Brownie Polly, MBA '01
Senior Vice President/ Private Client Manager,
Bank of America

Brownie Polly has been in the banking industry his entire career.  But in 2001, he earned his MBA from Radford University, and it has made all the difference.  Polly, who works for Bank of America, changed positions within the bank from focusing on lending to concentrating on wealth management.  "While I still do lending, I am a lot more involved in investment for high net worth client."  The MBA was a lure for him to expand his horizons and capabilities.  Radford was his choice because the classes were offered locally in Roanoke, and he was able to take them "from a live professor instead of by satellite.  I was quite pleasantly surprised by the quality.  It required a lot of work, and I have been in the financial industry for over 20 years. 

"I felt I knew most of the stuff, and I was amazed by how much I did not know."  His eyes were opened to new areas of business management.  Additionally, says Polly, his professors made the classes extremely interesting -- and this comes from a man who was working full time while taking classes.  In his strategic management class, his team competed against other teams in a management project.  "This allowed us to get some sense of hands-on management and understand the impact of decisions we made on the performance of that company."  His MBA has made a huge impact on his career.  "One reason I was chosen for the position I am in now was that the MBA enhanced my attractiveness.  It was like switching companies, because I switched divisions.  I would like to think it gave me an edge."

Karen VanCuren, MBA '01 Plant Human Resource Manager,
Sara Lee Bakery Group

Bob Barnes MBA '05
Financial Advisor,
Scott & Stringfellow

Bob Barnes went back to school simply because he wanted to.  As a financial advisor with Scott & Stringfellow, a regional investment brokerage firm, he felt he owed it to his clients to "constantly learn more about my business and about business in general.  I needed [the MBA] to be better at my job."  Barnes said as a professional investor he is required to understand how businesses operate so that he can evaluate them and make recommendations to his clients.  "Any time you do an analysis of a business, as an investor, you need to know how businesses operate."  He can now read an annual report or an analyst's report with greater insight.  "I am of the opinion that with education and professional training, if you're not moving ahead then you're backing up.  It's a feature of our environment that you have to increase skills and become more valuable to your employer.  You have to improve to stay in place," he said, adding that people who are not furthering their education should expect to be passed up.

Barnes' path through the MBA program was not easy, but he said professors were very accommodating.  He works full time, has two small children and is in the Army Reserve.  He was called to active duty in 2003, while in the MBA program.  "In fact, for part of that time, I was stationed in Salem and took two classes.  I had only a couple of conflicts with exams, and the professors were very helpful.  I would definitely recommend Radford's program."

Ann Montgomery juggled the hectic and stressful life of a shift administrator -- essentially, a nursing supervisor -- while studying for her MBA degree at Radford University.  It was all worth her while.  "I think the degree will open more doors for me.  Ultimately my goal is to be on a vice president's level within an organization."  Montgomery had just completed her bachelor of science in nursing degree at Radford when she began working toward her MBA and knew that the university was more than cooperative with adult students.  "First of all, the classes were small enough that I felt I could have that personal attention from an instructor.  All were willing to meet one-on-one."  She said all of her classes met in Roanoke, at the Higher Education Center, which also made scheduling easier.

"Once, because of my work schedule, I couldn't turn in a paper on time; the instructor understood that I was an adult with work responsibilities, and he gave me an extension without a penalty.  He recognized me as a human being with another life."  The MBA has helped Montgomery, in turn, manage those with whom she works.  "I'm a nurse manager, with 60 employees of all different skill levels, from clinical leaders to staff nurses to nursing assistants, and I have complete financing responsibility for the unit.  We are a 25-bed cardiology PCU in Roanoke Memorial, and human resource aspects are a very important part of our job."  On a daily basis she has to know how to legally and professionally interact with these employees so she can retain them.  "I need to make this a unit they want to work in, in this time of nursing shortages."

She feels that her MBA will ultimately set her apart in a competitive world.  Her classroom experience -- for instance, running a computer-simulated business, making manufacturing and site location decisions -- was invaluable.  "The overall program gave me knowledge of broad topics, with a lot of practical application that I can use."

Ann Montgomery, MBA '02
Nurse Manager,
Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital

Maxine Lee, M.D., MBA '05
Anesthesiology Consultants of VA, Inc.

"With increasing pressure from insurance companies, physician practices must be run more efficiently.  This requires management and administrative expertise.  Physicians have to also learn how to negotiate with insurance companies and hospital administrators.  These skills are not taught in medical school and I decided that, as a physician, an MBA would give me the basics upon which to build these faculties.  I chose Radford because it is an excellent local program that provides me with the knowledge required.  I am happy with the information I have acquired, and I have learned tremendously from the very experience faculty as well as my diligent colleagues."

George Matthews said his recently earned MBA from Radford University has "opened a lot of doors.  I went from an instructor to a department head to Dean of Academic, as I was pursuing my master's.  Finally, March 1, 2005, I became Director of Education.  I am using my MBA every day, for budgeting, managing the faculty, student issues and organizational behavior."  ECPI has about 6,000 students across all its campuses, which stretch from Northern Virginia to Charleston, SC.  His decisions affect about 300 students and 35 faculty members.  "The management has placed great confidence in me.  My degree has helped me think outside the box, to be innovative in managing people, budgets and some upper level managing of the school."  Matthews said his MBA experience broadened his goals, from the perspective of the instructor to focusing on the general ECPI campus.

Matthews can't imagine how his experience at Radford could have been any better.  He took most of his courses in Roanoke at the Roanoke Higher Education Center, which helped him economize his time while he worked full time.  He said he had very few problems with scheduling.

"My whole experience at Radford was superb.  The one thing that really sticks in my mind is the instructors.  They are top notch.  Their doors were open to me any time, and they replied to my emails immediately.  It has given me standards -- they are like a shining point."

George Matthews, MBA '02
Director of Education,
ECPI Technical College - Roanoke Campus

Devi Kapinos, MBA '05
Assistant Vice President/ Branch Manager
Valley Bank

"The value of an MBA has been steadily increasing, so it just makes sense for those interested in success in the business world to posses one.  It gives one an edge over a competitor in the job market who may not have one.  Radford's program is tailored to the working professional.  Evening classes, flexibility in scheduling, and the physical presence of a professor in the classroom are all reasons I chose Radford.  I certainly would recommend the program to others who are interested, and I am grateful for all the assistance I have received from the staff at Radford."