Just like the COVID-19 vaccine protects against contracting the contagious virus, the collective elements of self-efficacy, optimism, hope and resiliency - otherwise known as “PsyCap” - helps inoculate employees from the negative effects of working through a pandemic, according to Jeffery Houghton, management professor. Houghton and two of his Ph.D. students, Richard Oxarart and Luke Langlinais, found that those lagging in PsyCap characteristics drifted to maladaptive behaviors and exhibited a high perception of stress. Read more at WVUToday.
Get Hyped
How did a global megacompany decide to invest in the Mountain State in developing the transportation of the future? Well, we have the Chambers College, Vantage Ventures and its Executive Director Sarah Biller to thank for helping land Virgin Hyperloop. The company announced it would build a certification center spanning nearly 800 acres in Tucker and Grant counties. When completed, the Virgin Hyperloop system expects to carry passengers in pods through a vacuum tube at speeds breaking 600 mph. Read more about it in an upcoming feature story in 2021 in WVU Magazine.
Breaking the Mold
MBA graduate Kristin Morvik is using her business education to educate the world.
Greeting Every Opportunity with Open Arms
After growing up in her parents’ business, Emmy Severs was inspired to start her own business halfway through her college career. As an entrepreneurship major, she leaned on her passions and creative skills, and launched a stationary company called Lemon Milk Paper Co.
Testify
John Deskins, director of the WVU Bureau of Business and Economic Research, testified on Capitol Hill before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in July. The topic? The importance of energy innovation to economic growth.
Supply Change
Bernie Quiroga, associate professor of supply chain management and program coordinator of global supply chain management, coauthored a paper that analyzes the effectiveness of urgent care for stroke victims. The paper, published in the Journal of Operations Management, uses supply chain methodology to determine best practices for patient care.