School of Business and Information Technology
Purdue University Global
Faculty News
Issue: April 2025
SBIT Dean's Office
SBIT Dean's Office
SBIT Strategic Focus
SBIT Strategic Focus
Four Key Pillars
Dr. Jeffrey Buck, Dean
College of Business and Information Technology
Our strategic focus is centered around four key pillars that align with the Purdue Portfolio. Through these strategic focuses, we aim to provide a meaningful educational experience for all stakeholders involved.
We prioritize Reputation, and recognize the importance of maintaining a strong standing in the academic community and beyond. Collaboration is crucial, as we foster partnerships and alliances that enhance our collective potential and promote innovation.
We are committed to Student Results and Support, ensuring that every student receives the guidance and resources they need to excel.
Program accessibility and Relevance are fundamental, enabling us to reach diverse audiences and offer education that aligns with current and future needs.
We emphasize Differentiation and Social Responsibility, striving to be distinctive in our offerings while remaining mindful of our impact on society and the environment.
Introducing the new monthly link to SBIT Faculty Kudos!
Click on the button below for slides with current Kudos.
PG Café Launches!
A huge thank you to everyone at SBIT who joined our very first "SBIT Faculty Coffee Break" in the new Purdue Global Café on March 21. We were delighted to have so many colleagues participate in this informal gathering where faculty and staff were able to spend time together on a Friday morning to foster camaraderie and engage in conversation.
The PG Café Lead Barista, Emilie Myers, led the event which included discussions on a number of topics ranging from community involvement to upcoming conference participation. She was joined by featured hosts and communications committee members Dr. Blake Escudier, Dr. Marty McDermott, and Professor Mimi Gough.
The "SBIT Faculty Coffee Break" is scheduled to meet again on April 18 at 11:00am, ET and every third Friday in 2025, focusing on an assortment of topics. Join us and learn more about the types of activities SBIT Faculty are involved with in their local community.
Please be on the lookout for the email invite with a link for our next Coffee Break. The invite is also posted on the PG Café Schedule in the SBIT Faculty News.
While we can’t meet in the Purdue Quad, or a local coffee shop – we can socialize at the PG Café!
Purdue Global Cafe' (Schedule)
SBIT Faculty Coffee Break
(All Faculty Invited)
Friday, April 18, 2025 - 11:00am ET
Join with Google Meet
Join by phone
(US) +1 385-404-0517 PIN: 883 406 818#
SBIT Faculty Updates
SBIT Faculty Updates
Something to share with SBIT Faculty?
Send to: Dr. Blake Escudier
Meet Professor Michael McKenna
Michael McKenna is an esteemed adjunct instructor at Purdue University Global, where he has taught for 20 years. With a career that spans corporate leadership and academia, McKenna brings a wealth of real-world experience to his teaching. Before joining Purdue University Global, he retired as the General Manager of Sales & Marketing for the US & Canada Business Systems Division at Eastman Kodak Company. Over his career at Kodak, McKenna rose from a territory salesman to a key leadership role, demonstrating his exceptional business acumen and leadership abilities.
McKenna's educational background includes an AAS from SUNY, a BS from the Rochester Institute of Technology, and an MBA from Western Michigan University. This solid foundation allowed him to develop the expertise he now shares with his students in his Global Business course at Purdue University Global. He uses his extensive knowledge of global business to engage students in discussions, ensuring they connect theory to practical, real-world situations drawn from his own experiences.
What inspired McKenna to pursue a career in management and education was his desire to share the lessons he learned at Kodak, particularly from his experiences at a Fortune 23 global company. He aims to help students understand the complexities of global business, empowering them to succeed in a competitive environment. Among his most notable career achievements was his rise to General Manager, where he played a pivotal role in leading Kodak's sales and marketing efforts across North America.
McKenna's teaching style is known for its clarity and excellence. He incorporates his real-life professional and personal experiences into his lessons, making the material more relatable and engaging for students. A student testimonial highlights McKenna's teaching skills: "Professor McKenna delivered the course material with exceptional clarity and excellence, seamlessly incorporating his expertise and experience. His insights were well researched and easily verifiable, demonstrating a deep and thorough knowledge of the subject matter. There is no need for improvement, as his teaching exceeded expectations."
Outside of his professional responsibilities, McKenna is committed to volunteerism. He spends time at Joyful Place, a respite facility for people with all forms of dementia, including Alzheimer's, volunteering twice a week year-round. Additionally, McKenna serves as a volunteer Chemo Rider for the American Cancer Society, helping transport cancer patients who lack transportation to their chemotherapy appointments.
Through his extensive career, dedication to his students, and service to his community, Michael McKenna has made a lasting impact both in and out of the classroom. His passion for teaching, combined with his real-world experience, has enabled him to enrich the lives of his students while also contributing to important causes.
Julie Dort
Mimi Gough
David Smith Invited to Ireland!
David Smith (Adjunct IT Faculty) has been invited to participate in EDUsummIT 2025 in June in Dublin, Ireland. EDUsummIT is a global community of researchers, policymakers and practitioners committed to supporting the effective integration of Information Technology (IT) in education by promoting active dissemination and use of research. EDUsummIT is organized in association with prominent international and national organizations. Attendance is by invitation only. About 100 researchers will be attending. EDUsummIT meets every other year in a different international city.
EDUsummIT meetings are organized into Thematic Working Groups. Working groups are composed of about ten participants. Each Thematic Working group investigates a sub-topic of the overall theme of the meeting. David's group will be looking at “Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy for teaching and learning: design and implementation”. Working groups develop policy recommendations at the nation state level for future action.
Community
Community
Purdue University Global Hospitality and Tourism Services
Celebrate National Travel and Tourism Week (NTTW)
National Travel and Tourism Week (NTTW) is an annual celebration highlighting the vital contributions that this industry makes as an economic driver that links cultures, communities and people together in all corners of our nation, according to the US Travel Association (2025).
The event was established in 1983 and is typically observed during the first full week of May, with the dates for this year between May 4-10, 2025 (US Travel Association, 2025). Each year, industry representatives organize various individual activities to cultivate a sense of pride at the local level and to raise awareness of the impact the industry has by creating quality jobs, inspiring entrepreneurs and enhancing the quality of life for Americans every day (US Travel Association, 2025).
This year, we, the Course Leads for Purdue University Global Hospitality and Tourism Services and are holding the fourth annual virtual event on Monday, May 5, 2025, to recognize this national event by highlighting our PG Hospitality and Tourism Services and Hospitality Sustainability Concentrations and sharing more about the additional credentials you can earn.
We would like to invite you to participate in our exciting session, so here is a preview of the highlights from our agenda:
Special Guest Speaker Michael Stutler. who will share his extensive experience working for the Walt Disney World Resort, where he developed a deep passion for Walt Disney’s vision and the Disney brand. His knowledge of hospitality operations, expertise in market research, human resources, and training has laid the foundation for his career in education. He also just happens to be one of our very own adjunct professors in the School of Business & IT.
There will be trivia with prizes to win!
We hope you will Save the date- Monday, MAY 5, 2025: 2:00-3:00 PM ET
Click this Link to join our event.
We hope to see you there!
Mimi Gough and Julie Dort
Course Leads for TH Concentrations
Reference:
US Travel Association (2025) US travel association website. https://www.ustravel.org/events/national-travel-and-tourism-week
Thinking about a Research Project?
by Mimi Gough & Glenn Walton
Research can be an exciting way to dig into a topic and gather various perspectives. As educators we should always look for opportunities to unlock our current understanding of the material we teach to advance our curriculum and foster student participation.
If you’ve never undertaken a research project, it can seem like a daunting task that comes with a series of endless questions as it takes on a life of its own but rest reassured that PG has many valuable resources and seasoned academics who support one another in this scholarly pursuit.
One of the first things that faculty should do is check out the CTL Scholarship site where you will find an extensive list of material to get started. Next, read the PG Research Guidebook which can be found on the CTL site for some specific steps to consider, then reach out to connect with the IRB (Institutional Review Board) to learn more about conducting studies on human subjects and the requirements. Once you have consumed all of these details, find a colleague who is interested in collaborating, as you will find great value in having each other’s support during this process, and then start planning your research.
While no two research projects are alike, we would like to offer some reflections on the one we undertook in 2021 which began as a simple question, “How are online faculty humanizing (personalizing) their classrooms and engaging their students?”. We gathered permission to survey 1053 full and part time faculty and received a 12.43% response rate, then analyzed the information, wrote a comprehensive manuscript and submitted it to our specifically chosen journal. It was initially accepted after several months with the reviewers, but required revision, which we resubmitted; unfortunately, it was then rejected. So, we decided to gather more information on our research, surveying students on this same topic, gathering permission to solicit from a pool of 18,368 online students and receiving a 3.891% response rate. Again, we analyzed the information and moved on to find another journal, receiving positive feedback from the reviewers, but in the end another rejection, although it came with a recommendation to connect with another journal.
Our revise and submit process happened a few more times and finally after three years, we are proud to have our reworked submission which was published in the Faculty Focus Journal on March 21, 2025. This was Glenn’s first endeavor at scholarship, while Mimi has had a number of other research manuscripts published, starting with the first one in 2013 which was accepted on the first submission. As mentioned above, no two research projects are the same, so the lesson learned is that scholarship is a process, and persistence is essential when researching and writing.
Mimi Gough, SBIT Full-Time Faculty
Glenn L. Walton, SBIT Full-Time Faculty
Escudier awarded "Best Applied Paper"
at the Small Business Institute 2025 49th Annual Conference
Dr. Blake Escudier's paper on "Maintaining the Well-being of Global Virtual Teams" was awarded "Best Applied Paper" in the highly competitive awards during the 2025 SBI Conference in New Orleans.
Dr. Jack McCann Published!
(Read the Abstract below)
Green, D. D., Dunn, T., McCann, J., O’Donnell, Stickney, C, & Walkingstick, M. (2025). Winning beyond the field: A case study of Deion Sanders’ change management in football. American Research Journal of Business and Management, 11(1), 19-26.
Winning beyond the field: A case study of Deion Sanders’ change management in football
Abstract
In today’s rapidly evolving sports world, coaches who harness the power of social media and media outlets can transform athletic programs and inspire the next generation of athletes and leaders. This study examines the coaching methods and off-field ventures of Coach Deion Sanders, known as “Coach Prime,” and the significant role of Well Off Media in reshaping sports media influence. Sanders stands as a disruptive force in college football, using his platform to cultivate a winning team culture, both on and off the field As the only individual to have played in both the World Series and Super Bowl, Sanders brings unparalleled experience as a multi-sport athlete to his role as a head coach and social media influencer. Through qualitative analysis of Sanders’ strategies and their outcomes, this research offers valuable insights into brand development, strategic actions in sports media, and change management in athletics. In an era where influence extends beyond the field, Sanders’ approach serves as an inspiring model for coaches aiming to leave a lasting impact on their teams, communities, and the broader sports industry.
PG Library is keeping track of course supporting documents!
PG Library - Business & IT
(If you want to do more for your courses - talk to Matthew Stevons the Direct of Library Services! mstevons@purdueglobal.edu)
LINKS:
The Journey Podcast - (Faculty Interviews)
Sage Premier - (PG Library New Resource)
Employee HR Support Emails
Beginning November 1, questions should be routed to pghr@purdueglobal.edu. The appropriate team will be looped in as needed.
hr@purdue.edu: Questions regarding general HR, benefits, healthcare, leaves and retirement
tax@purdue.edu: Questions regarding any tax withholding, accessing W-2 forms and general tax inquiries
timeadmin@purdue.edu: Questions regarding time, vacation/sick payouts, timesheets, time approvals
courtorders@purdue.edu: Questions regarding garnishments or child support
LOE@purdueglobal.edu: Questions regarding adjunct faculty payroll and letters of engagement
it@purdue.edu: Purdue login questions
SBIT Steering Committee News
SBIT Steering Committee News
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