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G. Brint Ryan College of Business.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

 

SPOTLIGHTS

STUDENT

 

Sung Mawi (’22)

 

Sung Mawi lived in Chin state in western Myanmar before moving to Dallas, Texas in 2011. She originally enrolled at UNT as an accounting major, but soon decided to explore other fields of interest. While researching several prospective majors, including real estate, engineering, and finance, Mawi was drawn to HR and set out to gain hands-on experience in the field working as an assistant.

Mawi was able to apply for an internal role at Suntronic, an electronic manufacturing company, and although they did not have any entry HR positions available at the time, she secured an interview with the help of a character recommendation from the receptionist. After working with Suntronic’s department for a while, Mawi found her passion for HR and decided to change her major.

Having worked in HR for over four years now, Mawi has learned valuable lessons in accountability and effective management. She notes the differences between textbook HR management techniques and real-world organizational structures, particularly within a family-owned business. HR’s countless functions introduced her to a new world of improving workplace quality, and she strives hard to reach Suntronic’s three key outcome variables: productivity, quality of work life, and profits. Mawi has also contributed significantly to her organization’s workflow through improving their new hire paperwork system and presenting the Annual Performance Review.

Prior to her time at Suntronic, Mawi's academic excellence earned her a full-ride scholarship through the Gates Millennium Scholars Program for Asian & Pacific Islander American (APIA) students. She recounts the surreality of spending nights writing college application essays in high school as a first generation, non-English speaker to working full-time in the HR field. Today, Mawi diligently continues to advance her career, pursuing a Chief/VP of HR position.

FACULTY

 

Dr. Gurpreet Dhillon

 

The Department of Information Technology and Decision Sciences (ITDS) at UNT welcomed Dr. Gurpreet Dhillon in his new role as the G. Brint Ryan Endowed Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity this semester. The college is excited about the energy and innovation that Dr. Dhillon brings to the department and its programs. 

"Cyber vulnerabilities are an existential threat, and identifying threats and their relationship with malicious files, insiders, and IP addresses are becoming even more crucial. After all, no one arrests a computer for a computer crime. Therefore, studying AI and Cybersecurity is essential and critical for our success in an information-intensive environment. As the G. Brint Ryan Endowed Chair of AI and Cybersecurity, I hope to provide thought leadership and shape the future of how cybersecurity problems can be evaluated, understood, and addressed through AI techniques and beyond,” said Dhillon.

Dhillon was educated in England and completed his Ph.D. at the London School of Economics. He was among the early scholars who helped establish the Computer Security Research Center in the UK, working closely with colleagues at Royal Holloway and Cambridge University, including Fred Piper and Ross Anderson.

Over the years, he has also worked in Hong Kong, Portugal, and Sweden. In 2019 Dhillon was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Örebro University, Sweden, for his contributions to the field of cybersecurity. Dhillon has published several academic papers in flagship journals, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the New York TimesUSA TodayBusiness WeekCNNNBC News, and NPR.

Further details about Dhillon’s accomplishments can be found at: http://www.dhillon.us.com

FEATURED DONOR

Faizal Thobani ('99)

Before Faizal Thobani graduated from the University of North Texas (UNT) in 1999 he was already ahead of the curve.

While he may not have realized it at the time, his decision to major in Business Computer Information Systems would later become pivotal to his career choices—opening doors of entrepreneurial opportunity.

Thobani fondly recalls COBOL classes at UNT with Dr. Spence as the “litmus test” of his degree—they were his hardest, but most memorable classes. So memorable, in fact, that he found himself quite literally “dreaming in code.”

“I once had fallen asleep in the passenger seat while driving with my girlfriend at the time and she told me that I was talking about coding to the green lights on the car display,” recalled Thobani.

And those big coding dreams led to some big offers.

Fresh out of college, Thobani found himself choosing between job offers from big name consulting firms like Accenture, EY and Concur Technologies—ultimately starting out his professional career with Concur.

“I stayed with Concur for two years, until I got a better offer from a company called Siebel Systems based out of Silicon Valley,” said Thobani.

His job with Siebel is what truly changed the trajectory of his career—giving him the expertise needed to propel him further.

“I became pretty much an expert in Siebel Software, and then I quit to start my own consulting firm—Genuity Consulting.”

With the competitive edge of Siebel Software (and a UNT degree) in his back pocket, Thobani earned a contract in the public sector of Washington, DC—exploding his business and opportunities.

READ MORE...

IN THE NEWS

Real Estate team takes home first place in national competition

Three weeks of hard work and research led to first-place and $5,000 for five UNT seniors.

Andrew Flores, Danny Prii, Evan Tate, Svenn Mivedor and Rameen Inayat were among the winning team of this year’s Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) Dallas College Case Competition.

Tasked with the case of an underperforming medical building in a nearby city, students spent weeks evaluating the property and defining the best way to maximize profits—ultimately beating out UT Dallas in the final round of the competition.

“We were assigned the task to come up with solutions to not only maximize the overall value of the property, but to also increase the tenant sales per square foot,” explained Flores.

From their extensive research, which involved market data from real-world companies, the team put together a 52-page proposal that won over the judges. And in addition to earning the first-place title and cash prize, they were also given the opportunity to present their winning plan at the IREM global conference in Dallas.

“The presentation took place in front of around 100 people and we were able to network with market professionals from all around the country... We even got to speak with the president of IREM in their Toronto location,” said Flores.

The team credits their win in part to the lessons learned and guidance gained from two UNT professors—and two of their classes.

“We would like to give a huge shout out to Professor Moffitt’s Real Estate Valuations class, and Professor Baen’s Real Estate Investments class. The information that is taught in those courses provided us with a great foundation that helped us succeed in the competition... I would argue that these are some of the best courses that UNT provides and I would highly recommend them to anyone in the college,” proclaimed Flores.

UNT SHRM continues their "superior" tradition

For the past five years, the UNT Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Chapter has earned the annual Superior Merit Award—and 2022 marked yet another year of continuing their tradition of excellence.

“Winning the Superior Merit Award designation signifies that we deliver engaging programming, that we exceed the expectations of SHRM National, and that we are committed to advancing the HR profession and serving the future HR professional by presenting numerous opportunities to learn, network and grow,” said chapter advisor and UNT Professor Mariya Aguilar.

Dedicated to advancing HR, and themselves, the chapter focused on presenting the SHRM Competency Model and explaining the vast benefits of earning an HR certification throughout the year. Many members also completed an HR internship, or worked in the field, which helped bring them to the top of their chapter competitors.

Other notes of recognition included four student members placing second in the Texas SHRM Student Case Study Competition, and UNT SHRM President Stephanie Villarreal being named a finalist for the DallasHR Student Leader of the Year recognition.

In addition to these professional endeavors and successes, the chapter also gave back to those outside the HR community.

From holding service drives for professional clothing and food donations, to collecting holiday cards for the elderly and care kits for the homeless, the chapter proved that they were committed to making an impact in all aspects of their lives.

It was clear that the Superior Merit recognition was well deserved this year, as it was in years past, and Professor Aguilar is looking forward to a future full of continued praise.

“Succession planning is of the utmost importance and we are thankful that many of our officers last year were long-term UNT SHRM chapter members so that we can continue to engage with the community and provide value to our membership.”

UNT accounting students code the benefits of NFTs

UNT accounting students are learning more than numbers in the classroom—they are taking on the new wave of NFTs and the data behind it. Dr. Jose Lineros talks with Spectrum News about how teaching the value of NFTs to his students is helping to give them a leg up on the future of accounting.

READ MORE...
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Published by Spectrum Local News, October 2022


THE MORE YOU KNOW

Landing on a higher note in Billboard Magazine

The Ryan College of Business has a new ranking to add to its list—one of Billboard’s 2022 Top Music Business School.

This ranking comes from a compilation of industry recommendations, alumni information, school data and years of extensive reporting. Affordability was also a large contributing factor to the final list.

Billboard Magazine provides highly regarded rankings, giving students the assurance needed to know that their degree is valued in the industry. 

Combining the renowned reputation of the College of Music with the top-quality business administration curriculum from the Ryan College of Business, UNT's cutting-edge MBA in Music Business gives students the business tools for the 21st century musician.

READ MORE...


PHILANTHROPIC OPPORTUNITIES AT THE RYAN COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

THE WILSON JONES ENDOWMENT FOR RYAN COLLEGE OF BUSINESS CAREER SUPPORT SERVICES

Alumnus Wilson Jones (’85) and his wife, Jane, donated $5 million to the college earlier this year to create a new career center in the G. Brint Ryan College of Business. This generous gift will not only go towards the build out of a space that will serve to better prepare students for successful careers, but it will also fund the hiring of new staff and resources to support the college's growing student body. Working in conjunction with this gift, the Wilson Jones Endowment for Ryan College of Business Career Support Services will provide additional assistance to reach these goals and support services that promote career readiness.
 
G. BRINT RYAN COLLEGE OF BUSINESS DEAN'S EXCELLENCE FUND

The Dean’s Excellence Fund also provides immediate, essential support to our students. This fund serves as a vital resource to help our students and campus respond to opportunities and challenges as they occur. When you support the Dean’s Excellence Fund, you support the strategic vision of the college by allowing the Dean to have flexibility in directing the use of resources to the priorities of the college during this difficult time.
 
G. BRINT RYAN COLLEGE OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT FUND

Frank Dudowicz was an ardent supporter of the G. Brint Ryan College of Business. Before he passed away on May 1, 2022, one of his final requests was to have memorials be made to the Ryan College of Business Communications Support Fund, a testament to his ongoing efforts to be a positive force in the UNT community. Donations made to the Communications Support Fund aid Dudowicz’s most recent board efforts to increase brand awareness for the Ryan College of Business. Click here to honor Frank's memory with a gift.


PLP "25 IN A QUARTER" CAMPAIGN

UNT Professional Leadership Program (PLP) members, former members, and corporate partners and friends are invited to help develop the program's future leaders and their skills in servant leadership, stewardship, diversity and inclusion, ethical practice, problem solving, communications and teamwork.

As part of the inaugural "25 In a Quarter" Campaign, PLP will be setting out to raise $25,000 each fiscal quarter. To help kick off the campaign the PLP Board of Directors has pledged a generous “Leadership Gift” in the amount of $10,000. Now is your opportunity to support the PLP program and make an impact on the future of servant leadership. Click here to give today.

 

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University of North Texas
G. Brint Ryan College of Business

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