CBE Soars

Re-Accreditation
Achieved
B Y D E A N T Y E J A C K S O N
I am delighted to inform you that the Peer Review Team's (PRT)
recommendation for extension of accreditation of undergraduate and
master's degree programs in business offered by Cal State LA has been
concurred with by the Continuous Improvement Review Committee
and ratified by the Board of Directors. We've achieved accreditation for
five additional years.
The Peer Review Team was highly impressed with the quality of our
faculty, our dedicated staff, our tenacious students, and
our engaged alumni, business partners, and board members.
Students graduating from Cal State LA's CBE can be assured that their
degrees will continue to carry a reputation of high quality, as the
college has been reaccredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate
Schools of Business (AACSB). AACSB is the gold standard for business
school accreditation, and I am honored to announce that we have
maintained that status during challenging times. AACSB accreditation
requires a commitment to continuous improvement and, through the
tireless work of our faculty and staff, we have taken actions
demonstrating that commitment.
I want to express my sincerest gratitude to the key stakeholders,
including faculty, staff, students, alumni, industry partners, and Board
Members, who met with the PRT and helped the CBE achieve AACSB
re-accreditation without any reservations.
It truly was a team effort. Together, we made the CBE one of 901 or 5%
of top business schools worldwide with this prestigious feat.
C B E S O A R S P A G E 2

Rise in the Rankings
#1
Best Affordable
Entrepreneurship Degree
B Y N A D I A W A T S O N
"This past year was unlike any other,"
is most likely the understatement of
said year. Yet, the CBE rallied and in
the face of those challenges, we not
only weathered them, we rose above -
literally.
UniversityHQ, the #1 resource for
finding top rated colleges and
BestValueSchools, the #1 resource for
finding the best return on your
education investment, found the CBE
and our programs to be invaluable.
From the most affordable to top rated
schools based on a desired major, their
independent research and evidencebased
program rankings considering
graduation rates, tuition costs,
graduating salaries, and number of
programs offered, concluded
something we already knew - the CBE
is truly the hidden gem of Los Angeles.
But don't just take my word for it.
At UniversityHQ, we were ranked #1 Best
Affordable degrees in the nation in the
following categories: Entrepreneurship,
Business Management, and Operations
Management. We also ranked #2 Best
Most Affordable Supply Chain
Management degree and #6 Best
Affordable Business Administration
degree in the nation.
BestValueSchools voted us the #1 MBA
program in Southern California & the #1
Accounting program in California.
Attending a higher-ranking business
program can be exceptionally helpful
with employer recognition and
networking post-graduation as some
businesses will seek to primarily recruit
from certain local or well-regarded
postsecondary institutions.
#1
#1
#2
#6
#1
#1
Best Affordable Business
Management Degree
Best Affordable Operations
Management Degree
Best Affordable Supply Chain
Management Degree
Best Affordable Business
Administration Degree
MBA Program in Southern
California
Accounting Program in
California
C B E S O A R S P A G E 3

award-winning
PROGRAMS &
EXPERIENCES
BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH
ANALYTICS VISUALIZATION
ENVIRONMENT (BRAVE)
VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX
ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
(VITA)
PROFESSIONAL
FUNDAMENTALS PROGRAM
(PFP)
Allows faculty, students,
communities, & businesses to
conduct research in a secured lab
environment using behavioral
research technology.
VITA offers free tax help to people
with annual incomes of $55,000 or
less, persons with disabilities,
and limited English-speaking
taxpayers.
PFP prepares students for a
career and life after college
through tangible experience.
C B E S O A R S P A G E 4

CBE SUITS ME
CAREER PLACEMENT
FINANCIAL FITNESS FORCE
CBE Suits Me provides
disadvantaged students with free
access to professional clothing
that can be used for businessrelated
activities.
Helping local businesses connect
with students and recent alumni;
educating students and alumni
about their business; and finding
the right talent for their needs.
Faculty, lecturers, industry
experts & external partners
developing and offering essential
financial workshops/information
to empower students financially.
GRADUATE PROGRAMS
STUDENT SUCCESS &
ADVISING
CONNECTING ALUMNI &
STUDENTS WITH
EMPLOYERS (CASE)
Our graduate programs strive to
put our professional degrees
within reach to those in our
community and coming from
abroad.
Understanding that proper
advisement is key to student
success, we provide a wealth of
academic advising services and
resources for students.
C.A.S.E. presents a unique
opportunity for students to build
relationships with alumni and
other sponsors to achieve real
results.
C B E S O A R S P A G E 5

VOTED #1 MBA
PROGRAM
GRADUATE ADMISSIONS
CORNER
B Y J A N E R A T A N
G R A D U A T E A D M I S S I O N S C O U N S E L O R
In an era where higher education is becoming increasingly
difficult for many to obtain, we strive to put our
professional degrees within reach of those in our
community and coming from abroad. So when we were
voted #1 MBA program in Southern California in 2021 by
Best Value Schools, we knew the hard work was paying off.
In the 2020-2021 academic year, we are proud to announce
that, despite the impact of Covid-19, our admitted students
increased by 60%, and our yield increased by 65%. We also
hosted over 30 information students with over 700
prospective students in attendance.
This upcoming year, we hope to host even more
information sessions, focus more on local and international
students and improve the overall communications flow
with prospective students. We are excited for the success
that lies ahead this upcoming academic year!
Best Value Schools finds that Cal State
LA's College of Business and Economics'
two-track MBA Program offers the best
graduate business value in Southern
California, providing a nationally
recognized program that, for decades,
has opened professional, social, and
economic doors for all students.
The Fully-Employed Track provides
students flexibility in elective
concentrations, allowing for
interdisciplinary studies if desired. The
Main Track balances required course
work with elective studies in different
concentrations.
MEET OUR NEW
DIRECTOR FOR
MBA/MSBA/FEMBA
Dr. Mine Üçok Hughes has been named
the new Director of MBA//MSBA/FEMBA
programs at the CBE.
Particularly interested in studying nonmainstream
consumers, Dr. Hughes
teaches undergraduate and graduatelevel
marketing courses with a focus on
social marketing, sustainability, and
civic engagement. She studies
consumers with cultural contexts and
conduct qualitative research.
C B E S O A R S P A G E 6

724
39.7%
2 Y
52,000+
DEGREES
AWARDED*
FIRST-GENERATION
GRADUATE STUDENTS
TIME TO
GRADUATION
GLOBAL GRADUATE
ALUMNI NETWORK
*All Programs since Fall 2016
2 Y
C B E S O A R S P A G E 7

CIS DEPARTMENT
REPRESENTS CBE AT
29TH ANNUAL
STUDENT SYMPOSIUM
ON RSCA AWARD
STUDENT & FACULTY
VITA VOLUNTEERS
CONCLUDE ANOTHER
SUCCESSFUL TAX SEASON
CBE STUDENTS
The 29th Annual Student Symposium
on Research, Scholarship, and Creative
Activities, sponsored by the Office of
Research, Scholarship, and Creative
Activities, took place on March 12th,
2021. Faculty mentor, Dr. Jongwook
Woo, helped Mohsen Alam and Randall
Luetto win Outstanding Presentation
Award for their "Hive on Yelp" project
in the Business, Humanities, and Arts
sector.
Mohsen Alam’s industrial experience
consists of working for LA County’s
COVID-19 Contract-Tracing Data
Team, the Children’s Medical Services
Web Administration, and as an
Information Systems Tutor at Mt. San
Antonio College. Randall Lunetto's
industrial experience includes Special
Projects in Sales at Clutter and work as
a General Manager at Yogaworks.
Both CIS students have an impressive
research in big data analysis/science
and can be viewed here.
Once again, on behalf of the CBE, we
would like to extend our heartiest
congratulations on this wonderful feat!
In the program's 37th year, Professor John
Cooper, Lecturer Patrick Borja, Supervising
Lead, Ms. Lousineh Hovsepian, and our 78
students helped countless community
members, completing 1,258 returns for $2.5
million in refunds through the Volunteer
Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.
Where real-life learning and real-life service
go hand-in-hand, the VITA program offers
free tax help to people with annual incomes
of $55,000 or less, persons with disabilities,
and limited English speaking taxpayers who
need assistance in preparing their tax
returns.
Living out the mission of the CBE, our
students commit their time and energy to
train and become IRS-certified volunteers
who provide free basic income tax return
preparation for electronic filing, ultimately
helping those in the community who need it
most.
The Cal State Vita Program is co-sponsored
by the Internal Revenue Service and State
Farm.
Click to view our 78 student volunteers.
C B E S O A R S P A G E 8

CBE PLACES SECOND IN
2021 INTERNATIONAL
COLLEGIATE BUSINESS
STRATEGY COMPETITION
Congratulations to our first runner up
winners of the semester-long 2021
International Collegiate Business Strategy
Competition: Ma Ledi Ham Loot, Thitinun
Lerttanapong (New), Quyen Vi Ma, Clarence
T. Foryoung, Bhumi Ramani, and Isaac
Marroquin, led by their advisor, Dr. Laura
Whitcomb.
Competing with Idaho State University,
Sacramento State University and UC
Riverside, each team takes over the
management of a simulated manufacturing
company competing against other firms run
by competitor teams in its Simulated World.
Designed to enable advanced business
students to integrate and apply the theories
of their business courses, the Business
Policy game allows students to become
strategic managers of simulated companies
competing against other business students
acting as managers of their own companies.
Each team is responsible for a strategic
business plan, an annual report, and one
formal oral presentation to judges (who
serve as the simulated Board of Directors).
Team members have the experience of
running their own company and learn firsthand
how a group effort can result in
synergy and enthusiasm.
MARKETING
STUDENTS PLACE
FIRST IN FIRST-
EVER CSUSC
Dr. Carlin Nguyen guides
students Alicia Charro, Eileen
Wang, and Vanessa Aguiar to
winning first place in the firstever
Annual Cal State University
Sales Competition in November
2020.
The two-day event consisted of
an individual competition and a
team competition in rooms filled
with both judges and job
recruiters who sponsored the
event, ranging from Oracle, T-
Mobile, ADP, Unum, and more.
We had the pleasure of speaking
with Dr. Nguyen and the team to
learn more about this unique
experience.
While there is no sales program
currently in the CBE, these three
students are thrilled to be a part
of its beginning. The competition
is open to any class, not just
seniors so the sooner a student
starts out, the better.
Dr. Nguyen hopes to get more
students involved this semester as
the CBE's first sales club.
C B E S O A R S P A G E 9

DR. NKANSA EARNS
2020-2021 LYBRAND
AWARD
DR. DEL ANGEL'S
PUBLISHED NBER
WORKING PAPER
CBE FACULTY
Dr. Porschia Nkansa earned a
Certificate of Appreciation in the
Lybrand Awards for Strategic Finance
& Management Accounting Quarterly
for her article, “Using Reality TV to
Enliven Learning," creating a basis for
accounting instructors to develop case
studies enhancing student engagement
through hit show, The Profit.
DR. TOFIGHI'S NEW
ROLE FOR "A"
RANKED JOURNAL
Dr. Maryam Tofighi earned a new role
as the Editorial Assistant to the
International Journal of Research and
Distribution Management (IJRDM).
The 'A'-ranked journal focuses on
strategic significance in global
retailing & distribution.
Dr. Marco Del Angel co-authored, “Do
Global Pandemics Matter for Stock Prices?
Lessons from the 1918 Spanish Flu,”
published in the National Bureau of
Economic Research (NBER). He uses the
death rate to control for the impact of the
global pandemic and war news reported in
the New York Times to capture the positive
effects of the end of WWI on stock prices.
BARRY HUNT'S
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
HIMSS ARTICLE
Barry Hunt authored, “What is Leadership
and How Do You Recognize and Achieve It in
Healthcare Management and Information
Systems?”, in the Spring 2021 Newsletter for
the Southern California Healthcare
Information and Management Systems
Society (HIMSS).
C B E S O A R S P A G E 1 0

DR. BALAN EARNS 2021
ASSESSMENT AWARD
Dr. Shilpa Balan was recently recognized at
the 5th Annual Assessment Faire at Cal State
LA for her Information Systems (IS)
presentation: “An Assessment Model of the
Information Systems Curriculum: Preparing
Business Students for the Workforce” (both
undergraduate and graduate programs)
which walks you through how the IS
program in the CBE is assessed.
DR. UPADHYAYA
RECEIVES NSS BIG
DATA GRANT
Dr. Upadhyaya will serve as a
Community Scholar and
thematically integrate course
syllabi with Community Partners,
the City of Los Angeles and
associated non-profits to begin
building capacity in big literacy
across community, agency, and
university platforms.
ROGER MENDOZA IN
JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL
EDUCATION (JFE) & WALL
STREET FORUMS
In 2021, Dr. Mendoza served on a one-onone
forum for Wall Street bankers and
investors to address the implications of the
2020 presidential elections on healthcare
and COVID-19; and devised an instructional
simulation game featured in the JFE.
DR. HOUSTON
NAMED DIRECTOR
OF COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT
Recently named the Director of
Community Engagement, Dr. Rika
Houston brings a diverse
background in academia,
corporate marketing, consulting,
and community engagement.
C B E S O A R S P A G E 1 1

DEAN'S
ADVISORY BOARD
Cardenas, '89
Rosalina
President, Cardenas
Strategy Group
Rosario Marin, '83
Former U.S. Treasurer,
Owner of Marin & Marin
M. Montoya, '02
Berta
Director, New Business
Development Latino Market
Thrivent Financial
Chacon, '97
Oscar
Partner IT Risk &
Advisory Services, Vasquez
& Company LLP
Sifuentes Trigueros
Susan
Regional Public Affairs
Manager, Southern California
Gas Company
Luis Patino, '96
Senior VP & General
Manager, Univision Local
Media Los Angeles
Faggiolly, '07
Vanessa
Chief Financial Officer,
Amerisal Foods LLC
Mike Sarian, '83
President of Operations, Prime
Healthcare
de la Rocha, '01, '06
Remi
VP, Managed Care
AltaMed Health Services
Gary Guibert
Senior VP, Public Fund &
Taft Hartley, Northern
Trust
Lawrence Rodriguez, '67
Retired Partner, Ernst & Young
LLP
Karin Kricorian, PHD
Director, Management Science
& Integration, Disney
Isaac Hung, '84
President, ICM Resources,
Inc.
Luis Rojas, '88
President & CEO, Del Terra
David Tetreault, '89, '94
Executive VP, Media and
Entertainment, Golden Boy
Promotions, Inc.
Kang, CPA '84
Steven
Partner, KSGA LLP
Sal Mendoza
Senior VP, City National Bank
Rudy B. Medina
President, Southern California
Market
Carl Sasaki, '83
Partner, Crowe LLP
Donald Lam, CPA '81
Lam, Robinson & Co.
C B E S O A R S P A G E 1 2

DEAN'S ADVISORY BOARD:
WHAT THEY'RE UP TO
Rudy Medina Named U.S. Bancorp's Top
Commercial Regional Executive
Amid U.S. Bancorp's recent acquisition of MUFG Union Bank's
banking franchise for $8 billion, Rudy Medina was named the
bank's top commercial regional executive.
“With the acquisition, U.S. Bank will gain more than 1 million
loyal consumer customers and about 190,000 small business
customers on the West Coast in addition to approximately $58
billion in loans and $90 billion in deposits based on MUFG
Union Bank's June 30, 2020 balance sheet,” U.S. Bank said in a
statement.
“The combination will improve U.S. Bank's deposit position in
California from 10th to fifth and will significantly increase its
customer base in California.”
Luis Patino Empowers Latino Small
Business Owners at Univision's 4th Annual
POSiBLE LA Expo
“Now more than ever Latino business owners need our help,”
said Luis Patiño, president and general manager, Univision Los
Angeles. “They continue to be among the hardest hit during the
pandemic, struggling to keep their businesses open and their
employees paid, all while ensuring the health and safety of
their own families. This year’s free, virtual event is perhaps the
most relevant and timely expo we’ve ever produced, and one
that is poised to help businesses of every size power through
these challenging times.”
David Tetreault Named Chief Business
Officer and Equity Partner in Oscar De La
Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions
Collectively, Tetreault will strategically drive in all TV and
streaming licensing deals, media, entertainment, marketing,
communications, corporate development, sponsorships and
co-managing all financial aspects of the company.
Mike Sarian Acquires Randolph
Health's Operating Assets
American Healthcare Systems (AHS)
founder, Mike Sarian, has aquired Randolph
Health's operating assets. His plan for
sustainability includes investing in existing
facilities, increasing the services offered,
and jupgrading equipment to make the
hospital profitable within 90 days. AHS is an
integrated healthcare system of hospitals,
medical groups, and captivated members.
Karin Kricorian Named New
Board Member on Yale Alumni
Association
Annually, six board members are elected by
YAA delegates (representing regional clubs,
classes, interest groups, alumni
associations, and more) and two are
appointed by a board nominating
committee. Board members serve threeyear
terms, though their stay on the board
can be extended if elected as officers.
Sal Mendoza Spearheads
$15,000 Grants Project to
Pan-Asian Communities
City National Bank announced Community
Reinvestment Act grants totaling $15,000 for
two nonprofits, Accessity and Union of Pan
Asian Communities in San Diego, including
their businesses, families, individuals and
children. Supporting many nonprofits in
San Diego for over 40 years, senior vice
president and CRA manager for City
National, Sal Mendoza, states, “We take
great pride in supporting the communities
where we work and live, and we commend
the work being done by these wonderful
nonprofit organizations to enhance the
vitality and well-being of our communities.”
C B E S O A R S P A G E 1 3