Mysteries unveiled in the Huntsman Post

Today the Huntsman Post came out and there are a few things I thought you should know about it. Studies have shown that people who read the Huntsman Post are 22 percent less likely to engage in pointless discussions or to be irritated when they drop their keys repeatedly. People who read the Huntsman Post are 12 percent less likely to be misled by fabricated statistics. (Did you know that an estimated 50 percent of all study results posted in blogs are fundamentally flawed or fabricated?)

Did you know that Sterling Morris, who knows stuff, reads many parts of the Huntsman Post and that John Johnson, who knows a ton of stuff, looks at it? Did you know that we can put the name “Frank Caliendo” in this blog and he’ll never know because he’s far too busy to notice? It’s true. (There have been reports that Dannon Loveland reads the Huntsman Post, but we haven’t been able to confirm them.)

Even though the Huntsman Post is a small, online newsletter, it often scoops major publications like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. It includes stories it has unearthed that aren’t even on their radar screen.

This Huntsman Post includes a story about a project some students did that only ended up sparking laughter throughout Cache Valley. It tells of the surprise that happened at Commencement this year. It explains the connection between competitive snowboarding and the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business. It spells out exactly why one can say with certainty that the Huntsman School of Business is an award-winning institution. If you click on the right links you’ll find your way to a long list of video recordings of recent speakers who have visited Logan.

If you are a basketball fan you know of Brady Jardine, who will be next year’s star player. Did you hear what happened to his wife, Jenna, after graduation? Just in case you don’t remember who Jenna Jardine is, we have included a picture of her and Brady taken just minutes before “the incident” that was captured on film and included in the Huntsman Post.

All this stuff and more is in the Huntsman Post, including links to videos about the school you might have never seen. Check it out for yourself by clicking here.

Steve Eaton

Can you see into the future?

Think back to February of 2009. How long ago does that seem to you? In February of 2009, the iPad had not yet been introduced. Back in 2009 author Stephen R. Covey was this amazing world-renowned author that we probably could have never afforded to bring to the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business. Now he’s our best-known professor. Does 2009 seem like a long time ago? I know it doesn’t to me.

February of 2009 was 27 months ago. Do you know what happens 27 months from now? It will be August of 2014. By the fall of 2014, you should be able to stand on any of the first three floors of the George S. Eccles Business Building and look down the hallway right into our brand-new building. In fact, you might even have a class there.

Right now, our timeline has us starting the new business building in the summer of 2012 and completing it in the summer of 2014. Now, if you know anything about timelines when it comes to massive projects, then you understand that they can change as fast as positions during an election cycle; but we have hope that this change will come about on schedule.

By this July we will have selected an architectural firm that will help us decide what should be going into this building and what it should look like. There are a million things to figure out if we are to do this right. We have some great help. There are three major players at the table making this happen:

The Division of Facilities, Construction and Management is the state of Utah entity that will help guide us through the process. They have done this many times before, and they know how to keep things legal, fair and efficient.

Then, there is the University Facilities people who are the ones who will end up maintaining our new building and making sure it plugs in properly to everything else on campus. Their help is absolutely essential.

And then there is the Huntsman School of Business leader types. That’s me and some really smart people, like Jim Elwood and Dave Patel, who will all play a key role in figuring out what pieces need to be part of this picture. Ever heard of Dean Douglas D. Anderson? You can be sure he’ll get in the mix too. Remember, he’s the guy who could see this building going up back when most wouldn’t even allow it on their radar.

How many student study rooms should we have? How many classrooms? How many offices will we need? Do we need another auditorium? If we create a center for something, will it need to be centered in the building? Should there be a little café? Or a business library? If we have a café that sells pizza, how far away from Steve Eaton’s office will it need to be located? All that needs to be decided.

It could make your head swim but I’m not worried. I’ve been involved in the construction of a number of buildings before and I have great confidence in the team we have that will be making the key decisions. They know stuff.

Just think, it won’t be long before you’ll be able to boast, “I can remember the day the new building opened…”

Ken Snyder

Class based on Stephen Covey book to start May 17

The Great Work Great Career Summer 2011 session is ready to go!

This will be the fourth group that has gone through this nine-week training group. The course is based on the book by Stephen R. Covey and Jennifer Colosimo entitled Great Work Great Career. The course helps identify and develop your unique skills and passions and how to put them to use, as well as improving your resume and interviewing skills.

Registration for this group is closed, however, students may apply for the Fall 2011 session toward the end of the summer. The cost for the course is $99 which includes the book and access to the Stephen Covey Community website.

This past week things have really been coming together for the summer session. We are so excited to meet so many new participants, as well as have the great opportunity to hear from so many great speakers. As of yesterday, all the guest speakers are all locked in and ready to go! We’ve really put a lot of effort into continuing this program’s reputation of quality, knowledgeable and experienced guest speakers.

For this session, our real pride and joy is the student workbook. We have put considerable time and effort into creating a workbook that will supplement the book, as well as the progression of this course. The workbook has been designed to go right along with the course, making it easier for students to take notes during the specified readings, videos, guest speakers and class discussions. It will really add to the ongoing development and integrity of the course.

Our opening social is this Tuesday, May 17, where we are going to have the opportunity to hear from Dr. Chris Fawson, professor and associate dean for international and entrepreneurial programs, Barbara Sidwell, career accelerator and Great Work Great Career alumna and finally, Lynne Pettit, career accelerator and course facilitator. It will be a great night to better get to know one another and be enlightened by some of our elite staff.

~Great Work Great Career Team

Students reflect on time at Huntsman School

At commencement exercises, on May 6 and 7, graduates sat and listened patiently while people gave them advice on what they could be doing with the rest of their lives. More than 830 students graduated from the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business this spring. That’s quite a few cap and gowns flapping about on one weekend.

We decided to ask some of our graduates what they were thinking on the big day. Check out this video to see what we learned.

Deciding to attend the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University has been a wonderful decision in my life. The experience I have had these past few months has helped me to know that I want to further my education in the field of business. The main factors that have contributed to my experience at this business school have been the enthusiastic students, the wonderful and caring instructors, and the overall curriculum.

In the classes I enrolled in, I had the opportunity to work a lot with other business students. I made new friends, learned new things, and had a lot of fun as I worked with them. I could sense their enthusiasm and desire to learn, which increased my enthusiasm and desire to learn.

The instructors I have had while attending the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business have been outstanding. I can feel that they want me as a student to truly learn and succeed. The instructors try to involve the students as much as possible and are always inviting them to meet outside of the classrooms for extra help. My instructors have had a great influence on the wonderful experience I have had thus far as I have studied business.

Another contributing factor of my experience has been the overall curriculum. Every day that I go to class, I learn valuable knowledge and gain useful skills that I can apply in my field of business. I feel that the classes offered are focused to provide each student with the knowledge and skills he or she needs to be able to achieve success.

The outstanding students, instructors, and curriculum have made my experience at this school a great one, and one that I will definitely continue. I can see only bigger and better things ahead in my life as I do so.

Garrett Hansen

New building is taking shape, even if you can’t see it yet

I just agreed to attend a meeting every Thursday for the next three years.

I don’t feel as bad about that as you might think because, unlike some other regular meetings I’ve attended, I know this one will result in something tangible. It will be big, beautiful and lasting. We will be planning and guiding the construction of the new building!

When I talk about the construction of a new business building, do you have any idea what it might look like? Well, I’m guessing you do now because we’ve put two pictures of what the building could look like in this blog. By sharing these pictures with you, however, I hope you you grasp a pretty simple concept. This is what the building “might” look like. It could change. It’s helpful, however, to share these pictures because then you can start envisioning the possibilities open to us now.

We are the customer when it comes to constructing this building. Here are three things that we want in the new building that I’ve told our partners who will help us through the process:

1. We want the building to look cool. We don’t want it to just look good when it’s done; We want it to be impressive 40 years from now. Have you ever seen a building that must have looked cool and modern in the 1970s but now it looks like bad hair in an old high school yearbook? Our building won’t ever look like bad hair.



2. It needs to look like and function like one complex. Our old building, the George S. Eccles building, and which I actually like, is not going away. It will continue to be part of the Huntsman School of Business. One way we’ll probably do that is to connect the old building with the new one by connecting hallways on the first three floors.



3. It must also include a huge, awesome bungee-jumping platform on the roof. (Okay, that’s not true; I just wanted to see if you were still reading.)

When I drive by the George S. Eccles Business Building, I probably see something different than you do. You probably see the new Ag building going up next door to us. It’s tangible and real. I see, instead, our new building. It’s already taking shape in my head and maybe now in yours. Can you see it yet? Now maybe you can understand why my new weekly meeting is unlike any other I’ve ever attended. I’ll keep you updated as this vision becomes reality.

Ken Snyder

The Jon M. Huntsman School of Business is a school that I am proud to be a part of. Over the past few years the School of Business seems to have grown in prestige and worth. The school seems to keep growing in the eyes of the public, but the thing I appreciate and respect most about the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business is a thing of less visibility to the view of outsiders. I am talking about the teachers and the way that they interact with students. On top of being the best in their fields of expertise, the teachers at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business care about students a great deal. Any other school would be hard pressed to compete with the incredible education students are receiving at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business.

Many stories have been relayed to me by friends and acquaintances about ways that professors from The Jon M. Huntsman School of Business have gone the extra mile for them. This comes as no surprise to me because I have experienced the same kindness from professors on many occasions. There have been countless times when many of my professors have spent long hours in their offices with me to help me learn and truly understand concepts that were being covered in class. Professors have gone out of their way to help me find personal tutors or any other resources that I was in need of. I recall a time when one professor invited me to her home when I was not able to meet during office hours. She worked with me to help me prepare for a test that I needed to take. I thought this act of kindness was above and beyond what a student might expect of a college professor.

The Jon M. Huntsman School of Business is no ordinary college and that is because the college does not have just ordinary professors. In an article discussing Stephen R. Covey joining the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business faculty Dr. Covey was quoted. The article reported that Dr. Covey said, “The leaders and faculty at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business just seem to get it." I could not agree more with Dr. Covey. I am so grateful to my professors at The Jon M. Huntsman School of Business; they truly enhance student’s education in and out of the classroom.

Matt Seeley