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Sept. 23, 2010
Sykes College of Business Provides Decade of Growth
In the shade of a building they helped bring to fruition, John H. and Susan Sykes will be honored during The University of Tampa’s John H. Sykes College of Business 10th anniversary celebration. This casual, outdoor picnic on the Sykes College of Business lawn will be held on Saturday, Sept. 25, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. A presentation featuring UT President Ronald L. Vaughn and other speakers will be held at 12:30 p.m. Dr. James Fesmire, a Dana Professor of Economics, came to UT in 1973 and has seen the campus evolve through more than three decades, including those touched by the Sykes’ generosity. “There have been dramatic changes, and we’ve been getting better – including the students and the faculty – ever since,” said Fesmire. But it has really been in the last decade, with the commitment from the Sykeses and with Vaughn’s leadership, that Fesmire said he has seen the University soar. “Before everybody talked about how much potential we had, but we hadn’t found a way to reach it,” Fesmire said. “The Sykeses changed the culture around here. Their donation created more than just a building, which is wonderful. I think it was a catalyst for the rest of the growth we’ve seen at UT.” John H. Sykes is chairman of Sykes Enterprises Inc, a firm he started in 1977 in Charlotte, NC, as a small technical engineering firm. Today, the information technology firm is based in Tampa and is a global leader in providing customer contact management solutions and services in the business process outsourcing arena. Attendees at Saturday’s event will include business students, members of the UT Board of Trustees, UT faculty and staff, donors and members of the College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council. “The Sykes College of Business has become a major force in the South in terms of being a notable business school,” said Dr. Frank Ghannadian, dean of the college. “We’re one of the 490 accredited business schools, and that puts us in the top 10 percent of business schools in the country.” In the last 10 years, UT’s College of Business has:
In the shade of a building they helped bring to fruition, John H. and
Susan Sykes will be honored during The University of Tampa’s John H. Sykes College of Business 10th anniversary celebration.
This casual, outdoor picnic on the Sykes College of Business lawn will be held on Saturday, Sept. 25, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. A presentation featuring UT President Ronald L. Vaughn and other speakers will be held at 12:30 p.m.
Dr. James Fesmire, a Dana Professor of Economics, came to UT in 1973 and has seen the campus evolve through more than three decades, including those touched by the Sykes’ generosity.
“There have been dramatic changes, and we’ve been getting better – including the students and the faculty – ever since,” said Fesmire.
But it has really been in the last decade, with the commitment from the Sykeses and with Vaughn’s leadership, that Fesmire said he has seen the University soar.
“Before everybody talked about how much potential we had, but we hadn’t found a way to reach it,” Fesmire said. “The Sykeses changed the culture around here. Their donation created more than just a building, which is wonderful. I think it was a catalyst for the rest of the growth we’ve seen at UT.”
John H. Sykes is chairman of Sykes Enterprises Inc, a firm he started in 1977 in Charlotte, NC, as a small technical engineering firm. Today, the information technology firm is based in Tampa and is a global leader in providing customer contact management solutions and services in the business process outsourcing arena.
Attendees at Saturday’s event will include business students, members of the UT Board of Trustees, UT faculty and staff, donors and members of the College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council.
“The Sykes College of Business has become a major force in the South in terms of being a notable business school,” said Dr. Frank Ghannadian, dean of the college. “We’re one of the 490 accredited business schools, and that puts us in the top 10 percent of business schools in the country.”
In the last 10 years, UT’s College of Business has:
This casual, outdoor picnic on the Sykes College of Business lawn will be held on Saturday, Sept. 25, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. A presentation featuring UT President Ronald L. Vaughn and other speakers will be held at 12:30 p.m.
Dr. James Fesmire, a Dana Professor of Economics, came to UT in 1973 and has seen the campus evolve through more than three decades, including those touched by the Sykes’ generosity.
“There have been dramatic changes, and we’ve been getting better – including the students and the faculty – ever since,” said Fesmire.
But it has really been in the last decade, with the commitment from the Sykeses and with Vaughn’s leadership, that Fesmire said he has seen the University soar.
“Before everybody talked about how much potential we had, but we hadn’t found a way to reach it,” Fesmire said. “The Sykeses changed the culture around here. Their donation created more than just a building, which is wonderful. I think it was a catalyst for the rest of the growth we’ve seen at UT.”
John H. Sykes is chairman of Sykes Enterprises Inc, a firm he started in 1977 in Charlotte, NC, as a small technical engineering firm. Today, the information technology firm is based in Tampa and is a global leader in providing customer contact management solutions and services in the business process outsourcing arena.
Attendees at Saturday’s event will include business students, members of the UT Board of Trustees, UT faculty and staff, donors and members of the College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council.
“The Sykes College of Business has become a major force in the South in terms of being a notable business school,” said Dr. Frank Ghannadian, dean of the college. “We’re one of the 490 accredited business schools, and that puts us in the top 10 percent of business schools in the country.”
In the last 10 years, UT’s College of Business has:
- increased faculty from 36 to 70 full-time members
- seen a 56 percent growth in undergraduate students
- grown from 386 to 525 students in the graduate program
- grown from seven to nine majors, with finance, economics and international business tripling in size
- created four centers working in the business community: the Center for Ethics, the TECO Center for Leadership, the Naimoli Institute for Business Strategy and the Florida Entrepreneurship Center
- hosted the Florida Directors' Institute
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