Dr. Scott Johnson, Dean COB at ISU; Dr. Nikolaus Risch, President, Universitaet Paderborn
The College of Business and the University of Paderborn, Germany have signed an agreement for a dual degree program. Under this agreement, ISU business majors can study business at Paderborn during their second semester junior and first semester senior year. They will then finish their senior year at ISU. They will receive a bachelor degree both from Paderborn and ISU. Paderborn students can enter the MBA program at ISU in their fifth year of study. After completion of their work at ISU and Paderborn they will receive an MBA from ISU and a Masters in Business Administration from Paderborn. The College of Business and the University of Paderborn have had a long relationship both for student and faculty exchanges. The dual degree opens new areas for cooperation.
The College of Business at ISU and the University of Shanghai, China have signed an agreement for a semester 3 exchange of students. Under the agreement undergraduate and graduate business students from both universities can study at the partner university for one semester. Faculty exchanges are also a part of the cooperation.
Illinois State University’s Export Project is able to help more Illinois-based businesses expand into overseas markets thanks to a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The funding supports the Export Project’s work with the agriculture equipment and technology firms Dickey-John and Brandt Consolidated, and the paint manufacturer Rust-Oleum Corporation.
Since 2006, Export Project faculty and student teams have traveled to New Zealand, Germany, Argentina, Poland, China, and India to help companies explore international market opportunities. Plans are currently underway to send teams working with Dickey-John, Brandt Consolidated and Rust-Oleum to Romania, Brazil and South Africa during the summer of 2010.
Export Project team members include faculty and students from Illinois State’s College of Business and College of Applied Science and Technology. Throughout the year, the teams work with medium-sized companies to identify, evaluate, and actively develop international business opportunities and prepare export plans. The teams act as consultants and prepare targeted marketing studies for specific countries. During the summer months, Export Project teams travel overseas to selected countries to evaluate potential export market opportunities. In addition to helping businesses grow, the multidisciplinary project gives Illinois State students a unique opportunity to gain international business and marketing experience.
Members of the Export Team are:
In 2007, the Export Project received a two-year, $165,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education. That funding was used to expand partnerships with small and medium-sized agriculturally-focused businesses, enhance the University’s international business curriculum, and provide faculty development opportunities.
While completing his business degree, Jerry Wirth ’88 didn’t envision the challenges he’d face as an entrepreneur in the Baltic States. ISU empowered him to withstand corruption and build an international business that now thrives.
After connecting with fellow College of Business Alumni Hall of Fame member Mike Richard ’75, senior vice president and treasurer for McDonald’s Corporation, an international medical care project to help Latvian children was born.
Wirth's Illinois State ites benefit not only Latvian childrne, but also the COB international business students. He worked in a university program that teamed alumni and students. International Business Institute Director Iris Varner said Wirth was an important mentor in that program and "very willing to respond to students."
The full story is available on page 8 of the Alumni Magazine http://www.cob.ilstu.edu/images/blog//IllinoisState-AlumniMagazine-vol9no4.pdf.
An Illinois State University project may help more U.S. companies find overseas markets for their products.
It's called the Export Project and this summer it sent 14 students and five faculty abroad.
Two teams traveled to China, two to India and one to Poland. All conducted market research and stayed abroad for about three weeks before returning.
Peter Kaufman, assistant professor in the Department of Marketing at ISU and part of the faculty team, said the program includes students from multiple disciplines including marketing, agribusienss and technology.
Read more about this summer project....
As Deloitte Resources Global Operations Coordinator, for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (DTT), Divyesh Jevtani '04 (IB) thrives on working collaboratively to achieve results. Recently Jevtani and his team were recognized by the Nielsen Norman Group for developing one of the top 10 intranets in the world.
Through his work, Jevtani focuses on overall online strategy by sharing best practices with the editors of regional Deloitte member firm intranets. "I manage the relationship with our team in India, where I visited twice in 2007, and I also work virtually with Deloitte member firms around the world each day.
In the past year I've been to Chicago, Lisbon, Portugal, and Mexico City to train our site editors." Jevtani also spoke at a conference in London about "Leveraging the Intranet in your Internal Communications" and had a central role in the development of The Deloitte TV Network - an internal website that serves a repository for all of the organization's video resources.
You can communicate directly with Divyesh and other members of the Illinois State University College of Business Alumni Network (COBAN) through the online professional networking service LinkedIn.
Since 2005, students and faculty members in Illinois State's Export Project have been helping Illinois companies expand into overseas markets. International business professor Iris Varner says the Export Project is a great benefit for companies and provides students with valuable international business and marketing experience.
Listen to Dr. Varner's speak about Illinois State's Export Project (mp3)
Students and faculty in our International Business (IB) Program continue to demonstrate that world-class opportunities are available to those willing to reach for them. Earlier this year lead authors, Iris Varner and Peter Kaufman, secured a 2-year $165,000 (total) federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education to support international business education opportunities. A select group of students were asked to apply for the Export Project. Only 12 students were asked to interview for the 6 available positions.
Participants in the 2008 Summer Export Project to Argentina are Rosanna Fugate (IB / Spanish), Michelle Prinsloo (double major IB/Org. Leadership), Laura Kane (Marketing/IB minor Spanish), Michael Kodat (Marketing/Economics), Tim Schmidgall (Agribusiness / Economics), and Corey Leslie (Construction Mgmt. / Accountancy).
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Dr. Peter Kaufman, Michelle Prinsloo, Laura Kane, |
The students are spending spring semester conducting research and writing export marketing plans for two Illinois-based companies expanding internationally. They are investigating cultural, political, legal, financial, competitors and economic issues, as well trade policy. Maui Jim, based in Peoria, is a manufacturer of high-end sun wear. The company is interested in locating a distribution center and retail site in Argentina. The Carus Corporation, based in Peru, is in the water purification business. Currently Carus is the largest manufacturer of permanganate in the world, a chemical that cleans water. The firm which is currently building a plant in China and recently purchased a plant in Spain is interested in learning about how some of their current products may be used in the agricultural sector in Argentina.
The students, along with Marketing Department faculty members Peter Kaufman and Horace Melton, will spend four weeks in Buenos Aires doing field research. Their work will include visits to the countryside to meet with growers for Carus and evaluate the competition. For Maui Jim, the goal is to build a market entry model for Argentina that can be applied other foreign markets the firm may want to enter.
All costs for lodging and food and local transportation will be paid for through the grant. The students, who will receive 3-credit hours for their work, will pay for their airfare and their personal expenses. The experience to those involve is priceless. “How many students have the opportunity to claim international consulting experience on their resumes while still in college!” said Kaufman.
Laura Kane was immediately intrigued by the opportunity because it specifically related to her career goal of conducting international market research. “I am an international business and marketing major, Spanish minor and I wanted to obtain more experience that would allow me to apply what I have learned so far in my academic career,” explained Kane. “This experience also helps me set myself apart from other students who are seeking employment in the highly competitive job market.”
The Export Program will be doubled the following year. It is anticipated that the 12 students selected for participation will travel to locations in Asia and Europe in June 2009.
A program administrator from the U.S. Dept. of Education Business and International Education grantee conference in St. Louis was so impressed with the ISU Export Program model, he asked Varner and Kaufman to present at the next conference under the label of "Best Practices".
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Dr. Iris Varner, Director of the International Business Program |
The Consortium for Undergraduate International Business Education (CUIBE) recently granted full membership status to the College of Business at Illinois State University. According to Iris Varner, Director of the International Business Program at ISU, the CUIBE is comprised of nationally recognized international business programs from across the United States. Together they strive to improve delivery of educational programs that will develop the appropriate skills and knowledge necessary for graduates to function effectively in a global business environment. Through research, publications, and seminars, the CUIBE distributes its wealth of knowledge to each other as well as the broader teaching community. CUIBE Schools include:
Florida International University
George Washington University
Illinois State University
Northeastern University
San Diego State University
Temple University
The University of Oklahoma
University of Hawaii
University of Missouri- St. Louis
University of South Carolina
Washington State University
“Having the only IB major at a public university in Illinois puts us in a leadership position and signals that we take all aspects of globalization and international business seriously,” said Varner. “Through our membership in CUIBE and by being a signatory to the United Nations-sponsored Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), we impress upon our students and graduates, the future business leaders in the country, the importance of ethical behavior. Furthermore, we let the world know that we are committed to integrating social responsibility into all our teachings. We are fostering intercultural understanding through international exchange programs and the study of different business models. “
For the first time the College of Business is presenting its Early Career Achievement Awards (ECAA) to 15 truly outstanding young alumni who have experienced significant professional success. In May an email about the award was sent to current and retired faculty and staff, and to all COB alumni for whom we had correct email addresses. Nominations began arriving soon afterwards and were reviewed by departmental teams in July. Honorees representing the different programs in the College of Business will be recognized on Friday, October 17, 2008.
Alan J. Medina Jr. ’92
International Business
Alan Medina Jr. works for Bunge, a leading agribusiness and food company with integrated operations that circle the globe. Bunge has more than 25,000 employees in over 30 countries dedicated to improving the global agribusiness and food production chain. Medina serves as Senior Trader and Logistics Manager for Bunge Deutschland GmbH and Bunge Austria GmbH, and is currently assigned in Mannheim, Germany. He coordinates Bunge Europe’s entire middle protein feedstuffs export business, which encompasses trade from the Iberian Peninsula through Central and Northern Europe and reaching into Ukraine and Russia.
Medina has also worked in various capacities in the international agricultural and trading and crushing industries in Hamburg, Germany; White Plains, NY and NYC, NY, St. Louis, MO, USA; and Montréal, Québec and Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. Medina, who grew up in Towanda, speaks fluent German and French. He frequently shares his international business expertise with the students and faculty in the College of Business.
Each year the College will name a small number of alumni to the Hall of Fame from nominations submitted by alumni, friends, faculty, and staff. Alumni are recognized for significant career accomplishment and outstanding service to others.
Jerry Wirth, earned a bachelor's degree in 1988 with a major in finance and a minor in international business, and is owner of R.B. Management, Ltd. After graduation he joined Caterpillar's corporate treasury department, and in 1992 he joined the Peace Corps as part of the historic first group to serve in the former Soviet Union. He was sent to Estonia, not speaking a word of Estonian, to put his financial background to use. He learned to speak Estonian fluently and helped Estonians develop various enterprises.
In 1992, Pepsico recruited Wirth to go to neighboring Latvia, where he turned around their struggling business. Since then, he has started businesses related to real estate, manufacturing, shopping centers, a hotel, and conversion of factories to lofts. His management business provides financial and management services to his companies and outside clients. He is vice president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Latvia and he supports the Salvation Army and other charities.
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