THE BUSINESS JOURNAL |
| Eastern Mennonite University
2005-06 Year Begins with New Faculty
Leo Plante Walter Surratt Walt is taking early retirement from NERA this December and is beginning a second career in education. He desires to provide classroom instruction that uses his experiences as a vehicle to convey course content. He is teaching Management Information Systems and will be teaching Statistical and Research Methods in the Adult Degree Completion Program in the Spring. Walt is excited to join the community at EMU and views this opportunity as a blessing. He is finding the transition to academia challenging, refreshing and rewarding. Walt and his wife live in Luray and have three adult children. In his spare time, Walt enjoys woodworking and reading. MEDA Convention Homecoming Breakfast Department Spring Field Trip MBA Program Updates On September 13, director Allon Lefever hosted a social for all past and current MBA students. The event had about 55 people in attendance, including EMU President Loren Swartzendruber and his wife, Pat. One outcome of this event was to begin working on an MBA Alumni Club. Six people, both past and current students, have volunteered to be on the steering committee for this club, and this group will be meeting in October, along with Allon and Patty Eckard, office coordinator, to begin brainstorming ideas for this club. The MBA Program also sponsored a communication/presentation seminar on October 4. Allison Linney, president of Allison Partners of Charlottesville presented this seminar and covered topics such as: techniques for communicating, techniques for powerful presentations, different processing styles and relationship to speaking/listening, and tools for remaining calm and professional in stressful situations. We offered this seminar to MBA students to help them polish their communication and presentation skills. For information about the MBA program, contact Patty Eckard (, 432-4150) or Allon Lefever (, 432-4545). Ron Stoltzfus on Sabbatical During May 2005 I traveled to Nepal where I conducted an evaluation of United Mission to Nepal 's "Partnership Program.” UMN is an inter-denomina-tional program of which Mennonite Central Committee is a member. The particular program that I evaluated has provided management training and development services to Nepali Non-Government Organizations since 2000. In short, my task was to assess whether the NGOs had benefited from these services and to make recommendations for future programs. I had previously lived and worked in Nepal from 2001-03, and it was rewarding to travel there again and learn about the work of these groups. Despite an ongoing civil conflict since 1996 that has claimed over 12,000 lives, the NGOs are providing important development services, even in rural, rebel-controlled areas. Their most positive contribution is creating civil organizations that subsequently receive both government and private funding for infrastructure and community development programs. Stop by my office sometime, and I'll tell you much more. I even promise to serve you a cup of Nepali "chia" (sweet milk tea). |
William (Bill) Culbreth
Leo comes to EMU with a variety of experiences, both in teaching and a 12-year investment banking career with Citibank and Goldman Sachs. After leaving Goldman Sachs, Leo established his own investment management venture capital firm while also teaching in the business program at Nichols College in Massachusetts . He has also taught at Wheeling Jesuit University (WV), Mount Saint Mary College (NY) and Indiana University . Leo is a graduate of Brown University and holds advanced degrees in economics, finance, and theology/ ethics from the University of Pennsylvania , Temple University , and Weston Jesuit School of Theology. His current research interests focus on integrating Christian ethics into the business curriculum. Leo will be teaching Financial Accounting, Financial Management, Investments, and Money and Banking. Leo has two adult daughters.
Walt comes to EMU from a 29-year career as an economist, having worked first for the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the US Department of Commerce and then spending the last 27 years with NERA Economic Consulting. Walt's work while with NERA involved antitrust and trade regulation matters in litigation, consulting with firms in the electric utility industry on competitive issues, forecasting future claims arising from asbestos exposure, securities litigation and a variety of other engagements, including patent infringement actions and transfer pricing analyses. Walt also serves on the Technology Services Committee at NERA and has been involved throughout his career there in the deployment and use of computer technology. 
