Former regent establishes business scholarship program

Mays alumnus Robert H. Allen '50, a private investor from Houston, has committed a $1.5 million deferred gift to Mays Business School. The gift will establish the Robert H. Allen '50 Endowed Dean's Scholarship Program and provide financial assistance to undergraduate students at Mays.

"The most important decision I have ever made was to attend Texas A&M College, now Texas A&M University," says Allen, who serves on the Dean's Development Council and held a six-year post on the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. "Graduating from Texas A&M resulted in opportunities and successes that now permit me, through a planned deferred gift, to assist future students in continuing their journey toward graduation. I am indeed fortunate and privileged to be able to provide this assistance, and doing so gives me great pleasure and satisfaction."

Allen received his BBA in accounting from Mays in 1950, after serving in the U.S. Army. He began his career with a CPA firm and then was chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Gulf Resources and Chemical Corporation from 1961 until he retired in 1982. Allen is currently managing partner of Challenge Investment Partners.

Allen's gift will count in the university's One Spirit One Vision Campaign. To learn more about Mays' goals for the campaign, visit Giving to Mays.

-Staff Reports

Faculty

Berry appointed professor of humanities in medicine

Dr. Len Berry recently accepted a faculty appointment with the Texas A&M University System College of Medicine as professor of humanities in medicine. This appointment is in addition to his existing faculty appointment at Mays as Distinguished Professor of Marketing and the M.B. Zale Chair in Retailing and Marketing Leadership.

Berry will team-teach a course on quality and safety to second-year medical students during the spring 2005 semester, as well as make a series of presentations throughout the academic year at the Scott & White campus in Temple, Texas.

During late 2001 and early 2002, Berry spent five months on sabbatical as a visiting scientist at Mayo Clinic's Rochester, Minn. and Scottsdale, Ariz. facilities studying healthcare service. The outcomes of Berry's research has resulted in articles in Harvard Business Review, Annals of Internal Medicine, Marketing Health Services, Mayo Magazine and London Business School's Business Strategy Review.

Berry has been identified as the most frequent contributor to the English-language services marketing literature in the world. He has twice been recognized with the highest honor Texas A&M bestows on a faculty member: the Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching and the Distinguished Achievement Award in Research.

Berry is the founder of the Center for Retailing Studies and served as its director from 1982-2000. He is also a former national president of the American Marketing Association.

-Staff Reports

Former Students

Former doctoral student wins 2004 American Marketing Association award

Former doctoral student Sundar Bharadwaj was selected co-winner of the 2004 American Marketing Association Early Career Award for Contributions to Marketing Strategy. The award recognizes marketing faculty members who have contributed to the discipline 10 years or less by July 2003. The award is based on the nominee's overall impact in marketing strategy research, including research quality and quantity.

Bharadwaj's work has been published in numerous journals including the Journal of Business Research, the Journal of International Consumer Marketing, the Marketing Education Review, and Vikalpa. His research has received such awards as Best Paper Published in the Journal of Academy of Marketing Science in 1996 and the Best Services Article in 1993 in the Journal of Services Marketing.

Bharadwaj received his PhD in marketing from Mays in 1994. He currently serves as an associate professor of marketing at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University and serves as the marketing doctoral program coordinator.

-Alycia C. Zuehlke

Donors

Cicherskis commit endowed scholarship

Sue and Bill Cicherski '54 of Dallas have committed $100,000 for an endowed scholarship to benefit Mays students. The gift will create the Sue Clement and Bill Cicherski '54 Endowed Scholarship.

"Sue and Bill's gift will make a difference for many students over the years," says Dean Jerry Strawser. "Their generosity helps us attract the best and brightest students to Texas A&M University."

The couple purchased Dallas-based Asel Art Supply in 1973 and took it from a privately held company to an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) in 1987. The company currently has 10 locations and one bookstore.

"We worked our way through college. We set up this scholarship fund because we wanted to help others have it a little easier than we did," says Bill Cicherski, who earned a BBA in accounting in 1954. "This is our way of giving back to Texas A&M University."

The Cicherskis' gift will count in the university's One Spirit One Vision Campaign. To learn more about Mays' campaign goals, visit Giving to Mays.

-Staff Reports

Faculty Honors

Mahajan named University Honors Teacher/Scholar

Lamar Savings Professor of Finance Dr. Arvind Mahajan was designated one of two Texas A&M University Honors Program Teacher/Scholars for 2004-2005. In addition to this recent honor, Mahajan also received The Association of Former Students of Texas A&M University's Distinguished Teaching Award this year. In 2003, he garnered the Bush Excellence Award for Faculty in International Teaching.

"Ultimately, eligibility for most such honors come from an assessment by your former students (and sometimes colleagues) regarding how you have affected them intellectually," says Mahajan. "And there is a lot which goes into cultivating another person's mind - a mastery of your discipline, a strategy to accomplish what you want, a lot of hard work, uncompromising high standards, genuine caring, and abundant use of wit and humor in your interactions."

Mahajan serves as the associate director of the Center for International Business Studies. Specializing in the areas of international and corporate finance, his work has appeared in such publications as the Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Financial Research and Journal of Money, Credit and Banking.

-Alycia C. Zuehlke

Faculty Research

Shankar paper among top five downloads

New Mays marketing faculty member, Venkatesh Shankar's, paper — "Online Trust: A Stakeholder Perspective, Concepts, Implications, and Future Directions, Journal of Strategic Information Systems, Special Issue on Trust on the Internet" — is among the top five downloaded articles in Elsevier's Journal of Strategic Information Systems Web site of all articles from 2000-2004.

His paper discusses the importance of trust in both business-to-business and business-to-consumer e-business. It also addresses why consumers and companies buy more from organizations with trusted Web sites and electronic networks.

Shankar says, "Companies' perception of online trust has steadily evolved from being a construct involving security and privacy issues on the Internet to a multidimensional, complex construct that includes reliability, credibility, emotional comfort and quality for multiple stakeholders such as employees, suppliers, distributors and regulators, in addition to customers."

Joining Mays from the University of Maryland, Shankar serves as professor of marketing and the Brandon C. Coleman Chair in Marketing.

-Staff Reports

Departments

Management ranked nationally for research impact

Mays' Department of Management ranked third in Incites scholarship ranking for research impact. Incites provides commentary and analysis on some of the most influential current scientific discoveries.

Covering a multidisciplinary selection of 8,500 journals from around the world, Incites provides a behind-the-scenes look at the scientists, journals, institutions, nations and papers selected by ISI Essential Science Indicators Web product. You can learn more at: http://www.isinet.com/products/evaltools/esi/.

-Alycia C. Zuehlke



Ethics in marketing among topics featured at doctoral consortium BCAP exposes high school students to business, Texas A&M Marketing PhDs ranked nationally for research impact Dinkel slated to retire in January Mays alumnus named Blue Bell president and CEO Smith honored for teaching and curriculum research REC commissions expansive ethnic study on real estate agents	Donors Former regent establishes business scholarship program Mays alumnus Robert H. Allen '50, a private investor from Houston, has committed a $1.5 million deferred gift to Mays Business School. The gift will establish the Robert H. Allen '50 Endowed Dean's Scholarship Program and provide financial assistance to undergraduate students at Mays. "The most important decision I have ever made was to attend Texas A&M College, now Texas A&M University," says Allen, who serves on the Dean's Development Council and held a six-year post on the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. "Graduating from Texas A&M resulted in opportunities and successes that now permit me, through a planned deferred gift, to assist future students in continuing their journey toward graduation. I am indeed fortunate and privileged to be able to provide this assistance, and doing so gives me great pleasure and satisfaction." Allen received his BBA in accounting from Mays in 1950, after serving in the U.S. Army. He began his career with a CPA firm and then was chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Gulf Resources and Chemical Corporation from 1961 until he retired in 1982. Allen is currently managing partner of Challenge Investment Partners. Allen's gift will count in the university's One Spirit One Vision Campaign. To learn more about Mays' goals for the campaign, visit Giving to Mays. -Staff Reports Faculty Berry appointed professor of humanities in medicine Dr. Len Berry recently accepted a faculty appointment with the Texas A&M University System College of Medicine as professor of humanities in medicine. This appointment is in addition to his existing faculty appointment at Mays as Distinguished Professor of Marketing and the M.B. Zale Chair in Retailing and Marketing Leadership. Berry will team-teach a course on quality and safety to second-year medical students during the spring 2005 semester, as well as make a series of presentations throughout the academic year at the Scott & White campus in Temple, Texas. During late 2001 and early 2002, Berry spent five months on sabbatical as a visiting scientist at Mayo Clinic's Rochester, Minn. and Scottsdale, Ariz. facilities studying healthcare service. The outcomes of Berry's research has resulted in articles in Harvard Business Review, Annals of Internal Medicine, Marketing Health Services, Mayo Magazine and London Business School's Business Strategy Review. Berry has been identified as the most frequent contributor to the English-language services marketing literature in the world. He has twice been recognized with the highest honor Texas A&M bestows on a faculty member: the Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching and the Distinguished Achievement Award in Research. Berry is the founder of the Center for Retailing Studies and served as its director from 1982-2000. He is also a former national president of the American Marketing Association. -Staff Reports Former Students Former doctoral student wins 2004 American Marketing Association award Former doctoral student Sundar Bharadwaj was selected co-winner of the 2004 American Marketing Association Early Career Award for Contributions to Marketing Strategy. The award recognizes marketing faculty members who have contributed to the discipline 10 years or less by July 2003. The award is based on the nominee's overall impact in marketing strategy research, including research quality and quantity. Bharadwaj's work has been published in numerous journals including the Journal of Business Research, the Journal of International Consumer Marketing, the Marketing Education Review, and Vikalpa. His research has received such awards as Best Paper Published in the Journal of Academy of Marketing Science in 1996 and the Best Services Article in 1993 in the Journal of Services Marketing. Bharadwaj received his PhD in marketing from Mays in 1994. He currently serves as an associate professor of marketing at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University and serves as the marketing doctoral program coordinator. -Alycia C. Zuehlke Donors Cicherskis commit endowed scholarship Sue and Bill Cicherski '54 of Dallas have committed $100,000 for an endowed scholarship to benefit Mays students. The gift will create the Sue Clement and Bill Cicherski '54 Endowed Scholarship. "Sue and Bill's gift will make a difference for many students over the years," says Dean Jerry Strawser. "Their generosity helps us attract the best and brightest students to Texas A&M University." The couple purchased Dallas-based Asel Art Supply in 1973 and took it from a privately held company to an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) in 1987. The company currently has 10 locations and one bookstore. "We worked our way through college. We set up this scholarship fund because we wanted to help others have it a little easier than we did," says Bill Cicherski, who earned a BBA in accounting in 1954. "This is our way of giving back to Texas A&M University." The Cicherskis' gift will count in the university's One Spirit One Vision Campaign. To learn more about Mays' campaign goals, visit Giving to Mays. -Staff Reports Faculty Honors Mahajan named University Honors Teacher/Scholar Lamar Savings Professor of Finance Dr. Arvind Mahajan was designated one of two Texas A&M University Honors Program Teacher/Scholars for 2004-2005. In addition to this recent honor, Mahajan also received The Association of Former Students of Texas A&M University's Distinguished Teaching Award this year. In 2003, he garnered the Bush Excellence Award for Faculty in International Teaching. "Ultimately, eligibility for most such honors come from an assessment by your former students (and sometimes colleagues) regarding how you have affected them intellectually," says Mahajan. "And there is a lot which goes into cultivating another person's mind - a mastery of your discipline, a strategy to accomplish what you want, a lot of hard work, uncompromising high standards, genuine caring, and abundant use of wit and humor in your interactions." Mahajan serves as the associate director of the Center for International Business Studies. Specializing in the areas of international and corporate finance, his work has appeared in such publications as the Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Financial Research and Journal of Money, Credit and Banking. -Alycia C. Zuehlke Faculty Research Shankar paper among top five downloads New Mays marketing faculty member, Venkatesh Shankar's, paper — "Online Trust: A Stakeholder Perspective, Concepts, Implications, and Future Directions, Journal of Strategic Information Systems, Special Issue on Trust on the Internet" — is among the top five downloaded articles in Elsevier's Journal of Strategic Information Systems Web site of all articles from 2000-2004. His paper discusses the importance of trust in both business-to-business and business-to-consumer e-business. It also addresses why consumers and companies buy more from organizations with trusted Web sites and electronic networks. Shankar says, "Companies' perception of online trust has steadily evolved from being a construct involving security and privacy issues on the Internet to a multidimensional, complex construct that includes reliability, credibility, emotional comfort and quality for multiple stakeholders such as employees, suppliers, distributors and regulators, in addition to customers." Joining Mays from the University of Maryland, Shankar serves as professor of marketing and the Brandon C. Coleman Chair in Marketing. -Staff Reports Departments Management ranked nationally for research impact Mays' Department of Management ranked third in Incites scholarship ranking for research impact. Incites provides commentary and analysis on some of the most influential current scientific discoveries. Covering a multidisciplinary selection of 8,500 journals from around the world, Incites provides a behind-the-scenes look at the scientists, journals, institutions, nations and papers selected by ISI Essential Science Indicators Web product. You can learn more at: http://www.isinet.com/products/evaltools/esi/. -Alycia C. Zuehlke