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University of South Florida Muma College of Business May 2020
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FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S DESK
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Elaine Singleton |
Greetings everyone.
As you can well imagine, April was filled with "virtually" everything!
- Our faculty and students adjusted quickly to new online teaching and learning methods.
- Our incredible business partners engaged in a virtual employer network event.
- Our entire community (business partners, students & faculty) held a variety of creative online events such as faculty/student coffee meetings and business-partner happy hours!
As we prepare for a virtual May graduation, we are very proud of our graduating seniors; their resilience and resolve is inspirational during an extremely challenging time for all. Enjoy reading about our amazing faculty and student success stories this month!
Please, stay safe and healthy,
Elaine Singleton
Executive Director
Monica Wooden Center for Supply Chain Management & Sustainability
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MAY NEWSLETTER TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Executive Director Greeting
- Important Dates
- Faculty in the News
- Employer Network Event
- Faculty Spotlight
- Alumni Spotlight
- Student Spotlight
- Intern Spotlight
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* May 9, 10 a.m., Virtual USF Spring Commencement Ceremony. For more information, click here.
* May 13, 10:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., Virtual Monica Wooden Center Business Partners' meeting,
a Microsoft Teams event. Details to be announced.
* Sept. 20-23, CSCMP EDGE Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition,
in Orlando. To register, click here.
* Fall 2020 Grand Opening of the Monica Wooden Center for Supply Chain Management & Sustainability,
located in Muma College of Business. Times and details to be announced.
* Feb. 2021,
Florida Supply Chain Summit
, location, times and details to be announced.
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FACULTY IN THE NEWS
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Seckin Ozkul |
Seckin Ozkul,
instructor in the Marketing Department and associate faculty member of the Monica Wooden Center for Supply Chain Management & Sustainability, participated in a live roundtable discussion this week. He discussed the business operations/manufacturing impacts of COVID-19 and why production capacity cannot be increased so easily to meet the current spiked demand. The roundtable aired on WWSB ABC7 News. To view the segment,
click here.
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Rob Hooker |
Rob Hooker, a
ssociate professor in the Muma College of Business' Marketing Department and an associate with the Monica Wooden Center for Supply Chain Management & Sustainability, was interviewed by WUSF this week about when retail outlets will re-open in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. He also discussed precatuions that need to be taken to ensure safety. Hooker teaches courses in supply chain management, market research and marketing strategy. To read the story, click here.
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Donna Davis |
Donna Davis,
a professor of marketing and supply chain management, former chair of the Marketing Department, and academic director of the Monica Wooden Center for Supply Chain Management & Sustainability, was interviewed on Fox 13 in Tampa last week about retail establishments and how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted their business, customers, vendors and employees. Davis teaches Logistics Systems and Analytics and Supply Chain Management. To view the segment and read the story,
click here.
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EMPLOYER NETWORK EVENT
A special thanks goes out to our amazing employer/business partners for participating in our first-ever Virtual Supply Chain Employer Network Event via Microsoft Teams held last month.
Twelve employers and 32 supply chain management students attended with the ability to freely network and share learning experiences.
Participating employers included:
Blue Grace Logistics, Disney, Honeywell Aerospace, IFCO, Jabil, Marten Transport, Ravago Company, Refresco, Reed TMS, RS&H, Ryder and TruckStop.com
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FACULTY SPOTL
IGHT: Donna Davis
Professor of marketing and supply chain management
Former chair of the Marketing Department
Academic director of the Monica Wooden Center for Supply Chain Management & Sustainability.
Q: How is USF and supply chain management using the remote virtual teaching environment to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic?
A:
Following the directions of the governor and USF, all supply chain management classes moved to remote learning after spring break for the remainder of spring semester. Students and faculty adapted very well to this new environment, although we miss seeing each other!
Q. Are there any lessons learned about the educational environment from the situation we now find ourselves?
A: This change requires constant, clear communication to keep everyone on the same page. We are all learning the value of virtual tools such as Microsoft Teams and Blackboard Collaborate. Most of us have figured out how to make virtual meetings interesting by adding backgrounds and sharing our screens.
Q. Are there any suggestions to make remote learning more effective and engaging with virtual systems for student education?
A:
A mix of synchronous (everybody online at the same time) and asynchronous (at your own pace) scheduling of sessions seems to work best for students. This allows students to remain connected with each other and their faculty while providing flexibility in managing their own schedules. Synchronous sessions using Microsoft Teams has been very engaging with students participating in discussions via video/audio as well as chatting in sidebar conversations.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Brooke Cline
Name: Brooke Cline
USF Degree: BS in marketing with a concentration in supply chain management
Graduation Year: Fall 2016
Employer: Refresco - The world's largest independent bottler of beverages.
Job Title: Material analyst
Q: How has USF helped you in your career development or your role with Refresco?
A: USF supply chain student clubs, including the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, and USF faculty guidance helped me figure out what I wanted to do in my career and really helped get me to where I am today. Meeting participation, company tours, events and leadership roles helped me to see the big picture outside the classroom. Company internships are a MUST as a critical path to full-time employment upon graduation.
Q: What were some key transition hurdles and how did you overcome these challenges in your career?
A: Different variables can disrupt the supply chain that are out of our control (carrier delays, weather/storms, machine issues, customer changes, etc.). However, that is what makes this job challenging and I have learned to adapt to those changes by being able to react quickly, make decisions, solve problems and learn to improve processes. There is always room for process improvements and ideas!
Q: What are key contributions/successes in your career?
A: Relationship building is the primary reason for my success. Developing new skills outside of my comfort zone and engagement with new professionals has helped me understand how high performance teams should work together. Even taking 30 seconds of your time to ask someone about their cat, or what they are doing this weekend, provides exposure/visibility within the company. This opens doors for more opportunities.
Q: What advice do you have for current USF supply chain students?
A: Explore all aspects of supply chain to understand your passion. Supply chain is all facets of supply management from planning, sourcing, logistics operations and the final 50-foot delivery. Supply chain professionals are active leaders in the very heartbeat of all business work streams.
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Manuel Alejandro Salgueiro Gentile
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| Manuel Alejandro Salgueiro Gentile |
Name: Manuel Alejandro Salgueiro Gentile
USF Degree: MS in supply chain management
Graduation Year: Spring 2021
Q: What brought you to the University of South Florida?
A: I chose USF because of the huge potential and great opportunities it offered me. The opportunity to live in Florida (with the ability to enjoy weather & environment similar to my home country, Venezuela), was a strong consideration for me personally. I have been studying at USF for the last five years and am grateful for the experiences, learning opportunities and knowledge transfer via the excellent supply chain education taught by our talented faculty.
Q: Why did you choose to study supply chain management?
A: I became intrigued with supply chain after an initial course in supply chain operations and analytics with Seckin Ozkul. I quickly realized how fast supply chain management has grown and how it has become so important to all aspects of business planning and execution. Huge opportunities are rising for professionals in this field and USF, through the Monica Wooden Center for Supply Chain Management & Sustainability, is doing a great job in preparing students and providing all the tools necessary for their success.
Q: What did you achieve through the program of supply chain management?
A:
I graduated magna cum laude from USF in 2019 with bachelor's degrees in quantitative economics/econometrics and marketing with a concentration in supply chain management. In order to continue with self-development, I decided to accept an offer as teacher assistant/graduate researcher at USF while pursuing a master's degree in supply chain management. This allowed me to research alternative energy such as Brassica Carinata, a sustainable jet fuel substitute derived from mustard seeds, and territorial planning/optimization for city planners. My internship with Kuehne & Nagel as an operations coordinator provides me with the opportunity to learn the ocean import business and key-account management.
Q: What is your future career goal after graduation?
A: In the short run, I am planning to add a concurrent master's degree in data analytics and business intelligence as I have realized the incredible value and important analytics has in supply chain management.
INTERN SPOTLIGHT: Craig Palaca
Name: Craig Palaca
USF Degree: BS marketing with a concentration in supply chain management
Graduation Year: August 2020
Employer: Anchor Glass Container
Job Title: Purchasing intern
Work Experiences: Global procurement co-op at Bristol Myers Squibb and materials intern at Honeywell Aerospace.
Q: What were some challenges of doing an internship and how did you handle it?
A
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he biggest challenge of an internship is time management. At the end of a long workday, the first instinct when coming home is to unwind. However, that is often not possible as other non-work obligations demand your attention. Thus, I make sure to stick to a meticulous schedule for the rest of my day, after 5 p.m.
Q: What do you want to achieve through your current internship?
A
: The goal I set out to achieve through my internship with Anchor Glass Container is to take initiative in improving processes while also diversifying my skill set within the procurement role. My time at Anchor Glass so far has allowed me to do just that.
Q: How did you prepare yourself to have an internship with Anchor Glass Container and your previous internship experiences?
A: For my first internship experience, it was essential to connect with my professors for internship opportunities, as they may have been the only people who could have pitched me to employers. I was very fortunate that I had Instructor Kerry Walsh for support; she helped tailor my résumé and coached me on key talking points. The experience that I gained during my first internship helped to prepare for future interviews and job success.
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