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Professionals Forums

The Student Professional Development Office coordinates the School’s Visiting Management Professionals Forums. The forums expose students to real-world business and management professionals, who describe their work environments and key factors in their success. Each semester, successful executives travel from across the country to share their expertise and advice with our business and management professionals-in-training. Attendance at the forums offers students the opportunity to dress in traditional business suits. They also hone their listening, speaking, and analytical skills. A group of students is invited to lunch with the visiting speaker to practice networking and etiquette skills.

Spring 2012 Program

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February 9

Randall L. Marcuson
Executive Chairman
Advanced Animal Diagnostics

Randall Marcuson’s company, Advanced Animal Diagnostics, is a development- stage company focused on rapid detection of mastitis in dairy cows. Previously he served as president and CEO of Embrex, retiring in 2007 after the company was acquired by Pfizer Animal Health. Earlier, Marcuson worked as vice president of American Cyanamid’s international animal health business. He also spent 10 years with Monsanto Agriculture Products Co. where he was involved in the development of the initial marketing and launch of Roundup, the world’s largest-selling herbicide. Marcuson holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations and West Asian studies from the University of Kansas. He is currently an executive coach for the MBA Leadership Immersion Program at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.



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February 16

William R. Whitney
CLU, ChFC and Vice President
State Farm Insurance

William Whitney joined State Farm in 1980 as an agent in Chico, Calif. In 1986, he was appointed an agency manager in Salinas, Calif. He was promoted to agency director in the Northern California Region in 1991 and was named executive assistant in the president’s office at corporate headquarters in 1995. He became vice president – agency in the Eastern Region in 1997. Whitney is a graduate of California State University at Chico. He earned the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation in 1993 and received his Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) designation in 1994. Active in the community, Whitney is an advisory board member for Habitat for Humanity, a volunteer for Boy Scouts of America, and an active member of Rotary International..


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February 23

Eunice Heath
Global General Manager
Dow Home & Personal Care Chemical Company

Eunice Heath is the global general manager for the Dow Home and Personal Care business unit of Dow Advanced Materials. Heath joined Dow in 1991 and has held a range of sales, marketing, market research, and supply chain responsibilities. While based in Switzerland, she served as the integration leader for Dow’s acquisition of Wolff Walsrode AG, and in July 2007, she assumed the role of marketing and sales director for the Dow Wolff Cellulosics business unit. Heath holds a MBA from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Florida. She is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt and was a 2007 recipient of the Black Engineer of the Year Award in the category of Technical Sales and Marketing.


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March 1

Lynne Fairbanks
SVP, Associate/Customer Experience Manager
Bank of America

Lynne Fairbanks is senior vice president and manager for associate and customer experience for LandSafe Closing Services, a subsidiary of Bank of America. She joined Bank of America in 2004 as a finance manager. Previously, Fairbanks was a director in the New York office of Booz Allen & Hamilton Consulting. While there, she served as program director of the Harlem Small Business Initiative, a pro bono effort working with the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Foundation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a MBA with concentrations in management information systems and international business from Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J. She is also a Certified Public Accountant.


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March 8

Don Tarwater
President
Sysco

Raleigh Don Tarwater is president of Sysco Raleigh. He is also chairman of Sysco’s Best Business Practices – Finance Committee and a member of the company’s corporate ethics committee. He joined Sysco in 1991 as an assistant controller. After working in several finance positions, he was promoted to senior vice president for Sysco Baltimore in 2000 and to executive vice president of the same unit in 2006. He came to Sysco Raleigh as president in 2008. Previously, Tarwater worked for Arthur Andersen & Co. as an auditor. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama and a master’s from the University of Houston. He is a Certified Public Accountant.


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March 22

Olalah Njenga
CEO & Senior Marketing Strategist
YellowWood Group

LLC Olalah Njenga is a gifted marketing strategist who gets to the meat of the matter with straight talk and powerful, laughter-inspiring truth. She shares her message for small business success with appreciative audiences across the United States and has broken a fire code or two with record attendance in the process. The author of “37 What-Were-They- Thinking Moments in Marketing,” Njenga has been spotlighted on Forbes.com, Fox News and Small Business Trends. She writes a column on small business for Carolina Business Connection. Njenga is a two-time Top 50 Catalyst Entrepreneur award winner, a twotime International Stevie Women In Business award finalist, and was honored with a 2011 Women Extraordinaire Award for seeing her company to record revenue growth.


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Management education at North Carolina Central University can be traced to the year 1910, when the institution first opened its doors to students. University documents indicate that plans were drafted during the 1926-27 academic year for the establishment of a professional School of Commerce. Despite the absence of complete information of the actual operations of the School of Commerce, it is apparent that in addition to exemplary programs in the arts and sciences, business programs have long enjoyed a place of prominence at the University.

An unprecedented growth in student interest and enrollment caused University officials to plan the establishment of a professional school devoted to studies in business administration and management. On July 1, 1972, the Department of Business and Economics was separated from the Undergraduate School of Arts and Sciences became the School of Business.


Testimonials


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George Hamilton

B.S. Business Administration, 1977
President, Dow Coating Solutions, Midland, Michigan

“North Carolina Central University is a very competitive business school which provides a quality education with unique advantages such as its location in the Research Triangle, small classes, student diversity, global focus, and a holistic education that provides growth of the mind and spirit. I highly recommend it to any young person seeking a great education that will impact them for life."


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Keith Edgerton

B.B.A. Accounting/B.B.A. Business Information Technology,2008
President National Association of Black Accountants – NCCU chapter, 2007 – 2008
Corporate Staff Accountant, Caterpillar, Inc.

Recently featured in the Wilmington-based publication, Greater Diversity News, Edgerton was recognized for the highest GPA in Accounting and Computer Information Systems. Considered legally blind, he still managed to tutor students from other schools and achieve a 4.0 average in both his chosen fields of study.

“I found out about the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) through my accounting classes. I joined for networking opportunities, and it helped me meet new friends, some from other schools that I tutored. Recruiters sought me out after hearing about me from students at other schools. In 2007 I won local and regional scholarships through my association with NABA. Then, in 2008, I won the national NABA Distinguished Collegiate Professional Award."


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Meredith Weiss

M.B.A./M.I.S. 2005
Associate Dean for Administration, Finance and Information Technology, UNC Chapel Hill School of Law

“I chose NCCU because it offered a convenient, inexpensive evening program that wasn’t far from home. When I arrived, I found the professors very helpful. They genuinely wanted students to succeed. Among the students, there was diversity of backgrounds that provided insights into other cultures and business experiences. We developed real friendships. It was a good program and the degree I earned has opened several doors for me."


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Deborah Watkins

B.B.A. 1979, M.B.A. 1998
Resource Development Manager, IBM
IGS- Global Delivery, Research Triangle Park, NC

“I received my MBA in May 1998 and by October 1998 I had landed a management position. I would highly recommend North Carolina Central University to anyone and put it up against any of the area schools. I think you can get a great education here."