Executive-in-Residence 3/18/10 – D. Allan Walker

Longwood Alum Speaks at Executive-in-Residence Series

Date: 3/18/10

By John Ivey

D. Allan Walker who graduated Longwood University in 1985 was the speaker, on Thursday March 18, for The College of Business & Economics Executive-in-Residence series, a program bringing business leaders to students to share their experiences and insight into the business world. Walker is currently the chief marketing officer of Virginia Asset Management, an independent financial and benefit planning firm. He has worked for companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield and Rogers Benefit Group. The topic of Walkers presentation was “Leadership: Resisting Temptations Stay the Course."

After giving an overview of how he has come to where he is in his career Walker moved into the primary focus of the lecture, leadership which he defined as the capacity to rally men and women around a common purpose. To outline this Walker stated 21 key points, however he mainly focused on only four of these points, which he called the four C’s. The four C’s are Confidence, Commitment, Cooperation, and Creativity. He then proceeded to describe each of the four C’s individually explaining how each key in becoming a good leader.

For the first C, confidence, Walker described it as showing self-discipline, competence, discernment and a positive attitude. Self-discipline he explained is achieved by planning; this is one of the most important aspects of a leader. Competence he described as the ability to build knowledge. In addition, competence encompasses the ability to motivate others and doing more than what is asked every time, this was summed up when he said, “quality is never an accident.” Discernment he portrayed as the ability to get to the root of problems. Positive attitude he expressed as quite simply bringing a positive attitude to the job, to improve on this he suggested “dinning on positive things”, such as working out and looking at past successes.

Next Walker moved onto commitment, which he described as exhibiting true commitment, focus and relationships. True commitment he explained what attracts and inspires people to take action, which is essential when it comes to a leader. Focus, the ability to stay on topic he explained is essential for a good leader. Also, he explained how we should use our focus which is 70% on strength, 25% on new growth, and only 5% on our weakness. He explained that we should mainly focus on and develop our strength and not as much on our weakness to help develop our best qualities. Relationships he describes as the ability to get along with people, summing it up with “it’s what you put into people (as a leader), rather than what you can get out of them.”

Then Walker quickly moved thorough Cooperation, focusing on teach ability, which he described as a leaders ability to learn, grow, and gain knowledge every day.

Subsequently, he talked about the last C, which is Creativity which he described as passion. He described passion as a person’s enthusiasm and energy a person brings to a job. Passion he explained comes from a deep love of what you enjoy doing. This type of person has the ability to “make things happen.”

In his closing Walker focused on the need for young leaders to “move!”, “seek a mentor!”, and most important “make a difference!” These things he explained are essential to becoming a leader in addition to the four C’s. He ended with the statements “there are always new leadership opportunities avail themselves”, meaning there are new opportunities around every corner and “there is a balance between a professional life and a personal one”, meaning life is not all about business, so live your life to the fullest.

Over all I really enjoyed this speaker he gave one of the best Executive-in-Residence presentations that I have seen in my more than two years of covering Executive-in-Residence speakers. He exhibited every one of the key points he spoke about and presented his material in a way that regardless of your learning style, audile, visual or otherwise; you learned exactly what he was talking about. One of the things that set this speaker apart from the rest was his explanations of how to implement his ideas which made understanding him much easier for everyone who attended. I find a relation to management here though leaning how all levels of management should operate because by applying these ideas any company will greatly improve.

Rotunda Article 3/31/10

March Board of Visitors Meeting

John Ivey - Rotunda Reporter

On Fri., March 26 and Sat., March 27, the Longwood University Board of Visitors (BOV) met in Lancaster Hall to discuss a range of topics from changes to the Student Handbook, the university’s financial situation, athletics and many other important topics to students.

The BOV is comprised of business professionals, Longwood alumni, faculty and staff representatives, President Patricia Cormier, and President of the Student Government Association (SGA) Cameron Patterson. They listen to updates from many campus departments and vote on policies that can impact virtually every aspect of student life, from policy on smoking, to tuition cost and everything in between.

The BOV’s Friday session began with reports from Rector Helen Warriner-Burke and Longwood President Patricia Cormier, then moved into the business portion of the meeting.

Among the items discussed and voted on was an approval for funds from the Auxiliary Reserve Budget. The request was for $140,000 to repair the Longwood Bed and Breakfast storm gutters. Also included in the request was $255,000 to make repairs to the infrastructure of the Longwood House, which is where the university president resides. The total of these repairs will be $395,000, the action was approved.

During the Comprehensive Campaign Report it was announced that the recently created nursing program has received multiple grants to help fund the program. The program received three large grants: $151,000 from the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation, $200,000 from the Virginia Tobacco & Indemnification & Community Revitalization Commission’s Reserve Fund, and $150,000 from the Richmond Memorial Health Foundation. These grants add up to more than $500,000.

In the revisions to the Student Handbook, the first policy change request was for guidelines regarding scavenger hunts on campus. The rational for the guidelines was “some scavenger hunts recently disrupted university business and residence hall communities.” This is a big change because prior to this scavenger hunts were unregulated. Guidelines for scavenger hunts include: participants should be “learning about their organization, field of study, or the University”, “not exceed two hours in length”, and “participants should not work alone.” Requirements for scavenger hunts will now include: mandatory registration of the scavenger hunt with the Student Union Office, must be conducted between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday or between 10 a.m. and midnight on Friday and Saturday. Further requirements specify that the boundaries for scavenger hunts is limited to main campus only and that going off campus or to university managed communities is not permitted and travel via a vehicle is not permitted. This action was approved.

In addition, the Community Standards Committee, in conjunction with the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life recommended that the Greek Judicial Board and Student Arbitration Board be removed from the Student Handbook. The reasoning behind the change was that “the number of Greek organization incidents has significantly dropped” in the past six years. Also, “Greek involvement and membership on the Honor and Judicial Boards increased.” This means that all cases formerly handled by the Greek Judicial Board and Student Arbitration Board will now be handled by the Judicial and Honor Systems. This action was approved.

Further revisions to the Student Handbook included a revision of the alcohol policy in fraternity chapter rooms. The changes affect events hosted in chapter rooms. These events must be hosted as “Bring Your Own Beverage (BYOB)” and “there are no more than four alcoholic beverages per attendee of legal drinking age.” The policy further states that the number of attendees present is limited to one guest per fraternity chapter member. Also “one alcoholic beverage is defined as a 12 oz. beer, a 4 oz. glass of wine, or 1 oz. of hard liquor.” The rationale for the policy change “is intended as a limitation on the amount of alcohol available per person, not as a guideline…” This action was approved.

During the Report on Student Housing the current student statistical data was presented. The statistics showed that the total number of students living in university housing is over 2800, which represents more than 60 percent of total student enrolment. The total headcount for spring 2010 is just over 4500, less than a one percent increase from last year.

The Report on Athletics Academic Progress Rate included data for the academic years 2005 to 2009. The report showed that nine out of 14 teams reached the maximum number of points possible by NCAA benchmarks in a single year with 1000. Women’s golf is the only team to reach 1000 points over multiple years. However, men’s basketball was the only team to not meet the NCAA benchmark, which is 925 points, falling short by five points in a single year.

The final information item discussed was an Update on Intercollegiate Athletics. Director of Athletics Troy Austin gave an oral update on the universities athletics, including the recent move by the athletic department into the newly renovated Tabb Hall. In addition, Austin hinted at the fact that Longwood University is pursuing membership in the Big South NCAA conference.

The next BOV meeting will be held in June.

Rotunda Article 3/24/10

Sustainability Conference Keynote Speaker: Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream

The Rotunda Issue date: 3/24/10 Section: Features

By John Ivey

Rotunda Reporter

Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, helped kick off Longwood University's much anticipated three-day Sustainability Conference on Thurs., March 18. The sustainability conference was a three-day series of events for students and staff from both Longwood and schools from around the state. The conference theme focused on economic development, environmental stewardship and social justice.

Greenfield was the keynote speaker of the conference, where he lectured in Blackwell Hall. He spoke about business sustainability, social responsibility and his radical business philosophy that has made Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream the multi-million dollar company that it is today. In addition, attendees were treated to free Ben & Jerry's ice cream in Dorrill Dining Hall after the lecture.

Greenfield began by giving an overview of how Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream got its start.
He talked about how he and Ben Cohen became friends and how they eventually came to want to make ice cream for a living. Greenfield explained that the pair attended a $5 Penn State correspondence course in ice cream making, and shortly thereafter opened their homemade ice cream shop in Burlington, VT in May 1978. Though there were challenges of operating an ice cream shop in the cold Northeast, eventually Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream began selling their ice cream in containers like most of us recognize today.

Throughout the lecture Greenfield focused on the business spirit and sense of social responsibility that have made Ben & Jerry's business plan famous. This unique view of business had always been a cornerstone of the company, Greenfield explained, and brought about some unique solutions to business challenges. Greenfield used the example of selling the first stock of Ben & Jerry's to the average person in Vermont, rather than just wealthy investors. This was an unheard of idea at the time, but Ben and Jerry wanted to make it so that when the company grew, the community could reap the rewards. Public offerings started at $126 so that many people could join in.

Greenfield continued on to discuss how the role business plays in everyone's daily lives has changed over time. At one point, religious organizations led society, then it was government and now "business is the most powerful force." He was referencing how both religion and government have a vested self-interest in the social welfare, however, business in most interested in self-interest. Greenfield also mentioned where business has its power, influencing "politics, media, and how consumers are treated." He continued on to discuss how most businesses act in self-interest, and how even business schools teach "profit is everything to business."

Greenfield then changed direction and began talking about the "spiritual aspect of business." This was, in essence, returning to traditional values of doing what is right and working by the principle of "the good that you do comes back to you." He continued talking about how most business leaders are good caring people who are active in their community, not purely greedy like some may think.

One question Greenfield proposed to the audience was, "Why isn't business addressing social problems?" The answer to this question is that businesses do not address social need, meaning the needs of the local community. This is because it is not something that is measured as success. Greenfield said they measure success as profit, and measuring these factors helps give the business direction and focus.

Greenfield then began talking about Ben & Jerry's as an example of business done the right way, as he saw it. He continued talking about how Ben & Jerry's have applied the things he talked about. For instance, the business operates on a two-part bottom line: one part is profit and the other is the business's impact, or "giving back" to the community. He talked about how the idea of "giving back" had to be worked into the daily routine of the business for it to work.

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream are continually improving their example of business though multiple venues. One of the company's goals is to be using 100 percent fair trade ingredients in Europe by 2011 and the U.S. by 2013. Ben & Jerry's also uses non-profit suppliers that help people by giving them jobs, along with operating 14 non-profit shops. The many charitable organizations that are supported by the business show that the company is applying the original idea Ben and Jerry had, which was to pass on the benefits of growth on to the community.

Being socially responsible is not just a weakness; it can be a vital asset to the company in building good relations with the community, which in turn helps retain customers and attract the best employees. Greenfield closed his presentation saying there is a spiritual aspect of business, just as there is to the lives of individuals and "the good that you do comes back to you."

Sustainability Conference Keynote Speaker: Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream - Features

Rotunda Article 3/4/09

Despite Weather, Overflow Crowd Turns Out to Hear Tractor Supply Company Exec

John Ivey

The Rotunda Issue date: 3/4/09 Section: News

On Tuesday, March 3, the Executive-in-Residence series brought its last speaker of the year, Joe Scarlett, to the College of Business and Economics. Students, faculty and guests attended the event, with a noticeable drop in attendance from the last Executive-in-Residence, due to the inclement weather. However, even with the lower attendance the audience filled the Hiner auditorium with latecomers viewing in the adjacent classrooms simulcasting the event. The speaker, who some referred to as the "best in the series," discussed the significance of ethics in the business world and its importance to being a good leader, giving examples of the benefits from his own life.

Scarlett is a retired executive of Tractor Supply Company (TSC) who got most of his experience from a lifelong career in the retail field. With his experience in the retail field, Scarlett began work at TSC in 1979. Later, in 1982 he joined a buyout group of TSC and soon after took the company public in 1994. During his time at TSC, Scarlett served as CEO for over 10 years, during which time company revenues quadrupled and stock prices increased tenfold. Also he has received multiple honors for his work with TSC, such as the 2003 Southeast's entrepreneur of the year. Under his guidance the company was selected by Forbes "as one the best-managed companies in America in 2004." Today, Scarlett works on building top-notch business leadership programs for emerging leaders that emphasize ethics and communication.

Starting off, Scarlett talked about the many ways in which ethics have not been used in businesses in the past. To show this he gave several examples, one of which was the recent peanut butter scare at Peanut Co. of America, whose executives knowingly sold peanut butter contaminated with salmonella which cost nine people their lives, caused company to go into bankruptcy and opened the possibility of criminal charges being filed against the executives involved. This, Scarlett highlighted is a prime example of unethical practices in business and how they can be very costly to all those involved.

Other examples he gave included large business corruption cases such as TYCO, ENRON and others. He even shared a few stories of unethical practices at TSC during his time, including an executive member who had to be fired due to his unethical behavior within the company. But, he didn't just point out unethical cases in the corporate world; he also showed that strong ethics are needed in government too, citing Watergate, the Monica Lewinski scandal and the Illinois governor corruption case.

He later went on to discuss ethics in the business world and how vital they are to becoming successful in the business world, especially in terms of leadership. To show this, Scarlett made several important points: "Stand up for what is right," and "ethics will always pay off." These, he said, are key ideas relating to ethics. He went on to talk about how most people who have ethical inadequacies tend to begin by being unethical about small things at first, which eventually grow in large ethical problems later in life. However, by maintaining strong ethics, he said, a person enhances his or her reputation as a trustworthy individual, making him or her a more desirable asset to companies and more likely to be a successful leader.
Scarlett closed by talking about how the ethical choice is not always the easiest choice but making the right ethical decision will cause future benefit.

Overall, Scarlett's discussion on ethics in leadership and business was a good reminder that doing the right thing does pay off in the future and while some think that the business world is corrupt, it is actually made up of mostly honest businesspeople. As an end to the year's Executive-in-Residence series, Scarlett provided a good ending to a series that has brought many inspirational leaders to give their insight to the Longwood community.

Despite Weather, Overflow Crowd Turns Out to Hear Tractor Supply Company Exec - News

Rotunda Article 1/21/09

Abuse to Cunninghams Smoke Hut Could Mean its Removal

John Ivey

The Rotunda Issue date: 1/21/09 Section: News

During the course of last semester Longwood has kept smoking huts around campus, which has succeeded in keeping smoking contained but available on campus. Overall the huts have required little maintenance or repair because for the most part students have not been abusing the huts' existence. There have been problems with one hut in particular, however: the Cunninghams smoking hut on Madison Street.

The Cunninghams smoking hut, which was originally placed in front of the residence hall, is actually a wooden gazebo that has been modified into for its current use. Several other huts are housed in gazebos around campus, including one by Curry and Frazer, Cox and Wheeler, and South Ruffner and Tabb. None of the others, however, have faced the same misuses that the Cunninghams hut has faced.

The problems with this hut have gotten so bad that Vice President of Facilities Management & Real Property Richard Bratcher sent a letter to SGA President Caitlin Revene asking for help in getting students to respect and not exploit the hut and the surrounding area. In the letter Bratcher stated that "a number of roof shingles have been knocked out" on multiple occasions. While damage to the roof not only causes the hut to look bad it also allows wind and rain to damage the hut further.

In addition, the letter listed other abuses of the area around the hut including having clothing or drinking cups tossed on top of the hut. Also on several occasions a street sign near the hut has been pulled out of the ground; in fact on one such occasion Bratcher said he saw students using the hut remove the street sign.

In addition Bratcher said he observed "some extremely rude behavior by a few of the students using the hut."

In the letter, Bratcher went on to say that if the abuse of the hut continues the university would most likely not replace it, due in part to the cost to the university. Bratcher feels that the university should not have to continuously repair something because the students are damaging it. If the Cunninghams hut is closed there is another hut very close by, located next to Stubbs that will still be available for student use. To try to help, Revene said she would be sending an e-mail to the residence of Cox, Wheeler and the Cunninghams about the incidences at the hut soon.

Abuse to Cunninghams Smoke Hut Could Mean its Removal - News

Rotunda Article 12/3/08

Board of Visitors Discusses Budget Cuts, Textbooks, Real Estate and More

John Ivey and Laura Beth Stricker

The Rotunda Issue date: 12/3/08 Section: News

The Longwood Board of Visitors (BOV) met for the final time in 2008 on Friday, Dec. 5 and Saturday, Dec. 6 to discuss a multitude of issues. There were only six approval items on the agenda during the meetings, so there was plenty of time to discuss other topics. These topics ranged from the forthcoming budget cuts, making college more affordable, textbook pricing, real estate developments and reports from a mix of different student and faculty representatives from Longwood.
The budget cut that Longwood is expected to receive was contained in the BOV handout as follows: "As of Oct. 9, 2008, the projected revenue shortfall for the biennium was $2.5 billion. Longwood was given a new target reduction of an additional five percent, or over $1.3 million. Further reductions are predicted for fiscal year 2010. These reductions will be larger than those for 2009." The decision is expected to be passed down to Longwood by Dec. 17.

In conjunction with the discussion of the budget cuts, a brief PowerPoint presentation entitled "Higher Education Finance: The Challenge of Affordability" was presented to the BOV on Friday. The presentation outlined a "perfect storm" of rising expenses, lower state contributions, lower endowments, competition and credit crises all challenging college affordability. Presenters encouraged the BOV to meet the storm by planning and acting upon cost reduction and management, especially in the academic arena, considering factors such as class sizes, class to professor ratios, materials and compensation. In addition, the BOV was encouraged to look at other efforts, including lobbying legislators, creating collaborative programs with other educational institutions and fundraising.

Another major topic presented to the BOV on Friday was the Report on Pricing of Textbooks. Dr. Wayne McWee, provost and vice president for academic affairs; Vice President for Administration and Finance Kathy Worster; and two Barnes and Noble representatives, Jade Roth, vice president of books merchandising, and Len Scoggins, regional manager of Barnes and Noble, gave the presentation. Three issues were raised: what can faculty do, what can Barnes and Noble do, and the national problem surrounding textbook prices. McWee and Worster reported that Longwood is instructing faculty to give out required books for next semester earlier, as well as other measures, including avoiding changing editions, bundling, unnecessary books and custom books. The Barnes and Noble representatives reported that they are trying to help Longwood and the students as best they can.

There were several real estate and campus developments discussed during the meetings. Under the Review of Debt Ratios/Reserve Report for Year End June 30, 2008, there were several new debt service commitments, including the costs of the new heating plant III at $1.1 million, renovation of athletic offices at $2.6 million and $11.5 million for the Lankford addition/renovation. Longwood President Patricia Cormier said that the new student union will be called the University Center, and that $15 million in private funding must be secured before construction begins, which she estimated would not begin for the next few years.

In addition, it was reported that the IT Center in French is on hold for at least another year. The Academic Residential Community (ARC) building has been appropriated $350,000 for a new roof, but the date for that project is currently unknown.
Other real estate developments that were discussed on Saturday included the completion of the Lancer Park Athletic Complex, establishment of the pedestrian bridge from Lancer Park to campus having to be redesigned, and completion of plans for the Alumni Conference Center. One of the biggest developments was that contracts have finally been signed for Chick-Fil-A and Moe's Southwest Grill for the Midtown Landings, where construction is slated to begin over winter break.
Toward the end of the Saturday session, reports were given by a number of faculty and student representatives to the BOV. The Sustainability Committee announced that Longwood has created a video for the National Wildlife Foundation (NWF) Chill Out Contest for a chance to win $500 in grant money and the video airing on the NWF's annual webcast. There are links to the site where students and faculty can vote for the video both at the Longwood Web site and on Facebook.

Faculty representative Dr. Pamela Tracy gave a report on citizen leadership and the effectiveness that the English 400 course, Advanced Writing Seminar, has had on Longwood students. She briefly outlined some of the currently enrolled students' projects, including one student who is trying to arrange and organize a charter chapter of the NAACP on campus, as well as recycling and donation programs. Tracy also discussed the Peer Mentor Program and how over 160 students attended the three recent interest meetings within the last two weeks.

Student representative Caitlin Revene, SGA President, gave a brief report on student activities and reactions throughout the semester. She reported that the smoking huts are working and that freshmen don't know the difference and use the huts like everyone else. Revene discussed the voter registration drive, which was very successful with 700 students registering to vote and over 200 that were shuttled to the polls in Farmville on election day. She also reported that the Peer Health Educators gave out over 1,000 free flu shots this semester. Finally, student Josh Rolfe came up and briefly announced and discussed "The Big Event," which is scheduled for Saturday, March 28, 2009. This event, according to Rolfe, is a way to give back to the community and try to bring Longwood students and the town of Farmville together. He discussed the community service opportunities that are available. Rolfe expects 400 to 500 participants in March, with a long-term goal of having 2,000 participants. Students and faculty can learn more information by e-mailing longwoodbigevent@gmail.com or visiting the official Web site, www.longwoodbigevent.org, which will be up and running after winter break.
The next Board of Visitors meeting will be held on Friday and Saturday, March 27 and 28, 2009, in the Stallard Boardroom, located in Lancaster 102.

Board of Visitors Discusses Budget Cuts, Textbooks, Real Estate and More - News

Rotunda Article 9/24/08

Entrepreneur Comes to Longwood to Discuss Business and Art

The Rotunda Issue date: 9/24/08 Section: News

By John Ivey
Reporter

How many business majors have thought of taking an art course? Have any art majors ever set foot in the business school? For those who have never considered such possibilities Heyn V. K. F. Kjerulf came to campus to discuss how these two polar opposite fields should be fused together.

After working for almost 40 years as a corporate leader for American Machinery & Foundry (AMF), Kjerulf is now self-employed as a financial backer and principal in startup business. In addition, he also serves as president of the advisory board for the Longwood Center for Visual Arts (LCVA) and has served on several boards for Richmond's fine art programs. He has had a passion for the arts for most of his life and it's no wonder why he encourages the fields of business and art to work together. "Great ideas come from out of the box," said Kjerulf, explaining that when people come from two different backgrounds, like business and art, they can come up with good ideas and improve the world for everyone.

Kjerulf's Sept. 16 discussion, part of the Executive-in-Residence series, focused primarily on left and right brains. People who are right-brained are the "big picture" people, such as writers and inventors. On the other hand, left-brained people are the engineers and accountants, the people who see the world with limits that must be worked within.

According to Kjerulf, the past has been left-brained and controlling the workforce for the last 40 years, but the world is changing. The future belongs to the right-brained. Businesses are hiring people with Master of Fine Arts degrees (MFAs) to give new views and help boost creativity.

The idea behind getting businesses more affiliated with art programs is to help business out of its perceived limited mindset, not looking at products with limitations but seeing them as opportunities to create and design things in a new way. For example, Apple Inc. has become a trendsetter in designing and manufacturing its products. The iPod generated its own culture within the realm of MP3 players. They are creating "feeling" to go with their projects, and that's why their products are so popular and trusted. The idea of a product being "cool" and "individualistic" sets it apart.

New ways to produce a product have led to advances in all fields for many years and it is not on its way out. Combining business and art is crucial to development and advancement of both areas of work, Kjerulf said.

Art people generally know how to streamline processes better, which can help businesses become more efficient. They don't see the constraints of the business world and ask the "Why not" questions. They see the world with endless opportunities to do anything.

Passion and hard work are the keys when it comes to work, he noted. If you're not doing what you love and work hard at it in college, Kjerulf said, then why are you getting a degree in it? Think about it, he challenged students.

The biggest piece of advice that Kjerulf gave to students was to "take elective liberal art courses. If you're a business major, take art; and if you're an art major, take a business class." He encouraged students to surround themselves with people who think differently. This may sound odd, he said, but it is absolutely necessary to advance the world and its workforce.