In the News

Bryant revises freshman courses

July 31st, 2012

The University's new First-Year Gateway represents "a sea change in the way Bryant approaches the freshman-year experience," the Providence Journal reports in its coverage of the new core curriculum that will begin with the Class of 2016.

"Students come to us thinking there are right and wrong answers," Robert Shea, director of faculty development, told the Journal. The task of the First-Year Gateway "is to help them understand that there are multiple perspectives, that real-life problems are not always well defined. We want them to be more conscious about their thinking, to move beyond the textbook."

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Bryant expert on guns in America interviewed regarding mass shooting in Colorado

July 20th, 2012

guns

Professor of Sociology Gregg Carter brings his expertise regarding guns in America to the discussion in the wake of a mass shooting in an Aurora, Colo., movie theater that left 12 dead and 58 injured.

Carter, editor of Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture and the Law, tells the host of the public radio news show "To the Point" that shootings of four-plus victims occur in the United States about two dozen times a year. Though "still a largely U.S. problem," instances of mass shootings are growing in other countries, Carter said. Such copy-cat crimes can be attributed in part to instant communication.

His remarks begin at 11:30 in this hour-long broadcast.

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How local is too local when it comes to customized products?

July 19th, 2012

In this Conference Board Review article, Professor of Management Michael Roberto takes a look at multinationals' localization strategy, which "comes with some costs."

"By constantly adapting their products for each country," he writes, "the firms fail to take advantage of potential economies of scale and learning. As a result, their costs are much higher than they should be.takes a look at the excessive localization."

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With a cure for her spinal muscular atrophy in sight, Bryant senior focuses on fundraisers

July 18th, 2012

The Valley Breeze reports on the journey Bryant senior Alyssa Silva has taken to raise funds — to date, $70,000 — that go toward finding a cure for spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic disorder that has caused her spinal nerve cells to degenerate, leaving her wheelchair bound.

When she was 10, Alyssa began designing and selling greeting cards to raise research money. Since enrolling at Bryant, her fund-raising focus has gone into a benefit golf tournament and dinner.

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Sustainable manufacturing a difficult proposition in electronics, management prof says

July 17th, 2012

Visich

Apple's abrupt withdrawal from an important environmental standard, and then its just-as-abrupt reinstatement, may be due to the company's difficulty in balancing the three Ps: profit, people, and planet, John Visich, associate professor of management, tells the industrial news site ThomasNet News.

In this article headlined "Apple's green flip-flop and the dilemma between product innovation and sustainability," Visich noted that "Apple products are not big sellers in Europe and Asia, where consumers prefer lower-cost products. Therefore, Apple needs to lower prices, and the only way for them to do that and maintain profits for research and development is to decrease the cost of manufacturing."

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Management Prof. Roberto discusses what makes great leaders and great entrepreneurs

July 17th, 2012

Professor of Management Michael A. Roberto discusses entrepreneurship and his use of non-traditional business failures to teach leadership and team dynamics in this Q&A with MO.com.

Bryant professor discusses management and leadership

July 10th, 2012

Michael A. Roberto, professor of management, discusses management, leadership, development of his award-winning leadership simulation program and his philosophy regarding teaching and research in a half-hour interview on "Eye on the Nation."

Military health care offers lessons for civilian side, marketing professor says

July 10th, 2012

Gravier

The civilian medical world could learn a lot from U.S. military medicine, whose operations allow doctors to deliver care with great efficiency, according to global supply chain expert Michael Gravier, assistant professor of marketing.

"The military in some ways is quite far ahead of the civilian world of health care. They have a plan, and they have the means to impose order on the many moving parts that are needed to deliver good health care," Gravier told Defense News. Gravier is a former U.S. Air Force major with 12 years in the service, and much of his research has focused on culling best practices from military health care.

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Fighting flight of jobs overseas

July 7th, 2012

Raymond W. Fogarty, director of the Chafee Center for International Business at Bryant University, tells the Providence Business News that American jobs once shipped overseas are now returning to Rhode Island because local companies are now able to better compete with their foreign counterparts with improved, cheaper products.

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Wicklow native Stephanie Reilly talks about her life in America and her dream to well in the London Olympics

July 4th, 2012

Track and field coach Stephanie Reilly, who will be competing in the 2012 summer Olympics as a member of Ireland's track team, talks about her experiences on and off the track in Ireland and in Rhode Island.

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