College News

Two students from The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce management program will attend the 2009 APICS International Conference and Expo in Toronto in October, courtesy of the Birmingham Chapter of APICS-The Association for Operations Management.

Michael Wilson and Corey Barron, both seniors and classmates from Muscle Shoals majoring in operations management, will be sponsored by the Birmingham chapter to attend the conference and expo as student scholars.

Dr. Charles R. Sox, professor of operations management, and William Petty, instructor and undergraduate coordinator in operations management, are members of the board of directors of the APICS Birmingham Chapter.

“This is will be a great opportunity for these young men to enhance their marketability and, at the same time, be part of the largest annual gathering of operations management professionals,” Petty said.  “They will be exposed to all facets of the profession, from the global aspect to forecasting to the necessity of lean operations in this economic climate.”

Operations management is concerned with the production of goods and services, and it is responsible for making sure business operations are as efficient as possible, conserve and save resources, and meet customer requirement and deadlines.

The Birmingham Chapter of APICS-The Association for Operations Management serves Birmingham and other communities in central Alabama.  The APICS organization is the global leader in operations management knowledge and is the certifying organization for people who work in the operations management arena, including production, inventory, supply chain, materials management, purchasing and logistics.

Barron, who said he plans to enroll in the UA operations management graduate program in the fall, is spending the summer working as an intern at Frito-Lay in the company’s supply and distribution area.

“I am very excited to have the opportunity to attend the International APICS Conference this fall,” Barron said. “The conference features information from some of the most well known and respected members of the operations management field. This is an opportunity to understand how the global economy affects jobs in this field and the chance to see the role technology plays in everyday business.”

Wilson, who also is earning a minor in computer technology and applications, said he is interested in learning more about the international aspects of operation management.

“I think it will be a great opportunity to see the different facets of international life,” he said. Wilson said he and his family lived for several years in Saudi Arabia where his father was a hospital administrator.

“I plan to get into the international side of operations management,” Wilson said.  Wilson said he enrolled at UA for the finance program. “I was just sort of feeling my way around. Corey was in the operations management program so I talked to some people and took Operations Management 300 and fell in love with it.”

Wilson is president of the Society of Operation Management students at UA.

“There is always going to be a need for optimization of resources and helping companies reduce waste and run more efficiently,” Wilson said, “and I am excited to be a part of that.”

Organizations looking for bright young business school graduates have found a bonanza in this spring’s graduating glass at The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce.
“We graduated 500 undergraduates,” said Daniel Maguire, the business school registrar, “and 187 of those were honor students.” That includes 21 with perfect 4.0 grade point averages. In addition, Maguire said, 299 of the graduates earned GPAs of 3.00 or above.

The department of economics, finance and legal studies had the highest number of graduates with 121 in finance and 18 in economics, followed by the marketing department with 95 and the Culverhouse School of Accountancy with 89. Culverhouse graduated 76 management students, 34 in management information sciences, 27 in general business, 24 in health care management and 16 in operations management.

Of the 500 undergraduates, 344 were from Alabama, representing 45 counties. Maguire said 15 other states were represented.

Benton Gup had just returned from four days in Vienna, Austria, and Athens, Greece where he discussed the United States financial crisis with Austrian economists and finance experts, did a 40-minute PowerPoint presentation for more than 80 guests, did an interview with English language radio station FM4 and talked with the local newspaper, Die Presse, all at the behest of the U.S. State Department.

So, how was the trip, Dr. Gup?

“Great,” he said. “I loved it.”

Gup is no stranger to such visits. Over the course of his career as a financial expert, lecturer, teacher and writer, Gup has visited about 30 foreign countries.

For his work, writing and research, Gup, Professor of Finance and holder of the Robert Hunt Cochran/Alabama Bankers Chair of Banking at The University of Alabama, has been named the third recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Midwest Finance Association, which he received in March.

“I am very humbled by that,” Gup said.

He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Cincinnati, as well as an M.B.A. and a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors. Gup joined the faculty at the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration in 1983, following 13 years at the University of Tulsa. He also has served as an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

Gup has been a visiting professor or research scholar at universities around the world and at the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency. He been called on numerous times by the U.S. Department of State to share his expertise with foreign governments.

He is a member of eight professional financial associations, and is a prolific author and editor. One of his more recent books, Too Big to Fail: Policies and Practices in Government Bailouts, is much in demand. He has published or edited 28 books, with two forthcoming, and has contributed to dozens of others. In addition, he has published or contributed to articles in most major financial journals, and is frequently called on to make presentations at professional meetings around the world.

Dr. Billy Helms, head of the Economics, Finance and Legal Studies Department at the Culverhouse College of Commerce, said Gup has been at the forefront of the teaching of modern finance since he has been at The University of Alabama.

“He always kept his focus on issues that had a material effect on the current business environment,” Helms said. “His numerous books have been concerned with topics that captured the attention of the policy makers who were struggling with issues that had both national and international significance.  Everyone respects him for his energy and his persistence in writing about issues in finance.”

Gup’s first job was as a stockbroker in Cincinnati, where he worked in options and took care of the firm’s error accounts. After three years, he returned to the University of Cincinnati to earn his Ph.D., and then worked as an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland before heading to Tulsa.

Gup is a news junkie who watches CNN, reads the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and the Times of London to get the global perspective on the world of finance.

He writes and edits early in the morning, but said he works “24-7.

What I enjoy is working on new things all the time - new problems, new issues. I don’t do the same thing over and over again.”

About the nation’s current financial problems, Gup said, “I think the toughest part of the financial crisis has been resolved and it now has become an economic crisis.”

Gup said he was “a mediocre high school student” who encountered a few problems his first try at higher education. “I started out in industrial engineering and wound up in economics.”

Gup has been a licensed pilot since 1970 and now flies a Cessna 182. His wife is also a pilot and both are active in the Civil Air Patrol.

He describes himself as inquisitive, opinioned, outspoken and caring, and would like to be remembered “as a scholar, someone who helped students advance, to learn; someone who opened doors for these people to grow.”

He said J. Barry Mason, dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce is “the best dean I have ever worked for and Billy Helms is the best department head I have ever worked for. Both have been supportive and let you do research.”

“Benton is a triple threat,” Mason said. “He has published a least one book a year for the past 25 or so years. He is an excellent classroom instructor, and he is sought out by governments and private sector organizations around the world for his expertise on banking and financial systems. I never know when I try to reach him whether he will be in Peru, Australia, Austria or testifying in Washington on such arcane issues as the Basel Accords. Truly, he is the rare Renaissance man. He has been the ‘go to’ person in the state for many years by the private sector on corporate banking issues.  His energy, enthusiasm and goodwill are infectious.”

Bill Gerdes is

Editor of The Executive

Dr. Michael T. Dugan, Ernst & Young Professor of Accounting at The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse School of Accountancy, has been selected by the Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants as the 2009 Outstanding Accounting Educator in recognition of his many years of excellence in teaching accounting.

“This state-wide honor is special because I was competing against my peers in accounting education in Alabama,” said Dugan, who has received five teaching awards during his 24 years at the University.

The ASCPA award recognizes college accounting educators for excellence in teaching and for active involvement in the accounting profession. The award has the dual function of extending profession-wide recognition to the recipient as well as promoting role models in academe.

Dugan, a classroom teacher for 30 years, joins three other UA faculty members who have received the award since it was initiated in 1994. The first UA recipient was Dr. Robert Ingram (1994), followed by Dr. Mary Stone (2002), now head of the Culverhouse School of Accountancy, and Dr. Barney Cargile (2004), who has retired.

“This honor is very much deserved,” said J. Barry Mason, dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce. “All of Mike’s colleagues and students have long recognized his dedication to accounting education and it is wonderful to see it recognized by his professional peers as well.”

Dugan, who was born in Dallas but raised in New Orleans, also is the school of accountancy’s internship program coordinator. As such, Dr. Stone said, Dugan epitomizes accounting education. “Dr. Dugan is dedicated to maximizing the contribution of accounting academics to the accounting profession, while at the same time providing the guidance and mentoring that helps accounting students reach their potential,” Stone said.

Dugan earned his bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from the University of New Orleans and his M.Acc. and D.B.A. from the University of Tennessee.

“I wanted to be a math major,” Dugan said, “but I spoke with an advisor my freshman year and she suggested I go into accounting. I did, and I fell in love with it.”

He said he thinks he received the award because he takes “an active and sincere interest in students. You have to be technically competent in the classroom but just as competent in helping and mentoring students and guiding them toward satisfying and rewarding careers.”

Dugan said his teaching career at UA has been highlighted “by working with a great dean” and great faculty colleagues.

Dugan, 51, is a CPA (Louisiana, inactive).  His five teaching awards include the National Alumni Association Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award.  He has published 45 articles in both academic and professional journals.  He is a member of the ASCPA and the American Accounting Association. Dugan’s teaching and research interests are in the areas of financial accounting and reporting.

Dugan is married to a former student, Stacie Newsome Dugan, and they have two children, Patrick, 11, and Bethany, 9. Dugan said the ASCPA award includes a plaque and $1500 cash.

“I won’t spend a dime of it,” he said. “I plan to open savings accounts for the kids.”

Annette Watters, project manager for The University of Alabama’s
Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) and manager of the
Alabama State Data Center, has been awarded the 2009 Dr. Minnie C.
Miles Endowed Excellence Award.

Miles, who died in 2001, was professor emerita in UA’s Culverhouse
College of Commerce. She established the award in 1995 to promote and
recognize administrative excellence. The award is given annually to a
non-faculty, administrative staff member who has performed in an
exemplary manner to further the mission of the university.

“The committee made an excellent choice,” said J. Michael Hardin,
senior associate dean of the business school. “Annette’s
professionalism and her dedication to serving the community is a model
of excellence and should serve as an example for all of us.”

“Annette’s work with CBER has been exemplary,” said Hardin. “Her work
with the Alabama Entrepreneurial Research Network (AERN) has resulted
in an incredible resurgence in the economies of several of the state’s
economically distressed counties. She is dedicated to making the lives
of Alabamians better and her work is a credit to the university, to
CBER and to the business school.”

Watters has worked for UA for since 1977. In addition to her work with
AERN, she manages the State Data Center and is the liaison between the
center and the U.S. Census Bureau. She is frequently called on by the
media for explanations and comments about the state’s population
trends.