Dr. Mitchell Muehsam to Take the Helm in - Sam Houston State ...

Amato and Dudley
Honored at Beta Gamma
Sigma Ceremony
L to R: George Stevens, Gary Dudley, Dean Lewis, Charlie Amato, Leroy Ashorn,
Jill Vaughan, James Gilmore (Photo: Images by Lisa)
College of Business Administration alumni, Charlie Amato and Gary
Dudley, received the Beta Gamma Sigma Entrepreneurship Medallion for
2009. Beta Gamma Sigma is the international honor society for colleges of
business accredited by AASCB International. The Entrepreneurship Medallion
is awarded to outstanding individuals who combine innovative business
achievement with service to humanity. Mr. Amato and Mr. Dudley were two
of only five recipients of this award in 2009.
The SHSU James E. Gilmore Chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma nominated
Mr. Amato and Mr. Dudley for this award. Dr. Leroy Ashorn, president of the
chapter, presided at the spring induction ceremony. Dr. George Stevens, Dean
of Kent State College of Business Administration and Graduate School of
Management and President of Beta Gamma Sigma, presented the medallions
at the ceremony that was held on March 24 in the Lowman Student Center
Ballroom. Chapter honorees were Joseph “Bud” Haney and Jill Vaughan.
Mr. Amato and Mr. Dudley co-founded Southwest Business Corporation
(SWBC) in 1976. SWBC provides a wide range of insurance, mortgage
and investment services to financial institutions, businesses and families. The
company employs 1,200 employees and earns more than $1 billion per year in
premiums and loans.
Mr. Dudley serves on the SHSU College of Business Administration
Advisory Board. Mr. Amato is a former Advisory Board member. Both men
were inducted into the SHSU College of Business Hall of Honor in 2006 and
the San Antonio Business Hall of Fame, also in 2006. The Sam Houston State
University Alumni Association named Mr. Amato and Mr. Dudley Distinguished
Alumni in 2001 and 2004, respectively. Mr. Amato has been named
one of the “Most Influential San Antonians” and “Humanitarian of the Year”
by the Arthritis Foundation. Governor Rick Perry appointed Mr. Amato to
the Board of Regents of the Texas State University System. Mr. Dudley serves
on the President’s Council at Sam Houston State University.
2
SMITH-HUTSON
Retirement of
Dr. Ennis Hawkins
A f ter for t y plus
years of service to Sam
Houston State University
and the College of Business
Administration, Dr. Ennis
M. Hawkins will retire
from the Department of
Accounting at the end of
the spring semester 2009.
Hired by Dean Jean Neal,
Dr. Hawkins began his
teaching career at SHSU
in 1966 as an instructor in
the Department of Business
Administration. He
received his BBA and MBA
from Texas A&M University
in 1965 and 1966,
respectively, and completed his doctorate of business administration from
Texas Tech University in 1974. Dr. Hawkins was promoted to full professor
in 1977.
When Dr. Rita B. Huff, chair of the Department of Accounting, passed
away suddenly in 1982, Dr. Hawkins stepped in to take over her duties and
became the acting chair for the department until 1983 when he was named
chair. It was during this time that Dr. Hawkins and three other professors
founded MicroMash, a computerized, interactive software program to prepare
students for the Certified Public Accountant Examination. It became
an important and widely used study tool for persons preparing to sit for the
Uniform CPA exam.
In 1986, desiring to return to full-time teaching, Dr. Hawkins stepped
down as chair. Already having the designation of Certified Public Accountant,
Dr. Hawkins obtained the designations of Certified Internal Auditor and
Certified Management Accountant. During his years at SHSU, he served on
numerous committees such as the Graduate Council, Curriculum Committee,
and the Faculty Tenure Committee, to name a few.
As a founding member of the Department of Accounting, it will be hard
to imagine COBA without Dr. Ennis Hawkins. We wish him many relaxing
years with his wife, Kay, their three sons, and five grandchildren.
Dr. Victor E. Sower Retires — December 2008
One of the College of Business Administration’s most respected and
influential professors, Dr. Victor Sower, professor of management, retired from
Sam Houston State at the end of the Fall 2008 semester. It would be difficult
to find another person who has contributed more to the College of Business
Administration and Sam Houston State University than Dr. Sower.
Dr. Sower is one of only two SHSU professors to receive all three of
the University’s excellence awards. He was awarded the Excellence in Teaching
Award in 1996, the Excellence in Research Award in 2001, and the Excellence
in Service Award in 2008. In addition to these awards, in 2005, Dr. Sower won
the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation Piper Professor Award, an honor that is
bestowed annually to only fifteen professors in the state of Texas for superior
teaching at the college level.
Dr. Sower began his career with Sam Houston State University and
the College of Business Administration in 1990, when he joined the faculty as
an assistant professor of management for the Department of Management &
Marketing. During his years at SHSU, Dr. Sower produced a seemingly endless
list of publications, books, manuals and presentations. He served on countless
committees, both at the University
and College level. Dr. Sower
was instrumental in developing
and funding the Technolog y
Management Laboratory where
students assemble and test robotics
for a variety of capabilities and
uses. Dr. Sower served as Faculty
Advisor to the Professional Management/Marketing
Association,
Alpha Kappa Psi National Business
Fraternity, and the MBA
Students’ Association.
He will be missed by those
who have had the pleasure of working with him and learning from him. All
members of COBA wish him and his wife Judy wonderful retirement years
enjoying their children and grandchildren.