Honors Students Present Independent Study Projects
- Details
- Created on December 17, 2011
John Murray and Tucker Stone, both members of the Class of 2011 cohort of the School of Business Honors Program, recently presented the results of their independent study projects required for the program. Both projects looked at access consumers have to vital services, and the effects of government regulation and business involvement. Murray examined the existence of “food deserts” in cities such as Birmingham, defined as geographic areas that lack access to healthy foods. He compared the public policy decisions that have been made in Brazil to address the problem to what is being done in our own community. He is pursuing both a B.S. in Finance as well as a Master’s in Public Health, and expects to graduate with both degrees in May 2012.
Stone examined costs and benefits of the Community Reinvestment Act, which requires that banks meet the banking needs of all parts of their service areas, including low and moderate income areas. He compared the ratings that Birmingham-based banks have received on their CRA efforts, and spent time with community investment managers at Regions Bank in Birmingham as part of his research. He expects to receive a B.S. in Economics at commencement exercises later this month.
Both John and Tucker will graduate “with honors in business” as a result of their participation in the School of Business Honors Program. Both are also participants in UAB’s Global and Community Leadership honors program.
“John and Tucker had to think of their policy issues as leaders would think of them,” said School of Business Honors Program director Stephen A. Yoder, J.D. “I expect that both of them will use their research on these projects in their future careers and education.”
The School of Business Honors Program is a selective program focused on business leadership. Participants begin the program in their junior years with a course on principles and applications of leadership. They then take a strategic management course in which CEOs of public or other complex organizations discuss their organizations’ strategies. Honors Program students devote their final semester in the program to their research projects.
[John Murray, left, and Tucker Stone]
