March 2016

Congratulations to EKU alum Lam Bao An for receiving admittance into five PhD programs. An has accepted the University of Central Florida’s offer. While attending EKU, An was a Marketing major, graduating in 2013.

This achievement was preceded by many achievements during his time at EKU. An was accepted into the ranks of honor society Beta Gamma Sigma. He completed an internship with Lectrodryer in Richmond, Ky. An maintained his position on the Dean’s List throughout many semesters. In 2010, An was also one of six students awarded a Patterson Scholarship. These students must maintain a 3.0 GPA, submit three recommendation letters, and demonstrate leadership capability. Throughout the process of completing these goals, An was mentored by Dr. Weiling Zhuang.

An’s Eastern influence does not end there. Dr. Lana Carnes wrote recommendation letters on his behalf to many of the PhD programs he applied to. She gives credit to all of Lam An’s professors throughout his time here. “Without question, Lam An’s success is a reflection of the years he spent at EKU in many of your classes.  You are impacting the lives of our students, and this is but one example of many.”

For more information on EKU’s marketing program, visit http://management.eku.edu/

Allen D. Engle, Professor of Management in the School of Business at Eastern Kentucky University was the monthly speaker at the March 8, 2016 meeting of the Bluegrass Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management. Held at the Fasig-Tipton Dining Hall in Lexington, his presentation, entitled “Lost in Translation? The Executive Perspective on Successful Human Resource Management” was attended by some 90 or so members of the central Kentucky Chapter of SHRM, the nation’s largest professional organization for human resource management practitioners.

According to Professor Engle, “I had been asked to make a presentation for some time now, but the scheduling never worked out. I tried to share some ideas about how HR professionals can build up in their HR unit a more complete understanding of their firm’s strategic emphasis and how an understanding of business metrics – in combination with a good understanding of HR performance indicators and metrics – can potentially lead to a more strategic role for the HR group.”

The presentation was very well received by the group and the discussion and question and answer portion of the lunchtime meeting was lively and appreciative of the message. “It took me a while to realize it, but around 9 or 10 of the professionals attending the meeting were alumni from EKU’s longstanding management – HR program. After 26 years teaching at Eastern such a group gets impressive. To see that our alumni are so actively involved in the development activities of their chosen profession was most gratifying” Engle added. “When a number people came up after the presentation to share their thoughts I found myself talking to a young lady who was just starting out in her career in HR in Lexington. It turned out that this young lady’s mother had been a student of mine at EKU in the early 1990s and she (the mother) was now working at Toyota in Georgetown. That was a memorable moment. We so seldom know the impact we have on our students working beside them one semester at a time, but the semesters can add up and the impact expands in ways that are hard to assess.”

Dr. Engle has been advisor to the Maroon Society for Human Resource Management student chapter at EKU for over 18 years and the Bluegrass Compensation Association (World at Work local affiliate) in Lexington has named a student scholarship in his honor. He graduated from EKU in 1978, received his MBA from EKU in 1980 and a doctorate in HRM from the University of Kentucky in 1990.

He received the EKU National Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award in 2004, the EKU Business Jack L. Dyer Excellence in Teaching Award in 2008 and was named EKU Foundation Professor in 2013.

He holds a three year appointment as Visiting Professor at the ESCP-Europe Europäische Wirtschaftshochschule Berlin, has been Visiting Lecturer at the FHS - Hochschule Für Technik, Wirtschaft und Soziale Arbeit, St. Gallen in Switzerland, and Visiting Professor of International Management at the University of Pécs in Hungary.