Troy University News

Contact:
Tom Davis
Troy Office of University Relations
334/670-3196
tomdavis@troy.edu

Office of University Relations
253 Adams Administration
Troy, AL 36082
(334) 670-3196
(334) 670-3274 (fax)

TSU System Business Symposium “Quality in Business” set for Jan. 31-Feb 2

   Incorporating quality in business and business education will be the focus at the fourth annual Troy State University Systemwide Business Symposium, set for Jan. 31-Feb. 2 in Gulf Shores.
   The symposium “Quality in Business” will bring together 75 business faculty from throughout the TSU System -- TSU, Troy State University Dothan, Troy State University Montgomery, Troy State University at Phenix City and University College, which administers TSU programs outside of Alabama – as well as administrators, graduate students and business executives.
   Two featured speakers are scheduled for the symposium: Norman B. Davis, Jr., director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, who will speak at a luncheon on Friday, Feb. 1; and Andy Britton, an executive with Coca-Cola, Inc. of Montgomery, who will speak at a luncheon on Saturday, Feb. 2.
   The TSU Systemwide Business Symposium is designed to give business faculty the opportunity to share research and ideas and keep the System’s business education on the leading edge, said Dr. Tom Ratcliffe, Dean of the Sorrell College of Business at TSU. Participants will present research papers, attend professional development workshops and discuss classroom instruction and business education issues.
   “The symposium is a key event in our effort to bridge the gap between the various campuses offering business programs within the Troy State University System,” Dr. Ratcliffe said.
   Symposium sessions will cover the issue of quality in a variety of business disciplines, including management and marketing, accounting and finance, entrepreneurship, economics and ethics, said Dr. Tish Matuszek, assistant professor of management at TSU and symposium organizer. A special forum on quality in business education will be held as well, she said.
   “Regardless of their discipline, quality impacts the work our faculty members do,” Dr. Matuszek said. “As we move into the 21st century, we see a number of businesses with quality issues. Quality often distinguishes successful competitors from those who struggle to maintain themselves.”
   Symposium sessions will focus on the nature of quality and ways it can be incorporated in businesses and business education, she said.

Norman B. Davis, Jr.
   Named director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) by Gov. Don Siegelman in June 2001, Davis is responsible for a department with an operating budget of $250 million and more than 200 employees. ADECA administers several key state programs, including Workforce Development, Community Development Block Grant, Law Enforcement and Traffic Safety and Science, Technology and Energy.
   Davis previously served in the Siegelman administration as superintendent of banks, the second largest state banking department in the country. Prior to his government service, he worked as a senior vice president with the National Bank of Commerce of Birmingham and also served as chairman of the board of commissioners of the Birmingham Housing Authority.
   A graduate of Leadership Alabama and Leadership Birmingham, Davis received a bachelor’s degree from The Johns Hopkins University and earned a master’s of business administration degree from the University of Virginia.