Greetings from Trulaske!
Last semester was the strangest one I have seen in my 36 years in academia. As you know, we closed Cornell Hall in mid-March, when the university made the difficult decision to move our courses and other activities into the virtual world. By doing so, we kept our community as safe as possible while we renewed our commitment to delivering an excellent education to our students, no matter the circumstances.
We continue to be creative in our approach to moving forward. Summer Welcome went virtual as it prepares our incoming students for life at Mizzou and our popular Camp Trulaske will adjust its format in August to keep our students, faculty and staff safe. We have created a student emergency fund to support Trulaske students who are experiencing financial challenges — including those caused by COVID-19 — with matching support from the Walker Foundation.
We plan to open our beautiful building this fall, delivering a mix of in-seat, online and hybrid courses. We will continue to practice social distancing and the university will require masks for our students indoors. This will be an adjustment – but COVID-19 has shown us that we are amazingly resilient and adaptable.
Our plans change as guidance from the university and local health officials changes. Keep your eye on renewal.missouri.edu for the latest developments.
This summer, we have focused on doing a better job as a college in our efforts to make our community more diverse and inclusive. Although I have reiterated to faculty, staff and students that discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated at the Trulaske College of Business, we must ensure that our actions match our words.
I have been holding listening sessions with members of our community to create an ongoing list of actionable tasks that will improve our diversity and inclusion efforts. This includes hiring a full-time professional for diversity, inclusion and equity (IDE), once our campus hiring freeze is lifted; providing training for faculty, staff and students on IDE issues, beyond the university’s requirements; and restructuring our Diversity Committee to incorporate additional viewpoints and constituent groups.
At Trulaske, we constantly look to improve ourselves, so that we deliver not only an outstanding education and thorough career readiness to our students, but also the best possible experience. I hope if you have ideas for improvement – specifically those relating to IDE – that you’ll reach out to me.
In closing, I will note that this edition of our newsletter covers a wide-range of efforts that we undertook over the spring and summer semesters. I know that the efforts of our faculty, staff and students will continue to impress and inspire you.
Best,
Ajay Vinzé
Top Stories
Trulaske College of Business announces $1 million gift to School of Accountancy
The Trulaske College of Business proudly announces a gift to benefit the School of Accountancy. The gift, which was made during the university’s historic Mizzou: Our Time to Lead campaign, will establish an endowment that will reach $1 million. This generous contribution will be used to fund a professorship and programs focused on tax education.
Four Trulaske students complete premier AT&T partnership course
At the beginning of the Spring 2020 semester, four Trulaske College of Business students joined 15 students from colleges across campus for an intensive course spawned from a partnership between Mizzou and AT&T. These students were tasked with researching ways 5G — the fifth generation of technology standard for cellular networks — can be applied to one of four industries: health care, sports, campus safety and higher education.
Faculty & Staff News
Trulaske co-hosts virtual Teaching Excellence Day
The 2020 Teaching Excellence Day was held April 10 via video conferencing. Three presenters from the Mizzou community conducted workshops for more than 60 MU faculty and staff on teaching techniques that faculty can integrate into the in-person or online classroom.
Dean Vinz joins virtual roundtable on business and law in a COVID-19 economy
Dean Ajay Vinzé recently participated in an Engagement and Outreach Spotlight virtual roundtable focused on business and law in an economy impacted by COVID-19, hosted by the University of Missouri System.
FRI welcomes new leadership
Sarah B. Kent joined the Trulaske College of Business in March as the new vice director of the Financial Research Institute (FRI).
Pandemic, technology force salespeople to adjust negotiation tactics
In a study recently published in the Journal of Marketing, Detelina Marinova, Trulaske College of Business professor, found that certain sales tactics can improve the chances of a successful e-negotiation.
Going remote: Timing is everything
The transition to remote learning has placed teachers in unfamiliar territory, and many are puzzling out how to keep students engaged in online presentations. However, with a background in video teleconferencing, Trulaske College of Business Assistant Teaching Professor J. Scott Christianson has developed practices to improve student engagement in his classes during these abnormal times.
Expert: In the midst of the pandemic, it's important to be clear with investors
The past few months have tested the intestinal fortitude of even the most sanguine investors, as the markets have appeared to be in a free fall, only to spike on news that in other times would barely register in the national conversation. Keith Czerney, School of Accountancy assistant professor and Deloitte Faculty Scholar, says that in a time where no one knows what is next to come, clear and trustworthy information is extremely important.
Accountancy faculty paper receive AAA award
Will Demere, assistant professor and RubinBrown Faculty Scholar in the School of Accountancy, received the American Accounting Association’s 2020 Contribution to the Management Accounting Literature Award for his paper titled, "The Role of Calibration Committees in Subjective Performance Evaluation Systems," co-authored with Karen Sedatole and Alex Woods.
Finance professor, PhD alumnus receive 2019 Hillcrest Behavioral Finance Award
Kuntara Pukthuanthong, Robert J. Trulaske, Jr. Professor of Finance, and Trulaske alumnus Khaled Obaid, who currently is an assistant professor in the Department of Accounting & Finance at California State University – East Bay, are the winners of the 2019 Hillcrest Behavioral Finance Award.
MU recognized as top sales education university
The University of Missouri was recognized as a top university for professional sales education by the Sales Education Foundation and is listed among other North American schools to receive the same honor in the organizations 2020 annual magazine.
Trulaske hosts Spring 2020 International Week
The Trulaske International Relations Office had another successful International Week held on February 24-27, 2020.
ITC Spring 2020 interns present final projects
Sixteen Trulaske College of Business students interning with the MU International Trade Center shared findings from the semester-long market research projects completed for four Missouri manufacturers on May 2, 2020.
Leaders, not laggers: The best businesses are the first to act on change
For expert comment: Trulaske College of Business expert says a changing marketplace requires bold steps from businesses.