Winter 2005 - Wayne State College

importance of these relationships. The Technology and AppliedScience (TASC) Department has worked with Lozier Corporation ofOmaha on a number of projects. Industrial Technology Educationstudents in manufacturing management have opportunities forinternships and summer employment with Lozier as well as BehlenManufacturing Co. in Columbus. Students from many firms in theWayne State College service region pursue their MBA degreesthrough the Business and Economics Department.The Business and Economics (BSEC) Department has recentlybeen notified that it has been granted accreditation by theprestigious International Assembly for Collegiate BusinessEducation. The specialized accreditation certificate will bepresented to Wayne State College in April at the IACBE’saccreditation banquet in San Antonio, Texas.Wayne State’s accreditation process began in 2004. A selfstudywas completed and forwarded to the association in Septemberand a two-member site-visit team was on campus in December. TheIACBE has indicated that the self-study was excellent and hasrequested the release of the study for use as the model for otherschools seeking accreditation.The Computer Technology and Information Systems (CTIS)Department enjoys strong support from many directions as well.First National Bank of Omaha has provided a wide range of supportto the CTIS department over the past 15 years, including activeinvolvement in the CTIS Advisory Board, donation of computingequipment, internships for CTIS students at both Omaha and Wayneoffices, providing tours of their technology center and new officetower for CTIS students, supporting CTIS awards and scholarships,and hiring many graduates of the computing academic programs.Other firms that play a very active role on the CTIS AdvisoryBoard and assist the CTIS department in many ways include Mid-American Energy, Nebraska Public Power District, Gateway,Omnium Worldwide Incorporated, Gateway, Corporate Express,Michaels Foods, and Great Dane Trailers. Great West Casualty,Mutual of Omaha, and numerous other firms provide opportunitiesfor Cooperative Education experiences and hire computinggraduates.Faculty and staff of the School of Business and Technology arewell-connected to their constituents and are involved in manyprofessional and other organizations. Examples of service toconstituents abound. Members of the TASC and CTIS departmentsare involved with the Skills USA competitions in the state and theregion. These are student competitions in a host of events. TASCfaculty also are active in the PowerDrive electric vehicledevelopment competitions in the area.The Business and Economics Department hasrecently been notified that it has been grantedaccreditation by the prestigious InternationalAssembly for Collegiate Business Education.A longtime BSEC faculty member, Gerald Conway, wasrecently elected to serve a four-year term on the NebraskaEconomic Forecasting Advisory Board. The board is responsiblefor setting official revenue figures used in the state legislature’sbudgeting process. Faculty members Laura Barelman (BSEC) andLori Nicholson (CTIS) have played instrumental roles in acquiringgrant funding, planning and installing technology, and similarprojects for a new library in a community in the Wayne StateCollege service region. Several faculty members from the Schoolof Business and Technology have been involved in servicelearningprojects for their students. These projects give students achance to apply what they have learned in the classroom to providebenefits to people and communities, then to reflect upon what waslearned from the experience.The School of Business and Technology enjoys cutting-edgetechnology provided by WSC’s Network and Technology Services(NATS) department and also makes extensive use of the capabilitiesprovided by the Administrative Systems department on campus.With fast connections to the Internet, modern hardware, and thelatest software, the school is truly connected to a bright future. Asthe examples above illustrate, the school’s connections with itsvarious stakeholders are also a vital link to a bright future.Members of the WSC chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery(ACM) are participating in a project funded by the Sunshine Lady Foundation,Inc. and coordinated by ACM member Abbey Frisch. Members of theorganization are teaching computer skills to area senior citizens and othergroups. Right: ACM members (front row l-r) Nate Vollbrecht and SamSchrant. Back row (l-r) Roger Timperly, Dan Broz and Steve Elliot. Above,group member Dan Froistad (seated) works with Mary Jean Jones, Allenand Janice Newton, Wakefield in the Wakefield Public Library.WAYNE STATE MAGAZINE 5