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August 9, 2010
Next Information Sessions at the Graduate Center: August 12, and August 28
Upcoming Events:
August 9: Interdepartmental Medical Science program starts
August 12: Special Reception for MS-IS faculty, current students, and prospective students
August 17: Special MS Higher Education Speaker Series
August 18: Young Professionals Regional Summit at Drexel
August 24: "Conversation" with Dick Hayne, founder of Urban Outfitters
August 26: Special Webinar: Healthcare Informatics
August 27-28: Orientation/Classes begin for the Executive MPH program
Save the Dates:
September 1: "Experience Drexel" party at the Graduate Center
September 11: Orientation for EdD students
September 15: Convocation and New Student Orientation
October 10: Eagles vs. 49ers game in San Francisco
In this issue of Dragonfire:
- Save the Date: Experience Drexel on September 1
- Sacramento Students Win Another All-Drexel Competition, Head to LA for National Championship
- Students Elect Their Leaders for Academic Year 2010-11
- Students Take Full Advantage of Top Career Counselor From Philly
- Public Health: Drexel's HIV Expert Responds to CDC Analysis Linking Poverty and HIV
- MS Higher Education Program Presents Dr. Rosalind Raby on August 17
- Healthcare Informatics: Special Webinar on August 26
- Can't Decide Between the MS-IS and MS-LIS ? Earn Both!
- Working Together, 3,000 Miles Apart: An Example from the EdD Program
- Another Example: Congresswoman Matsui Convenes Bi-Coastal Clean Tech
Financing Summit at Drexel - "Globally Relevant Talent" Joins Drexel HRD Program
- Grad Center to Welcome Two Full-time MBA Faculty This September
- New Faculty Profile: Mark E. Vargus, PhD – Accounting
- Margaret Wong: A Leader with Vision and Persistence
- Dean Oxholm Made Honorary Member of Nehemiah Emerging Leaders' Inaugural Class
- MBA Student Creates "The Bake Sale of the 21st Century"
To read articles from past editions about your degree program, visit the Dragonfire archives.
Save the Date: Experience Drexel on September 1
Experience Drexel is the name we've given to the party we're hosting for those who have enrolled in our programs strating this fall, or are seriously thinking about it. The event will include career counseling sessions and advice on financial aid and scholarships programs, provided by the directors of those two programs in Philadelphia; meetings with current Drexel students and Drexel faculty; and welcomes by two of Sacramento's most respected leaders. You'll enjoy excellent food and drink, and talk with other working professionals who will soon be your classmates. You'll be hearing more about this soon, but be sure to save the date now. The activities start at 4 p.m.; come when you can, stay as long as you'd like. Experience Drexel and see why 255 of your peers on their way up in their careers have already become Dragons!
Sacramento Students Win Another All-Drexel Competition, Head to LA for National Championship
The topic was "Ford and the AFA Boycott" — what should Ford Motor Company do in response to a boycott threatened by an organization claiming that Ford was discriminating against the LGBT community? The setting for the hypothetical crisis was the C-suite, where teams of Drexel MBA students were advising Ford management on their options and how best to respond. The students were on both coasts, with the Sacramento team using PowerPoint and presenting, in real time, via Drexel's high-definition videoconferencing system. It was part of the lead-up to a national competition involving 16 universities who will make their case to a panel of judges from industry and academia in a national "Reaching Out" MBA Case Competition, that will occur this October in Los Angeles. The students were evaluated on the basis of how well each student presented, how well the team evaluated the case, the quality of the recommendations the team made, and how well the students worked together as a team. The Sacramento team "nailed it," demonstrating mastery of the issues, confidence in the presentation, and ease with the technology. They will move on, along with two BS/MBA students from Philly (Katie Reilly and Sean Giffels) filling out the team of five, representing Drexel in the national championships — this time in our time zone!
The quality of Drexel's first 255 students has been outstanding — and they are getting Drexel's best. The LEAD MBA program that Drexel is teaching in Sacramento is ranked #1 in the nation in academic content, and #10 overall among part-time MBA programs. It is being offered again this September, as are six other graduate programs with national rankings. If you see yourself on the way up in your business, come to an Information Session and see if you're ready for Drexel. But hurry!
Pictured (L-R) Dean O'Brien, Katrina Salazar, and Ken Barnes
Students Elect Their Leaders for Academic Year 2010-11
In our last edition, we reported on the election of City of Sacramento Special Projects Manager Michelle Heppner as the new president of the student body. Four other students were named to the Graduate Student Association Board in an election that saw a 60 percent turnout. Meet our new student leaders:
- Chris Levermore is a member of our LEAD MBA program. He has a BA in political science from Howard University and an MS in public service from DePaul. Chris works in the pharmaceutical industry at AstraZeneca and is on the board of the East End Child Development Center.
- Sivan Oyserman, an MBA student with a BS in cell molecular and developmental biology from the University of Michigan and experience in launching stem cell-related ventures. Oyserman
volunteers with SARTA when not on the road traveling for her new employer, PLEXOS Solutions. - John Pearl, a member of the MS Higher Education program, has eight years of military experience, both active and reserve, and is a regular participant in our service projects. He was this year's recipient
of the Leadership and Service Award from Goodwin College on Honors Day. - Ben Walker is a 10-year member of the California Department of Insurance and is currently
a senior systems developer in the Information Technology Division, a teacher for the University of
Phoenix, and an EdD doctoral student at Drexel.
They form the second GSA Board. Many of the members of the first (which was formed in the spring of 2009) are looking forward to graduating with their master's degrees this December.
Students Take Full Advantage of Top Career Counselor From Philly
Drexel has the terrific Steinbright Career Services Center that helps every student — from the moment they enroll at Drexel to the day they decide they want to retire or maybe even beyond that! The SCDC counselors help guide our students in how to grow within their own organizations, and how to present themselves for the next opportunity, wherever it might be. In addition to the SCDC, the LeBow College of Business has its own MBA Career Services unit, and this past month, we were visited by one of its best: Senior Director Kay Ford. She spent three days with us in Sacramento, holding individual counseling sessions with 26 members of our first and second cohorts, and a group seminar for the third cohort, which was attended by 21 students. The focus of her conversations was around developing leadership competencies for future career goals — all as part of an MBA class in Organizational Development.
This is the kind of personal, broad, and deep service that our students in Sacramento get. Want to get a taste of it? If you have applied for admission to a fall graduate program by September 1, you'll have a chance to meet SCDC's Kathleen Neary, associate director of Global Business Development and Career Services, at our Experience Drexel party. Put it on your calendar now!
Public Health: Drexel's HIV Expert Responds to CDC Analysis Linking Poverty and HIV
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released analysis showing that 2.1 percent of heterosexuals living in high-poverty urban areas in the United States are infected with HIV. According to the CDC, the analysis suggests that many low-income cities across the United States now have generalized HIV epidemics. The analysis also showed that poverty is the single most important demographic factor associated with HIV infection among inner-city heterosexuals.
Dr. Seth Welles, a professor and HIV/AIDS expert at the School of Public Health, believes that the analysis supports what epidemiologists have surmised for a long time: that at least some of the racial/ethnic disparities that we see concerning HIV prevalence and incidence can be explained by aspects of poverty that disproportionately affect Black and Latino individuals.
"By focusing on high-poverty urban areas, researchers identified poverty as the driving force in HIV infection," said Welles. "High-risk persons residing in these areas, regardless of race/ethnicity, may have similar risk patterns and, thus, differences of HIV prevalence between different racial/ethnic groups are not seen."
Dr. Welles also noted that the analysis can identify factors related to high HIV prevalence in high-poverty, urban areas.You can learn more about Dr. Welles' research here.
Drexel's Executive Master of Public Health program is one of the most exciting programs we offer, and our graduates will be prepared to lead in an area that is essential to our society's quality of life. If you are a caring professional with at least three years' experience in public health or a related field, come to an Information Session to learn about the program and speak with current MPH students. You can also email our program director, Dr. Mary Hovinga.
But act quickly! Drexel's MPH starts at the end of this month!
MS Higher Education Program Presents Dr. Rosalind Raby on August 17
On Tuesday, August 17, at 6 p.m., Drexel's Master of Science in Higher Education program will be hosting the Higher Education Speaker Series at the Center for Graduate Studies. This installment of the series will feature Dr. Rosalind Raby, director of California Colleges for International Education. Dr. Raby will be presenting her lecture, entitled Community College International Education: Intersection of Access and Workforce Development.
Dr. Rosalind Latiner Raby is a senior lecturer at California State University, Northridge in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Department of the College of Education, and she is also the Education Abroad Knowledge Community chair for community college education abroad programs for NAFSA. Dr. Raby received her PhD in the field of comparative and international education from UCLA.
We are excited to be hosting Dr. Raby. If you are interested in a career in higher education, you are welcome to join our MS Higher Education and EdD students and faculty. RSVP by calling 916-325-4630 or emailing Emily Dutch, who can answer your questions (i.e., parking). If you are unable to attend in person, it will also be simulcast.
Healthcare Informatics: Special Webinar on August 26
Electronic health records will provide the foundation for the new era of healthcare delivery. By learning more about healthcare informatics, you can gain the knowledge that will make a difference in your career as a health provider, health administrator, or system designer — or even as a patient or consumer.
Dr. Prudence Dalrymple, director of Drexel's Institute for Healthcare Informatics, hosts a discussion about the evolving field of medical/health informatics, including such topics as: What is healthcare informatics?
How can I prepare for a career in this field? What kinds of jobs are out there for people interested in healthcare informatics?
The iSchool's three-course (9 credits), comprehensive Certificate in Healthcare Informatics is designed for information professionals, clinical personnel, and healthcare support personnel who want to increase their knowledge of health information technology and management of the complex social and organizational issues surrounding this major change in healthcare. You can earn a Certificate in Healthcare Informatics while earning your Master of Science in Library and Information Science.
This is an exciting opportunity to learn about a vibrant and growing field. Join us on Thursday, August 26, 2010, 9 a.m. – 10 a.m., PST. This session will be hosted online only. RSVP online by August 23.
Can't Decide Between the MS-IS and MS-LIS ? Earn Both!
The iSchool at Drexel, College of Information Science and Technology, offers a dual master's degree program, leading to the Master of Science in Library and Information Science and the Master of Science in Information Systems. The dual degree combines the focus of the MS program's concern with selecting, organizing, managing, and accessing information resources to meet users' information needs, with the MS-IS graduates' skills in creating and managing the databases, interfaces, and information systems that connect users with the information they are seeking. Students who pursue this path greatly increase their ability to compete in today's cutting-edge information marketplace, where the importance of digitized information resources and the needs of organizations and companies to provide networked access to these resources via intranet gateways and knowledge management systems is steadily increasing. To be eligible, graduate students must be currently working on their first degree when requesting admission to the second. Students from our MS-LIS and MS-IS programs regularly attend our Information Sessions, so be sure to sign up for one (there are only a few left before classes start in September). You can learn more about the dual degree program on the iSchool's website.
Working Together, 3,000 Miles Apart: An Example from the EdD Program
If you work in business or government, you probably do it all the time. But in academia? For most universities, if you are going to class, you are working there. At Drexel, our approach is different — we're using the miles that separate our California and Pennsylvania campuses to add value to our academic programs. Our doctoral students, for example, participate in a blended learning model comprised of online and face-to-face sessions, the latter occurring during executive weekends scheduled three times per quarter.
During those weekends, students connect not only with each other here on campus, but with EdD classmates in Philadelphia and Harrisburg, PA. The three-hour time difference evaporates as the half-second time delay allows students on the two coasts to work together in "virtual groups." The problems leaders face today in "learning organizations" are by no means limited to one jurisdiction or another, but you'd be amazed how differently people approach those problems depending on where they live. Drexel's state-of-the-art educational center makes it possible for our students to consult with leaders wherever in the world they might be, in real time, simultaneously. How exciting is that?
Those with questions about the EdD program should contact program director Dr. Ed Bureau or call the Graduate Center at 916-325-4600.
Another Example: Congresswoman Matsui Convenes Bi-Coastal Clean Tech Financing Summit at Drexel
Sacramento Mayor Johnson has called the initiative the "Emerald Valley" — bringing businesses focused on sustainability and the "clean and green" economy to the Sacramento region. It's long been a focus of SARTA, the Metro Chamber, and SACTO. Congresswoman Doris Matsui recently convened two dozen key players in the "clean tech" arena to discuss financing. And she held it at Drexel's Graduate Center. Why? We are centrally located, green-certified, and most importantly (for you), totally high-tech. The two-hour meeting was not only linked to the congresswoman's office in Washington, D.C., so her D.C. staff could participate, but it was "360-recorded," so that whatever was written on the SmartBoards or said by the participants could be captured and used by them later.
That's the way it will work for you in class, too: if you cannot be there, you can still "be there" — not chasing someone for notes she would have made, but watching or listening to it directly. It's one of the key ways that we make it possible for working professionals not just to earn their degrees but to truly master the subjects. It's the future of our region, and of higher education, and you can only get it at Drexel.
"Globally Relevant Talent" Joins Drexel HRD Program
Dr. Mary Ellen Kassotakis has recently joined the MS Human Resource Development team as an adjunct faculty member at Drexel University's Center for Graduate Studies in Sacramento. Dr. Kassotakis joins us with over 25 years of experience in HR, training and learning, organization development, and change leadership. She is director of the Leadership Center of Expertise within the Global Organization and Talent Development organization at Oracle Corporation and has held senior management positions at several best-in-class firms including HP. Dr. Kassotakis earned her doctorate in educational leadership from USC, and an MBA from San Francisco State University. In addition, she is a certified co-active professional coach and certified performance technologist. Of significance, Dr. Kassotakis co-authored a recent book entitled: Social Media at Work: How Networking Tools Propel Organizational Performance — which is being adopted by Drexel's HRD program.
"Mary Ellen has a wealth of practical experience in HRD and is invaluable in translating theory into practice. She is much attuned to her students' needs, and adjusts content and delivery to ensure optimal learning," says Michelle Rand, MS-HRD student at Drexel University.
Grad Center to Welcome Two Full-time MBA Faculty This September
If you have been to "faculty row" in our Graduate Center, you've probably seen Dr. Toni Carbo, head of our iSchool's two programs in Sacramento (MS Library and Information Science, MS Information Systems); Dr. José Luis Chávez, head of our MS Higher Education; Dr. Salvatore Falletta , director of Drexel's MS Human Resource Development; and Dr. Holly Carpenter, a member of the MS Higher Education faculty. All are experienced professionals, all are published scholars. Come September and the start of our fourth cohort, we will be joined by two more PhDs with outstanding credentials. Below is a profile of the first — the second will be in the next edition.
If you would like to meet our faculty in person, please come to an Information Session or stop by the Graduate Center during the day.
New Faculty Profile: Mark E. Vargus, PhD – Accounting
PhD from Wharton. MBA from Wharton. MA in economics from Wharton. BS in electrical engineering, Johns Hopkins. Six years with Martin Marietta Aerospace as a senior staff engineer in Advanced Radar Systems. Director, chief financial officer of the Lakewood Village Municipal Development Corporation. Mayor Pro-Tem and chief investment officer, Town of Lakewood Village. Executive Education at the German International School of Management (winner of the Outstanding Professor Award by the Class of 2010), and the Merage School of Business — UC Irvine. Published papers on "Insider Trading and Accrual Mispricing", "Performance Measurements and Incentive System Design," and the "Role of Internal Audit in the Disclosure of Material Weaknesses" (among others). Recipient of The Notable Contribution to Management Accounting Literature Award from the American Accounting Association in 2007 — the same year that he won the Teaching Excellence Award from the Executive MBA program of the University of Texas at Dallas, which was the fifth award he has received for outstanding teaching.
Wow! Dr. Mark Vargas could have joined the faculty almost anywhere he wanted, but he will be coming to Drexel's Center for Graduate Studies this September to teach in our LEAD MBA program. Ask any of his former students and they will tell you: you will be lucky to learn from him. And if you want to be in his class, you need to act quickly. Contact Dave Stewart, MBA program director in Sacramento via email or call him at 916-325-4612.
Next Dragonfire: Ramya Ghosh, PhD, MAEconomics, B.Sc Economics
Margaret Wong: A Leader with Vision and Persistence
Would you be willing to quit your job at a prestigious bank to start a new business with just $500 in savings? What if you were the only woman, and only Asian, in the market sector in which you were opening the doors? And what if you had only emigrated from Hong Kong to Chicago just a couple years earlier? What made it possible for Margaret Wong to go from virtually nowhere to being today one of the largest China traders on the West Coast in the "clean and green" technology sector that Sacramento is trying to make into its future? "I view myself as a turtle," she explained to over 50 of Drexel's graduate students gathered for the July "What It Means To Lead" Conversation. "I know there are others who will be faster, but I am persistent, and no one will work harder." She explained how employees were different in China than in California, and the different strategies she had to use to grow her companie's leaders and business connections.
It was the kind of intimate discussion Drexel's students from all graduate programs are able to have with leaders on both coasts. On August 24, the speaker will be Dick Hayne, the founder, chairman, and president of Urban Outfitters. If you are enrolling in a graduate program at Drexel next fall and want a chance to hear the inside story of a company's remarkable growth, contact Nancy Thompson.
Dean Oxholm Made Honorary Member of Nehemiah Emerging Leaders' Inaugural Class
Early in 2009, when Drexel had just opened its doors in Sacramento, the Nehemiah Foundation was just putting together its Emerging Leaders Program. The idea was to bring 20 of the region's future multicultural leaders together, expose them to leaders of the Greater Sacramento community, develop their leadership skills, and create a network that would help them become successful in their jobs and leaders in their communities. It was spearheaded by Scott Syphax, CEO of the Nehemiah Companies, who was working with the Mountain Valley Chapter of the American Leadership Forum when Drexel's Dean Tobey Oxholm heard about the idea and offered Drexel's support. The result is that when the program started in the fall of 2009, Drexel's Grad Center was NELP's home. By the end of the 10-month program, the NELP Fellows were part of the Drexel family, known to the dean and staff almost as well as Drexel's own students. In appreciation for the support that Drexel's dean had personally given to the program and its participants, the senior fellows made Dean Oxholm an honorary member of the inaugural class.
"In just one year, the Nehemiah Emerging Leaders have become a highly skilled, highly networked, highly respected group," said Dean Oxholm when presented with the award by NELP alumni president Darrell Teat. "There is just no doubt that they will have a substantial influence on this region. I was glad to be in the right place at the right time to help the program get started, and am greatly honored to now be forever connected with the inaugural class."
MBA Student Creates "The Bake Sale of the 21st Century"
Rob Falcone (CoE '09 and MBA '11) was recently quoted in Forbes magazine in an article about DreamIt Ventures, a seed fund firm that is working with Falcone on developing his new business venture Campus Sponsorship. Of the 500 applications submitted to Dream It Ventures, Falcone and his partners' business concept was one of 14 applications chosen in DreamIt's highly competitive process. Campus Sponsorship is a Web-based business that allows student groups to earn money for their organizations based on their interaction and participation with the website sponsors. Campus Sponsorship earns revenue via a revshare basis. According to Falcone, the idea for the business was born out of his own experience as a student challenged with fundraising. "We're the bake sale of the 21st century,"Falcone said. "Students can raise money by interacting with brands, playing games, and by taking surveys. For brands' guaranteed attention, students get a guaranteed donation."
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