Category: Spring 2021 Issue

As one reflects on a long and fortunate career in higher education, it is easy to depend on the patterns that define the ebb and flow of an academic year to gauge progress, success, and to forge plans for improvement and growth.  The 2020-2021 academic year changed all of that. This was the academic year that we were introduced to a term that none of us had uttered just 18 months ago: COVID-19. One of the things that I am comforted by, and something I now know we can depend on, is the resilience of the human spirit to adapt, overcome, and support during a crisis.  I have seen phenomenal positivity and courage across the campus community over the past year: administrators who strived to make the best possible choices for our future; faculty who arose to the challenge to provide the best possible learning experience despite uncertainty; and, staff... Read more

There is an idiomatic proverb that goes like this: “It takes a village to raise a child.” In this case, the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business, being much greater than the sum of its parts, shines as it provides a resource for an entire community. Often, the college, and the people who make it great, provides insight, inspiration, and value to many in the business community. What often ensues are deep connections between the college and the business community that are immeasurable. When these connections happen, the broader premise Read more

Alumni are among the greatest treasure of the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business; there is no better evidence of the importance of the College, and its mission, than the successes of our graduates. Recently, the College and University celebrated the award of an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration to Mr. Stanley Schaeffer (class of ’55) in recognition of his extensive leadership and philanthropy in support of the core values of both the University and the College. The Stanley Schaeffer story is a study in the most effective qualities of leadership Read more

By Dr. Robert Allen King Feedback given to the college subsequent to our most recent AACSB visit was the charge to increase our ability to “brand and defend,” particularly in the online space where competition is continually increasing. In this regard, we have continued to garner acclaim and high ranking for our college and programs in U.S.News and World Report, TFE Times, and Princeton Review. Recently, we have expanded our reach and influence with newly-acquired high rankings in Fortune and Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). In Fortune’s inaugural ranking, the Engler College of Business ranked #12 overall and is the only regional school represented in the list. QS, arguably the global equivalent to U.S.News and World Reports, ranked the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business as #44 among some of the best business schools in the world. In total, these rankings demonstrate the inherent value and quality of our programs on... Read more

We love hearing stories about COB alumni from the same family. We’ve heard about families that have multiple generations of COB alumni, husband/wife COB graduates, and even siblings that make attending WT a family tradition. We are pleased to share such a story with you: meet the McDivitt Brothers. Read more

We recently recognized outstanding students and student organization leaders at our seventh annual COB Symposium. The event, held April 28 in Legacy Hall in the Jack B. Kelley Student Center, also included honor society inductions and presentations by the Enactus and Media Minds student groups. Read more

Dr. Eric Hoffmann grew up in Titusville, Florida, located just east of the Kingdom of the Evil Mouse and in the shadows of NASA’s launchpads. After competing in the state championships in discus and shot put in high school, Dr. Hoffmann completed a major in Economics and a minor in Mathematics at the University of Central Florida. In an attempt to avoid the real world for as long as possible, he then decided to Read more

By Kyla Frye The WT Enterprise Center, a department of the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business, is celebrating its 20th Anniversary of serving entrepreneurs in the Texas Panhandle. In 2001, through a joint partnership between West Texas A&M University and The State of Texas, the WT Enterprise Center was established as the first and only business incubator serving the top 26 counties of Texas. Dr. Russell Long, Representative David Swinford and Don Taylor, worked together to establish the center to serve as a means of supporting local businesses in the community and to help reduce the “brain drain” of students to more urban areas by offering high-level resources here in the Panhandle.  Since then, the WT Enterprise Center (WTEC) has engaged with hundreds of entrepreneurs in the Texas Panhandle to help them validate their business ideas, scale existing companies and connect them to the capital and resources they... Read more

By Dr. Leslie Ramos Salazar By March of 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic had fully set in. Subsequently, all on-campus club activities and events had to be cancelled. However, the pandemic did not stop the WTAMU student chapter of the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA) Read more

By Dr. Jeffry Babb In the cycles of academic life, we become accustomed to seeing students come and go on a regular basis as we engage in the business of guiding and nurturing student development in their education. Along the way, we collaborate with our colleagues, year in and out, in the fundamental endeavor of providing the educational foundation and environment that is our mission. We come to know and rely on these colleagues a partners in the journey – we share the highs and lows and plan for the future together. There is comfort in this rhythm and, to a degree, this stability is among the necessary components of developing the academic “well” to draw from. However, there comes a day when our journey together runs its course and we say goodbye. When our colleagues retire, it is a bittersweet moment. Our support structure and shared foundation is now... Read more

In a recent issue of this newsletter, we had highlighted the arrival of the Wharton Research Data Services Database (WRDS) as an asset for both faculty and student development Read more