Marriott School Announces 2004 Merrill J. Bateman Awards

PROVO, Utah — Mar 16, 2004 — Students at Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management selected two of their classmates and a professor to receive the 2004 Merrill J. Bateman Awards. These honors, now in their third year, are the only awards chosen solely by business school students.

Students awarded Karren Thomas and Scott Porter with Merrill J. Bateman Outstanding Student Awards and Professor Robert J. Parsons with the Merrill J. Bateman Student Choice Award.

Scott Porter, a 2nd year MBA student from Las Vegas, will receive the outstanding graduate student award. Scott’s emphasis is marketing, international business and corporate social responsibility. In 2003, Scott conducted primary marketing research and developed a marketing plan for a USAID-sponsored, community-based ecotourism project in Guatemala. He previously worked for a start-up high tech public relations agency, a translation company in Seattle, and with the student-run Marriott Alumni Shop.

Karren Thomas, a management student from Los Gatos, Calif., will receive the outstanding undergraduate student award. Thomas graduates in April 2004 with a degree in business management. In 2002, Thomas was invited to chair the student fundraising campaign, “Choose to Give.” Thomas has also coordinated her management suite class’ efforts to endow a need-based scholarship for Marriott School students. This summer, Thomas will join one of the top global technology consulting firms as an analyst in Silicon Valley.

Robert J. Parsons, NAC Professor of Public Management Chair, received the student choice award. He received his BS and MS in economics from BYU, and his PhD from the University of California. In addition, Parsons completed a post-doctoral study in health care economics at the University of Michigan. He has taught at BYU since 1970, having served as department chairman on two occasions and also associate dean in the Marriott School. His research interests have been in the area of health care economics, and he has taught managerial economics, urban economic development and process management.

The Merrill J. Bateman Outstanding Student Award is given annually to an undergraduate and graduate student based on community service, student leadership and extracurricular involvement. The Merrill J. Bateman Student Choice Award is given to a faculty, staff or administrator who has demonstrated outstanding efforts to assist and enhance students’ experiences at the Marriott School. The award recognizes mentoring, involvement in student activities and exemplary leadership.

The awards will be presented at the BYU Management Society graduation banquet March 24. The banquet will be held at the Provo City Library at Academy Square at 6 p.m. Dave Checketts, chairman for SportsWest Communications and former president and CEO of Madison Square Garden, is the keynote speaker. More information and tickets are available at marriott.byu.edu/gradbanquet .

The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, public management, information systems, organizational behavior and entrepreneurship. The school’s mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.