Fall 2015 Stories
Featured Content
2015 Business Startup Challenge Second-Place Winner Brings National Brazilian Treasures to Missoula
Esteves, who started the company Doces Brasil, describes a snack that will “make you feel like a warm day on the beach, enjoying some carnival.” He’s referring to Brazilian Brigadeiros, a ‘National Brazilian Treasure’ made primarily of chocolate and condensed milk. These little balls of...
International Student Spotlight: Momoko Nakajima
Momoko Nakajima is a senior in the School of Business Administration majoring in marketing.
What is your hometown and county?
I am from Japan, and my hometown is Tokyo.
What made you choose the University of Montana?
I chose the University of Montana because I wanted to focus on studying. I...
SoBA Students Make Custom Farm Work A Family Business
When it’s harvest time in Montana, T&S Swathing gets right to the fields. In fact, the brother and sister team, Tyler and Shelbi Frieling, immerse themselves in round-the-clock, no-stopping work, thriving on what they do best. They baffle description with their very own swathing business...
Happy Holidays from SoBA
The staff and faculty at SoBA wish you all a safe and happy holiday season!
SoBA Helps Make Holiday Season Brighter for Community
Through the generosity of the School of Business faculty and staff, SoBA was able to provide an unforgettable holiday this year for a family and veteran in the Missoula community. This is the fourth year SoBA has participated in the Adopt-a-Family and Adopt-a-Veteran programs on campus,...
Dean Larry Gianchetta, Treasured Teacher and Gifted Leader, Announces Retirement
Larry Gianchetta, dean of the UM School of Business Administration, is retiring at the end of the 2015-16 school year. His UM career began in 1975, when he joined the faculty as an assistant professor. After 41 years, 30 years of those as dean, Dean Gianchetta has left an indelible mark on UM....
UM Student Entrepreneurs Impress at the Fall Startup Pitch Competition
The University of Montana hosted its annual Fall Startup Pitch Competition on December 14, 2015, to an enthusiastic crowd at the Gallagher Business Building. Blackstone LaunchPad (BLPUM) and the Montana Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs (MADE) hosted the event.
Nine contestants were chosen...
Celebrating the Good Life: SoBA Donor Makes Gift for Students from Central California
Life has been good for Don Witmer. Thirty years after getting his MBA at UM, after guiding four different companies through their IPOs in Silicon Valley’s white-hot start-up climate, raising a daughter and two grandkids, he and his wife, Elaine, now own a pistachio orchard down in Paso Robles,...
Internship Spotlight: The Audience Awards
Tori Dahl graduates in December with her marketing degree and is interning with Audience Awards this fall. The Audience Awards is a social platform connecting filmmakers to audiences through regularly occurring film competitions in which the film with the most votes wins.
Working with...
UMEM Director Discusses Future of Entertainment at UM
This fall, Broadcast Journalism student Cheri Trusler decided to start a podcast. She saw diverse and noteworthy events happening around campus and decided to experiment with a new medium to tell the stories she saw unfolding at the University of Montana.
Cheri and her peers have started “32...
Salesforce Executive Delivers Big Data Presentation at UM
Higher education needs to be radically reformed, self-driving cars are the wave of the future and sustainable energy is going to rely on smart networks moving forward.
That's all according to a top executive at the sixth-largest software company in the world who spoke at the University of Montana...
Kauffman Foundation Awards Grant to University of Montana for Research on Women in Entrepreneurship
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a leader in advancing education and entrepreneurship that is among the largest private foundations in the United States, awarded a $25,000 grant to the University of Montana to further their understanding of women’s participation in pre-entrepreneurial...
SoBA Scholarship Application Now Open
The School of Business Administration awarded 144 scholarships, totaling over $350,000, for the 2015-2016 academic year, and will award approximately the same again for the next academic year. Apply now! The application for 2016-2017 will only be open until midnight on February 4.
Global Cloud-Computing Leader Discusses Big Data at UM Colloquium, ATG Sponsors Reception
The University of Montana’s leading research and programmatic development in Big Data has gained the attention of a top executive at Salesforce, Peter Coffee, who will be at the university next week to talk about how Big Data is transforming society.
On Monday, Dec. 7, Coffee, vice president for...
SoBA Students Win Pronto Challenge People’s Choice Award
With only one week’s notice, a team of students in BMKT 491, Telling Stories with Data, entered a data analytics competition sponsored by Pronto Cycle Share in Seattle. The contest focused on a large set of collected information about Seattle’s bike share program.
The students in the class,...
SoBA Big Data Expert John Chandler Helps Online Real Estate Startup
Recently, Everyhome CEO Bryan Copley brought Ars Quanta chief data-scientist John Chandler and Loyola University economics professor Norman Sedgley onto his team to help the seed-funded, South Lake Union-based company figure out its next move.
SoBA Joins Team to Move Libby Beyond Superfund Era
Libby and Troy are beginning a campaign to re-brand themselves as places to live, visit and invest in – trying to shake off more than a decade-old economic shadow.
"We’re building on some past efforts from local organizations," Tina Oliphant of Libby & Troy 2020 Initiative said.
Salish Kootenai College Business Students Visit SoBA MBA Program
Several business seniors from Salish Kootenai College recently spent a day at the School of Business Administration learning more about MBA program. During their visit, the students met with several faculty members and the director of the program to learn more the opportunities available to...
Fall 2015 Gilkey Executive Lecture
Please join us for the Fall 2015 Gilkey Executive Lecture on Tuesday, December 1, at 5:30 p.m. in the UC Ballroom. Free and open to the public. Lisa Stone's talk entitled "Developing Community" explores BlogHer success story and building a business using social media.
Fall Startup Pitch Competition Offers $2,500 in Prize Money
The competition is open to all students of the University of Montana including Missoula College, regardless of year or major. The Fall SPC will culminate in a live pitch event starting at 6 p.m. on December 14, 2015.
Griz Kicker and SoBA Student Greenberg Working With Greenbacks Off the Field
Harrison Greenberg had a busy summer.
The redshirt junior placekicker lived in New York City for 10 weeks while working as an intern at Morgan Stanley. After the close of his internship, he was offered a job at the financial behemoth, starting in 2017.
UM Consultants Turn Students Into Entrepreneurs and Ideas Into Cash
In the spring of 2014, Silvester Kwame was caught in a predicament. He’d moved to the United States from Kenya, hoping to earn an MBA at the University of Montana, and he was enrolled in an accounting class crucial to his education. The problem?
He had no textbook and no opportunity to purchase...
UM Students Raise $34,444 for Children’s Hospital at Fourth Annual Event
University of Montana students raised $34,444 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on Nov. 6 during their Up ‘til Dawn event. The group's advisor is Prof. Emily Plant from the School of Business Administration, and the two executive directors, Willa Fogarty and Breshia Hardy, are both...
Q&A with UMEM Program Alumnus Who Works as Paula Abdul’s Assistant/Coordinator in Beverly Hills
Ashley Barber, an alumnus of the UM Entertainment Management program who works as Paula Abdul's assistant and coordinator, recently did an interview with UMEM. His answers offer insight into how he got such amazing jobs in the entertainment industry and include some words of wisdom for current...
Veteran Finds Military Skillset Helpful in Landing Position with Major Firm
Andrew Polifko spent his childhood living “all over the world” because his father worked for the State Department. At a young age, Polifko joined the Marine Corps, continuing to travel, learning languages and enjoying foreign cultures. When he left military service, Polifko decided to attend...
Communication Skills Pay Off for the Winners of Northwestern Mutual Scholarship Sales Competition
The winners of the Second Annual UM Northwestern Mutual Scholarship Sales Competition received special recognition and scholarship awards at a reception held Oct. 21 in the Gallagher Business Building.
The $1,000 first-prize scholarship went to Nancy Wilson, who has dual graduate majors in...
UMEM Stair Sessions Build Community Through Entertainment
UMEM’s goal is to build community through entertainment. This goal can take many forms, but the most recent is a new weekly tradition – Stair Sessions. The idea was born from NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts where host, Bob Biolen, records short, intimate live musical performances around his desk at...
Moss Adams Student Lounge Renovation Update
This could be you! Actually, please do not sit on the tables. This bear can get away with it because he only weighs about a pound. But do enjoy the new furniture in the student lounge!
Made possible by funding provided by the Moss Adams Foundation, SoBA is proud to announce that renovations...
MISA Earns Distinguished Student Chapter Award
The Montana Information Systems Association (MISA), UM’s student chapter of the Association for Information Systems (AIS) has been recognized as a 2014-2015 AIS Distinguished Student Chapter. This award is given annually to chapters that have excelled in most of the areas of emphasis:...
U.S. Labor Secretary Discusses Flexible Work Policies at Missoula Roundtable Held at ATG
U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez delivered a keynote address for a conference at UM and led a roundtable discussion about flexible workplace policies at business consulting company ATG. ATG's VP, Tom Stergios, is a current member of the MIS Department advisory board, and many of ATG's...
MBA Alumnus and World-Renowned Scientist Joe Valacich Discusses Fraud-Detection Software in Grad Class
“I was an MBA here, too,” Joe Valacich, a world-renowned scientist and head of Neuro-ID’s research operations, told Prof. Cameron Lawrence’s graduate Management of Information Systems class earlier this month.
Valacich is co-inventor of Neuro-ID's patented technologies and also a professor at...
Accounting Grad Turns Class Project into Hip Strip Coffee Shop
Glenda Bradshaw (Accounting, ’15) is a self-declared shop girl at heart. She left Kinko’s, where she had worked her way up to managing director after 18 years, however, to go back to school.
While studying at UM, Bradshaw decided to major in accounting and thought she would have a career in...
UM Students Fighting Cancer at 4th Annual Up ‘Til Dawn Campus Event
University of Montana students are teaming up with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to compete in the fourth annual Up ‘til Dawn event on campus. The event will take place from 11:55 p.m. on Fri., Nov. 6, to to 6 a.m. Sat., Nov. 7, in Schreiber Gym.
Up 'til Dawn is a growing student-run,...
Beta Alpha Psi Earns Superior Chapter Status for 13th Consecutive Year
The School of Business Administration’s Delta Kappa Chapter of Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) was recently internationally recognized as a Superior Chapter for the thirteenth consecutive school year by the National Offices of Beta Alpha Psi.
Beta Alpha Psi is the international honor organization for...
SoBA Grad Student Makes Swimsuit Line for Mountain Girls
Alario, 27, now a grad student at the UM school of business, said there is plenty of water in Montana and plenty of women who need fashionable swimsuits that they can move in. Rafting, cliff jumping and swimming in mountain lakes require a suit that moves with you.
2012 SoBA Alumna Blogs About Mentorship She Received from Karen Porter
I went to a good business school. Not a flashy one, but a good one. The University of Montana Business School and its Entertainment Management Program (UMEM) were a powerful combination for my resume. But getting a "big girl job" in a tough 2012 economy was going to take something more-something...
UM Career Services Office Now Offers CPA Exam
Testing Services, a division of the Office of Career Services at the University of Montana, now offers the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination to test-takers hoping to earn CPA licensure in Montana and other states.
2012 MBA Graduate Lives on the Open Road
Johnny Cash singing the famous “I’ve Been Everywhere” could be Seth Elliott’s theme song.
As an MBA student in the School of Business Administration, Elliott completed a summer internship with Bic, the company that produces lighters, shavers and pens. What most people would happily do for...
Tennis Player and Future Business Student from Greece Adjusts to Life in Montana
Alex Canellopoulos walks onto the Montana tennis courts, bright blue socks flashing. You would think he'd look a bit timid — a young, still fairly new Big Sky tennis player fresh off a relocation across the globe, from Greece to Missoula. However, Canellopoulous looks like he is ready to take on...
UMEM Holds Inaugural Stair Sessions
University of Montana Entertainment Management (UMEM) invites all students, faculty and staff to attend the inaugural Stair Sessions! Please join UMEM for a short, live mini-show on the main staircase on the main floor of GBB on Thursday, October 15, at 12:30 p.m. for live music. This mini set...
Class Project Focuses on Recycling at Local Sustainable Business
This fall, Associate Professor of Marketing Suzanne Tilleman presented a new project to her students in BMGT 410: Sustainable Business Practices. Working directly with Bayern Brewing, she asked teams of students to develop ways to expand the local business’s recycling efforts as a class...
QuestMT: A Conference on Marketing Analytics Launches Executive Education at SoBA
The inaugural QuestMT executive education conference dealing with cutting-edge marketing analytics strategies took place late September at the main UM campus. Tim O’Leary ( B.S. ‘81), longtime friend of UM and author and co-founder of R2C Group, was the driving force in the design of the...
Master of Accountancy Students Excel on CPA Exam
During the summer of 2015, the graduating Master of Accountancy (MAcct) class successfully completed the CPA exam with outstanding results. The CPA is comprised of four individualized areas of concentration: Auditing & Attestation, Financial Accounting & Reporting, Financial Accounting &...
Business Startup Challenge Fall Kickoff Event
This afternoon will feature networking for students and entrepreneurs, lightning keynotes from local entrepreneurs, and business startup challenge overview with competitor testimonials.
Register online!
UM Students Visit High-Tech Company in Downtown Missoula
Working as an information systems technology consultant can be fast-paced and fascinating, but somewhat mysterious to students who are pondering going into the profession, according to David Firth, professor of management information systems at the University of Montana School of Business...
Grizzly Takes Bite Out of the Big Apple
Finance major, football player, successful intern. Harrison Greenberg (Finance ’16) knows a thing or two about time management.
When he got the call to go to New York City to interview for a summer internship with Morgan Stanley, he calculated that he could spend 28 hours in the city before he...
Sackett Happy to be Spiking for Grizzlies
A starter for the Grizzly volleyball team, Sackett is pursuing an MBA and a playoff berth for her squad. Heading into Saturday's match at Montana State, she led UM in kills with 199 and aces with 10.
UM Launches New Program to Support Motivated, Talented Women
The kickoff event for "Pursue Your Passions" will turn the idea of entrepreneurship on its head, Mohr said. It doesn't begin with starting a business, but with solving a problem and doing something that has meaning and value to other people.
SoBA Alumnus Eric Sprunk Turning Nike into Innovation Powerhouse
Nike is not just an athletic shoe and apparel powerhouse. Known for its splashy advertising and big-time celebrity sports endorsements, the company is infusing innovation throughout the organization. Leading that charge is Eric Sprunk, a longtime Nike executive and UM alumnus, who now serves as...
What's the Scoop?
Big Dipper, the super-popular, super-friendly ice cream spot located on Missoula’s Hip Strip, celebrated its twentieth year of business this summer. The homemade ice cream is considered one of Montana’s sweetest homegrown success stories.
Beaton first came up with the idea for Big Dipper while...
Don't Miss the SoBA Tailgate at Homecoming!
Dean Larry Gianchetta invites SoBA alumni and friends for jambalaya and cold drinks prior to each University of Montana Grizzlies home game. We are located between the Washington-Grizzly Stadium and the Clark Fork River in Tailgate Space #13.
Bringing it All Together at Meet the Firms Recruiting Event
School of Business Administration (SoBA) students shed their jeans and flip flops and donned their suits and ties for the 7th Annual Meet the Firms event on Tuesday, September 15, in the Gallagher Business Building. Eleven firms were in attendance, and the event was broken up into two...
Intro to Consulting Panel Offers Tips to Peers
The School of Business Administration is in the thick of fall recruiting. Business students are attending networking and recruiting events to learn about career opportunities. Many MIS majors had the benefit of a primer for these important activities.
Prof. David Firth invited five of his...
UMEM Partners with Montana Food Bank Network on "Fill the Hill" Event
On Monday, Sept. 21, glance up at the ”M” on Mount Sentinel and witness an extraordinary sight. Students, professors, athletes and hunger advocates joined together in their Griz spirit to "Fill the Hill" for hunger awareness.
The Montana Food Bank Network in conjunction with the University of...
Entrepreneurship Kickoff Event
Have you ever had a great idea for a product or service that you’d like to pursue? Are you passionate about a social or environmental issue that isn't being addressed adequately? Do you want to launch a new service that doesn't currently exist? If you are curious about these possibilities,
Welcome to Fall 2015 Graduate Assistants
The School of Business Administration Graduate Program selected 11 outstanding graduate students from the Masters of Accountancy and the Masters of Business Administration to serve as graduate assistants this fall.
Christian Barney
Austin Bauer
Richard Boyer
Melissa Buerkle
Jennifer Graff
Adam...
Fall Recruiting Season Starts Up
The fall 2015 recruiting season kicks off next week in the School of Business Administration (SoBA). Students will put their networking skills to work during the annual Montana Society of CPA Opportunity Night on Mon., Sept. 14, from 5-8 p.m., at the Double Tree Hotel and Meet the Firms on...
MT a great place to do business
After graduating from the University of Montana, I set my sights on what I believed was the mecca for tech innovation: Silicon Valley. Just a few years into what could have been a long career of climbing the corporate ladder, I became completely fed up. The independence, innovation and...
UM School of Business Keeps Up On Workplace Trends
If you want to be good at marketing in today's business world, you may need to understand data analytics.
So the University of Montana School of Business Administration recently updated its marketing major to emphasize both analytics and digital issues, said Terri Herron, associate dean and...
Recent Marketing Grad Promotes High-Tech Jobs in Montana
Mary Mildren, a Helena-area native and recent graduate of the marketing program at the University of Montana School of Business Administration, is passionate about technology in Montana.
As a student, Mildren worked as an intern at Geek Puff, which describes itself as “a space to celebrate and...
2nd Annual Northwestern Mutual Scholarship Sales Competition
Northwestern Mutual, in partnership with the Blackstone Launchpad, is hosting a Scholarship Sales Competition for all UM undergraduate students. This is a unique opportunity to combine academic knowledge with interpersonal skills and professionalism to compete against other top students.
Students...
UM Blackstone LaunchPad Director Named CEO of MADE
Paul Gladen, director of the Blackstone LaunchPad at the University of Montana, recently was named CEO of the Montana Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs. In both capacities he helps students jumpstart their own businesses.
“This is an exciting time for entrepreneurship at UM,” Gladen...
SoBA Welcomes Mike Morelli as Director of Entertainment Management Program (UMEM)
Mike Morelli assumed leadership of SoBA’s popular Entertainment Management program this summer. Morelli gives new meaning to the concept of triple threat as he brings to this position over thirty years of experience in the entertainment industry, including time in Reno and Denver. He also has...
Welcome Back for Fall 2015
Welcome back for Fall 2015, students! And welcome to the class of 2019!
Please plan to attend Academic Convocation on the Oval Wed., Sept. 2, at 8:30 p.m. and WelcomeFeast on Fri., Sept. 4, from 11:30 to 1:30 p.m. Also keep an eye on important dates and deadlines this semester.
Welcome, Theresa Floyd
Theresa Floyd just joined SoBA as a new assistant professor of management. She earned her PhD in Business Administration, with an emphasis in Organizational Behavior, from the University of Kentucky in 2014. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design in 1993 and her master’s degree in...
Montana High-Tech Companies Increasing Footprint in State, Hiring UM Students
Montana has quietly increased its footprint in high-tech businesses, growing at a pace that exceeds statewide growth and providing high-paying jobs for University of Montana students and graduates, according to an article published this summer in Montana Business Quarterly.
Marketing Analytics Forum Coming to Missoula
The University of Montana will be hosting an innovative new forum on one of the hottest emerging business techniques – marketing analytics – on Sept. 17-18, featuring expert presenters from companies around the country. The inaugural QuestMT event will give managers and others who need insights...
UM Student Group Leader Wins Executive Director of the Year Award
SoBA alumna Miranda Fox, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, recently was awarded the St. Jude Up ‘til Dawn Executive Director of the Year Award.
Accounting Majors Win Best Student Project at AIS Educator National Conference
University of Montana accounting majors Melanie Bengtson, Kylie Bilbrey and Bryn Christopher won Best Student Project at the 17th Annual AIS (Accounting Information Systems) Educator Conference held in Colorado Springs at the end of June. They competed against 20 other student projects...
Harness the Power of Your Marketing Data
Attend QuestMT, a cutting-edge forum on marketing analytics, Sep. 17-18, at the University of Montana. Click here to find out more.
2014-15 Dean's Report
"In addition to the classroom education, the MAcct Program develops skills needed for a successful career in accounting." – Alaina Abbott ’15 Read more about SoBA programs and students in this year's Dean's Report!
MIS Student Demonstrates Assistive Technologies
MIS student Aaron Page helps President Royce Engstrom try his hand at an audio-based computer application of ping pong on an iPhone. Page, who works with UMOnline and Assistive Technology in the IT Department, was demonstrating some of the technologies available to students with disabilities...
Beyond the Buck: Alumni Share Expertise with UM Students
Eric Sprunk has found joy in teaching at the University of Montana since he first started guest lecturing about a decade ago.
The NIKE chief operating officer graduated from the School of Business Administration (SoBA) with an accounting degree in 1986. After starting his career at...
ROTC Grizzly Battalion Lends a Helping Hand
Since 2012, the University of Montana ROTC Grizzly Battalion has helped the School of Business Administration at the SoBA tailgates for each home football game. Multiple cadets of the ROTC support the success of each event in preparation for the more than 900 expected guests. The cadets warmly...
