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Campus Review
May 29, 2012
Page 2
SAM Places First in National Business
Competition for Second Consecutive Year
Ginny Bass Named Distance Learning
Administration Wagner Award Winner for 2012
The Clayton State University Chapter of
the Society for Advancement of
Management (SAM) recently took its sec-
ond straight first place award at the SAM
national business competition in Las
Vegas, Nev.
Led by SAM advisor Dr. Reza
Kheirandish, assistant professor of
Economics in the College of Business at
Clayton State, the SAM team of students
Roxanne Gonzalez, Jordan Bryant, Corey
Wagner, Janice Jackman, and Chris Cable
won the national competition with what
Kheirandish termed, “a stylish campaign
for an electric car manufacturer.”
In addition, Wagner, Gonzalez and Cable
also received regional outstanding student
awards and Wagner and Gonzalez
Ginny Bass, director
of Degree Completion
at Clayton State
University, has been
named the recipient of
the Distance Learning
A dm i n i s t r a t i o n ’ s
(DLA) Outstanding
Instructional Support
Award for 2012. This
award is one of three
DLA Wagner Awards to be presented to
outstanding individuals, to recognize them
and/or the groups that they represent, for
their excellence in Distance Learning
Administration Innovation, Outstanding
Instructional Support, or Leadership.
The Outstanding Instructional Support
Award recognizes outstanding achieve-
ments by an individual in developing and
implementing projects to improve support
and services for distance students and/or
faculty. Bass, a resident of Fayettville,
Ga., and the assistant director of the
Clayton State – Fayette instructional site
in Peachtree City, Ga., will receive her
award on June 3, at the DLA Conference
at Jekyll Island.
As part of the award ceremony, Bass, who
has worked at Clayton State for 12 years,
will also make a short presentation during
the DLA 2012 Sunday evening opening
dinner/awards ceremony. Bass says she
plans to talk about the importance of
working with other departments when
taking on a project as broad as adding 100
percent distance learning offerings to the
University. A potter by avocation, Bass
plans to illustrate her talk with an analogy
- the vision of the end result (a ceramic
mug) while having an awareness of the
series of movements needed to accom-
plish the task (a mug pleasing to the eye,
yet still functional).
“When Ginny was hired to direct our
degree completion program she immedi-
ately responded to the demand from adult
students for degrees that could be com-
pletely online,” says Dr. Kevin Demmitt,
Clayton State associate vice president for
Extended Programs. “While Clayton State
had many online courses, there were miss-
ing pieces that made it difficult for stu-
dents to complete their degrees. Working
closely with academic units and offices
across campus, Ginny helped create a
pathway for students complete select
degree programs online.”
“Ginny Bass is one of the most tenacious
and devoted directors of distance and
adult education programs that I know,”
says Clayton State Vice President for
Academic Affairs and Provost Dr.
Micheal Crafton, who nominated Bass for
this honor. “She has a clear vision of how
many of our students need and deserve to
be served and she will not be deterred by
mere mortals as she labors to bring that
vision to fruition.”
DLA symposiums are specifically
designed for those involved or interested
in the administration, management, plan-
ning, and evaluation of distance learning
programs. The organization, which was
founded at the University of West
Georgia, has members from all over the
United States and Canada. The DLA
Wagner Awards generally recognize
excellence in distance learning adminis-
tration.
Bass
received the national outstanding student
award.
“The most important thing for me as the
advisor of the Clayton State chapter of
SAM was that the team did an outstanding
job, as a group, to represent Clayton
State,” says Kheirandish. “I have received
many complements from the other chapter
advisors because of these dedicated stu-
dents. I should also mention this travel [to
the competition] was impossible without
generous support form the Office of
Provost and the Dean of College of
Business. I think our investment in our
star students paid off very well.”
When designing of a state-of-the-art auto-
mobile, a manufacturer gathers experts
from many disciplines, including engi-
neering, industrial design, and marketing.
When putting together a team for a presti-
gious national business competition,
(L to R) Roxanne Gonzalez, Jordan Bryant,
Corey Wagner, Janice Jackman, Chris Cable,
and Dr. Reza Kheirandish.
SAM, cont’d., p. 4