Archives
December 2006
Director's Message: Dean's Asia trip strengthens ties
Greetings from Sage Hall, where the students are wrapping up for winter break, preparing for the student treks in January, and just relieved to have some down time. Dean Robert Swieringa, Becky Mitchell, associate dean for alumni affairs and development, and I spent most of November traveling to Asia to meet with alumni. Johnson School alumni gathered in five cities for alumni receptions with the dean. [more]
Save the date for Reunion 2007
June 7-10, 2007
Calling all Johnson School alumni from the classes of 1952, 1957, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, and 2002! This year's program will include a mix of social events, educational programs, tours, and plenty of fun for all-including kids! Highlights include a welcome reception at the home of Associate Dean Joe Thomas, presentations by alumni and faculty, golf tournament, annual barbecue, and the acclaimed Faculty Follies. Mark you calendars now so you don't miss this exciting opportunity to catch up with classmates and friends! More details to come. For questions, please contact alumni@johnson.cornell.edu.
New names for TMO, Boardroom
The Johnson School's one-year MBA and the multi-media videoconferencing Executive MBA known as the Boardroom program will phase in new names in 2007.
The Twelve-Month Option (or TMO) will become the Accelerated MBA. Many shared the belief that "Twelve-Month Option" did not adequately capture the nature of the program, and often confused those not familiar with it. Accelerated MBA was chosen after considering several alternatives and testing options with students, alumni, and recruiters. The new name will be phased in on our Web site and collateral over the next few months. Not only does the Accelerated MBA name imply a shorter time frame than the traditional two-year program, it suggests enrolled students have the ability to complete a traditional program at a faster pace.
The Johnson School and Queen's School of Business have agreed to officially change the name of their joint Executive MBA to The Cornell-Queen's Executive MBA Program. While this program name has been used internally with participants in the program, both schools have used different program names externally for marketing and recruiting. By adopting this name externally for recruiting in all of the program's markets, there will be a more uniform approach that will allow alumni, participants, faculty, and staff in both the United States and Canada to use the same title. Administrators from both schools felt the change was warranted given the strength of the partnership with Queen's plus the growth and attention the program has earned in the U.S. Additionally, participants were confused by the very different names used in Canada and in the U.S.
Integrative Case Competition
The Johnson School's first-year MBA students strutted their academic stuff on Sunday, December 10, at the school's first Integrative Case Competition. Citigroup Foundation sponsors this capstone of the first MBA semester, at which students integrate materials covered in the semester and apply that knowledge to a complex business problem.
Sixty teams comprising the entire first-year class began the competition as part of the required managerial finance course, taught by Roni Michaely, Rudd Family Professor of Management and Professor of Finance, and the core strategy course, taught by Vrinda Kadiyali, Associate Professor of Marketing and Economics, and Justin Johnson, Associate Professor of Economics.
Students received the case at noon on Friday, giving them fewer than 48 hours to prepare for the first round of the competition on Sunday morning. That day, the teams spread out across six classrooms in Sage Hall, where presentations were judged by Johnson School faculty from finance and strategy.
"The time pressure of 48 hours wasn't an issue for us, since we worked together fluidly and divided the work according to each of our strengths, says Clint Stone, MBA '08, a member of the winning team. "The hardest part of the weekend was deciding which aspects of the case to focus on and anticipating the questions we might be asked during our presentation."
After a long morning of presentations, students, faculty, deans, and Citigroup guests gathered in the Dyson Atrium, where six finalist teams were announced. More than 122 packed the seats and lined the walls of classroom B9 in Sage Hall, with an overflow crowd viewing the final presentations by simulcast in B8. Finalists presented for 10 minutes each before six judges from Citigroup, as well as faculty members Michaely and Kadiyali.
Finalists, Citigroup guests and members of the Johnson School community later repaired to the Ramin Parlor for dinner and the announcement of the winning teams. First place and a $3,000 cash prize went to Team #24, Shahnaz Shushtari, Clint Stone, Roberto Tamaso, and Mirek Zak.
"Presenting our analysis in front of Citigroup professionals who had actually worked on the case was my favorite part of the competition," said winning-team member Clint Stone. "There were many other teams worthy of winning the competition, so we feel very fortunate."
Second place and $1,500 went to Team #56, Elizabeth Donohue, Fahim Razzaque, Jaspreet Shahpuri, and Andrew Storey. Third place and $500 went to Team #58, Yashodhan Gokhale, Elizabeth Langlois, Rajesh Manglani, Tushar Virmani, and Janssen Wee.
Dean announces Fried Fellows
The recipients of this year's prestigious Fried Fellowships are Robert Hah, Kalyan Jonnalagadda, Monica Panchmia, David Sims, and Ash Vaidya. The Fried Fellowships were established in 1989 by a generous endowment gift by a distinguished Cornell alumnus, Albert Fried Jr. The fellowships are awarded to five second-year students each year solely on the basis of academic achievement and leadership demonstrated in the first year. The award includes a stipend and requires that the recipient work with a faculty or senior staff member on a project of mutual academic or professional interest. Please join Dean Swieringa in congratulating these outstanding students for their achievements.
Just About Jobs 2007 covers both coasts
One of the most innovative ideas in recruiting has become a tradition at the Johnson School. Just About Jobs provides additional, convenient recruiting resources to employers and students outside the standard MBA recruiting process, literally shrinking the distance between recruiter and candidate. Connecting Johnson School students with select business organizations, this year's JAJ initiative focuses on both New England and West Coast recruiters who have not yet taken advantage of the top-caliber MBA graduates from the Johnson School.
Because of our success on the West Coast, we're expanding this year's Just About Jobs to include two recruiting events: "A Day in the Bay" in San Francisco on March 20, 2007; and "A Day in the Back Bay" in Boston on February 23, 2007. The bottom line: Without leaving their region, recruiters get convenient, face-to-face access to top Ivy League MBA candidates.
Participating in Just About Jobs is a great opportunity for any firm of any size to meet just-in-time hiring needs: Larger firms can hire candidates at no additional cost to their recruiting budget, while smaller and medium sized companies that do not have formal MBA recruiting programs can hire top MBA school talent in a convenient location.
Corporate recruiters receive the resumes of students who are qualified for, and are interested in, a specific job opportunity and then select individuals for interviews both full-time and internship positions.
For more information, contact Kim Alexander, MBA '93, at kka3@cornell.edu or 607 255-4888.
Share your experience at an admissions event
The Office of Admissions and Financial Aid have opportunities for alumni to help out at recruiting events in January 2007. Alumni are clearly some of our best representatives who can share their Johnson School MBA experiences and their current career experiences with event participants. For a listing of the events and to volunteer to assist, please see www.johnson.cornell.edu/alumni/events/summerfall2006signup.xls.
Check back often—more events may be periodically added throughout the season.
Featured alumni
Henry Hirvela, MBA '81, was named chief financial officer of VistaCare in March 2006 with responsibility for both financial operations and information technology. [more]
Gligor "G" Tashkovich, A&S '87, MBA '91, was elected Minister for Foreign Investment by the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia on August 26. [more]
GMU president named to Cardinal's board
Washington Business Journal - November 22, 2006
Alan Merten, the past dean of the Johnson School from 1989 to 1996 and current president of George Mason University, has been elected to the board of directors at Cardinal Financial.
Cornell's Johnson School and SC Johnson Pilot Base of the Pyramid Protocol
SocialFunds.com - November 3, 2006
This Web site picked up the news release about the successful pilot of the Community Cleaning Services business in Kenya, co-created by SC Johnson and local organizations and built using the Base of the Pyramid Protocol? developed in the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise. The news was also covered a variety of other online outlets including CollegeNews.org.
Biz School Housing Bets
Wall Street Journal - November 6, 2006
The Market Beat Blog covered the Stock Pitch Competition held at the school on November 3.
Why You Should Ignore a Stock's Price
Money Magazine - November 20, 2006
Professor Roni Michaely's research on nominal prices of stocks is the focus of this article on why stock prices have remained relatively constant since the Great Depression.
More news hits that feature our faculty, alumni, and students.
Events
View the online alumni events calendar to check out the latest offerings in your area. It's a great way to keep in touch!
