Welcome
Topic Presentation
Lunch
Panel Discussion
Breakout Sessions
The Katie School Symposium is a forum for industry and academics to come together on key industry issues. Last year's symposium,"Building Business through Social Media," was held on Thursday, April 21 at the Marriott Bloomington-Normal Hotel & Conference Center. The event began at 8:15 am and last until 3:30 pm. See the 2011 brochure and paragraphs below for details about the speakers and the event.
Peter Smudde is assistant professor of public relations at Illinois State University. He has 25 years of experience (16 in industry) and moved to academia in 2002 to fulfill a personal objective to do so. His industry experience includes planning, writing, editing, and evaluating a full range of public relations, marketing, executive, and technical discourse for companies in many industries. He is accredited in public relations (APR) through the PRSA, held an executive-level position in public relations, and been a consultant for strategic communications. In the design of his courses, he applies many of the practices and demands of "real world" public relations so students can become prepared for how they will be managed in their jobs. In Dr. Smudde’s research he is most interested in public relations' synergy with corporate strategy and analytical approaches to public relations and organizational communication. He has published many articles and book chapters, presented numerous convention papers, and published two books—Humanistic Critique of Education: Teaching and Learning as Symbolic Action (2010) and Public Relations as Dramatistic Organizing: A Case Study Bridging Theory and Practice (2011). He is also co-editor with Dr. Jeffrey Courtright of Power and Public Relations (2007) and is co-author with Dr. Courtright on a new book in press, Inspiring Cooperation and Celebrating Organizations: Genres, Message Design, and Strategies in Public Relations.
Annette Levitt manages and maintains the Alumni Association Web Site and social networking sites at Illinois State University. She coordinates content for Illinois State alumni magazine and the e-newsletter, manages vendor contracts and serves as the staff liaison to the E-Communications Committee and Homecoming Committee for the Alumni Association.
Steven Taylor joined the Marketing faculty at Illinois State University in August 1992 and currently teaches eMarketing, eCommerce, eBusiness, Marketing Research, Relationship Marketing, Services Marketing, and graduate level critical thinking. Steve has also been a pharmaceutical sales representative for the Sandoz Nutrition Corporation, and a hospital administrator specializing in Marketing for the United States Navy. He is a co-Editor of the Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction & Complaining Behavior, and serves on the Editorial Review Board of several marketing journals. He has published almost 40 journal articles, and has actively consulted with numerous organizations concerning a variety of marketing issues. Dr. Taylor's research has focused on the conceptualization and operationalization of the determinants of Service Value, Service Quality, and Consumer Satisfaction as well as their impacts on ultimate consumer purchase behaviors and organizational strategies. His most recent emphases have been the extension of these inquiries to eCommerce and eBusiness settings.
Jamie Wieland teaches statistical reasoning and operations management. Other teaching interests include management science, probability, stochastic processes, and spreadsheet simulation modeling. Dr. Wieland's research is in the development of methods for stochastic optimization and sensitivity analysis, with a focus on Monte Carlo simulation. She also works on developing variance reduction and ranking/selection methods for improving the statistical efficiency of experiments. Applications areas of interest include health care, operations management, finance, sustainable systems, and social simulation.
Jane McFetridge is the Managing Partner of the Chicago, Illinois office of Jackson Lewis LLP. She has been based in Chicago her entire career and has extensive experience litigating all forms of labor and employment matters throughout the Midwest. Her practice covers the spectrum of employment litigation, including both state and federal claims, and individual and class action suits. Her class action, collective action, and multi-plaintiff experience includes both suits by private parties and by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). She has handled cases involving claims of race, age, disability, and sex discrimination, as well as sexual harassment, retaliatory discharge, wage and hour, and non-compete/restrictive covenant issues. She has broad experience dealing with the EEOC and the U.S. Department of Labor, as well as state and local labor and employment agencies throughout the United States. She has an extensive appellate practice, including oral arguments before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the Illinois Supreme Court, the Illinois Appellate Courts, and the Michigan Court of Appeals. Ms. McFetridge also routinely counsels clients on a variety of employment practices including employment contracts and employee handbooks and policies. She conducts employee training seminars, harassment investigations, and frequently speaks on employment-related topics.Ms. McFetridge has also testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions regarding gender pay equity issues.
Joseph Knytych is the Director of Leadership & Professional Development for BlueCross BlueShield (HCSC). His area provides a variety of growth and development opportunities for over 16,000 employees. Joe’s accountability includes designing and implementing innovative learning solutions for professionals, leaders and executives. Joe has a proven track record of building business literacy, enhancing leadership competencies and broadening strategic perspectives across the enterprise. His teams specialize in human resource development, performance consulting, instructional design and educational program management. Joe has also been a key contributor on various workforce transformation and organizational change initiatives.
Terry Noel teaches classes in Entrepreneurship and Management at Illinois State University. He has experience in small business ownership and sales management. Dr. Noel studies the process of entrepreneurial learning and how entrepreneurial thinking can benefit both start ups and established organizations. He also does research in the field of employee reactions to computer monitoring. Dr. Noel currently writes a daily blog (commonsenseliberty.com). He uses social networking to promote his blog and his book, Empty Nest Egg: Why You Must Start Your Own Business NOW.
