Johnson Board Fellowship Honored in Town-Gown Awards 12/6/2012 1:37:00 PM
MBA students serving non-profit community boards recognized by Cornell President Skorton
Johnson Board Fellowship (JBF), the student-run leadership program through which MBA students serve on non-profit boards, will be honored at Cornell University’s second annual Town-Gown (TOGO) Award ceremony on December 8, 2012. The program is one of five campus-community partnerships that is being recognized by university president David Skorton for outstanding contributions to the relationship between Cornell and the broader Ithaca community. Other honorees include CU-Ithaca City School District Working Group, the Gorge Safety Task Force, Ours & Yours, and TCAT.
The informal event is hosted by Cornell's Office of Community Relations, with support from community and campus partners, and takes place in the Ithaca High School cafeteria, form 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
JBF is an experiential leadership program for MBA students at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. JBF, founded in 2007 and run entirely by Johnson students, places Johnson MBA students on the boards of local non-profit partner organizations, where they serve as visiting directors. In recent years JBF partner organizations have included the Cancer Resource Center of the Finger Lakes, the Food Bank of the Southern Tier, the United Way, the Community Foundation of Tompkins County, the Hangar Theatre, the Kitchen Theatre, the Franscizka Racker Centers, the New Roots Charter School, the Ithaca Community Childcare Center, and the Women’s Opportunity Center.
“Above all other Johnson experiences, the Johnson Board Fellowship is the best way to apply your MBA for the benefit of the Tompkins community,” said Board Fellow Jeff Cloetingh, MBA ’12
JBF, which currently consists of 26 student members, has contributed to the operations of local non-profits in ways ranging from creating and interpreting financial models, to generating marketing plans. Not only do students contribute and apply their MBA training and skills, they also gain knowledge and hone leadership skills, under the guidance of experienced local leaders, said Risa Mish, faculty sponsor of the program, and also senior lecturer of leadership and faculty director of Johnson’s Accelerated MBA program.
“Students have also had the privilege of learning about leadership best practices from the outstanding individuals who lead our partner organizations,” she said. “Many of our JBF alumni have gone on to serve in a volunteer leadership capacity with non-profit organizations after graduating from Johnson.”
