Contact: Public Relations
(863) 680-4118

Florida Southern creates
MBA Advisory Council

LAKELAND, Fla. (Jan. 24, 2003) - Florida Southern College has formed an MBA Advisory Council in support of the college's long-standing Master of Business Administration program in Lakeland and its recent expansion to the Orlando campus. The council seeks to promote the reputation of the program and strengthen the link between the college and the business community. 

"The MBA advisory council is a long overdue effort to harness the incredible talent, intelligence, and energy that is represented in the alumni of FSC's MBA program," said Dr. Lawrence E. Ross, associate professor of business administration. Ross says the council will help to raise the awareness of the MBA degree program at FSC, promote its reputation for excellence, and work to insure that incoming and currently enrolled candidates have a resource and a network that they can rely upon. "We are very proud of the group that has joined us for the initial effort in carrying out the council's mission," said Ross. 

Council officers, all Florida Southern MBA alumni, were elected at a meeting on Jan. 14, and include: president - Frank Catanzarite, a 1985 graduate and president and owner of Southbound Trading Company, Inc.; vice president - Beth Perry Becker, a 1988 graduate, retired from Summit Consulting; secretary - Angela Cowden, a 1989 graduate and assistant state attorney, State of Florida. The council will meet three times a year and plans to host social events through the FSC Alumni Association for MBA graduates and candidates. 

The council is a diverse group, according to Catanzarite, "Our members come from different industries and backgrounds with graduation dates from some of the first years of the program through as recently as last year," he said. "We feel there are some untapped opportunities to differentiate the program at FSC as a professional MBA program as opposed to the classic and executive MBA programs of other institutions." 

Cowden, who teaches business courses at FSC, believes it will be up to the members to make the council successful. "We all see this as a working council, and those of us who are members will be both decision-makers and work-horses," she said. "Hopefully our faces will become familiar to the students and they will see us as friends and mentors." 

Other members of the council, their MBA graduation year and employer are listed below. 
Michael Andreski, 1993, Lakeland Regional Medical Center
Melanie Burns, 1997, Florida Citrus Mutual
Kurt Elmhorst, 2002, Sun Trust Bank
Virginia Clemons Harris, 1996, CPA 
Butch Rahman, 1992, Wachovia Bank
William Stewart, 1984, CF Industries

About Florida Southern College
Florida Southern is a four-year, private, co-educational liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The college offers more than 40 undergraduate majors and a master of business administration degree accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Located in Lakeland, Fla., the college is home to the largest, single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world. 

###