October 2025 Desk of the Dean

The J. Whitney Bunting College of Business & Technology has had an exceptionally productive start to the academic year, and I’m thrilled to share some highlights with you.

Georgia College & State University has once again earned top recognition in U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best Colleges rankings! Most meaningful to us in the College of Business & Technology, our undergraduate business program was ranked No. 1 in Georgia among public institutions in the Regional South, and our computer science program was ranked No. 2 in Georgia among public universities in the same category. These rankings reflect the incredible work of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni who make our programs shine.

Georgia College also earned three Top 10 regional honors — No. 5 Top Public Schools, No. 5 Best Undergraduate Teaching, and No. 9 Most Innovative — and climbed to No. 12 overall in the South among 133 public and private universities. On top of that, we continue to be recognized for value and affordability and remain a driving force in Middle Georgia with record enrollment and a $333 million economic impact.

These accolades highlight the passion, collaboration, and excellence that define the Georgia College community. I couldn’t be prouder to celebrate these achievements. You can read more about GCSU's rankings in FrontPage.

This fall, we’ve hosted a variety of events celebrating student and professional growth. Our accounting career fairs saw record student and vendor turnout, and an internship workshop, led by board member Mark Bailey of Thiele Kaolin, showcased the many opportunities for CoBT students. One of our signature events, Column Society, featured a professionalism lecture for all students, “Speaking Up for Yourself: How to Advocate and Negotiate Effectively,” presented by Ken Hendry.

We’ve also made time to celebrate together. Our faculty and staff tailgate for the GCSU soccer team brought colleagues together for laughter and conversation, and we had the joy of honoring our WebMBA alumni at a Braves game in Atlanta—a particularly meaningful celebration as we mark 25 years of the program. The CoBT was one of the founding colleges of the program.

Looking ahead, I’m excited that our faculty have planned several study abroad and study away programs for next summer in Peru, Japan, Greece, England, and New York City, offering students unparalleled global learning experiences.

These achievements reflect the passion, collaboration, and excellence that define the Georgia College community. I couldn’t be prouder of what we are accomplishing together.

This month, we are highlighting the our Department of Information Systems & Computer Science. I invite you to join me in celebrating our college's recent successes.

Sincerely,

Dr. Faye McIntyre

Interim Dean

Internship Workshop + Mixer

The Department of Information Systems & Computer Science offers the following valuable degrees:

• Computer Science, BS
• Data Science, BS
• Management Information Systems, BBA
• Master of Management Information Systems, MMIS

One of the unique aspects of our department is the active involvement of our IT Advisory Board, which plays a pivotal role in shaping our curriculum and ensuring its relevance to industry needs. The board's engagement extends beyond the classroom, as they sponsor and participate in career-focused events, such as etiquette dinners, networking socials, career fairs, mock interviews, and pitch competitions. Our Bobcats are tech-savvy and prepared for what's next in tech.

• Drs. Bryan Marshall and Ward Risvold along with Peter Cardon (USC) published "Best practices for sampling, saturation, and storytelling in interview-based research: findings from business communication research" in the International Journal of Business Communication, the #1 journal in its field.

• Dr. Ward Risvold was interviewed on 13WMAZ about the importance of equipping students with AI tools for real-world settings. GCSU now requires this AI and prompt engineering course for many College of Business & Technology students.
• Drs. J.F. Yao and Y.H. Huang co-published "Using machine learning to analyze factors influencing grades in upper-level information technology courses" in the journal, Issues in Information Systems.

• Dr. Y.H. Yuang co-published, "Artificial intelligence and environmental sustainability: review and research directions" in the Journal of International Technology and Information Management.

Georgia College students received hands-on international experience in a unique cross-disciplinary AI project spearheaded by visiting scholars Drs. Armin Stein and Katrin Bergener from Germany’s University of Münster. Together, they are using artificial intelligence to analyze more than 56,000 pages of letters sent to Pope Pius XII by Jewish families during World War II. Several GCSU students traveled to Münster in May to work collaboratively on design thinking and data analysis. Their presentation showcased how students and scholars are bridging history, technology, and global partnership to uncover new insights from WWII-era documents. The visiting scholars presented this groundbreaking work at GCSU as part of the Frank Bone lecture series, demonstrating how artificial intelligence can illuminate complex narratives from the past.

Read more → GCSU & Münster partnership: “AI, the Pope and World War II”

Students visiting University of Münster last summer

Before Dr. Daniel Wu was teaching machine learning algorithms or analyzing baseball statistics with the GCSU team, he was deep in the trenches of corporate America—managing databases, writing code, and solving the kinds of real-world data problems that most professors only theorize about.

For nearly two decades, Dr. Wu worked as a database administrator and software developer, first at a Pennsylvania credit union, then as a senior database administrator at AD, Inc. It was hands-on, high-stakes work where downtime meant lost revenue and security breaches could be catastrophic. This wasn't academic research—it was data science in the wild.

"The best way to learn is by doing," Dr. Wu says today, a philosophy forged not in a classroom but in production environments where theory met reality every single day.

That industry experience—combined with his Ph.D. in Information Science and Technology from Drexel University—gives Dr. Wu a unique edge as Georgia College's newest Assistant Professor of Data Science. When he joined the faculty in 2024, he brought more than publications and credentials. He brought war stories, practical wisdom, and a deep understanding of what students actually need to succeed in the data-driven world beyond campus.

Teaching Data Science Like It Matters

Walk into Dr. Wu's classroom and you won't find students memorizing algorithms from textbooks. Instead, they're working with the GCSU baseball team to analyze player performance, or partnering with local businesses to solve real data challenges. His courses cover everything from Big Data Analysis to Machine Learning, but the through-line is always the same: computational thinking as a way of seeing the world.

"I want students to leave with curiosity, confidence, and the sense that data can tell stories that truly make a difference," Dr. Wu explains. It's about breaking down complex problems, designing creative solutions, and thinking like a data scientist—whether you're heading into tech, business, healthcare, or any other field.

His research spans an impressive range—from AI-driven innovation in organizations to sports analytics and bioinformatics. He's published work on everything from baseball performance metrics to protein interaction networks, always asking how data can reveal patterns we'd otherwise miss.

A Journey Across Continents and Disciplines

Dr. Wu's academic journey is as interdisciplinary as his research. He started with a B.S. in Biochemistry from Xiamen University in China, pivoted to computer science for his master's degree at Penn State, and ultimately earned his doctorate at Drexel—a progression that mirrors the increasingly blurred lines between scientific disciplines in the age of big data.

Beyond the classroom and research lab, Dr. Wu stays connected to the broader tech community as an active member of IEEE and ACM, holding professional certifications as a Certified Information Security Manager and Information System Auditor. When he's not crunching numbers or teaching algorithms, you might find him crunching miles—he's completed a full marathon and numerous half marathons, proving that computational thinking and endurance sports have more in common than you might think.

As artificial intelligence reshapes every industry and data becomes the currency of the modern economy, Dr. Wu is preparing the next generation of data scientists with something textbooks can't provide: the bridge between theory and practice, between the classroom and the career, between understanding data and making it matter.

Taylor Robbins graduated from Georgia College in 2015 with a degree in Management Information Systems and returned to earn his MBA through the WebMBA program in 2023. Now a software engineering leader at Lockheed Martin, Taylor shares how a freshman seminar changed his trajectory, why networking matters, and how AI is transforming his industry.

How did you end up at Georgia College and choose MIS as your major?

I grew up in East Cobb and wanted a college bigger than my high school. My dad and I visited Milledgeville and fell in love with the campus. I actually started as an undeclared business major—my dad worked in IT at Lockheed, and while that interested me, I wanted to forge my own path.

During a freshman seminar, Brian Marshall presented on behalf of the MIS department, and I thought, "That actually sounds really cool." I declared my major within the first couple months. Dr. Godin's Foundations of Database course and Dr. Goette's capstone class were particularly impactful—they set me up for success and tied everything together.

Tell us about your career path since graduation.

I landed an internship with Lockheed Martin the summer before my senior year, and they offered me a full-time job before I went back for senior year. I've been there ever since, working in the aeronautics data warehouse where we build analytic solutions for production, operations, and supply chain decisions.

When COVID hit and we went fully virtual, I gained back two to three hours a day. That's when I pursued my MBA through Georgia College's WebMBA program. I graduated from both the MBA and Lockheed's leadership development program in 2023 and landed my first leadership role. I just accepted another leadership position last week.

What's an accomplishment you're especially proud of?

Back in 2018, I worked on our Aeronautics Data Operations project. We automated a process for promoting objects between database environments that previously required manual admin work. We took it from a week-long process down to four minutes with approvals.

That success led to me being asked to lead Lockheed Martin's Data Ops group. We're now implementing new IBM tools using those same principles. That project opened doors and has led to other opportunities—it's a defining moment in my career.

What are your favorite Georgia College memories?

Meeting my wife tops the list! During Greek Week freshman year, fraternities and sororities were randomly paired for a dance competition. We were partnered to perform The Lion King in front of the whole school. We now have two kids, ages five and three, and we still visit campus.

I was also one of the founders of the Georgia College lacrosse team, which is still going. And being a KA was meaningful—we were always giving back to the community, which Georgia College's Greek life does really well.

What advice would you give current students?

Networking is huge. The people volunteering their time to engage with students—speaking at events, attending alumni gatherings—obviously care about the school. Network with them because it opens doors and opportunities that wouldn't otherwise be available. Learn from people who've gone before you. I've learned what to do and what not to do from others' experiences, so I don't have to make the same mistakes. Sharing knowledge is super important—you don't have to reinvent the wheel. You can never network too much. Take advantage of every opportunity, build relationships with professors, and get involved. Those connections can shape your entire career.

How is AI impacting your work?

AI is changing things rapidly—faster than I imagined. We use tools like Cline with VS Code that connect to various models for development. I've personally developed multiple apps just by chatting with a chatbot. My group has probably doubled our output because of how quickly we can develop and automate things.

But I always caution that AI is still in its infancy and prone to errors. Trust but verify the output. My advice: Use AI. Don't get left behind. There are lots of tools beyond ChatGPT that can dramatically speed things up and automate work that would normally take much longer. I don't think AI will take jobs anytime soon. It just allows you to focus on more important things—strategy and deeper thinking—rather than spending time on tasks that can be automated or summarized.

Any final thoughts for students?

Enjoy your time at Georgia College. It's a beautiful campus with so much to offer. You'll meet people who become friends for life. And be an advocate for yourself in your career—don't wait for opportunities to come to you. Apply for new roles, pursue additional education, take stretch assignments. You have to be willing to make moves for yourself, but I've seen it pay large dividends.

Taylor lives in Bremen, Georgia, with his wife (a fellow Georgia College alum) and their two children. He remains actively engaged with the College of Business, recently serving on a WebMBA alumni panel.

• Professor Jehan El-Jourbagy attended the Rocky Mountain Academy of Legal Studies in Business conference in Vail, where she won the Best Paper Award for her work on corporate sustainability and the Best Idea Award for a paper in development on coastal property rights, co-authored with

• Dr. Mohsen Mosayebi’s conference paper, “Dual-path pedagogy in operations management: integrating project-based and research-based methods,” was accepted for presentation at the 2025 Decision Sciences Institute Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. His article, “Quality leadership team: restructuring the production organization,” was accepted for publication in Quality Progress, the flagship journal of the American Society for Quality.

• Several faculty members presented at the College of Business Research Assembly (COBRA) session, including Drs. Ania Rynarzewska, Karim Feroz, Tom Frye and Brent Evans.
• Drs. Ward Risvold and Brooke Conaway and student Samuel Kinney had their article, “Detection rates of artificial intelligence-generated content in scholarly publishing before and after ChatGPT,” accepted for publication in Journal of Scholarly Publishing.

• Dr. Nicholas Creel’s opinion piece, “What I learned as a faculty adviser for a Turning Point USA chapter,” was published in The New York Times.

• Dr. Mary Rickard’s professional selling classes represented Georgia College & State University as one of 18 universities nationwide chosen to participate in the RNMKRS Cold Calling Pilot Program, sponsored by Insight Global.

• Dr. Whitney Ginder’s abstract, “From a racial reckoning to retrenchment: a longitudinal analysis of retailers’ corporate sociopolitical activism messaging,” won the Best Abstract award in the social media marketing track at the Atlantic Marketing Association conference in Portland, Maine.

• Dr. Xiaomeng Lu's co-authored article, “Modified quality, short-term reversal, and value investing” was published in The Journal of Financial Research.

• In September, senior marketing majors in Dr. Patterson’s Strategic Marketing Capstone class held an in-person Elevator Pitch Competition, presenting individual sales pitches to judges. Sponsored by Central Garden & Pet and Fouts Bros., the exercise helps students sharpen communication and public speaking skills by challenging them to deliver a 60-second professional introduction as if interviewing for a job.

• The semiannual Elevator Pitch Competition, held the first week of October, features about 400 students competing in a Zoom qualifying round over five days. Nearly 30 recruiters and business professionals serve as judges, filling more than 100 volunteer slots to give students feedback on content, delivery and professional presence. Launched in fall 2012, the competition is a cornerstone professionalism event in the College of Business & Technology.

• Kendra Evans, lecturer of marketing, hosted guest speakers Alice James and GCSU alumnus Keelynn Dechen from TTi in her Principles of Marketing class to discuss resumes and professional communication. Evans’ course includes several career-readiness activities — resumes, elevator pitches and career fair prep — to help students market themselves effectively.

The Dean's Student Advisory Board, a select group of students who advise and collaborate with the Dean of the College of Business & Technology

Numerous guest speakers engage our campus each month. We would especially like to thank the following companies and individuals:

• TTI, visited for a marketing and advertising club resume workshop
• Adeline Bramlett, owner of the French Vill’ Edge in Milledgeville
• Nichols Cauley
• Fulton & Kozak
• Aprio
• Mike Ciabattoni, real estate developer
• KPMG
• Ken Hendry, business leader
• Kyle Cullars, franchisee owner of Surcheros
• Josh McLaughlin, Founder of Tomorrow Digital Marketing
• Bob Ewing, Franchisee owner of Amici's
• WipFli
• Melanie Brandt, Geological Society of America
• Lou Childs, Co-Founder of Slumberpods
  
  

The graduate application fee is waived from October 20 through November 1.

The Master of Management Information Systems is offered as a Double Bobcat program. This allows students to take graduate classes that count toward both their undergraduate and graduate degrees.

This degree positions students for a position in designing, implementing and managing corporate information resources or serving as a liaison between a functional area and a centralized IT office. Students in this program take courses such as Intro to Enterprise Systems, Business & Technology Project, and IT Strategy & Governance.The MMIS program blends technology skills in such areas as SAP and SQL with soft skills in analysis, project management, and strategic planning. Apply today.