings feel more like face-to-face meetings. While teams are more satisfied when using this type of technology, it doesn’t necessarily yield improvements in performance compared to media that we would consider less rich, such as e-mail. As we frequently tell students in the information management collateral, the answer to most technology questions is ‘It depends.’ Selecting the wrong technology can actually decrease performance as it can provide for less efficient interaction. You still have to understand business needs and goals to figure out the best technology answer.”

Fuller earned an undergraduate degree in business and finance from Tennessee Technological University; an MBA with concentration in operations from Middle Tennessee State University; and a PhD at Indiana University in 2003. Before entering the PhD program, he worked at IBM and American General Life and Accident in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Albany, New York, native grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, from the age of 11. He and his wife, Leigh Ann, have been married 20 years and have three children: Alex, Alicia, and Adam. In his free time, he enjoys running, learning about anything technology-oriented, or watching his children play soccer.

Fuller recently was awarded the Jan R. Williams Professorship in the UT College of Business Administration, named in honor the College of Business Administration’s long-standing dean who is retiring this year. The faculty award endowment was created by members of the Advisory Council to the Deans in recognition of Williams’s years of leadership and service to the college.

“To be recognized by this award, especially given the vision of its namesake, Dean Jan Williams, is simultaneously very humbling and makes me proud to be associated with such an outstanding college,” says Fuller.

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Student Spotlight: Hannah Alexander

Hannah Alexander has loved every moment of her UT experience thus far and says she “cannot wait to see what is in store for her this year!”  The Franklin, Tennessee, native is majoring in accounting with a concentration in international business and a minor in Spanish.  Additionally, Alexander is a member of Global Leadership Scholars (GLS), the college’s honors program. She holds two scholarships from the College of Business Administration, the W. Harold Read Scholarship and the Duke Energy Corporation Scholarship.

Through GLS, Alexander has studied abroad and interned with Strip Courier Services LTD in London, England.  The GLS program also has allowed her to interact with numerous executives and tour local companies, providing her invaluable experiences. Alexander believes that the opportunities provided by the GLS program have allowed her to grow as a student while preparing her to become a business leader.

During the summer of 2011, Alexander interned for Georgia Pacific in its internal audit department. She had the opportunity to work on several projects ranging from field audits to internal controls.

Since her freshman year, Alexander has been involved with Dance Marathon, a fundraiser for the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital.  This year, she is the chair of the Corporate and Event Development Committee. She is excited to continue building relationships with local business leaders and helping to fight childhood cancer. Alexander has also served as a Volunteer Girls State (VGS) counselor since 2009. Through VGS, a leadership and citizenship-training program sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary, Alexander works with young women who are rising seniors in high school.

“I love seeing the delegates discuss issues they are passionate about,” says Alexander. “It’s a really exciting time in their lives, and I love being able to be a part of it”.

VGS has inspired Alexander to teach a spring honors seminar by becoming an Honors Enrichment Fellow. In her course, she plans to apply VGS principles by bringing in local civic leaders and providing hands-on civic experiences. She also is an active member of the Chancellor’s Honors Program, Order of Omega, Beta Alpha Psi, and Delta Gamma sorority.
 
Upon graduation, Alexander plans to pursue a Master of Accountancy degree. 

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