Messiah University Department of Business

06/09/2026

06/05/2026

Latest Mindful Marketing article:
"Should AI Companies Help Humans Be Employed?"

Over 25+ years in higher ed, I’ve listened to many commencement addresses and never heard boos. Unfortunately, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt heard some a few weeks ago while addressing the 2026 graduating class of the University of Arizona. His embrace of AI cost him the young crowd, many of whom understandably fear that the unprecedented technology will impede their employment. The ethics of booing speakers aside, students’ outcries spur an important question: Should AI companies be responsible for humans’ jobs? [more]

OpenAI Anthropic Claude AI Google Perplexity AI

AI, jobs, Anthropic, OpenAI, Perplexity, Apple, Google, Meta, NVIDIA, marketing ethics, Mindful Marketing, David Hagenbuch

05/16/2026

We're thrilled with the work our Messiah University Department of Business capstone marketing students did this semester for Carlisle Christian Academy.

Each spring, MRKT 438 develops a complete A-to-Z marketing plan for a real organization. This year, it was a pleasure to partner with James Koser, Ron Jones, and CCA.

The marketing plan is a very deep dive for which we dedicate many days of class time and hours outside class. It involves everything from a SWOT analysis to segmentation and targeting to positioning to branding to the 4 Ps.

Service learning for real clients is hard work, but there's nothing like it when it comes to understanding one's field, developing hard and soft skills, and building a portfolio.

We're always on the lookout for clients for course projects:
- Marketing Principles: Application & Evaluation (A&E) Project
- Consumer Behavior: Ad Project
- Marketing Management & Strategy: Marketing Plan

If you know of a potential good fit, feel free to message or email Dr. David Hagenbuch: [email protected]

Thank you, CCA, for partnering with us, and thank you, MRKT 438, for your great work!

05/06/2026

Professor Johnston & her class recently enjoyed a visit to The Hershey Company to meet with their tax department.

05/05/2026

Latest Mindful Marketing article: "Bad AI or Bad AI Owners?"
Imagine you make a very unique product that many people enjoy. One day someone sees your success, copies your product, and passes it off as theirs. What’s more, to elevate their knockoff, they stop you from selling your product. This unimaginable scenario has been the unfortunate reality of Murphy Campbell, a talented folk artist from North Carolina. AI tools enable such appropriation, but who’s really responsible for the exploitation? [more]

Murphy Campbell, deepfakes, Timeless Sounds IR, Vydia, marketing ethics, Mindful Marketing, David Hagenbuch

04/29/2026

04/28/2026

Congratulations to Luke Peyton, senior Financial Planning major, who finished 1st in the Global College Excel Regional Winners Battle this past weekend. As a result of his commanding victory against the top 7 collegiate Excel competitors, he won an all-expense paid trip to the European Excel Open where he will compete on May 22-23 in Amsterdam. Luke finished 30 points ahead of his closest competitor (from Georgia Tech) and 119 points clear of the 3rd place finisher from University of Kentucky. We wish Luke all the best when he competes in Europe next month!

04/27/2026

The Investment Club Picnic this semester will be held next Saturday, May 2nd, 1:00PM-4:00PM. There will be FREE Chick-Fil-A, Volleyball, Spikeball, and Dessert! The address is in the sign-in document. Feel free to invite friends, just make sure to note how many guests you’re bringing. Make sure to fill out the form and read and agree to the waiver attached. Please coordinate with each other for rides and send us an email if you can’t find a way to get to the picnic.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Q6r1lJMZfXxlwuILtrsXLOiJRtjnq2epkN70vIw4E1w/edit?usp=drivesdk

See you there!

The Investment Club Cabinet

04/24/2026

Congratulations to the Messiah Excel team that placed 1st in the regional competition of the Microsoft Excel College Championships (MECC) which took place on April 11 at Sacred Heart University (Fairfield, CT). The winning Messiah team, comprised of students in the Department of Business, included Luke Peyton, Marcos Garcia, Austin Safer, Isaac Sobek, Langdon Stutzman, Anthony Nieves and Dayton Bittner. As a result of winning the regional (ahead of notable competitors UMass and Sacred Heart University), the Messiah team will compete in the global MECC championship being held in Las Vegas in December. In addition, Luke Peyton won the individual regional competition and will compete to go on to the European Open held in Amsterdam on May 23.

04/23/2026

Oh what a night! The Impact Venture Challenge student entrepreneurs were amazing. Five teams presented their business concepts and proposals to a live audience.

The 1st prize of $5,000.00 was awarded to Grant Shreiner for his business, Coppsox, a performance apparel company addressing issues in performance socks with their patented copper-infused performance technology.

The 2nd prize of $3,000.00 was awarded to Zachary Brisson for his business, Boynt, a sustainable eyewear concept developing polypropylene-framed sunglasses that float naturally on the water.

The 3rd price of $2,000.00 was awarded to Ava Grower for her business, Eden & Earth Co., a herbal wellness brand offering teas to support the body.

The additional competition teams also presented strong business ideas and plans. Bridgepoint, a mission-driven venture providing individualized advocacy & consultation services to families navigating the IEP process and Trail Tracker, a trail app offering hikers a way to easily give feedback to trails and trail organizations to collect data for grants and donor funding.