WT’s Engler College of Business Launches New Digital Magazine

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, [email protected]

CANYON, Texas - West Texas A&M University's Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business celebrated the launch of a new way of connecting with its alumni and the community.

The College's new digital magazine, The Pivot, debuted during a May 7 party in WT's Alumni Banquet Hall on the Canyon campus.

The Pivot, which will be released biannually, replaces the College's previous email newsletter, allowing for an expansion in depth and breadth of coverage, according to faculty advisers Dr. Nick Gerlich, the J. Pat Hickman Professor of Marketing, and Dr. Mary Liz Brooks, the Barbara Petty Professor of Business Communication.

"The Pivot allows us to tell the story of the Engler College of Business in a way that we could never do with the previous newsletter," Gerlich said. "We can go deep not only into internal matters, but also the external community. And it's a practical, hands-on project for students, who are learning how to use a variety of digital tools that they'll be able to use to succeed in the workplace after graduation."

The first issue features photography, layout and graphic design by members of MindSpark, the College's in-house, student-run marketing agency, including David Cervantes, a sophomore graphic design major from Pampa; Heidi Giesbrecht, a senior marketing major from Seminole; and Marcos Rubio, a senior marketing major from Amarillo.

"I am so proud of how everyone who worked on this project came together to produce a content-rich publication that showcases how the Engler College of Business is deeply woven into the community," Brooks said. "Readers will be engaged from cover to cover."

The first issue, available now at wtamu.edu/cob, includes features on students and alumni, employers, awards, and recognitions. A regular feature, Local Flavor, will spotlight area attractions and history that the College's many online students may never experience firsthand, including Cadillac Ranch and the Original Texans sculpture on WT's Charles K. and Barbara Kerr Vaughan Pedestrian Mall.

The Pivot showcases the Engler College's dedication to being learner-centered and serving this corner of Texas, two maxims of the University's long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which raised more than $200 million dollars, the largest such campaign in Texas Panhandle history.

About West Texas A&M University

West Texas A&M University is a Regional Research University in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers multiple options for students to graduate and succeed: 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor's and master's degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 16 men's and women's athletics programs.

Photo: David Cervantes, Heidi Giesbrecht and Marcos Rubio, members of the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business's in-house, student-run marketing agency, MindSpark, pore through the first issue of The Pivot, a new digital magazine published by the College. West Texas A&M University advisers Dr. Mary Liz Brooks and Dr. Nick Gerlich look on.

-WT-