Business Dialog

On November 11, accounting professionals from some of Maryland’s most prominent firms gathered in the South Campus Pavilion for their first in-person fundraiser in three years. The evening was a wonderful opportunity for members of the accounting community to connect with one another, as well as the College’s accounting faculty, students, and alumni.

CBE is especially grateful to Counting on the Future’s corporate sponsors, as well as the accounting advisory board members for coordinating the event and donating items to the silent auction.

 

In total, the evening raised $40,000 in scholarship funds for accounting students.

Patrick Donelan, a senior in the accounting program and scholarship recipient who spoke at the event, says, “A scholarship for many students like myself lessens the financial burden of attending school. These contributions let us focus on school rather than the finances behind it. They open up more time and opportunities to pour into the campus community. This can look different for everyone. In the past year, I have been able to explore and start The Towson Consulting Group which is a student run organization that will provide pro-bono consulting services to engage with small businesses in the Baltimore area. The group also brings in different consulting firms such as Oracle, a Fortune 100 company, to chat with students about their consulting services, the industry, and life as a consultant. This scholarship has continued to push me to want to give more to my community and further create a cycle of giving and growth within TU’s CBE!”

 

On October 22, 40 students and 37 business professionals returned to campus for the 7^th Annual Strategic Sales Competition.

Representatives from Stanley Black and Decker (SBD), Northwestern Mutual, Sherwin Williams, Graybar, Enterprise Holdings, Lower, United Electric Supply, ADP, United Rentals, Pella Mid-Atlantic, Stryker Endoscopy, WMAR – Channel 2, UNUM, Concentra, Triumvirate Environmental, and MemoryBlue served as buyers or judges for the competition.

Among them were several alumni, including Joe Richardson ‘98 (SBD), Grayson Osborn ‘19 (SBD), Chris Wohlfort ‘16 (Lower), Vlad Shevchenko ‘17 (Stryker), Patrick Hoover ‘13 (Pella), Alicia Jones, ‘18 (Gauge Media), Hailey Hardesty ‘19 (Enterprise), and Jenny Fitzsimmons ‘15 (Enterprise).

This unique competition puts theory into practice by simulating a real-life sales scenario whereby students are challenged to sell an actual product to industry professionals who serve as buyers. As platinum partner, Stanley Black and Decker provided the product (DeWalt FlexVolt), for this semester’s competition.

To add authenticity, one-on-one sales pitches take place in real-time and are simultaneously live-streamed to another room where judges evaluate the students’ performance, such as their delivery, tactics, and ability to address the buyers’ concerns.

Five winners were ultimately selected by the judges:

1. Sydney Greenspan, Business Administration – Marketing
2. Brian Stanley, Business Administration – International Business
3. Massimo Artista, Mass Communication – Advertising
4. Amaya Blanding, Acting
5. Michael Caulfield, Business Administration – Marketing

The winning students, representing various majors across CBE and TU, received a total of $5,000 in scholarships. First place winner, Sydney Greenspan, will go on to represent TU at the Shore Sales Challenge – a nationwide competition at Salisbury University in March.

Plamen Peev, associate professor of marketing and organizer of the competition extends “Special thanks to Sarah Halvorsen (SBD) for working tirelessly on organizing the Stanley team and training the students on the product. A shout out to all the buyers for the day: Brad Palmatary, Grayson Osborn, Ryan Filyo, Cole Ostendarp, and Jake Jennings (all from SBD).”

Dr. Koushikee Dutta is an assistant professor in the CBE Department of Management. Dutta received her Doctor of Business Administration (Management) from Louisiana Tech University. Prior to joining academia, she worked in start-ups in India and Singapore as a Human Resource Business Partner across various industries. Dutta is currently teaching EBTM 350, Introduction to Business Analytics. Through this class, she hopes that students will use data to discover patterns and trends to make predictions and solve business problems. Her current goal is to step outside her comfort zone, as well as to “become an impactful educator and researcher.”

 

When asked what made her want to become a professor for CBE, she explains that, “I am a life-long learner and have always been curious about learning new things. I believe that curiosity can spark explorations and creations in driving the society forward. It was this curiosity that led me to ask this question to myself about How can I create an impact? All the answers led to the idea that education is one of the most powerful tools to empower and aid brilliant minds. This led me to switch careers , from being an HR professional to academia. And, four years later, I feel fortunate to finish my program and find a job at TU. I believe that TU has created an environment that sparks curiosity, experimentation, and innovation, things that are meaningful to me. In turn, I can aid students in realizing their possibilities and not their limitations.”

 

During her time at Towson so far, Dutta has enjoyed being back on campus and engaging with students in-person. “The students at Towson are keen to learn, and it puts a smile on my face knowing that I am playing a small role in their learning process. I have enjoyed getting to know my new colleagues and exploring teaching and research projects with them. Towson has taken every step and has provided ample resources to ensure a safe and healthy on-campus environment, so challenges have been minimal.”

 

Dutta believes that teaching is one of the most impactful ways to empower and create change. She states that while at CBE she looks forward to “creating a shared impact by learning new things, helping my students unlock their potential, and realize their life and career goals. In addition, I look forward to collaborating on research projects with other TU faculty members.”

 

In her current research, Dutta explores micro and macro level concepts within strategy and entrepreneurship. Dutta explains that “one of my research streams focuses on mission driven ventures and mechanisms of resource acquisitions, which raises several interesting research questions. Nascent ventures often acquire a particular type of resource through participation in accelerator programs which substantially aid and accelerate new venture development. One of my research projects explores how social impact accelerators make cohort admission decisions. Additionally, in another current research project, I utilize an experience sampling methodology to understand the role of affect and creativity in new venture performance.”

 

Dr. Dutta shares that having lived and worked in three different countries, she has developed an interest in learning about different cultures, languages, and folklore. She is a trained Hindustani classical vocalist, as well as a major horror movie fan. We are excited to have Dr. Dutta as part of our CBE team!

Our next faculty feature highlights Dr. Brett Kazandjian, an assistant professor in the Department of Marketing. He received his PhD from Mississippi State University in 2021 where he was a research assistant. He is currently teaching Strategic Marketing (MKTG 485) and Advanced Selling and Sales Management (MKTG 452).

 

Kazandjian places heavy emphasis on making his classes as close to real-life as possible and accomplishes that through various teaching methods. “For example, my strategic marketing students are doing a simulation where they are in charge of making strategic marketing decisions for their car brand while competing for market share against other students in the class.I hope that these practical exercises help students be more confident when they graduate and enter the professional world. Not only am I using practical exercise in the classroom,I am also trying to bring practitioners into the classroom to offer students a different perspective.”

 

Regarding transitioning to CBE he says “There were a few factors that made Towson the place I wanted to teach and research. I think that Towson offers a great balance between teaching and research, which I was hoping to find. Moreover, the opportunity to teach sales and contribute to the success of the sales competition were two of the deciding factors for me. In addition, the location made Towson very attractive!”

 

Kazandjian enjoys teaching and says “Teaching at Towson has been a fantastic experience. The students have been engaged throughout the semester and brought their own experiences to the class. I am happy to be teaching in person and get to know the students in my class.”

 

One of the things that he is looking forward to is creating a new sales course. He says “I would love to contribute to growing the offering in sales class by creating a technology sales course to dive deeper into the software used every day by most salespeople.”

 

Looking to the future Kazandjian says “I am focusing on tweaking my classes to make them better while also making progress on my research. I have research at different stages and I hope that some of them get published soon. I will be happy to share my work once it is accepted.”

 

Welcome to the Tiger family Dr. Kazandjian!

 

By: Millie Klefsaas

As CBE introduces our new faculty, we would like to place our spotlight on Joseph Wesolowski. Wesolowski is a certified public accountant and earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Loyola College, graduating summa cum laude. He holds a Master of Administrative Science from the Johns Hopkins University. Wesolowski currently teaches Principles of Financial Management (FIN331) and Essentials of Financial Management (FIN330).  “I have a lot of real life business experiences that I pass on to the students. This is what they get from me, the way things are done in the ‘real world” he shares. 

Before joining the College of Business and Economics,  Wesolowski most recently served as chief operating officer for Enterprise Community Investment where he directed and oversaw Bellwether Enterprise, Enterprise Mortgage Banking Operations and Enterprise Homes, Inc. Previously, Joe’s area of responsibility included the New Markets Tax Credit program and coordination of field production for all business lines at Enterprise. 

Wesolowski also has over 40 years of experience as a real estate professional. Formerly, he was chief financial officer of USF&G Realty Advisors, Inc. where he oversaw all financial operations. He served as executive vice president for a local real estate developer responsible for development, financing, leasing and management of owned real estate. Wesolowski was also a political appointee to Baltimore City as a real estate officer with responsibility for overseeing city government real estate acquisition, disposition, leasing, analysis and approval of all deal structures. 

Wesolowski shares that “After 42 years in the business world, I decided that teaching could be a great next step for me. I did teach a course at Towson as an adjunct approximately 20 years ago, so it was something that was not totally new to me.” Wesolowski is also using what he is teaching in class to apply to his own financial situation, such as with investing! 

So far in his time with CBE, Wesolowski has really enjoyed interacting with the students. “It has made me feel 40 years younger!” he exclaims. Even though he had to learn the new systems being used in teaching, he shares that it has become better with experience. 

While teaching at Towson, Wesolowski is most looking forward to watching the students progress into successful careers and life. “These are our next leaders,” he explains. 

Wesolowski says that his current goal is “to be the best Educator that I can possibly be!” Outside of teaching,Wesolowski also rides a Harley and loves to explore the outdoors. 

By: Emily Flinchum