Temple Winners, Wharton Blockchain, and More – Philly News
Summer may be just beginning, but that doesn’t mean class is out for Philadelphia business school news. Here’s this week’s Philly news brief.
Fox School Announces Second Annual IMPACT Award Winners — Fox Newsroom
The Temple University Fox School of Business recognized outstanding staff members at the second-annual IMPACT Awards ceremony late last month, honoring staff who demonstrated the ability to collaborate effectively as groups to deliver impactful service, teaching, and research contributions. The awards are also held with Temple’s School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management.
This year, 16 groups representing the accomplishments of 70 faculty and 86 staff members earned nominations. The three winners were:
- The Fox Global Immersion program
- The Temple University Entrepreneurship Academy (TUEA)
- The Fox Center for Undergraduate Advising.
Winning groups took home glass trophies, customized merchandise to commemorate the achievement, a special group experience, and financial rewards.
To read more about the winners, click here.
Penn Launches Strategic Collaboration with Ripple — Wharton News
The University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and the School of Engineering and Applied Science recently announced the launch of The Ripple Project: a collaboration with blockchain-based global payments leader Ripple that aims to support academic research, technical development, and innovation in blockchain, cryptocurrency, and distributed ledger technology.
Geoffrey Garrett, Dean of the Wharton School, proclaimed during the announcement that:
“Blockchain represents the fusion of technology and finance spanning schools and disciplines well beyond Wharton. The Ripple Project will transform the way our students and faculty look at blockchain and its potential to change the world. We are thrilled to welcome Ripple’s collaboration as we prepare future leaders who will shape the future of how this dynamic technology is developed to transform fields as diverse as finance, logistics, and healthcare.”
Penn is one of only 17 universities around the world partnering with Ripple and its University Blockchain Research Initiative. Each university has the autonomy to determine its own research topics and areas of focus.
You can read more about this exciting news here.
EMBA vs MBA: Which Is Right for Me? — LeBow News
The LeBow College of Business recently published an article to help prospective MBAs choose between their EMBA and MBA programs. The piece compares and contrasts the Experience Level, Class Style, and Curriculum of both programs.
MetroMBA has ranked LeBow’s EMBA as one of the best in the Philadelphia metro area. Check out how the two degree programs match up here.
Drexel Culinary Collaborations and First Place Finishes — Philly News
With so much news happening in Philly business schools, it’s understandable if you need a hand catching up. Here’s your Philly news brief.
Drexel EMBA Class Spurs Culinary Collaboration — LeBow News
Thanks to his Drexel LeBow College of Business EMBA class, chef and restaurateur Kevin Sbraga has found a way back into the kitchen. Sbraga, a chef with prior business experience in the Philadelphia area, came up with the idea for a one-day pop-up kitchen in a Business Problem Solving class taught by associate clinical professor of management Suresh Chandran.
According to a news story on the Drexel website:
“We were talking about innovation as a disrupter, and that made me start to think about how the real estate landscape is changing for retail as well as restaurants,” Sbraga says. “I reached out to a hospitality buddy of mine who has some experience in the tech field. I asked him, ‘How can we create a virtual restaurant? A restaurant experience without the brick and mortar,’ and his response was ‘delivery’.”
Sbraga was one of the first restaurateurs in the city to adopt the now-popular food delivery app Caviar, helping deliver the first batches of Nashville hot chicken to Philly for a special one-day event. “The Hot Chicken was far and away the best-selling dish from The Fat Ham’s menu on Caviar. It was widely regarded as some of the best hot chicken outside of Nashville, so featuring it was an easy choice,” a Caviar spokesperson said.
LeBow EMBA grad and chef Kevin Sbraga was one of the first in the city of Philadelphia to help introduce the now-popular food delivery app Caviar.
You can read more about Sbraga’s food and pop-up concept here.
Penn State Smeal MBAs place first in Fisher Invitational Big Ten+ MBA Case Competition — Penn State Smeal News
Four Penn State Smeal MBAs recently took first place in the Fisher Invitational Big Ten+ MBA Case Competition at Ohio State. The team of first-year students were coached by Nancy Mahon, clinical associate professor of business communication.
Teams had 24 hours to develop a comprehensive pitch outlining concrete recommendations to address the challenges facing Bob Evans restaurant chain. Competition judges included key Bob Evans senior leadership as well as executives from other corporations. The Smeal squad defeated teams from Illinois and Wisconsin in first round before beating second-place Purdue and third-place Michigan State in the finals.
“I’m extremely impressed with our team’s efforts and professionalism,” Mahon said. “I’m especially proud of our students’ representation of Smeal.”
You can read more about the recent Penn State Smeal event here.
Is It Possible to Change Bad Behavior – Permanently? – Knowledge@Wharton
The recently-created Behavior Change for Good Initiative course at The Wharton School, taught by celebrated UPenn professor Angela Duckworth and Wharton’s own Katherine Milkman, looks at the quality of daily living in a broad and curious way.
In the most recent Knowledge@Wharton podcast episode, the two discuss the program’s vast social experiment angles, asking how people can change bad or not-well-liked behavior on a permanent scale. This includes the launch of the StepUp program with fitness chain 24 Hour Fitness. “Duckworth and Milkman are hoping to recruit hundreds of thousands of current and new members of the chain to sign up for the program,” they explain “Those who do will become part of a large-scale tournament in which scientists have developed 57 different paths they hope will lead to positive behavior change.”
“We want to see which ideas truly yield the biggest changes in behavior, not just during the course of the program, which is 28 days, but also in the year following it.”
You can check out the most recent podcast episode here.
Villanova Wins, Wharton and Temple Land Donations, and More – Philly News
Philadelphia was up late this week watching the Villanova win its second NCAA Championship in three years, but that wasn’t the only exciting news out of the City of Brotherly Love. Here’s your weekly Philly business school news brief!
William P. Lauder Endows the William P. Lauder Wharton Leadership Fellows Program with $4 Million Gift — Wharton News
The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania announced that alumni William P. Lauder has committed $4 million to endow the William P. Lauder Wharton Leadership Fellows Program. Wharton Leadership Fellows are second-year MBA students who mentor, coach, and support first-year students in developing their potential and strengthening their performance as learning teams.
“I have always believed that great leaders are also great teachers, coaches, and mentors,” said William P. Lauder, who serves as Executive Chairman of The Estée Lauder Companies. “That’s what I expect of leaders at The Estée Lauder Companies, and what I hope to model for MBA students … I am thrilled to support this outstanding program’s continued growth and evolution.”
Lauder is also a member of the University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees, the Lauder Institute Board of Governors, the Wharton Leadership Advisory Board, and a lecturer in the Wharton School. His family has a track record of giving back to the Wharton community, including funding for the Lauder Institute, student fellowships, and numerous capital projects, such as the recently completed New College House at 3335 Woodland Walk.
Read more about Lauder’s gift and the Leadership Fellows program here.
Stanley and Franny Wang Make $2 Million Gift to Fox School of Business — Fox School News
In similar news, a $2 million gift from Temple alumni Stanley and Franny Wang will support a fully endowed chair professorship at the Fox School of Business, and create an endowed fund for the Stanley and Franny Wang Chair in Business and Management. According to dean Dr. M. Moshe Porat, the fully endowed chair will be held by a leading scholar in a department soon to be chosen.
“I am continually humbled by the generosity of our school’s graduates, and Stanley and Franny Wang serve as shining examples of this philanthropy,” said Porat. “The Fox School has a proud tradition of providing leading and cutting-edge business education. Stanley and Franny’s transformative gift will significantly enhance our efforts to attract the world’s top professors and most-renowned researchers—both now in our centennial year and throughout the school’s next 100 years.”
Learn more about the Wangs and their generous gift to Temple here.
Associate Professor Korschun Receives Fulbright Award, 2nd for LeBow Faculty in 2018 — LeBow News
Daniel Korschun, associate professor of marketing and Stephen Cozen Research Scholar in Marketing, has received a Fulbright award to travel to Italy for a research project. According to a press release, Korschun will teach and conduct research on political statements by corporations at Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli from September to December 2018.
“With the two-party system here in the United States, these decisions are made in a simpler context,” Korschun said. “In Italy, they don’t have that—there are a lot more shifts in how people see their political identity. That makes it more complex to disentangle what’s going on in people’s minds.”
Korschun is the second LeBow professor to be awarded with the prestigious Fulbright Award: Economics Professor Konstantinos Serfes received a Fulbright award to visit the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom during spring 2019.
Read more about Drexel’s Fulbright Scholars here.
Villanova’s Title Proves it is the Best Team—and Program—in All of College Basketball — ESPN
Okay, okay—not business news—but a big deal for Villanova and the surprisingly championships-filled city of Philadelphia.
Drexel MBA Team Earns Second Place, and More – Philly News
Let’s review some of the biggest news coming out of Philadelphia business schools this week.
MBA Students Weather the Storm and Win Second Place — LeBow News
Four first-year Drexel University LeBow College of Business MBA students braved a winter storm in order to compete in the inaugural University at Buffalo MBA Case Competition in Buffalo, New York. The Drexel team ended in second place, winning a $3,000 prize. The competition was hosted by the University at Buffalo School of Management and sponsored by Dun & Bradstreet.
“It was an all-star group, and it was a huge learning experience for us,” said Cory Terzis, who—along with Joseph Dipre, Dhruv Gandhi and Zach Hauck—made up Drexel’s team.
The Drexel LeBow MBA team / photo via lebow.drexel.edu
You can read more about the team’s experience here.
In Memoriam: Erivan K. Haub — HSB News
Erivan K. Haub, the namesake of the Haub School of Business at St. Joseph’s University, passed away on Tuesday, March 6, in Pinedale, Wyoming. St. Joesph’s business school was named after Haub in 1997 following the Haub family’s support for business education at SJU over a three decade period of time.
“There is no doubt that the international business world lost an extraordinarily successful and influential entrepreneur with the passing of Erivan Haub,” said University President Mark C. Reed, Ed.D. “More importantly, Saint Joseph’s lost a partner who will forever be remembered for his generosity and friendship.”
You can learn more about the life and accomplishments of Haub here.
Postponed: Women’s Leadership Initiative Launch — UD Daily
In a previous edition of Philly News, we reported that Lerner College at the University of Delaware was hosting the Women’s Leadership Initiative Launch at the Roselle Center for the Arts on National Women’s Day. However, bad winter weather prompted organizers to postpone the event. According to the school, the event will be rescheduled, likely in the fall of 2018.
According to University of Delaware, the Women’s Leadership Initiative, “… is the preeminent driver of learning to propel transformational women leaders and advance gender equity in the workplace.”
The event was set to feature alumni speakers like Terri Kelly, president and CEO of W.L. Gore and Associates, Inc., Mary Ellen Payne, former VP of sales and marketing at Verizon Communications, and several others. There is no word on who will be able to attend the make-up event.
Read more about the Women’s Leadership Initiative Launch here.
Drexel Study Confirms Sitting Is Hurting You, Your Employer
Sitting has gotten some bad press in recent years. The negative health effects of sitting for long periods and sedentary lifestyle in general are so severe, some are even referring to sitting as “the new smoking.” A sobering study in Annals of Internal Medicine linked sitting for over 90 minutes at a time with nearly a 200 percent greater risk of early death. Moreover, The Washington Post associated hunching over a computer for extended stretches of time with organ damage, muscle degeneration, leg disorders, foggy brain, strained neck, and serious back issues. In 2012, the British Psychological Society (BPS) estimated that in a typical workweek, people spend about 5 hours and 41 minutes per day sitting, more than enough time to take a serious toll on employees’ health.
Natalie Pedersen, JD, professor at the Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business, and Lisa Eisenberg, JD, Kline School of Law alumna, coauthored a paper in which they assert that employers should be held liable for health issues their employees experience as a result of a sedentary lifestyle.
Pedersen told WorkersCompensation.com that, “What we were trying to figure out was if there were certain instances where an employer would be liable for those kinds of workers’ compensation claims that might arise from a more sedentary work life. It’s definitely sort of a newer theory.” Pedersen went on to say that as the health risks associated with a sedentary job gain more recognition, “… I think we’ll see more of this sort of liability.”
The paper, “If Sitting is the New Smoking, What Does This Mean for Employers? A Look at Potential Worker’s Compensation Claims in the Sedentary Workplace,” which the coauthors wrote for the Lewis & Clark Law Review, analyzed workers’ compensation claims surrounding sedentary workplaces throughout the US.
Solutions to the sedentary workplace problem, like incentives for employee fitness, standing desks, and breaks built in to the work day are becoming more commonplace. Holding employers legally accountable for the health of their employees in environments with prolonged sitting could lead to a dramatic decrease in premature death and aging.
Use These Key MBA Networking Strategies Before and After Graduation
In a competitive job market, current MBA students and recent graduates need to figure out how to stand out among their peers and make themselves attractive to potential employers. One of the most fundamental ways MBAs can maximize employment prospects, is to improve their networking skills.
Networking may be more than just a good employment strategy—it is actually a vital tool. According to Mark Brostoff, Assistant Dean and Director of Graduate Career Services at USC Marshall, “A successful job search begins and ends with successful networking. Networking should be one of the primary job search tools when pursuing a career,” he told MetroMBA.
With the advent of social media, networking is now an everyday part of our lives. Your internet presence is now a huge part of your job search. Brostoff highlights the unique value of maintaining the right kind of web profile: “Networking these days are [sic] both personal, as well as online, so maintaining a professional online appearance is extremely important before, during and after graduation.” Always keep in mind that while social media is a great way to communicate with friends and family, your online accounts are also a way of presenting yourself to potential employers.
The idea of MBA networking strategies may seem mystifying at first but as Terra Saltzman-Baker, the Director of Career Connections at UCSD’s Rady School of Management, assures, the idea is more ingrained within us than it may seem. “Quite simply, it means connecting with people. The more people that know you’re looking for a new job, or are changing your career focus, the more those around you may be able to assist.”
Successful MBA networking strategies are not only about reaching out to employers. An equally important move, and the first step in the process, is to inform those around you about career plans and ambitions. You never know how those in your social circle may be able to connect you to your ideal job. As Saltzman-Baker puts it, “it’s not just about the person you’re talking with, but those in their circle that they may think to connect you to.”
While it is a sensible move to use all of the online tools at your disposal, remember not to rely solely on the online communication that those platforms provide. Networking is all about building real relationships with others. At the heart of networking means valuing the quality of connections over quantity. Furthermore, connecting with others is not about simply finding those who can help you in your job search. Rather, the best networks benefit everyone involved. “Never mistake activity for progress,” says Dr. Janis Moore Campbell, Ph.D., the Director of Graduate Professional Development at Temple’s Fox School of Business.
“The best networking happens when people gather to learn from one another or to help one another,” she continues.
Stephanie Johnson, the Director of MBA/MS Career Services at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business, also stresses that both parties must work together in order for the relationship to have any value. “Remember that networking is a reciprocal relationship, whenever possible, build mutually useful relationships where you aim to give before you expect something in return. In other words: “those who have given also receive.”
Stephanie Johnson, Director, MBA/MS Career Services – Photo via Drexel.edu
Perhaps one of the best MBA networking strategies is that it is never too early to start. The most successful networks are built before an MBA candidate begins their program, and then continue to evolve during and after school. Saltzman-Baker frames it simply: “The key is to start early. Don’t wait until you’re looking to make a change to use this strategy, but instead keep this up on a regular basis—you never know what may happen!”
