News Roundup – Berkeley MBA on Solving Homelessness, Fuqua Dean on Immigration, and More
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories from this week, including a Berkeley Haas MBA alum approaching the California housing crisis.
Andrew Hening, MBA 17, On Solving Chronic Homelessness – Berkeley Haas Newsroom
Berkeley Haas recently featured an interview with Andrew Hening, an alum of the Evening & Weekend MBA (EWMBA). Hening has worked with great results to to reduce homelessness in the Marin County area of San Francisco.
Hening, who graduated from the EWMBA program in 2017, is the Director of Homeless Planning & Outreach for the city of San Rafael, California. Before receiving his degree at Haas, he considered pursuing a career in law. He returned to his hometown of Richmond, VA after college to take a job as a paralegal, but realized that his passion lay elsewhere.
“I started taking time off to volunteer in the community,” he says. “I’d done a lot with youth and tutoring, but then I participated with a Project Homeless Connect event, which is essentially a resource fair for people living outside. It was my first exposure to homelessness, and it had a huge impact on me.”
Through his involvement with AmeriCorps VISTA, he accepted a job as the Santa Clara County Project Homeless Connect Coordinator in 2010. Hening then moved on to his current position in San Rafael which he has held since 2016. Since he began his tenure, homelessness in Marin County has dropped by 28 percent. Hening credits a “shockingly simple” process of identifying those who are chronically homeless, then providing Section 8 funding for them and hiring capable landlords and property managers who were sensitive to the homeless problem.
Of the wisdom he gleaned from his time at Haas, Hening says, “Being in the EWMBA program was amazing because I was constantly bringing fresh ideas back to the team—so many things that seemed tangential to homelessness but weren’t. For example, from our operations class, I was seeing ways to apply supply chains and turnover to our housing placements and the speed at which people become and resolve their homelessness.”
You can read here for more on Hening, his time at Haas, and his work on the California housing crisis.
Two Michigan Ross Alumni Recognized For Their Outstanding Contributions to the Ross Community – Ross News Blog
Michigan Ross recently honored Mark Petroff, MBA ’98, along with Cathy Bessant, BBA ’82 last month for their achievements in their respective fields. The award ceremony took place during Ross’ annual Reunion weekend.
Petroff, who received the Bert Wertman Alumni Service Award, serves as a mentor to students via the Michigan Ross Alumni-in-Residence program. He is the president and CEO of OneMagnify, a marketing and analytics company, and was formerly a partner in the Financial Advisory Services practice of Deloitte in its automotive industry segment. Petroff was also a general securities principal in Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC, the company’s investment services group.
Cathy Bessant, BBA ’82, received the 2019 David D. Alger Alumni Achievement Award for her accomplishments in FinTech. She is the chief operations and technology officer at Bank of America. She has also been acknowledged as one of American Banker’s “Most Powerful Women in Banking” for the third year in a row.
Bessant received honor on Institutional Investor magazine’s annual Tech 40 list of 2017, along with the OUTstanding LGBT+ Ally Executives in the Financial Times list of 2018. She also appeared on Working Mother magazine’s “50 Most Powerful Working Moms” list of 2017. You can read more on Ross’ alumni honors here.
Smeal Teaching Support Specialists Pave the Way in the Online Classroom – Penn State Smeal News
The Penn State University Smeal College of Business announced the integration of Teaching Support Specialists (TSS) to assist students in its highly regarded Online MBA (OMBA) program.
Janet Duck, faculty director of the OMBA, sought to increase student engagement through employing the mentorship of these specialists. The purpose of the TSS, Duck says, is “to drive engagement in the online classroom, and to inspire learning through contemporary application of content … [Mentors are responsible for] facilitating rich online discussions, providing feedback for students on formative assignments, guiding team projects, and moderating live video sessions.”
The specialists are themselves OMBA grads, so they’re able to impart first hand wisdom on the value of their degree. One specialist, Cheryl Horten, worked in the pharmaceutical industry for fifteen years. She says:
“Having completed Penn State’s iMBA, which is the previous incarnation of the OMBA, I not only have a love for Penn State, but an appreciation and understanding of what it’s like for these students … I empathize with working all day and coming home to do school work, while taking care of your family—this is an opportunity for me to help these students be successful.”
Duck describes online education as a “team sport” that will soon become the norm in today’s increasingly digital environment. The TSS program, she believes, is the start of a trend for MBAs pursuing online or blended degrees. “Ongoing peer-to-peer sharing and identifying professional development needs will be key to growing and evolving a customized student experience,” she says.
You can read here for more on the TSS program.
Dean Bill Boulding Leads Business School Push Explaining How Immigration Benefits Economies – Fuqua Insights
Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business Dean Bill Boulding recently visited the nation’s capital with a strong message. The economic success of the United States, he says, is reliant upon an inclusive and responsible immigration policy.
Boulding is chair of the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), and he made his statement on behalf of fifty business school deans from across the country.
“Economists have long studied the connection between immigration and economic growth. Beyond the academic research, we also have GMAC data showing a significant shift in where students want to study around the world, which is an early indicator of which regions of the world are winning the talent race,” he says.
The statement came in the form of a public letter to U.S. government leaders and published in the Washington D.C. edition of the Wall Street Journal. It also received headline status in The Washington Post, The Hill and on NPR’s Marketplace.
The statement suggested some tangible solutions such as increasing the number of H-1B visas for well educated international workers possessing specialized skills. “A combination of our outdated laws, artificial regional and skills-based caps on immigration, and recent spikes in hostility are closing the door to the high-skilled immigrants our economy needs to thrive,” stated the letter.
You can read more on the GMAC statement here.
The 99 Percent Economy – USC Marshall News
Paul Adler, Professor of Management and Organization at the USC Marshall School of Business, has some strong words about the need for a vast shift in the U.S. economic system.
“We are already over the climate-change cliff,” he says.
“We need to find a way to mobilize a massive, sustained green R&D effort and drive the resulting new technologies into widespread use and abandon many economic assets that are environmentally unsustainable and get us all to change our living habits … and achieve all this in time to avert the collapse of ecological and social systems.”
His book, The 99 Percent Economy: How Democratic Socialism Can Overcome the Crisis of Capitalism, was released by Oxford University Press in October. Adler’s basic argument is that capitalism has brought enormous growth and well being to the U.S., but that the costs are growing more rapidly than the benefits. Climate change, he argues, has pushed our society to a crisis point. One of the most viable solutions, he argues, is a democratic form of socialism.
He suggests a variety of systematic changes for corporate organizations to set the groundwork for a sweeping change in the way the country’s resources, both natural and economic, are allocated.
For more on Adler’s work, read here.
USC Marshall Women are ‘Stronger Together,’ and More – Los Angeles News
Happy Friday! Let’s dig into some of the biggest stories coming out of Los Angeles this morning.
USC Marshall’s’ ATHENA Conference Honors Women Entrepreneurs – USC Marshall News
USC Marshall School of Business’ second annual ATHENA conference, focusing upon women entrepreneurs, kicked off at USC’s Town & Gown with more than 500 guests to celebrate the theme “Stronger Together”.
With such guests as USC’s Interim President Dr. Wanda Austin, GOOP Founder and popular actress Gwyneth Paltrow, and Dr. Sumun Pendakur, Chief Learning Officer of the USC Equity Institutes, the event took place over a day and also featured a pitch competition and panel sessions.
Dr. Austin said, “I want to thank all of you for celebrating women leaders and their entrepreneurial journeys, which as I’m sure you have heard today, are not easy journeys, but they are tremendously rewarding… It’s an uplifting experience to hear from so many smart, talented, bright, innovative, inspiring women, and all of you should count yourselves in that group.”
Willow Bay, USC’s Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism dean, presented Paltrow with an award to honor her accomplishments as an entrepreneur, noting of GOOP, “A newsletter that she hit the ‘send’ button on in 2008 now reaches a reported 8 million people. And it’s really the starter fuel for what has become a significant global lifestyle brand.”
The Female Founders Pitch Competition, open to USC students, faculty, staff or alumni less than five years from graduation, awarded a prize of $10,000 to winner Thea Knobel. Knobel beat out 44 other entrants for her pitch, ‘Cool Cube’.
You can read more about the USC Summit event here.
Chapman University’s Argyros School’s MBA Mentor Participants Celebrate 10th Anniversary – Chapman Argyros News
Chapman University’s Argyros School of Business‘ 10th Annual MBA Mentor Program kicked off at the Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business with a welcome reception that honored 2018’s participants.
The program features 30 graduate students who will be mentored by 34 executives from such organizations as Johnson & Johnson, Disney, Taco Bell, and Experian. Stacey Moynahan, Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Programs and Career Services and Joel Pearson, Assistant Director, Argyros School Career Services are responsible for recruiting mentors and making appropriate matches with students.
Pearson and Moynahan interview participants at the end of each year to make improvements upon the program and to discuss the strengths and challenges involved in each of the mentor and student relationships. October’s welcome reception served as a foundation for students as they embark upon their career journeys with their mentors’ guidance.
You can lear more about the Argyros MBA Mentor Program here.
CSU Fullerton’s Mihaylo College Sales Leadership Center Welcomes New Director – Mihaylo News
The CSUF Mihaylo College Sales Leadership Center, which seeks to assist students in their pursuit of careers in sales leadership roles, recently welcomed Brad Anderson as the center’s new director.
Anderson hopes to develop new initiatives at the Center, including a new minor in sales, as well as expanding its reach with further connections with leaders in sales positions.
A look inside the Cal State Fullerton Sales Leadership Center / Photo via business.fullerton.edu
Discussing his own aptitude for selling, Anderson described how his career evolved when he realized his passion for cultivating relationships.
“I discovered that I had a proficiency for sales and relationships [and interacting with people],” he says. “My first offer came from Carnation Company to sell quality products to local grocers. I developed relationships with store managers and solved problems for them while earning a good living. I also had a flexible schedule and work/life balance.”
He proceeded to spend the majority of his 30 year career with Nestlé Purina Pet Care Company.
The CSLC has proven to be a hub of career development for Mihaylo students, through its sales competitions and events that connect students with numerous opportunities for their careers. “The sponsoring companies see our students shine as they present the scenarios in realistic settings with presentations to buyers. The students compete for scholarships and bragging rights, along with trophies, which are great résumé builders,” Anderson says.
You can read more about the Leadership Center here.
UCLA Hosts Worldwide Alumni, Startups, and More – Los Angeles News
It’s Friday! Let’s dig into the most recent news coming out of the Los Angeles metro from the past week that isn’t about the Lakers or Dodgers.
Worldwide Welcome Weeks – UCLA Anderson
UCLA Anderson celebrates its annual ‘Worldwide Welcome Weeks’ this month with events designed to introduce new alumni to their regional chapters or affinity groups, and engage them with leaders and thinkers in their home cities.
Members gained valuable insight with behind the scenes tours of successful businesses along with more informal meet-ups with fellow graduates.
Here in the states, alumni networks gathered in such cities as San Diego, Irvine, Marina del Rey, Portland, and New York City for events ranging from a tour of Petco stadium to an exploration into the present and future of blockchain technology.
Internationally, students met in Madrid to discuss the future of sustainable strategies in business, and in Sydney and Shanghai for happy hours. Alumni in Vancouver got the chance to give back with a day of service at Quest Food Exchange.
For more on each regional event, including photos, please visit UCLA Anderson’s news page.
Life is a Startup – USC Marshall
Professor Noam Wasserman of the USC Marshall School of Business recently published his book, Life Is a Startup: What Founders Can Teach us About Making Choices and Managing Change, from Stanford University Press.
Wasserman’s previous book, The Founder’s Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup, landed at a number one spot on Amazon’s bestseller list in the management genre. Wasserman also received the Academy of Management’s Impact on Practice award.
Formerly a professor at Harvard Business School, Wasserman has over the course of his career studied founders of startups to discover not only their common characteristics, but also how their personal and creative lives evolved over the course of their careers.
In a recent profile with USC Marshall Wasserman poses the question, “How do we prevent our fear of failure from torpedoing our making life changes? How can we gain knowledge and motivation from our failures rather than having them stop us in our tracks?”
On the flip side are the perils of success. You reach your dream, and then all sorts of challenges are introduced. Your success has actually heightened a bunch of problems for you. Planning ahead for the perils of success is key to being able to have them be true successes.
Life is a Startup is Wasserman’s exploration of how lessons learned during the startup of successful ventures can be applied to life experiences as well, particularly in times of difficulty or change. You can read the rest of the USC Marshall profile of the author and professor here.
24th Annual Economic Forecast – Mihaylo College of Business and Economics
In partnership with the Orange County Business Council (OCBC) and U.S. Bank, the Mihaylo College of Business and Economics‘ Woods Center for Economic Analysis will host its 24th Annual Economic Forecast.
Examining the three-year outlook for Orange County, Southern California, and also the domestic and global economies, the forecast promises to deliver vital information from leading academic and business professionals in the region.
Home prices, the unemployment rate, the general outlook on current economic conditions for business managers will be among the topics of discussion. Opening talks will be given by Provost Emeritus Anil Puri, former dean of Mihaylo College, and Associate Professor of Economics Mira Farka, a former senior economist at Deutsche Bank.
Other speakers include Lucy Dunn, president and CEO of the OCBC and former director of the California Department of Housing and Community Development, and Michael Camuñez, president, CEO and co-founder of strategic consulting firm Monarch Global Strategies LLC.
Register for the event today, which will be held at the Hotel Irvine on Thursday, October 25, 2018.
UCLA Anderson Coming Out Day, Digital Transformation, and More – Los Angeles News
Celebrate your Friday with MetroMBA and get familiar with the biggest Los Angeles business school stories from the previous week.
Out@Anderson Hosts Coming Out Day Anniversary Panel – UCLA Anderson
On Thursday, October 11, 2018, the UCLA Anderson School of Management marked the 30th anniversary of National Coming Out Day with an event featuring a panel discussion by MBA students, who shared their experience of embracing their LGBTQ+ identities both on campus and beyond.
Out@Anderson hosted the event, which took the form of a Fireside Chat. The organization prides itself upon providing a forum for students, faculty, and staff to gather safely to address issues relevant to themselves and their allies.
Coming out stories served as the jumping off point of discussion among the panelists, and a wide range of topics followed. One student, Diana Perez (MBA ’20) spoke of her time on active duty in the Air Force. “Although there has been significant progress on LBTQ+ issues in recent history, [such as the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’] … there’s still work to be done in the fight for equality,” Perez says in a statement released prior to the event.
Another student, Andrew Waldman, (MBA ’20), spoke of the need for vigilance in fighting for equal rights despite the liberal environment of UCLA’s campus and the city of Los Angeles itself. Discussions of revealing one’s identity at work, engagement with allies, and the nuances of LGBTQ+ experiences rounded out the event.
Digital Transformation and the C-Suite – USC Marshall Business Class Podcast
USC Marshall School of Business Professor of Management and Organization Bob Zukis recently spoke on an episode of the school’s podcast about the need for technologists at the highest levels of business.
Noting such factors as the influence of social media upon the U.S. presidential election (and the administration itself), Zukis warned that the necessary regulations and controls of social technology have not yet caught up with the technologies to the degree that they can generate positive outcomes.
USC Marshall School of Business Professor of Management and Organization Bob Zukis / Photo via marshall.usc.edu
If companies are to engage in true digital transformation, Zukis says, C-Suite leaders must be experts in the field.
“Only 14 percent of boardroom directors have any technology training … and even if someone on the board asks the right questions, they have a very low probability of understanding the answers.”
Director Richard Drobnick of USC Marshall’s International Business Education and Research (IBEAR) MBA program conducted the interview with Professor Zukis, which is available here for download.
Graziadio 50th Anniversary Endowed Scholarship – Pepperdine
Celebrating the business school’s 50th anniversary, Pepperdine’s Graziadio Business School revealed its open pledged drive to the “Graziadio 50th Anniversary Endowed Scholarship.”
In honor of our 50th anniversary, we’ve created a special endowed scholarship to support the next generation of Best for the World Leaders. Join us in creating a better future, and make your gift of $50 or more today: https://t.co/szf1HMzItt#Graziadio50 #B4TWL pic.twitter.com/GjaIfkP8Bb
— Pepperdine Graziadio Business School (@GraziadioSchool) October 10, 2018
Click here for more information on the brand new endowment.
USC Marshall Supply Chain, Student Engagement, and More – Los Angeles News
We’ve rounded up the news you need to know from this week out of the Los Angeles metro.
Nick Vyas Builds a State-of-the-Art Global Supply Chain Management Program – News at USC Marshall
“Forty years ago, there were 26 mega-cities worldwide. Now there are 70. The globalization cat is out of the bag. But how do we deliver to everyone?”
This question of delivery maximization here is asked by Nick Vyas, an Assistant Professor at the USC Marshall School of Business, and Director of the school’s Center for Global Supply Chain Management. From his past roles with now-defunct retail giants like Toys ‘R’ Us and the soon-to-be (you know it’s coming) defunct Sears, Vyas has seen a hefty degree of turmoil in the industry. At the same time, however, he has seen modernized giants like Amazon and Alibaba rise to the top, matching the increased demands of consumers.
In a 2017 CIO Review article, Vyas explains, “Big data has certainly changed the supply chain industry. Armed with such information, retailers are able to achieve better revenue positioning because product offers can be instantaneously changed to respond to customer demand shifts.”
USC Marshall caught on to the trends early, organizing the Online Master of Science in Global Supply Chain Management program in 2013. Fast-forward five years, and Vyas is already seeing commendable improvement. ““We are seeing success,” Vyas says in a recent interview. “One hundred percent of the MS students are in internships. We prep them.”
You can read more about Vyas and the USC Marshall Online Master of Science in Global Supply Chain Management program here.
How Can Campuses Foster Student Success? Management Professor Examines Engagement – Mihaylo Business School News
A CSU Fullerton Mihaylo College of Business professor of management recently offered some advice on student engagement as a cornerstone of business education at any level.
Professor Gerard Beenen has sought to guide Mihaylo students, who will find themselves among 40,000 other CSU Fullerton students, in how to connect within increasingly competitive and challenging conditions.
“Large universities like Cal State Fullerton,” Bennen says, “… are facing challenging goals to help students graduate faster … in an era of tighter and tighter state budgets. When students feel connected … they help us achieve these goals. [These] students … are more likely to persist until they graduate. And once they graduate, they’re more likely to give their time and resources to the campus.”
Student clubs, of which Cal State Fullerton has 325, serve as a valuable beginning to form connections. But Beenen points out that a wider focus toward common goals is most beneficial. “When we say, ‘Titans reach higher,’ we appeal to a shared aspiration—a superordinate identity—that all of our student clubs can identify with, along with study groups, friendship networks and other informal campus connections.”
Professor Beenen is a frequent contributor to The Orange County Register. He has also spoke about his views on student engagement in The Leadership Voice, Mihaylo College’s Center for Leadership’s video series.
Bigger Reach, Higher Prices – American Economic Association
Matt Schmitt, UCLA Anderson School of Management Economist and Professor of Strategy recently remarked upon the state of competition within U.S. hospital systems in the U.S. for the American Economic Association.
In 2017, Schmitt observes, the highest number of hospital system mergers in recent history occurred, resulting in higher healthcare prices. This counters the stance of many proponents of consolidation who argue that it reduces competition, thus reducing cost.
Two factors may contribute to higher prices: change in management practices after mergers; and speculation on the part of the acquiring hospital. The latter factor is a motivator of merger for many hospital entities.
Schmitt analyzed 100 mergers between 2000 and 2010, and discovered that costs rose an average of 6 to 7 percent. The price increase impacted insurers, and the cost to patients is difficult to assess.
“In health care … there are several different layers of decision makers, all with potentially competing objectives. [This] research seeks to better understand the economics of these situations and whether policy may have a role to play in improving outcomes,” Schmitt notes.
You can read more about Schmitt’s research discoveries here.
USC Marshall Prof Honored for Entrepreneurship Education
A USC Marshall School of Business professor of clinical entrepreneurship received top honors at a recent ceremony held by the U.S. Association for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) in Philadelphia.
Jill Kickul, head of Marshall’s Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab and professor of Clinical Entrepreneurship, received the honor during the association’s annual awards program. Continue reading…
