Eight Professors Join the Huizenga Business School for the 2011-12 School Year

FORT LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla. – The H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) recently welcomed eight professors who joined the school to teach in the 2011-12 school year, which began Monday.

The professors joining NSU bring a wide array of expertise, including process improvement, business communication, operations management, risk analysis and process strategies, marketing, management, sales management and accounting.

Many of the new professors joining the Huizenga Business School’s prestigious ranks have been brought on board as a direct result of the vision of Dean D. Michael Fields, Ph.D., to create market-driven curriculums that provide specific expertise to NSU’s graduates so that they will provide more immediate “return on investment” to their employers. This curriculum makes NSU graduates highly desirable in the job market.

“It is critical that all of our graduates are prepared to hit the ground running, whether they are new to the workforce, or someone who has come back to school to learn a new skill set or refine a skill set they already possess,” said Fields, dean of the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship. “The job market is still fierce, and we believe that by equipping graduates with knowledge in specific areas such as sales, sales management and supply chain management – in addition to the traditional business curriculum – they will be better positioned to create an immediate impact in their new or existing roles.”

The new professors are:
Vikram Desai, M.B.A.
Andrew Felo, Ph.D.
Anne Fiedler, Ph.D.
Dena Hale, Ph.D.
Steven Kramer, Ph.D.
Erin McLaughlin, Ph.D.
John Riggs, M.B.A.
Bradley Wesner, M.A.

Vikram Desai began on August 1, 2011 as an Assistant Professor of Accounting.  Vikram has a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Central Florida, and a M.B.A. from the University of Arkansas.  Prior to joining NSU, Vikram served as an Assistant Professor for the University of Baltimore and Wilfrid Laurier University, where he taught Principles of Managerial Accounting, Advanced Accounting, and Intermediate Financial Accounting.  He has also worked as a HQ Internal Auditor for Pepsi Bottling Group, Senior Auditor for Deloitte & Touche, and NITT in Bombay, India, where he developed an online course in Accounting for American University.

Andrew J. Felo began on August 1, 2011 as an Associate Professor of Accounting.  Andrew has a Ph.D. in Management, Accounting Concentration, Finance Minor, and a M.S. in Accounting from Binghamton University.  Prior to joining NSU, Dr. Felo served as an Associate Professor of Accounting at the Pennsylvania State University Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies, and an Assistant Professor of Accounting at Millsaps College.  In 2003, Andrew received the “Best Paper in Public Sector Track for the Southeast Region of Decision Sciences Institute” award.  And, in 2005-2006, he received the Teaching Excellence Award and Diversity Recognition Award from Pennsylvania State University.

Anne Fiedler began on August 1, 2011 as a Professor of Management.  Anne has a Ph.D. in Business Administration, Management Major, from Florida International University, and a M.B.A. from the University of Miami.  Prior to joining NSU, Dr. Fiedler served as a Professor of Management and Coordinator of the Management Discipline at Barry University, where she taught Organizational Behavior, Leadership and Change Management, Human Resource Management, Labor Relations, Cross-cultural Management, and Managerial Communications.  From 1998 – 2002, she served as an Associate Dean and active member of the AACSB accreditation team at Barry University.  In addition to her teaching experience, Dr. Fiedler has served in roles, such as, Strategic Development Consultant for The Jazz Café and Clero Enterprises, Inc., HR Consultant for ATI Architectural firm, Program Coordinator, Coach and Trainer for Columbia Cedars Medical Center, Organizational Development Consultant for Sunburst Farms, and a Consultant for Merrill Lynch.  Anne was nominated for the University Apple Award in 2005, 2006 and 2008, and was awarded the Outstanding Management Faculty award in 2004 at Barry University.

Dena Hale began on August 1, 2011 as an Assistant Professor of Marketing.  Dena has a Ph.D. in Marketing and a M.B.A. from Southern Illinois University.  Prior to joining NSU, Dena served as an Assistant Professor of Management, Marketing and Logistics at Georgia Southern University, where she taught Professional Selling, Business-to Business Marketing, Principles of Marketing, Marketing Management, Services Marketing and Elements of Fundraising.  She also has seven years sales experience in the services industry, ranging from advertising sales to logistics and shipping sales, and eleven years of military service experience as a Chinese-Mandarin Linguist, translator and interrogator.  In 2010, Dr. Hale received The Charles R. Gibbs Faculty Award at Georgia Southern University.

Steven Kramer began on April 1, 2011 as an Associate Professor of Decision Sciences.  Steven has a Ph.D. in Management Science from the University of Maryland, College Park, an M.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Rhode Island, and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (Industrial) from USF.  Additionally, he is a Certified Master Black Belt in Lean/Six Sigma methods and their applications.  Prior to joining NSU, Steven was an Assistant Professor at Wake Forest University and Assistant Professor at Loyola University Maryland, where he taught Operations Management and Risk Analysis and Process Strategies, Project Management, Process Improvement (Lean/Six Sigma) and Simulation Modeling.  He has published in the area of Risk Management and Operations Management (OM) and is currently working on OM pedagogy studies.  Prior to his academic career, he worked for Northrop Grumman Corporation (NGC) Electronic Systems from 1984 – 2004, where he last served as a Sector Integration and Process Improvements Manager.  He served in a variety of departments while at NGC, generally leading process improvement efforts.  He has mentored over 200 process improvement projects in roles of teacher and practitioner.

Erin McLaughlin began on August 1, 2011 as an Assistant Professor of Management, and will be completing her Ph.D. in Management, Entrepreneurship and Strategy this August from the University of North Texas.  She received a M.B.A. in Financial Management and Entrepreneurship from Missouri State University.  Prior to joining NSU, Erin served as a Teaching/Research Fellow, where she taught Entrepreneurship, Policy/Strategic Management, Management Concepts, E-Management, International Business, and Entrepreneurship Boot Camp.  In 2010, Erin received the Academy of Management Top 10 award.

John Riggs began on August 1, 2011 as an Assistant Professor of Marketing.  John will be completing his D.B.A. in May 2012 from Kennesaw State University.  He received a M.B.A. from Kennesaw State University in May 2000.  Prior to joining NSU, John served as a Graduate Teaching Professor, Coles College of Business, where he taught Principles of Marketing.  He has over twenty years experience working as an Area Sales Director and Vice President of Global Contracting and Pricing Integrity for the medical and pharmaceutical field.

Bradley Wesner began on August 1, 2011 as an Assistant Professor of Business Communications. Brad will be completing his Ph.D. in Philosophy/Communication in August 2011 from Texas A&M University.  He received a M.A. in Applied Communication from Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.  Prior to joining NSU, Bradley served as an Instructor for Texas A&M University, where he taught Intro to Public Speaking, Technical Communication, Group Communication, Negotiation, and Interpersonal Communication.  In 2009, Bradley received the “Top Three Paper in Group Communication” award which was presented at the 93^rd Annual National Communication Association Convention in Chicago, IL.

For more information, visit: www.nova.edu/business

About the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship: Serving more than 6,000 students, the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship at Nova Southeastern University offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs in areas such as accounting, finance, human resource management, public administration, sales and more. The Huizenga Business School also boasts the largest Master of Business Administration MBA sales program in Florida as well as sales certificate. The school is housed in the five-story state-of-the-art Carl DeSantis Building on Nova Southeastern University’s main campus in Fort Lauderdale-Davie, Florida, but programs are available at multiple locations and online. For more information, visit http://www.huizenga.nova.edu/.

About Nova Southeastern University: Located in Davie, Florida, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a dynamic fully accredited Florida University dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs of distinction from preschool through the professional and doctoral levels. NSU has more than 29,000 students and is the eighth largest not-for-profit independent institution nationally. The University awards associate’s, bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, specialist, and first-professional degrees in a wide range of fields, including business, counseling, computer and information sciences, education, medicine, optometry, pharmacy, dentistry, various health professions, law, marine sciences, early childhood, psychology and other social sciences.  Classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU was also awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification in 2010 for the University’s significant commitment to and demonstration of community engagement.   For more information about NSU visit www.nova.edu.
# # #

Contact:
Brandon Hensler
NSU Office of Public Affairs
954-262-5385/5170 Office
954-393-5926 Cell
Brandon.Hensler@nova.edu

---

---