Moore Impact: The Darla Moore School of Business Podcast

Season 2 Episode 45

Creating Excitement Around Economics 

• Host
  • Kasie Whitener, Clinical Assistant Professor
• Guest:
  • Dr. Orgul Ozturk, Department Chair, Economics & Director, Economic Policy Innovation Center

Dr. Orgul Ozturk is the department chair and professor of economics in the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. Her academic research interests are in applied microeconomics fields, specifically labor economics and health economics. Ozturk has written articles on the effects of labor market regulations and minimum wages on female employment, effectiveness of supported employment programs for developmentally disabled, the relationship between occupation choice and welfare independence, and the effects of maternal employment and welfare use on children’s cognitive outcomes. 

Orgul has been a frequent guest on Moore Impact, where she has discussed her research, the research review and publication process and the Economic Policy Innovation Center. Dr. Ozturk’s last appearance was following the Cradle to Career Conference last October. 

Topics Include: 

• Lengthy academic hiring process
• Creating specialty course offerings and matching catalog course offerings
• Scholars program as compliment to in classroom education 
• Dr. Ozturk’s research proposals based on Cradle to Career conference
• Plans for event in the spring to connect PhD students to community network
• Looking at workforce dynamics 
• Fields of need with low return on investment 
• Translating economic research into a digestible form 
• Reassessing education requirements for specified jobs 
• Exposing want- to- be entrepreneurs to needed businesses instead of new products
• Simplifying economics to make others recognize how present it is in daily life 
• What to expect from EPIC in the spring 

To learn more about the Economic Policy Innovation Center, click here.

To learn more about the Darla Moore School of Business, click here.

Photo Courtesy: CartoonStock

Moore Impact is a product of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. For episodes, notes, and links visit sc.edu/moore

Season 2 Episode 44

Discussing the Legality of Academic Freedom 

• Host
  • Kasie Whitener, Clinical Assistant Professor

In this finals-week solo episode of Moore Impact, Kasie Whitener explores academic freedom through insights from a December 3rd Faculty Senate presentation by USC law professor Scott Bauries, focusing on what it is, how it’s protected, and where legal boundaries apply.

Link to December 3rd Faculty Senate Meeting and Slidedeck, here. 

Topics include:

• SC controversy in Clemson after comments made by faculty member about assasination of Charlie Kirk 
• Four essential Academic Freedoms
• How academic freedom enables faculty participation without fear of retaliation
• The role of the First Amendment in academic freedom cases at public universities
• University of South Carolina’s academic freedom policy 
• Shared governance of our university helps us stay true to our mission 
• Individual academic freedom protects work of academic workers 
• Caller question about tenured professors having more leeway with their work 
• Benefits of tenure system 
• New knowledge created by faculty through research
• Second caller question highlighting importance of peer review and source checking in expert credibility 
• Why academic freedom protects academic work but not all speech equally

Photo Courtesy: The Daily Northwestern

Moore Impact is a product of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. For episodes, notes, and links visit sc.edu/moore

Season 2 Episode 43

Building an AI-Ready Workforce at the Darla Moore School of Business

• Host
  • Kasie Whitener, Clinical Assistant Professor
• Guest:
  • Dr. Audrey Korsgaard, Senior Associate Dean for Research and Academics and Professor of Management

Dr. Audrey Korsgaard is the Senior Associate Dean for Research and Academics and a professor of management and organizational behavior at the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina, where she has served on the faculty since 1991. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Rutgers University and completed both her master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology at New York University, and she has also held a visiting professorship at Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business. Korsgaard teaches across doctoral, master’s, and undergraduate programs in organizational behavior, organizational development, and training. Her research examines trust, prosocial values, and organizational justice as central explanations for interpersonal and intragroup cooperation, with recent work extending these perspectives to issues related to artificial intelligence.

Topics include:

• New certificate programs in AI education at undergraduate and graduate levels 
• Adjustments to learning experiences and assessments in current courses 
• Emphasis on fundamental human centered skills in classroom like communication, influence, negotiation and curiosity
• Building up faculty expertise in AI with new faculty hires
• AI helping to foster relevance and impact in university research
• Research can get to market faster in easier to use format with help of AI
• Garnet AI Foundry library resources for AI research
• Darla Moore’s university visit igniting motivation to adjust to AI centered world 
• Helping alumni stay current in workforce with continuing education resources 
• AI Summit to be held in April 
• New KPI’s: Can students use AI to make their skillset better? 
• Having clear valuable proposition with new methods of teaching 

To learn more about Darla Moore School of Business, click here.

To learn more about Garnet AI Foundry, click here.

Photo Courtesy: Training Industry

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Moore Impact is a product of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. For episodes, notes, and links visit sc.edu/moore

Season 2 Episode 42

Building a Resilient Future Through Sustainable Growth

• Host
  • Dr. Kasie Whitener, Clinical Assistant Professor, Management
• Guest
  • Dr. Kealy Carter, Director, Center for Sustainable Growth 

Dr. Kealy Carter is the Marketing Department Chair, a Clinical Associate Professor, and Director of the Sustainable Growth Center at the Darla Moore School of Business. She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies from American University in Washington, D.C., and an International Master of Business Administration from the University of South Carolina. Her research and teaching interests focus on sustainability and marketing strategy.

The Center for Sustainable Growth promotes economically sound, socially and environmentally responsible business through global perspectives, innovation, and collaboration. Its goals are to prepare future business leaders to operate sustainable enterprises and to serve as a hub for thought leadership that helps organizations create value through sustainability.

Some topics include:

• Usable definition for sustainability 
• Investing money in educating people on sustainable marketing products
• Companies selling on environmental contentious momentum 
• Forecasting where regulations will go 
• Risk management and cost reduction benefits in efficiency 
• Sustainability as efficiency, risk management, and innovation technology at its core
• Leveraging sustainability as a market driver 
• Looking at recycling challenges in product development 
• Businesses reliance on grids and energy 
• Center for Sustainable Growth in connecting companies to university resources to interpret “sciencey” research
• Preparing local businesses for policy changes due to federal energy investments in SC 
• Sustainability concentration and class offerings at the Moore School 

Learn more about the Center for Sustainable Growth, here.

Learn more about the Darla Moore School, here.

Photo Courtesy: Darla Moore School of Business

Moore Impact is a product of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. For episodes, notes, and links visit sc.edu/moore

Season 2 Episode 41

Previewing 2025’s Economic Outlook Conference

• Host
  • Kasie Whitener, Clinical Assistant Professor
• Guest:
  • Dr. Joseph Von Nessen, Research Economist, Division of Research Darla Moore School of Business

Joseph Von Nessen serves as a research economist in the Division of Research at the Darla Moore School of Business, where he concentrates on regional economic analysis, forecasting and housing market trends. His work includes producing economic impact studies, feasibility assessments and market evaluations for a broad range of public- and private-sector partners.

He leads the development of the University of South Carolina’s annual economic outlook for the state and advises the South Carolina Board of Economic Advisors. Von Nessen also provides regular briefings to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and is a frequent presenter at major national conferences on topics related to regional and state economic performance.

This is Dr. Von Nessen’s first appearance on Moore Impact. Today’s episode discusses the upcoming Economic Outlook Conference on December 11, 2025. 

Topics include:

• "So what?" economics
• Importance of economics in navigating business landscapes
• SC’s economic growth driven by export oriented manufacturing
• SC’s competitive advantage in infrastructure and workforce development
• Population growth predicted in southeast
• Economic Outlook Conference topics of discussion
• Tariffs prevention in predicting costs and the market environment for business
• United States’s slowed economic growth in 2025
• Business trying to shield consumers from tariff price increases
• Current bifurcated market between goods and services
• Consumer’s lost purchasing power since 2020
• Overall theme of uncertainty
• FED’s unique challenge of needing to balance both labor market and inflation

To learn more about The Economic Outlook Conference, click here.

To learn more about Dr. Joseph Von Nessen, click here.

Photo Courtesy: Darla Moore School of Business

Moore Impact is a product of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. For episodes, notes, and links visit sc.edu/moore

Season 2 Episode 40 

Entrepreneurship at Work with Tim Wise

• Host
  • Kasie Whitener, Clinical Assistant Professor
• Guest:
  • Tim Wise, Advisory Council Member, Faber Entrepreneurship Center

Tim Wise is a serial entrepreneur, USC alumnus, and founding member of the Advisory Council for the Faber Entrepreneurship Center at the Darla Moore School of Business. A third-generation Gamecock with degrees in Finance, Real Estate, and Law, Tim began his career at Nelson Mullins before launching into entrepreneurship. In 2001, he co-founded Advocate, a technology business management firm built through disciplined bootstrapping, customer focus, and sustainable growth, leading to successful exits first to private equity and later to Accenture. Now devoted to giving back, Tim leverages his decades of entrepreneurial experience to inspire and guide USC students, encouraging them to embrace risk, resilience, and creativity as they pursue their own entrepreneurial journeys.

Topics include:

• Entrepreneurial spirit of finding something you can do better
• Avoiding risk with a continuous consumer market
• Getting to dollar one as fast as you can
• Bootstrapping allows for ability to listen and react to market
• Keeping yourself ahead of debt
• Tim’s companies V shaped dip during financial crisis of 2008
• Process of selling developed company
• Rebranding company for a position of sale & exiting strategy
• Offering opportunity and experience in Faber Entrepreneurship Center
• Getting students to consider themselves entrepreneurs
• Connection between liberty and entrepreneurship

To learn more about Tim Wise, click here.

To learn more about the Faber Entrepreneurship Center, click here.

Photo Courtesy: Dreamix

Moore Impact is a product of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. For episodes, notes, and links visit sc.edu/moore

Season 2 Episode 39

Faber Fellows Shaping Student Entrepreneurship

• Host
  • Kasie Whitener, Clinical Assistant Professor
• Guest:
  • Elisha Wilson & Nishita Patel, Faber Fellows, Faber Entrepreneurship Center

Elisha Wilson, Finance and Management Entrepreneurship student, and Nishita Patel, Supply Chain and Management Entrepreneurship student at the Darla Moore School of Business, are the Faber Center’s first fellows. As pioneers in this new student role, they are setting a foundation for future participants and contributing to the development of student engagement within the center. Their involvement represents an important step in expanding opportunities for hands-on learning and leadership within the entrepreneurship program.

The Faber Entrepreneurship Center at the Darla Moore School of Business fosters experiential learning through consulting projects and research initiatives that connect students with real-world business challenges. The center partners with organizations such as the South Carolina Research Authority, Department of Commerce, and Chamber of Commerce to help bring innovative technologies and inventions into the marketplace. This semester, the center has hosted several events, including its ongoing Speaker Series featuring industry professionals, the Gridlock event, and the “Scary Good Branding” workshop, all designed to inspire and equip students with entrepreneurial skills and professional insight.

Topics include:

• Meeting Faber Entrepreneurship Center’s student Fellows
• Student’s questions ability to change dynamics in conversations with guest speakers
• Elisha’s experience with Boyd Innovation Center as a participant in Startup Sprints & Cola Starts 
• Elisha’s financial literacy business development 
• Creating (MVPs) minimum viable products with AI 
• Elisha & Nishita’s new role in Faber Center
• Reflecting on the structure of recent Gridlock event hosted by the Faber Center
• Open ended pedagogy style of events pushes for creativity 
• Student reactions to lack of guidance or instruction in brainstorming process
• Moore School’s focus on renewable energy with rise to its importance politically 
• Entrepreneurial opportunities in renewable energy space 
• Federal government’s investment in SC for grid resilience with SC Nexus

To learn more about the Faber Entrepreneurship Center, click here.

To learn more about Darla Moore School of Business, click here.

Photo Courtesy: Faber Entrepreneurship Center LinkedIn

Moore Impact is a product of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. For episodes, notes, and links visit sc.edu/moore

Season 2 Episode 38

China’s Global Rise with Phil Chritton

• Host
  • Kasie Whitener, Clinical Assistant Professor
• Guest:
  • Phillip Chritton, Executive in Residence, Folks Center for International Business

With more than 30 years of international legal experience, Phil Chritton has guided global business leaders in managing enterprise risk and navigating complex regulatory environments. Having spent much of his career in East Asia, he brings deep insight into the region’s legal, political, and cultural dynamics.

Now serving as the Sonoco Visiting Fellow Executive in Residence at the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business, Phil shares his global perspective and passion for mentorship with future business and legal professionals. A former senior legal executive at UPS, he led a global team supporting the company’s international growth. Based in North Carolina, he also serves as a councilor of the International Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association.

Topics include:

• China’s economic transformation in allowing private ownership of companies
• Western investment comes to China in late nineties
• Joint ventures and tech agreements required for foreign international companies
• China’s strategic learning in the process of producing 
• Chinese direct investment with the 2013 Belt and Road Initiative 
• China’s pride points 
• One child policy and lacking social safety net in China
• China’s progress in building up key industries 
• Status of rare earth standoff between China & the United States
• Comparisons to Soviet Union
• China’s great abilities in production & hard work 
• Avoiding misunderstanding between China and the United States
• Trade’s benefit in preventing conflict around the world 

To learn more about Sonoco Visiting Fellows Program, click here.

To learn more about Phillip Chritton, click here.

Photo Courtesy: Reuters

Moore Impact is a product of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. For episodes, notes, and links visit sc.edu/moore

Season 2 Episode 37 

Inside the Cradle to Career Conference

• Host
  • Kasie Whitener, Clinical Assistant Professor
• Guest:
  • Dr. Orgul Ozturk, Department Chair, Economics & Director, Economic Policy Innovation Center

Dr. Orgul Demet Ozturk is the department chair and professor of economics in the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. Her academic research interests are in applied microeconomics fields, specifically labor economics and health economics. Ozturk has written articles on the effects of labor market regulations and minimum wages on female employment, effectiveness of supported employment programs for developmentally disabled, the relationship between occupation choice and welfare independence, and the effects of maternal employment and welfare use on children’s cognitive outcomes. 

Orgul has been a frequent guest on  Moore Impact, where she has discussed her research, the research review and publication process and the Economic Policy Innovation Center.

Today’s episode recaps the October 3rd Cradle to Career Conference, hosted by the Moore School’s Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC). This academic gathering brought together researchers, industry partners, policymakers, and public officials from across South Carolina to explore data-driven ways to strengthen the state’s human capital; from early education through career readiness.

Topics Include: 

• Balancing affordable childcare options and higher wages for childcare workers
• Early childhood education impact on long term success
• Is it worth it to separate subject teachers earlier in the K-12 system?
• How does positive change compare to the cost to achieve it? 
• Georgia Policy Labs as model for South Carolina
• Skills & education adjustment for technologically advancing labor markets
• Research on school transfers in higher education
• Outcomes of cutting back requirements in occupational licensing 
• SC’s struggle to fill skills gaps 
• Identifying and addressing needs with policies 
• Analyzing point at which technology suppresses student learning 
• Pushing away from higher education when it doesn’t fit 
• Building up transferable skills 
• Research’s role in predictive analysis

To learn more about the Economic Policy Innovation Center, click here.

To learn more about the Cradle to Career Conference, click here

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Moore Impact is a product of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. For episodes, notes, and links visit sc.edu/moore

Season 2 Episode 36

From Classroom to Career: Mastering the Job Search 

• Host
  • Kasie Whitener, Clinical Assistant Professor
• Guest:
  • Kacie Ingram, Undergraduate Career Coach, Office of Career Management 

Kacie Ingram is the Undergraduate Career Services Manager in the Office of Career Management at the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business, where she coaches management and marketing students. With over a decade of retail management experience, as well as entrepreneurial and teaching roles, she founded Complete Confidence in 2012 as a career coaching and personal branding business. Since 2014, she has taught Business Careers in a Global Economy and is active in the Professional Association of Résumé Writers & Career Coaches and the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Ingram holds B.S. and master’s degrees in retail from the University of South Carolina. 

The Office of Career Management (OCM) connects employers with this talent, supporting campus visits, classroom engagements, information sessions, and registration for the Spring and Fall Business EXPO career fairs. For students, the OCM offers career counseling, résumé reviews, interview preparation, and other resources to guide their transition from student to professional

Topics include:

• Business Careers in the Global Economy one credit class requirement 
• Software programs & resources offered to Moore School students 
• Resume and Linkedin profile as foundation for job search 
• Common frustrations in the job search process 
• AI’s positive impact for application efficiency 
• Incorporating job description keywords into resume 
• Personality test aid in realistic self assessment and job fit 
• Application quality over application quantity’s greater return on time investment 
• Tools for finding recruiter contact information 
• Tracking & recording submitted applications 
• Importance of continued follow up 
• Career resources for community listeners

To learn more about the Office of Career Management, click here.

To learn more about Darla Moore School of Business, click here.

Photo Courtesy: Office of Career Management

Moore Impact is a product of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. For episodes, notes, and links visit sc.edu/moore