Category Archive: Agile Professionals | Business and Economics

Agile Professionals

Fields Jackson, Jr. ‘80 Makes the Business Case for Diversity

By Beth Ryan September 21st 2020

On September 8, the Bruce R. Thompson Center for Business and Economics welcomed Fields Jackson, Jr. ‘80, who presented “Making the Business Case for Diversity.”

The first talk in this year’s Seeking Justice in a Divided Nation Lunchtime Lecture series, Jackson shared his Allegheny journey to NASCAR and ultimately to his current position as the Founder, CEO and Chief Cheerleader of Racing Toward Diversity Magazine, President, College Diversity Network and Executive Director of the Historically Black Colleges & Universities Business Dean Roundtable. In this presentation he explains how diversity improves company performance both in profitability and innovation, particularly when problems are complex.

Click here to view this presentation on YouTube

He asked students, How do you know if a company values diversity?

Here’s Fields Jackson’s 7 Tips to prepare for your next job or internship interview:

Check out the Board of Directors (generally found on the investor website), do you see diversity?
Take a look at the senior or executive staff, same question.
Who are the company’s partners, their networks or affiliations?
Do they have a public vendor program? Do they attend special events?
Do they attend Diversity job fairs?
Are they active in social media, do they walk the talk?
Google the company, what are people saying?

Network with Fields by connecting with him on LinkedIn.

Fields Jackson

Mr. Jackson is currently the Founder, CEO and Chief Cheerleader of Racing Toward Diversity Magazine, Cary, NC, President, College Diversity Network and Executive Director of the HBCU Business Dean Roundtable. Fields was recognized by Diversity Best Practices as one of the Top Diversity Thought Leaders on Twitter.

Fields has also been identified by Onalytica, London, England, who helps run inﬂuencer programs for some of the largest brands in the world as #13 of the top 100 global inﬂuencers focusing on Gender Equality and Diversity. Hive Learning recently recognized Fields as one of the Most Influential Diversity & Inclusion Leaders – 2019. According to Hive – Fields Jackson is an influential Diversity and Inclusion advocate and expert who publishes Racing Toward Diversity magazine. He advocates that job seekers conduct their due diligence in finding Diverse workplace opportunities through research, networking and asking the right questions.

Fields received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics and Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy from Allegheny College, Meadville, PA. Fields received his MBA Degree from Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Ill.

The Bruce R. Thompson Center for Business & Economics attracts Allegheny’s next generation of business innovators and entrepreneurs by providing a host of co-curricular activities that connect with and deepen their classroom experiences. The Lunchtime Learning Lecture Series provides students with opportunities to gain valuable information on topics and industries related to internships and careers.

Selected Topics in Neuromarketing: Influencing Consumer Decision Making in the COVID Era

By Beth Ryan September 17th 2020

Dr. Michael Barbara, Chief Behavioral officer at Clicksuasion Labs, will Zoom in on September 23 to update students on how consumer behavior has shifted in the “new normal.”

With literally thousands of decisions that we make each time you step into a grocery store or a Best Buy or your favorite clothing store – how do you decide what to buy? More important, how do these stores decide how to persuade you to pick one item over another? Push this button instead of that one? Attend this Zoom lecture to get insight on what’s going on behind the scenes before you make your next shopping trip. Meet Michael Barbera on YouTube

Email bryan@allegheny.edu for more information and registration.

Dr. Michael Barbera is an award-winning consumer psychologist and business strategist for Fortune 50 companies. He is a leading expert in the complex factors that drive the entire consumer decision-making process, including consumer behavior, emotion, and experience. His practice areas include social psychology, decision-making, brand management, marketing, product placement, and long-term business growth strategies.

As the chief behavioral officer at Clicksuasion Labs, Michael helps clients to better understand consumer influence and consumer behavior, both online and in person. With Michael’s help, companies build customer experiences that are more efficient, engaging, and effective. He also creates evidence-based solutions that affect both external marketing strategy and internal operations management with behavioral economics and behavioral finance.

Michael has worked with large organizations including Boeing, Microsoft, The Washington Post, John Deere, Harley Davidson, LendLease, the United States Department of Defense, and the United States Department of State. He has also worked with academic institutions including Ithaca College, Purdue University, Duke University, and the University of North Carolina. Michaels’s clients have also appeared on the Billboard Top 40, ABC’s Shark Tank, Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing, and Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares.

Michael champions entrepreneurs and business leaders as a teacher, moderator, and mentor. In 2015, the White House recognized Michael for his many contributions to entrepreneurship. Michael shares research, insights, and thought leadership as a celebrated keynote speaker, host of the Clicksuasion podcast, and dynamic TEDx presenter. More than 100,000 people have seen Michael speak on four continents, and he has earned more than 250,000 views online.

Allegheny College Meets the Bloomberg Trading Challenge

By Beth Ryan June 8th 2020

Wealth Management Club members Trevor Day ‘20, Rafael Balanquet ‘20, and John Nagel ‘20 teamed up to enter the 2020 Bloomberg Trading Challenge. Although the Challenge was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team had a fantastic run, ranking 4th on the leaderboard at the end of week 5. Michael Michaelides, Assistant Professor of Economics and Faculty Advisor to the club, commented, “this performance is impressive, given that a couple of hundred teams and universities participate in this challenge.”

Student Trevor Day ’20 appreciated this opportunity, sharing these thoughts:

“I took on the Bloomberg Trading Challenge because it was something that interested me, but I’ve really begun to see the value of it as potential employers keep asking me questions about the trading challenge, the strategies I used, and Bloomberg Market Concepts. In the current job market, it is an ace up my sleeve that is distinguishing me as a job candidate.”

The Bloomberg Trading Challenge, How It Works

Students create 3-5 member portfolio teams and develop a strategy based on their own market assumptions. The team uses the Bloomberg Terminal to define the assumptions, develop a return-generating strategy, and execute trades over a closed network. The team has $1 million notional amount to invest across any number of securities. The team that generates the highest return relative to a pre-selected benchmark and presents the best investment methodology at the end of the Challenge is the winning team.

Allegheny College Wealth Management Club

The Wealth Management Club is designed to be a collaborative environment in which students can openly discuss and learn about topics relating to personal finance. The club invites guest speakers, uses simulations, and performs individual research in order to educate members about personal finance topics and learn how to get a head start on managing their own money.

For more information, visit The Bloomberg Lab at Allegheny College.

The Bruce R. Thompson Center for Business & Economics attracts Allegheny’s next generation of business innovators and entrepreneurs by providing a host of co-curricular activities that connect with and deepen their classroom experiences.

Meet The Fellows: Rachel Tobler ’21

By Beth Ryan June 2nd 2020

Rachel will graduate in 2021 as an Economics major with a Spanish/Political Science double minor. This fall, Rachel will begin her second year serving as a Fellow.

What’s it like to serve the Business & Economics department as a Fellow? Here’s what Rachel had to say:

“Serving as a CBE Fellow this year opened the door to me to work alongside the business and economics faculty, along with the speakers we bring in, bettering my networking, organization, and public speaking skills.

As for next year, though we don’t know what will come of the fall semester, as Fellows we hope to work with current students, connecting them to experts and alumni to help guide them through this uncertainty. We will hold office hours in a new initiative to meet personally with students, giving them the resource to navigate business and economics at Allegheny and beyond.”

The Bruce R. Thompson Center for Business and Economics Fellows are a select group of motivated students that function as a leadership team to support CBE programming and act as student ambassadors.

Congratulations to Jerfenson Cerda Mejia and Sharlyne Cabral!

By Beth Ryan May 21st 2020

The 2019 Financial Literacy Challenge winners circle – see more photos of the Challenge here; The next challenge will be held on December 5, 2020

Congratulations to Jerfenson Cerda Mejia and Sharlyne Cabral who placed in the top ten in the 2020 CFA Society of Pittsburgh Financial Plan Competition! These two first prize winners in this year’s Financial Literacy Competition in December went on to compete with 200 students from colleges and universities throughout Pennsylvania!

The CFA Society of Pittsburgh Collegiate Personal Financial Planning Competition is available to students from Pennsylvania’s academic institutions. Each student enters a financial plan that serves as a road map to help students plan for and achieve their financial goals. Through this program, the CFA Society of Pittsburgh hopes to help students take ownership of their financial future.

Gene Natali, CFA, CEO & Cofounder of Troutwood commented, “This year’s CFASP collegiate financial plan competition was extremely difficult to grade. This is because ALL of the financial plans submitted were exceptional! Every student that went through this effort will likely be better off because of it. Congratulations Jerfenson and Sharlyne on a job well done. Now go do it!”

Jerfenson and Sharlyne were winners in the December 2019 Financial Literacy Challenge. The Financial Literacy Challenge is a competition in which students develop and present a personal financial budget and investing plan appropriate for life after graduation. The competition is open to all Allegheny students, however participation in the challenge is a mandatory assignment for students taking ECON 010 – Financial Literacy. There are $5,000 in prizes and trophies awarded to student winners. The next competition will be held on December 5, 2020

Meet The Fellows: Shannon Putnam ’20

By Beth Ryan May 15th 2020

Shannon Putnam '20 Shannon will graduate this year as an Economics major and Education Studies minor after serving as a Fellow her senior year. What’s it like to serve the Business & Economics department as a Fellow? Here’s what Shannon had to say:

“Having the opportunity to be a Fellow as played a major impact on my senior year at Allegheny. It has allowed me to create stronger connections with everyone within Quigley Hall which has become like a home to me over the past four years. Being a Fellow has also vastly improved my networking, public speaking, and time management skills. Being a Fellow is something that has made my Allegheny career so special and I will look back on this time with great fondness. ”

Celebrating 2020 Graduates in Economics

By Beth Ryan May 8th 2020

As the spring semester comes to a close, we are pleased congratulate the class of 2020. Department Chair, Dr. Stephen Onyeiwu expressed these best wishes on behalf of the faculty and staff of the Center for Business & Economics, “We are very delighted you made it, despite the challenges posed by COVID-19. You’re truly a resilient and an indefatigable class. Congratulations!”

Ben Bachik	Trevor Day	Andrew Kirn	Taylor Renk
Rafael Balanquet	Garrett Fenton	Sungho Lee	Carlos Sanchez
Michael Bartley	Christian Geer	Nicole Luoma	Haley Seifert
Matthew Bauer	Gillian Greene	Matt Massucci	Jared Shaw
Autumn Bicko	Austin Hoyt	Ermona Michael	Hailey Shull
Emma Black	Ukasha Javed	Ryan Miller	Scott Steiner
Cassie Brown	Justin Katchur	Rachel Montgomery	Anh Ta
Zack Casagrande	Sean Kealey	John Nagel	Graham Tufts
Moises Colomer	Jacqueline Kelley-Cogdell	Brendan O’Toole	Brendon Urso
Robert Crowe	Bret Kelly	Zack Pateras	Andrew Vincent
Fabian Cuen Camacho	Omar Khan	Shannon Putnam	Liam Wilby

Meet the Fellows – Trevor Day ’20

By Beth Ryan May 6th 2020

Trevor Day '20 Trevor will graduate this year as an Economics major and Communication Arts minor after serving as a Fellow for two years. What’s it like to serve the Business & Economics department as a Fellow? Here’s what Trevor had to say:

“The CBE Fellowship has been one of the most rewarding experiences in my college career. The CBE has given me not only the experience, but the confidence to interact with alumni and faculty in a professional manner. The Economics Department and the CBE are two of the things I will miss the most as I graduate, but I know that I will be successful no matter where my career takes me due to my experiences as a Fellow.”

Celebrating 2020 Student Honors in Economics

By Beth Ryan April 30th 2020

This spring, we honor the 2020 Bruce R. Thompson Center for Business & Economics students who have earned honors in the field of economics. The honors designation is awarded to students whose exemplary performance in academics distinguishes them as young professionals as they graduate and move on to their next great adventure.

According to Stephen Onyeiwu, Ph.D., Department Chair, ”the Economics Department awards honors to students who have earned a minimum GPA of 3.5 in Economics, and at least a B+ in both the senior project and senior seminar plus an A- in one of these two. These are very high standards, and the department is delighted that a large number of the class of 2020 have received honors in Economics. Congratulations to our honorees for their stellar accomplishments, and we wish them success in their future endeavors.”

The following class of 2020 students have earned the department’s special honors:

The Prize of Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants is awarded for excellence in accounting studies. This prize is awarded to Keith Irvin ‘20.

The Economics Senior Project Prize is awarded for the best senior project assigned annually by the Department of Economics to encourage understanding and good scholarship. This prize is awarded to Jacqueline Kelley-Cogdell ’20.

The Graduate Student’s Prize in Economics is awarded to seniors whose achievement has been outstanding, and whose promise as a graduate student is substantial. This prize is awarded to both Matt Massucci ’20 and Graham Tufts ’20.

The Outstanding Achievement Prize in Economics is given to seniors with an outstanding record in economics and their positive contribution to the vitality of the department. This prize is awarded to both Emma Black ’20 and Jacqueline Kelley-Cogdell ’20.

The Outstanding Junior Major Prize is awarded for exceptional academic achievement, performance in the seminar, and their positive contribution to the vitality of the department. This prize is awarded to Rachel Tobler ’21.

The following Senior projects have earned Honors recognition:

Rafael Balanquet	“The Effect of the Slope of the Treasury Yield Curve on Private Nonresidential Fixed Investment in the United States’ Economy”
Matthew Bauer	“The Influence of the Tobacco Industry on State Legislatures’ Tobacco Control Laws”
Autumn Bicko (Sliker-Parker)	“The Failing Market of the Education System Under School Choice”
Emma Black	“The Effects of Female Representation on the Gender Wage Gap”
Trevor Day	“Stock Market Seasonality: An Empirical Analysis Using the CAPM”
Christian Geer	“Exploring the Predictive Power of Twitter Sentiment on Stock Price Movements”
Gillian Greene	“Reliable Recipients? When Rent-Seeking Behaviors Complicate Counterterrorism Efforts”
Ukasha Javed	“Determinants of Economic Growth In Developing and Developed Countries”
Sean Kealey	“The Driving Forces Behind Mergers, Acquisitions and Joint Ventures Between Macrobrewers in the 21st Century”
Jacqueline Kelley-Cogdell	“The Economic Impacts of Rural Public Transportation”
Bret Kelly	“The Impacts of Ethics on Principal-Agent Problems and Corporate Performance”
Matt Massucci	“An Analysis of the Change in the Market Structure of the Tooling and Machining Industry in Crawford County, Pennsylvania”
John Nagel	“Potential Factors that Impact Hotel Revenue in Belize”
Haley Seifert	“Does Knowing a Second Language Affect Income?”
Anh Ta	“The Road to Zero: Regulating Carbon Emissions”
Liam Wilby	“An Empirical Investigation into England National Sporting Teams Impact on the FTSE100 Market Index”
Graham Tufts	“Nothing New Under the Sun: The Origins and Effects of the Chicago Boys Neoliberalism”

Congratulations to these outstanding students! #AlleghenyStrong

The Bruce R. Thompson Center for Business & Economics attracts Allegheny’s next generation of business innovators and entrepreneurs by providing a host of co-curricular activities that connect with and deepen their classroom experiences.

Meet The Fellows: Emma Black ‘20

By Beth Ryan April 27th 2020

Emma Black '20, CBE Fellow Emma will graduate this year as an Economics Major and German minor after serving as a Fellow for two years. What’s it like to serve the Business & Economics department as a Fellow? Here’s what Emma had to say:

“Being a CBE Fellow gave me the opportunity to expand upon my relationships in the department with professors and students, which made my four years at Quigley Hall much more meaningful. I also was able to improve my networking, public speaking, and event planning skills alongside the other fellows who made the experiences so enjoyable.”