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McCoy College of Business

Undergraduate research advisors in The McCoy College of Business Administration:

  • Email: dangelow@txstate.edu

    Phone: 512-633-1500

    Research Interests: Innovation and start-up businesses, Internet of Things, Business Model Development.

    Bio: I work at the intersection of Operations and IT and have helped dozens of businesses improve their team, competitiveness, and drive profitable growth. I am known for my ability to bring teams together and analyze problems to identify root-cause and complicating factors, and design initiatives to deliver improvements.

    I have directed cross-functional teams with direct responsibility for over 75 staff distributed globally and with over $130M direct budget responsibility. My background is a unique blend of consulting and direct line management. Because of my background, I have strong analytical skills, strategic thought processes, and experience with several methods and tools to help deliver financial improvement.

  • Email: t_e18@txstate.edu

    Phone: 512-245-3297

    Research Interests: statistics, analytics, data mining, medical fraud, fraud detection, simulation based stochastic optimization, Bayesian modeling, resource allocation, optimization.

    Bio: Tahir Ekin is the Brandon Dee Roberts Professor and an Assistant Professor of Quantitative Methods in McCoy College of Business, Texas State University. He holds a Ph.D. in Decision Sciences from The George Washington University (GWU) and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Bilkent University, Turkey. His teaching experience include the areas of statistics, data mining and analytics.
    His research interests include simulation based stochastic optimization, Bayesian modeling, statistical medical fraud assessment and operations research applications in resource allocation. He was the recipient for ASA/NISS y-Bis 2016 Best Paper Award. His work has been published in a number of academic journals including Decision Analysis, Naval Research Logistics, The American Statistician, Health Care Management Science and Reliability Engineering & System Safety. He has been involved with many successful internal and external grants worth more than $500,000 including a National Science Foundation grant. He was invited to present in various conferences including the meetings sponsored by Institute for Operations Research and Management Science (INFORMS), International Society for Bayesian Analysis (ISBA) and The International Society for Business and Industrial Statistics (ISBIS).
    Prior to joining Texas State University, he was teaching business statistics at GWU School of Business and working as a statistician at Integrated Management Services. He has been involved in developing solutions for practical problems using tools of Operations Research and Statistics in diverse areas as financial risk management, demand management, health care fraud detection, supply chain management and manufacturing for companies including IFC (World Bank), Carlsberg and Procter & Gamble. Currently, he also serves as the Vice President for ISBIS and Program Chair of Young Business and Industrial Statisticians. Please see his personal website, www.tahirekin.com, for more details.

  • Email: jlk132@txstate.edu

     Phone: 512-245-3205

    Research Interests: My research interests are varied from understanding American spending and saving habits (or lack thereof) to accessibility for learning and understanding why students fail a course. Specifically, failing technology and STEM courses using the technology adoption model (TAM), technology diffusion theory, technology self-efficacy, academic self-regulation, and persistence.

    Bio: Currently, I am a Senior Lecturer in the Computer Information Systems & Quantitative Methods Department at Texas State University. My primary teaching course is Introduction to Computer Applications, focusing on Excel and Access. As course coordinator, I strive to provide a framework for our course that works for all teaching styles and delivery methods, including online sections. Technology is here, and it is our responsibility to help students find their comfort zone with technology as it applies to their career and life goals. 
    Past work: US Army; managed a law firm for 15 years; built tennis courts; built apartment complexes; trained horses (racehorses, stadium jumping, and roping/reining)
    For fun, I work with small local nonprofit organizations to organize and manage their computer networks and accounting functions. My other love is spending time with my daughter on horseback.

  • Email: fm16@txstate.edu

    Phone: 512-245-3303

    Research Interests: Statistical Data Analysis, Exploratory Data Analysis and Management Science.

    Bio: Dr. Francis A. Méndez Mediavilla is an Full Professor of Statistics in the Department of Computer Information Systems and Quantitative Methods at Texas State University – San Marcos. Dr. Méndez Mediavilla has been at Texas State University since July 2005.
    Dr. Méndez Mediavilla received his Ph.D. from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, in 2005. He holds a BBA in Finance, Management Information Systems and an MBA in Quantitative Methods from the University of Puerto Rico. He is currently a member of the American Statistical Association, the Institute of Mathematical Statistics; serves as a reviewer for the European Journal of Industrial Engineering, and as a member of the Editorial Review Board for the Inter Metro Business Journal. He has published in the Journal of Applied Business and Economics, Journal of Applied Business and Economics, International Journal of Information and Decision Sciences, British Journal of Management, the International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, and the IEEE Transactions in Semiconductor Manufacturing among others. In the early 1990’s he worked in the area of MIS as a consultant, programmer (C language and FoxPro) for the government and for the banking industry. In the late 1990’s he worked as a junior statistician doing consulting for the government and for health insurance companies.

  • Email: js62@txstate.edu

    Phone: 512-245-3230

    Research Interests: Research interests: Computer mediated communication, Strategic use of IT, and Supply Chain Management.

  • Email: jh29@txstate.edu

    Phone: 512-245-2547

    Research Interests: United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), sustainability in triple bottom line, commercial law, applied research on campus, community and IH 35 corridor.

    Bio: Dr. Janet Riola Hale holds her Doctor of Jurisprudence from Saint Mary’s School of Law in San Antonio, Texas. She teaches Business Law at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas in the Department of Finance and Economics at Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg in Germany and Jiao Tong University in China.  

    Dr. Hale focuses on commercial, international and sustainability laws at the undergraduate and graduate levels.  Her Bachelor of Arts degree is in Philosophy from the University of Arkansas where she was co-captain of a nationally ranked Division-I swim team; and, her Master of Arts degree is from Baylor University where Dr. Hale specialized in classical aesthetics.  

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/janet-riola-hale-49075010/

     

  • Email: rk02@txstate.edu

    Phone: 512-245-2547

    Research Interests: Macroeconomics, financial institutions, international macroeconomics, modern economic issues.

    Bio: I have been at Texas State since 1986. My research interests are in the areas of Monetary Policy, Macroeconomics, Financial institutions, economic growth, and applied econometrics. My studies on the integration of financial institutions and monetary policy are heavily cited, including citations by Federal Reserve Board ex-Chair, Ben Bernanke.

  • Email: fq10@txstate.edu

    Phone: 512-657-0878

    Research Interests: Organizational Behavior, Organizational Performance, Managerial Effectiveness, Team Dynamics, Employee Development.

    Bio: Dr. Floyd Quinn currently works as a full-time lecturer in the McCoy College of Business Administration at Texas State University. Prior to his employment with McCoy College, he was a lecturer in the H-E-B School of Business and Administration at the University of the Incarnate Word located in San Antonio, TX. He has also instructed in the Occupational, Workforce, and Leadership Studies department of the School of Applied Arts at Texas State University and participated in a summer program at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. His research broadly focuses on the characteristics of environments that encourage and influence individuals and groups to perform at their highest levels. This exploration is approached from the perspective of adult learning and includes workplace and academic settings where external factors play a role in affecting motivation, commitment, and performance. He has written extensively on this topic, contributing to a textbook as well as publishing numerous articles on the subject. He is the recipient of the 2016 Jerome L. Neuner Award for Excellence in Professional Scholarly Publication from the American Association of University Administrators as well as the 2016 College Achievement Award for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarly/Creative Activities from Texas State University. Dr. Quinn served as Senior Administrator and MBA Program Director at Texas Health and Science University where, among his other duties, he was responsible for curriculum development and program accreditation. He has also served as Associate Director of Human Resources at Texas State University, Human Resources Consultant to the Texas State Auditor providing consulting services to the Governor's Office, state legislature, as well as state agencies and public universities. He also served as Corporate Director of Human Resources at Surrey, Inc., and Divisional Human Resources Manager for the software company, Activant, with HR management responsibilities in Austin, TX and Pleasanton, CA.

  • Emaillinda.alkire@txstate.edu

    Phone: 512-245-3245

    Research Interests: Dr. Alkire‘s (née Nasr) research interests include Service Marketing and Management, Transformative Service Research (TSR), Technology and Service.In particular, Dr. Alkire is working on further exploring wellbeing related topics in various service industries and contexts. Dr. Alkire’s interest in wellbeing research is dictated by a deep and personal conviction that researchers should contribute to the well-being of the service community and society in general by offering transformational insights to service providers. Dr. Alkire is also interested in transdisciplinary research, in particular, the usage of novel technology interfaces (such as Robotics, AI, etc.) within service deliveries, and the role of technology and social media in shaping the service experience of customers and employees.

    Bio: Before joining the marketing faculty at Texas State University, Dr. Alkire was an Assistant Professor at the University of Manchester, UK. Dr. Alkire earned her Ph.D. from the Alliance Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester, UK, where she was awarded the highly competitive and prestigious Manchester Business School Doctoral Studentship. Dr. Alkire received her MBA (Highest Distinction) from the Lebanese American University (Lebanon) and a B.A. in Business Marketing (Highest Distinction) from Notre Dame University (Lebanon). 

    Dr. Alkire has been awarded full scholarships for all her three degrees (B.A., MBA, Ph.D.). Dr. Alkire speaks four languages fluently.

  • Email: steven.rayburn@txstate.edu

    Phone: 512-245-7882

    Research Interests: Service Marketing, Service Interactions, Service Design, Consumer and Worker Constraint.

    Bio: I am deeply concerned for the greater well-being of our world. So I have a strong desire to conduct research that has the potential to positively impact people. This has lead me to the transformative service research focus that pervades my scholarship. Transformative service research is an approach to research that places human well-being at the core of all research. As a result, all of my projects have a practical perspective. I always seek to understand how organizations can put knowledge into practice to better the lives of the people they serve.

    I am particularly concerned with how service work design impacts front-line employee and consumer well-being from a strategic service design perspective. At the same time, I am acutely aware of the potential for service delivery processes and providers to impact people negatively; psychologically, emotionally, and in some cases physically. While examining each these research areas, my concern for people has grown into a passion for research that will lend insight to how service providers can positively impact people's well-being through strategic choices and design.

    I work on projects that examine how work design and training can influence the work related well-being of front-line services workers. I also conduct research on services in which consumers, and workers, find themselves limited in choice; control; and power. The guiding question for this research is: What do people experience when they are out of control and powerless and how does this impact their well-being? I have or am conducting this research in for-profit service organizations, social services, healthcare, and in community development services in developed, emerging, and developing economies.

    I take a practical approach to explore and solve real problems because I believe researchers should apply their tools, techniques, and knowledge to understanding how to improve human well-being.

    I do not do this work alone; it takes teams to solve real problems.

  • Email: rt01@txstate.edu

    Phone: 512-245-3226

    Research Interests: Cultural Research, Ethics and Social Responsibility, Marketing (producing, pricing, placing and promoting), Consumer Behavior, Therapeutic Benefits of Hand Weaving, Indigenous Intellectual Property

    Bio: Taught marketing at Texas State University for going on 34 year and have 10 years of other teaching experience. Work in industry for several employers. Earned BS undergraduate degree in clothing and textiles at University of Houston; Masters Degree in Education (M. Ed) at Texas Christian University and earned Ph. D. in Marketing at University of North Texas. Served as a Fulbright Specialist in Peru on three Specialist assignments (2006, 2008 and 2017). Studied indigenous peoples' weaving in Sweden (SAMI Land), Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru and Mexico. Am interested in helping students develop inquisitive thinking skills and sound research methods.