Morningside Connect

There is a lot to be excited about in the business department, with the recent introduction of the accounting major, a successful pilot of the Second Year Experience, and very busy faculty.

Both public accounting and managerial accounting majors have been added to the business department offerings beginning last fall. Students majoring in public accounting will achieve 150 credit hours before graduating and will have the opportunity to finish two parts of the CPA exam. Most students will complete this course of study in five years and be able to complete internships along the way.

Twyla Rosenbaum and Mark Nielsen are the full-time accounting faculty who have been instrumental in delivering the program.  We added these majors because of the market demand for accounting programs. Mark hosted an accounting internship interview week in early fall, and area firms were very supportive. Twyla is delivering a Forensic Accounting course. She gained expertise in this field while completing her law degree.

First year programs are common on college campuses to aid students transitioning from high school, but second year programs, which are far less common, help students find their purpose. Last year our department, along with the biology department, piloted a new Second Year Experience (SYE). Our department’s effort was led by Pam Mickelson and Marilyn Eastman. Twyla and Mark integrated activities into ACCT 203 and 204, where most of our second year students begin the major. With the collaboration of department faculty, two program activities are proving to be very popular with students.

As part of the first activity, SYE requires students to explore their life purpose, connect with others in the major, and identify careers that align with their strengths through field trips and focused career networking presentations. The other new developmental activity is Professionalism in the Discipline (PID).

PIDs developed from Morningside’s Writing in the Discipline, which is a writing initiative that infuses appropriate writing for business and accounting in all courses. Students develop additional soft skills such as creating resumes and practicing interviewing and professional networking skills to become career ready upon graduation.

With the help of Stacie Hays, Sioux City GO University, and our alumni and departmental programming, all business students have many opportunities to network with others as they grow professionally. Pam and Marilyn also helped write a successful grant for the college to support a two-year SYE program across campus; Marilyn will direct five departments’ efforts beginning this summer.

Faculty continue to lead with professional and caring attitudes. Anne Power and Marilyn Eastman are in their second and third years leading case study writing in management and social media curriculum development for marketing students, respectively. Mary Zink began a Doctor of Business Administration program and just completed her fifth course. She is also the keynote speaker at the 2017 Siouxland Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Conference.

Julie Keime is working on a college initiative to study financial literacy standards for all students. Pam Mickelson is co-authoring a research article on advising, and she is continuing to lead her students to build ad campaigns for clients in the region. Werner Enterprises in Omaha was the most recent benefactor of marketing student talent.

Mark Nielsen was hired this year to replace Jim Hopkins, who retired last year. Jim is using new-found free time to publish a book for tax practitioners. Mark is aligning his Auditing class this spring with the new CPA testing regimen that is in place for 2017 and is piloting the Surgent CPA Review course with the public accounting majors. Twyla’s Forensic Accounting students are getting firsthand access to court cases and guest lecturers on how to help “track where the money went” and evaluate economic damages.

Tammy Miller is our new administrative assistant, and she is taking good care of us all. Molly Williams retired last year and is enjoying time with her family, including new grandchildren.

The Entrepreneurship Group and the new Accounting Club have regular networking connections each semester. In addition, students who study business as part of their Advertising and Arts Administration majors are part of the SYE and PID programs. We are very pleased to work with hundreds of students every semester to help them gain meaningful experiences in and out of the classroom.

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