Kent State University's College of Business Administration's CIS Celebrates 30 years

KENT, Ohio - Sept. 1, 2016 - PRLog -- Kent State University's College of Business Administration's Center for Information Systems (CIS) will celebrate its 30^th anniversary with a special event on Thursday, October 6 in Room 306 of the Kent State Student Center.

Prominent alumnus Pawan Verma, CIO of Foot Locker, will be the keynote speaker for this event. Verma's immense background in retail systems strategy, mobile and retail software development and ecommerce culminated in his success at Foot Locker.

Verma has been Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President at Foot Locker since 2015. He has served as Vice President, Digital and Marketing Technologies and Services Platforms at Target Corporation since 2013. He has an extensive background in retail systems strategy, design and implementation with ecommerce, mobile and retail software experience.

"I'm very excited that CIS will have the opportunity to celebrate its 30^th anniversary with our corporate and university friends. I am also looking forward to learning about our keynote speaker's experience at Target and Foot Locker," said Cathy Bakes, Ph.D., professor emeritus in management and information systems. "I am delighted that the proceeds from the event will enable us to fund additional scholarships for our students."

Donations will be used to recognize high-achieving students with tuition scholarships and leadership awards.

The Center for Information Systems combines IT professionals, Kent State faculty and current students to ensure relevance of Kent State's Information Systems curricula. Student success and participation are rewarded through scholarships, facilitation of internships, venues for public speaking and interaction with corporate members.

"The ultimate goal is to produce confident, intelligent and well prepared graduates who are highly sought out by a broad range of hiring organizations," said Robert D. Smith, Ph.D., professor emeritus and the founder of CIS.

Tickets for this event are $50 per seat ($22 is tax deductible) or $1,500 for a table for eight ($1,276 is tax deductible). Companies who purchase a table of eight will receive recognition on the CIS website, special acknowledgement at the event and an invitation to be a guest speaker at a CIS class or MISA meeting.

For more information about the College of Business Administration, visit http://www.kent.edu/business

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Kent State University's College of Business Administration is fully accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB) and one of the largest colleges of business in Ohio.  The College has more than 4,300 students representing 50 countries with over 106 full-time faculty from 16 countries.

The college grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, and is one of only three public business colleges in Ohio with a comprehensive Ph.D. program.  The MBA program is offered with nine concentrations and five dual degree options. The Executive MBA program offer two tracks: one targeting corporate professionals and the other healthcare executives.  The M.S. in Accounting, M.S. in Business Analytics and M.A. in Economics are specialized master's degrees for those seeking advanced study in these disciplines.  The college boasts nine undergraduate majors, 12 minors and a Professional Sales Certificate program.

The college is listed as a Best Business School by Princeton Review, ranked as a Best Business College by U.S. News and World Report, one of only 23 accounting programs worldwide to be endorsed by the IMA (Institute of Management Accountants), ranked Top-Tier for Executive Education in North America by CEO Magazine and ranked fourth by the SEF (Sales Education Foundation) in Ohio for providing Professional Sales Education.

The college boasts an onsite Career Services Office and International Programs Office dedicated to business students, and operates the Global Management Center, the Center for Information Systems and the Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation all propelling scholarly research, establishing innovative industry partnerships and providing outreach to Northeast Ohio and beyond.

Media Contacts:
Joni Bowen, Public Relations and Media Specialist, (330) 672-1279, jbowen1@kent.edu

Michelle Parrish Manning, Director of Marketing Communications, (330) 672-2717, mparris3@kent.edu