Moody Business News: February 2020

Each month, we will share news and accomplishments of Moody College of Business faculty, staff, and students.

February 2020

Programs & Events

• Stacey Bergeron, Lisa Bowles, Lise Anne Slatten, Ignatius Cahyanto, Becky Dubois, Denise Benton, Reed Nelson, Valerie McGehee, Heather DeValcourt, and the Office of Career Services coordinated the Resume Café for Moody Business students to get assistance with resume review and writing. More than 120 students participated.
• Forty five students registered for the Moody Business Pitch Competition. The students recently attended a speed consulting workshop to begin preparing for the competition. Thank you to Valerie McGehee (competition coordinator), Fred Davis, Denise Benton, Reed Nelson, Heather DeValcourt, Phillip Russo (LSBDC), and community partners for assisting and serving as mentors at the workshop. The top 5 final pitch will be held on Friday, March 20 at 11am in MX 103 to conclude Moody Business Week.
• Becky Dubois and students in HMGT 451 Applied Food Service Management completed a rotation at the Lafayette Parish Correctional Facility. They worked alongside the inmates preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner for over 900 inmates and employees. Students will complete two more rotations at the facility to learn about quantity food production, bidding, purchasing, receiving, and menu development.  Thank you to Dr. Jennifer Jackson and Lt. Patin for hosting the students this semester. KATC TV3 featured the project.

Awards and Accolades

• B.I. Moody III celebrated his 94th birthday on Wednesday, February 4. Mr. Moody earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University in 1949. Last week, we hung a new portrait of him in the Moody Hall 1st floor lobby. The portrait was generously donated by his family and will have a plaque installed in the future. Learn more about Mr. Moody.
• Cian Robinson, adjunct instructor and Lafayette General Health Executive Director of Innovation, Research and Real Estate Investment, has been named to the Silicon Bayou 100, a list of the 100 most influential and active people in tech and entrepreneurship in Louisiana. This is the fourth year in a row Cian has been named to the list.
• Congratulations to the following faculty who have been chosen to participate in the Hybrid Challenge hosted by Distance Learning. They will redesign one of their existing face to face courses into a hybrid course to be taught in the Fall 2020 semester. Ten proposals were selected for the Challenge.
  • HMGT 431 - International Tourism, Ignatius Cahyanto
  • MGMT 365 - Human Resource Management, Catherine Chauvin
  • MGMT 440 - Entrepreneurial Management, Ron Cheek
• The Ragin’ Hospitality Association was presented a donation from Dwight Prudhomme of the Acadiana Chapter of the Louisiana Restaurant Association. The donation was a result of the hard work and assistance that RHA provided at the Acadiana Food and Wine Soiree held in the fall. The donation will be used to fund RHA field trips, scholarships, and assist students in attending national conferences. Becky Dubois is the RHA advisor.

Research, Engagement, and Publications

• Mary Luquette was interviewed by KATC TV3 to provide financial health tips. TShe also had her article “Bad habits can ruin a great job” published by The Daily Advertiser.
• Gary A. Wagner was the guest speaker at the Downtown Lafayette Lunch and Learn to discuss “brain drain” in the community.
• Maria Slater is creating small business Spanish language instructional videos with Heidi Melancon, Louisiana Small Business Development Center at UL Lafayette and Reed Nelson. She is also working with the 2020 Census to increase awareness in the Hispanic community.
• Gary A. Wagner provided expert commentary to News 15 story “Lower Gas Prices at the Pumps Could Affect Local Oil Companies”. 
• Josh Bendickson hosted Tara Guidry, owner of Cajun Crate, as a guest speaker in his MGMT 200 Intro to Innovation and Entrepreneurship class.
• Valerie McGehee organized field trips for her MKTG 457 Advanced Professional Selling class to visit Stuller and Global Data Systems for tours and meeting with company representatives. 
• David Reid hosted guest speakers Keith Belle (Regional Sales Coordinator of AFLAC), Reagan Yates (UL Lafayette Tutoring Services), and Landon Johnson (Intern working for AFLAC) in his MGMT 320 class.
• Bill Ferguson and student members of the UL Lafayette Risk Management and Insurance Society hosted a Risk Manager in Residence Luncheon featuring Lance J. Ewing, Executive Vice President of Global Risk Management/Client Services for Cotton Holdings, Inc. This is the 19th time Moody Business has hosted the Risk Manager in Residence program sponsored by the Spencer Educational Foundation arm of the Risk Management & Insurance Society (RIMS), the primary professional trade association of national/multinational corporate and public risk executives in the world.
• Lisa Bowles hosted a guest speaker for students in HMGT 408 Facility Management. Chuck Bourg, Facility Manager for the Superdome discussed the venue’s logistical operations and upcoming renovations. Students will visit the Superdome in February.
• Valerie McGehee is hosting a Sales Program Spring 2020 Speaker Series open to all students, faculty, and staff. Recent guest speakers were BJ Crist, Mark Romero, Troy Hebert, and Ian Sorensson.