Turner Business

Tomorrow night, March 24, 2026, between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm prospective CSU students can receive instant admission at the CSU Welcome Center on University Avenue. Simply p ull up to and enter the facility, meet with admissions counselors, get help with the CSU application, and walk out with a decision the same night. Applicants will be treated to music, popcorn and campus tours. Those unable to make in person may join online for a virtual walkthrough.

Based on a teaching philosophy is centered on creating transformative learning experiences that actively engage students,  foster confidence, and prepare them for success in the cybersecurity workforce, TSYYS School cybersecurity lecturer  Elke Brumbaugh immerses her students in  authentic, hands-on environments, supported through mentorship, in order to expose them to real  world applications of their studies. For example, students in her CPSC 1301 course had the option to  design and program a robot as their final project. Brumbaugh found that this hands-on approach  concepts in a practical context. In other courses she  integrated extensive industry engagement by hosting  over 50 guest speakers from the cybersecurity field. These professionals provided students with authentic  insights into the realities of cybersecurity practice, including workplace expectations, required technical  and professional competencies, and the dynamic nat...

As Turner Business reported yesterday, a new CSU website is now live. A recent visit to the website revealed that a Turner College alum, Hayley Tillery , is featured on the main page. Hayley, who is currently the Director of the Columbus Convention & Trade Center, earned a master's degree in organizational leadership (MSOL) in 2015. She is currently pursuing a doctorate degree from Auburn University, a process that has already led to a publication in the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education . 

Today CSU is launching  a redesigned website that will feature a fresh and modern look, new and easier pathways into the site, and a focus on helping prospective students learn who we are and what makes CSU such a special place to study and grow.  While the design is new, the information and resources you depend on daily remain the same. If you’re looking for familiar content — such as MyCSU, other internal resources or departmental pages — you can easily access them through the menu button in the top right corner of the nav bar or by using the search bar.  Like any major update, there might be a few things that need to be fine-tuned once the site goes live. If you notice anything that doesn’t look right, needs updating or requires immediate attention, please submit an eQuest so the Web Development Team can handle it.  Thank you to the many people across campus who have partnered with Strategic Communication + Marketing and University Information & Technology Ser...

Since joining the Turner College just a few years ago, accounting professor Charles Boster  has steadily built an impressive record in accounting education. His students consistently rate his teaching effectiveness at 4.8 (out of 5) or above. Boster's recipe for success is simple. As he explains, "I continually assess teaching methods, teaching materials, and learning goals to improve content relevance, instructional quality, and student satisfaction. Through continuous improvement activities, my goal is 'better.' I am always trying to find ways to make my courses better. I seek to ensure course content reflects current business environments." Boster's approach to accounting education has also been consistent with CSU's recent focus on the development of students' critical thinking skills.  "While I focus on practical applications of course concepts, I know from experience that time management, critical thinking, and problem solving are more impor...

In only his second year in the Turner College, management professor Tom Ngo is establishing a commendable record of service. Ngo serves on the Turner College's  Strategic Planning Committee, a group that has spent the past several months establishing one-year and five-year strategic goals aligned with the CSU’s broader priorities that recently resulted in the faculty-approved Vision 2030 . As a member of CSU's  Research and Grants Committee, Ngo collaborated with Michelle Eady, a Fulbright Scholar visiting CSU, to organize and deliver a “Lunch and Learn” session. This initiative supported faculty development by promoting research engagement and grant-related discussion. Additionally, a s the faculty advisor to the CSU International Student Club, Ngo participated in international student orientation and supported students’ academic and cultural transition to CSU, fostering inclusivity and global engagement. Relatedly, he also  delivered a talk for the English Language Ins...

A new Employer Advisory Council at Columbus State University is enhancing students’ career prospects with the region’s employers—ranging from internships and co-ops to post-graduate jobs. Its origin is part of a comprehensive university strategy that aligns academics, career coaching and experiential learning to prepare students for the evolving needs of the modern workforce.  According to Patrick Keebler, director of Columbus State’s Center for Career Coaching, the council’s main goal is to foster two-way dialogue that benefits both students and the local economy. It aims to establish a direct communication channel between the university and the region’s most influential recruiters and business leaders.  “The goal of our new Employer Advisory Council is to enhance communication between Columbus State University and the area’s leading employers that hire our graduates,” Keebler noted. “This will help us better understand their workforce needs and create more opportunities to p...

Work is progressing nicely on the front of the Synovus Center, home of the Turner College. The image at left, provided to Turner Business by management professor Kirk Heriot , was captured on February 25, 2026. Today, new brick covers almost all of the face of the building. Over the next few weeks that work will be completed and the construction team will focus on the interior of the building. Work on the $10 million project is expected to be completed just prior to Fall 2026. Stay connected to Turner Business for the latest news on this project.

CSU President Stuart Rayfield's March 2026 Updates indicated that the recently passed FY26 amended state budget included a $2,000 stipend for all state employees, including Turner College faculty and staff. Our own February 26, 2026, post on the state budget  also discussed that element of the assembly's activities. Turner Business also reported in that post that Turner College faculty and staff are also expected income and property tax relief, ranging from $500 to $1,000 depending on marital status. This is much needed good news for both groups. Stay connected to Turner Business for more news on the FY27 budget. Yesterday's post about TSYS School computer scientist Yesem Kurt Peker 's publication in IEEE Access failed to mention that this accomplishment marked a milestone for Peker as it is her first publication in an A-rated academic journal. So, this repeat mention corrects that omission and serves as a double congrats to Peker. It is also worth repeating here tha...

TSYS School computer scientist Yesem Kurt Peker  has extended her research program examining fault detection in smart buildings with a new study in IEEE Access that leverages  machine learning techniques to predict  and classify faults in energy consumption, thus providing actionable insights to proactively mitigate them. In  this study, Peker, her TSYS School students  Shashank Sekhara , Akshith Nukala  and McAndrew Okwei , and her colleagues from Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and US Ignite, Inc., propose a data engineering and machine learning framework deployed in the cloud to  predict energy consumption across multiple building types. Their dataset includes hourly energy consumption,  weather conditions and occupancy data, and results from outlier/fault detection to model prediction  provide a detailed comparative analysis on methodologies for implementing a scalable and efficient  framework for buildings’ energy man...

CSU President Stuart Rayfield recently informed the CSU community that the  CSU Foundation Trustees have officially voted for the University to enter the leadership (quiet) phase of a comprehensive fundraising campaign, and that the CSU administration is currently developing funding priorities that align directly with CSU's strategic plan. The current plan is that in 2028, following investments by CSU's leadership donors, CSU will publicly announce its campaign goal of raising $125 million by 2030. "This campaign will focus on positioning the university’s role in the future of Columbus, the evolving workforce our students will enter, and the technologies and innovations CSU must master to remain competitive and relevant. This is a significant step forward and a powerful vote of confidence by the CSU Foundation in the trajectory of our institution," Rayfield noted. Seeking to raise $100 million, the last campaign occurred several years ago and culminated with a $5 mill...

Concern over CSU's enrollment situation continues to build, and for good reason. During the January 2026 CSU Faculty Senate meeting, CSU President Stuart Rayfield reported that CSU's Spring 2026 enrollment was up 2% in terms of headcount and 2.25% in terms of student credit hour production. One month later, during the February 2026 CSU Faculty Senate meeting, she revised her prior report to indicate that Spring 2026 enrollment is down 2.28% in student headcount and by 1.89% in student credit hour production. As Turner Business noted at the time,  the updated enrollment numbers represent percentage point swings of −4.28 and −4.14, respectively, from last month's numbers.  The bad news was solidified in her March 2026 Updates to faculty staff, wherein she stated,  "Enrollment continues to trend slightly down overall; however, there are encouraging signs that we are beginning to move in the right direction. Among those are the increased and frequent interactions betwee...

The next installment in the Lunch & Learn Speaker Series is scheduled for Tuesday, March 10, from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm in room 206 of the Synovus Center. The featured speaker is Rahmatullah Roche , an assistant professor of computer science in the TSYS School. The title of Roche's presentation is "Harnessing AI for Innovative Predictive Modeling: Opportunities, Funding, and Academic Impact."  Roche earned a Master of Science in computer science and software engineering from Auburn University in 2021 and a Ph.D. in computer science and applications from Virginia Tech in 2024, where he received the prestigious Pratt Fellowship for the 2023–2024 academic year. He joined the TSYS School as an assistant professor in Fall 2024. Roche is passionate about teaching and is dedicated to inspiring and mentoring the next generation of computer scientists.  To ensure lunch is provided, please accept our invitation by 3:00 pm on Monday, March 9.

A Turner College News & Notes entry from mid-October of last year reported that the AACSB research portfolio compiled through that date by Turner College business faculty was behind schedule when compared to the previous two successful reaccreditation efforts. As reported there , through the first three years of the most recent reaccreditation cycle Turner College business faculty had compiled 98 published journal articles. The average compilation through three years over the two most recent reaccreditation cycles was 95 published journal articles. At the time of the October 2025 post referenced above, Turner College business faculty had produced 69 journal publications with another 1.5 months remaining in the first three years of the current AACSB reaccreditation cycle. As the table below indicates, the Turner College business faculty now have a portfolio with 76 journal publications, seven more than reported in October of last year. Still, that total lags behind the 95 needed to...

Turner College business students and TSYS School computer science students are invited to participate in the Spring 2025 Student Appreciation T-Shirt Design Competition. Those interested in the competition should submit their designs to Jennifer Stone by March 15, 2026, for a chance to have their work featured this year.  Let your creativity represent the Turner College this spring.

Ready to take the next step? If so, please join the  Turner College for our virtual graduate academic programs information session on March 11, 2026, from  6:00 pm until 7:00 pm. This is a great opportunity to learn about  our graduate programs and how you can start Summer 2026 or Fall 2026. In addition to graduate programs in computer science and cybersecurity management, the Turner Colleges also offers the MBA degree and an M.S. degree in organizational leadership.  Register today using the QR code above.

As discussed in a July 2023 post here at Turner Business ,  the National Basketball Association (NBA) and its players union negotiated a collective bargaining agreement in 2005 that established a minimum age of 19 for all players entering the league, while U.S. high school basketball stars were also required to wait at least one year after high school graduation before being eligible for the NBA Draft. This ended the so-called prep-to-pro pipeline and instead  meant that all potential prep-to-pro caliber U.S. high school basketball stars would compete collegiately for at least one season before joining the NBA. It also led to popular use of the phrase “one-and-done” by basketball coaches, players and fans as a replacement for the outdated “prep-to-pro” mantra. New research by Turner College economist Frank Mixon , Auburn University's Steven Caudill, Florida Atlantic University's Jo ã o Ricardo Faria and Artois University's Laura Ciucci examines both  ...

Two-time Turner College graduate Grace Windhorst recently took to LinkedIn to share that she is now an  officially licensed Georgia real estate agent and that she is joining Keller Wi lliams Realty Atlanta Partners South Forsyth under Premier Realty Group. " Real estate has been a goal of mine, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to help individuals and families navigate one of the biggest decisions of their lives — buying or selling a home. I’m especially excited to serve our community here in Georgia and provide a smooth, positive experience for my clients," she explained. Grace earned a BBA in finance from the Turner College in 2023. In 2024 she added an MBA from the Turner College. These accomplishments assisted her in becoming a tax analyst for Koch Industries, a position she held through January of this year. Turner Business congratulates Grace on achieving this new milestone in her professional life.

Aflac is seeking CSU business, communications and cybersecurity students to volunteer to assist with workshops, guiding participants, and more at the Aflac Empower Girls Event. The event is set for Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at the Columbus Convention & Trade Center from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with lunch provided. Student volunteers will help with breakout zones, activity zones, interactive workshops and serve as guides. Networking opportunities are also available, as major corporate vendors and professionals will also be on hand to discuss careers in cybersecurity. Students can also use the experience to gain volunteer hours, build leadership experience, and be part of an event that empowers the next generation of young women. Sign up and be a part of something impactful.

The Turner College's Accounting Club is calling on  all future accountants and business leaders to attend its s ocial mixer and informational meeting on  Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at  12:30 pm in room 306 of the Synovus Center on CSU's main campus (p izza will be provided). This meeting offers a great opportunity to c ome network, learn more about the club, and connect with other students in the field. Scan the QR code on the poster above to RSVP. Hope to see you there.