discussed the correlation of NFL players’ performance and intelligence, as measured by the Wonderlic test, a multiple choice test that is supposed to measure the intelligence of professional football player prospects each winter. The article discussed that Lyons’ research, through examining the Wonderlic scores of 762 NFL players, found there was little correlation between the scores and the players’ on-field performance. The only exceptions were the positions of tight-ends and defensive backs. 

Lyons’ research that was originally published in, “On the predictive efficiency of past performance and physical ability: The case of the National Football League,” which appeared in the April 2011 edition of Human Performance.

The research paper’s abstract reads:

“This study investigated the criterion-related validity of past performance and physical ability tests over time in a physically demanding context, the National Football League (NFL). Results suggested that an indicator of past performance, collegiate performance, engendered a stronger relationship with future NFL performance than a variety of physical ability tests administered during the NFL Combine. Unlike physical ability, past performance remained a valid predictor across four years of the criterion domain; however, the validity coefficients eventually deteriorated over time, following a simplex pattern commonly found with general mental ability tests. Implications germane to staffing research and practice are discussed.”

Lyons co-authored the research with Brian James Hoffman, associate professor of psychology and program chair of the Industrial-Organizational Program at the University of Georgia, John W. Michel, assistant professor of management at Loyola University Maryland, and Kevin J. Williams, vice provost and dean for graduate studies at University at Albany State University of New York.

FiveThirtyEight, affiliated with ESPN, uses statistical analysis — hard numbers — to tell compelling stories about politics, sports, science, economics and lifestyle. 

This is the second consecutive year O’Mara has been awarded a grant from The Coleman Foundation. The grant enables the Doherty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership to designate five non-business Elon faculty members as Coleman Foundation Faculty Entrepreneurship Fellows.  Four Elon faculty members are currently fellows from last year’s grant. 

The fellows will integrate innovation and entrepreneurial thinking into a course within their discipline.  They will receive a stipend, participate in a three-day Coleman Faculty Fellow conference in Chicago, and have access to funds in support of student entrepreneurial activities.

BGS is the international honor society that serves business programs accredited by AACSB International-The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. BGS membership provides the highest recognition a baccalaureate or graduate business student anywhere in the world can receive in a business program accredited by AACSB International. BGS’ mission is to encourage and honor academic achievement in business, foster personal and professional excellence to advance the values of society, and to serve its lifelong members.

The chapter honoree and keynote speaker was Michael Gannaway, Love School of Business executive-in-residence. Gannaway discussed the value of turning capabilities into success while maintaining upstanding character in his speech titled, “Capabilities to Character.” He discussed that having capabilities, including what you know and what you’ve done, is not enough without character, meaning the thought process and reasoning behind your activity. He encouraged the inductees to continue building their capabilities, keep an open mind to new ideas, and to be true to both their community and themselves.

As the executive-in-residence, Gannaway advises business students about career options, discusses what the job market is like, shares insights from his 41 years of work experience, and guest lectures in business classes. Prior to joining Elon, he was the vice president of VF Direct/Customer Teams at VF Corporation. Before joining VF Corporation as vice president of customer management in 2004, Gannaway worked for Pillowtex Corporation, Sara Lee’s Branded Apparel, Revlon, Inc., Estee Lauder, Inc., and Target Corporation. He has served on the Love School of Business Board of Advisors since 2008 and the Chandler Family Professional Sales Center’s advisory board since 2010.​

The 2015 Beta Gamma Sigma Professor of the Year award was presented to Jennifer Platania, associate professor of economics. Current BGS members selected the recipient based on the following criteria: encourages and honors high academic achievement by students of business and management; fosters in students an enduring commitment to the founding principles and values of the Society: honor and integrity, pursuit of wisdom, and earnestness; and supports the advancement of business thought and practice to encourage lifelong learning. ​

Platania’s primary fields of interest are general macroeconomic theory, and her research focuses mainly on the implications of policy changes on the macroeconomy. Some of her work looks at the macroeconomic effects of removing the mortgage interest deduction to housing, and moving to a single-payer healthcare system. She earned her undergraduate degree in mathematics and economics from West Virginia University and a Ph.D. in economics from Florida State University.

The 2015 inductees are:

Juniors

Abigail Marie Baric
Jason Robert Berk
Christopher McLean Boericke
Hannah Faith Braun
Lena Caliari
Gabrielle Elizabeth Corner
Rebecca Margaret Deitz
Jonathan T. DiIanni
Mary Kate Donahue
Miriam Eltus
Ryan Blake Finn
Alexander Collins Francis
Michael B. Goldstein
Sandra Sabrina Graf
Allyson Frances Hanover
Hannah Rebecca Hartman
Ryan Warren Herring
Michael Mills Hodge
Brett Carol Huntley
Natalie Amer Khouri
Cole A. Krajeski
Benjamin Douglas McIlwaine
Jessica Elizabeth Morse
Christian Deming Mueller
Laura Anne Orr
Charles Anthony Racioppo
Kelly Grace Siewers
Bryan Jackson Speake
Zachary Leigh Strohmeyer
Jenna Auleta Thompson
Christine Ann Tuchnowski
Devon Graham Wright

Seniors

Risa Ashida
Peter Frederick Berges
Taylor Catherine Casey
Alexandra Manuela Goeldner
Megan Quinn Kirschling
Bryan Howard Kozin
Michael Hunter Lindsey
Joseph T. McGillicuddy

MBA

Aaron Michael Day
Joshua Miles Glessner
Sriyesh Krishnan
Amy Lee Milslagle
Brian Claude Piantadosi
Mary Pombo Reed
Jessica Lynn Townsend

Outgoing BGS vice president

Katherine Shea

Incoming BGS vice president

Allison Weiler

Members in The Cube spoke with ÁñÁ«app¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾Èë students about their current projects. During their time in The Cube, members are expected to produce a product or service that can be brought to the general market. Some of the projects that were discussed included a lotion that will help athletes’ hands stay dry and a technology platform that will allow people to browse the Internet without WiFi.

While at Duke, the ÁñÁ«app¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾Èë students also attended the event “Every Day I’m Hustlin’: Sourcing opportunities as an entrepreneur,” which was sponsored by the Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative. Duke alumus Aaron Dinin, founder of RocketBolt, told his story of how he went from an academic career with a Ph.D. in English to launching a new software venture. At RocketBolt, Dinin built a backend technology and infrastructure that makes improving website success as simple as adding a single line of code.

Scott Kelly, coordinator for student entrepreneurship and instructor in marketing, organized and accompanied the ÁñÁ«app¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾Èë students on the trip.

Elon’s ELLC holds road trips to expand student learning from the classroom to real-world settings. The ELLC opened in the fall of 2013 to foster collaboration and innovation. The community is located on the third floor of Colonnades A and its main activities include weekly lunches, road trips, startup challenges and promoting entrepreneurial thinking. 

The objectives of ODE include recognizing scholastic accomplishments and honoring outstanding achievements in economics, and establishing closer ties between students and faculty in economics within and among colleges and universities.

The Elon ODE chapter is hosted by the Department of Economics in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. The chapter is advised by Katy Rouse, assistant professor of economics.

The following students were inducted into Omicron Delta Epsilon:

• Whitney Ballbach
• Anne Barker
• Alexzandra Battaglia
• Sydney Bear
• Ameya Benegal
• Robert Britt
• Edward Cooley
• John Cove
• Kenneth Crew
• Sarah Dent
• William DiIanni
• Erin Donahue
• Melany Kisara
• Bryan Kozin
• Katherine Larson
• Justin Morin
• Chelsea Nelson
• Kristina Parrett
• Jeremy Revelise
• Ashley Roth
• Rebecca Sansale
• Christina Schnorf
• Justin Schweitzer
• Edward Threlfall
• Andrew Van Hoof
• David Wallach
• Barry Whelan
• Meghan Windle

The students initiated have maintained a 3.25 GPA overall and have at least a 3.25 GPA in 16 credits of economics courses.

RSVP to Stacy Outlaw at soutlaw@elon.edu.   

The FMA is the global leader in developing and disseminating knowledge about financial decision making.

For more information on BAP visit elonbap.com. If you would like to attend a BAP meeting and are not a member, please contact President Richard Segal at rsegal@elon.edu or Vice President Kevin Smeaton at ksmeaton@elon.edu. 

For more information on BAP visit elonbap.com. If you would like to attend a BAP meeting and are not a member, please contact President Richard Segal at rsegal@elon.edu or Vice President Kevin Smeaton at ksmeaton@elon.edu. 

For more information on BAP visit elonbap.com. If you would like to attend a BAP meeting and are not a member, please contact President Richard Segal at rsegal@elon.edu or Vice President Kevin Smeaton at ksmeaton@elon.edu.