In This Issue:
- What's New with the IB Major?
- Faculty Spotlight
- Alumni Spotlight
- Student Spotlight
- Club Updates
- Celebrating Behrend’s 75th Anniversary
What's New With This Major?
This spring, we welcomed back our International Business students who spent the fall semester studying abroad! It is great to see more students taking advantage of these opportunities now that COVID-19 travel restrictions have ended. We hope these students can share their experiences with the rest of us. The International Business Club has been active this year hosting guest speakers and organizing social gatherings at many restaurants serving international cuisine here in Erie. On the academic side, we are starting to see the positive impacts of curricular changes to the International Business major that we made a few years ago. Students now have a uniform set of courses to serve as the basis of international competencies to prepare them for their future careers.
—Dr. Mark Owens, director of Graduate Studies, discipline lead for International Business, and associate professor of economics
Faculty Spotlight
David Dieteman, M.A., J.D., Associate Teaching Professor of Management, Business & Management and International Business programs
Mr. Dieteman primarily teaches Business Law and Business Ethics. He also teaches Business Law and Economics, International Business Law, and occasionally Management or First Year Seminar.
What’s a fun fact about yourself?
A fun fact about me known by very few is that my first time on Behrend’s campus was acting on stage. It was a Behrend summer show written by a former Behrend student.
What inspired you to pursue a career in your field of expertise?
I suppose it was my French class in high school that made me curious about other countries. I had the good fortune in my law practice to work with international clients from Denmark and the Netherlands. In addition, I would handle legal transactions with companies in France. Students looking to do international work should actively seek out opportunities. They will not come looking for you.
What specific research projects are you currently working on?
I am currently working on a research project that is a comparative survey of marketing regulations in the United States, European Union, and Japan.
Alumni Spotlight
Daniel Charpentier '22
Daniel graduated from Behrend with dual degrees in Finance and International Business. He is currently the financial controller at Whitethorn Games.
How did your time at Penn State Behrend prepare you for your career path?
Behrend's comprehensive International Business and Finance programs equipped me with the tools and knowledge necessary to prepare me to oversee a business’s day-to-day financial operations.
What were some of your most memorable experiences or activities during your time at Behrend?
Joining Delta Sigma Pi (DSP), a professional co-ed business fraternity. DSP has a lot of national events with other collegiate and alumni members around the world, which has prepared me for several corporate networking events in various states.
What are some of your responsibilities in your role at Whitethorn Games?
As the financial controller, I work with the CFO to develop long-term financial strategies. My primary responsibilities include overseeing financial reporting and analysis, managing the budgeting and forecasting processes, and ensuring compliance with financial regulations. At Behrend, Professor Patterson’s class helped me tremendously with preparing financial statements and managerial accounting.
Student Spotlight
Conrad Lloyd
Conrad is a junior at Behrend, triple majoring in Accounting, Finance, and International Business. He is involved with the Business Ambassador program and Delta Sigma Pi.
Can you tell us about one of your favorite classes and why you enjoyed it?
My favorite class was Astronomy with Dr. Darren Williams. He had a real passion for not just teaching, but astronomy overall. It is obvious by the way he taught that he cared about the subject. I also enjoyed my Accounting 472 class with Dr. Chuck Brown. Taking this class honed my proficiency in Excel and deepened my understanding of accounting principles.
What attracted you to Penn State Behrend?
What attracted me to Behrend more so than anything else was the outdoor scene: Behrend has the lake, gorge, and Peek’n Peak nearby. It is an excellent location for any outdoor enthusiast. In addition, the small class sizes have enabled me to build close relationships with professors who have been influential in my time at Behrend.
Are there any specific professors or staff members at Penn State Behrend who have had a significant impact on your journey so far?
Professor Zach Williams has helped me to understand accounting at a deeper level. He is also constantly learning and improving himself, and in turn, challenging students to do their best in his class. Furthermore, Professor Williams has always been available to help when I have a hard time understanding complex concepts.
International Business Club Update
The International Business Club (IBC) is an academic club under the Black School of Business. Its mission is to improve knowledge of globalization; build an understanding of foreign cultures, politics, and business practices; create awareness of study abroad programs; and study values in which study abroad allows learning about foreign cultures and international business.
The club had an excellent fall semester under the leadership of Grant Walker, club president, with monthly meetings revamped to showcase student study abroad experiences, international internship presentations, cultural presentations from international students, and reports on business etiquette and the economy of a monthly country of focus. In addition, club members held several social events, including a club trip to El Amigo restaurant, visiting Erie Oktoberfest at St. Joseph’s Church, and collaborating with Global Ambassadors to host Global Eat Germany to give students a taste of German cuisine. On the professional side, the club co-hosted a Study Abroad Information Session and an International Internships Information Session.
The spring semester saw a change in presidency with Kristy Guerrier. In addition to general meetings, the club hosted a panel of speakers who discussed China and its culture.
Celebrating Behrend’s 75th Anniversary
We are busy celebrating Penn State Behrend's 75th anniversary! A fun IB fact: The International Business major was launched in Fall 2000. Behrend remains the only campus across Penn State to offer this degree. As the we moved from 1999 to 2000, fear abounded over "what would happen" when computer programs that had only two digits for the year rolled over. Would programs recognize the year as 1900 or 2000? Would the power grid crash? Would our bank accounts freeze? Would there be a financial collapse when Wall Street came to a halt? In the end, all was well with few glitches in our daily lives.
You can learn more about Behrend's history.