2023-2024 Small Business Institute®
Officers and Board

President

Dennis Barber III, East Carolina University

barberde17@ecu.edu

Dr. Dennis Barber III is the Chesnutt-Bond Distinguished Scholar of Entrepreneurship in the Miller School of Entrepreneurship at East Carolina University. His research interests include rural entrepreneurship, economic development, public policy,  and entrepreneurship education & pedagogy. His research has been published in the Journal of Small Business Management, Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, International Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship among others. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Small Business Strategy. He is the program lead for the Rural Research Fellows program and the Rural Entrepreneurship Education Certificate. Dr. Barber holds a PhD in Economics from the University of New Mexico.


President Elect


Joe T. Felan, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
jtfelan@ualr.edu

Dr. Joe T. Felan is an Associate Professor of Management at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Originally from Texas, Dr. Felan has been teaching in the College of Business at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock since 2002.  Dr. Felan has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Baylor University and a PhD from the University of South Carolina.  Before coming to UA-Little Rock, Dr. Felan also taught courses at Baylor University and Bucknell University.  Dr. Felan teaches courses in operations management, supply chain management, quality management and business consulting at both the undergraduate and graduate level.  It has also been a pleasure for Dr. Felan to spend four summers teaching in the University of New Orleans (UNO – Innsbruck) International Summer Program in Innsbruck, Austria.  Dr. Felan has also previously served as the chairperson of the board of directors for Junior Achievement of Arkansas. 

Secretary/Treasurer


Joshua Aaron, Middle Tennessee State University

Joshua.Aaron@mtsu.edu 

Joshua R. Aaron is an Associate Professor at Middle Tennessee State University. Dr. Aaron has published work in Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business & Entrepreneurship, Corporate Reputation Review and Journal of Management Education among other journals. He has presented at Academy of Management, Southern Management Association and Babson Entrepreneurship Research Conference. Dr. Aaron holds a PhD in Strategic Management, an MBA in Strategic Management and a BS degree in Accounting, all from the University of Alabama. In addition to the SBI board, he serves as the President of the Board of Governors at Ironwood Country Club and on the Board of Directors of the Rachel Lynn Smith Foundation. Prior to academia, Dr. Aaron was an auditor at Ernst and Young, LLP in Birmingham, AL.


Vice President of Programs 



Raj Mahto, University of New Mexico

rmahto@unm.edu

Raj V. Mahto
 is a Professor of entrepreneurship and Creative Enterprise Endowed Professor in the Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico. He is also Department Chair of Finance and Innovation Department in the school. His research has been published in top academic journals such as Entrepreneurship Theory and PracticeJournal of Applied PsychologyJournal of Business ResearchJournal of Small Business Management, and Family Business Review, etc. Raj serves on editorial review boards of Family Business Review and International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal. He is also an associate editor of the Journal of Small Business StrategyTechnological Forecasting & Social Change, and Journal of Small Business Management.


Vice President of Programs - Elect


Scott Cox, Georgia College & State University
scott.cox@gcsu.edu

Dr. Scott R. Cox is an Assistant Professor of Logistics in the College of Business and Technology at Georgia College & State University teaching courses in operations management and supply chain management at both the graduate and undergraduate level. He also serves as the Coordinator of the Master of Logistics and Supply Chain Management program. His research focuses on small business and supply chain management, along with the student evaluation of teaching. Dr. Cox holds a PhD in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from Georgia Southern University.  



Vice President of Marketing and Membership

Timothy Dunne, Boise State University

timothydunne@boisestate.edu

Dr. Timothy C. Dunne is an assistant professor of management at Boise State University. He has extensive experience teaching leadership and conflict management at the undergraduate, graduate, as well executive levels. Dr. Dunne’s research focuses on leadership and negotiation, with an emphasis on entrepreneurship and small businesses. His work has been published in numerous academic journals including Group and Organization Management, Conflict Resolution Quarterly, and Group Decision and Negotiation. Timothy holds a PhD in Management, an MBA, and a BA in Business Administration all from the University of Missouri.


Vice President of Research & Publications


Jana Minifie, Texas State University
jm13@txstate.edu

Dr. Jana Minifie is a Professor of Management (Entrepreneurship) at Texas State McCoy College of Business.  She is also the Director of the Service-Learning Excellence (SLE) Program for the university.  As Director, she encourages, trains, and faculty as they incorporate SL into their classrooms.  She collects metrics regarding academic service-learning/experiential learning at both the San Marcos and Round Rock campuses for Texas State. As part of the Service-Learning Excellence Program, she oversees the Texas State I-Corps Site for Entrepreneurship (NSF funded grant to Texas State) and its monthly newsletter for the Texas State Entrepreneurial Network.  She recently received a Texas Workforce Commission grant for the training of entrepreneurial women boot camps for women in Texas. She teaches the undergraduate and graduate consulting class. Her research is in the area of marketing, small business, health care and entrepreneurship. Her PhD is from the University of South Carolina. She has taught at the University of South Carolina, Texas Tech, University of South Florida – Sarasota, and Texas State University. She was the 2015-2018 Barshop Excellence Professor in Entrepreneurship. Her research and grant writing are based on interdisciplinary collaborations.


Dean of Fellows



Ron Cook, Rider University

cookr@rider.edu

Dr. Cook is an Entrepreneurship Professor in the Norm Brodsky College of Business at Rider University.  In his 30+ year career, he founded and runs Rider’s Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, and our student consulting program, the Small Business Institute®, and served as Associate Dean for graduate business.  He developed Rider’s Entrepreneurship major and minor; and teaches small business consulting, entrepreneurship/small business, family business, new venture planning, and corporate entrepreneurship. His SBI student teams have over 35 top ten finishes, including 6 national titles.  He is a member and Fellow of the Small Business Institute® Association, has served in its leadership track, and is a Mentor and Showcase winner. 


    



 

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