Clayton News Daily

Michael Tidwell, the assistant dean for external relations and graduate programs and associate professor for Clayton State University's School of Business, has been appointed to become the new director of the school's master's of business administration program, university spokesman John Shiffert recently announced.

Tidwell, who teaches global business and strategic management in the School of Business, will replace Michael Deis, as the MBA program's director. Deis will remain with the school as an associate professor of management, Shiffert said.

A native of southern California, Tidwell received his doctoral degree from Washington State University in 2002, and his research on managing business relationships across international boundaries has been published in scholarly journals, including International Journal of Management Theory and Practices, and the Journal of Business Communication, Shiffert said.

"I plan to focus my attention on continuing the quality program that Dr. Michael Deis began almost two years ago," Tidwell said in a written statement. "My goals are to brand the program as highly accredited, internationally focused, and community minded.

"I'll do this by working with local chambers of commerce, rotary organizations, and county governments to express the importance and value of graduate education for their communities," Tidwell added.