Looking back at great things that happened in 2020, Kelley’s historic centennial year

Posted on December 17, 2020 by George Vlahakis

Dedication of the Brian D. Jellison Living Learning Center.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – As we turn the page on another calendar year, a somewhat muted centennial celebration of the Indiana University Kelley School of Business also comes to an end. As we reflect on what has been a tumultuous 2020, it remains true that students, faculty and staff at Kelley continued a 100-year legacy of having both the talent to succeed and the tenacity to persevere.

This is evident as we look back at many of the school’s accomplishments over the last 12 months. While COVID-19 required that learning and other major activities go online, the momentum at Kelley did not slow down when it came to important faculty research and student learning at all levels of the school. Kelley faculty and students were highly engaged in state and national efforts to find solutions and help Americans respond to the pandemic and its disruptions on personal and professional lives.

This can be seen through the chronological review of major Kelley events and announcements that follows. Here’s to an even better 2021. (more…)

Kelley School’s HOPE Digital Project helps more than 360 Hoosier ventures through pandemic

Posted on December 16, 2020 by George Vlahakis

David Thompson and Nicole Kearney of client Sip & Share Wines

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – During the pandemic, more than 360 small businesses and public organizations in Indiana in 52 counties across Indiana – half of them owned by women – have been helped through a no-cost assistant program by the Indiana University Kelley School of Business.

Working in partnership with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and the Indiana Small Business Development Centers, the Kelley HOPE Digital Project also provided a valuable and meaningful experience for more than 230 current and prospective students and alumni at a time when COVID-19 led to shortened or cancelled summer internships.

Since May, more than 27,000 hours have been spent on projects for 364 organizations. Students signed up for unpaid, volunteer internships. The Kelley School was able to award eligible students with scholarships, recognizing their learning and growth with the work they did for the Kelley HOPE Digital Project.

Daniel Van Drunen

The aim of the program was to help small businesses and community organizations struggling with the economic impact of stay-at-home advisories and other restrictions to establish or increase their online presence and boost their digital capabilities. Each project was done by teams of students led by a second-year student or an alumnus of Kelley’s Kelley’s Master of Science in Information Systems (MSIS) program.

In each instance, the goal was to quickly solve a technology problem or to provide companies with new digital capability. Kelley faculty members Keith Dayton, Alan Dennis and Bipin Prabhakar provided strategic guidance and mentorship to the student and alumni leaders of the initiative. (more…)

As many of us want to forget 2020, Kelley School experts offer a glimpse of next year

Posted on December 15, 2020 by George Vlahakis

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — It has been said that after this year, there will be fewer people suggesting that hindsight is always 2020. More than ever, many are looking ahead to the following year, a process that began in November at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business with presentations of its Business Outlook forecast for 2021.

Since 1972, Kelley School faculty have presented their forecast around the state each year, usually joined by a local panelist. But as with other annual events, the school and its Indiana Business Research Center hosted 10 regional events virtually.

Kyle Anderson

Each presentation was recorded and is now available to watch free of charge through the IBRC website. Links to replay all of the regional events are available at its page for the “Business Outlook Panel.”

The Kelley panel continues to believe that the economy’s restart will continue in 2021, but with substantial deceleration from what was achieved earlier this year.

The Indiana Business Research Center also is making its complete and expanded forecast available through the winter issue of the Indiana Business Review, a publication that has been around since 1926. That special, year-end issue is now available online.

Included are articles about the global economy and more than a dozen urban areas across the state — including Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville and Terre Haute — as well as Louisville. There also are reports on the outlooks for the financial and housing markets.

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Advance your career with the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certificate offered at Kelley

Posted on December 2, 2020 by Tracy James

Working professionals interested in receiving the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt credential—the gold standard for business operations process improvement skills—can now receive it from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University as a result of a new partnership between Kelley Executive Education and MoreSteam, a leading global provider of the online Lean Six Sigma Green Belt credential.

Carl Briggs

This Lean Six Sigma Green Belt program is significant in several ways:

Kelley Executive Education is partnering with MoreSteam, which provides expertise and an online learning model that has been used to serve more than half of Fortune 500 companies.

In addition to the asynchronous content, participants will meet weekly with Kelley faculty who have expertise in the real-world implementation and application of Lean Six Sigma.

A comprehensive exam at the end of the 16-week program will allow participants to receive the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification from the Kelley School of Business, which is included in the cost of the program.

“Professionals in the operations arena know that the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification benefits individuals as well as their organizations. The partnership between Kelley and MoreSteam makes the development opportunity even more dynamic and impactful,” said Carl Briggs, clinical professor of operations and decision technologies at the Kelley School and co-director of the Business Operations Consulting Workshop.

The next 16-week program begins on January 4.

Learn more and register

Want to know more before registering? Join us for a Dec 8 Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Virtual Open House: Here

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Kelley School’s ‘The Commons’ series continues with recommended films about civil rights icons

Posted on November 19, 2020 by George Vlahakis

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Most students may be returning home for the holidays and to continue their studies online, but the Indiana University Kelley School of Business’ yearlong series on diversity, equity and inclusion, “The Commons,” continues.

John Lewis, photo by Chris Walton

While nestled in their homes, Kelley students, faculty and staff are encouraged to watch a series of award-winning films about courageous people who have championed the causes of social justice and inclusion.

Kelley School Dean Idalene “Idie” Kesner suggested that everyone watch at least three films from a list of 10 movies available online between now and the end of January. Selections include biographies of the late civil rights leader and longtime Georgia congressman John Lewis, Nobel Prize laureate and Pakistani women’s education activist Malala Yousafzia and the late IU football great George Taliaferro.

“I would like for you to watch at least one of the 10 films listed below, all of which highlight a champion of social justice who has made a positive impact on our world,” Kesner said in a message sent to students. “While one film is certainly a good start, why not go further by setting a personal goal of watching three films – one per month – to broaden your knowledge and gain insight into others’ experiences and challenges. Trust me, you will be inspired by these heroes.”

George Taliaferro, photo by Chaz Mottinger

Kesner hopes they will make time to watch the films and “continue the work we started,” and further encourage thoughtful conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion.

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IU Kelley School to begin offering a Master of Science in Accounting with Data and Analytics

Posted on November 17, 2020 by George Vlahakis

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Keeping in step with rapidly evolving uses of digital information by the world’s leading accounting and professional services firms, the Indiana University Kelley School of Business will begin offering a Master of Science in Accounting with Data and Analytics degree.

Kelley has offered an intensive one-year Master of Science in Accounting since 1998, and its curriculum has evolved in recent years to support the new direction being offered through the new degree.

More recently, substantive changes to the curriculum have included more stand‐alone and integrated data and analytics coursework.

Leslie Hodder

“As in other professional fields, leading professional services firms increasingly are employing artificial intelligence, robotics, digitization, data and analytics and are requiring our graduates to understand the technologies and methodologies used in today’s highly complex, data‐centric accounting environment,” said Leslie Hodder, faculty chair of Graduate Accounting Programs and the Conrad Prebys Professor. “Our curriculum has been on the leading edge of these changes and we sought this name change because it more accurately reflects what our program offers today.”

The in‐residence program is designed for students with undergraduate accounting degrees who wish to develop deeper subject‐matter expertise and data‐analytics skills before embarking on their careers in professional services or at corporations.

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Kelley School of Business introduces the 2020-21 class of Dean’s Council Scholars

Posted on November 13, 2020 by George Vlahakis

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business has announced its Dean’s Council Scholars for 2020-21.

Chosen from among all entering freshmen who applied to IU and were directly admitted to the Kelley School, 25 freshmen are Dean’s Council Scholars. Preference is given to students who are traditionally underrepresented in the field of business.

Students receive funding toward standard tuition and fees. They also receive support in the form of an advisor and a Kelley student mentor during their time at IU. They also have the option of residing in the Brian D. Jellison Living Learning Center, a residential program that focuses on personal, academic and professional development. Each program has its unique events.

The Dean’s Council Scholarship was created in 2015 out of a shared aspiration of the Kelley School’s dean and Dean’s Council to pool their philanthropic resources to sustain and enhance the school’s diversity efforts, which includes students from all different economic backgrounds as well as students from diverse cultural backgrounds.

The Kelley Dean’s Council is composed of over 150 CEOs, vice presidents and business leaders who represent all ranges of industry. It advises on institutional goals, school strategies, and curricula. The council is also actively involved with long-term goal planning for the school and offers input on research, fundraising and the creation of new programs.

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Next event in Equity Now lecture series focuses on landmark Supreme Court decision

Posted on November 11, 2020 by George Vlahakis

Alex Reed

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — This summer, the U.S. Supreme Court expanded the protections of Title VII, which prohibits an employer from discriminating against an employee or applicant “because of … sex,” to include protection from employment discrimination based on an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Alex Reed, associate professor of legal studies and director of the Legal Studies Certificate Program at the University of Georgia, will discuss the court’s decision in the landmark case, Bostock v. Clayton County, as the next presenter in Equity Now, an online speaker series on race, gender, and how law and policy can facilitate equality, fairness, and inclusion in organizations.

The Indiana University Kelley School of Business is co-sponsoring the series along with the business schools at the University of Connecticut and Virginia Tech University and the Academy of Legal Studies in Business. Registration is free and open to the public.

Reed will be talking about the Bostock case and its implications for business and provide recommendations for business leaders to promote LGBTQ-friendly workplaces in the future. His research focuses primarily on employment discrimination, and his scholarship has appeared in the American Business Law Journal, Harvard Journal on Legislation, Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law, and the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Business Law, among other places.

Speakers featured in the Equity Now series are esteemed business lawyers focused on legal and policy issues regarding race, identity, sexual orientation, disability and gender equality in modern organizations.

Kelley School co-sponsoring online lecture series about how law and policy can facilitate equality

Posted on October 26, 2020 by George Vlahakis

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Dawn Bennett-Alexander, a celebrated author, facilitator and consultant with more than 30 years of experience in taking diversity from theory to practice, is the first presenter in Equity Now, a new online speaker series on race, gender, and how law and policy can facilitate equality, fairness, and inclusion in organizations.

Each of the four speakers to be featured in the series are esteemed business lawyers focused on legal and policy issues regarding race, identity, sexual orientation, disability and gender equality in modern organizations.

Bennett-Alexander, associate professor of employment law and legal studies at the University of Georgia, will present the talk, “Law, Race, and Organizations: 2020 and Beyond,” at 6 p.m. on Oct. 26 (Here is a link to register).

The deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and others have highlighted the numerous deleterious effects of racial discrimination. In her talk, Bennett-Alexander will examine powerful social forces tied to race, highlight the current legal environment related to race, and show how individuals, managers and executives can foster a culture free from racial bias and bring that culture forward into the broader society.

Kelley’s Institute for International Business marks a decade of making a world of difference

Posted on October 23, 2020 by George Vlahakis

600 students in the Global Business Institute came to Bloomington over six summers.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – People from across the globe came together virtually on Oct. 21 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Institute for International Business at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business and participate in roundtable discussions about the importance of global connections.

Live panel discussions and breakout sessions originated from Bangkok, New Delhi, Mexico City and Berlin as global business leaders joined a conversation about “The Importance of Global Connectedness during Disruption and Beyond.” Kelley School Dean Idalene “Idie” Kesner moderated the closing panel from IU Bloomington.

The Institute for International Business was founded in 2010 with the hope of taking the very best of Kelley into the world to help others build the capacity to take on the ongoing disruptions and challenges they confront everyday through education, life management, entrepreneurship, incubation and business skill training.

The COVID-19 pandemic offered a unique context for the organization’s anniversary, said LaVonn Schlegel, the institute’s executive director.

“While others have mentioned to me how sad it is that we’re celebrating our anniversary when everyone’s at home, I kind of see it as the next challenge for IIB,” Schlegel said, adding, “It’s to continue to be in the world, to continue to have these impactful conversations, to continue to work with our partners to bring education and training to our partner communities that allow us to still work toward the most idealistic goal that we had when we set out to do this, which was to change the world.”

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