College of Business Administration
Executive Master of Business Administration

Faculty members selected to instruct EMBA courses are aware of the challenges that await them. EMBA students are far more demanding and knowledgeable than typical undergraduate students. That’s why the College of Business Administration assigns EMBA courses to faculty members who have done extensive field research, are widely published and keep up with cutting-edge topics in their areas of expertise. Faculty members encourage collaborative learning by using their extensive experience and knowledge to lead discussions that encourage students to share their own know-how.

	Kevin Breaux; Ph.D., Louisiana State University Assistant Professor of Accounting (Faculty bio) (E-mail) In addition to teaching accounting at Nicholls for three years, Breaux has both private financial and tax accounting experience. He is a member of the American Accounting Association and the Institute of Management Accountants. He has published in Today’s CPA Journal, coauthored the instructor’s manual for Survey of Accounting and serves as the faculty adviser for the Accounting Club.
	Luke Cashen; Ph.D., Louisiana State University Assistant Professor of Management (Faculty bio) (E-mail) Prior to entering academia, Cashen was a management associate for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta in New Orleans. While serving as a management instructor at Louisiana State University, he was awarded the E.J. Ourso College of Business Administration Excellence in Teaching Award. Cashen also was an adjunct instructor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and has taught business policy and strategy courses for the Executive Education Program at LSU for the past six years. Cashen, who has been at Nicholls since 2004, has contributed to the Journal of Applied Psychology, Organizational Research Methods and the Journal of Management Issues.
	Ken Chadwick; D.B.A., Louisiana Tech University Associate Professor of Management Head of the Department of Management and Marketing (Faculty bio) (E-mail) Chadwick has 17 years of experience owning and operating a local rental property management company and worked in the Small Business Development Center at Louisiana Tech University. He came to Nicholls in 2000 after teaching at Louisiana Tech and Louisiana State University in Shreveport and has since initiated the New Venture Creation course, which focuses on entrepreneurship. Also a licensed real estate agent, Chadwick has served as a reviewer for Southern Management Association conferences and for the Entrepreneurial Executive Journal.
	John Lajaunie; Ph.D., University of New Orleans Professor of Finance (Faculty bio) (E-mail) Lajaunie, who has taught at Nicholls since 1991, has been instrumental in securing grants and private dollars for the cutting-edge classroom technology, learning centers and programs that the College of Business prides itself on. He has been appointed to serve on the Lafourche Parish Home Mortgage Authority and attends professional meetings with Northwestern Mutual Financial Network twice a year. He serves on the editorial review board for the Journal of Finance and Economic Practice, Journal of Business Disciplines and B-Quest. Lajaunie previously served as the director of facilities planning at Nicholls, responsible for capital outlay and major repair projects and budgets.
	Shari Lawrence; Ph.D., University of New Orleans Assistant Professor of Finance (Faculty bio) (E-mail) Lawrence’s areas of specialization include financial planning, health care finance and investments. Prior to her start at Nicholls in 2005, she worked as a financial planner and retirement plan administrator for eight years, administering retirement plans for more than 20 small companies. Her articles regarding retirement trends and retirement savings have been published in the Quarterly Journal of Business and Economics, Financial Services Review and the Journal of Retirement Planning.
	En Mao; Ph.D., University of Memphis Assistant Professor of Computer Information Systems (Faculty bio) (E-mail) Mao’s current research focuses on information technology acceptance issues and technology management in China. Mao has published in the Journal of Global Information Technology Management, DataBase, Communications of the AIS and Information & Management. She has presented papers related to her research at more than 20 national and international conferences. She is an associate editor of the Journal of Information Privacy and Security and an editorial review board member for the Journal of Global Information Technology Management.
	Shawn Mauldin; Ph.D., University of Mississippi Dean for the College of Business Professor of Accounting (Faculty bio) (E-mail) Mauldin is a licensed CPA and holds Certified Management Accountant and Certified Financial Planner designations. He serves as president of the South Central Chapter of the Society of Louisiana CPAs. The LCPA recently honored Mauldin with the statewide Lifetime Achievement in Accounting Education Award. Before entering academe, Mauldin had 10 years of experience in public and private accounting. He has developed and taught pre-licensing and Continuing Professional Education courses for the insurance and financial services industry and has taught in Southeastern Louisiana University’s EMBA program. He is widely published in academic and practitioner journals such as Advances in Accounting Education, Accounting Horizons, Issues in Accounting Education and the CPA Journal.
	Norbert Michel; Ph.D., University of New Orleans Assistant Professor of Business Administration (Faculty bio) (E-mail) Michel is a former tax policy analyst for The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. Before coming to Nicholls in 2005, he spent time teaching at UNO, Loyola University and George Mason University. Michel’s economics research incorporates a musical theme. Much of his research explores intellectual property issues, such as the economics of digital music file sharing and the effect recent hurricanes have had on the careers of local musicians.
	Sonya Premeaux; Ph.D., Louisiana State University Associate Dean for the College of Business Associate Professor of Management (Faculty bio) (E-mail) Premeaux is the founder of the college’s Study Abroad in Costa Rica Program and has been at Nicholls since 2003. She is the incoming secretary and a board member for Thibodaux Chamber of Commerce and has been published in the Journal of Management and Entrepreneurship, Journal of Business and Psychology and Educational and Psychological Measurement. Prior to joining the Nicholls College of Business, Premeaux spent 12 years at McNeese State University, where she was honored with the First National Bank Teaching Excellence Award, and two years at Arkansas State University. She also conducts executive development training in the areas of leadership, motivation and human resource management for various companies.
	Randy Ryker; Ph.D., University of Memphis Professor of Computer Information Systems Professional-in-Residence (Faculty bio) (E-mail) In addition to his 12 years at Nicholls, Ryker also taught at the University of Memphis and the University of Arizona as well as at the University of West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago as a Fulbright Scholar. He also spent 10 years as the computing resource manager at Health Services Research Department of Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., the largest private hospital in the United States.
	Otmar Varela; Ph.D., Tulane University Assistant Professor of Management (Faculty bio) (E-mail) Varela has been a consultant of human performance and strategic management for General Motors Venezuela, the Latin American division of Schlumberger Oil Field Services and Raytheon Professional Services. Prior to joining the Nicholls College of Business staff in 2003, he taught at Tulane University and at institutions in Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico and Colombia. He was presented the Distinguished Research Award from the Los Andeans University in Colombia for his research on government employee performance in Latin America.
	Chuck Viosca; Ph.D., University of Alabama Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs & Special Projects Associate Professor of Marketing The Peltier Foundation Endowed Professor (Faculty bio) (E-mail) Viosca worked as the sales manager of a promotional products company in Metairie before beginning his doctoral studies at the University of Alabama. Since his arrival at Nicholls, Viosca has authored numerous grants and articles. He holds memberships in the Society of Marketing Advances and Society for Consumer Psychology and has completed the SPIN Selling Certificate Program.