University Of Southern Nevada
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN NEVADA
Community Spotlight
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USN Team Wins Nevada’s Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Competition
“The University of Southern Nevada congratulates the team for their extraordinary accomplishment,” said Dr. Harry Rosenberg, USN’s founding president. “They are exceptional representatives of the university and its mission to educate competent professionals.”
Members of the USN team, Ruchir Patel, Chuen Chie Chiang, Uttampal Singh and Michael Moore, presented their plan to create a College of Dentistry at The University of Arkansas to a panel of judges at an event held in Reno on Wednesday. The team’s plan aims to educate aspiring dental health professionals in providing high-quality oral health care through excellence in research, patient care and outreach to underserved populations.
At an awards dinner held March 23 at Reno’s Peppermill Hotel, the team was awarded the $20,000 first place prize, beating five other admirable teams in the graduate category. The team also won the right to compete at the Tri-State Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup where the winning teams from Nevada, Arkansas and Oklahoma compete for a for cash awards totaling $90,000. That event will take place on May 27 in Las Vegas.
“We are extremely proud of our team for their outstanding performance in the competition,” said Dr. Okeleke Nzeogwu, USN’s MBA program director. “They worked extremely hard to put together a remarkable presentation and their efforts, along with their entrepreneurial spirit, paid off.”
Dr. Jack Zimmerman, associate professor of finance for the MBA program and faculty advisor for the team, hopes this win will encourage future USN students to enter the competition.
“This business plan competition is an excellent opportunity for students to apply what they learn in the classroom into a real business plan,” said Dr. Zimmerman. “I am hopeful that this win will encourage future USN students to take advantage of this incredible, and potentially lucrative, learning opportunity.”
The team is from the USN College of Dental Medicine’s AEODO residency program, which launched in February after receiving accreditation from the Commission on Dental Accreditation. The three year program trains licensed dentists to become specialists in orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics. Since most dental professionals enter private practice, the residency program is the first in nation to incorporate a Master of Business Administration to develop residents’ legal, ethical and financial competency, all of which are essential in operating a successful practice in today’s complicated health care business environment.
“The win by our AEODO/MBA team validates the educational model developed by USN,” said Dr. C. Lynn Hurst, dean of the College of Dental Medicine. “Our residents will not only graduate from the program with excellent clinical knowledge and expertise, but will be competent and thriving businessmen and women.”
In addition to the winning USN team, two other teams from the College of Dental Medicine entered the competition, including Prashanti Bollu and Philip Kierl and their business plan to provide Cone Beam Imaging Technology Services, offering imaging services to the dental industry and Dr. Sumit Chawla, Dr. Daniel Gehani, Dr. Jeffrey McMillan and Dr. Mahbod Rashidi and their business plan for Smart Learning Technologies, offering technology and media for K-12 education curriculum.
The Nevada Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup is presented each year February through April by Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology. This year, a record 56 plans were submitted into the competition that includes four categories, Governor’s Cup Undergraduate, Governor’s Cup Graduate, Lt. Governor’s Award Undergraduate and Lt. Governor’s Award Graduate.