Business Professors Earn Grant

February 26, 2009

The Oklahoma Baptist University Faculty Development Committee recently awarded two professors an $800 grant for their presentation of a paper titled "Business Technology - A Curricular Infusion." The authors, Dale Hanchey, McCasland associate professor of computer science, and Dr. Cindy Hanchey, Wheeler Chair of Business and associate professor of computer science, are presenting the paper at the Federation of Business and Disciplines Conference in Oklahoma City this week. 

The Hancheys wrote the paper with the success of business students in mind. Due to new degree requirements, the Class of 2009 business students will be graduating with a "business technology" class on their transcript.

"While we have no data yet as to the long-term success of the business technology requirements for our graduates, there is still a perceived importance to prospective employers as well as the usefulness within the degree programs in the Paul Dickinson School of Business," Dr. Hanchey said.

"The creation of the business technology component into the majority of degrees within the School of Business makes OBU business graduates tech-savvy and marketable," Hanchey said. "We want to share this with peers from other institutions."

To share the information with other universities and colleges, the Hancheys plan to present the paper at other conferences in Oklahoma and Missouri. On Feb. 26, the Hancheys are sharing the information at the Southwest Decision Sciences Institute Conference in Oklahoma City and again in April at the Consortium for Computing in Schools and Colleges: Central Plains Conference at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo. The grant money is used for the expenses associated with the conferences.

"The FDC awarded the grants by committee decision based on the relative strengths of each application," said Dr. Ben Myers, OBU assistant professor of English who serves as the Faculty Development Council chairman. "We were looking for applications that illustrated a clear developmental goal for the applicant and that also involved projects certain to contribute to OBU's intellectual profile. It was a very difficult decision, as we had several strong applications.

"The FDC felt that these conferences are excellent opportunities for the Hancheys to network within their field and thus raise awareness of OBU's academic excellence," Myers said. "The Hancheys also presented a very compelling case for the relationship between conference attendance and currency in the field of computer science. In such a fast-changing field, conferences are a necessity to guarantee relevant teaching."