Alexander R. Hapka

Dr. Hapka has been a University of Phoenix faculty member since 2002. Currently, he serves as Area Chair/Lead Faculty for the Graduate Business and Management program at the Kansas City Campus and received the Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year Award for 2003-4. He facilitates mathematics, statistics, research, and various management subjects at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and serves as a doctoral mentor and research facilitator in the School of Advanced Studies. In addition, Dr. Hapka plays an integral role in guiding Kansas City’s leading practices in faculty development, academic excellence, and student success programs.

Currently, Dr. Hapka is CEO of a diversified services company comprised of two divisions: a consulting arm that specializes in quantitative consulting engagements in the areas of investments analysis, productivity improvement, forecasting, quality assurance applications, and brand performance and an e-commerce subsidiary company that furnishes high-end sporting equipment to both the wholesale and retail domestic and international markets. He has over 30 years of research and technology management experience spanning the financial management, energy, and aerospace industries.

Dr. Hapka earned a Ph.D. from New York University in statistics and mathematics education, an M.S. in statistics from Stony Brook University, and a B.S. in mathematics from Manhattan College. He has published several journal articles and is a frequent lecturer at various industry meetings and conferences on the applications of quantitative analytics in finance, energy management, and business management.

Avis S. Davis

I received my undergraduate degree in Communications from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC. Fifteen years later; I decided to pursue an MBA at Pfeiffer University in Charlotte, NC. I loved education and learning so much that I did not stop there. I received my doctorate from Capella University in October 2008. My dissertation: Leadership Styles in Project Management: An Analysis Using the Multileadership Questionnaire. I have been with University of Phoenix for almost six years now. Having been a recipient of online learning, I certainly understand what our students are experiencing. Teaching for University of Phoenix has truly been a rewarding experience and I am proud to be apart of the quality education provided for students.

My professional experience spans the Transportation, Industrial, Consulting, and Engineering industries, where I have worked mostly in Finance. Currently, I am the Area Operations Business Manager at Brown and Caldwell. I have 20 years of experience working with Project Management in the engineering consulting industry. I worked for Parsons, Inc. for nine years encompassing various positions such as Asset Manager, Cost Engineer, and Controller over major projects.

I believe in giving back to the community. In my spare time, I try to do some volunteer work. I currently volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Red Cross.

Dulcelina A. Stahl

Dulcelina A. Stahl, Ph.D. has 15+ years experience as an executive in business, management and health care administration including positions as Corporate Vice President and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at for-profit organizations. Passionate about teaching, she held faculty positions for 10+ years at Chicagoland universities teaching in the MBA and Master’s in Health Services Administration programs. As one of the first faculty hired by the University of Phoenix Chicagoland Campus, she has been a Lead Faculty and Area Chair, Undergraduate Management Program and was one of the first recipients of the University of Phoenix Faculty Ambassador Award for teaching effectiveness. She is an author of many published articles and books and a seminar/workshop presenter at national conferences and conventions.

Academically, Dr. Stahl received her Bachelor of Arts, Summa Cum Laude, Master of Arts, Master of Science, and Ph.D. degrees from De Paul University in Chicago, Illinois. She also received De Paul University’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

Hector Iweka

Dr. Hector Iweka holds a Ph.D. in Organization and Management with a concentration in General Business and an MBA in Marketing. He has over 15 years leadership and management experience in different sectors of the economy in the United Kingdom, France and USA. Experience includes working as Sales/Marketing Manager and General Manager Sales/Marketing in Nigeria, France, and United Kingdom. He has served as a consultant to private and government agencies in strategic marketing, planning, and global initiative.

Dr. Iweka is an Assistant Professor of Marketing for Lasell College Newton and also teaches marketing, management and international business with University of Phoenix. He has presented papers at many professional conferences. His experience in the academic field includes experience developing course and curriculum content; and in the area of student assessment. Dr Iweka is a member of the Academic Research Board (ARB) for Lasell College Research Across the Curriculum (RAC).

He is a member of the following associations: American Marketing Association, Institute of Personnel Management, and American Council of Advisors. Dr. Iweka’s research interests are in marketing concepts, global marketing, international business and consumer behavior.

Mernoush Banton

Business Experience
Mernoush Banton has over 25 years experience as an executive in both start-ups and fortune 1000 companies. As a consultant, she has been involved in several startup companies as an interim Chief Executive Officer, controlling all financial aspects of the organization. She also has been working as corporate controller for the last 16 years. Prior to this, she was the National Sales Manager for a domestic and an international company with responsibilities such as budgeting, forecasting, cost accounting, recruiting, marketing, and product development.

As a speaker, she has successfully facilitated seminars in the areas of accounting, finance and marketing. Since 2006, she has presented a variety of seminar for GSA.

Education
Mernoush earned her Doctorate of Business Administration in International Management from Nova Southeastern University. She also holds a Masters of Science in Taxation and Masters of Business Administration in Marketing.

Academic Experience
As an Adjunct Professor, Mernoush has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in Accounting, Finance, Economics, Global Management, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management. In addition, she has written and published several business related articles and cases.

Michael A. Barker

Dr. Barker has a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Central Lancashire, Preston, England; an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University; and a Doctorate in Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University. His research is focused on organization behavior, change management and downsizing survivors. He has been on faculty at the University of Phoenix Graduate School of Business and Management for the past five years and previously taught at the University of Dallas Graduate School of Management.

Michael is a member of Sigma Beta Delta Business Honor Society and is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources by the Society for Human Resource Management. He has over 30 years experience as a Manager and Executive in the Aviation and Telecommunications industries in both Operations and Human Resource Management. Michael currently heads the Leadership Development practice of Porterpro, LLC, a consulting company providing Leadership, Organization Development and Change Management consulting and education for global business organizations. His rich background in Organization behavior and development coupled with expert diagnostic and facilitation skills has enabled Michael to facilitate many successful organization transformation initiatives.

He was Executive Director of Leadership Development and Executive Staffing, having responsibility for all leadership development, succession planning and competency development for Verizon Communications. Michael led the strategic planning and integration of workforce and leadership development resources and participated in overall human resources integration in the GTE/Bell Atlantic merger to form Verizon. Previously, he was Assistant Vice President, Workforce Development for GTE.

Michael has served on public policy councils in Washington D.C. and was a member of the Center for Creative Leadership Creative Leadership Council. He has presented on a variety of Human Resource topics at regional and national conferences and meetings.

Michael Rawdan

Dr. Michael Rawdan holds a Doctorate in International Business from NOVA Southeastern University. He is currently also adding a second Doctoral level specialty in the area of Decision Support Sciences. Dr. Rawdan also holds an MBA with an emphasis in International Business & Economics. He has over 17 years of leadership and management experience in different domestic and international sectors of the global economy.

Dr. Rawdan teaches management, critical thinking, international business and global management with University of Phoenix. He also teaches international business, on an adjunct basis, for NOVA Southeastern University. His experience in the academic field includes experience developing course and curriculum content; and in the area of student assessment. Dr. Rawdan is a member of the Academy of International Business, Delta Mu Delta (top 5% of MBA class), and Sigma Beta Delta (top 20% of Business Doctoral class).

Dr. Rawdan’s research interests include governance mechanisms, performance and selection of off-shoring programs, accent and cultural impacts of international programs, e-commerce, and sustainable economic development.

Miriam Gold

Miriam V. Gold is in the private practice of law. She does general business counseling and corporate legal work. Prior to opening her private practice, she was Deputy General Counsel and Vice President of Legal and Regulatory Affairs for a multinational corporation. In her legal role, she participated in many cross border transactions. In her regulatory role, she led the effort to incorporate legal requirements into business process systems and was successful in accelerating the approval of new chemical products through the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration.

She is a seasoned counsel with both executive and global experience, having worked out of Europe and also on legal matters in Asia.

As an adjunct professor at a law school, she taught a course in In-House Legal Practice, which focused on the unique role of in-house counsel in ensuring that companies are positioned to operate legally and responsibly. She currently teaches business law to undergraduate and graduate business students. She has spoken about, and written articles on, antitrust principles, divestitures and legal compliance. In addition, she is a member of the Board of Directors of a publicly traded high technology company.

Mrs. Gold received her J.D. from New York University School of Law and her B.A. in American History from Barnard College.

Oludotun Oni

Dr. Oludotun “Dot” Oni brings his global technical and management perspective to the School of Business Faculty Council; having practiced in three continents for over 25 years. Dr. Oni holds a Ph.D. in Information Systems from Northcentral University. He also obtained a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Engineering and a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering, both from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Nigeria.

Dr. Oni has been an Adjunct at the University of Phoenix since 2002. He has taught extensively in many disciplines, both in the campus and online modalities. He is a Mentor in the School of Advanced Studies, serving as chair on several doctoral dissertation committees. He is also a Visiting Scholar at two other regionally accredited universities.

Many of Dot’s works focused on designing technical and business solutions for various Fortune 500 and global corporations. These solutions include Wireless technologies, IP Telephony/Voice over IP solutions, Health Care Informatics and Security. Author of several technical papers in the IT certification industry (mainly on IP telephony design, troubleshooting and unified messaging), he also sits on the advisory board of a global independent research firm and on the editorial board of a peer reviewed journal.

Dr. Oni currently works for AT&T Inc. He has served as Director of Network Operations for an Application Services Provider; Senior Network Specialist for a leading biomedical company; and Technical Consultant to many corporations. He was a pioneer faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Ondo State University (now University of Ado-Ekiti), Nigeria and later served as acting chair. He holds several professional certifications, including the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

Raymond Ho

Raymond Ho started his accounting firm in 1984 in the Bay Area. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Management Accountant. He holds a Doctorate degree of Business Administration in Accounting and a Master of Business Administration in Taxation. He has been teaching financial and management accounting at graduate levels for University of Phoenix since 1994.

Before opening his own accounting practice, he was the controller for San Francisco Redevelopment Agency which is a government agency with an annual budget of $250 million. His responsibilities included monitoring of municipal bonds, preparation of budgets, and management of the accounting department.

He also serves as a technical reviewer for the California Tax Education Council, which is a government agency that monitors tax preparers’ qualifications and educational programs in California.

Besides working full time at his accounting practice and teaching part time, he frequently enjoys playing tennis since it gives him a chance to be outdoors. Another recent hobby he has picked up is golf. He has three beautiful children; his oldest daughter is 29 years old, the second daughter is 26 and his son is 25.

Stephen Wilke

Stephen Wilke has a long career in public service as an employee of the State of Tennessee. He is a long time faculty member with the University of Phoenix. He serves in several volunteer roles around the community. Stephen has a Juris Doctor degree and a Masters in Public Administration degree, both from the University of Memphis.

His work for the State of Tennessee included working as an attorney in state agencies and as an administrator responsible for a number of programs. He led the initiative on a number of public projects, and chaired many committees to serve the public interest. As a state attorney much of his work was focused on the effective functioning of ongoing or new projects or programs to ensure appropriate legal and administrative structure and function.

Stephen has been a past president and treasurer of the University of Memphis, Public Administration Alumni Association. He has served on the board of directors of several not-for-profit corporations and has at times been president or held other officer positions with those boards. Community work has included assisting a small neighborhood church with their corporate structure. Stephen has a long volunteer association with the University of Tennessee, College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. His involvement with the Department of Psychiatry includes an annual course to psychiatric residents and a Grand Rounds presentation.

Xiadong Wu

I started my undergraduate studies as a math major at Beijing (Peking) in Beijing China. I then transferred to Adelaide University in Australia for an undergraduate degree in Economics. I received my bachelor’s degree in Economics and Statistics at the Australian National University. Finally, I received my Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University in May 2000.

I have been teaching at the Department of Economics at UNC Chapel Hill since fall 1999. Before that, I had also taught at Princeton University and the Australian National University as an instructor and a lecturer, respectively.

I joined University of Phoenix at the Raleigh Campus in 2007. I taught several economics, management, and research courses at the campus and through FlexNet. After my recent move to Winston-Salem, I started teaching courses at the Charlotte Campus of University of Phoenix both on campus and online. I am also teaching at Strayer University.

Only a little bit over a year ago, my husband was called to pastor a local Chinese church. To help him with his ministry, I am finishing my Master of Christian Studies degree and have only 8 more courses to go.