Department of Management and Information Systems Presents HR Forum Series

KENT, Ohio - Oct. 19, 2018 - PRLog -- KENT, Ohio – For the sixth consecutive year, the Kent State College of Business Administration's Department of Management and Information Systems (M&IS) will present the HR Forum Series.

Three M&IS faculty members, Diane DeRubertis; Julia Levashina, Ph.D. and Mark Whitmore, Ph.D., created the HR Forum in Fall 2013.

"The HR Forum series has provided thousands of Kent State students with an opportunity to learn from HR practitioners at local companies about HR challenges facing their organizations," said Whitmore.

"Since the event started, we have delivered 18 HR Forums, involving more than 55 speakers from more than 35 companies," said Levashina. "HR issues discussed have included HR strategy, performance management, employee engagement, managing a multigenerational workforce, the impact of social media on the business environment and big data and analytics in human resource management."

The Department of M&IS will present two HR Forum events this fall with members of the Kent State student chapter of the Society for Human Resources (SHRM) handling logistical arrangements.

"We look forward to carrying this event into the future and continuing to bring students and top practitioners together to network and advance the field of human resources," said DeRubertis.

October 23 HR Forum Presentation

The first event of the series will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 23 in Kent Hall Room 102. The featured speaker is John Bernatovicz '96, Founder and President of Willory, who will present, "HR Like a Boss." The event will consist of a presentation followed by a networking opportunity for MBA and HR students.

Bernatovicz began his professional career at ADP, one of the world's largest payroll and HR outsourcing solutions providers. During his time at ADP, Bernatovicz received seven promotions and qualified for seven President's Clubs, a premiere award for top-performing employees. Following a successful career at ADP and preceding the establishment of Willory in 2010, he joined a boutique search and consulting firm as a partner, where he expanded his expertise into successfully growing a staffing practice.

November 8 HR Forum Panel Discussion

The second event of the series, a panel discussion, will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, November 8 in Room 165 of the Center for Visual Arts. The topic for the event is "Total Rewards Trends and Strategies for Today's Workforce."

The moderator for the event is Jack Witt, Vice President for Human Resources, Kent State University. Witt is responsible for all human resource functions at an educational institution with 40,000 students and 6,500 employees. This includes talent acquisition, training and organizational development, compensation, benefits, information systems/personnel records, labor and employee relations, and policies and compliance.

The panel will feature the following:

·      Laura Bishop, Senior Compensation Analyst, Aultman Health Foundation.

·      Bob Rakoci, Independent HR Compsultant.

·      Trudy Cheney, Director of HR, Schneller.

Following the panel discussion, MBA and HR students will have an opportunity to network with presenters.

HR Forum events are free and open to the public. No registration is required.

Kent State College of Business Administration
Kent State University's College of Business Administration is among the fewer than 1% of business schools worldwide to obtain dual AACSB accreditation in both business and accounting.

The Kent State College of Business Administration ranks as one of the nation's Best Business Schools by Princeton Review. The College is committed to sustainability as an advanced Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) signatory and is recognized by the Sales Education Foundation as a top university for professional sales education.

Media Contact:

Joni Bowen, Public Relations and Media Specialist, (330) 672-1279, cell: (330) 221-0637, jbowen1@kent.edu