Mays Impacts

Kelli Shomaker has accepted the appointment as director of the Mays College Fellows Program, an undergraduate professional program for juniors. Shomaker, herself a former Fellow, serves as an academic advisor for the Department of Accounting and teaches financial accounting principles.

In addition, she is a member of the Fellows Advisory Council and is a faculty advisor to the Brotherhood of Christian Aggies. Shomaker will assume the post starting July 1 upon the departure of Dr. Tim Peterson. Peterson, who has served as Fellows director since 1998, is leaving the college to accept a faculty position at Oklahoma State University-Tulsa.

Mark Welsh ’01 was presented Texas A&M University’s Brown Foundation-Earl Rudder Memorial Outstanding Student Award during spring commencement ceremonies. Welsh, who served as cadet colonel of Texas A&M’s Corps of Cadets this year, was presented the award by Texas A&M President Ray Bowen while receiving his degree in finance.

To be eligible for the Brown-Rudder award, a student must demonstrate outstanding academic achievement, leadership, be a member of an honor or professional society and have participated in extracurricular activities including community service with humility and dedication to Texas A&M and its principles.

As the cadet commander, Welsh proved himself as a leader. Maj. Gen. Ted Hopgood, commandant of the Corps of Cadets, called Welsh a “mature and dependable leader who gets things done.”

A profile highlighting Welsh’s achievements was featured in Mays Business Online’s Life Stories section last month.

This year’s spring commencement marked a major milestone for the Mays Executive MBA Program. The program welcomed its first group of students in 1999. And, after two years of giving up their weekends and commuting to The Woodlands, all 40 members of Class I attended the ceremony to receive their hard-earned advanced business degrees.

“This class had a definite dynamic,” said Kathy Thompson, a Class I participant and vice president for information technology planning and process management for Verizon. “After going through the program together, we decided we all had to support each other and walk across the stage to receive our degrees. We feel like it’s the final and is very important to us as a group because it is the last time we’ll all be together.”

Approximately 200 of the class’ family and friends came to campus from around the country to attend graduation and a luncheon hosted by the Executive MBA Program Office.

“Receiving this degree is very important to them,” said Julie Orzabal, associate director of the program. “This was a very successful class and they really set the precedent for the classes following them.”

In addition to attending graduation festivities, many of the Executive MBA students have ordered Aggie rings, excluding those who received their bachelor’s from the University of Texas at Austin, said Orzabal with a laugh.

Regardless of the fact that they aren’t considered “traditional” A&M students by many because they met off campus, for Thompson obtaining her ring in August will be the final rite of passage into the Aggie family. “I feel a very strong kinship with the other participants and with Texas A&M,” she said. “Receiving a ring and becoming a part of the Aggie Network is all part of earning the degree.”

For the 18th year in a row, the college’s Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP) received the Student Chapter Outstanding Performance Award at the organization’s national collegiate meeting in Chicago.

A&M students also competed in the programming contest, including junior information and operations management students Michael Fowler and Shawn Kruse who placed sixth out of 95 teams in the visual basic competition. The team of senior information and operations students Jennifer Boyer and Nicolyn Marino placed first out of 32 teams in the Webmaster competition.

More than 650 students and parents had the opportunity to meet Mays College administrators at the Business Student Council’s “Breakfast with the Deans.” Held in the Wehner Building during Parents’ Weekend, the event provided an opportunity for the council to welcome parents to the Mays College.

“We targeted the event to parents of freshman and sophomore business students, although it was open to everyone,” said council president Scott Ramsower, a junior finance major. “It’s a good way to communicate with parents and make them aware of what’s going on within the college.”

In years past, the Business Student Council sponsored similar events but Ramsower said the group opted to involve administrators and faculty members this year to give parents a first-hand opportunity to meet them. The program line up included Dean Benton Cocanougher, Ben Welch, director of the Center for Executive Development, and management professor Don Hellriegel, who discussed the approved Wehner Building expansion.

“Overall, I think it was a great success,” Ramsower said. “For next year, however, we would like to think of new ways to accommodate growth and offer more insight into the college and its facilities by providing tours and additional information.”

Governor Rick Perry has appointed the college’s namesake Lowry Mays ’57 to serve on the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. A San Antonio resident and chairman of Clear Channel Communications, Mays will serve a six-year term. He is a former chairman of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and of the United Way of San Antonio and has received numerous awards and honors for his service to the communications industry and Texas A&M.

Along with Mays and Wendy Gramm, Phil Adams ’71 has also been named to the board of regents. A member of the Mays College Development Council, Adams owns the Phil Adams Company in Bryan and is very active in the community, serving on the board of directors of the Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce. He is also involved in the Brazos County United Way and the Central Texas Association of Life Underwriters and serves as a director of First American Bank in Bryan.

Time management is often a challenge for college students. Throw in the demands of practice, games and travel into the mix and it doesn’t leave much time for a life. But, several Mays student athletes are proving they can do it all. And, do it well.

Senior volleyball player Jenna Moscovic was named the Bill Erwin Scholar-Athlete of the Year at Texas A&M’s annual awards banquet this spring. Mosovic, who is in the college’s Professional Program, was named a first-team All-American this year and has been a three-time member of the Academic All-Big 12 squad.

Seth McKinney, center for the Aggie football team, was presented the Distinguished Letterman Award at the banquet. McKinney, who earned a BBA and master’s in information and operations management (INFO), was also named a first-team Verizon Academic All-American. McKinney is heading to the NFL next fall.

Sophomore INFO student Ryan Warpinski was named to the first team of this year’s Baseball Academic All-Big 12 team. Fellow players Matt Alexander, a sophomore accounting major, and Justin Moore, a sophomore finance major, were named to the second-team Baseball Academic All-Big 12 team.

Eagle Award presented by Private Enterprise Research Center

Award presented by the Business Student Council during Parent’s Weekend

Framed emeritus status plaque, a resolution and crystal bookends by the Academic Program Council and a crystal nameplate presented at a university-wide reception

Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award for Administration

Resolution presented by the Texas A&M Foundation

Framed rendering of the Special Events Center named in honor of Dr. and Mrs. Cocanougher (located in the approved Wehner Building expansion) presented at a dinner honoring the Cocanoughers