Charles R. McDonald School of Business Honors Business College

The purpose of the Honors Business College is to attract students who demonstrate high academic potential and provide these students with an educational enrichment program of study to achieve success in their chosen profession and assume leadership roles.

Objectives for the Honors Business College

• Instill in students a sense of social responsibility and service to the community through a service internship.
• Enhance the student’s communication skills to assume leadership positions.
• Challenge and refine the student’s quantitative and critical thinking skills.
• Develop and refine the student’s appreciation for the arts and culture.
• Provide students with a social network for developing a sense of community with colleagues and the University.
• Provide students with a professional work experience within their program specialization.
• Require students to complete research within their area of study, and analyze and evaluate the political and economic factors, which affect one’s profession.
• Provide the business community with graduates who will be able to assume leadership roles during their professional careers.
• Enhance Myers University’s ability to provide the business community with the highest quality graduates.

Honors Business College Benefits

• Academic scholarships for honors students.
• A private honors study room in Chester Hall.
• Special events for honors students to develop professional skills and a sense of community.
• Special recognition on student’s diploma and transcripts reflecting honors status.

Admission Standards

Admission to the program is by invitation and will be based upon the applicant’s previous academic accomplishments. Candidates for admission must complete an application which also requires submission of a personal essay. Students will enroll for classes offered under the traditional course schedule and must meet one of the following academic criteria for admission into the Honors Business College:
- At least 1100 on the SAT exam or a 24 on the ACT exam, -or-
- At least 1000 on the SAT exam or a 22 on the ACT exam with a minimum high school GPA of 3.5, -or-
- A student from another college’s honors program with a minimum GPA of 3.5.
Transfer students with 60 or more college credits must have a minimum GPA of 3.5 and at least 1000 on the SAT exam or a 22 on the ACT exam.

Program Requirements

• Students will be required to take honors sections of the following business core courses: AC 273-Managerial Accounting, FN312-Financial Management, LA 200-Contracts, Agency, Partnerships, Corporations, MG 265-Managing Through Effective Supervision, MG 304-International Business Environment, and MG 499-Strategic Management Decisions, MK 201-Introduction to Marketing, MS 340-Computer Applications in Business.
• All honors sections would focus upon the courses’ current learning objectives, stressing evaluation, analysis, and critical thinking, and require additional presentations, assignments, papers, or projects.
• Students must complete a three-credit community service internship, submit weekly progress reports and prepare a final course paper. The credits will apply under free electives.
• Students must complete a three-credit professional internship in their field of specialization, complete weekly progress reports and prepare a final course paper. The credits will apply under free electives. If an internship position cannot be secured, three additional credits must be taken in the field of specialization.
• Students will be required to take 498-Senior Project as their business elective and prepare an honors thesis. Students will research a topic in their specialization and complete a thorough analysis and evaluation of all related issues.
• Students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.5 to maintain enrollment in the honors program. If a student’s GPA falls below the minimum requirement he or she will be placed on honors probation and have one academic semester to meet the minimum GPA requirement.
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Application Instructions

All candidates must complete an application for admission into the Honors Business College. You will find the application here and have the option of either completing it electronically or manually. If you wish to submit your application electronically with your essay attached, please email it to jsmigla@myers.edu

If you wish to send it by mail please address it to:

John E. Smigla, Faculty Coordinator for the Business Honors College
Myers University-Chester Hall
3921 Chester Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44114

You can call Professor Smigla at 216-432-8982 with any questions you may have.

Honors Business Faculty

Meet Joyce Banjac—Dean and Marketing

Joyce A. Banjac, Ph.D. accepted the position of Dean of the Charles R. McDonald School of Business in 2005. Her vision is to transform the School of Business into a regional powerhouse for business education by infusing global perspectives, business ethics and an entrepreneurial spirit into the curriculum. Dr. Banjac, an educator and entrepreneur, has taught graduate and undergraduate courses at Baldwin Wallace College, Cuyahoga Community College and Myers University, and she has held key administrative positions within higher education institutions.
Banjac has written and published journal articles on higher education, schools of business and social marketing. In 2006, she sucessfully completed the Institute for Management and Leader Education Program at Harvard University, Graduate School of Education. The program prepares senior administrators in higher education to take on the challenging role of change agents and leadership.

Meet Zai Fox-Information Technology

Dr. Fox is a professor in Information Technology. He focused on systems and software engineering while in school. He earned his M.S. from Virginia Tech and his Ph.D. from Purdue University. Dr. Fox focuses on computer system infrastructure development for organizations. This involves continually improving his expertise in networking, security, databases and application development. He taught previously at Quinnipiac University, Rider University and The University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He has been very involved in developing infrastructure computing and operations programs at each of these schools at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.
Dr. Fox has also done quite a bit of consulting. He has worked on front and back office systems for financial firms. He has also worked on sales management systems for large pharmaceuticals and forecasting and inventory systems for everything from automobile manufacturers to chemical producers/distributors. Dr. Fox particularly enjoys working with small businesses and start-ups that require a broad expertise.

Meet Michael Malone — Management

Mike Malone’s academic background includes a B.A. in Psychology from John Carroll University and a Ph. D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Illinois Institute of Technology. He has over 25 years of Human Resources experience within major corporations such as Baxter Healthcare, Society/Key Bank, Sears Roebuck and Giant Food Stores, mostly at the executive management -level. He has been actively involved in directing company-wide human resource initiatives related to organizational restructure, human resource planning, management development, performance appraisal, workforce diversity, and employee retention strategies.
Mike transitioned to a second career in academia in 2001 with Myers University. He is teaching courses in Strategic Management, Leadership, Organizational Development and Human Resources in the MBA program and at the undergraduate level; he also is actively involved in curriculum design and initiatives related to improving organizational effectiveness.
Mike has taught previously at Illinois Institute of Technology as well as in the MBA program at Kent State University.

Meet Bhavesh Patel—Economics and Finance

Professor Patel earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees (BCom, MCom) from Gujarat University, India and his Ph.D. in Finance from Sardar Patel University, India. He possesses 29 years of teaching experience in undergraduate and graduate business programs. In addition, he has 15 years of experience in executive training and consulting for may international businesses. He is an accomplished author who has published three books, published research papers in refereed journals, is the managing editor of two refereed journals, and editor of four additional refereed journals.
Dr. Patel acts as a reviewer for journals and conferences. In addition to writing, Patel is active in conference presentations. He delivered several invitational lectures, organized national level conferences over the last four years and has launched one international conference in India. Finally, he is the founding Vice-President for two academies (IABE and AIBE). He serves as Chair of the Business Division and Chair of Graduate Studies Committee in addition to participating on many Committees.

Meet Marjorie Shapiro-Management

Professor Shapiro holds a BA degree from Case Western Reserve University, majoring in Mathematics and Education. She earned a MS in Curriculum Design and an MBA from John Carroll University. After graduation from CWRU, she taught in the Bedford City Schools, where she secured a tenure position as a mathematics educator. Shapiro has taught at the college level for more than 20 years, and is tenured in Management at Myers University.
Shapiro has received the following honors for excellence in teaching: Students in Free Enterprise Fellow in 1985; the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) award in 1995; and the outstanding educator award from Northeast Council of Higher Education (NOCHE) in 2004.In addition, Professor Shapiro has held a position on the Board of Economics America: Cleveland Center. The mission of this organization helps raise "Economic Literacy" in NE Ohio area schools. Shapiro chaired the Program Committee for more than ten years. During that time, Economics-America won two national awards for outstanding curriculum development. As of September 2003, the Economics America board elected her to an Emeritus Board Position. She remains an active supporter of this organization.

Meet John Smigla—Accounting

John E. Smigla, Associate Professor of Accounting, has recently joined Myers University as Chairperson of the Accounting and Finance Department. Professor Smigla earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Pennsylvania State University and his Master of Science in Accounting degree from Kent State University. He also completed 33 doctoral credits (18 in accounting) at the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business and Kent State University. He is a licensed CPA in the state of Pennsylvania and began his professional career with Barnes, Sally & Co., CPA’s in Johnstown, PA., and Arthur Young and Co., CPA’s, Pittsburgh office. Professor Smigla has 28 years of teaching experience and has published a number of articles in professional and educational journals. Smigla chairs the business honors committee and he is currently serving as the faculty coordinator for the honors business college. Currently, he is revising the accounting curriculum, and chairing the business core committee.

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