Semi-Retired Fowler College Professor Honored With Scholarship
Faculty can’t just walk away Fowler College of Business at San Diego State University. The school’s got a hold on them. At least that was the case for Finance Professor Mehdi Salehizadeh.
The professor retired in May 2017 after 37 years at the school, a press release reads, but he’ll actually be around campus this year, too. Salehizadeh agreed to stay with a school just a little bit longer while Fowler finds a replacement for The Corky McMillin Center for Real Estate. So for now, he’ll be its interim director until a full-time director is hired.
Given the semi-retired professor’s commitment to the business school, it’s now honoring him with a scholarship in Salehizadeh’s name with the Mehdi Salehizadeh Legacy Endowed Scholarship. The hope is that the scholarship would be $4,000 given to two students or $2,000 to four students every year. But the school must raise the money first. Ideally, $100,000 to be matched by the school, said Scott Brusseau, chair of the center’s advisory board.
Salehizadeh knew what kind of student to whom he wanted to gift such a scholarship. Here are the basics. The student’s got to be a junior who’s majoring in finance or real estate. This student must have a minimum 3.0 GPA. And, obviously, this person’s must be enrolled with the Fowler College of Business. There’s even the potential for the scholarship to give priority to first-generation college students who face obstacles different than their peers whose parents have attended college.
Center Coordinator Melissa Abeyta thought up the scholarship in conversation with Brusseau. She knew she wanted to honor the professor’s legacy with Fowler but wasn’t quite sure how.
“The scholarship was a great way to thank him for all he’s given to SDSU, for sustaining The Corky McMillin Center for Real Estate and his leadership within the Fowler College of Business,” Abeyta said.
The first scholarships were given out for this school year, 2017-18
Rady Makes ‘Top 50 Best Value Big Data Graduate Programs’ List
Are you into big data? How about vivid sunsets? The Rady School of Management at the University of California at San Diego might be right for you, then. The school ranked 11th in the United States for Value Colleges‘ “Top 50 Best Value Big Data Graduate Programs” list.
The honor goes to Rady’s Master of Science in Business Analytics degree, in particular. Its first class graduated this year, so this ranking is also the program’s first, according to a press release. If you’re set on San Diego and data, Rady offers the only business analytics degree in the city.
Value Colleges writes:
Another of California’s Public Ivies, UC San Diego is a globally-respected research university with over $1 billion in research budget and faculty who have won every major academic award out there. Their computer science, engineering, and business graduate programs are recognized world-wide, as is their value. UCSD’s Rady School of Management offers a Master of Science in Business Analytics degree that focuses on data collection, analysis, and use for businesses of all kinds. Rady’s connections to the business world of San Diego can also be a major asset for graduates entering the job market.
Data experts are all the rage these days. Every successful business needs someone crunching the numbers and figuring out how to effectively communicate any patterns and outcomes. If trends continue, the numbers look bright: businesses will need 1.5 million more managers and business analytics by 2018, according to Rady reports.
Value Colleges says that big data is “the fastest growing job market you’ve never heard of.” It was sure to rank based on how the program balances technical computer skills, business and marketing knowledge, and statistical analysis. And of course, also on affordability and job marketability.
The universities included must be regionally accredited institutions with “proven reputations.” That’s UC San Diego, for ya’.
San Diego Fowler College Alumni Join School as new Faculty
Three former students at the Fowler College of Business at San Diego State University have officially joined the business school as new professors.
Dr. Aaron Elkins (’03), Dr. Valerie Alexandra (’98), and Dr. Robert Briggs (’86) are returning to their alma mater to continue the school’s legacy, according to a recent press release. The three sat on the podium during their respective graduation ceremonies, receiving honors as top management information systems (MIS) undergraduates.
Their former professors played a major role in shaping them as professionals, and now as professors. Alexandra and Elkins will now be teaching alongside some of their most influential educators, Dr. Theo Addo and Dr. Bruce Reinig, respectively.
Briggs decided to return to the university as a professor because the university’s hard work toward becoming a leader inspired him. Briggs not only holds his MIS degree; he’s also an MBA graduate and art history buff. That was another one of his undergraduate degrees.
“When I was a student here in the ‘80s, SDSU was a regional commuter campus committed to excellent teaching,” Briggs said in the press release. “Now, SDSU also conducts nearly one-third of the grand-funded research for the entire CSU system and aspires to contribute even more. I wanted to be a part of that. I came back to help build research programs based on real-world issues that actually make a difference in the lives of real people.”
Alexandra, on the other hand, wants to give back to the community in the same way it gave to her—by teaching management. “When I joined SDSU as a student, I felt that I became a part of a diverse, thriving, creative, and caring community. The professors I met in my undergraduate program have been incredible mentors and instrumental in my academic and professional careers,” she said. “I came back to SDSU as a professor so that I could personally contribute on an everyday basis to the growth and development of our wonderful community.”
As for Elkins, he “came back for the people.”
Getting an MBA in San Diego Without The Full-Time Commitment
Despite the obvious return on investment, not everyone has two to three years to devote to earning their MBA. Pursuing an accelerated MBA may be a wise choice for students unfazed by a rigorous workload. An accelerated MBA provides is an attractive alternative to longer programs. Fast-tracking your degree will cut both costs and time, and allow you to propel your career forward as quickly as possible.
For those hoping to bring a comprehensive knowledge of business fundamentals to their industry without the daunting time commitment, we’ve laid out a couple of the best San Diego accelerated MBA programs.
Fermanian School of Business – Point Loma Nazarene University
The Fermanian School of Business at Point Loma Nazarene University offers a One-Year MBA for students looking to obtain their degree with efficiency. The daytime One-Year MBA halves the time of the Evening MBA, which takes 24-28 months to complete. This track requires students to earn 42 credits, as well as participating in a Field Experience. The Field Experience thrusts students into an business environment, wherein they have the opportunity apply their classroom knowledge to hands-on company work. This program is designed for recent graduates. In addition to taking the One-Year MBA, students who can commit more time to the program have the flexibility to take on more courses and obtain their degree more quickly.
This program helps promote the university’s core Christian values, specifically geared toward students aspiring to use their education to actively better their community. Fermanian integrates the what they believe are the core categories of career success into their curriculum: business knowledge, hands-on experience, purpose and networking. Even the school’s concentration options demonstrate their commitment to developing upstanding leaders. Students can pursue a concentration in Healthcare, Sustainability, Organizational Leadership, or Not-for-Profit. Another distinguishing facet of this program is its unique elective options. Fermanian even offers a gold class to help students with networking.
Alliant School of Management – Alliant International University
The Accelerated MBA at Alliant School of Management is offered to students that meet specific requirements. Only Alliant undergrads qualify for this track, and they must be pursuing either a B.S. in Business Administration or a B.S. in Political Science. They must also maintain a GPA above 2.75. Though the number of students who meet these specifications is limited, those who are eligible for this track can complete their MBA in as few as two semesters.
The program entails the following bridge courses students can take during their senior year: Organizational Behavior and Global Leadership, Statistical Analysis and Modeling for Business, Strategic Management and International Marketing Management. In order to transfer these courses into the MBA program, students must obtain a B or higher in each one. Since students in this program take MBA courses while they are still undergrads, they will have completed for of their required fore classes by the time they officially enter the MBA program.
Alliant is particularly supportive of veterans. The school has made the “Military-Friendly Schools” list in GI Jobs magazine three times, and has been on the Military Times EDGE magazine’s “Best for Vets Colleges” list twice.
5 New Faculty Join Rady for Coming School Year
School’s almost back for the season. That means that campuses will be teeming with new students—and even new faculty. The Rady School of Management at the UC San Diego has added five new professors this school year, according to a recent press release.
The new additions are Jeremy Bertomeu, Associate Professor of Accounting; Edwige Cheynel, Assistant Professor of Accounting; Uma Karmarkar, Assistant Professor of Marketing and ITO; Michael Meyer, Assistant Teaching Professor of ITO; and William Mullins, Assistant Professor of Finance.
“These new faculty bring exceptional credentials to our school and join a team of Rady School faculty who are internationally recognized for the quality of their research,” Dean Robert S. Sullivan said in the press release.
And the dean is right: The school already boasts faculty members who are experts in their field, including ones who have taught at New York University and the UCLA Anderson School of Management, among many others. Some professors like Wendy Liu have even had their work published in nationally lauded journals like Journal of Consumer Research and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, as well as media publications like Time Magazine.
These three professors joining the faculty in the fall bring expertise from varying fields: accounting, finance, innovation, marketing, and technology and operations. They also have built some impressive resumes from their previous employers. Bertomeu has taught at Baruch College in New York. Cheynel was previously with the Columbia Business School. Karmarkar was teaching at the Harvard Business School, and Mullins is heading to San Diego from the Sloan School of Management at MIT.
These faculty will teach in all different programs within the Rady School including the MBA, Master of Finance, and Master of Science in Business Analytics programs. The school has been slowly growing its faculty numbers to accommodate the launch of its Master of Finance and Master of Science in Business Analytics degree programs. In the past two years, the faculty has grown by 12 people.
$4M Legacy Gift Made to Support Rady School Students
A $4 million legacy gift from Nobel laureate and adjunct professor Harry Markowitz and his wife Barbara will establish an Endowed Fellowship to support UC San Diego Rady School of Management students. Through the newly developed Markowitz Fellows Program, the Rady School hopes to attract and support outstanding students in mathematics, finance, and operations research.
In a recent press release, UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla said, “In the past five decades, UC San Diego has been privileged to have 16 Nobel laureates, including Harry Markowitz, teach our students. Now we thank this outstanding professor and his wife for committing to generously endow approximately $4 million as a legacy gift to ensure support of Rady School students for generations to come.”
Harry Markowitz has been a professor at the Rady School since its early days. In 2016, in honor of his long service, the Dr. Harry M. Markowitz Endowed Chair in Finance and Investing was established. Nearly 90-years-old now, he still teaches portfolio theory, conducts research, consults with clients, and writes textbooks including Risk-Return Analysis: The Theory and Practice of Rational Investing.
Throughout his career, Markowitz has been the recipient of many prestigious awards and medals, some of which he will also donate to the Rady School. The Rady School will receive Markowitz’s 1990 medal from the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, as well as his 2013 Wharton-Jacobs Levy Prize. These and his other medals and gifts are all contributions to the Campaign for UC San Diego.
“We are indeed fortunate to not only have one of the world’s most renowned financial economists on our faculty, but also to be able to call Harry Markowitz a friend,” said Rady School of Management Dean Robert S. Sullivan. “His continued quest for knowledge and impact is an inspiration to all.”
The $4 million gift from the 1990 Nobel Prize in Economics winner is part of the $2 billion comprehensive fundraising effort titled The Campaign for UC San Diego, which seeks to transform the student experience and campus.
