JMU - College of Business News
Newsroom
Spotlight on KD9LA a.k.a. Dr. David Fordham
 |
Dr. David Fordham, professor of accounting technology and information security, has been with the College of Business for 20 years. Outside of the classroom, David spends his free time as an extra-class ham radio operator. He’s pursued this passion for almost 40 years, both for personal enjoyment and to help the public during emergencies.
Ham radio operators (also known as amateur radio operators) serve as a backup communication service for disaster and emergency communication. When a disaster occurs, communication channels, such as cell phone towers, are typically damaged or overwhelmed with volume. Ham radios come in handy during events such as floods, hurricanes, ice storms, mass casualty events (such as pileups on the interstate), search and rescue missions, or in any area when cell phone coverage is spotty or non-existent.
“The attraction for me is that hams can communicate anywhere in the world with a self-contained station that does not rely on any infrastructure,” David says. “Today’s communications are heavily dependent on shared infrastructure (such as telephone systems, the Internet, cell phones, police and fire communications, satellite communications, etc.), and if an emergency or a terrorist attack takes out even a small piece of that infrastructure, then communication fails. Ham radio is totally self-contained. I have my own generators and battery backups, and with nothing more than my radio and a piece of wire in a tree, I can talk around the world.”
Public Service
During the flood of ’95, David was a ham radio operator assigned to the 911 call center.
“There were numerous residents of Eastern Rockingham County sitting on their rooftops because of the flooding,” he says. “The Oceana Naval Air Station sent several helicopters to help rescue these people. But the military helicopters could not communicate on police and fire radios, so they landed the helicopters in a field in Elkton, and we put a ham radio operator on each helicopter.
“The police and fire personnel on the ground used their radios to talk to the 911 center. I was sitting beside the dispatcher and relayed their instructions to the ham in the helicopter.”
Hams in Space
According to David, every manned space mission since the ’90s has had a licensed ham on board; NASA installed ham radios on all space shuttles and the international space station. The reason? The very first ham in space, Owen Garriott, took his ham radio on the shuttle for recreation. While he was talking to a ham in Australia, a software glitch crashed NASA’s digital-based communication system. When Garriott realized what happened, he instructed the ham in Australia to contact NASA. The NASA communication system came back up in minutes, but the event impressed NASA so much that they installed ham radios on every space shuttle and on the International Space Station. From then on, astronauts could contact any of the million hams worldwide in case of an emergency.
“There are currently more than 50 orbiting satellites that carry ham radio signals, but we can still bounce radio signals off of the ionosphere and talk around the world if those satellites disappeared,” David says.
In fact, a professor at Eastern Mennonite University has contacted more than 345 countries in the world without using satellites. David himself has contacted more than 100, including Belize, Malta, Ireland, Moldova, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, and even the research station at the South Pole.
“When I was a faculty member in residence during the semester in Antwerp, I used ham radio to keep in touch with my friends in the Valley,” he says.
Valley Hams
In order to become a licensed ham radio operator, one must take a Federal Communications Commission test, which David says is well within the capabilities of people who have completed a high-school level physics class. Numerous high school students take the test and pass it; the youngest ham in the Valley who has passed the test was 12 years old. Tests are given locally on the second Saturday of every even month.
According to David, there are about 800 licensed hams in the Valley. Two of his four children are hams, and another is currently studying to become one. David’s wife is a ham as well.
In order to communicate with each other, hams use voice, digital transmissions, television, or Morse code, which turns letters of the alphabet into a unique sequence of dots and dashes. Hams each have a call sign for identification purposes — David’s sign is KD9LA. He is also the trustee of the JMU Wireless Experimenter's FCC license, carrying the FCC call sign WN4JMU.
David believes the most emphasis should be placed on the fact that ham radios are completely self-contained — no emergency can cut off ham radio operations.
“It’s nice to know that you can serve your fellow man during an emergency when all other forms of technology fail,” he says. “You can still communicate around the world and even in outer space.”
Enjoying a Hobby
When hams aren’t helping during emergencies, storms or search and rescue missions, they like to have fun with their hobby. For instance, hams have contests to see who can talk to the most people from different countries during a certain period of time, such as a weekend.
These contests include the International Ham Radio Field Day, which occurs the fourth weekend in June. During this weekend, hams all over the world disconnect from the electrical grid and infrastructure. For 24 hours, they compete to see who can contact the most stations in the world. The Valley ham clubs have placed first in the state for 13 of the last 20 years. They have placed in the top 20 in the world in their class every year but one since 1994.
David is president of the Massanutten Amateur Radio Association, Inc., the local ham radio club of Harrisonburg/Rockingham County, which has about 120 members. He is also the editor and publisher of “The Monitor," a monthly newsletter that goes to more than 200 members of the three ham radio clubs in Page, Rockingham, and Augusta counties. David is also a trained SkyWarn member serving as an auxiliary NOAA weather spotter, and member of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service.
To find out more about ham radios, read David’s article in the Journal of the American Radio Relay League, which won the national "best article" award with the ARRL in July 2005 about local experiments extending Wi-Fi transmissions to over 30 miles.
The attached article is copyright 2005 by the ARRL.
JMU Alum Cory Suter Launches “Direct Congress”
 |
Once an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur. Cory Suter, ’06 COB graduate, is busy working on his latest entrepreneurial initiative: Direct Congress. Cory’s concept is simple – develop a grassroots movement in which the people of this country can create and vote on laws themselves, eliminating the need for elected congressional leaders who only partially represent the voters. Visit http://directcongress.org for details.
Cory’s entrepreneurial bent began many years ago. He paid his way through JMU as a brick mason and retrofitted an old bus as his first apartment. He was enrolled in the first ever MGT 472 Venture Creation class in 2005. After working in Teach for America and as a retail manager for a Mennonite store, he began his own company, BioNeighbors, in Philadelphia.
“Venture Creation was the most practical class for me as an entrepreneur,” he says. “I have a lot of enthusiasm for the JMU program. I see a history of success in placing students in good jobs.”
Cory went on to say, “The Venture class gave me lots of tools that have ended up working successfully for me. I enjoyed the open format of the class; it allowed me and other students to explore ideas that we were interested in. Carol Hamilton introduced me to many resources, including business leaders in the local community, the Small Business Development Center, and other successful entrepreneurs.”
He adds, “The overall COB experience was educationally very practical. We learned how to analyze other companies, what they did well and what they didn’t do well. I never forget to think about why firm performance differs.”
BioNeighbors Launched
After his graduation from JMU in 2006, Cory launched BioNeighbors Sustainable Homes, as a part-time enterprise. He knew that cool roofing reflects the sun’s heat, and results in a longer life for a roof. He continued to learn everything he could about green roofing, and became certified with LiveRoof, a manufacturer of modular green roofing systems. Cory went on to earn a more rigorous accreditation as a Green Roof Professional from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, the largest industry trade group in the green roofing field.
“I’ve always been passionate about issues of sustainability,” he says. “I felt as a small business owner I was doing something real and valuable.”
He went on to work with a neighborhood development organization in West Philadelphia. The Partnership Community Development Corporation works with low-income residents. Cory trained some of the residents to improve their neighborhoods with innovative low cost green roofs. His goal was to train them well enough to pass a professional accreditation exam. After only one student out of nine passed the first year, Cory wrote a thorough PowerPoint-based curriculum and helped five out of eight students earn accreditation the following year.
Cory sold BioNeighbors last summer so he could pursue another passion – education. He is currently enrolled in the Ph.D. program in Economics at Temple University in Philadelphia. He says that good teachers create real value and build a foundation for entrepreneurship.
“I want to be a teacher,” Cory says. “Sharing knowledge and skills is one of the most noble causes to which people can commit their lives.”
Direct Congress
As a full-time student, Cory is enjoying a little more free time. Over Christmas break, he began working seriously on the idea for Direct Congress. With today’s online communication tools available to virtually everyone, there is no reason to go through elected officials to create new laws. His idea is to allow the people to do it directly.
Cory thinks there is great frustration in America today with the current political system. Trust in elected officials has dropped to below 10 %. He says, “We’ve seen situations where over 70% of Americans like an idea; then it is defeated in Congress.”
“My idea is to combine American principles of good governance with the Facebook model of bringing people together to share ideas,” he says. “I had this idea originally when I was a JMU student. I just didn’t have enough time to do the research; I had to make a living.” He worked on developing the new Direct Congress website, creating a delicate balance between both transparency and privacy.
“There is lots of energy on Facebook,” he adds. “But in politics, people have become more apathetic; they think the political process is rigged and they don’t have a voice. Direct Congress is being developed with an innovative star rating system, and staged bill development so that the best ideas rise to the top, and less useful proposals for laws are gleaned.”
Mentorship's Importance
Cory takes time out of his busy schedule to help mentor current students in the Venture Creation class.
“I found that in my own training period, it was essential to have mentors, to talk to people who had been in this territory before," he says. "I made some mistakes in my first business that I could have avoided with the advice of a good mentor.”
He also noted that students often have good ideas that he loves to hear.
Cory’s Tips for Entrepreneurial Success
1) Access to Capital: Don’t allow your success as an entrepreneur to depend on the whim of some banker or investor. Cut your personal and business expenses to the bare necessities. An office is an expense, not an investment (Read Rich Dad, Poor Dad if you don't understand what I mean). Debt-financing is overrated, and can lead to the early demise of otherwise good ideas. Don't pay for advertising - do newsworthy things and network like crazy, instead. Consider partnerships on projects, bartering (I installed a green roof in exchange for a professional website) or borrowing funds from family ( I issued my own shares of stock - and doubled my family's money in five years) or doing things yourself ( I made my own business cards, invoices, marketing materials, contracts, design specifications, etc.)
2) Unfinished Business Plan: In real life, there's no possible way to know the future. The original plan for BioNeighbors that I wrote in Carol Hamilton's class was for a biofuel station. Later, I started to create an online community of home-owners and small remodeling company franchises, before working to develop a model sustainable and ethical construction company. Do not be afraid to test ideas in start-up mode. Find out what people actually are demanding. I wanted to provide affordable energy-efficient home improvements, but lots of other energy auditors were getting into that market, while almost no one with a college education was providing solutions for residential flat roofs in the region where I lived. I, thus, found a practical need that was in demand and created a company to meet that opportunity.
3) Managing Growth: When I started BioNeighbors, I thought I had found my life calling. I loved being a young creative business leader who was appreciated for doing real and quality work for people. I thought I could create a model worth franchising. As years went by and the enterprise became successful, I stopped enjoying the day-to-day management of the firm. Instead of hiring a manager and being an absentee owner, or selling the company to a big investor, I sold the company for much less than it was worth to a small team of worker-owners who agreed to more than recoup my initial loss by giving me a set percentage of all of BioNeighbors' revenue for the next eight years. This preserved local ownership, without depriving me of financial security as I started a Ph.D. program and moved on to start a new enterprise.
Parenthood Looms
Cory is about to embark on an even greater adventure. He and his wife are expecting their first child late this spring. His philosophy is to help make the world a brighter place in which to live – for today, and for all the children and great grandchildren yet to be born.
COB’s Marcia Mumbert Selected to Receive 2012 Diversity Enhancement Award
 |
Congratulations to Marcia Mumbert for being selected to receive recognition as the staff winner of the 2012 Diversity Enhancement Award.
Dr. Daphyne Thomas nominated Marcia, who joined the College of Business in November 2010, for her role as a chair of the COB diversity committee and as co-director of CyberCity.
“A recent hire in the College of Business, Marcia Mumbert truly exemplifies the positive caring image that JMU wants to project to our external communities,” Daphyne said in her nomination letter. “It is difficult to find an individual more dedicated than Marcia Mumbert. She is a solid addition to the College of Business and the CyberCity team.
Dr. Michael Mitri also endorsed Marcia’s nomination for the award.
“Marcia is an outstanding office manager, and has been indispensable to my work as department head,” he said. “My job is much easier because of the efficient manner in which she conducts her responsibilities. She is also a very warm and pleasant person, and fun to work with.”
According to the JMU Diversity website, these annual awards are given to individuals and groups/departments that have an impact on diversity in the JMU community. The awards are based on the following factors: accomplishments, leadership and service in support of diversity enhancement; steps toward creating an inclusive and supportive environment; achievement in recruiting and/or retaining diverse groups of faculty and staff; and achievement in recruiting, retaining, and/or graduating diverse groups of students.
“I was surprised to be nominated and delighted to have been chosen because I think CyberCity is such a great program,” Marcia said.
A reception will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 29 at 3:00 p.m. in Taylor Hall 405 to recognize the Diversity Enhancement Award winners. Other winners of the award include faculty member Dr. Besi Muhonja, student Kathryn Jenkins, and the Student Affairs and University Planning Diversity Council.
New Academic Services Center Blog Created “All for the Good of the Student”
 |
Have you ever wished there were a one-stop shop for all of the information you need as a student in the College of Business? Well, now there is.
In December, Christine Harriger, the Assistant Director of the Academic Services Center (located in Showker Hall, Room 205), began the ASC blog in order to “share information among different departments and colleges and be a portal for the type of information students may not otherwise hear.”
As the new Assistant Director in ASC, Christine wants to open the lines of communication between students and advisors.
Christine, who used to be the business liaison in Career and Academic Planning, has been in the field for more than 20 years and wanted to help raise awareness of what the ASC does.
Christine has updated the blog with more than 20 posts so far. She wants the blog to inform students about topics such as academic policies, important deadlines, campus updates, frequently asked questions, tips on how to select a major, and career goals.
“I want the information to be what that the students really need to know—anything pertinent to academic success,” she says, “all for the good of the student.”
In order to raise awareness, Christine and the ASC advisors recently passed out cups of hot chocolate on cold days with slips of paper advertising the blog.
“I saw an opportunity to make the ASC a more welcoming, more efficient place,” Christine says. “My dream would be for students to keep an eye on the blog on a regular basis.”
According to Christine, the goal of the ASC is to help students deal with stress—and anything else that impedes their academic progress—and connect them with the necessary resources.
“A good advisor looks at what will help make that student successful,” she says. “Our advisors do a great job. They all really care about their students and stay on top of constantly changing information.”
Stay informed and become a regular visitor of the ASC blog.
January 23, 2012
Recent iMBA Graduate Katharine Corgan Opens Corgans’ Publick House
 |
Fish and chips, bangers and mash, shepherd’s pie, and Guinness stew are among offerings that diners can now relish in Harrisonburg. The new Irish-themed Corgans’ Publick House opened Tuesday, January 17.
Located in the 865 East Building on Port Republic Road, this new eatery will try to fill a menu void in Harrisonburg. According to a recent article in The Breeze, Corgans’ offers more then 50 menu items, 12 beers on tap, great happy hour specials, and it will even host music events.
“My family has strong Irish roots,” says owner and entrepreneur Katharine Corgan. “I’ve always loved Irish pubs, and I felt this type of restaurant would be appreciated in Harrisonburg.”
Katharine is a July 2011 graduate of the Innovation MBA program in the College of Business at JMU.
“I was an English major undergraduate,” she says. “I heard about JMU’s hybrid program, which was both convenient and interesting, and covered business fundamentals that I missed. I really wanted to learn more about core business concepts.”
Katharine and her fiancé Vito Pellerito have owned and managed Vito’s Italian Kitchen on Port Republic Road for many years. They wanted to branch out and create a second restaurant. After going through the MBA program, Katharine says she gained the confidence and business acumen to start this venture.
“I found it extremely helpful in many ways,” she says. “I learned how to approach a bank with a well thought out, organized business plan. I think the most important thing I took away from the program is knowing how to actually manage people and hold them accountable, while at the same time keeping them motivated to succeed.”
Katharine encourages interested people to investigate the iMBA program.
“It was great to be back in school and meet people from many different industries and environments,” she says. “The MBA program provided me with the skills and confidence that I needed to become a better manager of my time, my efforts, and my staff.”
January 20, 2012
JMU Alumnus and EAC Member Eric Major Featured in Orthopedics This Week
 |
Congratulations to Eric Major, the President and CEO of K2M, Inc., for being featured in the article “Kostuik Plus Two Majors — K2M” in the online newsletter Orthopedics This Week.
Eric partnered with Dr. John Kostuik, a spine surgeon, to form the company K2M. According to the website, K2M is a “fast growing global medical device company focused on developing innovative surgical solutions for the most complex spinal pathologies.”
K2M's executive team includes many JMU alumni: Eric's brother Lane Major (COB '01), SVP/Global Marketing & Product Development; David McDonald ('79), SVP/Operations; Greg Cole (COB '91), CFO; and Luke Miller ('01), General Counsel and Secretary.
From 2004 to 2010, K2M created many major innovations for spine surgeons to more effectively treat complex spinal disorders. By 2010, Orthopedics This Week estimated that K2M’s sales had grown to well over $100 million and had become the “most successful private spine company in the industry.”
Since partnering with Welsh-Carson, the largest private equity firm in medicine, K2M has added more than 100 employees, in addition to opening up the international market.
Eric was previously the President and CEO of American OsteoMedix, Inc., a minimally invasive spinal device company. He is a ’91 graduate of JMU and is a member of the Executive Advisory Council for the COB.
January 12, 2012
Spotlight on iMBA Student Baris Bilek
 |
iMBA Student Baris Bilek has taken the first big step in opening up new opportunities for himself. Baris, a concierge for The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner, recently enrolled in the JMU Innovation MBA program.
“I think the program is amazing,” he says. “I tried to get into it for years. In fact, I took the GMAT three times.”
His persistence paid off, and he joined the program in the fall of 2011. Baris lives in Northern Virginia, and he appreciates the flexibility and ease of this hybrid program.
“Since I live two hours away, the hybrid program really works for me,” he says. “I am able to do most of my coursework online, and still have face-to-face contact on a regular basis.”
Baris says the professors are always helpful, and they always respond to email and phone calls. He also appreciates the opportunity he’s had to get to know the people in his group.
“Baris is a great student,” says iMBA Director Dr. Mike Busing. “He was determined to get into the AACSB accredited program, and he did everything necessary to be accepted. We are pleased to have him in the class of 2013.”
Baris notes, “I looked at both George Mason University and James Madison University. I decided on JMU because the MBA program includes an international trip, and that really appealed to me.”
Baris’ group will be traveling to China in May 2013, immediately after graduation. In all, he is satisfied with his decision to attend JMU.
“I made the right decision to come to JMU,” he says. “I couldn’t be happier. I admit there is lots of stress, but it’s good stress.”
Baris knows that his iMBA degree will help him step up his career — he has been a concierge with The Ritz-Carlton for almost five years. He earned his bachelor of science degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management at the Eastern Mediterranean University in Famagusta, Northern Cyprus.
We look forward to adding Baris to our distinguished list of alumni and wish him the best that the future has to offer.
January 4, 2012
James Madison University College of Business Maintains Prestigious AACSB Business Accreditation
 |
Both the College of Business and the School of Accounting at James Madison University have maintained their business accreditation by AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Founded in 1916, AACSB International is the longest serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees in business and accounting.
Interim Dean Dr. Bud Clarke says, “AACSB accreditation is a notable achievement for the College of Business and School of Accounting. This reaffirmation acknowledges the exceptional quality of the faculty, staff, and students that shape the distinctive learning environment of the College of Business.”
Only 643 schools of business, or less than 5% worldwide, have earned this distinguished hallmark of excellence in management education. To maintain accreditation a business program must undergo a rigorous internal review every five years, during which the program must demonstrate its continued commitment to the 21 quality standards relating to faculty qualification, strategic management of resources, interactions of faculty and students, as well as a commitment to continuous improvement and achievement of learning goals in degree programs.
“It takes a great deal of self-evaluation and determination to earn and maintain AACSB Accreditation,” said Jerry Trapnell, vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB International. “Schools not only must meet specific standards of excellence, but their deans, faculty, and staff must make a commitment to ongoing improvement to ensure continued delivery of high-quality education to students.”
James Madison University College of Business has been recognized over the years for many notable achievements. In 2010, the master of science in accountancy program was ranked number one in the nation for pass rate for the CPA exam. In 2011, Bloomberg BusinessWeek ranked the college as the 11th “Best Undergraduate Business School” among public institutions.
James Madison University’s College of Business will be recognized in May at the 2012 AACSB International Conference and Annual Meeting in San Diego, California.
To learn more about AACSB Accreditation, visit: www.aacsb.edu/accreditation.
About AACSB International
AACSB International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), founded in 1916, is an association of almost 1,200 educational institutions, businesses and other organizations in 78 countries. AACSB’s mission is to advance quality management education worldwide through accreditation, thought leadership, and value-added services. AACSB Accreditation is the benchmark of quality worldwide and most widely sought after by business schools—less than 5% worldwide have earned the achievement. As the premier accreditation body for institutions offering bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees in business and accounting, the association also conducts a wide array of conferences and seminar programs at locations throughout the world. AACSB's global headquarters is located in Tampa, Florida, USA and its Asia Pacific Headquarters is located in Singapore. For more information, please visit: www.aacsb.edu.
Publisher:
College of Business
JMU College of Business
JMU Webmaster
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807
(540) 568-6211
Last Modified: 2/6/2012
Privacy Statement