SPSU students win statewide business competition

A team of graduate and undergraduate students from SPSU won first place on Oct. 17 in a business plan competition at the Georgia Social Business and Microcredit Forum that involved 38 teams from 32 colleges and universities across the state.

The forum’s keynote speaker was Dr. Muhammad Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize and founder of the microcredit concept, who presented the top award to SPSU for having developed a plan for a workable business to address a critical social issue. The SPSU team created Restoration Trust, a microloan program to help abused women in Marietta break the cycle of violence by reshaping their lives via educational pursuits and enterprise.

“Our students did a wonderful job in the three short weeks they had to put together a business plan and presentation. I was proud to be there to see them win against some very strong competition,” said Dr. Zvi Szafran, vice president for Academic Affairs.

Sonal Doshi, a student in the Master of Science in Accounting (MSA) program, and Fred Arnold, an MBA student, presented SPSU’s business plan in two different rounds of competition judged by the leaders of companies such as the Kimberly Clark Corporation, Starbucks, PayPal, Church’s Chicken, the Intel Corporation and Motorola.

The rest of the student team included: Lauren Tyus, an honors student in the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration program; James (Ben) Fulghum, also a student in the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration program; Joelle Day, MSA; Arthur Vaughn, MSA; Christopher Estrada, MBA; Rebecca Stringer, MBA; Sana Yasmeen, a high school, dual-enrollment, honors biology student; and Tiane McKoy, a student in the Bachelor of Apparel and Textiles program.

Their faculty advisors were: Don Ariail, associate professor of accounting; Greg Quinet, assistant professor of management; Joyce McGriff, associate professor of marketing; and Sandra Vasa-Sideris, professor of management.

The University System of Georgia organized the Georgia Social Business and Microcredit Forum in collaboration with a number of other state agencies to bring together economic development interests from all regions of the state to hear Dr. Yunus’ social business concept of combining business know-how with the desire to improve quality of life.

Space Management Program implemented: SPSU to serve as pilot in USG space utilization study
With the University System of Georgia facing tough economic times, officials at SPSU want to ensure that any and all campus space (academic and non-academic) is being used in the most effective and efficient ways. Therefore, the university’s Facilities Management Department has implemented a new Space Management Program that will address all requests for space, modifications, reconfigurations or remodels of existing assigned space on campus.

In addition, at the directive of Chancellor Hank Huckabee, the Board of Regents’ University System Office is embarking on a University System-wide space utilization study. President Lisa A. Rossbacher volunteered to have SPSU serve as one of six pilot institutions in Phase I of this initiative, which will examine how efficiently the institution utilizes all spaces on its campus.

The purpose of the Space Management Program is to fairly allocate all space on campus, as well as to increase efficiency in using the space. The program will also create an inventory of space and its usage, field requests for changes in the use of currently assigned space and aid in the maintenance of the campus infrastructure.

Space, as defined by both the System Office and campus officials, ranges from offices, classrooms, labs and support space to outdoor venues.

From here on, any proposal to modify either outdoor or indoor space, including the installation of equipment, must be reviewed to ensure that the changes will address the highest needs of the university.

For an FAQ as well as other information on the new program, visit the Space Management Program. Please contact Steve Kitchen, senior director of Facilities, at ext. 3939 or skitchen@spsu.edu for help with any remaining questions.

SPSU basketball gears up for a great season
The SPSU Hornets are getting ready for another great basketball season.

The women’s basketball team will kick off its season with an away game against the Kennesaw State University Owls on Nov. 1. The first home game will be against University of the Cumberlands (Williamsburg, Ky.) on Nov. 15.

With only two returning team members, the Lady Hornets have 10 new team members this year, including six Georgia residents.

Coach Laquanda Dawkins is entering her second season as head coach. She led the team to a 29-5 record last year (12-0 at home) and saw the team become Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) regular season and conference champions and advance to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national tournament in March.

This was the program’s second consecutive appearance at nationals, and the NAIA ranked the Lady Hornets second in the nation in scoring defense per game (52.000) and No. 1 in field goal percentage defense (0.331) overall.

The men’s basketball team begins its season with an away game on Oct. 31 against the Georgia State Panthers. They play their first home game on Nov. 15 against Atlanta’s Carver Bible College.

Tommy Dillon will lead the team as interim head coach, assisted by Frankie Willingham.

In the 2010-11 season, the Runnin’ Hornets made their way to the first round of the NAIA Championship in Kansas City, Mo. It was also the team’s first undefeated season at home since 1990 with a home record of 14-0.

Architecture workshop in Turkey leads to campus exhibition
Over the summer, Dr. Mine H. Hashas-Degertekin, an assistant professor, took SPSU senior architecture students to Istanbul, Turkey, for an urban design workshop called “Merging Scales-Merging Boundaries” that also included students from the Department of Architecture at Bahcesehir University in Istanbul.

The SPSU students – Catherine Lozano, Neil Patel, Sudha Somayajula and Kellen Spafford – spent two weeks exploring the culture and working on a proposed urban-design project.

Through various excursions and lectures, the students gained a better understanding of the city, as well as the project site and its requirements. They developed conceptual design proposals, built models and exhibited their work at Bahcesehir University.

In mid-September, Dr. Hashas and the four SPSU students held a similar exhibition on the SPSU campus, displaying their completed projects, sketch books, booklets created for the workshop, along with photographs of the team working together and of Istanbul.

The exhibit’s opening reception was attended by the Turkish Honorary Consul General for Georgia Mona Diamond.

SPSU’s sixth Game Jam a success
Organizers of the Georgia Game Jam, hosted by SPSU for the sixth time on Sept. 23-25, called the event a huge success. Approximately 115 students from SPSU and other Georgia schools participated and generated around 18 games in the 48-hour timeframe they were given.

Working in teams, the students were instructed to incorporate the concept of “overload,” this year’s Game Jam theme, into their product.

Dr. Jon Preston and Dr. Jeff Chastine, both associate professors in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, judged the games and selected the winning teams, which received free passes to attend the Southern Interactive Entertainment & Game Expo (SIEGE) conference on Oct. 7-9. SIEGE bills itself as the center of gravity for knowledge exchange among video game industry professionals and students in the southeastern United States.

For the first time at Game Jam, a remote link with students at the Berklee College of Music in Boston was used. Participants collaborated with Berklee students via Skype to add musical scores and sound effects to their games.

Game Jam was sponsored by Kaneva, Chick-fil-A and Georgia Entertainment Media.

Additional information, including photos of all the teams involved, is available at SPSU Game Jam.

SPSU a strong presence at GlassBuild Convention
Bob Tango, an assistant professor in the School of Architecture, Civil Engineering Technology and Construction (ACC) and chairman of the university’s Solar Responsive Design Committee, recently represented SPSU with an exhibit at The GlassBuild Convention. This glass, window and door expo – the largest glass and glazing show in North America – was held Sept. 12-14 at the Georgia World Congress Center and had 6,300 attendees.

The centerpiece of the SPSU exhibit was the heliodon – a device owned by ACC that simulates the position and tracking of the sun at any location and time in the world. It is a major tool for addressing energy conservation and achieving Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) credits.

The heliodon is fully integrated into the design and technology courses of the university’s architecture professional degree program.

The ultimate goal of displaying the heliodon at such exhibitions is to establish SPSU and its Architecture Department as a center for solar responsive design for the building industry, design professionals and the university’s students.

Bronne Dytoc, assistant professor of Architecture and also a member of the SPSU Solar Responsive Design Committee, was on hand to help with the booth, as were SPSU architecture students and Norbert Lechner, professor emeritus of Auburn University’s College of Architecture, Design and Construction and the heliodon’s inventor.

SPSU staff take advantage of USG Training Consortium
Earlier this year, the University System of Georgia (USG) concluded a successful pilot of its Professional Development Consortium before opening its training courses to all USG staff employees.

As a result, the USG Regional Training Center located at Kennesaw State University (one of six in the state) has delivered programs this fall to 38 registrants from SPSU, and 15 more registrants have signed up for future courses.

At the start of the fall semester, Mary Ellen McGee, affirmative action officer and faculty and staff development coordinator, encouraged SPSU staff members to take consortium courses, which include Risk Management, Organization and Time Management, and Delivering Effective Performance Appraisals.

Among those who jumped at the chance to sharpen and add to her skills was Vickie Ann Moody, Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET) administrative assistant, who completed courses in Excel and Fundamentals of Management and Supervision.

“Both classes were informative as well as lively,” she reported. Armed with her newfound knowledge, Moody is eager to utilize what she’s learned to make improvements in MET. She issued a challenge to fellow staff members to “invest in themselves and dare to be great!”

Some consortium courses will be available online next semester.

Former SPSU Foundation trustee passes away
Johnny Gaskins, 61, the founder and former CEO of Gaskins Surveying and Engineering Company of Marietta and a former member of the SPSU Foundation Board of Trustees and the Civil Engineering Technology Advisory Board, passed away on Sept. 29.

Gaskins graduated from SPSU in 1975. In 2009, on the occasion of his retirement from his company, the John C. Gaskins Surveying Scholarship was established for SPSU surveying and mapping students in his honor.

Have news to share?
If your department has an upcoming event or other news to share with the campus community, please send an e-mail with all the pertinent information to Diane Payne (dpayne@spsu.edu). To be considered for use in a specific issue of the SPSU Hornet’s Nest, a news item must be submitted no less than four weeks before the date of the issue.

Volume 4, Issue 41
Oct. 26, 2011