News Roundup – Smeal Rises in Rankings, Graziadio’s Noteworthy Alumni, and More
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories from this week, including some Online MBA rankings updates, and more.
Penn State Online MBA Rises Three Spots to No. 6 in U.S. News‘ Best Online Programs Rankings – Penn State Smeal News
Penn State Smeal’s Online MBA has risen three spots to land at sixth on U.S. News and World Report’s list of Best Online Programs.
This is the fourth year in a row that the degree has landed on U.S. News‘ top ten. With the use of statistical and peer-reputation surveys, the publication ranks schools in five different categories. For Online MBAs, the categories include engagement; student performance; faculty credentials and training; and student services and technologies.
Smeal’s Online MBA for Veterans also ranked fourth among degrees of its kind. “Our many partnerships and resources at Penn State allow us to offer a menu of more than 20 concentration choices that serve an extremely diverse span of interests. This accolade is a testament to our dedication in delivering an excellent program to a student body of exceptionally talented individuals,” says Stacey Dorang Peeler, Penn State Online MBA managing director.
You can read more about the rankings here.
RidersShare Launched Peer-To-Peer Motorcycle Rentals in Los Angeles – UCLA Anderson News
A UCLA Anderson School of Management MBA recently made news with a new vehicle sharing program unlike any other: a ride share for motorcycles.
Gillermo Cornejo, Founder and CEO of RiderShare, started the business with assistance from Anderson’s Venture Accelerator. Cornejo and his teammates were given the opportunity to interview thirty executives from the sharing economy in order to formulate their business plan. The team also received an award from the Pritzker Group Venture Fellows laid the financial groundwork for RiderShare.
Cornejo recalls growing up with a love for motorcycles but was prohibited by the cost of owning and maintaining one. Thus spawned his idea for RiderShare.
The service works by offering free listings to motorcycle owners who wish to rent out their bikes. Through a vetting process, renters and riders qualify to participate. They also must be 21-years or older. Cornejo and his team currently run services in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, and Denver. For more on RiderShare, read here.
Faculty Feature: Yun-Oh Whang – Katz Graduate School of Business News
Professor Yun-Oh Wang of University of Pittsburgh’s Katz School of Business had another title before he began to teaching: serial entrepreneur.
After starting three companies, Whang decided to turn his passion into a full-time teaching position. He is the faculty director of Katz’ MS in Marketing program, in addition to serving as Assistant Clinical Professor of Business Administration at the school.
“Since my practitioner days, I have always been fascinated by marketing because it deals with consumers so directly,” says Whang. “Humans are simply impossible to understand, so it makes it extremely rewarding when marketing clicks with consumers.”
This clever take on marketing as a means to understanding the human condition is part of what makes Whang such a popular professor at Katz.
“I teach Marketing Research and Consumer Behavior,” Whang says, “in addition to a variety of other courses in global, sports, and digital marketing. My classes focus on application. I am a firm believer of ‘learning by doing.’” Whang also hosts companies for student talks, encourages students to participate in contests such as the Adobe Analytics Case Competition, and perhaps most importantly, makes sure they know how to relax. He hosts an end of year dance and karaoke party at the end of each year.
For more on Whang and Katz’ MS in Marketing, read here.
Foster Now Accepts the Executive Assessment for Admissions Into Part-Time MBA Programs – University of Washington Foster School of Business Blog
The University of Washington Foster School of Business has announced that it will accept the Executive Assessment (EA) test as part of the application for all work-compatible MBA degrees.
A new exam administered by GMAC, the EA is designed for working professionals. It measures applicants’ workplace skills with a 90 minute test covering verbal, quantitative, and integrated reasoning skills.
Morgan Sage, Associate Director of the Tech Management MBA program, says, “We are thrilled to provide applicants the additional option of taking the Executive Assessment. With greater emphasis on professional experience, we believe that the EA is positioned to better assess the academic capacity of working professionals.”
Read here for more on the Executive Assessment and applicable program information.
Graziadio Announces the 2020 Notable Alumni – Pepperdine Graziadio News
Each year, Pepperdine Graziadio chooses 44 of the most notable alumni among their worldwide ranks of over 40,000 across the world.
The alumni on this list embody the characteristics that the voting board determines to embody the notion of positive impact upon their industries and communities.
Among this year’s notable alumni are Marissa Andrada, Chief People Officer at Chipotle, who earned the Fully Employed MBA in 1992; Candi Castleberry-Singleton, VP of diversity partnership and strategy engagement at Twitter, (EMBA ’06); Robert Kyncl, (Fully Employed MBA, ’97) Chief Business Officer for YouTube; and Fiona Ma (Executive MBA, 00), who is the state of California’s 34th Treasurer.
Read here for the full list of 2020’s notable alumni.
Friday News – Georgetown Executive Program Earns Top 10 Ranking, UVA Darden Launches Online Career Development Tool, and More
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories from this week, including the Georgetown Executive Education program earning some heady praise from the Financial Times.
Financial Times Ranks Executive Custom Programs #10 in U.S. – Georgetown McDonough School of Business News
Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business has been recognized by the Financial Times as one of the top ten best executive education programs in the country.
On the news, Charles Skuba, Senior Associate Dean for Executive Custom Programs, says, “Our client-centered approach to executive education at Georgetown McDonough ensures every program is tailored to the specific needs of each organization … We’re proud of our ranking and the results we deliver for our loyal and growing number of clients.”
McDonough’s Executive Custom Programs are tailored to the needs of each individual and their organizations. Advisors consult with students to build a curriculum that will best meet their unique goals. Among the areas covered by custom programs are market strategy and non-market strategy, global leadership and operations; corporate responsibility, communications, project management, and finance.
You can learn more about the Georgetown Executive Education Custom programs here.
UVA Darden Launches Summer Program Offering Admitted Students Early Preparation for MBA Recruiting Success – UVA Darden School of Business News
The University of Virginia Darden School of Business has announced the launch of a new tool to assist incoming MBA students in preparing for internships and their future careers.
The program, Career Development WhyFinding, was developed by Darden’s Career Development Center. It features videos, interactive modules, and curated resources that are designed to guide students through the early stages of professional development. One of the main features of CDWhy is its ability to assist in preparation for the rigorous recruiting process.
Inside the UVA Darden Career Development Center / Photo via news.darden.virginia.edu
“Year after year, we hear from Darden students that they wish they had begun preparing for MBA recruiting in the summer before their First Year,” says Jeff McNish of the Career Development Center. “We are thrilled to now offer this service to Darden’s career-driven students so that they can gain a head-start in the competitive MBA recruiting process.”
CDWhy was developed with input from a diverse group of Darden students and alumni. The Career Development Center has planned to implement versions of CDWhy that are tailored to both Executive MBA and Business Analytics students. Learn more about the Center and about CDWhy here.
Tuck Makes Applicant-Friendly Changes for the 2019-2020 Admissions Cycle – Tuck School of Business News
With the goal of streamlining the admissions process, Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business has made some changes to its application process.
The application deadline for round one will be October 1, with decisions released in early December. November 1 is the cutoff for applicant-initiated interviews. Luke Anthony Peña, Executive Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, says:
“We pledge to listen and to be responsive to our applicants. Moving our round one deadline back two weeks provides several additional days for aspiring Tuck students to visit campus and interview before finalizing round one applications … And once again, we are committing to a shorter wait time for decisions.”
In the new application, there will be three 300-word essay questions, and the short answer portion has been omitted. In addition, Tuck has adopted the GMAC’s Common Letter of Recommendation questions. Both the essay and the recommendation questions can be found here.
Another Successful Showcase for the UCLA Anderson Venture Accelerator – UCLA Anderson News
At last month’s UCLA Anderson School of Management Venture Accelerator Showcase, ten companies presented their startups to an audience of venture capitalists and potential investors.
Among the presenters were a skin care company and a ready to drink cocktail, in addition to a product that uses WiFi to charge mobile devices. Created by a father and son team, this product has already received funding. Trish Halamandaris, Director of the Anderson accelerator, says of the showcase, “This year’s companies were further along in their product development, which resulted in some better funding … Much of that success can be attributed to the increased number of Anderson alumni who served as advisors and were instrumental in helping these companies accelerate their growth.”
Members of the 10 teams competing at this year’s UCLA Anderson School of Management Venture Accelerator Showcase / Photo via anderson.ucla.edu
The competitors were U-Defi, an anti-aging skin care product; Indarra, a fast-casual Indian restaurant; Bluprint, a presentation tool; Creative Propulsion Laboratory, a production company for children’s content; VoiceLife, a wireless charging product; Elenita, the ready-to-drink mescal cocktail; and Nutopia, a blockchain service for the film and television industry. You can read more on the competitors and the showcase here.
EMBA Students’ Alabama Road Trip: Reflections on Racial Injustice – Berkeley Haas News
A group of EMBA students from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business traveled to Selma and Montgomery, Alabama over Memorial Day to experience the history of the civil rights movement with the hope of informing their studies and their careers.
The trip held special significance for Lisa Rawlings (EMBA 19) whose grandmother was born in Alabama and moved to Memphis as a teenager. “Putting myself in my grandparents’ shoes, I realized that courage was not always resistance, but sometimes it was simply endurance, which often required unthinkable compromises to their dignity to save their lives and those of their loved ones,” she says of the visit.
Rawlings was joined by her EMBA classmates, touring the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, along with Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. served as pastor. They also crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, where law enforcement and protesters for voting rights had a standoff in 1965.
You can learn more about the Berkeley Haas students’ journey to Alabama here.
