Welcome
At the Michael J. Coles College of Business, student success lies at the heart of everything we do. From developing new and innovative academic programs to building lasting relationships with the business community, each action we take is designed to improve the value that students receive from a Coles College education.
This guiding principle means that our faculty are highly-respected in their fields – many had distinguished careers in industry before becoming educators – and that our staff provide exceptional support to the entire Coles College community.
Our students do more than simply earn a degree. They leverage the knowledge and skills gained in the classroom to create professional opportunities and become the best versions of themselves.
To ensure that the Coles College of Business never waivers in its commitment to students, we strive to:
- Meet students’ changing educational needs. Making sure students are career-ready upon graduation is critically important. The
Hughes Leadership and Career Program provides valuable career guidance, while events
like the Tetley Distinguished Leaders lecture series and the All-Access Business Series
give students direct access to area employers. In addition, 59 percent of all Coles
College graduates complete an internship or co-op.
- Differentiate ourselves from the competition. Students have a choice of where they earn their business degrees. Recent additions
like the Bachelor of Business Administration in Hospitality Management and the Master
of Science in Cybersecurity help keep the Coles College on the leading edge of business
education and differentiate us from the competition.
- Promote innovation and academic excellence. Coles College faculty produce groundbreaking research that adds to the global business
knowledge base, routinely getting published in Financial Times Top 50 academic journals.
We also urge undergraduate students to conduct research through initiatives like the
Bagwell Center for the Study of Markets and Economic Opportunity Undergraduate Research
Fellowship and participation in the National Conference on Undergraduate Research.
- Provide the business community with exceptional graduates. Because the College designs its curriculum around the skills that businesses are
looking for today, we have the University’s highest graduate placement rate, with
many of our academic programs reporting at or near 100 percent placement.
- Foster excellence and diversity in teaching, research, and service. The Coles College creates a welcoming environment for faculty, staff, and students of all perspectives, values, genders, sexual orientations and more. We recently reaffirmed this commitment by establishing the role of Director of Diversity Relations, who will hold the Coles College accountable to these ideals.
All of this represents just a small fraction of how the Michael J. Coles College of
Business sets its students up for success. I invite you to learn more about us and
discover why the Coles College is one of the country’s top business schools.
Robin Cheramie, PhD
Dean, Coles College of Business and Professor of Management
Leadership
The Coles College dedicated leadership team includes the following:
Deans
Robin Cheramie, Dean of Coles College of Business
Mona Sinha, Interim Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs
Lisa Duke, Assistant Dean, Administration & Operations
Brett Katzman, Associate Dean of Coles College of Business
Alison Keefe, Associate Dean of Graduate Programs
Jomon Paul, Director of Research of Coles College of Business
Academic Department Heads
David Burns, Chair, Marketing and Professional Sales
Khawaja Saeed, Chair of the Department of Information Systems
Steven Phelan, Director, Michael A. Leven School of Management, Entrepreneurship and Hospitality
and Professor of Management
Steve Smalt, Director, School of Accountancy
Aniruddha Bagchi, Chair, Economics, Finance and Quantitative Analysis
Advisory Board
The advisory board provides the Coles College administration with support and advice regarding policies, programs, and the direction of the College, among other duties.
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Advisory Board MembersMs. Nancy Berger
AVP-Consumer Billing & Delivery Innovations
AT&T- Financial Billing OperationsDr. Robin Cheramie
Dean, Coles College of Business
Kennesaw State UniversityMr. Michael Chriszt
Vice President and Public Affairs Officer
Federal Reserve Bank of AtlantaMr. Kirk Gadebusch
Associate Broker
Harry Norman RealtorsMr. Joseph Handy
President & CEO
National Black MBA Association, Inc.Ms. Rachel Humphrey
Retired
Hospitality Industry C-Suite Executive and CounselMr. Rotimi Olumide
Sales Director
Microsoft CorporationMs. Holly Quinlan
President & CEO
Cobb Travel & TourismMr. Douglas Shore
Co-Founder, Chairman, and Co-CEO, Retired
Shore-Varrone, IncMs. Robyn Smith
Executive Vice President
Jackson HealthcareMr. Mark Wilson
President & CEO
ChimeSolutions
Executives In Residence
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2018-2019
Michael J. Coles
Benefactor, Namesake
Co-creator of Great American Cookie Company
Former CEO of Caribou Coffee -
Past Executives In Residence
Executives in residence provide coaching and mentoring to Coles College of Business students.
William G. Lako Jr., CFP, Principal
G.W. Henssler & Associates, Ltd.Bob Kilinski, Regional Operating Partner
Keller Williams Realty InternationalBernice Dixon, Founder
Advising AngelsConnie L. Engel, Partner
Childress Klein PropertiesBarry Flink, Executive Vice President and Partner
FlexHR, Inc.John W. Gamble, Founder and Principal
Tenacity, Inc.Rita Izaguirre, Principal, Ideas
LLC.Harry Maziar, President
Zep Manufacturing CompanyLarry Stevens, Partner (Retired)
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLPHarry Vardis, Founder and Principal
Creative Focus, Inc.Steve Wurzbacher, Principal
TenacityErin Wolf, Founder and Managing Partner
SuiteTrack