Newsletter - January 12

January 12, 2024

A Note from Desk of Dean Sarker

Happy New Year! I wish you a great start to the Spring Semester 2024. I hope you had a restful holiday season and took time to recharge.

We are ready to start the new semester and the coming week will be busy with many of you getting back to the classroom on Tuesday.

This semester will be busy for the College as well with our strategic planning process and the Pamplin Engagement Summit among other events and activities. Please join the faculty/staff meeting on Friday, Jan. 19^th where we will get the opportunity to network with colleagues at the luncheon as well as discuss more about the strategic planning process and the recent organizational review conducted by Segal. We will also celebrate Robin Russell’s many contributions to Pamplin and the University by formally unveiling her portrait that afternoon.

I look forward to seeing all of you next Friday and many of you at our 1:1s earlier in the week.

Happy weekend.

Saonee

Announcements

Appointment of Academic Director for Business Analytics (CBA).

The college wishes to appoint a current faculty member as the Academic Director for the Center for Business Analytics within the Pamplin College of Business. The appointment, which will begin in August 2024, is a part-time, three-year appointment for a current tenure-track or non-tenure-track faculty member. The Academic Director will provide intellectual leadership and for the Center’s teaching and research activities.

Specific responsibilities will include:

Working with the Center’s Executive Director in further developing the curriculum of the M.S. in Business Administration with concentration in Business Analytics (MSBA-BA).
Encouraging the development of courses and programs that are consistent with the Center’s charter.
Serving as graduate program director for the Center, providing academic administration and advising associated with the MSBA-BA program.
Leading the interview and selection of students for acceptance into the MSBA-BA program.
Participation in planning and delivery of co-curricular and extracurricular elements of the MSBA-BA program such as orientation, workshops, information sessions, alumni gatherings, etc.
Representing the Center as needed on analytics-related committees and initiatives that arise within the college, university, and greater academic community.
Working with Pamplin faculty to develop partnerships with Virginia Tech units beyond Pamplin that result in greater research, funding, and recognition for the Center.

If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, please contact the CBA executive director, Jay Winkeler (jwinkeler@vt.edu) or the current Academic Director, Dr. Cliff Ragsdale (cragsdal@vt.edu) by February 9, 2024.

Voices of Privacy Secures Victory in the 2023 Vega Digital Awards.

Voices of Privacy, the online initiative dedicated to highlighting current issues about information privacy, was recently honored with the Silver Award by the Vega Digital Awards. A first-of-its-kind initiative, Voices of Privacy was launched by the Pamplin College of Business duo to provide a platform consisting of videos and other resources dedicated to raising awareness, educating individuals across society at large about online privacy, and empowering them with the tools they need to successfully manage their future online privacy. Each webisode features Bélanger and Wertalik discussing different information privacy topics, including steps individuals can take to protect their information on different platforms – web, smartphones, and others. Read the entire article here: Voices of Privacy secures victory in the 2023 Vega Digital Awards | Pamplin College of Business | Virginia Tech (vt.edu) Their latest segment aired on Thursday, 1/11. It covered the New Year and resolutions to keep your privacy intact, as well as tips for a digital cleanse. I encourage you to watch it.

We invite you to submit nominations for the Alumni Award for Research and Excellence!

The Alumni Association established the Award for Research Excellence (AARE) in 1975 to promote research at Virginia Tech. To achieve this purpose, the Alumni Association awards up to two Alumni Awards for Research Excellence to individuals (or research teams) who have reached a level of research achievement judged to be the most significant within the University.

Awards are made in two categories: (1) science or engineering and (2) social sciences, humanities, or arts. One award may be given in each category, and there may be no more than one awardee from a single major unit (college or institute) each year.

Alumni Award recipients will be awarded $2000 and a plaque; awardees will be announced at the annual Faculty and Staff Awards Ceremony. The deadline for nomination is January 31^st, 2024. Additional information may be found here: VT's Research & Innovation.

Giving Day 2024

Giving Day 2024 is coming fast, scheduled to be held between noon, Feb. 21, 2024, and noon, Feb. 22, 2024. This annual celebration of philanthropy is expected to be bigger and better than any Giving Day that has come before!

The success of Giving Day is dependent on the help from our outstanding Giving Day Ambassadors. Ambassador signups will begin in mid-January when the 2024 Giving Day site goes live. Until then, prospective Ambassadors can text HokieAmbassador (one word) to 51555 to be notified when Ambassador signups are live.

Please stay tuned to the Pamplin Pulse as more Giving Day information becomes available!

Employee Spotlight

Each employee below has been submitted for this recognition by their colleagues.

Social media/Press release for Nancy McGehee's TTRA APac conference activities from earlier this month:

Nancy Gard McGehee, R.B. Pamplin Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management and Co-Editor of the Journal of Travel Research, recently made several presentations while attending the Asia Pacific chapter TTRA (Travel and Tourism Research Association) conference in Seoul, Korea. Over 200 tourism faculty and graduate students from all over Asia were in attendance. According to McGehee, “It was a whirlwind trip of less than a week but a tremendous experience. It’s always wonderful to engage with colleagues, especially early-career faculty, and this was no exception.”

Activities included:

The Keynote presentation of the conference, entitled: “Solving the Puzzle When the Pieces Keep Changing: Tourism Research During Times of Uncertainty.”

Service on a panel of women in tourism to discuss “Advice from Women Leaders in Tourism.”

The first Asia Pacific Chapter Editorial Board meeting of the Journal of Travel Research.

Additionally, Professor McGehee made a presentation at Hanyang University entitled “How to Publish in SSCI Journals” to a group of over 20 PhD students in a class supervised by Hakseung Shin, Feiertag HTM PhD 2020 Alumni.

Along the way, McGehee was also able to engage with several Feiertag HTM Alumni. “I’m so proud of the legacy of PhD students in Korea. We have over 30 PhD alumni who are active faculty throughout the country!”

Emily McCorkle featured in the Roanoker!

I am so proud of Emily McCorkle who was recognized with other young professionals for 40 Under 40 in The Roanoker. Her commitments in Pamplin Student Success, and her drive to serve community as the Director of Operations for Huddle Up Moms has landed her this acknowledgment. Pamplin is fortunate to have this inspirational leader! Link to the Roanoker Feature: https://theroanoker.com/magazine/features/40-under-40-Emily-McCorkle/ Link to Huddle Up Moms: https://www.huddleupmoms.org/

Submit staff and faculty for upcoming issues here: Tracidb1@vt.edu

Upcoming Events

Mark your calendar for the Spring faculty/staff meeting.

For more events, check out https://pamplin.vt.edu/events.html

Committee Corner

For a full list of committees, http://pampl.in/Committees

Extra Items

Do not forget we are closed on Monday, January 15^th,2024 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Avoid phishing attacks – know how to spot an email scam.

Phishing attempts are on the rise. Make sure you know what to look out for, and what to do if you receive a suspicious email. We encourage the university community to review the following resources to help protect against phishing attacks:

How to protect against phishing attacks from the 4Help Knowledge Base.
How to detect phishing and “spear phishing” from the Division of IT.
General Cybersecurity Awareness resources from the Division of IT.

Spring 2024 Force Adds

They will stop accepting requests at 2:00pm on Monday, January 22.

Did you know?

Trivia about Pamplin and Virginia Tech.

Each edition we will ask a question about Pamplin. This will include trivia questions, historical details, or current events. The answer will be published in the next edition.

Jan 5^th: What does Virginia Tech’s motto UT Prosim mean?

"That I may serve."

Jan 12th: What was Virginia Tech's first name?

Check back next week to find out…..

Have an announcement?

Send your events, updates, and announcements for the monthly update to Tracy Price. Also, if you have comments, feedback, or recommendations for how we can improve the Dean’s Update or suggestions for information that should be shared with faculty, staff, and academic program personnel, please provide them to tbprice@vt.edu.