The Associate Dean's Roundtable - Coles College of Business

Welcome to the Coles College Associate Dean semesterly newsletter highlighting the dynamic array of initiatives that your Associate Deans are taking on! We are excited to share with you the strides being made in our student and faculty success initiatives and welcome any input from our dedicated faculty members. From innovative programs to personalized support services, we are dedicated to ensuring that every student and faculty member has the resources and opportunities they need to succeed.

SPRING 2025

From Khawaja Saeed, Ph.D., Interim Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs

It has been a great year for the Office of Undergraduate Programs, and I am immensely grateful to our outstanding team—David, Dylan, Jessie, Samantha, Rashaun, Sonja, Harriett, and Dr. Zhaoguo Zhan. Their dedication and hard work have led to significant accomplishments and progress across multiple initiatives. We deeply appreciate your support in advancing the lower division curriculum revision (curriculum taskforce 2.0) and the curriculum optimization initiative, both of which will be under review by curriculum committees soon. Enrollment for Summer 2025 and Fall 2025 is now open. Scheduling is a complex process, so we appreciate your collaboration.

Our efforts to improve early academic intervention have been remarkable. Early Alert participation increased from 50% in Fall 2024 to 79% in Spring 2025, while Midterm Grades participation rose from 54% in Fall 2024 to 71% in Spring 2025. The DFWI rate in BUSA 2150 also saw a positive decline from 26% to 19%. To further enhance academic support, we are expanding the scope of KNACK tutoring so students can access more assistance. Additionally, we are collaborating with select classes to provide live tutoring sessions aligned with assessment dates.

We are thrilled to share that Synovus and SPAR Solutions have renewed their sponsorship, ensuring continued investment in student success. Students had the opportunity to participate in site visits at Synovus and Chick-fil-A, gaining valuable industry exposure. Several exciting experiential learning opportunities are also on the horizon, including access to Podium Education and Virtual Internships. More details on these to come. Additionally, the WiseDoc AI resume review tool will be available in Fall 2025 to help students refine their resumes and enhance job readiness.

ColesFest in Spring was a resounding success, with more than 40 tables and over 900 students exploring majors and engagement opportunities. The Coles Open House welcomed over 400 students and parents in February, and we eagerly anticipate hosting another event in April. A special shoutout to the Coles Ambassadors for Student Success (CASS), who have been instrumental in engaging students. With 30 new ambassadors actively hosting events, volunteering, and growing our online presence with the objective of reaching 1,500 social media followers. Additional initiatives our office has engaged in include developing a unified Coles calendar, distributing a weekly student newsletter, and organizing events like Me in 30 Seconds, Employer Networking, Your Voice Matters in Conflict, and Resume Review Workshop.

With these achievements as a foundation, we look forward to building on our momentum and elevating student success. Thank you for your ongoing support in making these initiatives possible.

From Jomon Paul, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Research and Accreditation

A Year of Impact and Innovation at Coles College

As we reflect on this academic year, I am filled with pride and gratitude for the collective achievements we have made at Coles College. This year has been defined by hard work, innovation, and meaningful collaboration. I extend my sincere thanks to everyone—faculty, staff, students, and university partners—whose contributions have driven our success.

Accreditation and Assessment Excellence

We successfully completed our AACSB reaccreditation visit, an accomplishment made possible by months of rigorous assessment, planning, and reporting. I would like to especially recognize the dedicated efforts of our Program and Course Coordinators across all programs and majors, whose commitment played a pivotal role in this achievement. Additionally, our work on SACS and Academic Program Reviews (Full, Mini, and Hybrid) has progressed significantly, bolstered by targeted training sessions. Tools such as Filemaker and Watermark have been enhanced, including redesigns to better track societal impact, faculty qualifications, and intellectual contributions across our programs. As we look ahead, the next accreditation visit is in 2030, and our continuous improvement journey has already begun.

Research Advancement and Scholarly Engagement

This year, Coles College has made significant strides in advancing its research presence through impactful events, recognition, and resources: Two Major Research Symposia; In Fall 2024, we hosted symposia on Homeland Security and Artificial Intelligence, bringing together industry experts, academic scholars, Coles faculty, and students for thought-

provoking discussions and collaboration. For our Working Paper Series, it featured 28 accepted papers, highlighting the depth of research taking place across our college. The Clary Seminar Series: We welcomed six distinguished external scholars from institutions such as William & Mary, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Clemson University, and Georgia Tech. We also showcased the Center for Professional Selling and look forward to an upcoming session featuring the 3D Printing Lab. The upcoming 11th edition of Coles Research Magazine will continue to celebrate our research achievements, spotlighting award-winning faculty, exceptional PhD students, and our summer research scholars.

Ongoing partnership with the Coles Faculty Council and Research & Development Committee has helped guide grant decisions and further expanded the recognition of our faculty’s research.

Faculty Development and New Initiatives

We have launched or expanded several initiatives this year to support faculty and foster a thriving research culture: The second installment of Coffee & Research provided faculty with an informal space to share early-stage research, collaborate, and foster interdisciplinary connections. Topics discussed included optimization in agriculture, the impact of social networks on workplace behavior, and the use of accounting information in debt contracts. A new award recognizing research that has a significant real-world impact has been established: Outstanding Practitioner Journal Publication Award.

Led by Dr. Amit Deokar, the AI Tools for Research Workshop introduced AI tools like ChatGPT and SciSpace, helping faculty streamline their research workflows, data analysis, and writing processes. Faculty also received hands-on training in SPSS, including a workshop on Moderation and Mediation using the PROCESS Macro, led by Dr. Israel Sánchez-Cardona and Dr. Tyler Collette. Additionally, faculty explored how Python can enhance data manipulation and statistical modeling.

The four-part series, Mastering the Research Process, which kicked off in the spring, provided a comprehensive guide from concept to publication. The series began with Dr. Susan Young’s session on writing impactful introductions, offering a clear framework to define research gaps and align with journal expectations. Coles faculty who have secured external funding shared their insights and strategies for successful grant applications in a Grants Panel and Grants 101 Workshops provided PhD students and early-career faculty with the essential knowledge of grant writing. A Grant Writing Workshop developed participants' skills in writing successful proposals, with a special session dedicated to working with corporate partners. Finally, we were very excited to host the Coles–Radow Networking Event, where 18 faculty members from both colleges presented their research and innovative teaching practices. Such events strengthen interdisciplinary partnerships and reveal the synergies between business and the humanities.

Looking Ahead

As we continue to build on this strong foundation, I look forward to supporting our faculty and students through impactful programming, strategic collaborations, and enhanced visibility for our research, particularly in the undergraduate research space.

Thank you once again to our dedicated faculty, staff, and partners for your continued collaboration and unwavering commitment to our shared mission of academic excellence.

From Adriane B. Randolph, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Community and Faculty Affairs

As the vibrant colors of spring bloom across the Atlanta Metro Area and nasal passages begin to clear from pollen, I am delighted to connect with you through our latest newsletter. As your Associate Dean for Community and Faculty Affairs, my mission is to foster a supportive and engaging environment that nurtures both personal and professional growth. This includes opportunities spanning from education abroad to partners in our Centers and is supported by our key college documents in the form of ByLaws and Performance Guidelines. I am also helping drive our College’s Strategic Plan forward as we align our metrics to our values and those of the University.

In the fall, you saw a refresh of the “AI in the Classroom” series presented for Coles by CETL with updates based on our University’s partnership using Microsoft Co-Pilot as a closed-box form of generative artificial intelligence. This relationship is still evolving as many of you look to take advantage of the integrated tools. We also learned more about case-method teaching from Dr. Prachi Gala as a Coles Champion in this space. This season, I am excited to share further initiatives that reflect a commitment to enhancing our internal community engagement and faculty development:

Again underway is the Mid-Career Springboard series where faculty are invested in a six-part series to align their personal values with professional goals.
We co-hosted the Japan-Georgia Futures Forum to foster opportunities for targeted business engagement and education abroad. This was such a success with faculty and student involvement that we were recognized by the Consul General of Japan, Mio Maeda, at his personal residence! Special thank you to colleague, Dr. Tridib Bandyopadhyay, for his leadership in this effort and our stellar events team led by Patrick Harbin and Ayesha Bryson.
A new Coles Leadership Book Club is voraciously reading Mastering Community: The Surprising Ways Coming Together Moves Us from Surviving to Thriving by Dr. Christine Porath. I have a few extra books if you are interested in reading on your own. Stop by the Deans’ Suite to kindly inquire with Tamara for a copy while they last.
As further promised from results of the Faculty Needs Assessment, there is a session that applies to everyone on Conflict Management curated and led by our own Dea Barker with expertise in this area.
Lastly, in partnership with Coles Champions for AI in the Classroom, faculty in each unit should be able to learn about the impact of AI on teaching within your discipline.

Thank you for your continued dedication and contributions to our academic community. Together we foster growth and success!

Some highlighted dates:

April 11 | CETL Portfolio Submission Workshop for Faculty Requiring External Letters at 11:00 AM Virtually*

April 16 | Connected Coles Series: Conflict Management with Dea Barker at 2:00 PM in BB 269

April 30 | Connected Coles Series: Portfolio Pop-in at 3:00 PM in BB 114

May 2 | Connected Coles Series: Portfolio Pop-in at 10:00 AM via Teams

May 8 | CETL Portfolio Preparation Workshop for Pre-Tenure and Post-Tenure Review at 10:30 AM Virtually*

May 8 | CETL Portfolio Preparation Workshop for Faculty Not on the Tenure Track at 2:30 PM Virtually*

May 13, 14, & 15 | Dean's Leadership Fellows Program in-person in BB 269 for selected faculty and staff *

From Alison M. Keefe, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Graduate Programs

Reflecting on the 2024-2025 academic year, we have made significant strides in enhancing the development of our graduate students, staff, and faculty, ensuring greater opportunities for professional growth. The PNL series began this year with an inspiring presentation on “The Importance of Personal Growth in Leadership” by MSHMI alumnus Faisal Saleem on August 23 and concluded with another insightful presentation on “How do you want to be remembered? Listen, Learn, Observe and Pay it Forward” by Tony Ballard, a KSU PhD student, on March 27. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all who

attended and contributed to its success. We eagerly anticipate welcoming our faculty and staff to the Fall 2025 PNL, hosted by the MAcc Program.

Kudos to all our graduate programs for an outstanding year! We set a growth goal of 10% across all graduate programs and surpassed it! Recruitment for Fall is in full swing, and our innovative programs are once again expanding their reach. We are thrilled to introduce two new certificate offerings in the Executive MBA Program: Generative AI and Evidence-Based Management. Additionally, we are launching two new MBA concentrations in Rural Management, the first of its kind in the nation, and Business Intelligence. The MSIS program has introduced two experiential learning platforms, Riipken and Parker-Dewey micro-internships, enhancing hands-on learning opportunities for our students and this initiative will continue this next academic year.

We celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Healthcare Management and Informatics Program with the Digital Healthcare Transformations Summit on April 28, 2025, at The St. Regis Atlanta and the 4th Annual KSU Digital Payments Seminar, focusing on "The Future of Payments – Emerging Technology and the Growing Demand for Talent," took place on February 26, 2025. Our Atlanta Business Chronicle events, including Mentoring Monday and FinTech initiatives, continue to provide valuable opportunities for engagement and growth.

Our marketing efforts have also been recognized, with the "More with an MBA" campaign winning a Silver Award for Higher Ed Marketing and a Gold Award for Graduate Programs Business Schools at the Collegiate Advertising Awards. We are proud to announce that our WebMBA program has achieved its largest class ever and received top rankings: #1 in Georgia by Poets & Quants, #46 in the nation by Poets & Quants, and #42 in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. Our "Connections Break Barriers" podcast received an award for its innovative approach to meeting student need and the award-winning EMBA program continues to excel, ranking #1 in Georgia by CEO Magazine for nine consecutive years, #3 in the U.S., and #10 in the world, moving up one spot this year.

Graduate students still have the opportunity to sign up for Knack Tutoring services, allowing them to request tutoring help or become tutors to earn extra income. Additionally, they can earn professional development badges through Suitable by attending various developmental events throughout the upcoming year. We are proud of the progress our graduate programs have made this year and are excited about the future.

Be on the lookout for the next Associate Dean Town Hall happening in Fall 2025, where all four Associate Deans will once again be available to listen to your feedback, concerns, and developmental requests. We will have beverages and light snacks. Thank you for allowing us to share insights into our roles as associate deans for Coles College of Business. If you would like us to highlight some of the excellent work in teaching, service, or scholarship that you are doing, or if you have feedback on how we can improve our communication, please contact Alison Keefe at akeefe@kennesaw.edu. We value your feedback and input.

FALL 2024

From Jomon Paul, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Research and Accreditation:

As the Associate Dean of Research and Accreditation, I am helping to organize a series of important events and workshops to support academic development, research, and collaboration during the 2024-2025 academic year.

Important Dates to Note:

AI Symposium was on August 29 - offering insights into the latest trends in artificial intelligence within the higher education space.
Research efforts are prioritized early in the year, with the Working Paper Series (submission deadline: September 6) providing a platform for sharing research ideas. The Summer Research Fellowships (application deadline: September 13) further encourage scholarly work.
The Coles – Office of Research event on September 11 assisted faculty in aligning their research agendas with institutional goals.
A key event of the year is the AACSB visit from September 29 to October 1 - focusing on maintaining and enhancing accreditation standards.
October features the "What's New with Assessment" workshop on October 16 offering updated strategies for academic assessment.
Homeland Security Symposium on October 24, addressing current security challenges.
Python Workshop on November 6 (for faculty and staff) - aimed at enhancing their data analysis skills.
The Clary Seminar Series on November 20 highlights the role of research centers in advancing academic work, with a specific focus on the Center for Professional Selling.

As the year progresses into Spring 2025, events such as the SPSS Workshop, the Coles-Radow Networking Event, and research awards (under the leadership of the RDC and CFC committees) are scheduled to recognize and support ongoing research efforts. The year concludes with Program Coordinator and Associate Dean meetings in May 2025, focused on improving program coordination and effectiveness.

From Khawaja Saeed, Ph.D., Interim Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs:

As the Interim Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs, I am excited to continue my journey at Coles College in this new role. Thank you for the opportunity. The undergraduate office has a large portfolio that includes scheduling, student success, curriculum, and advising. For the upcoming academic year, our unit will focus on the following initiatives:

Further refine the recommendation of the curriculum task force committee and outline an implementation roadmap. At the start of the semester college meeting, the dean presented this as curriculum task force 2.0.
We will be collaborating with the Provost's office and the departments to make progress on the curriculum optimization initiative, which will require us to review all majors at Coles College.
Encourage faculty members to utilize the Suitable / D2L Integration. An email on this topic was shared earlier. Examples of events that can be available for credit in the class include Career fairs, ColesFest, Study Abroad sessions, Employer/Sponsor/Alumni networking events, student organization events, Tetley Leadership Series, department speaker series [ISS, SOA, EFQA], skills workshops hosted by the Department of Career Planning & Development.
Explore opportunities for a higher level of faculty engagement in the early alert system.
Get a better understanding of the data needs of faculty and staff members across Coles College.

From Adriane B. Randolph, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Community and Faculty Affairs:

As the Associate Dean for Community and Faculty Affairs, I am excited to kick off another year of growth and connection within the Coles College! As we continue to nurture sustained programs that foster community, such as our New(er) Faculty Orientation and opportunities to learn from new Coles Champions, we are committed to meeting the evolving professional development needs of our faculty. This year promises to be filled with opportunities for continued learning and strengthening the bonds that make our College thrive. Let's work together to make this academic year one of our most engaged yet! See you around the halls and at the football game in October - Go Owls!

Important Dates to Note:

New(er) Faculty Orientation on September 6 and 20.
Connected Coles Series: Introduction to AI - Presented by Dr. Michele DiPietro, Executive Director, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) on October 11.
Connected Coles Series: Promoting Critical Thinking with AI in the Classroom - Presented by Dr. Michele DiPietro, Executive Director, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) on October 25.
Coles Champions: Case-Based Teaching - Presented by Dr. Prachi Gala, Assistant Professor of Marketing and Professional Sales on November 15.

From Alison M. Keefe, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Graduate Programs:

As the Associate Dean of Graduate Programs, my continued focus for the 2024-2025 academic year will be on enhancing the development of our graduate students, staff, and faculty to ensure greater opportunities for professional development. The PNL series kicked off this year with “The Importance of Personal Growth in Leadership” presented by MSHMI alumnus Faisal Saleem on August 23. Many thanks to those who attended. We want to extend the invitation to all our faculty and staff to the Spring 2025 PNL hosted by the Ph.D. Program.

In graduate programs, we will continue our Professional Owl Workshop series to offer networking opportunities, resume-building, interviewing skills, branding, and professionalism workshops. We will also focus more on expanding the availability of Knack Tutoring services so graduate students can now request tutoring help or become tutors to earn extra income. Spread the word to your graduate students! Finally, graduate students will have access to Suitable to earn professional development badges by attending developmental events. We are excited about what’s to come this year!

Thank you for allowing us to provide more insight on what we do as associate deans for the Coles College of Business. If you would like us to highlight some of the great work in teaching, service, or scholarship that you are doing or would just like to provide feedback on improving our communication, please contact Alison Keefe at akeefe@kennesaw.edu. We welcome your feedback and input.

SPRING 2024

From Adriane B. Randolph, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Community and Faculty Affairs:

As associate Dean for Community and Faculty, my aim is to enhance community engagement and faculty development in the Coles College of Business. I hope you will notice earnest efforts to meeting your needs including those shared in the newly-polled Faculty Needs Assessment from this Fall. Examples include:

I am working to provide touchpoints for all of our faculty from brand-new hires to long-time professionals and Fulls. This past Fall, we held a new New(er) Faculty Orientation, collaborated on updates to the College Performance Guidelines, and provided a baseline of understanding of emerging technology in the form of generative artificial intelligence (AI) with the "Introduction to AI" session for Coles facilitated by CETL.
This Spring, we have had opportunities to learn how AI is being leveraged in industry with the panel for "Demystifying AI" by the British-American Business Council, "AI at Invesco" by executive Dave Dowsett, and "Promoting Critical Thinking with AI in the Classroom" facilitated by CETL.
Currently underway are two Mid-Career Springboard Nests where faculty are invested in a six-part series to align their personal values with professional goals.
To round out the spring, I will host drop-in sessions for faculty putting together portfolios for various levels of promotion and we will launch a new Dean's Leadership Fellows Program for selected faculty and staff. If you need something, please just let me know! I sit in the Dean's Suite in BB 260A.

Some highlighted dates:

May 7 | CETL Portfolio Preparation Workshop for Faculty Not on the Tenure Track at 11:00 AM Virtually*
May 9 | CETL Portfolio Preparation Workshop for Pre-Tenure and Post-Tenure Review at 11:00 AM Virtually*
May 14, 15, & 16 | Dean's Leadership Fellows Program in-person in BB 269 for selected faculty and staff

*Register at https://facultydevelopment.kennesaw.edu/cetl-events/index.php

From Alison M. Keefe, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Graduate Programs:

From career development workshops, networking opportunities, and leadership lunch-n-learns, my focus this year has been on graduate student success and development. Over the years, the continued feedback from the Coles graduate students has been a lack of career services so my mission became equipping our graduate students with the skills and resources needed for success beyond academia. Successes include:

This past Fall, we developed the Professional Owl Workshop series in conjunction with the Department of Career Planning and Development providing networking opportunities, resume building and interviewing skills, branding, and professionalism workshops to name a few. These workshops will run throughout the year every year.
We also developed the Professional Networking and Leadership series that will highlight graduate program alumni. Our last one of the year, "Mastering the Business of KSU" featured Tricia Chastain, Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer for Kennesaw State University and Coles Evening MBA Alum was held on April 11th at the Marietta Country Club. This series will continue next year when we intend to open it to faculty as well.

Whether its interactive career focused workshops tailored to diverse career paths, invaluable networking events connecting students with industry leaders, and insightful lunch-n-learns focused on leadership development, our Coles graduate students will now enjoy our devotion to fostering a culture of continuous learning and empowerment, paving the way for our graduate students to thrive in their chosen fields!

More graduate highlights include

A new focus is on tutoring services for graduate students, in partnership with Mona Sinha, Tridib Bandyopadhyay has made Knack Tutoring available. Graduate students can now ask for tutoring help or become a tutor and earn some extra income.
We are also in the process of upgrading all technology in the KSU center classrooms to make each a Teams Hub and provide greater flexibility for our students. The Executive MBA program is taking advantage of this upgrade and launching its HyFlex (Hybrid) option this Fall.
Finally for our graduate faculty, I’d like to announce a more streamlined competitive process for obtaining a GRA. Each semester, the graduate college will support 8 GRAs at Tier 2 with 5 guaranteed to new and junior faculty and 3 to senior faculty. The RDC will now take applications starting in April and make GRA selections by May for the Fall 24 and/or Spring 25. We are also developing a graduate student GRA list so the chosen faculty will have an easier time in selecting a GRA.

From Jomon Paul, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Research and Accreditation:

There are several exciting developments in the research and accreditation space for Coles College.

We hosted a research networking event with the College of Computing and Software Engineering on March 4. Nine research faculty from each college presented their exceptional work on wide-ranging topics (Startups, Retailing, Mental Health, Obesity, Criminal Justice, Cryptography, Financial Predictive Analytics, etc.) in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Cyber Security Domain. The audience included faculty and leaders from both colleges and the Office of Research.
We are finalizing content for the tenth issue of our Coles Research Magazine. Ph.D. students, summer research fellows, publication and other research award winners, and Coles College research highlights will be featured in the magazine.
Dr. Seth Ketron from the University of St. Thomas presented his marketing research featuring virtual reality as part of our Clary Seminar Series on March 1. It was an excellent engagement with our Ph.D. students and faculty in attendance.
Coordinators for all our undergraduate majors, programs, certificates, and minors are actively working to complete the reporting formalities for SACSCOC with March 15 as the deadline. Most if not all stakeholders have used the latest iteration as an opportunity to make the Assessment of Learning exercise a meaningful engagement (with changes that were not limited to new PSLOs, curriculum maps, updated assessment instruments and rubrics, a renewed focus on student success) with student learning outcomes as the primary focus.
Similarly, the college faculty in varied capacities has joined hands with the Associate Dean of Accreditation to prepare for our upcoming AACSB accreditation renewal visit in Fall 2024. Reports are due in July 2024.
As part of our efforts to prepare our faculty and students to embrace AI, Coles College hosted Dave Dowsett, Global Head of Technology Transformation and Emerging Technologies, Invesco on February 28. SMIF (Student Managed Investment Fund) and FinTech students along with faculty and staff were in attendance and cherished the opportunity to hear about the exciting possibilities and opportunities that AI brings.

From Mona Sinha, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs:

As Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs, some of my key responsibilities are Student Success, Curriculum, Course Scheduling, Strategic Planning, Budgeting, Tutoring (Knack and Supplemental Instruction), and oversight of Advising (academic and career-related). Some successes in these areas include:

Our Coles Center for Student Success (CSS) runs a 3-series professionalism course with career coaches etc. of about 5,000 students annually.
This semester 800 students attended CSS’s Coles Fest and learned about departments/majors, campus resources, and student organizations.
SparSolutions and Synovus Bank renewed their annual sponsorship with us for 2 micro-credentialing badges – Professionalism and Communications, and they continue to offer workshops and other opportunities for soft-skills training.
CSS hosted a Valentine’s Day Matchmaking event introducing students to student organizations, and has launched a D2L “course” Student Success Toolkit available to all Coles students – a one-stop shop for department and college news, events, announcements, etc.
Other CSS events this semester are career-management workshops/webinars, a financial asset workshop, an alumni panel, a FinTech Symposium, career conversations and engagements featuring entrepreneurs, and interviewing and networking skills sessions.

Please consider following the Instagram and LinkedIn pages of our Coles Ambassadors for Student Success, a student organization aimed at keeping our students abreast of resources, opportunities, and what’s happening at Coles College!