Alumni Focus: Denise Kendust

With more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare and real estate development industries, Denise Kendust has a proven track record of accomplishment for growing and increasing brand awareness and market share in complex environments. Since August of 2021, Denise has worked in Tallahassee, Florida, as the Assistant Vice President for Community Engagement at HCA Healthcare, which is one of the nation’s leading providers of healthcare services, comprising 182 hospitals and approximately more than 2,300 sites of care, including surgery centers, freestanding ERs, urgent care centers, and physician clinics, in 20 states and the United Kingdom. Prior to holding this position, she was a director of communications and community engagement for HCA Healthcare in the Fort Walton-Destin market, where she supported and led the community relations team at Twin Cities Hospital and the communications team at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center. Denise’s impressive business career has also included Columbus-area employment. From 2004 to 2008, she was Vice President of Marketing and Planning at Hughston Hospital, where she led strategic planning initiatives and the overall coordination of the marketing department. That experience was followed by a two-year stint as Director of Corporate Business Development at Columbus Regional Health, where she provided support and leadership to community relations and physician sales teams, and external advertising agencies and research firms. From 2011 to 2012, Denise was the Director of Development and Marketing at the Pastoral Institute, where she increased annual fundraising donations by $350,000 over the prior period by developing and establishing new annual donor event and planned giving program. Lastly, Denise completed a three year tenure with the Pink Monarch Breast Center in Columbus from 2012 through 2015. In this role, she increased patient volumes by 35% over the prior period.

Denise’s path to professional success was paved by her education in the Turner College of Business at Columbus State University. She first earned a BBA in marketing from the Turner College in 1989. This was followed by receipt of a Turner College MBA in 1996. Both degrees were earned while working full time. Additionally, during her MBA studies, Denise presented her research concerning the internet and cultural taboos at the 12^th Annual Pan-Pacific Conference in New Zealand. Finally, her educational experiences in the Turner College cultivated a respect for servant leadership. Throughout her career, Denise has given back to her community through volunteer efforts, including service on the boards of the Destin Chamber of Commerce (2021), the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation (2018-2021) in Destin, Florida, and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (2013-2014).

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Four Turner College Faculty Recognized for Outstanding Teaching

CSU Head Women's Soccer Coach Jay Entlich recently released a list of CSU faculty who have been chosen by a player as a member of the CSU faculty who has impacted the player in a positive way along their journey at CSU. Four Turner College faculty were included on the list, along with the player who nominated each. Management professor Phil Bryant was named by Sophia Leal , a freshman midfielder from Oxford, Georgia. Sophia attended Eastside High School and was a two-time all-region selection during her high school career. Through the first 10 games of 2024, she has scored one goal and recorded three assists. Next, management professor John Finley was named by Lizz Forshaw , a graduate student forward from Stockton, England. Lizz, who attended IMG Academy in south Florida, has scored four goals and recorded four assists this season. During her senior year in 2023, she scored three goals and recorded two assists. As a junior in 2022, Lizz scored three goals ...

Turner College Grad Publishes Academic Study on Corporate Culture and Strategy

Former Turner College student Tamara Todorova , now an associate professor of economics at American University in Bulgaria (AUB), recently published a study on corporate culture and strategy. Todorova earned an MBA from the Turner College in 1996 and then went on to earn a doctorate in international economics from the University of Economics - Varna in 2001. She has been on the faculty at AUB since August of 2000. Todorova's study, which appears in the current issue of the International Journal of Business Performance Management , investigates how corporate culture helps to economize on the transaction costs of internal organization. As she explains, the dimensions of corporate culture that assist in this task include increasing trust and reducing intrafirm opportunism. Todorova's study demonstrates that setting common goals and a common direction reduces the sizeable costs of internal organization. Tamara's prior research appears in Economics of Transition , International ...

Hammer joins Turner College Finance Faculty

The Turner College's Department of Accounting and Finance welcomes Melissa Ingle Hammer , who joins the group as an adjunct faculty in finance. Hammer graduated from the Turner College in 2005, after earning a BBA in finance. She later went on to earn an MBA from Auburn University, a Specialist Certificate in Conduct Risk from the University of Manchester, a Certificate in Team Culture from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Certificate in Executive Presence from Cornell University. Hammer is the SVP of Fair Lending Product Management with RiskExec at Asurity. She previously worked as Compliance Manager of Fair Lending at Synovus, a senior regulatory consultant with Wolters Kluwer, and as VP of Compliance at TD. This semester Hammer will be teaching FINC 3135, Financial Institutions and Technologies. Turner Business welcomes Melissa and wishes her a great first semester in the Turner College.

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