News Roundup – Vanderbilt Grants LGBTQ Fellowship, McCombs at SXSW, and More
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories from this week, including the new LGBTQ Fellowship offered at the Vanderbilt University Owen School of Business.
Greg Geffre (EMBA’21) Will be the First Recipient of the Executive MBA Program’s Reaching Out LGBTQ MBA Fellowship – Owen School of Business News
Vanderbilt University’s Owen School of Business granted its first Reaching Out LGBTQ MBA Fellowship to Executive MBA candidate Greg Geffre.
Reaching Out MBA (ROMBA) is a nonprofit organization that helps LGBTQ b-school students to develop their professional goals via scholarships, networking, and educational programming. This is the first year that the group will assist an Executive MBA, but Reaching Out MBA Fellowships have been granted to previous daytime students at Vanderbilt for the past several years.
Greg Geffre began his career with Wells Fargo in its financial crimes division, and shifted into a compliance analyst role at UBS after relocating recently to Nashville. He has participated in the Pride Networks at both organizations. Of his experience, Geffre says:
“Coming to a new city, not having a graduate degree—I knew that was something I wanted to do. And I knew that now is the best time to do it … After the MBA, I’m hoping that I’ll be able to start transitioning myself as more of a senior leader and start moving into more into a higher-level decision maker role. An advanced degree is necessary to do that.”
For more on Vanderbilt’s Executive MBA program, visit the program page. Read here for more on ROMBA.
He Fights On for Marines and USC – USC Marshall News
This summer, the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation honored USC Marshall alum and trustee William “Bill” Schoen with the Semper Fidelis award.
According to the Foundation’s statement, “In the spirit of the award’s meaning, ‘always faithful,’ Schoen was commemorated for his many contributions to the Marine Corps community and Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation’s mission to empower Marine children in their pursuit for a higher education.”
Schoen served in the Marine Corps from 1953-1961, and he has served as member of the Founders’ Group of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. He also serves on the Advisory Cabinet of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation’s American Patriots Campaign. “The Marine Corps opened my eyes to the endless possibilities available through hard work, dedication, sacrifice, honor. This is one of the reasons that supporting other Marines and the Marine Corps in such an integral way is part of my life,” says Schoen.
It is also, he continued, a reason that he pursued a career in business leadership. Schoen was founder and CEO of Health Management Associates Inc., which he established in 1985. Under Schoen’s leadership, the Florida-based corporation, which specialized in management of over 70 acute care and psychiatric facilities, earned a place in the Fortune 500.
Schoen received the USC Alumni Association’s highest award for his achievements in 2016. Read here for more on Schoen and the Semper Fidelis award.
Vote McCombs for SXSW 2020 – McCombs School of Business News
Faculty from The University of Texas McCombs School of Business hope to share their knowledge at South by Southwest (SXSW) in 2020, and they are asking for help from the public to nominate them for a spot at the conference.
Potential speakers have posted a number of possible topics on which they can speak at SXSW, and the selections and voting instructions can be found here. Voters can choose from such topics as cryptocurrency and big data in daily life. Other potential talks are The Power of Students as Policy Entrepreneurs, (in the Higher Ed category); Alexa, Call the Healthcare Cyberwarrior Hotline! (in the MedTech Category); and People Analytics and the Game of Life in the Workplace category.
Members of the McCombs School of Business will be speaking at next years SXSW in Austin, Texas.
This year’s SXSW conference will take place March 13 – 22, 2020 in Austin.
How Big Data Can Combat Addiction – Fox School of Business News
Kuang-Yao Lee, Assistant Professor of Statistical Science at the Fox School of Business, has researched one of the most pressing issues of today: the problem of addiction among U.S. veterans.
The Veterans Administration has launched a study of one million veterans to track alcohol use over time in order to discover more effective treatment options. This is where Professor Lee’s statistical expertise comes in. Funded by the Office for the Vice President of Research at Temple University along with the VA, Lee’s process includes gathering data blood samples and health updates from veterans. The team’s hope is to identify specific combinations of genes that result in addiction, in order to apply earlier interventions in the future.
“Previous studies have suggested [these genes exist], but mostly were only limited to small scales or restricted conditions,” he says. “We want to use statistical models to find out if this is really a valid assumption. Our results so far suggest a very strong association.”
While health records and blood testing have long been available to researchers with similar goals, big computing has reached a point where it can gather millions more data points and process them at an exponentially greater speed. Lee hopes to apply the same methodology of data processing for not only addiction, but for other genetic, behavioral, and health problems. Read more on Lee’s research and on the VA’s efforts here.
UC Berkeley Launches Joint Master’s Degree in Business and Engineering – Berkeley Haas News
Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and College of Engineering have launch a dual MBA/MEng degree program, beginning enrollment in 2020.
Aimed at early career professionals, the degree will help students to advance into leadership roles with a unique knowledge base. MBA/MEng Program Faculty Director Candace Yano, who teaches at both Haas and Berkeley Engineering, says, “The program will prepare students to meet industry demands for graduates who are both business- and technology-savvy and can lead technical innovation efforts—a combination of skills needed in Silicon Valley and beyond.”
The all-new MBA/MEng degree at Berkeley Haas is slated to begin in 2020, with 20-30 students per cohort.
The demand for individuals with mastery of each field is great at companies such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Boston Consulting Group, Citibank, KPMG, and Genentech. With multiple openings for jobs like principal architect, marketing analytics manager, strategy and operations manager and product manager, these organizations require the high level of understanding of how business grows upon technology.
Inspired by Berkeley’s undergraduate Management, Entrepreneurship, & Technology Program (M.E.T.), the program will welcome 20-30 student cohorts during its inaugural year. Read here for more on the MBA/MEng degree.
News Roundup: New Boston University Online MBA, and More
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories from this week, including the new Boston University Online MBA at the Questrom School of Business.
Questrom to Offer Online MBA With edX in 2020 – BU Today
Boston University’s Questrom School of Business will partner with online education platform edX to establish an Online MBA, set to begin in 2020.
On news of the announcement, Boston University President Robert A. Brown says, “With the online MBA, we’re seizing the initiative to offer a major degree for which we believe there is global demand. Higher education must evolve in a fast-changing world. We aim to lead in this evolution.”
Applications officially open on August 16, 2019 and tuition will be $24,000 per year. edX was designed from researchers at Harvard University and MIT in 2012. Since its launch, it has gained more than 21 million users from every country across the world. Chrysanthos Dellarocas, Associate Provost for Digital Learning & Innovation, says, “Through this degree, BU opens itself to the world in a manner we haven’t done before.”
edX started offering Master’s programs last fall, including a master’s in analytics from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a master’s in computer science fro the University of Texas at Austin.
You can read here for more on the online MBA and on edX.
Should Investing be Left to Machines? – UC Davis Graduate School of Management News
Professor and economist Brad Barber of UC Davis Graduate School of Management recently weighed in on the question of the effect of human error in investments. Comprehending biases, he suggests, is the key to improving decisions.
Behavioral biases cost investors 4 percent per year, according to Barber. In a recent article in financial news publication Raconteur, Barber’s research was cited as was that of his colleagues. On the topic of bias and error in investing,
Barber’s colleague Craig Burgess says:
“We are pattern-seeking primates, which is useful for hunting prey, but terrible for complex tasks such as investing. So, we are now regularly prone to hundreds of biases, too deeply ingrained to overcome without removing the human from the process.”
‘Passive investments,’ or those completed via carefully designed software processes, are cheaper than investments performed by a fund manager, and absent of the inherent biases of humans. Many managers, however, argue that skilled ‘active investors’ can beat the effect of bias and error to greater effect than machine learning. For more on Barber’s research, read his profile. For the full Raconteur article, read here.
Save the Date for INTERSECT@CMU: Health Care Innovation – Tepper School of Business Events & Conferences
This year’s INTERSECT@CMU Health Care Innovation Conference will take place on September 13, 2019 at the Tepper School of Business. Registration opens in August.
Among the topics covered by this year’s speakers and panelists will be delivery methods, policy, and emerging technology. Last year’s INTERSECT conference was part of a two-day celebration to commemorate the opening of Tepper Quad. It was also the conference’s inaugural year.
From INTERSECT@CMU 2018 / Photo via cmu.edu/tepper
Opening remarks last year were offered by CMU President Farnam Jahanian and Tepper School Dean Bob Dammon. Jerome Presenti, VP of AI at Facebook, Inc. delivered a keynote speech. Panels covered the growth of smart machines in everyday life, along with the potential of blockchain to revolutionize economies.
To stay posted on this year’s speakers and panelists, visit the INTERSECT@CMU 2019 site.
Million-Dollar Gift for Veterans – USC Marshall News
The USC Marshall School of Business recently announced a $1 million gift from Andrew Tavakoli, MSBA ’86, which will lend support to the Master of Business for Veterans (MBV) program.
The gift will establish the Andrew Tavakoli Family Endowment for MBV Students, which will enable veterans who show exemplary leadership skills and academic performance to advance at USC Marshall. The MBV is a one year graduate program for veterans, active duty, and reserve personnel. It was created to allow vets and those currently serving to apply their military leadership and strategic skills in business settings.
“My hope is that no qualified veteran or active duty personnel would ever be prevented from joining the USC MBV program for lack of financial resources,” Tavakoli says of the gift. He is a member of Marshall’s Board of Leaders and the Los Angeles World Affairs Council. Along with a MSBA from Marshall, Tavakoli holds a BSEE degree in computer science from the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA from California State University Long Beach.
MBV Program Director James Bogle says:
“I truly appreciate Mr. Tavakoli’s support for our veteran students in the MBV program. In our conversations, it quickly became clear that Andrew recognizes the unique potential that former military leaders bring to the business community. “
Read here for more on the MBV and on Andrew Tavakoli.
5 Tips for Making a Meaningful Connection with Employers – Fox School of Business News
Janis Moore Campbell, Director of Graduate Professional Development for the Temple University Fox School of Business‘ Center for Student Professional Development (CSPD) recently offered some helpful hints on how to rise to the top of the applicant pool during your job search.
According to Campbell, the “experience of you that you promise” to an employer is just as vital as your GMAT scores or strong academic record when designing your resume. Most employers want to know what it’s like to work with you, just as much as how well you will perform on any given project.
Work compatability is an under-discussed but important factor when it comes to employment, according to Fox’s Janis Moore Campbell.
Campbell outlines the following guidelines in honing in on your brand.
- Take a realistic look at your presence on the Internet.
- What have others said or posted about you? How well do you come across in light of your future bosses?
- Use facts, not opinions.
- Recommend, as opposed to asking to be recommended – Strengthen your network by reminding others of your presence. One sure way to get others to remember you is by mentioning their accomplishments.
- Strategically volunteer in a capacity that is similar to your career goals.
- Participate in trade associations
- Attend events and publish articles in your areas of interest and expertise.
- Join a network through trade associations
For more on the CSPD and for links to their social media sites, click here.
Friday News – USC Marshall Announces New Dean, HBS Receives Gift for Dual Degree, and More
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories from this week, including the newest USC Marshall dean.
Geoffrey Garrett Named New Dean of USC Marshall School of Business – USC Marshall News
The USC Marshall School of Business announced its newest dean, Geoffrey Garrett, formerly of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Garrett, an economist and political theorist, begins his tenure in 2020.
President Wanda M. Austin says of Garrett’s appointment, “He has a demonstrated track record in global business theory and practice, which aligns with our mission to create the leaders of the future … Marshall School of Business has found a tremendous leader in Geoffrey Garrett.”
Geoffrey Garrett is set to begin his USC Marshall dean tenure next year.
Along with serving as Wharton’s dean, Garrett is also the Reliance Professor of Management and Enterprise, and he formerly taught political science there. Prior to his positions at Wharton, he served as dean of the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales. His appointment at Marshall will not be the first position he has held at USC, however. He also taught communications, international relations, law and business in 2005.
Garrett says, “My first year will be all about listening and learning … I think I have a pretty good appreciation for the world of business and education and for what USC Marshall has achieved. But the DNA of the school is its people, and I have so much to learn from them and about them.”
Read here for more about the newest USC Marshall dean.
HBS and SEAS Announce Gift of Financial Aid to Support Joint Degree Program Students – Harvard SEAS News
A generous gift from two alumni has contributed to the growth of the MS/MBA joint degree program at Harvard University. Denise Dupré and Mark Nunnelly, both 1984 MBA graduates, have given the needed support for a financial aid program for students who are pursuing the dual degree. The MS/MBA program launched in 2018, and it has served to unite HBS and the Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS).
Twenty-nine students are enrolled in the MS/MBA’s inaugural program, whose curriculum focuses in equal part on technology, design, and business and management principles.
Nitin Nohria, Harvard Business School Dean, says:
“This generous gift will support future leaders who will bridge the worlds of business and engineering, spurring innovation and the commercialization of new discoveries to address many of society’s most exciting opportunities … The expansion of SEAS to [the Allston campus] is a catalyst for collaboration that will propel and transform teaching and research at Harvard for decades to come.”
The expansion of Allston was a major catalyst for Dupré and Nunnelly’s gift. “We’ve both been enormous fans of the possibilities in Allston for many years,” says Nunnelly. “It’s so incredibly important to the future of Harvard, the city of Boston, and the entire state of Massachusetts.”
For more on the MS/MBA and the Allston expansion, read here.
Calculating New Ideas – Fox School of Business Idea Marketplace
A statistician and associate professor at Temple University’s Fox School of Business has made great strides in data science with a pair of new developments that will likely be game changers in healthcare and education.
Zhigen Zhao, along with his colleagues, have discovered a way to calculate health risks by studying interactions between human genes. The team developed an algorithm which will analyze 20,000 genes at a time (twice the number of previous methods), which may help doctor’s to determine a patient’s risk for such things as Alzheimer’s, alcoholism, and obesity.
“Our method only takes two-tenths of a second to finish this kind of calculation,” Zhao says. “People’s health can depend on a specific combination of their genes.”
Another breakthrough algorithm Zhao and his team created will help to bridge the divide in standardized test scores between advantaged and disadvantaged students. With the new tool, the team parsed the test results collected from various schools to create a more thorough picture of who was doing well on which tests.
“The main idea for this method is to incorporate school district information to get a new threshold … The standard method, which doesn’t include this information, can be either overly conservative or overly liberal.”
Read here for more on Zhigen Zhao and his team’s work.
Career Changer’s Investment in Master’s Program Has Big Payoff – Rutgers Business School News
Julie Mitchell, a graduate of the Rutgers Business School Online Master of Science in Supply Chain Management program, managed to launch a new and more profitable career even amidst the daily challenges of family and work.
Mitchell is Senior Procurement Agent in Supply Chain Management for Boeing, where she manages every aspect of equipment delivery to create 737 galleys. She has been with Boeing for five years, and in that time her salary has increased by 83 percent. “The degree catapulted me into a senior procurement agent position,” she says. “There are people who have waited 10 years for that to happen.”
Julie Mitchell, Rutgers online Maser of Science in Supply Chain Management alum / Photo via business.rutgers.edu
After a decade plus long career of managing a dental practice, Mitchell decided to take a job at Boeing where she discovered her talent for managing billing, logistics, and operations. Several experiences led her to further hone in on her natural ability for ‘disruption management,’ and from there she earned her degree.
“I like to be challenged and I like fixing problems. A 737 has 400,000 parts, including nuts and bolts. It can be like working on a puzzle. The most rewarding thing is delivering something to a customer that they’re happy with.”
For more on the online Master of Science in Supply Chain Management at Rutgers, read here.
Friday News – Vanderbilt Receives STEM Designation, Michigan Ross Honored by AACSB, and More
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories from this week, including the new Vanderbilt STEM designation at the university’s Owen Graduate School of Management.
Vanderbilt MBA Finance Concentration Receives STEM Certification – News & Events
The Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University has announced that, starting this fall, its finance concentration will be a STEM degree program. This gives international students the opportunity to extend post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT) in the US by 24 months.
Sue Oldham, Associate Dean, MBA Programs Operations, says, “We were able to work with our faculty to ensure that this STEM designation in the Finance concentration is one that would have an immediate impact, not only for our current students but for all prospective students… [It] is a direct result of the leadership team here listening to what our students are saying, specifically our international students.”
The OPT program enables international students to remain in the United States for 12 months in order to receive work training. With the new STEM designation, this period has been extended an additional 24 months for international finance students to build their careers. For more on the new Vanderbilt STEM designation, click here.
Michigan Ross Dialogue About The Future of Business Named for “Innovation that Inspires” – Michigan Ross News Blog
A discussion that took place last year at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business has been selected by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) for its contribution to academic thought and practice across the b-school community and the world at large.
“Working Toward Shared Prosperity: An Academic-Executive Dialogue,” included academics, along with business, labor, government, and nonprofit leaders who seek to improve conditions of employment and economic growth via practical solutions. Participants and attendees of the discussion came away with renewed energy toward enabling their academic work to address real world issues.
“Working Toward Shared Prosperity: An Academic-Executive Dialogue” earned the coveted 2019 Innovations That Inspire designation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) / Photo via michiganross.umich.edu
The talk was a partnership between Michigan Ross and The Aspen Institute. Read more about the discussion, the AACSB, and the Aspen Institute here.
Economic and Environmentally Sustainable Solutions at the Forefront for the University of Toronto’s NeXus Consulting Group – Rotman News
The University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management announced five of its MBA students joining its consulting group, NeXus Enterprises, which focuses primarily upon sustainability and social impact in its practice.
Founded in 2005, NeXus has worked with clients in 10 different countries to assist them in business planning, market research, financial modeling, scaling and expansion efforts. John Visser, a NeXus board member, says, “Social impact organizations are being challenged to deliver more value than ever before. Recent NeXus teams have executed a range of projects that have enabled boards and management teams to take their organizations to the next level.”
The new members of NeXus, all 2020 graduates of the Rotman MBA program, bring their expertise in technology, healthcare, marketing, design, engineering and construction to the group. Read here for more on NeXus and the Rotman team.
Marrying Science and Business Education For A More Sustainable Tomorrow – Fox School News
An industrial ecology project team at Temple University’s Fox School of Business, featuring an MBA student, a legal studies professor, and an engineering professor, have set an admirable example of how to meld disciplines.
Legal studies professor Daniel Isaacs Civil and Environmental Engineering Assistant Professor Avner Ronen, and MBA Vidya Sabella collaborated to solve a pressing problem: reducing wastes created by businesses.
(Left to right) Daniel Isaacs, Avner Ronen, and Vidya Sabbella / Photo via Joseph V. Labolito
Professor Isaacs (who is also head of the Global MBA program) says, “Business, technology, science and education should not be siloed. With broader educational opportunities like this one, environmental issues can be the drivers of innovation…Students and leaders alike need to start thinking about business in terms of what their obligations to future generations should be.”
You can read more about the team and project here.
MIT Food Systems Lab Announces Seven New Seed Grants – MIT News
The Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS) announced a new round of funding for an array of projects that will further innovation in farming and sustainable supply chain management in multiple countries. MIT Sloan is among the branches of the school to receive grant money.
Among the other innovations and developments will be increased food safety for everyday consumers; productivity technologies for small farmers, and water filtration methods for eliminating pollutants to food supplies. Thirty-four research teams applied for funding, and the directors of J-WAFS were tasked with choosing the best of the best.
Renee Robins, Executive Director of J-WAFS, says, “The broad range of disciplines that this applicant pool represents demonstrates how meeting today’s water and food challenges is motivating many diverse researchers in our community.”
Find more details on the seed grants and their recipients here.
Friday News – Sweetgreen Comes to Georgetown, Merage Honors Digital Transformation, and More
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories from this week, including the Sweetgreen founders returning to their alma mater, Georgetown McDonough.
Center for Digital Transformation Selects Top Companies for Digital Innovators Award – Merage School of Business News
The Center for Digital Transformation at UC Irvine’s Merage School of Business named three companies that exemplify the center’s mission: “Advancing the competitiveness and productivity of business in the digital economy.”
Using responses from its annual survey, the Center selected Target, Aetna/CVS Health, and Quad/Graphics for work in reinventing themselves to compete in the digital economy. The six elements of each business that the Center observed were the companies’ culture of innovation; the level of technical ability of the workforce; how well the companies apply digital technologies; strategic vision; and the investments the companies made in new technology.
Vijay Gurbaxani, the Director of the Center for Digital Transformation, says “Our survey examined 150 companies, but among them, these three companies stood out. Transformation is especially challenging for legacy companies—[those] incorporated before 1990—because they have to change in fundamental ways that younger, natively digital companies don’t.”
The winners were honored at this year’s annual Road to Reinvention Conference, along with a dinner on March 20, 2019. For more on the Center and the conference, click here.
Sweetgreen Founders Reflect on Success – McDonough School of Business News
The founders of fast casual salad chain Sweetgreen visited their alma mater, McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, to discuss the evolution of their company. The event, which took place on April 16, 2019, was part of McDonough’s Stanton Distinguished Leaders Series.
Georgetown McDonough School of Business alumni Jonathan Neman (B’07), Nicolas Jammet (B’07), and Nathaniel Ru (B’07), seen above, speaking at their alma mater on April 16 / Photo via msb.georgetown.edu
Jonathan Neman (B,07) says, “We found this niche in the market where there was an opportunity to have something that was fresh and healthy, but also affordable and fast.” Noting that he and his partners were challenged to find any healthy food choices on campus, Neman continues, “We wanted to figure out how we could create something essentially for ourselves in the beginning.”
Neman’s classmates, Nicolas Jammet and Nathaniel Ru came up with the idea during their senior year at Georgetown. After being turned down for funding, they decided to crowdsource from a reliable audience: friends and family. The team gathered $300,000 in funding and the company took off. Initially called ‘Greens’ the original location of the restaurant was on campus
With social impact at the heart of Sweetgreen’s business model, the founders have begun several initiatives involving sustainable farming and access to healthy foods for underserved communities. The company also seeks to reduce waste at every level of production.
New Study On Ways to Inoculate Teens Against Junk Food Marketing – Chicago Booth Newsroom
A professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business recently published research on the affects of junk food marketing on adolescents.
Professor Christopher Bryan, along with the other members of his research team, discovered a method to protect teenagers, (especially boys, who are most susceptible), against the harmful effects of food marketing. The study, which took place in a Texas middle school, presented students with an exposé-style piece on corporations that manipulate consumers to make unhealthy choices. The stories revealed facts to the students about how addictive junk foods are marketed to poor and vulnerable populations.
Another group of students were given more traditional marketing materials about the benefits of healthy eating. The first group made, on average, more healthy decisions at the cafeteria on subsequent days. Professor Bryan says, “What we’ve done is turn that around on the food marketers by exposing this manipulation to teenagers, triggering their natural strong aversion to being controlled by adults. If we could make more kids aware of that, it might make a real difference.”
The study, “A Values-Alignment Intervention Protects Adolescents from the Effects of Food Marketing,” was published in mid-April.
The Fox School is Hitting the Road – Fox School News
Temple University’s Fox School of Business is launching a new alumni event called “Fox on the Road,” with the goal of providing professional development and networking opportunities in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland.
The events will feature keynote speakers on trends and topics in their industries. More details are coming soon, and Fox is seeking input on how the series can be most useful to alumni.
Upcoming events this spring include a joint effort with Wharton Alumni of Philadelphia at WeWork on 5/1, an Alumni Association Cheer Station at the Broad Street Run on 5/5, and a TedX Philadelphia talk on 5/15. The TedX Event’s theme will be “Unintended Consequences.”
Penn State Smeal College of Business names two new members to Board of Visitors – Penn State Smeal News
Penn State Smeal’s College of Business has announced two new members to its Board of Visitors, which advises faculty and administrators on strategic decisions and trends in each member’s industries.
Smeal alum Farid Alias is President and CEO of Maybank in Malaysia. He received the Penn State Alumni Association’s Alumni Fellow Award, the organization’s highest honor, in 2017. Jerome Griffith, who earned his bachelor’s degree from Smeal in 1979, is the CEO of Land’s End.
Smeal Dean Charles Whitema says of the appointments:
“Both Farid and Jerome have significant C-suite experience that I expect will enhance the programs and services we provide for Smeal students…I look forward to the contributions they will make in the years to come.”
Farid Alias was named CEO of the Year at the ASEAN Business Awards Malaysia in 2015 and was awarded the CNBC Asia Business Leader Award for Corporate Social Responsibility, also in 2015. He is Vice Chairman of Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers, and is also a member of the ASEAN Banking Council, the Asian Banker Association, and the Visa Senior Client Council Program. Griffith formerly served in executive positions at Esprit, Tumi, Tommy Hilfiger, and the J. Peterman Company.
Click here for more on other members of the Board of Visitors.
Temple Fox Axes Online MBA Director After Rankings Fallout
Weeks after the Temple University Fox School of Business announced the forced resignation of its long-time Dean Moshe Porat, reformed to its approach to its ranking system, and the hiring of Interim Dean Ronald C. Anderson, the Philadelphia metro business school has announced the departure of its Online MBA Academic Director Darin Kapanjie.
Kapanjie, according to The Philly Inquirer, has been officially replaced by Fox Assistant Professor of Finance Bora Ozkan. The news was officially revealed by Anderson in a faculty-wide email, but it was not confirmed whether Kapanjie was forced to resign or not.
“Kapanjie said it was a joint decision for him to leave the leadership position. ‘Given recent events, we felt it was best,’ he said.”
Kapanjie, speaking with the Inquirer, maintained that he “did not have anything to do with the misreporting of data,” in regards to the fallout with U.S. News & World Report.
Anderson, in the email, emphasized the inclusion of Ozkan, rather than the departure of Kapanjie. He says:
“’Dr. Ozkan’s background and approach to education, as well as his experience teaching in the online M.B.A. program, make him well-suited for this role,’ Anderson wrote.”
Stay tuned for more information on the story as it continues to unfold.
