2023-2024 Academic Year in Review: Part 3

The 2023-2024 academic year was an eventful one for the Turner College. Among the major highlights, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business visited the Turner College in March of 2024 for a five-year review, Turner College faculty dominated the CSU Faculty Awards ceremony in May of 2024, Fady Mansour was named Director of the Butler Center for Research and Economic Development, Tesa Leonce was named Associate Dean of the Turner College in July of 2023, and both the TSYS School and the Turner College hired new faculty. These and other items are summarized in this four-part series.

     December 2023 — Information security experts and TSYS School alumni Joseph Frantz and Benjamin Knox visited the Synovus Center on CSU's main campus to speak to the TSYS School's cybersecurity Nexus students. Frantz is the Director of Information Security and Cyber Threat Defense at Synovus, and Knox is IAM Engineer at Synovus. ISSA-Columbus Chapter President and TSYS School alum Benjamin Price also made an impactful visit to the Synovus Center. In fact, one of the Center's classrooms was filled in anticipation of Ben's visit, which centered around the use of Python for Security Engineering. "I enjoyed it . . . and am happy that I was able to give a little back to the community that's given me so much. Thanks to everyone who came and supported this event," Price stated. In terms of research, TSYS School computer scientist Yi Zhou had papers accepted for publication by IEEE Transactions on Services Computing and Expert Systems with Applications, while he and Linqiang Ge teamed on another study that was accepted for publication by Information & Management. Turner College economist Frank Mixon had studies accepted for publication by the International Journal of Financial Studies and The Review of Black Political Economy. Additionally, research by Turner College associate professor of management Phil Bryant surpassed 2,500 Google Scholar citations. Lastly, on the personnel front Michelle Zeller joined the Turner College marketing faculty as an instructor, bringing more than 30 years of professional experience with companies like Eastman-Kodak, Char-Broil, Newell-Rubbermaid and others to Turner College classrooms on a full-time basis.

     January 2024 — The 2024 calendar year got off to a hot start when the Columbus Consolidated Government voted to approve a $50 million renovation to Golden Park as part of a plan to relocate the Atlanta Braves AA team from Pearl, Mississippi, to Columbus, Georgia, after the 2024 season. The Director of the Turner College's Butler Center for Research and Economic Development, Fady Mansour, was instrumental in the plan's approval. Mansour authored the economic impact study for the project, which indicated that the plan would boost economic activity in the greater Columbus area by $350 million. According to Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson, “This is an exciting day for Columbus and the result of hard work and dedication from a number of parties invested in the future of our community . . . This project, anchored by the return of professional, affiliated baseball to Columbus, will have a transformative impact on not only our downtown area but the lives of our residents as well.” Relatedly, the deans of CSU's Turner College of Business & Technology and UGA's Terry College of Business, Deb Kidder and Benjamin Ayers, hosted more than 200 local business leaders for an analysis of Georgia’s 2024 economic outlook. The event was part of the UGA Terry College of Business’ annual economic outlook statewide tour designed to share insights into the national, state and local factors shaping the economy for the coming year. In terms of personnel, the Turner College welcomed Melissa Ingle Hammer, who joined the finance faculty. 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. At the university level, Turner College alum Brooke Quarterman was promoted to Lead Admissions Specialist at CSU. On the research front, Turner College management professor Johnny Ho published a study in Health & Technology, Turner College economist Frank Mixon had a paper accepted for publication by Scientometrics, TSYS School computer scientist Yi Zhou had papers accepted for publication by IEEE Transactions on Computers and IEEE Transactions on Big Data, Turner College management faculty Robin Snipes and Phil Bryant teamed to publish a study in Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, TSYS School computer scientist Yesem Kurt-Peker had a paper published by the Journal of Millimeterwave Communication, Optimization and Modelling, and Turner College accountants Jasmine Bordere and Fonda Carter teamed with Mixon on a study published by Education Sciences. Kurt-Peker also teamed with TSYS School computer scientist Mohamed Riduan Abid and TSYS School students Kaleb Horvath, Thomas Merino, and Ryan Zimmerman, along with Shamim Khan, who recently retired from the TSYS School, to publish a piece in Computers.

     February 2024 — This was a big month for visitors to the Synovus Center. Joseph Blankenship and Jess Burn, Vice President and Principal Analyst, respectively, at Forrester Research, an Atlanta-based research and advisory firm, drove down to Columbus to visit the TSYS School's Nexus cybersecurity students. TSYS School Nexus cybersecurity students also received a visit from Casey Hergett, Senior Director of Enterprise Technologies at Muscogee County School District and current member of the TSYS School Cybersecurity Advisory Board. Recent TSYS School Nexus cybersecurity graduate "Rose" Huirui Washington, who is described as "a legend" by her professors and peers because she secured a full-time job in cybersecurity after only her first semester in the program, also visited the Synovus Center to speak with cybersecurity students. The TSYS School's student chapter of Women in Technology received a visit from Gail Burgos, Chief Executive Officer of Girls Inc. of Columbus and founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Burgos Consulting Group, Inc. Burgos earned a BBA from the Turner College, a master's in human resource management from Troy University, and a doctorate in organizational theory and leadership from the University of Phoenix. This was also a big month for student travel. Turner College marketing major Quinton Mills trekked to Atlanta to attend a meeting of the University System of Georgia's African-American Male Initiative which was held at Georgia Power's corporate offices. The Initiative is designed to increase the number of African-American males who complete their postsecondary education from any one of the USG institutions. Turner College senior Lauren Katzfey, a business administration major who hopes to pursue a career in corporate law, visited the University of North Georgia to participate in the Georgia Collegiate Honors Conference. While at the Conference, Lauren presented her Honors Contract titled, "Compelling Cases: An Analysis of Georgia Workers' Compensation." Lastly, the Turner College held a student-alumni mixer, and Turner College student Oliver Odde joined the Butler Center for Research and Economic Development staff. Oliver is a senior majoring in management information systems.