Turner Business

Kevin Gowen, Chief Information Security Officer of Synovus, will visit TSYS School Cybersecurity students on April 11, 2023. Kevin’s organization has hired several Cybersecurity Nexus graduates and is a big supporter of the program.  The event will take place from 10:30 am through 12:30 pm in the Synovus Center on CSU’s main campus.  All M.S., B.S., and Nexus cybersecurity students are welcome to participate if available.  TSYS School cybersecurity faculty also continue to host monthly information sessions for prospective students interested in the TSY School’s Cybersecurity Nexus program.   The next one is set for Thursday, April 6, 2023, from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm in Room 125 of the Synovus Center on CSU’s main campus.

TSYS School of Computer Science Five faculty in the Turner College’s TSYS School of Computer Science were recently awarded tenure and/or promotion.  Earning promotion from associate professor to professor are Rania Hodhod , Yesem Peker and Lydia Ray .  Hodhod, who earned a PhD from the University of York, is also the current holder of the Edwin and Florette Rothschild Chair.  Her recent research appears in Electronics , Journal of Computers in Education and Egyptian Informatics Journal , among others.  To date, Hodhod’s research has produced 456 Google Scholar citations.  Peker, who earned a PhD from Indiana University, has recently published in Sensors .  Peker’s research has garnered 74 Google Scholar citations to date.  Lastly, Ray earned a PhD from Louisiana State University, and her recent research appears in the Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics .  Ray’s research has so far garnered 351 Google Scholar citations.  Joining this trio are Linqiang Ge and Yi Zhou ,

Georgia Tech’s Chief Information Officer (CIO), Daren Hubbard, and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Leo Howell, are scheduled to visit the TSYS Cybersecurity Center in the Synovus Center on CSU’s main campus on Monday, April 10, 2023.  The two technology executives will tour the Center’s classrooms, Cyber Range, and Security Operations Center. They will also share their personal career stories with the Cybersecurity Nexus students and give them advice on how to break into the technology industry and advance through their careers. Cybersecurity Nexus students are encouraged to participate and be prepared to ask questions.

Spring has arrived and the Turner College continues to be active.   Nigel Miller, the Director of Security Engineering and Operations at Maximus and a two-time CSU alumnus, will the Turner College on March 29, 2023, at 11:00 am.   Nigel will talk about his stellar career journey (so far) and give his advice and guidance to the TSYS School’s cybersecurity students.   The event will take place in the Synovus Center on CSU’s main campus.   CSU cybersecurity students are welcome to participate if available . Turner Business would like to thank Columbus State University’s Interim President, Dr. John Fuchko III, for attending the recent gathering of SHRM Columbus, the local affiliate of the Society for Human Resource Management.  Two of the Turner College’s human resources experts, Phil Bryant and Neal Thomson , were also in attendance.   According to Bryant’s account, “ Dr. Fuchko not only attended, he gave the keynote address as well. Great discussions on ethics, morality and love.”

The Turner College’s annual spring semester business and computer science student appreciation event is set for Thursday, April 6, at 12:00 noon on the CSU intramural field.   Free food, t-shirts and more will be available for students wishing to attend.   Business and computer science students are asked to RSVP for the event in order to assist with food service.   The annual students versus faculty kickball game will also be held as part of the celebration.

Columbus State University will honor a dozen students, employees, alumni and community leaders on Wednesday, March 29, with its annual Legacy Awards as part of its upcoming  Diversity Forum .  Each was selected for their dedicated work in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion.  Four individuals who are affiliated with the Turner College are among the group.  Jarel Hearst  is the recipient of the W.D. Feeney Award.  Like the former CSU student and award’s namesake, Hearst’s confidence and success in overcoming his own challenges are inspirations to everyone at Columbus State – whether that be his classmates and instructors or those who benefit from his service in the Computer Science Lab.  He is a senior from Beaufort, South Carolina, pursuing a degree in computer science/games programming from the TSYS School.  Rania Hodhod , holder of the Edwin and Florette Rothschild Chair, associate professor and assistant chair of the TSYS School, is the recipient of the Outstanding Faculty/

New research from the UK-China Joint Intelligent Center of Special Equipment and Robotics has named the most productive scholars in the field of intelligent manufacturing during 2021.  The authors of the project indicate that their ranking methodology uses the international general selection method to identify the 1,000 highly cited scholars with the most global influence in the field from citations data found in Emerald Publishing’s database.  The 2021 ranking appears in the latest issue of the Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing and Special Equipment , and it indicates that Mark James , an associate professor of management, and Tesa Leonce , an associate professor of economics, are ranked 893 rd and 895 th , respectively.  At the top of the ranking is Bilal Alhayani of Yildiz Technical University (Turkey), while the highest-ranked U.S.-based scholar is Hoejin Kim of the University of Texas – El Paso, who is ranked third overall.  James and Leonce rank close behind John Gorman, at 8

Turner College management professor Kirk Heriot has finalized the details for the 2023 Cougar Business Pitch Competition.  Heriot announced on March 14 that a webpage dedicated to the competition is now live.  There potential entrants can find details regarding the information for the competition.  The deadline for submitting a business pitch is Monday, April 17, 2023 at 12:00 noon.  Late submissions will not be considered.  All undergraduate and graduate students who are enrolled during the 2022-23 academic year are eligible so long as they are in good academic standing with CSU and currently have no holds on their accounts.  Contestants may submit either as an individual or as a team, provided that each team member is a student at CSU.  Each team is limited to four students, and each individual or team may submit only one entry.  The first place prize is set at $3,000, while second and third place entrants will receive $2,000 and $1,000, respectively.  There will also be two honora

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia (USG) has named Stuart Rayfield president of Columbus State University, effective July 1, 2023.   Rayfield currently serves as USG’s vice chancellor for leadership and institutional development and previously spent more than 10 years at Columbus State as a faculty member and administrator.   John M. Fuchko III, a USG vice chancellor, has served as the university’s interim president since former President Chris Markwood retired last June.   “This is a tremendous opportunity to support the success of students, faculty and staff,” USG Chancellor Sonny Perdue said. “Stuart lives in the community, has taught on campus and has an immediate grasp of how Columbus State helps us be the leading provider of a highly skilled workforce in Georgia. I want to thank Dr. Fuchko for his service and commitment to the university and look forward to Dr. Rayfield’s continued leadership in her new role.”   Rayfield most recently served as USG’s interim

The latest issue of the Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability includes a study by TSYS School faculty Anastasia Angelopoulou and Rania Hodhod that points out that the needs of p eople with disabilities are often overlooked in the development of applications in introductory computer science courses.  According to Angelopoulou, “These courses traditionally focus on teaching technical skills that do not include those for designing and developing accessible and inclusive applications.”  Understanding the need to enhance students’ understanding of designing, developing, and building applications with the needs of people with disabilities in mind early in a computer science program, their study introduces students to designing, developing, and evaluating accessible applications over three academic semesters.  Upon completion of the three-semester project, Angelopoulou and Hodhod, along with CSU coauthors Kristin Lilly and Ann Newland, assessed the impact of accessibility-relat

Turner Business recent had the opportunity to chat with Riduan Abid , an associate professor of computer science in the Turner College’s TSYS School of Computer Science.  A Fulbright Research Scholar, Abid joined the TSYS School faculty in January of 2022 from a faculty position at Alakhawayn University in Morocco.  In announcing his arrival at that time, Turner Business noted that he earned a doctorate in computer science from Auburn University, after which he served on the faculties at Purdue University and the University of Houston.  During our recent chat, we mentioned to Abid that he was closing in on 1,000 Google Scholar citations, and we asked what he thought about that fact.  His reply was straightforward and bold, “ I’m looking forward to closing the 1,000 citations milestone this year, and increasing the pace after joining CSU.”  This is the type of answer that the TSYS School’s stakeholders – current students, alumni, private sector supporters, etc. – should be excited to

Student organizations in the Turner College are organizing an end of year banquet at 7:30 pm on April 7, 2023.   The event, to be held at the Rankin on 1004 Broadway in Uptown Columbus, is open to members of all Turner College student organizations, their faculty advisors, and all other Turner College faculty.   The cost is $21.25 per individual, and $35.71 for each student organization.   The latter fee, which will cover the cost of the musical entertainment, is subject to fall if the number of student organizations attending grows.   As the invitation points out, this is a great time to show member appreciation by presenting awards and senior cords.   Those interested are asked to RSVP to Parker_Taylor@columbusstate.edu by March 13, 2023.

Research by Turner College professor of management and holder of the Turner College’s Ray and Evelyn Crowley Chair, Kirk Heriot , recently surpassed 1,000 career Google Scholar citations.   Additionally, Google Scholar reports that his i 10-index is equal to 26, meaning that Heriot has published 26 studies that have each garnered at least 10 citations.   Google Scholar also reports two additional metrics.   One of these is a scholar’s h -index, which is the largest number, h , of a scholar’s publications that have each garnered at least h citations.   Heriot’s h -index is 17, meaning that his 17 most-cited studies have each generated at least 17 citations.   Another Google Scholar metric is a scholar’s g -index, which is the largest number, g , of a scholar’s publications that have collectively garnered at least g 2 citations.   Heriot’s g -index is 30, meaning that his 30 most-cited studies have collectively produced at least 900 citations.  Heriot’s top-cited publication is a 2008

TSYS School of Cybersecurity Nexus students recently had the opportunity to meet company executives and technical professionals who visited the Synovus Center to conduct "speed interviews." Each student met and interviewed with 20 or so professionals in a 2-hour period, after which a follow-up discussion period was held. "We are incredibly grateful to our industry partners who support our students in this and countless other ways," said Patrick Aiken , the Director of the TSYS Center for Cybersecurity. Among those companies represented were TSYS, a Global Payments Inc company, Aflac, Synovus, Ankerpak, TD and CSU's UITS.  Tripp Saxon, Lead Penetration Tester at Global Payments Inc., continued his generous tradition of visiting each Cybersecurity Nexus cohort near the end of the course to share his professional experience and wisdom.   During his latest visit he got to experience a cyber range scenario with Cohort 6 students for the first time.  Peter Staarfaenge

The recent career fair held by the Turner College for business and computer science students created a buzz around each of the four floors in the Synovus Center many are saying is unprecedented.   Between the students and employers, the event was essentially standing room only.   In addition to Aflac, Global Payments and Synovus, many others companies and organizations had tables at the event, including Waffle House, Taylor CPA Group, Southern Life Insurance Group, Fastenal, Columbus Consolidated Government, Yancey Bros, Georgia Department of Revenue, Tricentis, Char-Broil, Columbus Water Works, StartUp Columbus, Phenix-Girard Bank, Ameriprise Financial, Ankerpak, Tanner Health Systems, Robinson, Grimes & Company, among others.   Not only did the presence of these companies attest to the quality of Turner College students, so did attendance by representatives of Mercer University’s Stetson-Hatcher School of Business who made the trip seeking potential enrollees in MU’s graduate bus

Turner College professor Kirk Heriot recently announced that he is seeking judges for the 2023 Student Business Pitch Competition (formerly the Business Plan Competition).  Judging for the 2023 competition will commence on or around April 17, 2023, and will consist of three rounds of evaluation that require 10.5 to 11.5 hours over a period of two weeks.  Each pitch will consist of fewer than 1,000 words in addressing six key areas.  Judges will evaluate each pitch using a rubric.  Round 1 will be aimed at screening pitches in an effort to eliminate the weakest among the submissions.  This round will take four to five hours over two days.  During Round 2, judges will review remaining pitches and select the finals from among them.  This round will consume about five hours over seven days.  Lastly, Round 3 will require about 1.5 hours on May 1, 2023, as the finalists will compete .  This round requires that the finalists make a business pitch to the panel of judges, to conclude with a Q&

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia (USG) voted on March 1, 2023, to name Stuart Rayfield as the sole finalist for the Columbus State University presidency.   Rayfield, who spent more than 10 years at CSU as a faculty member and administrator, most recently served as the USG’s interim executive vice chancellor for academic affairs and has been interim president of three USG institutions during a 17-year career with the university system.   John M. Fuchko III, a USG vice chancellor, took on the role interim president of CSU after former President Chris Markwood retired on June 30, 2022.   “Stuart is an outstanding leader who’s passionate about the success of students, faculty and staff,” USG Chancellor Sonny Perdue said.   “I want to thank Columbus State’s presidential search committee for their work in finding strong candidates to lead the university and know the Board of Regents were impressed by Dr. Rayfield’s vision and experience both in higher education and wi

Interim CSU President John Fuchko recently announced that Jim Crupi, President and Founder of Strategic Leadership Solutions, will be speaking to CSU faculty on March 16, 2023, about the forces shaping the future, their implications for American society and higher education and the challenge of educating the next generation of students who are being raised in the digital global economy.  Crupi, a noted futurist, scholar, and leader, has served as a consultant to the Office of the President of United States, as well as to notable companies such as Coca-Cola, AT&T, Intel, IBM, Siemens, and Hewlett Packard, among many others.  He has also appeared on CNN, Fox Business Network with Neil Cavuto, and National Public Radio.  “CSU has a proud history of embracing a culture of innovation and partnership while being responsive to shifting trends and workforce needs. Jim’s leadership style is to inspire people to think differently about how to solve problems and create new opportunities for s