Fall 2003

1
BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT
BISeTimes
Fall 2003 Volume 2, Number 1
Visit our web site at http//bis.cba.cmich.edu/
CMU Hosts Business Professionals of America
Competition
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Each year CMU hosts the regional Michigan High
School Business Professionals of America
Competition. Business Professionals of America
has a history as a student organization that
contributes to the preparation of a world-class
workforce through the advancement of leadership,
citizenship, academic, and technological skills.
Through co-curricular programs and services,
members of Business Professionals of America
compete in demonstrations of their business
technology skills, develop their professional and
leadership skills, network with one another and
professionals across the nation, and get involved
in the betterment of their community through good
works projects. This year the competition will
be held all day Saturday, January 10, 2004 in
Grawn Hall. There are approximately 700-900
students competing in 42 individual events and 10
team events. There are four main categories of
events administrative, financial, information
technology, and marketing/management/human
resources. CMUs Business Teacher Education
students participate as judges, proctors, and
evaluators for this event.
BIS 620 To Be Offered 2 New Residential
College 2 Dow Chemical Honors
2 Student Groups 3 MSIS Updates 3 Bad Prom Date
Contest 3 BTE Faculty Members
4 BTE/BIS Alumni 5 Let Us
Hear From You 6
WHEN CMU CALLS DURING A FUND CAMPAIGN, DIRECT
YOUR DOLLARS TO HELP YOUR DEPARTMENT AITP,
Account 44007. Business Teacher Education,
Account 43055. BIS Discretionary Fund, Account
41911. Ima Chambers Scholarship, Account 64593.
MIS Advisory Board Fund, Account 64435. MIS
Advisory Board Endowment Fund,
Account 66665. MIS Endowment Scholarship, Account
66591 William Wolhgamuth Scholarship,
Account 64564. Winsor Scholarship,
Account 64133.
FROM WHERE I SIT Monica Holmes, Chair, BIS
Department
This issue of the BIS-e-Times features the
Business Teacher Education program which prepares
CMU students to be high school teachers of
business subjects. Having faculty members like
Dr. Nancy Csapo makes it easy for me to highlight
this program. Nancy truly cares about her
students and their progress in their professional
careers. She came to CMU in January 1998 when we
were experiencing declining numbers in the
Business Teacher Education major. Today, she
personally advises more than 120 majors and
minors and she is grateful for the assistance of
Dr. Karl Smart who joined us this past fall. Karl
is a Business Communication as well as a Business
Teacher

Education faculty member. Together with Mrs. Sue
Switzer and Dr. Wells Cook, Karl and Nancy lead a
dynamic group of BTE students. Be sure to read
about them in the inside pages.



This
fall, the College of Business Administration
sponsored the establishment of the business
residential college on the second floor of Carey
Hall. Mr. J.D. Mackin, director of this business
residential college, believes that the bonding of
the 42 freshmen will contribute toward their
academic success at CMU. We also hope it will
encourage them to become business students. The
students take BIS 100, First Year Experience 101
and Economics 222 together.
An exciting event last summer was the
remodeling of the Grawn 342 lab. With the
flat-panel screens, new lighting, and mediation,
students will have a better environment in which
to work with application software.


AITP made us proud again. AITP
received their fifth straight Student Chapter
Outstanding Performance Award (SCOPA). Obtaining
the SCOPA award not only means that AITP members
have to participated in a variety of activities,
including community service, but they also have
to keep detailed records of these activities. As
one student told me, SCOPA is not an easy thing
to win.

The faculty in
the BIS department would like to hear from you,
whether you were a BTE or an MIS student. We
would also like to see you. Drop by our office
in Grawn 305 any time or contact me by phone at
989-774-4364 or email me at monica.c.holmes_at_cmich.
edu.
CONSIDER STARTING A BIS OR MIS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
IN YOUR COMPANY, CITY, AREA e-mail Dr. Elizabeth
Kemm at kemm1e_at_cmich.edu or give her a call at
[phone]
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Dow Chemical Honors CMU Students
BIS 620 To Be Offered
CMU graduate students Chris Goffnett and Gautam
Patel of Mount Pleasant and senior William Vendt
of Shelby Township are the fall recipients of The
Dow Chemical Company SAP Award of Excellence.
Each received an award of 500 and a plaque.
The award recognizes excellence in SAP course
work, said Frank Andera, faculty director of the
SAP University Alliance Program in the College of
Business Administration. SAP, or Systems,
Applications and Programs in Data Processing, is
a German company that offers an enterprise
resource planning suite of software applications
that integrates different disciplines. It
is always exciting to see our students recognized
by such a prestigious company as The Dow Chemical
Company, said Andera. The Dow Chemical SAP
Award of Excellence is just another example of
how our undergraduate and graduate students are
being recognized for their outstanding
performance in course work which integrates the
use of SAP into specific business courses.
Dow has provided resources to help CMU develop
SAP skills, staff to work on advisory committees,
grants to build the Dow/SAP Learning Lab, and the
Dow SAP awards as a means of promoting excellence
in SAP-related courses. Dow also established an
internship program to provide students with work
experience. Back Row, Left to Right
Frank Andera, Director of CMUs SAP University
Alliance Program The Dow Chemical Company
representatives, Jim Whyte, Data Architect Dave
McLean, Director of Architecture Ron Johnson,
Prog. Mgr Global Application Program CMUs
Thomas Storch, Provost The Dow Chemical Company,
Mike Costa, Director, Enterprise Computing and
Joe Kerbleski, Senior Architect, Enterprise
Computing. Front Row Left to Right
Gautam Patel, graduate awardee Chris Goffnett,
graduate awardee and Bill Vendt, undergraduate
awardee
BIS 620 - Teaching Business Subjects at the
Post-Secondary Level, will include the following
areas the learning process, curriculum planning,
delivering instruction/teaching methods,
assessing learning, instructional materials,
using technology, adult learners, cultural
diversity, international implications, and
current research. The course is designed for
current or prospective collegiate business
instructors. We are offering BIS 620, a 3-credit
graduate course, in Spring 2004. The class will
meet five weekends during the spring semester
January 23 and 24 February 6 and 7 February 20
and 21 and March 20. Friday sessions will be
from 6 950 p.m. and Saturday sessions will be
800 a.m. 550 p.m. Call or email Dr. Nancy
Csapo at [phone] or email csapo1n_at_cmich.edu
for a bump card.
New Residential College
A new business residential college located in
Carey Hall is currently housing and providing
educational experiences for 42 of CMUs freshman.
Residents must maintain a 3.0 grade point
average, enroll in business introduction and
other core courses, sign a behavioral agreement
with the Office of Residence Life, reside in an
alcohol and tobacco-free environment, become
involved in a business-related student
organization, and participate in co-curricular
activities planned by the residential college
advisory board. This college benefits freshman
students who have an interest in business because
they have a unique opportunity to live, learn and
study together with a group of students with like
interests, said J.D. Mackin, director of the
business residential college. The business
college features supplemental instruction
sessions, mandatory quiet hours, formal and
informal out-of-class interaction with faculty
and alumni in an academic field of study, along
with frequent lunches with business
faculty. Throughout the year students will
listen to speakers, take event trips and also set
up their own student board, consisting of a
president, vice president, secretary and
treasurer, said Mackin. The board will meet
monthly to build their own learning
agendas.(Continue on page 3.)
Newly Remodeled Computer Lab
If you have not seen Grawn 342 lab, it has
received a much needed facelift this summer. The
room was painted, new carpet was installed, new
computer tables and 40 new flat screen monitors
and computer stations were added. Stop by and see
it! (Pictured Below)
Tentative Summer Offerings
For those looking at finishing their MBE degree,
we have tentatively scheduled BIS 610, 612, and
652 for Summer II. Please contact Dr. Karl Smart
by phone at [phone] or email at
smart1kl_at_cmich.edu with any questions.
3
Pi Omega Pi
Pi Omega Pi is the only national honor society
for business teacher education.  PoP encourages
scholarship, civic responsibility, the ideal of
service, and promotes high ethical standards in
business and professional life.
In
2002-03, we inducted 19 new members into CMU's
Zeta Epsilon Chapter.  We are pleased to have
inducted ten more new members at our initiation
ceremony on November 5, 2003.  During the past
year, we have participated in numerous activities
promoting fellowship among future business
teachers.  Each year we participate in
Adopt-A-Family as a service project during the
holidays, providing Christmas gifts for a needy
family in the community. If you
have an questions, comments, or concerns, feel
free to contact Dr. Nancy Csapo by phone at
[phone] or by email at csapo1n_at_cmich.edu.
AITP
AITP is having another great semester with
exciting changes and many new events. After our
fifth straight SCOPA (Student Chapter Outstanding
Performance Award), we are continuing to make
great strides to improve our chapter. A
successful membership drive has helped to keep
our numbers strong, despite a big drop in
membership due to graduation.
Every week we have a variety of
speakers (representatives from IBM, Dow Chemical,
and EDS) come and present on topics of their
choice. This fall, the Microsoft Fall IT Pro
User Group Tour did a live presentation of the
newest office products and information about
critical information technology issues on Nov.
12, in Anspach Hall at Central Michigan
University.
One characteristic of AITP that has changed
is the social aspect. There have been quite a
few more social events this semester than in
previous years. These social events are held in
hopes of improving networking and building
communication skills, which are extremely
important in todays business world.
If
you have an questions, comments, or concerns,
feel free to contact Dr. Zhenyu Huang by phone at
[phone] or by email at huang1z_at_cmich.edu.
MSIS Information and Updates
Just a few updates on our MSIS program.
November 14, 2003 at 1030 a.m. to 130 p.m. was
the Comprehensive Exam. Retakes will be given
December 5, 2003 at 1030 a.m. to 130 p.m. If
you are planning to graduate in December, please
make sure you have filled out your graduation
application. You may do this by making an
appointment with Karen Williamson, your advisor,
at [phone]. Phase two registration
begins on January 5, 2004. See Karen Williamson
or Renee Chapman in Grawn 105 or contact them at
[phone] to get registered for your Spring
semester courses. Have a wonderful semester.
New Residential College
SAP-UASUG
(Continued from page 2.)
Students also will have the
advantage of attending class in their residential
hall. Business 100, First Year Experience 101 and
Economics 222 will be taught in the Towers.
English, speech, and math core classes have been
blocked out for business residential college
students as well. The advantage of having
classes together makes it like one big family,
said Detroit freshman Ashley Richardson. The
program gives us a chance to strive for something
different than being just a regular
student. The business residential college is
sponsored by CMUs College of Business
Administration.
The SAP-University Alliance Student Users Group
is an on-campus group devoted to extending the
learning opportunities related to SAP beyond the
classroom. The groups weekly meetings offer an
array of activities and experiences that enhance
the Universitys SAP related coursework and give
students excellent opportunities to get
involved with SAP on a more personal basis.
This personal involvement is accomplished through
a mix of hands-on exercises, speakers, and
outside trips that all majors are welcome to
attend. In addition to the focus on system
familiarity, the SAP-UASUG also devotes a large
amount of energy to helping students get
connected with companies that use SAP as their
Enterprise Resource Planning system. The group
has had a number of students who have been hired
by corporations for SAP specific jobs and can be
viewed by potential employers as the unequivocal
source for capable SAP employees. For more
information or to contact the group, see
their web site at http//www.cba.cmich.edu/sapug/.
If
you have an questions, comments, or concerns,
feel free to contact Dr. Frank Andera by phone at
[phone] or by email at ander1fj_at_cmich.edu.
Bad Prom Halloween Contest
The BIS department faculty and staff conducted
the Best Bad Prom Date Contest on Halloween
during their Bad Prom on the third floor of Grawn
Hall. Votes by students, faculty, staff, and
judges throughout the day chose the costumed
winners, who received certificates and enjoyed a
reception in their honor. The winners were Dana
McCann, prom queen Jim Scott, prom king Richard
and Audrey Featheringham, best prom couple Joan
Maul, best female costume and Rich Riddle, best
male costume.
4
BTE Faculty Members
months is East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Her
favorite childhood memory is of the farm she grew
up on and helping her mom milk the cows everyday
just the two of them.
Dr. Karl Smart
Dr. Smart has been married to his wife, Karen,
for almost 24 years. They have 4 children, two
boys and two girls, all adopted, ranging from a
senior in high school to a fourth grader. He
says, We joke that were moved around the
country putting our family together two from
Florida, one from Michigan, and one from Utah.
However, the family wouldnt be complete without
Angel, their 8-year-old Golden Retriever/Yellow
Lab. They currently reside in Midland.
His favorite thing about
teaching is getting paid for what he loves to do
teaching reading, writing, getting to know and
interact with interesting people, and to be able
to continuously learn. He also loves getting to
know students and sharing the joy and empowerment
of learning new things.
His
favorite activities include anything outdoors
(camping, hiking, fishing, canoeing, etc.) and
reading. You can usually find him reading a
couple of books simultaneously.

The best vacation he ever took was a
two-week trip to a remote area of Montana. He got
to enjoy morning fishing, an afternoon bath at
the swimming hole, a good book, an extended
Scrabble tournament, pineapple upside down cake
in a Dutch oven, and an evening under the Milky
Way with thousands of stars. This was all done
with the people he enjoys the most, his wife and
children.
The best
movies he has seen in the last six months are
Second Hand Lions and Pirates of the Caribbean.
The best book he has read in the last six months
is Peace Like a River by Leif Enger.
Back Row Left to Right Dr. Karl Smart, Dr. Nancy
Csapo, and Mrs. Sue Switzer. Front Dr. Wells Cook
Dr. Wells Cook
Dr. Cook has been married to his wife, Lois, for
51 years and they have 3 grown children and 2
grandchildren. Wells and Lois still live in the
home they first purchased when moving to Mount
Pleasant 36.5 years ago.
His favorite thing about teaching is
watching students learn, grow, and mature. He
also enjoys the number of students who have
became friends and seeing former students at
conferences who are successful in their
professions.
Wells enjoys
reading, singing, traveling, and listening to
music. The best vacation he ever had was a family
camping trip at Aloha State Park (south of
CheboyganEast side of Mullet Lake) during the
summer.
The best book he has read
in the last six months is On America by Stephen
Ambrose.
His favorite childhood memory is napping
in the haymow on the family farm and skinny
dipping in the river that ran across the back of
the farm.
Dr. Nancy Csapo
Mrs. Sue Switzer
Dr. Csapo considers herself to be single, rather
than divorced. The only creature she can live
successfully with is her dog Kramer, a Westie.
She enjoys living in her old Victorian home in
downtown Mount Pleasant. Her
favorite thing about teaching is the priceless
relationships that comes from knowing your
students. She states, Its one of those jobs
that allow you to feel pride in what you do every
day.
One of her favorite things to do is
work out. She spends a fair amount of time at
the SAC as well as with other outdoor activities,
especially cycling. She became a Schwinn
certified spinning instructor last January and
currently teaches cycling classes two-times a
week at the SAC.

The best vacation she ever had was a recent
backpacking trip to Maniou Island in Lake
Michigan. The only civilization there is a
ranger station and a boat that stops by only once
a day. She says, It was primitive, challenging,
and a beautiful island.

The best movie she has seen in the
last six months is Sea Biscuit. The best book she
has read in the past six
Mrs. Switzer is married with two grown children
and five grandchildren. She currently resides on
four acres south of Mount Pleasant.

Her favorite thing about teaching is
following the successes of both present and past
students. She always enjoys seeing and hearing
from students.
She is an
avid Chippewa fan, particularly basketball, and a
diehard Detroit Tigers fan, and she enjoys all
events her grandchildren are involved in.

The best movie shes seen in the
last six months is Chicago. The best books she
has read in the past six months are King of Torts
by John Grisham, A Prison Diary by Jeffery
Archer, and The Purpose Drive Life by Rick
Warren.
Her favorite
childhood memory is holidays at her grandparents,
who were a seamstress and a carpenter. There was
always a homemade goody to look forward toa
dress, pajamas, coats, a deskthese were
treasures they still have a couple of furniture
pieces in their home today.
5
BIS.e.Times Volume 2, Number 1. Fall 2003. Page
5
BIS/BTE Alumni Spotlight David Johnson (BS/MIS
emphasis '95) With it seeming like only
yesterday I was walking through Grawn Hall,
David Johnson graduated more than seven years ago
from CMU. As a graduate from our MIS program,
David began his career with Concentric (an ISP),
and worked with Price Waterhouses migration from
WordPerfect Suite to MS Office software. After a
year in tech support, he took a job with an
automotive plant as an Oracle database and Unix
administrator, working there for four years. In
October of 2000, he left the automaker to take a
job as a consultant for a data warehousing/busines
s intelligence specialist firm, working on data
warehousing, data mining, and data integration
applications. David says, My current job places
me at the heart of the business intelligence
community. On a personal note, David married
his CMU sweetheart/alum this past September. He
started an MBA program this fall and hopes all
my fellow CMU Alums are doing well. Go
Chippewas! Lisa Marie Kehoe (BTE '03) A
relative recent graduate, Lisa Marie Kehoe
graduated in May 2003 with a degree in Business
Teacher Education (BTE). She took a job in the
Hale School District and is enjoying the
challenge of her first year of full-time
teaching. As exciting, Lisa married another BTE
alumnus, Keith OLaughlin ('03) in October.
Keith also started teaching for the Hale School
District this past fall. At the annual Michigan
Business Educators Association conference in
October, Lisa received CMUs outstanding student
business educator award. Congratulations
Lisa. Amy Schell (BTE 02 ).  After completing
high school I went on to college to go into
business, not teaching which is what my entire
family went into!  After my freshman year and a
summer of coaching a 14 year old and under girls
softball team, I decided to go into education.  
At that point I was planning on becoming a
Physical Education major with a minor in Business
Education.   While student teaching at Harrison
Public Schools, a professor encouraged me to
student teach in both of my subject areas so that
I would be prepared to get a job in either. 
Although, I was not very excited to student teach
in my minor, it turned out to be a wonderful
experience. As an undergraduate student at
Central Michigan University, I enjoyed the
Business Education classes that I took.  Upon
finishing two years of teaching I decided to
return and complete the courses to change my
business minor into a major and at the same time
to get my vocational certification.  The program
at Central has really expanded and improved under
the leadership of Dr. Nancy Csapo. I am
proud to be part of that network of people and
have learned immensely from the professors within
the Business Education Department.
I was fortunate to be hired my first year at
Morley Stanwood Public Schools as an elementary
physical education teacher.
I enjoyed this job for two years however, I knew
that I wanted to be closer to the Mt. Pleasant
area.  A business job was posted in Mt. Pleasant
Public Schools which is where I really wanted a
job. At this point, I was very skeptical about
teaching business, but I took the job and ended
up teaching middle school keyboarding (5
sections/day).  My goal then became to teach
business at the high school, but I would need to
be vocationally certified to do this. I ended up
taking classes again to complete the BTE major
and earn my vocational certification. As soon as
I finished my classes and applied for the
vocational certification, one of the high school
business teachers retired, and I was able to move
into this position. I am currently now on my
fifth year of teaching, my third in business, and
I love what I do.  I teach business management
and BST core. My husband Dan and I are
experiencing parenthood for the first time with
our 10 month year old son, Josh.   I now have a
double major in BTE and P.E. and I have also
finished my Masters Degree in Teaching. In the
field of teaching, education will always continue
as I am now working on my plus hours. Carrie
(Miller) Gauthier (B.S. in Secondary Education,
99) I graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School in
1995. I attended CMU beginning in the fall of
1995 majoring in Business Teacher Education,
with a minor in English. I worked throughout
college at Isabella Community Credit Union and
also coached cheerleading at Beal City High
School for two years. My last year at CMU I did
not work (I finally saw the end in sight) and
instead took 21 credits spring semester 1999 and
9 credits during the summer. During this time of
taking 21 credits and preparing for student
teaching, I planned my wedding! I did my student
teaching in the fall of 1999 at Swan Valley High
School with Dawn Perez, a business teacher at
Swan Valley and also a CMU alumni. Two weeks
into student teaching I was married. Student
teaching was an excellent experience. My husband
and I immediately started a family and now have
two children, Jozlyn and Jayce. My first
teaching job was at Saginaw City, Arthur Hill
High School. I started teaching the day I
finished my student teaching. I taught
Introduction to Computers and Advanced Computers
on very old Apple computers. I began working on
implementing Michigans Business Services
Technology curriculum. My second year I started a
class called Intro to Business Service Tech it
was to be a feeder class to the Vocational
Center. At Arthur Hill I was my own department
and became a department head. I was in charge of
a massive budget and had to attend a lot of
budget meetings. I was quickly introduced to
the world of politics and school finance. I
taught one inclusion class (taught with a special
education teacher in my room because half the
students were special education students). The
inclusion class I taught was the best experience
I had at Arthur Hill because the Special
Education Department at Arthur Hill is a great
group of people who really care about kids.
(Continue on Page 6.)

6
Alumni Spotlight
(Continued from page
5.)
Let Us Hear From You We would like to know a
little more about you, where you are living and
working, what exciting things have happened to
you, and what youve been doing since you left
CMU. This information would be helpful to our
departmental records and if you wish, we would
like to share some information about you with
future newsletter readers. Would you please fill
out the information requested below and return it
to us as soon as possible?

When were you last a student at
CMU?________________
What was your major? _____________________________
What was your minor? ____________________________
_ Where are you currently employed?
__________________ What is your job title?
_____________________________ Items to be shared
in future newsletters ___________________________
__________________________________________________
___________________ Your Name ____________________
_________________ Your Email Address
______________________________ Please Return to

Business Information Systems Department
150 E. Bellows St.

305 Grawn Hall
Mount
Pleasant, MI 48859
Email bis_at_cmich.edu or
monica.c.holmes_at_cmich.edu
In the summer of 2000 there was an opening at
Merrill High School, and I immediately jumped at
a chance to get into a smaller school. Im now
in my third year at Merrill. We have block
scheduling, and I love the block for teaching
business classes. I teach Marketing, Office
Practice, Business Communications (my favorite
class), Computers, and oh yes, Psychology.
Psychology is not in my area at all, but I do
teach it. This will be my second year teaching
psychology. My first year at Merrill I taught
a Marketing class, and I opened a school store,
which is still open and doing well. We also did
all the 9/11 fundraising, and we put on a charity
basketball game every year. Another teacher and
I worked on an articulation agreement with Delta
College for our high school computer class. If
the students complete and pass our computer class
with a B or better, they receive five credits
from Delta College. I attend most sporting
events at the school and chaperone every dance I
can. Being a wife and mom, my time is limited,
but when I am at school I am here 150. I am
also taking graduate classes at Central Michigan
University, pursuing my Masters in Business
Education.
Business Information Systems Department
Central Michigan University
Grawn Hall 305

150 East Bellows
Mount Pleasant, MI
48859