Turner Business

The keynote speaker for the 2025 CSU Legacy Celebration is  Jim Blanchard , a long-time supporter of the Turner College  who led Synovus Bank for more than 30 years. He is credited with the bank's significant growth and creating a culture that led to it being named the best place in the country to work. In 2006, he formed a partnership with CSU's Cunningham Center for Leadership Development to create the Jim Blanchard Leadership Forum, which attracted some of the most influential political, military and business leaders in the world to Columbus. This year's event is set for Wednesday, March 26, 2025, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm in the Cunningham Center's Blanchard Hall.  Individual tickets are $25 and tables of eight are $200.  The priority ticket/table deadline is Friday, March 14.

CSU President Stuart Rayfield spoke to the CSU community via YouTube yesterday, covering topics ranging from student success initiatives to legislative news. In terms of student success and the institution's new strategic plan, Rayfield spoke about the university's new goal of raising the student retention rate to 85% (fall to fall) and its graduation rate to 60% by 2030. According to our check of data from the U.S. Department of Education, CSU's current retention and graduation rates are 63% and 44%, respectively. Rayfield added here that CSU is also aiming to reducing its time to graduation from 5.3 years to below the state average of 5.1 years. Rayfield transitioned into a presentation about the work being done by various CSU constituencies in building a campus culture that is based on servant leadership. The pillars of that culture will include empowering others, innovation, seeking efficiency, practicing accountability and connecting with others. A number of other topi...

The Turner College's Student Finance Association is hosting Andy Sullivan at its February 27, 2025, meeting in Room 305 of the Synovus Center on CSU's main campus. Sullivan is the South Georgia Complex Manager and Senior Vice President of Raymond James & Associates in Columbus. A graduate of Texas Christian University, Sullivan previously worked as Vice President of Morgan Stanley in Dallas, Texas, and earlier as a financial manager at Wells Fargo in Ft. Worth, Texas. The meeting kicks off at 12:30 pm tomorrow. We hope to see you there.

Work on the exterior of the Synovus Center, home to the Turner College, is progressing. The accompanying image, taken at the beginning of this month, provides a glimpse at the type of work being done around the exterior of the building. According to Chief Facilities Officer Stephen Morse, "T his project will result in dramatically improved efficiency for one of the most important buildings on our campus. These developments represent our continued commitment to creating a more sustainable, functional, and student-friendly campus environment."

Last week the TSYS School's c ybersecurity Nexus program hosted another Mock Interview Event, a cornerstone of the program and a true highlight for our students. This event  provided an invaluable opportunity for students to not only demonstrate their cybersecurity knowledge but also build vital connections with our industry partners. The energy, talent, and professionalism displayed by our students were truly inspiring.  A huge thank you to our industry partners who make these events possible, including  Aflac,  Columbus State University,  Columbus Water Works,  Synovus,  TrollEye Security,  TSYS a nd many others who are committed to nurturing the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.  These experiences are life-changing for our students, offering them real-world insights and boosting their confidence as they prepare to step into the dynamic world of cybersecurity.  We are incredibly proud of our students and grateful for the ...

Earlier this week  TSYS School cybersecurity Nexus alum Joel Nienaber (Cohort 9) visited the TSYS Center for Cybersecurity. During his visit,  Joel spent time with Cohort 13, sharing invaluable advice on navigating the program, launching a successful cybersecurity career, and the power of networking. His insights are more than just words — they’re game changers for our students, equipping them with the tools to thrive in the industry.  A huge thank you to Joel for giving back to the Nexus community. This is what makes our program special — students becoming professionals, then returning to inspire the next generation.

A number of Turner College faculty were recognized at last night's CSU basketball game by Turner College athletes. Those include Josh Brooks (finance), Laurence Marsh (management), Tesa Leonce (economics), John Finley (management), Brett Cotten (finance), Janice Canedo (computer science) and Charles Boster (accounting). Turner Business joins the Turner College administration in congratulating these excellent faculty.

Columbus State University recently hosted the Georgia 2025 Economic Outlook event on January 30, where academic leaders and researchers provided statewide and local economic forecasts. According to Jordyn Paul-Slater's report on the event for the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer ,  Columbus isn’t on track to match statewide economic growth. As  Paul-Slater reports,  Benjamin Ayers, Dean of the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, delivered the statewide forecast, and  Deborah Kidder , Dean of the Turner College of Business at CSU, provided the forecast for the Columbus region.  Current forecasts predict that Georgia's economy will exceed the national economy in 2025. “We do expect Georgia’s economy to grow faster than the U.S. economy in 2025 and beyond,” Ayers said. “One advantage that we have as a state is our economic development prowess. Other advantages include a variable mix of industries, supportive demographic trends, with more and more people...

Turner College faculty will soon adopt new Standards of Excellence that support the new Strategic Plan developed under CSU President Stuart Rayfield. The new Standards give additional weight to publication in quality journals, with the highest category being academic journals receiving an A+ rating by various ratings groups. With this in mind, Turner Business recently surveyed the Turner College's research portfolio and located almost 25 examples of this achievement across Turner College business faculty. These examples involve four of the five academic disciplines in the College and include 15 separate journal titles. This and other information are provided in the table below. As indicated in the table above, economics and management/mis lead the way with 11 and 10 A+ journal publications, respectively. Professor of management Johnny Ho has three publications in the European Journal of Operational Management , while Turner College Dean and professor of management Deb Kidder has...

The deadline for submitting a pitch for the 2025 Cougar Business Pitch Competition is Friday, March 28 at 12:00 noon. All CSU students enrolled during the 2024-2025 academic year are eligible if they are in good academic standing and do not have restrictions on their CSU accounts. Students may submit individually, or as a team of up to four members, all which must meet the eligibility requirements stated above. Students may only submit one entry for the competition, whether individually or as part of a team. In terms of evaluation, judges will determine whether (1) the problem was compelling and clearly defined, (2) the proposed solution address the problem, (3) the solution was innovative and/or creative, (4) the solution was accompanied by a clear value proposition supported by a good market assessment and clear competitive differentiation, and (5) the financial assumptions are sound. The judges will use their discretion in deciding whether an entry violates the rules and then procee...

CSU's Women in Technology organization recent held its annual Galentine's Day Party.  It was a fun time filled with delicious, laughter, and great conversations. It was also an occasion where TSYS School students  could be open, support each other, and even go over some resumes together. Turner Business joins the hosts and others in  thanking everyone who attended and made the event special.

TSYS School students who are interested in developing greater skills in graph data analytics are invited to spend this summer at Georgia State University to gain real world graph data analytics experience by collaborating with top researchers in the field. The program begins on May 27, 2025, and runs through July 18, 2025, and participants will receive a $5,600 stipend ($700/week for 8 weeks), free housing in the GSU campus, along with meals/materials and a travel allowance. This summer program is open to U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are undergraduate students in computer science, computer information systems or a related field with at least one semester remaining before graduation and who are committed to devoting full time to the program. Are you interested? If so, please visit  https://lnkd.in/eYVNM3eq  to apply and learn more about the program.  To watch a short video on graph data analytics visit Watch a short video on graph data analytics please visit...

CSU President Stuart Rayfield and CSU Provost Shannon Campbell recently unveiled in an e-mail to the CSU community their latest efforts to  "reimagine Columbus State's core curriculum, improve student retention, and support [CSU's] student success strategies." This most recent element in that process is known as THE RIVER, which is d esigned to connect the campus with the community and to assist students in navigating the headwaters of college, community, and career. THE RIVER consists of a  three-course, seven-hour sequence integrated into the core curriculum that is aimed at helping students acquire the critical thinking, communication, teamwork and creative problem-solving skills that CSU's partners and local employers urgently require. "Designed and imagined by an amazing CSU faculty team, these courses will enhance students’ first- and second-year experiences, campus traditions, and community engagement," the e-mail explained. According to Rayfield ...

The staff at Turner Business stumbled across a LinkedIn post by Sami Saarenketo, Dean of the LUT Business School in Finland. In it he wrote about his recent trip to the AACSB Deans Conference in Las Vegas. Here is his main takeway: "Just got back from the AACSB Deans Conference in Las Vegas, where nearly 700 business school deans gathered to discuss the future of business education . . . And then there’s the question that kept coming up in conversations over coffee: what’s keeping deans awake at night? The list is long—AI integration, faculty engagement, the balance between academic rigor and industry relevance, and the constant challenge of planning for an uncertain future. But one underlying theme was clear: the gap between what employers need and what business schools provide has never been wider. Core skills are changing, and we need to rethink how we prepare students for a job market that moves faster than ever."

The professional journal,  Compensation & Benefits Review , is seeking manuscript submissions for its upcoming special issue focusing on Responsible Rewards.  Responsible rewards include socially responsible and sustainable rewards programs, such as sustainable employment and skilling, sustainability-driven benefits, equal pay, and the inclusion of ESG (environmental, social and governance) criteria in performance evaluation and incentive decisions. According to its editor, Phil Bryant , professor of management in the Turner College, t his special issue welcomes research related to responsible rewards. Some example research themes may include l inking ESG goals with rewards (e.g., climate change, equity, and inclusion), i ncentivizing and promoting sustainable employee behaviors, r eporting compensation, n egative consequences of different types of reward programs, t he impact of compensation on employee health, c ost of living, living wages, and low-wage workers, c ustome...

The beginning of spring semester 2025 marked the end of an era in the TSYS School as the Director of its Center for Cybersecurity, Patrick Aiken , returned to the private sector. Regular followers of Turner Business are very familiar with Patrick's work leading the cybersecurity Nexus program, which has become a crown jewel for the Turner College. Now Patrick will be  leading the Global Cybersecurity Awareness team at Aflac. "It's an amazing opportunity to lead an energetic team of professionals as we help keep the Company safe by teaching cybersecurity best practices and conducting monthly phishing exercises to keep people sharp and vigilant about phishing emails.  We have also launched an amazing new program called CyberInspire. Our mission is to make our community safer through awareness and inspire the next generation of cybersecurity professionals! We're going out into the community to conduct events to engage kids, empower girls, and educate adults," Patric...

A new study by Turner College economist Frank Mixon and his coauthors Kamal Upadhyaya of the University of New Haven and Hem Basnet of Lincoln University  examines the macroeconomic impact of oil price shocks on core Eastern European countries—namely Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Romania—that are heavily reliant on oil imports, primarily from Russia, and are members of the European Union (EU) that do not use the Euro. To do so, the authors  utilize a Structural Vector Autoregression (SVAR) model that includes oil prices and three key macroeconomic variables—namely, real output, inflation, and the real exchange rate. The results that are discussed in more detail in the study, which is forthcoming in Applied Economics , suggest that these countries initially experience a contraction in real GDP following an oil price shock. However, the contractions are relatively short-lived, as real GDP tends to recover within a few quarters of the oil price shock. In terms o...

With threats of tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China looming WTVM9 News recently queried Columbus residents about their thoughts on international trade wars. According to reporter Amaya Graham, some local consumers say that President Trump's approach is great for America while others say it is horrible and not what President Trump promised during his campaign. Graham also spoke with Turner College economist Fady Mansour , who state that he believes while the threat of tariffs will hurt Americans right now, there may be a positive outcome. “Short term: consumers are expected to pay higher prices, many on products that we use daily,” Mansour, Director of the Butler Center for Research and Economic Development, said. “They're mainly designed to protect the U.S. jobs from the unfair practices from our trade partners.”

Please join the Student to Alumni Engagement Committee and the Turner College for a Student and Alumni mixer on Thursday, February 20, 2025, in the Synovus Center lobby. This event is an opportunity for current Turner College students and alumni to network with each other to help foster student success. There will be an opportunity for Q.A. while light bites and drinks will be available.  To RSVP for the mixer, visit here .

The Turner College conducted a successful Discovery Day academic session over the weekend. According to Turner College Associate Dean Tesa Leonce , " Our distinguished faculty and student ambassadors shared insights with an amazing group of prospective CSU students and families. There was also a great Q&A session [and] we enjoyed the discussions with our guests." The academic session ended with a tour of the Synovus Center on CSU's main campus. Special thanks are due Turner College Student Ambassadors  Jaden McCormick  and   Yasser Mahmoud . Thanks also to Turner College faculty  Joshua Brooks  and  Kirk Heriot , and TSYS School faculty   Elke Brumbaugh , Christopher Lovelock , Rodrigo Obando , and  Lixin Wang . "This is important and valued work. We hope to see many of the students this fall," Leonce added.

Turner Business joins the Turner College ad team in inviting local businesses to  participate in the upcoming Turner College Career Fair on February 25, 2025, from 12:00 noon until 2:00 pm in the Multipurpose Room of the CSU Rec Center.  This is a fantastic opportunity to meet talented and motivated students ready to launch their careers. Attendees will have access to a diverse pool of students with various skills, be able to n etwork with future leaders and innovators, gain insights to b uild their company’s brand on campus and f ind the perfect fit for your internship, part-time, or full-time positions We can’t wait to connect you with the next generation of professionals.