Ask  E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor in Business Steve Tallman why students should take classes in international business when they can study general business and he’ll tell you that, like a global economy, the business environment varies from country to country. So while the essential disciplines may be the same, things differ from place to place. On the one hand, there are many opportunities; on the other, there are many challenges, as cultural, political and economic environments all differ from country to country.

“An international business education makes sense whether or not you plan on working in a foreign country, domestically for a foreign company or for a domestic company because business is an international entity that is constantly moving and changing so that virtually all business is international today,” said Tallman.  “There are benefits and costs associated with working across borders and businesses must stay abreast of these changes.”

For example, at the time of this interview, the United States was the hottest location for international acquisitions because the strong Euro created a lot of buying power for India and Europe.  About ten percent of the U.S. GDP is generated by foreign companies so if you are not selling abroad or buying inputs, you are competing with international companies.  Or, you could walk into work one day and discover that your company was acquired by an international entity.

Steve Tallman spends his days teaching Robins School students how to think about business in these contexts.  His classes include International Business and Global Strategy.  Seeing patterns of interconnectedness and how they change and effect peoples’ behavior fascinates Tallman, whose interest in international business was sparked while studying at West Point.  He spent a number of years in the Army after graduating from college and then went to UCLA, where he received his Ph.D. in International Management.

After graduating from UCLA, Tallman spent some time at the University of Hawaii researching and teaching International Business, which was very interesting because Hawaii is the gateway to the Asia Pacific region.  In 1990, he moved to Utah, where he taught International Business at the University of Utah.  He took some time off from Utah to teach a term at the Thunderbird School of International Management in France and at the Cranfield School of Management in England.  He recently taught Global Strategy at Bocconi University in Milan.

The chaired professorship brought him to the Robins School. It has traditionally been an international business position and when it became available Tallman applied and was offered the position.  Tallman’s wife Marcia is from Virginia and the couple wanted to move back to her home state.

“I love the challenge of a constantly changing environment.  Suddenly, a company that was no threat is a major competitor because someone bought them and if you are not prepared, you could end up like the U.S. automotive industry when the Japanese entered the market,” said Tallman.

Students who graduate with a degree in International Business get the same jobs as everyone else.  It is not an easy path–typically students go from work to graduate school and then to a career in international business. 

“If you want to work abroad, join a major multinational firm and make it known that you are interested in international assignments.  You have to aggressively manage your career and show that you are not a stereotypical “ugly” American.  Be fluent in a foreign language, study abroad and demonstrate knowledge, understanding an appreciation of their culture. You have to be a bit of a risk taker but the rewards can be tremendous if you are.”

Congratulations to Dr. Robert M. Schmidt, professor of economics and economics department chair. At this year’s University Colloquy, Schmidt was announced as one of only seven recipients of the annual Distinguished Educator Award. This award is given to a full-time faculty member who has made outstanding contributions to excellence in education. The primary criterion for this award is leadership in teaching and learning.

[Provost's Award Recipient Web page] “For his entire career, Dr. Robert Schmidt has taught Business Statistics and Econometrics, two quantitative and challenging classes that are not typically approached with eagerness by students. He has achieved a remarkable blend of rigor and enthusiasm coupled with a sensitivity for his students’ anxieties in these subject areas. Students appreciate Professor Schmidt’s spirit of caring for their wellbeing and success, both in the classroom and beyond, saying he is “very warm–hearted and friendly” and “always approachable and receptive.” As a well-regarded scholar in the area of demography, Dr. Schmidt has published numerous articles in some of the most prestigious journals in this field; however, he is most appreciated by his colleagues for his willingness to lend his time and expertise to others. Dr. Schmidt has co-authored papers with several members of the Economics Department, and is perennially sought after by the honors students to guide them through the econometric aspects of thesis work. His service contributions at the departmental, Business School, and University levels are exemplary. At the Business School, Professor Schmidt has served as Department Chair since 2001; as chair of the Full Professors Committee and the Tenured Faculty Committee; and as coordinator of student evaluations of faculty. At the University level, he serves as the University Faculty Secretary, is a member of the Committee on Committees, and has recently served on two important A&S ad hoc committees. Dr. Robert Schmidt is a selfless and effective teacher, serving as an important mentor and role model to our students.”

Congratulations once again Professor Schmidt. The Robins School is proud to have you as part of our family.

Robins School faculty impact more than just those within these walls. This summer was a clear example of just that. A large number of our faculty taught or presented research in locations throughout the world. When it comes to faculty research, over 20% of the faculty are doing some type of international-related research in their respective areas of study.

Some of the faculty international activity this past summer included professors Lascu and Szakmary teaching at Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, professor Phillips teaching at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, and professor Thompson receiving a STINT Grant from the Swedish Government to participate in a research project in Sweden. Additionally, professor Steve Tallman was inducted as a Fellow of the Academy of International Business at the association's meeting in Milan, Italy, in June. This was an incredible recognition for Steve, and we would like to congratulate him!

Working with the national Quality Research Center at the University of Michigan, Jonathan Whitaker and two other professors sought to determine the impact of offshore outsourcing on customer satisfaction (http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm? abstract_id=1010457). Not only were the research results quite intriguing, but an article on their findings also garnered national attention. The article was quickly picked up by The Wall Street Journal. With such impressive national recognition, others soon followed. Interviews and synopses began popping up shortly thereafter, including a posting on ZDNet and ITBusinessEdge. Congratulations to Jonathan Whitaker and his colleagues for their quality work and national recognition!

Read Professor Earl’s article in the Education Columns newsletter at http://mtaeducationalfoundation.org/documents/
Summer_Newsletter.pdf (page 5).

The Robins School of Business would like to welcome its new teaching faculty:

Tenure-Track

Dr. Berrak Buyukkarabacak
Assistant Professor
Economics Department
Ph.D., 2008, Emory University
M.A., 2004, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey
B.B.A., 2001, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey

Ms. Olena Mykhaylova
Assistant Professor
Economics Department
Ph.D., anticipated May 2008, Georgetown University
M.A., 2003, Georgetown University
B.A., 2002, Lakeland College

Dr. Joyce Ann van der Laan Smith
Assistant Professor
Accounting Department
Virginia State University
Ph.D., 2005, Virginia Commonwealth University
B.S., 1979, Florida International University

Visiting

Dr. James H. Damico
Visiting Lecturer
Management Department
Performance Improvement Consulting
Ph.D., 1976, Syracruse University
M.S., 1969, Miami University of Ohio
B.A., 1967, St. Bonaventure University

Ms. Cynthia Peterson Guthrie
Visiting Instructor
Accounting Department
Ph.D., anticipated 2008, Virginia Commonwealth University
M.B.A., 1988, University of Richmond
B.S., 1978, University of West Florida

Dr. Elias L. Khalil
Visiting Lecturer
The E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished University Chair
Economics Department
Monash University, Australia
Ph.D., 1990, New School University
B.A., 1979, Ohio State University

Dr. Kiersten Marie Maryott
Visiting Lecturer
Marketing Department
Virginia Commonwealth University
Ph.D., 2002, Duke University
B.S., 1996, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Ms. Christine A. Panasian
Visiting Lecturer
Finance Department
Ph.D., anticipated August 2008, Texas Tech University
M.Sc., 2002, Concordia University, Montreal
B.Com., 2000, Concordia University, Montreal

Dr. David D. Schein
Visiting Lecturer
Management Department
University of Maryland University College
Ph.D., 2005, University of Virginia
J.D., 1977, University of Houston
M.B.A., 1975, University of Virginia
B.A., 1973, University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Shitao Yang
Visiting Associate Professor
Management Department
University of New Haven
Ph.D., 1999, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
M.A., 1985, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
B.S., 1982, Chongqing Normal University

Adjunct

Ms. Patricia Carey
Adjunct Instructor
Management Department
Workforce Strategies, LLC
M.S., 1990, Virginia Commonwealth University
B.S., 1982, Longwood College

Ms. Sara M. Hillgrove
Adjunct Instructor
Management Department
Rink Management Services Corporation and SCS
M.S., 1981, Boston University
A.B., 1973, Sweet Briar College

Dr. Thomas D. Dertinger
Adjunct Lecturer
Economics Department
St. Mary’s Catholic School
Ed.D., 1984, SUNY at Albany
M.B.A., 2005, University of Richmond
M.S., 1978, SUNY at Albany
B.S., 1974, SUNY at Oswego

Dean Jorge Haddock of the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business has announced the promotion of faculty members to academic leadership positions for the 2008 - 09 academic year.

Richard Coughlan will serve in the new position of senior associate dean. Coughlan has been associate dean of graduate and executive education, leading both programs to high national rankings, record revenues and record quality of students. He will remain in charge of those areas, while taking on new responsibilities of staff development and assisting Haddock with fiscal planning and corporate relations.

Robert Nicholson, associate professor of economics, has been promoted to associate dean for undergraduate business programs, responsible for overseeing the Robins School undergraduate program, except for assessment and accreditation. Nicholson joined the Robins School faculty in 1972 and received its Academic Advisor Excellence Award in 2007.

Andy Litteral has been promoted to the new position of director of assessment and accreditation. Litteral is an associate professor of management, specializing in statistical process control, forecasting and manufacturing planning and control systems.

Paul Clikeman, associate professor of accounting, is the new director of the master’s in accountancy (MAcc) program. Clikeman specializes in accounting education and auditor independence.

Darrell Walden, associate professor of accounting, has been appointed chairman of the
accounting department. Walden, who received the Robins School Excellence in Teaching Award in 2003, specializes in accounting education and innovations in learning with technology and environmental reporting. 

Robins School economics professor Dean Croushore has been named the interim director of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s new Real-Time Data Research Center. The center facilitates collaborative research using the bank’s real-time data set and its surveys of forecasters. The Real-Time Data Research Center will be a source of knowledge and expertise about real-time macroeconomic data, surveys of macroeconomic forecasts and macroeconomic modeling. The real-time data set includes macroeconomic data series as they were initially released and the subsequent revisions to these data.

The data set enables researchers, forecasters and monetary policymakers to look back at the data the policymakers were confronted with at the time of their decisions about interest rates. It provides an alternative to using data that have been revised over time. Data revisions can make dramatic differences in the results of empirical research and the development of economic forecasting models.

“The Federal Reserve’s ability to make better monetary policy decisions depends on studying past data and how they have been revised. By studying those revisions, we can help policymakers understand how to incorporate data revisions into their decision making,” said Croushore, who is the Rigsby Fellow at the University of Richmond and former vice president in the Philadelphia Fed’s research department. “But the center goes far beyond the study of data revisions and includes much additional macroeconomic research that is relevant for monetary policy.”