Category Archives: Dr. Rami Khasawneh

New Catholic African University Explores Initiatives with Lewis

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Brother James Gaffney, FSC, President, recently hosted a luncheon meeting to discuss possible initiatives to assist the fledgling St. Jerome Catholic University of Douala which was opened in October, 2010 in Cameroon, Africa, by the Archdiocese of Douala.  Cardinal Christian Tumi, Archbishop Emeritus of Douala, was the guest of honor at the luncheon that was arranged by Professor Humphrey Abeh of the Aviation and Transportation Department. Also in attendance were Dr. Jan Mines, Academic Associate to Provost and Dr. Rami Khasawneh, Dean, College of Business, as well as Professor Abeh.

St. Jerome Catholic University has enjoyed significant growth since it opened two years ago with just 300 students enrolled in two programs: Applied Management Studies and the Higher Institute of Religious and Social Sciences. The coeducational institution today enrolls more than 1,000 students, most studying undergraduate and graduate business with some in a new applied technology program which focuses on engines and maintenance. Classes began while university officials continued work on a detailed academic program and strategic plans for development.

Among the challenges at St. Jerome are the pedagogical development of the faculty, as well as digital resources for the library. Faculty are being recruited from Europe and the United States, with many coming for several weeks at a time or participating in online courses.  Semesters at St. Jerome are scheduled from October to February and again from March to July, although graduate courses can be eight weeks or as short as two weeks, depending on the topic and teacher.  Faculty may teach in either English or French.

Cardinal Tumi noted that the new university is seeking partnerships with Catholic universities in the United States (including DePaul University and Lewis University) to enrich certain of its programs and activities.  Admission is non-denominational, but the institutional values are Christian.  University officials note that St. Jerome Catholic University will echo the “mission of all universities—teaching, research and service.”

Photo Caption for U News:

(Photo by Sal Ursino)

At the meeting to discuss St. Jerome Catholic University in Cameroon were:  Dr. Jeanette Mines, Academic Associate to the Provost; Dr. Rami Khasawneh, Dean of the College of Business at Lewis University; Cardinal Christian Tumi, Archbishop Emeritus, Archdiocese of Duala in Cameroon; Brother James Gaffney, FSC, President of Lewis University; Professor Humphrey Abeh, Lewis Aviation; Rev. Michel Tchoumbou of Cameroon and a guest from Minnesota.

Dean Khasawneh stresses values, ethics in Albuquerque

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During an address at the graduation commencement in Albuquerque last May, Dr. Rami Khasawneh, Dean of the College of Business, related a couple of short stories with big messages.

“Let me share with you a story that I heard,” Dean Khasawneh said. “An individual was walking down the street and saw a gentleman in front of him complaining and chipping away on some stones. He walked up and said, “Hi, what are you doing?” The gentleman grumbled, “What’s it look like? I’m building a stone wall.” As he walked away, the individual thought to himself, “Boy, he must hate his job.” He continued down the street and saw a second gentleman chipping stones. So he thought he would give it another try. And he said, “Hi, what are you doing?” This gentleman looked at him and said, “Well, I’m building a cathedral.”

Dean Khasawneh told the students that they could learn a couple of lessons from this short story. One was that it was up to them where they go from here. It is up to them on how to apply the education and values they learned at Lewis. Another was to think big and don’t be afraid to try to achieve the impossible. Great achievements never came from small thinking.

Another story involved Walmart and its plans to expand into Mexico. It seems that top Walmart executives were allegedly bribing Mexican officials in order to gain support for their expansion plans and an internal inquiry had been suppressed in 2004 at the corporate headquarters in Arkansas. As the story developed, similar entries in the markets of New York, Boston and San Diego were also questionable. Yet, Walmart was far from alone. More than 100 of the Fortune 500 were found to have been engaged in unethical, immoral or illegal activities.

Dean Khasanweh emphasized that companies are in need of people with strong ethics, morals, and social responsibility values, all of which are at the core of a Lewis education. “I believe that everything starts from the top,” he said. “Although employees play a role, it is all about company leadership. Employees follow their president and CEO.”

“Lewis University not only teaches these values but practice them vividly. These values are firmly integrated in its culture. As I said before, everything starts from the top.”

Faculty Dinner and Recognition Ceremony showcases hard work, achievements

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Dr. Rami Khasawneh, Dean of the College of Business, spotlighted the continuing work and accomplishments of the faculty at the 2012 Faculty Dinner and Recognition Ceremony. In addition to welcoming full-time faculty members Kenneth Baldwin and Sandy Pacyna, Dr. Khasawneh spotlighted the $355,000 grant awarded to Dr. Faisal Abdullah and the Management Information Systems department by the Department of Defense and National Security Agency, noting that it was to be the first grant awarded to Lewis’ College of Business by the Department of Defense/NSA. Also recognized for his achievement during the summer months was Dr. Yuntaek Pae, who passed the third and final Chartered Financial Analyst exam.

Dr. Khasawneh also honored the late Dr. William Marker by relating some touching comments about Dr. Marker, who passed away in June, from other faculty members and asking for a moment of silence in his memory. During his invocation, Kenneth Baldwin also honored Dr. Marker.

A total of 41 faculty, staff and guests attended the dinner, which was catered and decorated beautifully by Bob Fraser and the Sodexho staff.

Costa Yasmine was on hand to receive his award for five years of service as an adjunct professor. Others that will receive service awards but could not attend were Gary Bannister, Mike Brashler, Robert Langert and Madeline Murphy (5 years); Mary Sue Kegl, David Rotunno and Jane Graves (10 years); Mary Kay Duggan and Waseem Nisar (15 years) and James Krejci (20 years).

Dean Khasawneh attended 2012 ACBSP Conference

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Dr. Rami Khasawneh, Dean of College of Business, attended the 2012 Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) Conference in Baltimore. The conference, held at the Marriott Baltimore Waterfront, was titled “Sustaining Excellence through Quality Business Education.”

A record number of more than 940 individuals attended, including more than 830 from educational institutions. The number surpasses the previous overall attendance record of 780 set at the 2011 conference in Indianapolis.

Sessions at the conference included Sustaining Excellence Through Quality Business Education, Teaching Excellence, Global Business Education and The Accreditation Process.

“Not only is it vital for us to stay on top of the accreditation process, but an added value to this conference is meeting with colleagues from other schools to discuss how they reacted to challenges and how their experiences can benefit us,” Dr. Khasawneh said.

Dean Khasawneh member of planning committee for Huether LaSallian Conference

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Dr. Rami Khasawneh, Dean of College of Business, has been invited to join the planning committee for the 2012 Huether LaSallian Conference, to be held at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, D.C. from November 15-17.

The conference, an annual gathering of LaSallian educators,  will feature three days of inspiring discussions, engaging sessions and transformational speakers, such as Brother Peter Bray, Vice Chancellor of Bethlehem University in Palestine; Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Director of The Rock Creek Group of Washington, D.C and Brother Jorge Gallardo de Alba, General Councilor, Brothers of the Christian Schools in Rome.

There will also be a pre-conference workshop at the U.S. Institute of Peace entitled Bringing Peacebuilding to the Classroom. In this workshop, middle and high school teachers will become familiar with the tools and strategies – including video and technology, to engage students in conversations around peace and conflict – and what it means to be a peacebuilder.

College of Business receives $355,00 grant from Department of Defense

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The National Security Agency/U.S. Department of Defense recently awarded a $355,000 grant for scholarships and additional Information Technology resources for Lewis University Information Security students. Lewis was recently designated as a National Center for Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Fifteen National Defense University students that transfer to Lewis will receive $325,000 in scholarships as they begin graduate studies in Lewis’ master’s degree in information security.

“This grant recognizes the quality of our master’s program and provides much-needed scholarships to graduate students,” said Dr. Rami Khasawneh, Dean of the College of Business. “Also, this award was not possible without Dr. Abdullah’s hard work and dedication.”

The remaining $30,000 of the grant is allocated to upgrade the College of Business virtual labs.

“The grant will allow us to significantly upgrade our Information technology curriculum by offering new courses and improved learning via the virtual lab,” said Dr. Faisal Abdullah, chair and associate professor of the Management Information Systems at Lewis University. “Our students and our partners in the community will benefit from this grant.”

Business leaders give high school students a lesson on success

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The Lewis University College of Business hosted its first Business Leaders Seminar Oct. 21 on the Romeoville campus. The event was a collaborative effort with eight high schools from the surrounding area: Bolingbrook, Hinsdale South, Joliet Central, Joliet West, Lockport, Naperville North, Reavis and Romeoville. The focus of the seminar was to provide students with information about careers in the different areas of Business: Accounting, Business Administration, Computer Information Systems, Economics, Finance, Information Security, InternationalBusiness and Marketing.

The number of participants in the seminar exceeded 200, which included high school students, high school faculty, business leaders and College of Business faculty and staff. The event was initiated to help students better understand the different areas in business and the potential career paths one could take in a specific field. The college invited an exceptional group of panelists ranging from CEOs and owners of businesses to recent College of Business alums. Discussion Panels were split in three concentrations: Accounting/Economics/Finance, Computer Information Systems/Information Security and Business Administration/International Business/Marketing. Each panel member shared their opinions and experience in their particular field. Each session was approximately 30 minutes followed by 15 minutes of questions & answers, which enabled students to get feedback on how to be better prepared for the business world.

The College of Business has already begun planning its second Business Leaders Seminar and will be inviting more high schools to participate in next year’s seminar. It hopes to make it an annual event.

Welcome from the Dean, College of Business

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I would like to welcome you to the College of Business and Graduate School of Management blog. This blog is an evolution of our existing newsletter, the Bottom Line. The blog will provide you with news and events in a timely fashion about the College’s faculty, staff, and students. We are very excited to utilize this new communication approach. We look forward to your comments and postings, as your feedback is very important to us. I hope you enjoy reading the postings, and I encourage you to subscribe to the blog.

 

Rami Khasawneh, Ph.D, PMP
Dean and Professor
College of Business & Graduate School of Management