Rutgers Business School Honors Founding Director of the Executive MBA Program
Rutgers Business School Professor Emeritus Philip Shaak, the founding director of the Rutgers Executive MBA program, was honored on April 4 during an EMBA luncheon at Rutgers Business School.
Shaak, who once served as an associate dean, said he looks back at EMBA as the most exciting period of his career. “I really liked teaching and that was the most exciting teaching time for me,” he said. “I was extremely fortunate in my career.”
Rutgers current EMBA director, professor Farrokh Langdana, said that he and Assistant Dean Kathleen Connelly Harmon were “honored to be part of (Shaak’s) legacy to RBS.”
“Kathleen and I have often told Professor Shaak that the Rutgers Executive MBA Program has been able to garner all of its global rankings because it was built on the shoulders of giants, such as Phil Shaak and his team,” Langdana said.
During the event, Professor Shaak took some time to talk about EMBA’s early days, the program’s growth and his time at RBS. He described the beginning of the program in 1987, when a tremendous marketing effort was required, and compared it to the ease of attracting candidates today, based on the success and high rankings the program has achieved, as well as the quality of the faculty and teaching. Shaak emphasized that he and his team were able to attract very bright, professional students who were coming back to school after many years of substantive professional experience, and that created a collaborative learning environment for the program. According the Shaak, “One of the key parts of EMBA is it’s not simply a sterile academic exercise. There’s a blending of the academic world with the real world of business. That blending is what makes the program so successful.”
Boston University School of Management MBA Team Heads to Final Round of the Aspen Institute MBA Case Competition
An MBA team from Boston University’s School of Management was selected to compete in the final round of the Aspen Institute’s 2014 Business and Society International MBA Case Competition.
Ji Chong (MBA ’14), David Cushman (MBA’14), Chris Kluesener (MBA’14), and Jonathan Sobin (MBA’14) are one of five teams chosen to compete in the third and final round in New York City.
“Being among the top five teams selected is a great honor for us and speaks to the strength of BU’s MBA program, which has given us the tools needed to compete at this level,” says Cushman. “Competitions are a worthwhile experience as part of an MBA as they allow you to apply what you’ve learned and explore current business challenges faced by real companies.” The Boston University team’s case subject is focused on marketing strategy and social impact revolving around a Mexican grain-processing company seeking to scale its operation in order to raise the standard of living and improve health in the rural Mexican town where it is based.
On April 4th the team presented their case to a panel judges, including senior corporate executives, in order to vie for a first place cash award of $15,000 with an additional $1,000 to donate to charity of the team’s choice. The competition’s prize pool is $35,000, unmatched in the MBA case competition circuit.
“If we won the competition we would likely choose a charity that has a sustainability-focused mission and a history of successfully realizing that mission, such as the Environmental Defense Fund,” says Cushman.
Smeal College of Business Announces Alumni Gift to Department of Accounting
Penn State alumni Steve and Lyn Reeves have made a $634,000 commitment to the Smeal College of Business, which will establish the Reeves Family Career Professorship and the Reeves Family Student Success Fund, for the Department of Accounting.
The Reeves Family Early Career Professorship will support the work of a promising young accounting faculty member with funding for research and teaching at a critical point in his or her career. The Reeves Family Student Success Fund will provide resources for students to participate in internships, study abroad, and other experiences that enhance their college career, as well as underwrite activities of the college’s accounting-related student organizations.
“We have long believed in the role of higher education in allowing individuals to realize their potential,” said Steve. “We have been fortunate to enjoy post-Smeal success and are very pleased to be in a position to give back and enable other to benefit from the opportunities that we did.”
According to Charles H. Whitman, John and Becky Surma Deal of Smeal Business School, “These generous gifts from Steve and Lyn will go a long way toward ensuring the continued strength and growth of our highly regarded Department of Accounting. Both the Early Career Professorship and the Student Success Fund will create opportunities for students and faculty that would not have been otherwise possible.”
