Turner Business

Twenty-four hours. Dozens of opportunities to give. That’s what awaits Columbus State University alumni and friends starting at 5 p.m. on Monday, April 6, when the university launches CSU Gives. The annual online giving drive highlights how alumni and donors can quickly impact students’ experiences and academic success through their charitable contributions. “Gifts of all sizes benefit our students every day,” said Alexis Gray , Assistant Director of Alumni and Student Engagement and 2018 graduate of the Turner College's MSOL program, who is co-leading the CSU Gives effort. “They make college affordable through scholarships and make learning from outstanding faculty possible in the classroom. They enhance the college experience through unique experiences and leadership development that help our students succeed in their studies and position them for success in their careers.” Gray explained that the 24-hour giving period will feature some competitive online “power hours” designed t...

It has been between two and three years since Turner Business reported on the TSYS Center for Cybersecurity Advisory Board. At that time the Board maintained 10 members and the Center's Director was Turner College alum  Patrick Aiken . Now, Sean Glieberman serves as the Center's Director, and he recently announced that the Board is now comprised of 12 members and has its own section on the Center's website. The Board's current membership is shown in the image below. Transitioning off the Board since our 2023 blog post is Christopher Lovelock , who is now a member of the TSYS School computer science faculty. Joining the Board since our 2023 blog post are Casey Hergett , the Muscogee County School District's Senior Director of Enterprise Technologies, Stacy Hughes , ABM's Chief Information Security Officer and Vice President, and Josh Pauli , Chair of the Department of Cyber, Intelligence and Information Operations at the University of Arizona.   

Although the search for a new dean of the Turner College is not yet underway, faculty and staff were recently informed that Margie Yates, Dean of the College of Education and Health Professions, has been named chair of the search committee. CSU is currently seeking volunteers to serve on the search committee while work is still occurring on search firm selection. Once the committee is constructed, "listening sessions" will take place on campus. Yates earned a BSEd from the University of Georgia, and MEd from CSU and a PhD from Auburn University. Stay connected to Turner Business for more on this search. In other news, TSYS School Director Rania Hodhod recently announced that this summer's Study Abroad program in Egypt has been cancelled due to travel restrictions resulting from the war in Iran. Next, Turner College faculty were informed last week that construction on the Synovus Center is ahead of schedule. Punch list walkthroughs are already taking place, and the end d...

Columbus State University honored 13 students, employees, alumni and community leaders on Wednesday, March 25, with its annual Legacy Awards at its annual Legacy Celebration Banquet. Among the winners was  Joy Mwanja , who received the Kiongozi Award for Outstanding International Leadership. Modeling “kiongozi,” which  in Swahili  means “leadership," the Center for Global Engagement bestows this honor on a graduating international student who has demonstrated campus involvement and academic leadership. Mwanja, a graduate student from Kampala, Uganda, majoring in cybersecurity, is honored for her contributions to internationalizing the campus and enriching the lives of those she meets. Mariah Washington received the W.D. Feeney Award. Like the 2013 Columbus State alumnus and former university employee for whom the award is named, Washington is known for her strong commitment to helping fellow students overcome challenges related to their disabilities. She has notably volu...

Contemporary news coverage of the property damage and human cost associated with the California wildfires of 2024 and early 2025 provided some of the most heart-wrenching images of a natural disaster in U.S. history. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, more than 8,000 individual fires had, by the end of 2024, burned almost 1.1 million acres of California property and destroyed more than 1,700 structures.  The combination of drought conditions, thick underbrush and Santa Ana winds worked to extend the fires into January of 2025, particularly around Los Angeles and San Diego. Prominent among these fires was the Pacific Palisades fires, which began in the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles County on 7 January 2025 and would eventually devastate large swaths of Pacific Palisades, Topanga and Malibu before ultimate containment of them on the last day of the month.  More than 30 lives were lost as a result of the fires and estimates of the prop...

Over the five different graduate level courses he has taught since the fall of 2024, TSYS School computer science professor Amjad Hossain has consistently aimed to create an engaging and inclusive learning environment that supports student success and active participation. " In my [graduate] courses, students get enough opportunities to learn through hands-on activities. I use multiple assessment methods throughout the semester to evaluate their learning, including programming assignments, quizzes, exams, discussions, and collaborative projects," Hossain explains. Hossain utilizes  ClassPoint, a tool for adding interactive quizzes to PowerPoint, during his graduate course lectures to offer  interactive learning opportunities. He typically asks students to come to the whiteboard and discuss and  derive potential solutions to a given problem. They write programs using Java and Python to solve  small to moderate-sized exercise problems and submit them through ClassPoin...

The TSYS Center for Cybersecurity is looking forward to hosting the CISO Moderated Panel Discussion on April 10th, from 12:00 noon to 2:00 pm in the Synovus Center Theater on CSU's main campus. The discussion will be moderated by Sean Glieberman , Director of the TSYS Center for Cybersecurity. The panelists will include Kevin Gowan, Chief Information Security Officer at Synovus, Nigel Miller, Deputy Chief Information Security Officer at Maximus, Alicia Herring, Chief Information Security Officer at Cognizant Americas, and Mike Kane, Senior Vice President of Global Security Operations at Global Payments. These panelists will s hare their wisdom and experience with attendees. There will be time allotted for student questions as well. You are highly encouraged to attend and participate in the event.

According to Ty Tagami's recent report for Capitol Beat, a  taxpayer-funded college scholarship based on financial need rather than academic merit is now closer to becoming a reality in Georgia now that a Senate committee approved the bipartisan measure. As Tagami explains,  House Bill 1413 passed the Senate Higher Education Committee unanimously after three other bills were merged with it. According to Tagami, t he bill puts the Georgia Student Finance Authority in control of the fund, with $325 million in seed money already allocated in the amended budget for the current fiscal year.  “I want you to know how important the DREAM scholarship is for our state. And I want you to know how excited I am for the DREAM scholarship to be implementable,” committee chairman Sen. Max Burns, R-Sylvania, said after the vote.  The bill advanced after several hearings wherein experts testified about a relatively high dropout rate among students from low-income households. These stu...

MBA Program Director, Chair of the Assurance of Learning Committee, and Faculty Senator are just some of the service roles that Turner College finance professor Joshua Brooks fills each academic year. These accompany a long list of other service activities, including development and delivery of a new RIVER course, QEP grading, QM peer review, and membership on about six Honors College thesis committees, making him a strong contender for the 2026 Turner College Service Award. Brooks' service work is not contained within the boundaries of CSU, as he serves as a reviewer for multiple academic journals, a s cientific advisor for two fintech startups, a member of various a dvisory boards, and a director of a n on-profit board. Lastly, Brooks' community service extends to his children's educational pursuits given that he is the  PTA Treasurer, putting him in charge of the organization's accounting information system, multiple online payment channels, petty cash and cash depo...

CSU recently awarded its non-alcoholic beverage vending and pouring rights to Coca-Cola Bottling Company United Inc., making the university a Coca-Cola-only campus beginning April 1.  Under the new agreement, Coca-Cola and its family of products will be featured across all campus vending machines and beverage locations.  The partnership offers several advantages for CSU and its students, including scholarships, contributions to student life programs, and funding for campus marketing initiatives and student engagement activities. The agreement also provides sponsorship support for campus events and athletics, as well as product rebates.  CSU leaders say the partnership aligns with its efforts to foster a more active and engaging environment and will boost campus events, support student programs and create new collaboration opportunities between CSU and Coca-Cola United. Although t he new agreement officially takes effect next week, a wider selection of Coca-Cola products s...

As Lydia Mansel notes in her recent report for Travel + Leisure magazine, t here are many reasons that individuals and families relocate, and some of them depend on one's current stage of life.  Young people , for example, often focus on career opportunities and affordability. Mansel focuses on determining the top  eight young person-friendly spots in the U.S., and in doing so she finds that Columbus ranks sixth, behind Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Raleigh, Denver and Pittsburgh, and just ahead of Austin and Boston. Her summary of Columbus states, " Atlanta isn’t the only Georgia city that young people should consider making their home base. 'Columbus is often overlooked, but that’s part of its appeal. It’s a military-connected city with a steady employment base, which creates economic stability and diversity,' explains [Danielle] Andrews, [a realtor with Realty One Group Next Generation ]. 'The presence of military, healthcare, education, and logistics jobs brings ...

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.