Sometimes one of the greatest joys of summer can be the opportunity to pursue an independent research project under the mentorship of a Denison professor. And sometimes that research lets you make connections with a long-established and respected local company and find a new way to tell their story.

Ethan Horgan ‘22—a double-major in Global Commerce and Psychology—spent the summer of 2021 working with Dr. Julie Mujic to produce a research project on the history of the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company and its negotiations with General Electric in the 1890s. During the process of conducting his research, he built new relationships at the Jeffrey Company, and this fall they told the story of his project in their company newsletter, which introduces the project this way:

“Denison Scholar Authors Case Study on Jeffrey & GE

Ethan Horgan, a Global Commerce and Psychology major and Nichols Fund Summer Scholar at Denison University, Granville, Ohio, received funding to conduct research in May-August 2021 with advisor Visiting Assistant Professor Julie Mujic. Ethan researched actual negotiations between the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company and General Electric in the 1890s. Using the Harvard Business School’s case study model, Ethan selected the Negotiation category and authored a case study by overlaying fictionalized dialogue atop known facts to allow for student debate on the inherent choices by both parties. Jeffrey Company team members Kim Feinknopf-Dorrian and Julie Ogg provided invaluable wisdom, knowledge and archival resources to Ethan for this project. JR&S Editor Anne Jeffrey Wright interviewed Ethan and Dr. Mujic to learn more about the project and their reflections on their research. The case study, entitled At the Bargaining Table: GE and Jeffrey Mfg. Co., can be read in its entirety at the Jeffrey Family Website and is summarized here using excerpts of Ethan’s poster presentation.”

May 10, 2022