loyola executive spring 2011

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS MAGAZINE LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS SPRING 2011

BUSINESS PORTFOLIO PROGRAM KEEPS STUDENTS ON TRACK • THE DL-TRADING GAME PROVIDES REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE

CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL CAPITAL CELEBRATES SUCCESSES • FACULTY RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTED

A Saint withMaroon and Gold Ties

Dennis Lauscha, M.B.A. ’93,New Orleans Saints ExecutiveVice President and CFO

ExecSpring11Cover_SummerCover 3/13/11 2:00 PM Page 3

LOYOLA UNIVERSITYNEW ORLEANS

Loyola University New Orleans PresidentThe Rev. Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J.

College of Business DeanWilliam Locander

Director, Portfolio & InternshipsKathy Barnett

Associate DeanAngie Hoffer

Development Officer College of BusinessTraci Wolff

Loyola Executive EditorPublications Editor

Ray Willhoft ’00

Loyola Executive DesignerCraig Bloodworth

PhotographerHarold Baquet

Contributors

Kathy BarnettWilliam LocanderNathan C. Martin

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COLLEGE OF BUSINESS MAGAZINELOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANSSPRING 2011 • VOL.4 • NO.1 • WWW.BUSINESS.LOYNO.EDU

COVER FOCUS6 A Saint with Maroon and

Gold Ties

FEATURES12 Business Portfolio Program

Expands Student Services

16 Cats, Robots, and a StockTrading Game

17 Baklava, Beach Volleyball, andReal Estate

18 Not Your Average Board Game

20 Center For Spiritual CapitalUpdate

24 Celebrating a LifelongPartnership

28 Faculty Research:Advancing the Theory andScience of Business

Loyola Executive is published bi-annually forLoyola University New Orleans College of Business

alumni and friends.Please address correspondence to:

Loyola ExecutiveOffice of the Dean

6363 St. Charles Avenue, Box 15New Orleans, LA 70118

News and photographs for possible use in futureissues may be submitted by readers.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:Loyola Executive

Loyola University New Orleans7214 St. Charles Avenue, Box 909

New Orleans, LA 70118

Loyola University New Orleans has fully supportedand fostered in its educational programs,

admissions, employment practices, and in theactivities it operates the policy of not discriminatingon the basis of age, color, disability, national origin,race, religion, sex/gender, or sexual orientation. Thispolicy is in compliance with all applicable federal

regulations and guidelines.


“Over the years, I have tried to ‘repay’ Loyolafor the wonderful education I received. Loyolagift annuities have allowed me to make giftswhile receiving a secure annual income forlife. The Office of Planned Giving pointedout the substantial tax savings which made itpossible for me to be even more generous thanI originally anticipated.”

—Roland Hymel ’53

For information on howto save taxes while making

a gift to Loyola, contact:

Robert S. GrossDirector of Planned Giving

(504) [email protected]

Or visit www.loyno.edu/plannedgiving


This is a very special issue of Loyola Executive because it features Loyola’s relationshipwith the New Orleans Saints. Dennis Lauscha is not only an MBA graduate ofLoyola but serves as the chair of our Visiting Committee of executive advisers. Weare proud to have Dennis as one of our alumni. You will also read about Tyler Cocek,a young alumnus who’s part of the Saints organization as well.

In this issue, we also feature two of our junior faculty members, John Levendis andMehmet Dicle, who have “invented” an online stock market game. It allows our studentsthe chance to play a simulated stock game to learn before risking their own money.

There is also a nice article on the Center for Spiritual Capital which features ourupcoming programs and initiatives. In the article, you will find a recap of our inaugural yearincluding the center’s accomplishments to date.

The College of Business has published a research brochure highlighting theresearch interests of faculty. I am grateful to our faculty for not only being excellentteachers, but also productive scholars in their disciplines. To them, I say kudos!

Last but not least, is a fine story of two people, Tom and Kitty Kloor, who met atthe university and have been part of the Loyola family for decades. My thanks tothem for sharing some family photos of the good old days at Loyola.

I hope you enjoy this issue of the Executive as itis a reflection of all that faculty, students, staff,and alumni have accomplished for our college.

Sincerely,

William B. Locander, Ph.D.College of Business Dean

Spring 2011 www.business.loyno.edu 5

From the Dean


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Aside from the $8 million giftof New Orleans Saints OwnerTom Benson, H’87, to LoyolaUniversity NewOrleans, theCollege ofB u s i n e s senjoys aspecial rela-tionship withthis Super BowlChampion organiza-tion. The executivevice president andchief financial officerfor the NFL franchise isCoB alumnus Dennis Lauscha,M.B.A. ’93. In his 13th season withthe Saints, Dennis says this is his dreamjob. Having grown up in New Orleans, heis a longtime Saints fan and now, an offi-cer with his favorite NFL franchise.Dennis also serves as the chairperson ofour CoB Visiting Committee. Dennis credits his Jesuit education in

getting him to where he is today. Hespeaks fondly of his time at Jesuit High

School and approaches the dailytasks of his job with the Saintswith an eye towards Jesuit values.

A conversationwith himincludes ref-erences to“being aman for

others” and“seeking a

greater good.” Hisactions reflect his views.He has served as presi-dent of the Preservation

Resource Center and creditshis work with that organization

in understanding the importance ofbringing the Superdome back to life afterHurricane Katrina. He has also served aspresident of the regional chapter of theBoy Scouts of America. Dennis’ attention to others is evident

when he talks about how much the Saintsorganization has meant to the greater NewOrleans community. Being part of anorganization that has such close community

A Saintwith Maroon and Gold Ties


8 Loyola Executive

ties is very special to him. Heproudly tells of how followingKatrina, the Saints indoor prac-tice football field on AirlineDrive became a military base ofsorts. The indoor training facilitybecame a make-shift barracks forclose to 200 service people. Thefacility was kept dark 24 hours aday so that soldiers could sleepbetween shifts. Dennis even likens the inscrip-

tion on his Championship SuperBowl ring (which by the way isHUGE) as not a far leap fromJesuit ideals. The inscriptionreads: “Smell greatness, finish,and be special.” And special theSaints have been. Their 2010 runto the Super Bowl ignited a citythat needed something hopeful, asign if you will, that things weregoing to be okay. Dennis says theycouldn’t have done it without thefans, and speaks proudly of thefine reputation Saints fans holdthroughout the league. As hesays, “People in this industry say the expe-rience at New Orleans games with the fansis like no other.” He loves the fans.

Even while this is his self-proclaimeddream job, rest assured Dennis doesn’tspend his days tossing the football aroundwith Drew Brees. In addition to maintain-ing the team’s finances, he oversees theSaints human resources, information andtechnology, and facilities and groundsdepartments. He is a key negotiator onvarious deals with the state government

and was part of the negotiation to keep theSaints in New Orleans through 2025. Hewas also an important part of the negotiat-ing team that landed Super Bowl XLVII inNew Orleans in 2013, sure to be a boon tothe local economy.Not surprisingly, members of the Saints

organization speak highly of Dennis. MickeyLoomis, executive vice president and generalmanager of the Saints organization, knowsthat this CFO brings much to the table.“Dennis is a critical member of our manage-ment team. He understands what an NFL

“Dennis has played a critical role

for our organization for a long

time. He understands our

business and the market very

well, which is a great combination

in his role as our executive vice

president/chief financial officer.

Dennis is actively involved in his

community, and we could not be

more proud to have him as part

of our team.”

—Tom Benson, H’87,New Orleans Saints Owner


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team needs to be successful. He understandsthe relationship between winning on thefield and winning on the business side. Wewould not have a successful NFL franchise inone of the smallest markets in the league if itwere not for Dennis’ expertise. He has been adriving force behind projects such asChampions Square, the remodel of theSuperdome, and the acquisitions of Fox 8and Benson Tower. I value his opinion andfrequently consult him on matters related toour team.”Saints Owner Tom Benson feels the

same way. “Dennis has played a criticalrole for our organization for a long time.He understands our business and the mar-ket very well, which is a great combina-tion in his role as our executive vice pres-ident/chief financial officer. He sits on theteam’s Board of Directors and is veryinvolved in the short and long-term deci-sions we make about the team’s future.Dennis is actively involved in his commu-nity, and we could not be more proud tohave him as part of our team.”

When asked what advice he had for


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10 Loyola Executive

undergrads who are approachingentering the real world, Dennisresponds with this: “First of all, study!Acquire a diverse business background sothat you are well-rounded. Know thatthere will be ups and downs in your career,but you have to stay the course and not getdiscouraged.” When asked of what he is most proud of in

his career, Dennis’ answer remindsyou of the saying “there is no ‘I’ in

team.” He answers in terms of what theorganization has accomplished—keeping theSaints in the city and renovating the oldNew Orleans Center building and theSuperdome to revitalize that area for thepeople of New Orleans who have long sup-ported the Saints. Truly a man for others.

“People in this industry say the experience at New Orleans gameswith the fans is like no other.”

—Dennis Lauscha, M.B.A. ’93


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From Intern to Full-Time SaintWhat happens when you mix talent

and hard work with being at the rightplace at the right time? You get a chanceto work in the National FootballLeague. That’s how it happened for CoBalumus Tyler Cocek ’09.

Tyler, a native of Dallas, Texas, isalso a Jesuit High School graduate(Dallas). He was an accounting majorat Loyola who landed an internshipwith the New Orleans Saints. As luckwould have it, an employee in thefinance division decided to retire after42 years of service to the Saints, leav-ing a vacancy in a department whereturnover is rare. By proving himselfduring his internship,Tyler landed the full-time job.

He too describes hiswork as his dream job andcredits his Jesuit educa-tion with getting him towhere he is today. “Ilearned to persevere” hesays. His advice to under-grads: “Hard work reallydoes pay off. Know whatyour dreams are and fol-low them.”

The best perk so far of

working for the Saints organization?Getting to attend the 2010 SuperBowl of course. The entire Saints staffwas treated to a trip to the big game.“Being there with everyone and get-ting to experience that together wasjust indescribable.” Even though hedoesn’t get to hang out with the play-ers, he does see them from time totime if they have a question abouttheir paycheck.

In this case, all that accountinghomework really paid off with a hugedividend—after all, how many staffaccountants do you know who havetheir very own Super Bowl ring?


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12 Loyola Executive

Business Portfolio Program

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n a competitive job market, anything college grads can do to differentiate

themselves from the competition is important. To ensure our College of

Business students can face the competition head on, we have added staff

and services to the Business Portfolio Program in order to more strategically

assist students in their career-development plans and job placement.

Karin Iwasaka, M.S., joined the Portfolio staff as career and academic counselor.

Karin holds a master’s degree in counseling with an emphasis on career counseling from

California State University, Long Beach. She worked as a career counselor at the

University of California Santa Barbara Career Services office and as a career counselor

intern with California State University Long Beach campus before following her

military husband south. Karin is responsible for a number of Portfolio activities including

workshop design, activity/assignment development, academic advising with freshmen,

resume and cover letter reviews, mock interviews, and many one-on-one conversations

with students on a variety of topics related to career and academic success.

She says of her Loyola experience thus far: “Since starting as Portfolio career and

academic counselor last August, I’ve enjoyed meeting with students individually to

advise them on academic and career questions. It is exciting to see students adapt to

university life, as well as think about who they are, what they would like to do in the

future, and how they plan to get there. We’ve been working with sophomores to present

their experiences accurately and confidently, without underselling or overselling their

accomplishments through developing their resume writing and interviewing skills. The

main point I’d like students to realize is that our office is a resource, and we enjoy

working with them as they pursue success in academics, careers, and life.”

Mark McLean, M.B.A. ’92, joined the Portfolio staff in early fall as the coordinator

for the CoB’s Pilot Placement Services Program. Mark comes to us with an extensive

corporate background having worked at Deloitte for more than 15 years in a variety of

national and international HR positions including national director of coaching and

career services and national HR director of human capital. He is currently working

closely with our junior and senior students on career plan coaching and development.

As Mark has observed, “Many of our junior and senior students with whom I have

Expands Student ServicesI

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14 Loyola Executive

been meeting are more than adequately

prepared on the technical front (their major) to

succeed in their chosen career field. However,

the vast majority are not yet prepared and/or

have simply not yet put a plan in motion to

achieve their career goals. Students are often

‘stuck’ in the land of not knowing exactly how

to ‘jump-start’ their career search. To address this

gap in technical expertise and career planning,

we are piloting ‘placement services activities’

including 1:1 career coaching sessions which

result in specific, immediate, and actionable

steps for each student to take (and own) to

move his or her career search forward. The

comment I often hear, particularly after our

initial 1:1 discussion, is they are ‘relieved’ to

have a concrete plan in place and to have

figured out their immediate next steps.”

And last but not least, Cathy Berry

joined the staff on a part-time basis as

Portfolio secretary keeping track of the

many, many details that go into running a

Mark McLean, M.B.A. ’92, coordinator for the Pilot Placement Services Program, gave students apresentation on career development as part of the Business Portfolio Program.

“Many of our junior and senior students with whom I have been meeting aremore than adequately prepared on the technical front (their major) to succeed intheir chosen career field. However, the vast majority are not yet prepared and/or

have simply not yet put a plan in motion to achieve their career goals.”—Mark McLean, M.B.A. ’92, Coordinator, Pilot Placement Services Program


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program that includes more than 300

actively engaged students.

Kathy Barnett, Ph.D., continues as director

of the Portfolio Program in addition to teaching,

internships, and college marketing duties.

Barnett says the focus of the program this year

has been to further develop a strong employer

base and a strong pool of student job applicants

to go along with that base.

“We can get a host of impressive employers to

our campus to interview, but if we don’t have a

supply of well-prepared, focused student

candidates for them to interview, those

employers aren’t going to come back. The

addition of a placement services component

directly impacts our success in getting the

attention of potential employers.”

Kathy and all Portfolio staff members

continue to work closely with Loyola’s Career

Development Center staff to ensure the best

possible career planning and job search

experience for all CoB students. Portfolio

students will leave the campus not only with

degree in hand but also a series of tools to go

one-on-one with the competition.

For more information on the

Business Portfolio Program, visit

www.business.loyno.edu/portfolio

The Business Portfolio Program hosted a College of Business Networking Event in November for juniorsand seniors to mingle and apply the art of professional networking.

“It is exciting to see students adapt to university life, as well as think aboutwho they are, what they would like to do in the future, and how they

plan to get there.”—Karin Iwasaka, M.S., Portfolio Career and Academic Counselor


16 Loyola Executive

Cats, Robots, and a StockTrading Game

What do cats, robots, and a stock market trading game have in common?Answer: Professor Mehmet Dicle, Ph.D. The name Dicle is Turkish and

causes even those who know him well pronunciation problems(pronounced die-sil). Mehmet joined the Loyola faculty in fall 2007and has been a highly respected teacher and scholar ever since.Students sing his praises while his five cats whine for attention.

One of Mehmet’s hobbies are his five cats. Mehmet says thatcats are fascinating animals—all with unique personalities. Herecalls with a laugh the time when, in the early morning hours,he was surrounded by his cats and trying to feverishly finish along financial analysis for an academic paper submission whenKatia gently walked across his keyboard as if it was her right ofway. Mehmet says his cats are notoriously independent.

Mehmet also designs and builds robots just for the fun ofit. He even has one robot that entertains his cats. It turns out

that the robot provides just what cats can’t seem to ignore—playful movement. The recent passion in his life, in addition to his wife, Betul, and

newborn baby girl, is the trading game which he readily shares withstudents. He and another Loyola College of Business faculty member,

Dr. John Levendis, have worked for the past few years in developing andpublishing the trading game.

The game has been used in Loyola’s finance classes since the summerof 2009. Mehmet said that students seem to like how the trading game

applies all that they learn in the course. First, they learn the material.Then, they take a test drive with the game. Then, they take Dr. RonChristner’s Student Managed Fund class for real experience. A recentsemester’s students were actually asking for the game. They kept asking

“when are we going to play the DL-Trading Game?” It is nice whenstudents thirst for a learning experience.

So, Mehmet’s life is full of activity—a crying newborn baby inhand with cats, robots, and computers in the background. All of these as abackdrop to a successful teaching, researching, and publishing career.



Baklava, Beach Volleyball, and Real Estate

There is no confusion that the name Levendis (as in Professor JohnLevendis ’97, Ph.D.) has its roots in ancient Greece. John is proudof his Greek heritage and his love of such dishes as saganaki,dolmades, gyros, and, of course, baklava for his sweet tooth.While there is a substantial-sized Greek community in NewOrleans, John has a special attachment to his Greek heritage.John’s cousin, George, operates one of the few Greek restaurantsin the area, Mr. Gyro’s. Ask John anytime and he is up for aGreek feast at his cousin’s restaurant.

John joined the Loyola faculty in fall 2005. His Ph.D. degree isin economics from the University of Iowa but he came home toLoyola where he earned a B.B.A. in economics and was in theUniversity Honors Program. John remembers fondly hisundergraduate years at Loyola where he developed an appetite forvolleyball. His interest continues as he plays beach volleyballregularly in a city league on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain.

John’s research interest, in addition to working with Dr.Mehmet Dicle on the Stock Trading Game, lies in the field ofreal estate. John used his talents in statistics to conduct anumber of empirical studies on the effect of Hurricane Katrinaon real estate values in New Orleans. His work has beenpublished in prestigious journals like Applied Economics, Journal ofFinancial Education, and the Journal of International FinancialMarkets, Institutions and Money.

His research is of personal importance as one from the New Orleansarea. Some of his work has examined the effects of Hurricane Katrina onreal estate values. His research examines flood hazards and urban housingmarkets including risk and geographic elevation of properties. John feelsthat it is important to understand unique real estate markets in areas likeNew Orleans.

John’s contributions to Loyola’s College of Business as a talentedresearcher, excellent teacher, and, above all, outstanding colleaguemakes him popular with students and faculty alike.


18

Not Your Average Board Game



Having read the profiles of faculty membersMehmet Dicle, Ph.D., and John Levendis,Ph.D., on the proceeding pages, it shouldcome as no surprise that the two have createda new and innovative teaching tool—TheDL-Trading Game (©2009). This onlinetrading game gives students the opportunity toexperience simulated trading with imaginarycash as part of their classroom experience.The two have utilized the game in classesincluding Financial Management,International Financial Management,Advanced Financial Management, andDerivatives since the summer of 2009.

The game is incorporated into theacademic course material through case studiesspecifically designed foreach class. Students aregiven certain requirementsand directions they mustcomplete that includesimulated trading. Studentsthen receive feedback fromtheir professors and aregraded on whether or notthey fulfilled therequirements rather than their profits andlosses. The students can see what they didwrong and learn from their mistakes withouthaving to take any actual risk. As one studentcommented: “Better to make mistakes nowrather than in real life with real money.” Thecatch is that once a student trades a symbol noone else can trade it, making each tradeattempt a new attempt. The student accountsare anonymous to ensure privacy.

Dicle and Levendis agree that the game hasbeen a hit with the students. As Diclecommented, “The students seem to like howthe DL-Trading Game allows them to apply

what they have learned in the course. First,they learn the material. Then, they put it tothe test with the DL-TG. Next, they take Dr.Ron Christner’s Student Managed Fund classfor real experience.”

Future plans for the game include acompetition with other universities across thecountry. Currently, students from more than10 states, Korea, and Russia are participatingin the game in addition to Loyola students.Dicle and Levendis also presented a paper onthe game at the Financial EducationAssociation Conference and will have had apaper published in the Journal of FinancialEducation.

Perhaps the best testament of the DL-

Trading Game as a valuable teaching tool canbe found in an e-mail response from aninternational business major to his professor:“I was not looking forward to working onanything school-related last night, but I reallygot into this game and had no trouble stayingawake to get it done! I am not sure if I dideverything correctly, but I had a great timetrying to figure it all out. It is a huge benefitto us as students to have something like thetrading game to work with. I truly appreciatethe time and effort it clearly took to put it alltogether, and had a great time taking thiscourse.”

“I was not looking forward to working onanything school-related last night, but Ireally got into this game and had no troublestaying awake to get it done!”

—International Business Major


20 Loyola Executive

Center for SpiritualCapital Update

A Year of Firsts



This year was the inaugural year for

the Center for Spiritual Capital. We

created an Advisory Committee

consisting of Nicholas Capaldi, Ph.D.,

the center’s director; Bill Locander,

Ph.D., dean of the College of Business;

the Rev. Ted Dziak, S.J., vice president

for mission and ministry and director

of Loyola’s Jesuit Center; Roger White,

Ph.D., of the Department of Political

Science; founding partners John B.

Levert, Jr., and Alan Arnold ’64,

M.B.A. ’71; Susan Couvillon, of the

Almar Foundation; and Mel Lagarde,

president and CEO of HCA. Additions

to the Advisory Committee will be

made later this year. The center has a

new office on campus in Miller Hall

213. Our website has been launched,

and we are pleased to introduce our

administrative assistant, Stephanie

Willis.

Our first event was a dinner last

May honoring Alden J. “Doc”

Laborde and the naming of the award

the Doc Laborde Award for Ethical

Entrepreneurship (see previous issue of

Loyola Executive for more details). At

the dinner, Professor James Stoner of

LSU delivered the First John B. Levert

Lecture.

Our major focus for the fall of 2010

was the advance showing of the film

Doing Virtuous Business . Doing

Virtuous Business is a new Emmy-

nominated PBS documentary by

Theodore Roosevelt Malloch, Ph.D.,


22 Loyola Executive

based on his book of the same title.

Malloch is the leading figure in the

Spiritual Capital movement in the U.S.

and internationally. The film explores the

concept of virtuous capitalism and shows

how successful business leaders are

applying it in today’s turbulent economic

landscape. The showing of the film was

followed by a panel discussion that

included Ted Malloch himself, Nicholas

Capaldi, Corrado Giacona, of Corrado

Container Corp., and John Finan, Jr.,

president and CEO of Our Lady of the Lake

Regional Medical Center.

The spring of 2011 includes several

events sponsored by the center. Our first

speaker event of 2011 was Fr. J. Michael

Beers, Ph.D., who has a long association

with Legatus (a national organization of

Catholic Business Leaders with 60 local

chapters dedicated to studying, living, and

spreading the faith in their business,

professional, and personal lives). Beers

spoke at a special luncheon for Legatus

members on February 16. His topic was the

Catholic Entrepreneur. That evening, he

delivered a university and community-wide

talk titled “Edith Stein and Ayn Rand: Two

Approaches to Personalism.”

Second, the center hosted P.J. Hill,

renowned economist from Wheaton

College and former president of the

Christian Economists Association. Hill

spoke to a university-wide audience on

University President Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., Ph.D., (left) and College of BusinessDean William Locander, Ph.D., (right) honor Alden J. “Doc” Laborde (center) at theCenter for Spiritual Capital dinner held in May.



March 30 on the topic

of the relation between

Christianity and Markets.

Our major event for the

spring will be to host an

International Conference

on Corporate Social

Responsibility May 18 –

20. More than 100

participants from 30

different countries will be

in attendance. There will

be paper presentations on

such topics as sustainable

business activity, multi-national corporate

accountability, social entrepreneurship,

globalization and corporate activity, socially

responsible business activities,

government influences on

corporate accountability,

corporate social responsibility

and corporate risk, and

corporate social responsibility

and the triple bottom

line. In addition to

formal papers, there will

be workshops, symposia,

poster sessions, and

doctor colloquia where

graduate students can

present their work.

For more information or to be put on

our mailing list, please visit the center’s

website: www.loyno.edu/spiritual-capital

Loyola Board of Trustees Member Rita Benson LeBlanc, Professor Lee Yao, Ph.D.,Businessman/Author Ted Malloch, Ph.D., Businessman Corrado Giacona, and Professor Wing Fok, Ph.D.,socialize after a screening of Malloch’s film Doing Virtuous Business.


24 Loyola Executive

hile love at first sight is certainly

thrilling, it can also be unnerving.

What if the person who caught your

eye declines to love you back?

College of Business alumnus Tom

Kloor ’52 remembers the excitement of immediate

infatuation from his first semester at Loyola, when a

young woman rose from the front row of his religious

studies class to pass out papers for the instructor.

“I was so awestruck by her appearance that I felt I

had to meet her,” Tom says. “I still remember what

she was wearing the first time I saw her: a white

blouse with a brown neckerchief at her neck, a

pencil-thin mid-calf blue skirt, saddle Oxfords, and a

pair of white socks. I went home that evening and

talked about her to my family.”

Tom learned that the young woman’s name was

Catherine—“Kitty,” she’s called—and that her

brother had dated Tom’s sister. Armed with this ice-

breaker, Tom approached Kitty the next day in the

cafeteria as she sat with her friends. He introduced

himself and mentioned their mutual relations.

“As well as he remembers what I was wearing,”

Kitty says, “his statement at the table, after asking

about my brother, was, ‘You know, I’m in your

religion class.’ And I said, ‘Oh, are you?’ I didn’t

W



know who he was. I

didn’t know his name!”

“That was a real put-

down,” Tom says.

Despite this initial

setback and a disastrous first

date, Tom and Kitty Kloor

have been together ever

since. Over the years, they

have been an inseparable

unit and the force behind

the establishment of not

only a strong and loving

family, but an outstandingly

successful furniture business

in New Orleans, a glowing

reputation that precedes

them anywhere in the

region, and a number of

endowments, scholarships,

and other resources that greatly benefit the students

and faculty of Loyola University New Orleans.

Tom’s plan upon graduation from Loyola was to

make a life in the military. He had served two active

years in the Navy and four more in the reserve, been

a distinguished ROTC student, and was offered

regular commission by the Army his senior year. But

when Tom petitioned Kitty’s father for his daughter’s

hand in marriage, that plan came to an abrupt halt.

“Her father told me, ‘I only have one daughter

and one son,’” Tom says, “‘and I don’t think her

mother and I would be very happy with you being

married and having children stationed all over the

world.’ So I told her father, ‘Well, I guess we can

rethink that.’”

Kitty’s father owned a furniture store, and that is

how Tom got his start in the industry. Tom worked

for Kitty’s father and alongside her brother for 14

years, learning the business inside and out,

experiencing every step that made a furniture store

run smoothly.

“I could do everything,” Tom says. “I could keep

the books, I could drive the truck, I could do the

collection route when we didn’t have collectors.”

But there was a problem: Tom had been working

for his father-in-law for 14 years, but at the outset

Kitty’s father had promised to turn over the

company to both Tom and Kitty’s brother after 10

years. Business had been so good that the old man

did not want to retire. So, one day, out of

frustration, Tom decided to quit his father-in-law,

and he went into business for himself.

“Several people wanted me to come to work for

them,” Tom says. “But I said, ‘You know, I have 14

years invested in people. There are people out there

who trust me, they like me, and I may as well take

advantage of that.’ So I went into competition with

my father-in-law.”

During the years Tom honed his abilities in the

furniture business, Kitty pursued her own passion:

teaching. She taught students at every level and

nearly every subject for 18 years at St. Andrew the

Apostle School in Gretna, but her favorite level was

third grade, and her favorite subject was English.

Kitty possesses an ardor for grammar, a healthy

regard for legible handwriting, and a passion for

Celebrating a Lifelong Partnership


pronunciation. She did not hesitate to send

misbehaving children home with dictionary

exercises for extra homework.

“And she still corrects people—a lot,” Tom says.

“When you marry someone who has a teaching

background, you are always learning.”

No one enters into the teaching profession for

money, but Kitty’s love of the school made pay

almost a complete nonissue. She taught as a

volunteer at St. Andrew for 10 years, only

receiving a salary her last eight years.

“All my life I was active at the school,” Kitty says.

“I washed dishes in the cafeteria to be able to serve

lunch to the kids. I liked it.”

This enthusiasm translated into serious

action in Kitty’s classroom.

“This is the kind of teacher I was,” Kitty

says. “I walked, I never sat at the desk. If the

principal came in for any reason, I was busy. I

don’t correct papers in class, I’m teaching.”

Kitty eventually left teaching full time to

help Tom with his new furniture store. The

company thrived thanks to Tom’s sound

business sense, conservative handling of

capital, strong work ethic, and vast network

of loyal customers. Kitty added a woman’s

touch to the operation, managing the store’s

aesthetics and accessories, taking the

occasional marketing trip, and meeting

customers on the floor to help them select

their new accoutrements. Kitty put to use

the same impeccable appearance that had

first enraptured Tom to assure patrons they

were in good hands.

“Kitty has never been without a hair in

place,” Tom says.

During the eight years following Tom’s

departure, the furniture store owned by Kitty’s

father slumped, and the man who had

introduced Tom to the industry decided to finally

retire. Though the two had not spoken with one

another since Tom’s sour departure, Tom and his

father-in-law made amends and brokered a deal for

Tom to buy the company. Twenty-two years after a

young Tom Kloor first stepped foot in the furniture

business, he was at the helm of a furniture empire that

continues to this day.

Throughout their successful careers, Tom and

Kitty have held Loyola in a special place in their

hearts—not only as the place where they studied and

met long ago, but as an institution that represents

and promotes values they cherish.

“What you learn from the Jesuit system is to be

26 Loyola Executive

Tom and Kitty Kloor in theirLoyola days.


generous,” Tom says, “and to love everyone. Not

that you want to love them and hug them, but to

give everybody justice.”

The Kloors are true embodiments of the spirit of

generosity, and strongly exhibit their commitment to

social justice by supporting Loyola professors who

teach it in their classrooms, as well as Loyola students

who learn it there. The Kloors were instrumental in

establishing the Fr. Guy Lemieux SAK Professorship,

which currently supports Professor Gary Herbert of

the Department of Philosophy, and they have

established two generous endowed funds at Loyola:

The Thomas and Catherine Kloor Professorship in

Business and The Kloor First-Generation University

Student Scholarship. They have received a number

of honors from the university, including Tom’s being

named College of Business Alumni of the Year in

2005, and in 2007, Tom and Kitty received the

Integritas Vitae Award, Loyola’s highest honor.

Two of the Kloor’s three children graduated from

Loyola—their middle child made a vow to never

follow his older brother to another school after they

both attended Jesuit High School—and Tom has

remained actively involved via Loyola’s Alumni

Association, Annual Fund, and the Sigma

Alpha Kappa Alumni

Association. Whether

attending meetings for

these groups or Mass at

Ignatius Chapel, Tom

and Kitty regularly find

a way to be on campus

and part of the Loyola

community.

“If Tom turned the

key in the lock and said,

‘Kitty, pack up, we’re

closing this business,’ I

would follow,” Kitty

says. “And people say, ‘What would Tom do if he

closed the business?’ I say, ‘He would not sit in the

pair of wing-backed chairs we have in the den with

the ottoman and retire, because I wouldn’t sit in

the other one and watch him. He’d probably be at

Loyola four days a week. Instead of one or two

like he is now.’”


iILoyola HonorsIntegritas Vitae Award– Tom and Kitty, 2007

College of Business Alumnusof the Year – Tom, 2005

Alumni Association Board ofDirectors President – Tom

Annual Fund Chair – Tom, 2005

Sigma Alpha Kappa AlumniAssociation President – Tom

iI

Tom and Kitty Kloor relaxing in the outdoors.


28 Loyola Executive

WILLIAM BARNETT IICHASE DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OFINTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS

J.D., Civil Law, Loyola University New OrleansPh.D., Economics, Michigan State UniversityB.B.A., Economics, Loyola University

New Orleans

William Barnett’s research focuses primarily onmacroeconomics, particularly business cycle theoryand analysis, and most especially the Austrian BusinessCycle Theory (ABCT). Barnett’s particular interestsinclude refining and updating ABCT, which emergedat the beginning of the 20th century, to take intoaccount changed and changing institutions.Specifically, he focuses on capital theory, the structureof production, and the misallocation of resources; theFederal Reserve System and its fraudulent financialstatements; financial institutions, markets, andinstruments; and money and credit.

Barnett’s secondary research focus is onmethodology, specifically the failure of mainstreameconomics to be scientific. This encompasses theambiguous use of many critical terms, the failure touse dimensions/units consistently and correctly, themisuse of mathematics, and the failure to makeexplicit critical assumptions.

The results of Barnett’s research have found,among other things, that although business cyclesare usually initiated by a money-credit expansion,they can also be initiated by a credit expansion, inthe form of massive mismatching between thematurity terms of financial intermediaries assets andliabilities. Also, he has found that demand andsupply curves, which are mathematical functions,violate a basic principle of mathematics and,therefore, are mathematically unacceptable.

Faculty Research:Advancing theTheory and Scienceof Business

MICHELLE JOHNSTONASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT

Ph.D., Louisiana State UniversityM.A., Communication, Auburn UniversityB.A., Communication, Auburn University

Michelle Johnston’s recentresearch explorescommunication on

organizational performance, with a specific focuson listening, and the relationship betweeninternal organization culture and externalcustomer relationships.

Johnston and her College of Businesscolleagues Kendra Reed and Kate Lawrence haveisolated and investigated a new dimension oflistening, called Team Listening Environment.This research advances the understanding of howa strong listening climate can positively affectcustomer service, team outcomes, and financialperformance. It finds that managers require anorganizational culture that encourages customerorientation, and employees who feel confidentthat team members listen to their ideas mayinvest more effort in shaping their organization’sresponse to customers. In this way, managers whopromote genuine listening among employees canbuild committed highperforming work teams whoachieve organizational success and ultimatelystronger financial outcomes.



JEFFREY KRUGJACK AND VADA REYNOLDS CHAIR ININTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENTDIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESSCENTER

Ph.D., Management, Indiana UniversityM.S., International Business,The Pennsylvania State University

B.A., Economics, The Pennsylvania StateUniversity

Jeffrey A. Krug conducts research on strategy andinternational business. His research has focusedon global strategy, corporate governance, mergersand acquisitions, and top management teams.Krug’s research has been published in severalleading journals, and he has also authored oredited five books.Krug is nationally recognized for his research on

the effects of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) ontarget company executive teams. Conventionalwisdom holds that executive-level turnover returnsto “normal” levels within two or three years. Krug’sresearch shows that M&As actually lead to higherthan normal turnover rates among target companyexecutives that can last 10 or more years. Mergersand acquisitions appear to alter the underlyingdynamics of many acquired company executiveteams and lead to long-term leadership instability.This instability is not easily eliminated.Krug has been an external consultant for

Accenture’s Organizational Change Strategy Group,consulting on post-merger integration and executiveleadership issues. He continues to focus onproducing new research insights that can be appliedin practice—by executives, firms, and consultants.

MICHAEL PEARSONCHASE BANK/FRANCIS C. DOYLEDISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OFMARKETING

Ph.D., University of Colorado, BoulderM.B.A., University of Colorado, BoulderB.A., Gustavus Adolphus College, Minnesota

Michael Pearson’s researchpost-Hurricane Katrina has focused on NewOrleans’ retail infrastructure and how it has andhas not recovered after the storm. Pearson begangathering information on how New Orleansretailers were recovering immediately afterKatrina, noting whether hard goods or soft goodsretailers were leading the recovery, whether thesewere independent businesses or chains, andwhether the retailers were large or small.

While this research is still in progress,preliminary results have been presented at andpublished in proceedings of several national andinternational conferences. Pearson’s research hasevolved from what he initially gathered fromreports in newspapers and personal observations,to developing retail recovery propositions andtesting those using Yellow Pages listings from pre-and post-Katrina in order to achieve aquantitative count of the increase or decrease innumber of retail stores by merchandise category.Pearson then developed criteria to selectAmerican cities recovering from disasters towhich he could compare New Orleans, andstudied their retail recovery and recovery-basedconsumer buying behavior based on informationgathered from the Census of Retail Trade.

A new publication of the CoB, Faculty Research, highlights recent

scholarly writings authored by our faculty. Following are a few of the

professors included in the pages of Faculty Research. To view the

entire publication, visit our website at www.business.loyno.edu


creo

30 Loyola Executive

CoB Fall Picnic Celebrates with

The Crazy Cat Lady,the Good Witch,and the Ghost ofPicnics Pastjoined inthe fun.

Professors ChrisScreen and BillBarnett debateproper burgerflipping techniquesat their workstation.

Students soakedup the beautifulsunshine and

good company.


Fall 2010 www.business.loyno.edu 31

Costumes and Camaraderie

Students and facultyenjoyed a beautiful

day with lots of goodconversation and picnicgoodies.

To Mary Sue, Valerie,and the CoB Staff—Thanks for another greatCoB picnic!


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