The Idaho Department of Labor reported this week that state unemployment reached 9 percent for the first time since June 1983. Both those working and those unemployed know it’s hard to give in times of financial distress.

The financial woes have largely been blamed on people living beyond their means by taking on too much debt. Many organizations that receive the gifts of this season, charities and other nonprofits, also have taken on too much debt.

Using data from the Internal Revenue Service, the New York Times reported in September that bond issuance from nonprofits nearly tripled over the past decade. As the economy falters and gifts continue declining, these organizations are having as much trouble making payments as homeowners today.

Charities and other nonprofit organizations also lost a key source for funding their operations – the stock market. According to a report in the Chronicle of Philanthropy earlier this year the financial market problems of 2007 and 2008 led to a median decline of   .  .  .

Read Dr. Crabb’s full article at http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/979991.html

Five School of Business faculty (Dr. Ron Galloway, Dr. Karen Jones, Dr. Jeff Lineman, Dr. Steve Mountjoy, and Dr. Bill Russell) attended the annual Christian Business Faculty Association (CBFA) conference held October 15-17, 2009, in Rogers, Arkansas. The conference highlights included keynote speaker Rollin L. Ford, Walmart’s Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer.  Tours were also offered to Walmart’s Innovation Lab, as well as the Distribution Center. Walmart, based out of Bentonville, Arkansas, boast itself as the world’s largest retailer with 2.5 million associates (employees).

Dr. Bill Russell presented papers entitled “A Wesleyan Paradigm for Teaching Business Ethics in Business Schools,” “Law: Use of Regional Economic Research as an Alternative for Writing Papers,”  as well as co-presenting with Dr. Randy Ataide, Director of the Fermanian Business Center at Point Loma Nazarene University (San Diego, California), on “Engaging the Business Community.”  Dr. Russell was also presented with the award for the Best Practices in Ethics and Law.

Dr. Jeff Lineman serves on the CBFA Board of Directors and chaired the Awards Committee for the conference.

The CBFA conference was hosted by John Brown University.

Article contributed by Karen Jones

“Janet L. Yellen took office as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco on June 14, 2004. As a 2009 voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, Dr. Yellen brings her District’s perspective to policy discussions in Washington.  [She] is Professor Emeritus at the University of California at Berkeley where she was the Eugene E. and Catherine M. Trefethen Professor of Business and Professor of Economics and has been a faculty member since 1980.

“The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco provides wholesale banking services to financial institutions in the nine western states through its head office in San Francisco, branch offices in Los Angeles, Portland, Salt Lake City, and Seattle, and a cash processing office in Phoenix. As the nation’s central bank, the Federal Reserve System formulates monetary policy, serves as a bank regulator, administers consumer protection laws, and is fiscal agent for the U.S. government. The Twelfth District is the largest in the Federal Reserve System, encompassing 36 percent of the nation’s land area, and 20 percent of its population, employment, and the nation’s personal income.”

Quotes taken from http://www.frbsf.org/federalreserve/people/officers/yellen.html

The School of Business in the Helstrom building is leading the way with all of its classrooms equipped with smart boards.  The rest of the campus is close behind, with a total of 80% of classrooms with smart boards. The Business Department also has two computer labs for its students and the campus has another three larger labs, and two smaller labs in the freshmen dorms.

More and more class assignments and tests are being posted and completed electronically through an online platform called Blackboard. Blackboard allows students to turn something in from anywhere in the world as long as an internet connection is available.  A student also gets 250 megabits of data storage on his or her personal network which can be accessed through any internet connection. If a student saves information in class and desires to continue work later, he or she can simply log on to the network and download the file from any internet connection. 

NNU also has great technical support for students, from the first day they enroll in a class until they graduate. I personally work in the Technical Response Center and help students use campus technology and understand the network and services.  Students also get great discounts on purchases of technical services and products like Verizon and Dell. 

Students who want a competitive edge in the workplace when they graduate will find a technological environment at NNU that affords them the best opportunity for preparation.

Contributed by Justin Kellerer

Editor’s Note;   Justin recently returned from a Summer ministry in South Korea.  His work with youth helped him complete the NNU cross-cultural experience requirement, and stretch his understanding of the world around him.

He holds a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from the University of Wyoming, a master of science in mining economics from the Colorado School of Mines, and a PhD in higher education and adult studies from the University of Wyoming. In addition, Mountjoy completed a diploma in Christian studies at Regent College.

Before moving to higher education Mountjoy worked in engineering and business for 18 years. As professor at Colorado Christian University, he directed one of CCU’s master’s degree programs. Since 2006 he served as professor in NNU’s School of Education, Social Work and Counseling.

When speaking of his new position, Mountjoy said, “I’m excited and challenged by the new position and look forward to building on the excellent foundation that has been laid.  NNU is truly blessed to have so many outstanding faculty and staff in the School of Business and I am anticipating a wonderful working relationship with them.”

Former NNU Dean Dr. Ron Galloway has accepted the invitation to lead two new University initiatives. As NNU moves to doctoral-level programming, Galloway will be director of the doctoral program in business. Further, Galloway will lead NNU’s endeavor to begin a number of permanent international study centers to serve the students. He  assumed his new assignments on August 1.

Reflecting on his 14 years of leadership in the School of Business, Galloway said, “I really didn’t do it by myself. I had great people to work with. I don’t look at them as being my accomplishments—we did it together.” Galloway will continue to teach, particularly strategic and international studies, and remain associated with the School of Business as associate dean for graduate studies.

The School of Business is one of six schools at Northwest Nazarene University.  The School of Business offers bachelor’s degrees in business administration and accounting and a master of business administration.  Business programs are offered on the Nampa campus and in downtown Boise at the CW Moore extension.  A bachelor’s degree in business administration and an MBA are also offered online. Through an MBA course that can be fulfilled through an international trip, the program has traveled to 17 different countries.

An accelerated-degree program (STEP) is also offered both onsite and online for working adults.  The School is accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs, an international accrediting organization for business schools. The School has grown to serve 340 students in a year.

June 28th at the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) conference in San Antonio, Texas, NNU business student Ashley Morman was awarded the Delta Mu Delta Pat & Tony Jablonsky scholarship award. Ron Galloway, NNU School of Business Dean at that time, said this speaks highly to Ashley’s abilities to be recognized by the Delta Mu Delta honor society with this award.

Delta Mu Delta is an international honor society in business administration. Membership in Delta Mu Delta is awarded only to top business students—those striving for their greatest academic and professional potential—and rewards them for their achievement.  Delta Mu Delta focuses on creatively empowering social and economic benefit.  Delta Mu Delta annually awards scholarships to students based on scholarship, leadership, character, motivation, need and potential. More information about the scholarship is available at http://www.deltamudelta.org/scholarship.programs.winners.php

For two hours, a dozen participants of different skill levels fought off the wind chill and cold weather to participate in a challenging game of soccer. Soccer is a game that is known and played all over the world and there was a universal understanding between the Korean and American players. Korean born NNU business administration major, Brian Clemmons said, “When I first played with them [Koreans] a few weeks ago, it was as if I had known them forever. Sometimes it’s difficult to communicate in the classroom, but getting out and playing soccer broke down all language barriers.”

The relationships between the KNU and NNU students are growing both on the field and in the classroom. “Social interaction with the KNU students is great practice for what the future holds. Learning about other cultures and communicating will be a key aspect to success in the business world,” Clemmons said.  KNU student Chulho Choi says his time at Northwest Nazarene has been fun and memorable and he will miss his friends at NNU when he returns to Seoul.

Many people struggle to succeed in cross-cultural communication for a number of different reasons. However, at Northwest Nazarene University, students are taking steps, in the classroom and on the field to be welcoming and understanding of other cultures. Although there will always be barriers to communication, nothing can interrupt the universal language of sports.

Article and Pictures contributed by Brian Clemmons

Dr. Galloway will continue to be associated with the School of Business as Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Director of Doctoral Studies in Business.  He will continue teaching duties, working particularly with strategic and international studies.

Dr. Galloway completed his undergraduate degree at Northwest Nazarene University.  He completed a master’s degree in missiology at Fuller Theological Seminary and a PhD degree at United States International University.  He served for several years as pastor and missionary for the Church of the Nazarene. He has worked extensively in international business.

During his 14 years as head of NNU’s business program, he implemented the MBA program, and started online delivery of both the undergraduate and graduate degree programs.  Under his leadership the accelerated delivery program, known as STEP, was implemented.  He led the School to international accreditation for the business programs and served for many years as an accreditation commissioner.  He is also responsible for developing NNU’s Boise Center.  His international interests are represented by his consultancies in Kazakhstan, Kenya, and Brazil.

“We are pleased that Dean Galloway will continue to use his business advancement experience and international skills in the development of new levels of educational programming for Northwest Nazarene University,” says NNU’s Vice President for Academic Affairs, Samuel Dunn. “Galloway’s international business experience, his world-wide consulting, and his entrepreneurial spirit will serve NNU and her students well in the future.”

The Stimulus Bill Will Provide the Jolt That Is Needed                                    
Dr. Steven Van der Ploeg

The stimulus plan is a good idea.  Well, relative to what, you ask?   And the answer is: relative to no stimulus bill at all.  Why might it be better to do nothing, which some people advocate? Because the economy is losing jobs at an accelerating rate. The unemployment rate is now 7.6% (12.6% for African-Americans); half of 3.6 million jobs lost have occurred in the last 3 months. Many people, through no fault of their own, are without employment, and will experience the personal and social costs unemployment. Among these are anxiety, family crises, divorce, homelessness, crime.
More at http://www.idahostatesman.com/business/story/665298.html

The Stimulus Bill is a Bad Idea
Dr. Peter Crabb

This week David Axelrod, adviser to President Obama, said, “The American people are desperate for us to act.” So the U.S. Senate passed its legislation this week, and the compromise bill with the House is likely to come in around $800 billion. We are not that desperate!  First, the U.S. government already can’t afford it. Federal tax revenue declined nearly 10 percent in the first four months of the fiscal year.
More at http://www.idahostatesman.com/business/story/665297.html

The wall can be seen at the Southwest Corner of 8th and Main in Boise.  80 panels of plywood are painted in full color and span 300 feet along the street on the south and east sides of the block.  The south wall of the mural relates to the Greening of the Games and depicts eight icons with action steps everyone can take to be part of a global greening effort.  The action steps include;

• Use natural light whenever possible
• Plant trees
• Be sure your faucets don’t drip
• Keep waterways clean
• Turn off appliances when not in use
• Use rechargeable batteries

Themes on the east wall are based on the educational initiative of the Games and include values established by the Special Olympics as outcomes; acceptance, unity, empowerment, dignity, courage, strength, pride confidence, fun, joy and respect.

The eight action steps were based upon eight principles that the NNU School of Health and Science created for the Games.  The NNU Art and Design Department then created the icons to go with the principles.  The eight icons will also be placed on refillable water bottles and gift Eco-Bags that every athlete and delegate will receive. The gift bags are a second project SIFE is developing for the Winter Games.

Contributed by Bill Russell