Turner Business

The Turner College was proud to host another Distinguished Speaker Series event last Thursday, this one featuring Jason McKenzie , owner of Ride on Bikes and a Turner College alumnus.  During the event, Jason shared his journey as an entrepreneur, the experiences behind building a successful small business, and the importance of community connections, leadership, and perseverance. His perspective and advice offered students valuable encouragement to pursue their goals, embrace new opportunities, and remain committed to their aspirations.  A special thank you to Jason McKenzie for sharing his experiences and insights with our students. We would also like to extend our gratitude to Turner College MIS professor Jennifer Pitts , who revitalized this Series, and to Interim Turner College Dean Tesa Leonce , Interim Turner College Associate Dean John Finley , and everyone else who helped make this event possible. We appreciate the CSU Police Department for their support as well.

As Jordyn Paul-Slater writes for the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer , "[w]hile Columbus puts more emphasis on entrepreneurship as a piece of its economic development strategy, four founders will get their chance to pitch business ideas they hope could grow along with the region." Paul-Slater is referring to the four finalists, selected from 65 applicants representing Columbus and cities within a 150-mile radius, who will compete for $40,000 at the StartUP Columbus LaunchCon, a Shark Tank -style competition, this Friday. One of these finalists is  Isabella Barreiro, an interior design student at Auburn University who simply needed more clothes.  “Whether it was Greek season, football season, holidays, career fairs, job interviews, events, themes, you always have something to dress up for,” Barreiro told Paul-Slater. “There’s only so much that you can rotate through. There are only so many outfits you can buy before your wallet starts to get rough.” To meet her need Barreiro foun...

CSU President Stuart Rayfield's November 2026 update to faculty staff revisits the recent town hall meeting to discuss declining enrollment.  Rayfield noted that she was impressed by the depth of work and analysis that went into that review, and she added a thank-you to everyone who dropped their current priorities to help with this project. She also announced for the first time that the current drop in enrollment of about 2% has led to her decision to trim $1.1 million from CSU's current FY27 budget and to plan conservatively for FY28. Rayfield's update goes on the list some of the enrollment statistics facing CSU. For example, t he enrollment after-action review showed that over the past decade, CSU has faced a persistent decline in bachelor’s degree-seeking students. First-time, full-time bachelor’s-seeking freshmen have declined by 31.7% since 2015 (from 988 to 675 students), while total bachelor’s program enrollment has fallen by over 26.3% (from 6,212 to 4,575 studen...

This Friday, November 13, 2026, StartUP Columbus and CSU's Turner College are sponsoring the next evolution of the city’s acclaimed BizPitch event known as LaunchCon Columbus presented by Wells Fargo, a Shark Tank style competition awarding $40,000 in total prizes to the best new business pitches. The finalists for this year's competition are Sergio Garcia for RIF Robotics, Elsie Lappin for Echo Science, Isabella Barreiro for Chifforo, and Victor Nguyen for Prestige Foods.   Garcia earned a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez in 2011. In 2014, he added an M.S. in electrical engineering, while in 2017 he earned a doctorate in electrical engineering, both from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of RIF Robotics , which develops robotics and automation solutions to help healthcare workers in hospitals' sterilization and processing departments. Lappin earned a B.S. in civil engineering from Georgia Souther...

It's Friday evening and you are probably sitting down with your favorite take-out meal or are preparing to go out for dinner. To add to the enjoyment of your end-of-week relaxation time, Turner Business is now providing a new occasional series for Friday evenings called Asking Google AI. Tonight we are asking Google AI the following question: What will the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto 6 do to school absences? Below is an image of Google AI's thorough response. According to Google AI, Turner College faculty can expect a spike in absenteeism beginning on November 19, 2026, due to the release that day of Grand Theft Auto 6 . Fortunately for Turner College faculty, that is the Thursday before Thanksgiving Week, meaning that Tuesday-Thursday course sections will end the fall 2026 semester that evening. However, Monday-Wednesday and Monday-Wednesday-Friday course sections meet one last time on Monday, November 30, before ending the semester. Of course, final exam preparati...

Turner College students and faculty should  consider attending LaunchCon Columbus on Friday, November 13, from 5:30–8:30 p.m. Sponsored by StartUP Columbus and the CSU's Turner College,  LaunchCon is billed as the largest pitch competition in Columbus, featuring $40,000 in prizes and showcasing local entrepreneurs and emerging business ideas.  This event is free to watch and open to the public. " Events like this offer a valuable opportunity to see entrepreneurship, innovation, and business development in action right here in our community. It may also provide fresh perspectives and connections that we can bring back into our classrooms and interactions with students," explained Turner College business administration professor John Finley . In addition to the $40,000 in prizes,  Startup Columbus will offer a relocation package that includes $5,000 to relocate, introductions to investors, guaranteed one-on-one mentoring sessions, access to local service providers, and...