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October 19, 2015October 21, 2015

Calandrelli talk nears 60,000 views

A presentation on STEM literacy delivered by Emily Calandrelli at February’s TEDxOregonStateU event is nearing 60,000 pageviews on YouTube.

The title of the talk by Calandrelli, producer and host of Fox’s “Xploration Outer Space,” is “I don’t do math.” It discusses the importance of STEM education even to those outside of STEM fields. As of the evening of Oct. 19, it had been watched 59,976 times.

Calandrelli was one of five speakers at the TEDx event. Among the others were fashion designer Michelle Lesniak and OSU microbiology student Matthew Kaiser. Kaiser has since graduated.

YouTube videos of the other talks are online as well.

October 8, 2015

Design alum lands athletics deal

An advertising agency owned and operated by a 1999 OSU design graduate will spearhead a new marketing and branding campaign by Oregon State University Athletics.

Watson Creative has signed on to produce materials for digital, print, radio and outdoor campaigns for Beaver teams in five sports: football, basketball, baseball, gymnastics and wrestling. The company’s president is Oregon State graduate Matt Watson, a former longtime designer at Nike.

The Oregonian reported on the partnership last month.

August 25, 2015

C2C a great fit for market researchers

Reggie Williams took many lessons away from his role as team leader on a Close to the Customer project that involved helping Honda plan a redesign of its popular subcompact car, the Fit.

“The Honda project was my first as part of the C2C and I learned that there may not be a clear-cut question from a client,” said Williams, who completed his psychology degree spring term. “Coming up with multiple solutions is helpful, as well as taking into consideration client needs and specifics of the market when coming up with a solution.”

The project involved Honda wanting “to get a feel for Instagram and what people were posting about their Honda Fit,” said Amanda Terhes, director of the C2C. “The exciting part for students was when they asked, ‘how do we do this,’ we said, ‘I don’t know but we’ll figure it out.’”

The student team led by Williams ended up pulling approximately 1,000 Honda Fit photos from Instagram and then categorized them thematically – e.g., by what activity they were being used for.

The themes were used to create topic guides for field research by marketing professor Jim McAlexander in the Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles areas. McAlexander conducted six one-on-one interviews with customers and also did nine triads – a triad is a mini focus group of three people.

McAlexander, whose contacts in the auto industry paved the way for C2C being granted the project, presented the results to Honda. The results are understandably proprietary as Honda prepares to execute the redesign of the Fit in five or six years — in such a way that the four-door, front-wheel-drive vehicle still appeals to current customers and potentially attracts new, first-time Fit owners as well.

Williams’ student team included finance major Chris Koenig and MBA student-to-be Jill Wells, plus a sociology major.

“It’s great to have a team with different backgrounds and diverse perspectives and approaches,” Williams said. “A lot of psychology goes into market research, understanding and eventually trying to influence behavior. Thinking outside of the box but at the same time maintaining structure and providing valid results is fundamental to the art of marketing research. It helped that we had a great staff of professors and our director who allowed us creative control and input while guiding us through the process.”

July 31, 2015July 31, 2015

Grad finds a home with Blazers

Willen Sin, right, with Benny Beaver and fellow Trail Blazer staffers McKenzie Malone, left, Hannah Blumhardt and Lindsay Jones at Reser Stadium.

Like many sports fans growing up in the Portland area, Willen Sin had long dreamed of working for the Trail Blazers.

Empowered with a degree from the College of Business, Sin is making that dream come true.

“Oregon State is pretty embedded in me,” said Sin, a partnership marketing specialist.

Sin completed his studies at OSU in 2013, graduating with a marketing degree and international business option. He was also involved in the Austin Entrepreneurship Program, and he says the event management skills he picked up in the AEP come in particularly handy in his role with the Blazers, which requires him to handle the logistics for a wide range of corporate-sponsored events including the Toyota Half Court Shot (more on that in a minute).

Sin signed on with the Blazers in September 2013 as corporate partnership intern; he worked game nights and basically made sure the team’s business partners had everything they needed. Sin started as a full-fledged Blazer employee in July 2014.

He personally manages about 15 accounts and assists with the management of five larger accounts, including Toyota.

The Toyota Half Court Shot takes place 11 times a year, and the basic format is simple: At halftime, the contestant spins a wheel to determine which kind of car he’ll win if his heave goes through the hoop.

Sin says no one had connected for four or five years – until March 5, when a bearded man in his late 20s named Chris found the bottom of the net — Rip City, indeed — and drove off with an Avalon hybrid, sparking pandemonium among the fans … and the person who coordinates the promotion.

“This is business to me, but I’m a fan too, and I just lost it,” Sin said. “I was so excited for the guy. And then I realized I had a ton of paperwork to do. It was another two or three months of processing everything. It was a roller coaster.”

The wild ride did nothing, however, to dampen Sin’s overall enthusiasm.

“I’m proud to be part of the Blazers,” he said. “That culture and this brand are so ingrained in this city, I’m building a network that down the road will go a very long way. I’m open to other opportunities, but I’m really enjoying it and still learning, and I want to capture as much knowledge as I can. I have great co-workers and great mentors, and I’m just taking it all in.”

July 24, 2015

Another COB success story

At the College of Business, we always enjoy hearing, and spreading, the news of our alumni as they take what they learned out into the working world.

So whether it’s via social media, email or an old-fashioned letter or phone call, please do as 2015 finance graduate Majed Abdelrasul did this week and stay in touch with us.

Abdelrasul was pleased to report that he’d accepted an offer to be a financial analyst with Aequitas Capital Management starting Aug. 1. He’ll work in Portland and will, he says, “be supporting consumer financing receivable programs, maintaining and reporting of portfolio management performance, implementing and enhancing financial models, and supporting ad hoc tasks for our team.”

“The COB helped me prepare for success by providing tons of resources,” he said. “Whether that was clubs/organizations, or simply bringing in industry professionals to educate us. There was always help from professors and staff members around the college. At the same time, the college held my peers and me accountable for everything we completed and continued to challenge us throughout our tenure. Everyone was very supportive throughout my time at the college. If I ever had a question, I felt as if I could go to any faculty/staff member and they would be open to helping me out.”

As he prepares to start his career, Abdelrasul offered some advice for those who’ll follow him in the College of Business: “Never give up and always go above and beyond. Even if you have to sacrifice a few hours of your social life or sleeping schedule, it will be worth it in the end. Continue to learn and take on as many responsibilities as you can. Lastly, hold yourself accountable for everything you do, even if no one is watching.”

July 1, 2015

Dean heads into retirement

Ilene Kleinsorge’s final day as dean of the College of Business was June 30.

As she begins her retirement, please join us in thanking her for her many contributions, and we hope you enjoy this collection of photographs from Kleinsorge’s time as the college’s leader.

May 26, 2015May 21, 2015

Boeing Day busy for reps, students

Sierra Makepeace of Boeing, left, talks with pre-graphic design student Hannah King at Boeing's booth in the MU quad. — Sierra Makepeace of Boeing, left, talks with pre-graphic design student Hannah King at Boeing’s booth in the MU quad.

Representatives from Boeing, corporate partner of the College of Business, were on campus May 14 for Boeing Day, a series of workshops and informational events aimed at helping Oregon State students learn more about the aerospace giant and job opportunities at the company.

On hand were Brad Stevenson, a college recruiter; Sierra Makepeace, who works in business operations; Matt McMahen, finance; and Kalan Guiley, continued airworthiness manager for twin-aisle airplane programs and commercial airplanes.

Comprising Boeing Day were two separate resume workshops (in the Kelley Engineering Center and Austin Hall), a mid-day information table in the Memorial Union quad, and an evening information session in Austin Hall.

Sophomore Hannah King, a pre-graphic design student, and graduating senior Matthew L. Bautista, a management major, were among the throng of students to drop by Boeing’s booth in the quad.

“I wanted to see what the opportunities were, and I definitely got information that I want to check out,” King said.

Bautista is a former Air Force mechanic who now works in human resources in Portland for the Oregon Air National Guard in addition to attending OSU. He’s interested in HR or career development work with Boeing and is grateful for how his studies and professional life are propelling each other forward.

“I take what I learn in Austin and apply it to my professional life and personal life, and I take what I learn there and apply it here,” he said. “There’s a good synergy going on.”

Boeing, founded in Seattle in 1916 and now based in Chicago, is the world’s largest aerospace company and serves customers in 150 countries.

May 6, 2015

Adidas: A culture of empowerment

A culture built around honesty, commitment, passion, innovation, inspiration, teamwork, empowerment and student engagement has earned adidas this year’s Distinguished Business Partner award.

That culture is in sync with that of the College of Business, adidas executive Nic Vu said.

“The professors and other educators focus on placement,” said Vu, a senior vice president and a 1995 College of Business graduate who spearheaded his company’s partnership with the college. “College of Business students are very well versed in team dynamics, group projects and results orientation, and they’re open to learning.

“I work with lot of Ph.D.’s and consultants who have master’s, MBAs, whatever, and they don’t have all of that packaged together as well as some of the undergrads I see coming out of Oregon State,” he said. “That’s a compliment to the dean and all the educators at Oregon State.”

Beavers who have joined Vu at adidas have taken note of a supportive environment that mirrors that of the college that prepared them to launch their careers.

“The College of Business stresses networking and adidas allows recent grads to take networking to an entirely new level,” said OSU senior Jacob Knightley, who’s majoring in finance and business information systems and works 30 hours a week for adidas’ finance reporting team.

“All managers — junior, senior and above — are extremely approachable and will take time out of their day to talk with you. My CFO walks around and talks with everybody on a first-name basis and will make the effort to learn your name as soon as possible.”

Knightley said he and others consider the adidas culture to be an extension of their university life.

“We make sure our work is getting completed to the best degree, but we have fun while we do it,” he said. “Adidas benefits (from the College of Business partnership) by getting great local talent who bring new and fresh ideas about how to win in America, and the college benefits by having a local company that loves to recruit local talent.”

Adidas will be honored May 11 in Portland at the college’s annual Celebration of Excellence, along with the rest of the 2015 award winners as well as retiring Dean Ilene Kleinsorge.

The evening begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner and the awards presentation. For more information or to register, contact Elsa Frey at elsa.frey@oregonstate.edu or call 541-737-6648, or register online at http://business.oregonstate.edu/awards.

April 16, 2015April 27, 2015

COB alum helps open Harris center

Jaymes Winters speaks at the grand opening of the Lonnie B. Harris Black Cultural Center.

College of Business graduate Jaymes Winters, class of 1985, was the kickoff speaker April 15 at the grand opening celebration of the new home of the Lonnie B. Harris Black Cultural Center.

Winters, the late Harris’ nephew, is the CEO of Blue Leopard Capital, a private equity fund based in Portland. He told the overflow crowd of nearly 300 that he hoped the new facility could be “a center for everybody to get a better understanding of each other, what diversity is all about, and not just a place people visit on Kwanzaa and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.”

Winters batted leadoff for a lineup of speakers that included Geoff Brooks, a 1972 Oregon State alumnus and a member of the OSU board of visitors; fellow board member Larry Griggs; Corvallis NAACP president Barry Jerkins; and OSU president Ed Ray.

The grand opening was intentionally scheduled for April 15 because it’s Jackie Robinson Day, the date in 1947 that Robinson broke major league baseball’s color barrier; Harris, the first director of the university’s Educational Opportunities Program, was an accomplished baseball player and coach, Griggs said.

The center that bears his name, a gleaming brick and wood structure, is at the corner of Monroe Avenue and Memorial Place.

Winters said he wants the center to be a place people visit regularly and truly learn about each other.

April 9, 2015April 27, 2015

OSU Night – Top 5 reasons to choose Oregon State College of Business

Advisor Dan Schwab talks to a prospective business student at OSU Night.

The Oregon State College of Business spent Tuesday evening in Portland for OSU Night – a college fair designed for high-achieving high school students. To help all the bright and motivated students in attendance decide what to do in the fall, here are the top 5 reasons to choose the Oregon State College of Business:

More majors. We offer more business majors than any other university in the state of Oregon. From accounting to marketing and everything in between, the College of Business provides students with a thorough and comprehensive understanding of their chosen major. The college also includes four design majors to choose from.
Experiential Learning. A hands-on learning approach is integral to the College of Business education, and includes opportunities with the Austin Entrepreneurship Program, Austin Family Business Program, Close to the Customer Project and Advantage Accelerator. The College of Business has 19 student organizations that align with business and design majors, providing leadership and networking experience.
Career Success Center. As the only college-specific career center on campus, the Career Success Center provides students with the resources to conduct a successful job and internship search through one-on-one consulting, resume review, networking events and workshops.
International Exchange. The Arthur Stonehill International Exchange Program is one of the biggest of its kind in Oregon, offering 13 different exchange opportunities around the globe for business students. Additionally, design students can choose from a number of study-abroad programs and tours.
Austin Hall. The College of Business’ new, 100-000-square-foot, state-of-the-art home has made a huge impact on student learning and experience at Oregon State. Austin Hall includes a 250-seat auditorium, café, event space and plenty of project rooms and computer seats.