Emcee Steve Walton directs the Jeopardy fun.
Final Jeopardy
What popular game show was given a Goizueta twist that featured a student-faculty face-off and served to introduce a new Goizueta club? Here’s another clue—the answer must be in the form of a question.
To publicize the newly formed Communication Club, Jessica Poole ’04BBA and fellow club officers Alana Solomon ’05BBA, Maya Mylavarapu ’05BBA, and Priya Anand ’04BBA pitted students against faculty in a friendly game of Jeopardy.
Recreating the Jeopardy set was challenging, but with help from Alan Pogue, assistant director of information services, video production, and A/V, the game looked, according to Poole, “very professional.” Pogue located, installed, and customized Jeopardy software for the event.
More than one hundred students and faculty filled the auditorium on October 30 to watch BBA juniors and seniors Keith Kelly, Gregory Miller, John Rock, Theodore Postula, and Amit Padhiar face off against faculty members Molly Epstein, assistant professor in the practice of management communication, Reshma Shah, assistant professor in the practice of marketing, Peter Roberts, associate professor of organization and management, Joe Labianca, assistant professor of organization and management, and Michael Sacks, assistant professor of organization and management. Emcee Steve Walton, associate professor in the practice of decision and information analysis, watched his fellow faculty dig themselves a deep hole.
When their score hit negative 4000, the students started talking trash.
“I got a little over-animated, but it was all in good fun,” notes student competitor Kelly.
With nothing to lose, the faculty bet it all in “final” Jeopardy. They knew Roberto Goizueta’s major in college (chemical engineering). The students did not, which allowed the faculty to triumph in the end.
"It was a blast and it showed the impact of these types of events on building community," says Roberts.
Jeopardy exceeded expectations. "It built tremendous momentum for the club," says Deborah Valentine, a lecturer in management communication and the Communication Club's faculty sponsor. Although a grudge match may be in the cards, the two teams put aside their competitive spirits and joined forces over a collaborative dinner to celebrate the event's success.
Formed in spring 2003, the Communication Club is a student-run organization aimed at raising awareness of the communication department’s area depth. “We felt it was important to bring attention to the offerings of the communication department,” said Poole, the group’s vice president. Next semester, the club will host speakers from different communication disciplines, and will participate in community service by reading to children. The Communication Club plans to make “game night” an annual event. For more information regarding the Communication Club, visit www.bus.emory.edu/commclub/. For information regarding the Communication Department, see www.bus.emory.edu/communication.—Allison Shirreffs