<<  October 25, 2004

cba.fiu.edu/cbaevents     October 26 Graduate School Fair GC Ballroom 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.     October 27 Faculty Awards Luncheon MARC International Pavilion Noon - 2:00 p.m.     October 29 Faculty Info Session Location TBA 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.     November 4 Research Workshop - Finance RB 358 3:00 p.m.     November 5 Faculty Assembly Location TBA 10:00 a.m.     November 5 Faculty & Staff Champagne Party MARC Building Lobby 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.     November 8 Business Student Council RB 358 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.     November 11 Campus closed - Veteran's Day     November 13 Executive MBA Info Session FIU Pines Center - Rm. 101K 10:00 a.m.     November 15 Dean's Coffee Club - Marketing RB 358 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.     November 17 Chapman Graduate School Coffee Talk MARC Building 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.     November 18 Dean's Coffee Club Management & IB RB 358 10:00 a.m. - Noon     November 18 Research Workshop - Finance RB 358 3:00 p.m.     November 25 & 26 Campus closed -Thanksgiving

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John Zdanowicz (left) honors industry leader Paul Jones for his many contributions to the Jerome Bain Real Estate Institute (JBREI), including serving on its alumni council, advisory board, and adjunct faculty.

  About 50 people attended an awards ceremony in FIU's GC Ballroom last Tuesday honoring industry professionals who support the College's Jerome Bain Real Estate Institute.

  For the first time in its four-year history, the Annual Real Estate Awards Luncheon received corporate sponsorship, courtesy of GMAC Commercial Mortgage and Pyramid Realty Group, Inc. Pyramid's President Paul Jones served as master of ceremonies after John Zdanowicz, the Institute's director, presented him with an appreciation plaque to open the program. Jones (BBA '78) was a founder of the FIU Real Estate Alumni Council, which now numbers more than 80 members, and also serves as the organizer of its annual Career Forum.

  "He's been a cheerleader and a key player all along," Zdanowicz said, "and if I had to use all of his ideas, I'd never sleep."

  Guest speaker, GMAC Vice President John McLeod, said a prime component of his job is getting out from behind his desk and into the field, "which includes coming to FIU and talking to students."

  McLeod addressed members of the newly-formed Real Estate Student Association (RESA), outlining the growth of his company and industry. He said GMAC's offices in Boca Raton and Miami are responsible for just under a half-billion in transactions, with an average loan of $11 million.

  Scaffolded by a $700,000 USAID grant, a new multi-national coalition to advance CAFTA will launch November 9 in Guatemala City with Knight-Ridder Center's Director Ed Glab in attendance as a founding signatory.

  The Alliance for CAFTAction aims to meld business, community, and policy interests in the six countries — El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and the U.S.— that signed the free-trade accord at the end of January. Glab is one of 100 leaders and organizations that committed to partner the initiative led by Caribbean-Central American Action (CCAA). Highlighted goals of CAFTAction include strengthening the region's democracy, education, health, technology, and infrastructure.

  College experts in family-owned enterprises and Latin American economic/political policy, Jerry Haar and David Wernick, respectively, will also be participating in the endeavor.

Lourdes Balepogi joins the Global Entrepreneurship Center (GEC) as its events coordinator. She'll be overseeing all projects, workshops, and lectures, including the third annual Howard J. Leonhardt New Venture Challenge: A Business Plan Competition, which was launched this month. Balepogi brings to the job her FIU communications degree and years of marketing and public relations experience with Warner Brothers and the American Red Cross.

Mark Elbadramany also is a new addition to the GEC. He'll be a student assistant to Center Associate Director Colleen Post while completing a double major in finance and international business honors by December 2006.

Maria Sierra assumes financial responsibilities for the Executive MBA as its new program assistant under Sarah Perez. Sierra holds a 2002 College degree in management information systems, which she used at the University's facilities management department for two years before coming back to her alma mater this month.

	Paul Reynolds unveiled for the first time at FIU his internationally-renowned GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor) Study. Having served as the principal investigator in the six-year program, Reynolds told the audience of about 50 last Friday that his look at business-building in 40 countries revealed that Canada and the U.S. are the world leaders because its financial commitment to research has spawned unparalleled intellectual innovation.
	Ph.D. candidate Cecilia Alvarez returned Friday from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, where her dissertation was well received at the 39th Annual Assembly of CLADEA, a counsel of Latin American business schools. The AACSB-sanctioned event opened October 19 with a two-day doctoral consortium, followed by a conference attended by Chapman Dean José de la Torre and Ron Lee, faculty director of the College's Ph.D. program. Alvarez's research examines the change process that Hispanic immigrants undergo while adapting to U.S. culture and the effect it has on their purchasing patterns. Her efforts included constructing a database of academic and industry research on marketing to Hispanics, which she assembled with her Ph.D. advisor, marketing professor Peter Dickson. Alvarez will defend her dissertation, An Acculturation Model of Middle-Income Hispanic Households, on November 23.
	Olé, Olé! Señor Don Fair busted some mean moves Friday to narrowly nab first place in a Mexican hat dance contest during a Boss's Day Luncheon. Staffers in the Executive Dean's Office treated administrators to a catered taco bar, then made them earn their meal by providing the afternoon's entertainment.
	Gary Dessler, a professor of management and IB, will represent the College as the newly-elected member of the University's Senate Academic Policies Committee.

	James R. Bussey is seeking faculty nominations for nine students to attend the ITWomen Anniversary and CIO Silent Auction Gala on November 4, 6:00-9:00 p.m., at the Design Center of the Americas (DCOTA) in Dania Beach. Executive Dean Joyce J. Elam is represented by her executive assistant Bussey on the board of ITWomen, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement, advocacy, and development of professional women in technology in South Florida. The College is holding nine student-designated seats as co-sponsor of the gala. The evening will crown with the auctioning-off of "a day with" 20 of South Florida's most high-profile CIOs and perk packages including lunches, exchange sessions, and tours. Proceeds benefit the group's Charitable Foundation Scholarship Fund. For more information or to nominate a student, contact James R. Bussey.
	The Finance Department is hosting a series of research workshops for its faculty and doctoral students every other Thursday at 3:00 p.m. in RB 358. The first session October 21 featured papers by Assistant Professor Brice Dupoyet and Professor Suchismita Mishra. The other scheduled dates are November 4 and 18 and December 2. Contact Arun Prakash, one of the College's lead research professors, for more information.
	Marcos Kerbel, an adjunct professor in finance, will join finance instructor Deanne Butchey as Banner Marshals during the Fall 2004 Commencement Ceremonies on December 21. Each will lead 20 faculty hosts, one during the 3:00 p.m. procession for the College's undergrads (except accounting), the other at 7:00 p.m. for the School of Accounting and Chapman Graduate School. Faculty volunteers should contact Isa Barzana before November, so the College can schedule training.
	The celebration for Chapman's IMBA kudos, as featured in BusinessWeek's October 18 edition, has been reset from October 29 to November 5, according to its host, Jester-Professor Peter Dickson.
	Submissions to E-Blast, the College's electronic bulletin board for faculty, staff, and students, are due to web master Alexis Puentes by close-of-business Thursdays. They should include the contact person's name and e-mail address, a brief subject "teaser" line, and a web link that contains all details in a flyer-type format for publication Fridays at 3:00 p.m.
	The University's Resource Center is an open lab that provides individual instruction for all educational technology needs. It is sponsoring a series of instructional design workshops for faculty and graduate assistants who want to learn how to construct pedagogically-sound courses and activities. The Center also offers other workshops, featuring the latest equipment and software.
	The University is preparing to transition from WebCT 3.8 to the 4.1 version after this semester. New and existing WebCT designers should plan for training.

Excel Tip: Using the Auto Fill Feature in Microsoft Excel

Auto Fill

To fill a series across columns or down rows, type "January" or "Jan" in any cell and place your mouse pointer over the bottom right corner of the cell (fill handle) until the mouser pointer changes to a small black cross. Left click and drag down or across. This also can be done with Numbers, Weekdays, Quarters or any text that ends in a number e.g. Day 1.

Visit http://business.fiu.edu/web/techctr/tutorials/ to take advantage of the new learning series of video tutorials.