Ryan Patel Returns for Paul Merage Alumni Day, and More – Los Angeles News
Take a look at the latest news coming out of business schools in the Los Angeles metro.
New Accreditation Earned – Mount Saint Mary’s University News
The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), the country’s only organization which provides specialized business accreditation for all degree levels, recently offered accreditation to business programs at Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles.
ACBSP evaluates a variety of factors to determine which programs qualify for accreditation, including leadership, quality of academic programs, faculty credentials, strategic planning, educational support and more. According to ACBSP Chief Accreditation Officer Steve Parscale, “this accreditation is evidence that Mount Saint Mary’s is committed to providing the highest quality of business education for their students.” The Certificate of Accreditation was presented by Parscale at the annual ACBSP Conference 2018 in Kansas City, MO in June.
You can read more about the ACBSP and Mount Saint Mary’s degree programs here.
Merage Alumnus Patel Discusses the Importance of Global Diversity at 2018 Alumni Day – UCI Paul Merage School of Business Newsroom
Ryan Patel, graduate of UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business‘ Fully Employed MBA program, recently returned to his alma mater to serve as keynote speaker for Merage’s annual Alumni Day.
Today a world traveler and global business executive, Patel has worked at major including frozen yogurt chain Pinkberry, where he served as Vice President of Global Development. During his tenure Patel was responsible for the chain’s expansion from 95 locations to 270, across 23 countries. Since his graduation from the Merage FEMBA program in 2008, he has become a frequent contributor on CNN and in 2017 was named as one of nine executives changing the world with their brands by Inc. Magazine.
Patel served as Keynote speaker for Merage’s Alumni Day this year, commenting on the power of influence and the importance of it to a leader. More than 120 guests attended the alumni event, listening to Patel’s commentary on the importance of diversity for building a global team. “Embrace different cultures and integrate shared values for optimal results,” Patel advises students.
Ryan Patel, speaking with at his alma mater, on 2018 Alumni Gathering Day / Photo via Chris Lee
Patel also reflected on his own experiences at UCI and the ways it informed his career path. “Throughout my time at UCI, I was able to interact with so many people from various industries and backgrounds … this created a great foundation for understanding how to work with and manage diverse teams as a future board director and during my tenure as vice president of global development at Pinkberry” he comments.
Read more about Ryan Patel and the UCI Paul Merage School of Business here.
Studios Welcome Entertainment Finance Students – LMU Newsroom
Throughout the most recent academic school year, finance students at the Loyola Marymount University College of Business Administration had the opportunity to benefit from strong ties between their university and the entertainment industry through a series of visits to major film studios.
The idea was developed by Mark Sgriccia, MBA (’08), Vice President of Worldwide Content Operations and Strategy at Lionsgate, who wanted to attract top talent from LMU MBA students for employment at the studio. After pitching his idea to LMU Associate Professor of Finance David Offenberg, Ph.D., the idea grew into planning a number of visits at studios like Universal Pictures, Netflix and Twentieth Century Fox.
Throughout the year, students had the chance to gain valuable insights and advice from top executives and LMU alumni. Patty Saienni (’98), vice president of accounting and financial reporting at Twentieth Century Fox,” commented on the LMU students and their visit to the studio. “I am very impressed!” she said. “Students asked good questions and were motivated. Studio employees were excited to have LMU students visit Twentieth Century Fox and you could clearly see the students were excited to be here.”
Read more about studio visits at LMU here.
Mount Saint Mary’s MBAs Head to China, and More – Los Angeles News
We’ve rounded up some of the top stories coming out of Los Angeles metro area business schools this week.
Business Trip to China – Mount Saint Mary’s Newsroom
MBA students at the Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles recently took a nine-day trip to China as part of their studies in global business. Gannan University, a sister school of Mount Saint Mary’s, recently hosted the students in their third semester in the MBA program.
The trip, which was led by alumna and associate professor Katherine Whitman, included visits to several companies and the opportunity to take a deeper look into the country’s business operations. Students got the chance to go inside the factory of a joint Canadian-Chinese venture in auto transmissions, the research and development labs of a pharmaceutical company and more. And thankfully, even this business trip wasn’t all business- students had the chance for several cultural excursions and a final stop in one of the world’s largest financial centers, Hong Kong.
Read more about the Mount St. Mary’s MBA trip to China and their immersive global business education here.
Why Would a Former Investment Banker Want to Run Los Angeles Schools?– Marketplace.org
Austin Beutner, a former investment banker and past deputy mayor of Los Angeles, has recently been appointed as superintendent for the Los Angeles Unified School district. The second largest school district in the country, the LAUSD currently includes more than 640,000 students in schools across southern California. This week, Beutner was interviewed by Marketplace to discuss his change from business to education, and how this could inform the way he leads the district.
“Schools don’t have a bottom line, but that doesn’t mean you can’t measure and hold accountable,” Beutner said, examining the differences between various environments. “It doesn’t mean you can’t make sure your workforce is well trained and have the tools they need to succeed.” According to Beutner, many of the same skills learned in business are applicable to running a school district, helping provide him with the background necessary to work towards closing the opportunity gap and better serve the needs of the kids. “… part of the challenge is going to be to have to make sure that where we are investing resources today reflects the mission of the organization,” Beutner commented in the interview, “which is to help every child achieve, and reflects the values of the community it serves.”
To read more of Beutner’s interview with Marketplace, click here.
Graduate Students Participate in University’s Inaugural Three Minute Thesis Competition for Cash Prize and Bragging Rights – Chapman University Newsroom
An MBA student at Argyros School of Business Chapman University recently took first prize in the annual Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT), among fourteen other Chapman graduate students across six colleges. The competition, which began ten years ago in Queensland, Australia, has today become an annual competition taking place at more than 200 universities across the globe. The competition forces students to think about their research in a way that can be fun and engaging for audiences outside of their field. Student presentations were judged based on effective communication, visuals, timing and delivery.
Chapman Argyros MBA Rowena Zahn, ’18 / Photo via blogs.chapman.edu
The first place winner was Rowena Zahn (MBA, Food Science ’18), who was awarded with $1,000. Zahn’s research, “Optimization of DNA-based methods to identify elasmobranch species in shark cartilage pills,” attempts to identify the species of shark used in dietary supplements (which often use shark cartilage for its anti-inflammatory effects) in order to identify mislabeled or vulnerable species in the pills.
You can read more about Zahn’s research and the 3MT competition here.
Get Ready for These March MBA Deadlines
Be on top of the MBA application process and submit your graduate school applications in a timely fashion. Getting applications in early can increase your chances of scholarships and other not-to-miss opportunities when applying for your MBA. Here’s your guide to the March MBA deadlines in some of the biggest metros. Continue reading…
