6/25/2003

Contact: K.E. Schwab  -- 724-738-2199;  e-mail: karl.schwab@sru.edu

Sets Agenda for Earning Accreditation –

DR. DAVID CULP NAMED NEW CHAIR OF SLIPPERY ROCK UNIVERSITY’S SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

          SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. --The new chair and assistant chair of Slippery Rock University’s School of Business have their agenda in place: Making their school the best undergraduate business program in western Pennsylvania.

          “It’s an attainable goal, and we have a plan that will make us successful,” says Dr. David Culp, a 24-year SRU faculty veteran who was recently named chair. “Our plan’s first step calls for earning accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, and we have already entered what they term ‘the pre-accreditation’ phase,” he explains. In addition, the school has started a “School of Business Advisory Committee,” charged with expanding contacts with regional businesses and developing programs that fill specific business needs.

          Culp, a professor who earned his doctorate at Southern Illinois University, says the newly formed advisory committee includes four SRU graduates. The committee is working to develop its own mission in stages. “We hope they will agree to help us develop plans and curriculum to meet the needs of the business community, and we hope they will help in the development of our strategies in recruiting and retaining students,” Culp says. The committee is expected to expand to around 15 members as it aids in both faculty and student development areas, including internships, placements and possibly fundraising.

          The new committee includes: Anthony Cialella, a 1992 SRU graduate and president and owner of Castle Environmental, Inc., in New Castle; Vivian Jacobs-Gabriel, 1992, vice president of commercial lending for Sky Bank, New Castle; Charles Gottschalk, 1990, chief financial officer for Target Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, Pittsburgh; Elizabeth Berkely, 1970, vice president for human resources of Great American Federal, in Pittsburgh; and Adam Golomb, director of marketing for Eat’n Park Hospitality Group in Pittsburgh.

           AACSB accreditation requires seven years, including assessment of current programs, design and implementation of new and expanded programs and finally both internal and external program reviews by business professionals.

Steps in meeting the accreditation plan include implementing new technology programs, explains Culp, adding that with the remodeling of classrooms and faculty offices by fall, he expects to see the program quickly expand. He says the business school curriculum will also expand in areas of community service.

          Assistant Chair Dr. John Misner, associate professor and four-year veteran of the School of Business, says he too is enthusiastic about the planned changes, noting, “This will be a chance for our students to take advantage of the latest is business theories, and it will give our students the chance to understand and implement new business ideas as part of their studies.” Misner primarily teaches finance-related classes, including portfolio management and a finance seminar.

          Misner, who was also instrumental in creating SRU’s new Certificate Program in Financial Planning open to all School of Business students, was recently honored by the university as recipient of the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. In presenting the award, Interim President Robert Smith called Misner “a committed professional devoted to seeing his students emboldened with enthusiasm and passion for the business world.” He credited Misner with strengthening the School of Business by his involvement in nearly every aspect of its operations. “Dr. Misner’s excellence as a teacher exemplifies the faculty commitment that has been instrumental in building the reputation of our School of Business.”

           Culp teaches courses in environmental economics, principles of economics and “Money and Banking.”

PN, PgN, WPN, PR, S – Photo available at www.SRU.edu