Gatton MBA Students Apply Training to Help Others

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 7, 2011) – The University of Kentucky's Gatton College of Business and Economics takes the mission of preparing its students to be 'world ready' very seriously.  In turn, many students in the college, like a quintet of young men who are in the current class of Gatton's immersive one-year MBA program, are finding creative ways to put that readiness to good use.

Daniel Neeley, John Lindsey, Fred Fisher, Clayton Cross, and Eric Ellis have been volunteering at Lexington Habitat for Humanity (LHFH) off and on throughout the school year.  Last fall, the group did some research on social media and how the local chapter of Habitat can make optimal use of this media to promote its cause, recruit volunteers, and more.

"Lexington Habitat is using the results of our work to help guide their efforts on Facebook, and we are hoping that they will receive a good response," said Eric Ellis, Gatton MBA student from Paducah.

Ellis reports that recently the group started a new project.  "This one involves introducing Lean and Six Sigma principles to Habitat's operations, and it has been extremely well received so far," said Ellis.

Lean and Six Sigma seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying and removing the causes of defects and minimizing variability in manufacturing and business processes.

"Lexington Habitat has a paint bulking process that they have been utilizing for more than a year," said Ellis.  "Habitat collects used leftover latex paint from people in the community, checks and filters the paint, mixes it, and then resells the five gallons of paint as whatever color it comes out for $20 per can."

According to Ellis and his fellow students, the local Habitat chapter also crushes and recycles old paint cans and makes money off of this recycling.  "Basically, they're collecting garbage, mixing it or recycling it, and raising money on it rather than stuffing it into a landfill," Ellis said.  

On a recent Wednesday, Ellis' group helped Habitat apply Lean and Six Sigma to this process to make it better and more volunteer friendly.

"We spent six hours there applying these principles and brainstorming about what could be done, and they absolutely can't wait for us to come back," Ellis said.

Ellis praised the people of LeanCor (www.leancor.com), based in Florence, Ky., a provider of education and training services, consulting, and logistics services dedicated to supporting lean supply chains.  LeanCor provided the Lean and Six Sigma certification training and project support services to students in UK's one-year MBA program during this past winter.    

Ellis said representatives from LeanCor have been extremely generous. "They have donated six copies of 'Everything I Learned About Lean I Learned in First Grade,' as well as a copy of the DVD that they showed in class.  In addition, LeanCor has offered to bring Lexington Habitat personnel to their offices to teach them about how they run their business, and have offered to send members of their staff to LHFH to do some consulting." 

Ellis added that he wants to introduce as many people at LHFH to Lean and Six Sigma as he can because of its potential for positive impacts on the chapter's processes and operations.

Katie Clay, Deconstruction Americorps for Lexington Habitat, is very pleased with the help the chapter is receiving from the Gatton MBA students.  "The system is much more manageable and organized now," she said .  "I am thrilled.  It is much more efficient, and I think it will help us move a great deal more paint."

The creative application by these students of what they have learned in Gatton's one-year MBA program has not gone unnoticed by UK faculty members.

“Lean and Six Sigma offer very rich methods for improving work processes – the means by which work is accomplished," said Tom Goldsby, associate professor of supply chain management who teaches in the one-year MBA program.  "These students recognize that work processes are found in all forms of endeavor and are applying their newfound expertise in a most worthwhile way – improving processes that help peoples’ lives in a very direct and meaningful fashion with Habitat for Humanity.”  

Mary Lee Kerr, director of MBA programs for the Gatton College, said "I am so proud of Eric, Daniel, John, Fred, and Clayton.  This is a shining example of these students practicing servant leadership."

MEDIA CONTACT:  Carl Nathe, (859) 257-1754, ext. 238; or, Michele Sparks, (859) 257-0040.