“There is no question that the study of real estate is worthwhile since it is essential in obtaining the standard of living most of us desire,” said Dr. Changa Jin, on of CoBA’s newest professors, who brings with him a world of knowledge about finance and real estate.

            With a bachelor’s degree in international business from Konkuk University in Seoul, Korea and a Ph.D in business administration from Georgia State University, Jin is the professor to go to when it comes to seeing real estate as a global institution but acting on it locally.

            Admittedly, this wasn’t the first question asked when we began our conversation. Instead I wondered, “why major in real estate economics and finances?”

            When asked, Jin easily replied, “It is one of the great areas to study for general business background because real estate problems and cases require the integrations of various academic disciplines. It is an area of importance, especially for most of our students whose future wealth will be tied up in real estate.”

            Thus it became a question of monetary relevance, especially since the economies of the world are so intertwined. However, one question begets another and soon enough one is left wondering how best to ask the question before answering it. It only makes sense that Jin and I continue exploring them in future columns.

For a photo visit:

http://coba.utpa.edu/media/the_leader_images/Dr.Jin(sm).jpg

Teaching teachers about personal financial management so they may better instruct their public school students was the topic of an all-day workshop conducted by Dr. Alberto Dávila. About 25 high school teachers from Laredo to Brownsville participated in the event held at Region 1.

 Dr. Michael Abebe, management professor, was the keynote speaker at the Women’s Council of Realtors luncheon on October 8. His presentation was "A Guiding Compass: Formulating and Executing Strategic Objectives in a Turbulent World" and was attended by about 60 independent realtors and real estate affiliates in the greater McAllen area. Luncheon attendees were given a brief strategic plan handout specifically created for real estate professionals.

Hale Kaynak and coauthor. former CoBA professor Jose Pagan, have had a paper accepted for presentation at the Decision Sciences Institute annual meeting in November. The paper is titled “Assessing the Role of Organizational Effectiveness on the Relationship between Continuous Quality Improvement and Performance in Hospitals.”

Long time management professor, Ercan Nasif has announced his retirement from UTPA effective August 31, 2010. Nasif has been at UTPA and the MMIB department since 1988 and has served many functions during his tenure, including department chair. His primary function has been on management faculty teaching strategy and business ethics and social responsibility. In his more than 20 years in CoBA, he has been a colleague, friend, faculty and mentor to many in the CoBA family. CoBA wishes him much enjoyment in his new career as ‘retired.’

Dr. Michael Abebe has had a paper chosen as one of two best (distinguished) papers in the Strategy and Policy Track of the Decision Sciences Institute Annual Meeting to be held in New Orleans. The paper is entitled "The Effect of Top Management Team (TMT) Composition on Corporate Turnaround Performance under Environmental Stability and Turbulence." Abebe will be presenting the paper coauthored with Arifin Angriawan of Purdue University Calumet at the annual meeting in November. 

Management professor, Dr. David Sturges has been contracted by Prentice-Hall to prepare the Instructor’s Manual and the Video Guide for the 14th edition of the Organizational Behavior text by Stephen P. Robbins and Timothy A. Judge. The book is designed for either graduate or undergraduate educa- tion and is used at more than 1,000 colleges.