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Models make it professional at Raiders’ Closet fashion show

May 1, 2013 By

Raiders’ Closet at MTSU is opening its doors and putting job interview fashions on the runway tonight.

Dr. K. Virginia Hemby-Grubb of MTSU’s Department of Business Communication and Entrepreneurship displays some of the professional garb available for students in Raiders’ Closet. (MTSU file photo)

Models will showcase professional wear and business-savvy confidence during a fashion show from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, May 1, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building.

Raiders’ Closet is the brainchild of Dr. K. Virginia Hemby-Grubb, a professor in the Department of Business Communication and Entrepreneurship in MTSU’s Jennings A. Jones College of Business.

Hemby-Grubb discovered that many students are ignorant of the type of clothing they need to make a good impression on a prospective employer. Others simply can’t afford clothing suitable for the workplace.

The gently used items donated to Raiders’ Closet, which is housed in Room 130A of the Business and Aerospace Building, include suits, ties, dresses, blouses, skirts and accessories in a variety of sizes for both male and female students.

Supporters of the Raiders’ Closet fashion show include Belk, Jos. A. Bank and the Men’s Wearhouse.

Donations may be made at Raiders’ Closet each Friday or in the BCE departmental office, located in Room 429N of the Business and Aerospace Building, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For more information, contact Hemby-Grubb at 615-898-2369 or virginia.hemby-grubb@mtsu.edu or Jaye Kiblinger, executive aide for the Department of Business Communication and Entrepreneurship, at 615-898-2902 or jaye.kiblinger@mtsu.edu.

For parking information for tonight’s fashion show, visit http://tinyurl.com/MTParkingMap12-13.

— Gina K. Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)

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Raiders’ Closet needs spring donations for student job hunters

March 8, 2013 By

In spring, a young college student’s fancy turns to the kind of clothes that can impress employers in job interviews.

Raiders Closet flier graphic

Click on the flier above for a printable version.

That’s why MTSU is urging you to clean out your closets and donate your gently used professional clothing to Raiders’ Closet, the nonprofit service that provides students with professional attire.

The closet needs such items as suits, jackets, slacks, shirts, ties, skirts and scarves. Men’s dress shirts should be dry-cleaned and folded for storage on shelves. All other clothing items must be dry-cleaned and placed on hangers.

Donations are welcome anytime between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Department of Business Communication and Entrepreneurship office. It’s located in Room N429 of the MTSU Business and Aerospace Building.

To make a clothing donation, contact Jaye Kiblinger at 615-898-2902 or Dr. Virginia Hemby-Grubb at 615-898-2369.

Monetary contributions to the Raiders’ Closet Foundation Fund also are welcome to help purchase needed items.

For more information, call Kiblinger at 615-898-2902 or visit the MTSU Development and Foundation office website at www.mtsu.edu/development.

— Gina K. Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)

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Future business leaders reach for success at MTSU conference

February 15, 2013 By
Maria Kirstiens, a freshman at Summertown (Tenn.) High School, accepts her prize, a Samsung Galaxy 2 tablet, from MTSU professor K. Virginia Hemby-Grubb at the Future Business Leaders of America Region 4 Conference competition hosted Feb. 13 by MTSU. (photos submitted)

Maria Kirstiens, a freshman at Summertown (Tenn.) High School, accepts her prize, a Samsung Galaxy 2 tablet, from MTSU professor K. Virginia Hemby-Grubb at the Future Business Leaders of America Region 4 Conference competition hosted Feb. 13 by MTSU. (photos submitted)

Tomorrow’s business leaders tested their savvy at MTSU and walked away with memories they’ll treasure forever.

Tennessee high-school students competed in exercises designed to help them hone their business skills at the Future Business Leaders of America Region 4 Conference on Feb. 13.

The contestants, representing 31 high schools and home-schooling associations, vied for top prizes in categories such as business ethics, global business, management decision-making, entrepreneurship, marketing, client service, impromptu speaking, job interviews and public speaking.

In the contests, teams of two or three students received case summaries and had about 20 minutes to come up with solutions to the issues at stake.

“Not only are the students given an opportunity to demonstrate and improve their skills, but professors can avail themselves of the opportunity to target outstanding students to recruit for future admissions,” said Dr. Martha Balachandran, a professor in the MTSU Department of Business Communication and Entrepreneurship.

The Tennessee Department of Education’s Career and Technical Education Division sponsored the event with organizing support from Balachandran, BCE instructor Kay Blasingame-Boike and BCE professor Dr. Wayne Rollins. Doug Tatum, holder of the Wright Chair of Entrepreneurship in the Jennings A. Jones College of Business, secured funding for prizes.

For more information, contact Balachandran at 615-898-2036 or Blasingame-Boike at 615-898-5687.

— Gina K. Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)

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Raiders’ Closet helps students dress for job-hunting success

January 24, 2013 By

MTSU students looking for appropriate clothing for job interviews need look no further than their own campus with the creation of Raiders’ Closet.

The Department of Business Communication and Entrepreneurship will debut the repository of professional attire from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25, in Room 130A on the south side of the Business and Aerospace Building.

Dr. K. Virginia Hemby-Grubb of MTSU’s Department of Business Communication and Entrepreneurship displays some of the professional wear that will be available free from the new Raiders’ Closet for job-interviewing students. (MTSU photo by News and Media Relations)

Raiders’ Closet will be open each Friday at that same time so that students from Phi Beta Lambda may collect donations of clean, gently-used men’s and women’s clothing in all sizes and help students find what they need.

Dr. K. Virginia Hemby-Grubb, an expert on business etiquette and comportment, came up with the idea. Some of the business suits and dresses currently on the racks were hers.

“In the process of losing 60 pounds, I lost a whole closet full of nice clothes,” said Hemby-Grubb. “I have a lot of women’s suits in various colors, and they’re in good shape.”

The closets in Room 130A run the width of the room. The closet on the left side will serve as a dressing room.

Dr. Jim Burton, outgoing dean of the College of Business, donated seed money for rolling clothing racks, and Hemby-Grubb purchased size dividers and vinyl coverings to protect the garments.

“We’d really like to see this grow into a university community project and grow into a larger space in time if we need it,” Hemby-Grubb said.

Raiders’ Closet will accept donations of suits, ties, dresses, blouses, shoes, accessories — anything one might wear to a job interview.

“We’re not accepting things you would take to Goodwill just to clean out your closet,” she said. “We want our MTSU graduates to come out of here looking professional.”

Unfortunately, she added, too many students either can’t afford business clothes or have mistaken ideas about what to wear.

Some students go to career fairs looking as though they just rolled out of bed, Hemby-Grubb said, while others seem to think tight, low-cut dresses and high heels or displaying body piercings and tattoos in a business setting is appropriate for a first impression.

“You should spend the time and the effort to put on a suit and tie, or in a woman’s case, a suit with a nice blouse,” Hemby-Grubb said. “These people are taking time out from their busy day to interview you because they thought your resume was impressive enough to schedule an interview, so show them the respect they deserve.”

Students will be allowed to take and keep their fashion selections for no charge. Donations may be made at Raiders’ Closet each Friday or in the Business Communication and Entrepreneurship office in Room 429N of the Business and Aerospace Building between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For more information, contact Hemby-Grubb at 615-898-2369 or virginia.hemby-grubb@mtsu.edu or Jaye Kiblinger at 615-898-2902 or jaye.kiblinger@mtsu.edu.

— Gina K. Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)

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Tatum tapped to chair private equity conference

April 18, 2012 By

Doug Tatum, holder of the Wright Chair of Entrepreneurship at MTSU, will chair “Where the Middle Market Shines,” a private equity conference, April 25-27 at the Gaylord Texan Hotel in Dallas.

More than 2,000 people are slated to attend and more than $100 billion worth of capital will be represented at the gathering, which is sponsored by the Association for Corporate Growth.

Doug Tatum

Scheduled speakers and panel moderators include Dr. Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State; Karl Rove, former deputy chief of staff and senior adviser to President George W. Bush; James Carville, political consultant and key architect of Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign; Stephen Moore, senior economics writer with The Wall Street Journal; and Nolan Ryan, former Major League Baseball pitcher and CEO and president of the Texas Rangers.

Tatum, who also is an associate professor in the Department of Business Communication and Entrepreneurship, was chairman and CEO of Tatum LLC for more than 17 years.

He grew the company to the largest executive-services consulting firm in the United States with more than 1,000 employees and professionals in 30 offices. He later served on the firm’s board and as chairman emeritus until the company merged with Spherion Corporation in early 2010.

In 2011, Tatum was asked to lead concentrated research for the Institute for Exceptional Growth Companies to investigate the performance of EGCs through economic cycles and how they contribute to job creation and economic prosperity.

Tatum’s 2007 book, No Man’s Land: What to Do When Your Company is Too Big to Be Small But Too Small to Be Big, is included in the recently updated edition of The 100 Best Business Books of All Time.

For more information about the conference, go to www.acg.org.

– Gina K. Logue (Gina.Logue@mtsu.edu)

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Tatum’s work named 1 of ‘100 Best’ business books

January 9, 2012 By

Doug Tatum, holder of the Wright Chair of Entrepreneurship at MTSU, is included in the recently updated edition of The 100 Best Business Books of All Time.

Doug Tatum

Written by Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten, the new November 2011 paperback edition is revised to include books written since its original 2006 publication. One of the additions is Tatum’s 2007 book No Man’s Land: What to Do When Your Company is Too Big to Be Small but Too Small to Be Big.

Covert’s review of No Man’s Land calls it “essential reading for any entrepreneur looking to grow their business or wondering if they even should. Tatum does believe that some businesses have to remain small to remain profitable, but for those that are suited for growth, he delineates four Ms needed to make it a successful venture: Market, Management, Model and Money.”

100 Best also highlights a quote from Tatum’s book and provides links to another review and one of Tatum’s speeches on YouTube.

Tatum, who is an associate professor in the MTSU Department of Business Communication and Entrepreneurship, was chairman and CEO of Tatum LLC for more than 30 years.

He grew the company to the largest executive-services consulting firm in the United States with more than 1,000 employees and professionals in 30 offices. He later served on the firm’s board and as chairman emeritus until the company merged with Spherion Corporation in early 2010.

In 2011, Tatum was tapped to head concentrated research for the Institute for Exceptional Growth Companies to investigate the performance of EGCs through economic cycles and how they contribute to job creation and economic prosperity.

– Gina K. Logue (Gina.Logue@mtsu.edu)

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