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DEAN’S CIRCLE CONTINUES TO GROW
– Despite challenging economic times in 2010, the Dean’s Circle of the E. J. Ourso College of Business grew by 34 percent in participation and generated $176,998 to the Dean’s Excellence Fund.
“We certainly thank everyone who supported or became part of the Dean’s Circle in 2010,” said E. J. Ourso College Dean Eli Jones. “I’m certain we will show growth again once the numbers are tabulated for 2011.”
According to Jones, Dean’s Circle members provide the working capital needed to fund many pursuits of the college, including funding scholarships, student educational travel expenses, professional development for faculty and staff, software and technology and development initiatives to build alumni and community relationships.
Levels of Giving
$10,000 and above Dean’s Circle Partner $5,000 to $9,999 Dean’s Circle Manager $2,500 to $4,999 Dean’s Circle Executive $1,000 to $2,499 Dean’s Circle Shareholder $500 to $999 Dean’ Circle Associate (graduates under 40 years of age)
Dean’s Circle Manager Tiffany A. and Corey S. (BS, ’91) Alemand
Nationwide refunds £1,940 despite ombudsman’s ruling
More than a year ago, we sent a cheque by post to pay for carpet we were having laid. The cheque was intercepted and the payee’s name changed from MM Carpet Contractors Ltd to Miss Fengming Zhuang in clearly different handwriting. She paid the cheque into a Barclays account.
Nationwide refused to refund the money, saying it was Barclays’ responsibility. Barclays told Nationwide there was no money left in the account, so we have had to pay for the carpet twice.
We complained to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and appealed when the decision went against us, to no avail. If, as the FOS says, the cheque indicates that we had left the payee line blank so it could be filled in by someone else, why did Nationwide acknowledge to us in writing that the payee name had been altered? Nationwide does not keep cheques, only copies, so the evidence has been destroyed.
Is it all over for Big Marketing?
Lo how the mighty are fallen. The Gods of Industry humbled by technology. Perhaps the first to go was Big Steel. The mighty Andrew Carnegie built up US Steel to be the largest corporation in the world. Now commentators talk about the Rust Belt. Big Auto was brought low by the competition from the Eastern car manufacturers, especially the Japanese. Big Oil has had its troubles too with the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Royal Dutch Shell’s overstatement of its oil reserves. Even Big Pharma, seen as the archetypal modern industry, has been showing signs of strain as patents expire, the flow of blockbuster drugs dry up and Western Governments start cutting back the cost of their healthcare systems.
But now there are hints that we might be seeing the eclipse of Big Marketing.
Interest rate arbitration – Help yourself out of debt
Difficulty in paying high interest debts is nothing new. Credit card debts are unsecured debts which have a very high interest rate which can go up to even more than 30%. Thus it becomes very difficult to pay such high rates of interest especially if you have a substantial amount of outstanding balance. On top of this, if you have multiple credit cards on which you have incurred debt, then it becomes almost impossible for you to make all ends meet. You can then take help of interest rate arbitration in order to deal with your debt situation and make your debt payments more manageable.
How can you go about with interest rate arbitration?
Interest rate arbitration is a process by which you will be able to reduce the interest rate on your outstanding credit card balances. Read more…
Electricians put finishing touches on Memphis Bioworks solar array
Electricians and other crew members are nearly half-finished installing about 3,000 solar panels atop the Memphis Bioworks parking garage.
Electricians like the work so much that they’re hoping this first large-scale solar array in urban Memphis won’t be the last. (Another, even larger solar array is about to start making power in an Agricenter field.)
The 750-kilowatt system soars above the top level of the 917-space garage, bounded by Union, Pauline, Monroe and Dudley.
The gray steel framing clears the parking spaces by 10 feet. Above the steel beams, hundreds of solar panels are already set in their sun-worshipping position: Facing south at a 20-degree angle.
Via electrical lines protected by tubes, the sun’s energy will travel from the 2,986 panels to a dozen “combine boxes” mounted around the garage’s top floor.
From those boxes, the power will flow to the garage’s northeast corner where inverters already sit.
The lottery’s hometown pitch
With hometown heroes Bert Blyleven and Kent Hrbek, the Minnesota State Lottery starts a new advertising campaign this week touting its homegrown contributions to taxpayers.
Created by the Minneapolis ad agency Olson, the lottery spots emphasize, in song and banter, the organization’s $2 billion contribution to the state treasury since the first lottery ticket was sold in 1990.
“It’s just a feel-good piece to let people know the good that comes from playing the lottery,” said lottery executive director Ed Van Petten in a phone interview Monday.
Van Petten said the advertising campaign was in the works for several months and was not designed to address any exterior issues at a time when casino and charitable gambling is an object of scrutiny in the Vikings stadium debate.
The ads started appearing on television during prime time Monday night and will continue to run, along with radio spots, until the end of the agency’s fiscal year on June 30.
Revamp Your Website on a Budget (5 Easy Ways)
While I believe every business owner should be an expert in direct-response marketing (e.g., marketing designed to solicit a direct response which is specific and quantifiable), I don’t believe it’s necessary to become an expert on building websites.
It’s something a hired programmer can do while you focus on growing your business.
However, even hiring and managing someone to take care of this for you can be time-consuming-and you still have to know what to ask them to do in the first place.
So here are 5 simple things that can make your website more effective that either you or any programmer can easily do.
#1: Set up a blog
Even if you don’t have a website, you can go to WordPress.com and create one for free.
Want to know the news? It’ll cost you
Today the Times and Sunday Times announced it will start charging its readers for use of its website. Users will be offered a day’s use for £1, or £2 for a week’s subscription. But is this a wise business move at a time when the majority of us are watching our pennies?
On Tuesday, the Telegraph reported that the publisher of the The Times and The Sunday Times lost £87.9m in the year to June 28, 2009, so it appears there is a method to the perceived madness.
James Harding, Editor of The Times, said: ‘Our new website – with a strong, clean design – will have all the values of the printed paper and all the versatility of digital media. We want people to do more than just read it – to be part of it.’
The Times is clearly hoping that the news it provides will be as valuable to a consumer audience as the Financial Times has proved to be for business readers. But will consumers be as prepared to pay as companies?
Unfortun