Cottrell Speaker Series brings business perspectives
Leaders from Syfan Logistics and entrepreneur, actor and alumnus Allen Earls will share their experiences with University of North Georgia (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) students, faculty, staff and the community this fall as part of the Cottrell Speaker Series.
"The Cottrell Speaker Series provides an opportunity for our students and faculty to learn from practitioners in the disciplines we teach, making what they are learning in the classroom even more real for them," Dr. Mary Gowan, dean of the Mike Cottrell College of Business (MCCB), said.
Sept. 24: Syfan Logistics executive team, "Strategic management"
The Syfan executive team will speak at noon Sept. 24 in Room 3110 of the Martha T. Nesbitt Academic Building on Â鶹ÊÓƵ's Gainesville Campus, with a livestream available on the . The livestream can also be watched in Newton Oakes 019 and Oconee Room 522.
Jim Syfan, CEO of Syfan Logistics, and other members of his executive team have partnered with Â鶹ÊÓƵ on a variety of initiatives. Â鶹ÊÓƵ students intern at Syfan Logistics, and the company helps provide some of the expertise that informs Â鶹ÊÓƵ's logistics curriculum. Â鶹ÊÓƵ offers a concentration in supply chain and logistics management for students pursuing management degrees.
Jim Syfan worked in the transportation brokerage industry for nearly a decade before launching Turbo Transport in 1984 in Gainesville, Georgia, with his family. After selling their company in 2006, the Syfans opened Syfan Logistics in 2011 and later added Syfan Transport to provide a diverse array of shipping services for customers in the continental United States, Mexico and Canada.
"We are excited to have Jim Syfan and his team join us for the September event," Gowan said. "Syfan is a strong partner for the college."
Oct. 29: Allen Earls, "Business and Hollywood: The winning formula"
Earls' presentation at noon Oct. 29 in the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Dining Hall Banquet Room on the Dahlonega Campus also will be streamed, with details available closer to time.
Earls, a 1986 Â鶹ÊÓƵ graduate, is a Certified Public Accountant who has worked as a leader for firms including Ernst & Young and Georgia-Pacific Corp. He also has acted in Disney's live-action remake of "Lady and the Tramp," Tyler Perry's "Madea Goes to Jail," and the TV show "Drop Dead Diva."
In addition to earning his Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Â鶹ÊÓƵ as a magna cum laude graduate with a minor in computer science, Earls graduated from Harvard Business School's Executive Program.
"Allen Earls will share his interesting story about how his accounting background benefits him as an actor, demonstrating that it isn't where you start but where you end that matters," Gowan said.
Students embrace chamber internships
A Â鶹ÊÓƵ student and a recent alumnus have made the most of their internships with local chambers of commerce and begun to blaze their career paths thanks to those experiences.
Â鶹ÊÓƵ named Fulbright top producer
Â鶹ÊÓƵ is providing transformative experiences abroad for alumni as a top producer of Fulbright students. The university earned this distinction for a ninth consecutive year and tied for third among master's institutions with four selections.
Innovation Summit set for March 2 at Â鶹ÊÓƵ
Â鶹ÊÓƵ's Mike Cottrell College of Business will host the Nighthawk Innovation Summit on March 2 at the Dahlonega Campus.
Students offer free tax preparation
Students pursuing bachelor's and master's accounting degrees at Â鶹ÊÓƵ are providing free tax preparation through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program sponsored by the IRS.