Friday News Roundup – Harvard Online Expanding and Joshua Harris Giving Back to Wharton
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories from this week, including Harvard Online expanding its program.
Wharton School Receives $10 Million Gift from Josh and Marjorie Harris – Wharton News
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania recently announced a major gift that will strengthen the school’s programming in alternative investments.
The Joshua J. Harris Alternative Investments Program brings students, faculty, and leaders in the industry together to explore the latest advancements in hedge fund management, private equity, investment management, and venture capital. Named for 1986 grad Joshua Harris and his wife, Marjorie, the donation of $10 million will not only enhance the curriculum, but will also enable Wharton to sponsor multiple events on the latest developments in this class of investing.
“The Harris’ extraordinary gift … will significantly expand student opportunities, advance new knowledge, and meaningfully engage the University community, which are key priorities for Penn,” says University President Amy Gutmann.
Josh and Marjorie Harris are also founders of the Wharton Private Equity Professorship, and Josh is a member of Wharton’s Board of Overseers. The couple’s support of the school extends also to endowments for scholarships and Penn athletics. Josh Harris is founder of Apollo Global Management, a worldwide leader in alternative investment. His business ventures have brought him to the world of sports management. Currently, Josh is a majority owner of the nearby Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. He is also a current minority owner of Crystal Palace in the EPL.
Of his involvement at the school, Harris says:
“I know first-hand that Wharton students are creative, entrepreneurial, and eager for new challenges—attributes that the great leaders of the industry possess. I look forward to the Harris Program inspiring our students to pursue transformative opportunities and develop into future leaders of the industry.”
You can read more about the Harris family’s donation here.
The Future of Healthcare Symposium – Pepperdine News
On March 21, 2019, the Pepperdine Graziadio School will host its 5th Annual Future of Healthcare Symposium, which will address the growing presence of artificial intelligence and smart machines in healthcare delivery systems.
Keynote speakers are Jeff Stibel, Ph.D., author, USA Today columnist and Vice Chairperson of Dun & Bradstreet; and Professor Eric Topol, MD, Founder and Director of The Scripps Translational Science Institute and Executive Vice President of The Scripps Research Institute.
Dr. Stibel received an honorary doctorate from Graziadio, and is also the recipient of a brain and behavior fellowship from Brown University. His company, BrainGate, has employed AI to treat neurological disorders. Stibel is also a thought leader on methods of keeping the brain healthy in the digital age.
Dr. Topol’s presentation, Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again, will examine the ways in which smart technology can humanize medical treatments as opposed to distancing patients from their caregivers. He will also explore genomics and digital medicine in the training of medical staff.
Panelists will discuss the ways in which technologies such as AI have enhanced patient experience while improving business models at various organizations.
For more on the symposium, click here, and check out some highlights of last year’s event below.
Harvard Business School Online Announces Two New Courses, Leadership Principles and Global Business – Harvard Newsroom
Harvard Business School online will offer two new courses this spring, expanding choices for those who pursue the degree as they advance their careers.
The new Leadership Principles course aims to give students practice in developing a leadership style, or in honing an existing style for the best workplace outcomes. Students will have the opportunity to interact with their peers via case studies and presentations during this course.
In the Global Business course, professors who are also heads of global organizations will address macroeconomic indicators and the power of effective public policy.
Patrick Mullane, Executive Director of Harvard Business School Online, says of the new offerings:
“We’re pleased to offer these new courses to help leaders better drive their businesses and propel their careers during volatile times … Professors Joshua Margolis and Tony Mayo are extraordinary faculty who will instill confidence and strengthen leadership capabilities for professionals ready to take the next step. Forest Reinhardt is a world-class economist who will equip participants with the tools they need to anticipate and capitalize on global developments.”
Visit Harvard’s online course guide for more info on cost, dates, and program details.
Findings: Should I Extend My Brand? – Tuck News
Kevin Lane Keller, the E.B. Osborn Professor of Marketing at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business recently shared some knowledge on the concept of ‘brand stretching,’ in which companies known for one exceptionally popular product decide to diversify. His research was recently featured on Tuck’s news page.
Levis, for example, once attempted to launch a line of three-piece suits. Which, rather predictably, did not sell. The suit concept was too far a departure for consumers that were accustomed to Levis jeans. The company then launched Levis Cotton Dockers, which (for better or for worse) became such a huge-seller that Levis was able to drop their name from the brand now known simply as “Dockers.”
After the commercial disappointment of Levis’ ill-fated three-piece suit concept, the jean manufacturer learned the hard way that consumers do not typically respond well to major aesthetic departures.
Keller’s theory is that company’s can expand best into new product lines with small incremental steps.
“By introducing a series of closely related but increasingly distant extensions, brands can enter product categories that would have been much more difficult, or perhaps even impossible, to enter directly,” Keller notes. Another example of this is Crayola, which was known at one time for just crayons, but which then expanded ultimately to become the leading brand for kids’ craft-based products of all types.
This kind of brand expansion takes time, Keller cautions, and companies should be wary of expecting success at the outset of any new product venture. He offers three distinct elements for brand stretch success. An expansion must be desirable from a consumer standpoint, differentiated from a competitive standpoint, and deliverable from the company standpoint.
Keller points out the fact that most new products fail, so developer are wise to focus on the ‘differentiation’ part of brand expansion.
Double Victory for MBA Teams at UCLA Energy Competition – Haas Newsroom
Teams from Berkeley Haas School of Business recently earned both first and second place in UCLA’s 6th Annual Challenges in Energy Case Competition on February 8-10, 2019.
The teams were faced with the challenge of how to monetize the state of California’s race toward electric transit, particularly in light of the 2028 Olympic Games coming to Los Angeles. The teams were allowed to be involved at any part of the product supply chain, and they were allowed to model themselves as either new or existing companies.
The LA Cleantech Incubator is collaborating with local government and business, including the electric utility SoCal Edison to surpass the city’s goal by 25 percent for use of electricity for transportation. The first place team, Team Vinculara, proposed a blockchain-based platform that would aid in distributing low carbon fuel standard credits to owners of electric vehicle fleets.
Second place Team Metromile proposed combining Metromile’s (California’s pay per-mile auto insurance program) with a cash advance to encourage use of electric vehicles, while pushing the company to become the preferred provider of auto insurance.
“All the teams worked really hard and we were honored to be chosen as finalists … When the judges announced that both first and second teams went to Haas, I felt especially proud to share the stage with my classmates,” says CiCi Saekow of Team Metromile.
For the full press release, visit Berkeley Haas’ website.
USC Tells the Story of Their Own Hero, and More – Los Angeles News
We’ve rounded up the top news stories coming out of the Los Angeles metro this week.
A Hero MBA – USC Marshall Newsroom
The Marshall School of Business at USC recently celebrated the graduation of the MBA Class of 2018, including Marine Corps Cap. Corban Pierce. Pierce, his MBA now in hand, hopes to use his degree to start a nonprofit that will help children around the world.
“I wanted to find a school that shared my values of entrepreneurship and helping people,” Pierce recalled on his decision to attend Marshall in a recent interview. “I found that spirit at USC.”
Pierce, who has served the country as the executive officer at Reconnaissance Training Company in the Marine Corps. He was attracted to USC for their combination of unrelenting high standards and flexibility. Pursuing the online MBA at Marshall, Pierce was able to continue his work training young Marines at Camp Pendleton, be a father to his five-year-old son, and still earn his degree. He plans to continue his military service after graduation, and is excited to put the skills he learned in the program to work. “It’s not about solving major crises,” Pierce said, commenting on his long-term goal of using business to create lasting change.
“It’s solving small things.”
You can read more about Pierce’s experience with the USC Marshall Online MBA here.
California Gains More Than 39,000 jobs; Unemployment Falls to Record Low – LA Times
A recent LA Times report from the Employment Development Department revealed a boost in the California economy throughout April, despite worries of an economic downturn. In March, the unemployment rate in the state had fallen to a record low of 4.2 percent, but April showed widespread job growth throughout multiple sectors. In the professional and business services sector alone, California witnessed an increase of 8,500 jobs.
“Each month in 2018, it seems that California’s employment boom will end, and each month it continues,” commented former director of the Employment Development Department Michael Bernick. In fact, all metros in Southern California saw an increase in the number of jobs throughout April. With 11,200 added jobs, San Diego County had the highest of any region in the state, and Los Angeles was close behind with an increase of 6,400.
“Good numbers,” said Dave Smith, an economist at the Pepperdine University Graziadio School of Business and Management. “There are no signs of a potential downturn. The potential risk factors are overheating.”
Read more about California job gains and the employment report here.
ABC’s Move to Ax ‘Roseanne’ Reflects Businesses are Often at Front Lines of Culture Wars – U.S.A. Today
UCLA Anderson School of Management Jay Tucker, executive director at the Center for Media, Entertainment & Sports, recently commented on the cancellation of the Roseanne reboot by the ABC network, after its titular star, Roseanne Barr, posted several inflammatory tweets regarding Valerie Jarrett—a former aide under President Barack Obama—in comparison to apes from the ‘Planet of the Apes’ film franchise.
In an interview with USA Today, Tucker remarks, “In an earlier (TV) era, it would have taken half a season to make that decision after much internal analysis.”
“But the network now faces a backlash from other quarters. Many of the comedian’s fans blame the show’s cancellation on political correctness and are threatening a boycott of their own.”
You can read the remainder of the article here.
Your Essential Guide to Pre-MBA Diversity Conferences, Boot Camps, and Forums
Several organizations are focused on helping increase the pipeline of underrepresented demographics—such as women, LGBTQ students, and those from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds—to business school and the larger business world. As part of these efforts, many host MBA diversity conferences, boot camps, and forums providing recruiting and networking opportunities to admitted students headed off to business school in the fall. For eligible participants, these opportunities, designed to provide a head start for students in the MBA recruiting process before they even arrive on campus, are well worth pursuing.
Forté MBA Women’s Leadership Conference
The Forté Foundation, a non-profit consortium of leading companies and top business schools, works specifically to expand opportunities for women in business through a range of financial and educational opportunities. A centerpiece of these efforts is the annual Forté MBA Women’s Leadership Conference, which will take place this year in Atlanta on June 15 and 16. Registration is now open for both current business school students and those slated to start their MBA programs next fall.
The two-day conference provides an opportunity for women pursuing their MBA to connect with hundreds of other like-minded students. Billed as a chance to “learn from highly successful business leaders how to develop stand-out skills and project an authentic leadership style,” it also presents valuable networking opportunities. Highlights of this year’s conference include a meet and greet with Fortune 100 recruiters, more than 150 speakers and presentations from a variety of industries and career paths, and a keynote lecture by USA Today Editor-In-Chief Joanne Lipman. Conference attendees can also take part in the Forté Power Pitch Competition, pitching their ventures to a panel of judges for a chance at cash prizes.
Reaching Out MBA Conference
LGBTQ+ students and their allies should familiarize themselves, if they are not already, with Reaching Out MBA (ROMBA). This organization focuses on educating current and prospective MBA students on LGBTQ-specific issues and connecting current LGBTQ students with each other and with alumni communities.
“The conference connects more than 1,600 members of the LGBTQ MBA student and alumni community with more than 90 companies looking specifically or LGBTQ talent,” ROMBA Executive Director Matt Kidd explains. Registration is now open for this year’s conference, which will take place in Minneapolis on October 4th through 6th.
ROMBA also helps prepare students in advance of the conference. “We want to ensure they are well positioned for their conversations with our corporate partners at the conference and beyond,” Kidd adds. ROMBA also offers pre-admission mentoring, a summer consulting project, and webinars designed to help students gain a full understanding of the industries represented at the conference.
MBA JumpStart
Unlike Forté and ROMBA, which focus on specific student demographic groups, other organizations offer pre-MBA opportunities for students from a range of diverse backgrounds. One such organization, JumpStart Advisory Group (JSAG), provides an array of resources and tools through its ongoing Diversity Forums.
JumpStart will host its Brand Management and Marketing Diversity Forum in Philadelphia on May 20th and 21st and its Financial Services and Consulting Diversity Forum in Chicago from July 10th through 13th. In Chicago, finance will be the focus on Tuesday and Wednesday and consulting on Thursday and Friday, although enrolled students interested in learning about both industries can choose to attend the entire event.
“Selected students from top-tier MBA programs attend industry-specific workshops, are introduced to case studies, and are provided with endless opportunities for networking with corporate partner representatives and other incoming MBA students prior to matriculation,” according to the JumpStart website. Students interested in attending should apply here by May 13.
“Diversity for MBA JumpStart is defined as individuals that are under-represented in business including women, Black, African-American, or of African descent, Hispanic, Latin-American, or of Latin descent, Native American or American Indian, Asian and Pacific Islander,” the website notes.
School-Year Fellowship Opportunities
In addition to pre-MBA conferences and workshops, students from diverse backgrounds can also apply for a range of fellowship opportunities once they have been admitted to a leading MBA program.
The Toigo Foundation, which is focused on the finance industry, aims to prepare under-represented MBA students for leadership roles and help foster environments where diverse students can thrive during and after their MBA. Recipients of the Toigo Fellowship participate in two weekends of intense training during each year of their MBA program. These training sessions include leadership development and mentoring, networking opportunities, and the chance to make lasting connections across a range of financial industries. Applications are due by April 30, and financial awards vary depending on achievement and financial need. “The selection of each year’s class of Toigo Fellows is a fluid process and not limited to a specific number,” notes the Tioga website. “Recently, we have selected as many as 80 students (from our applicant pool of nearly 400) to become Toigo Fellows.”
In addition to the nonprofit organizations listed above, many well-known corporations also offer fellowship programs of their own that include financial assistance, conferences, and bootcamp-style experiences for students of color, LGBTQ students, and students with disabilities.
For example, Bank of America Merrill Lynch offers a $40,000 fellowship toward first-year tuition as well as a paid summer internship and opportunities for additional funding in the second year of business school. Goldman Sachs features a similar MBA fellowship program that provides funding to cover first-year tuition, a guaranteed summer associate salary, and a signing bonus that carries an additional $40,000 award upon acceptance of a post-MBA full-time offer. To learn about even more corporate MBA fellowship opportunities, click here.
Now, we understand completely that the thought of another application process on the heels of applying to business school may seem groan-worthy to many. But for students from diverse backgrounds, exploring the opportunities presented as part of these pre-MBA diversity conferences, boot camps, forums, and fellowship programs can certainly make the additional effort pay off.
This article has been edited and republished with permissions from our sister site, Clear Admit.
How to Get Your Employer to Pay For Your MBA
Earning an MBA holds tons of value in the business world—an advanced business degree can open doors that may otherwise have been closed, and boasts a high return on investment thanks to the top-level salaries that MBAs command.
Graduate school—and all of the coursework that comes with it—can be an intimidating challenge, but paying for it doesn’t have to be. Aside from scholarship, grant and fellowship opportunities at business schools across the country, more and more companies are placing a higher importance on tuition reimbursement programs, and expanding opportunities for paid MBA tuition reimbursement.
How can you get your employer to pay for your MBA studies? Let’s take a closer look.
Getting Your Employer to Pay For Your MBA
First thing’s first: You need to find out if your current employer offers tuition reimbursement to its employees. The terms of reimbursement vary depending on the company, with some corporations not offering any sort of program at all. Those that do offer some sort of compensation may do so on a course-by-course basis, or as a lump-sum reimbursement package for coursework in relevant degree plans.
“Organizations typically support MBA pursuits for two reasons,” J. Todd Rhoad, managing director of Atlanta’s BT Consulting, told USA Today. “Employee development and succession planning. In the first case, companies support the cost of MBA programs as part of their commitment to employee training and development.”
If you want to convince your employer that your education is worth investing in, you’ll need to show that earning an MBA will further your business acumen and understanding of your industry, and ultimately help your company reap those benefits.
“Usually, an employee has to already been delivering great results within the company,” Roderick Lewis, international relations director at the ISCTE Business School, University Institute of Lisbon, told Business Insider.
“If you haven’t already convinced your company, then asking them to [sponsor your education] becomes really difficult,” Lewis says.
USA Today also outlined a few checkboxes to hit when determining how valuable earning an MBA would be for your organization:
- Do current members of middle or upper management hold advanced business degrees?
- Does your company have the available revenue to invest in employee education?
- Would someone with the type of advanced training you seek bring clear advantages to the company?
If those point hold true in your situation, then start researching which programs specialize in providing the skills that your company needs. Keep in mind: You do not have to limit yourself to business schools in your metro thanks to popularity of Online MBA programs. There may have once been a stigma against online programs, but the of the matter fact is that many of the top online MBAs on U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings also rank highly on the publication’s top campus-based graduate business programs list.
Some of these schools include:
- University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill (Kenan-Flagler)
- Indiana University – Bloomington (Kelley)
- Temple University (Fox)
- Arizona State University (Carey)
- University of Florida (Hough)
- Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper)
- University of Texas – Dallas
Once you’ve found the right program, you’ll want to craft a brief proposal for your employer. In it, you’ll want to mention how you fit the company’s tuition reimbursement policy, and list the advantages that continuing your education can bring you and your company. Don’t shy away from providing data on how much assistance you may need and how this investment will pay off for everyone, while also ensuring your employer that you’ll remain committed to the company during your degree program, or won’t jump ship after earning your degree.
“A proposal should address the benefit to the company,” Rhoad says, “(including) areas where the company could improve and how you will help them, a review of the courses to be taken and how they will provide knowledge that can help improve the company’s performance.”
Companies That Provide MBA Tuition Reimbursement
Investopedia recently compiled a list of companies have stated that they place a high value on their tuition assistance benefits, and provide tuition reimbursement for the educational costs of an MBA.
According to Investopedia, consulting companies lead the market in tuition reimbursement programs for MBA courses. These firms also pay the highest salaries for MBA alumni. Deloitte has the most robust tuition reimbursement plan, providing employees with up to $10,000 per year in MBA reimbursements. The firm requires two years of work with the company and a commitment to work for the company after graduation in order to receive the tuition assistance benefit.
Financial institutions and banks also place a high value on employees with MBAs, and provide tuition assistance. One example is Bank of America, which provides employees with annual tuition assistance of up to $5,250 for advanced degree coursework. Wells Fargo also has a track record of paying for MBAs, doling out up to $5,000 annually for tuition expenses.
The booming tech sector is also hiring MBAs left and right, with some firms developing their MBA talent in house by offering to pay MBA tuition expenses. Apple tops the list of tech companies offering tuition assistance, providing reimbursement of up to $5,000 annually. MBA degrees are even more coveted in the the specialty defense technology sector, as Raytheon, one of the top defense technology companies in the world, offering to pay up to 100 percent of employees’ college tuition for graduate school.
Other leading companies offering tuition reimbursement to employees include:
- Chevron: A market leader in the energy sector, Chevron offers offers tuition reimbursement of up to 75 percent for its employees.
Ford: Ford’s education tuition assistance program provides employees with tuition reimbursement of up to $5,000 annually for an MBA. - Procter & Gamble: This firm has one of the leading tuition reimbursement benefits in the consumer goods industry, providing reimbursement for up to 80 percent of educational costs with a limit at $40,000.
- AT&T: This telecom giant provides employees with up to $5,250 annually for tuition assistance, for a maximum reimbursement of up to $25,000 for graduate school courses.
Metro Jobs Report: Career Advice, Goldman Troubles and More
Let’s dig into the latest job news …
Pepperdine University Investment Study Referenced In ‘USA Today’
A new article from USA Today, “How To Get Money For Your Entrepreneurial Dream,” featured a Private Capital Access report (PCA) by Pepperdine University and Dun & Bradstreet. According to the report, the PCA index exists to “measure the demand for, activity, and health of the private capital markets.”
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