2008 Woodie Awards
Department focuses on outreach opportunities
Hailey Kercheval
Issue date: 4/4/08 Section: News
Hailey Kercheval
Staff writer
The College of Business and Public Affairs at Murray State is reaching out to the local business community and to up-and-coming business professionals.
University President Randy Dunn has given the business department's outreach program a distinct boost with his vision of bringing more prospective students to the University.
"We are trying to help Dr. Dunn achieve his vision of outreach strategically," Tim Todd, dean of business and public affairs said. "He really has helped create a buzz of activity in the department."
The College of Business and Public Affairs' outreach program has two primary divisions, Todd said. One division focuses on economic development, and on what the department calls "small business development centers."
"These stretch across the entire region of western Kentucky," Todd said. "There are centers in Owensboro, Hopkinsville, Paducah and Murray. They are all there to assist small businesses."
The Bureau of Business and Economic Research specifically deals with economic outreach, Todd said.
"This unit focuses on helping economic development, specifically from data that is collected, as well as from development opportunities," he said.
The second division of outreach, Todd said, is geared towards the up-and-coming youngsters that will be the business professionals of tomorrow. Barry Brown, the director of the Center for Economic Education, directs this unit.
"Every semester, we hold workshops for teachers of kindergarten through 12th grade from all across the region," Brown said. "(The workshops) show the teachers how to better teach economics to their students."
One online computer game, called the Stock Market Game, has been a very successful tool in teaching young students business principles, Brown said.
"Each player has $100,000 of fake internet stock market funds to invest," he said. "The players must manage and invest their fake money in the best way possible to receive a high score."
Brown said children from grade school through high school play the Stock Market Game every semester and compete against other students from across the nation.
For the first time the western Kentucky region had two national winners of this game, Brown said.
"We had two fourth-grade students from Farley Elementary School in Paducah place third and sixth out of 14,928 students nationwide," Brown said. "Tim Todd and myself presented the awards to the winners. It was very exciting."
Regional high school competitions through the Future Business Leaders of America and Delta Epsilon Chi, a student marketing organization, are also hosted at Murray State, Todd said.
"It gets high school students on campus, meeting faculty and students," Todd said. "The students are engaged with our campus, and that helps sell Murray State as an institution of choice for them."
Hailey Kercheval can be reached at hailey.kercheval@murraystate.
edu.
Staff writer
The College of Business and Public Affairs at Murray State is reaching out to the local business community and to up-and-coming business professionals.
University President Randy Dunn has given the business department's outreach program a distinct boost with his vision of bringing more prospective students to the University.
"We are trying to help Dr. Dunn achieve his vision of outreach strategically," Tim Todd, dean of business and public affairs said. "He really has helped create a buzz of activity in the department."
The College of Business and Public Affairs' outreach program has two primary divisions, Todd said. One division focuses on economic development, and on what the department calls "small business development centers."
"These stretch across the entire region of western Kentucky," Todd said. "There are centers in Owensboro, Hopkinsville, Paducah and Murray. They are all there to assist small businesses."
The Bureau of Business and Economic Research specifically deals with economic outreach, Todd said.
"This unit focuses on helping economic development, specifically from data that is collected, as well as from development opportunities," he said.
The second division of outreach, Todd said, is geared towards the up-and-coming youngsters that will be the business professionals of tomorrow. Barry Brown, the director of the Center for Economic Education, directs this unit.
"Every semester, we hold workshops for teachers of kindergarten through 12th grade from all across the region," Brown said. "(The workshops) show the teachers how to better teach economics to their students."
One online computer game, called the Stock Market Game, has been a very successful tool in teaching young students business principles, Brown said.
"Each player has $100,000 of fake internet stock market funds to invest," he said. "The players must manage and invest their fake money in the best way possible to receive a high score."
Brown said children from grade school through high school play the Stock Market Game every semester and compete against other students from across the nation.
For the first time the western Kentucky region had two national winners of this game, Brown said.
"We had two fourth-grade students from Farley Elementary School in Paducah place third and sixth out of 14,928 students nationwide," Brown said. "Tim Todd and myself presented the awards to the winners. It was very exciting."
Regional high school competitions through the Future Business Leaders of America and Delta Epsilon Chi, a student marketing organization, are also hosted at Murray State, Todd said.
"It gets high school students on campus, meeting faculty and students," Todd said. "The students are engaged with our campus, and that helps sell Murray State as an institution of choice for them."
Hailey Kercheval can be reached at hailey.kercheval@murraystate.
edu.
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