May 2003
Smeal Undergraduates Impact Community
Undergraduate students in Penn State University's Smeal College of Business gain real-world business experience while helping organizations in the surrounding community as part of the Smeal College Community Initiative, a strategic effort launched two years ago by Dean Judy Olian and coordinated by Andrew Bergstein, Instructor of Marketing.
A Business Primer On SARS
A young manager returned from Montreal last week with a typical spring cold and the sniffles, hacking away loudly at his desk. After a few days of persistent coughing, his boss requested gently that he spend a few days at home—his co-workers were worried about his condition and potential contagiousness given his earlier travel to Canada. Later that day he received a call from the corporate physician to check up on him, an act of unusual thoughtfulness he wryly observed to himself.
Kings Contribute $1 Million To New Smeal Building
Penn State alumnus Jeffery L. King (B.S. 1967) and his wife Cynthia have made a $1 million gift toward the construction of the new Smeal College of Business building on the University Park campus. The "Jeffery L. and Cynthia King Marketing Suite" will be named in their honor. Groundbreaking for the building is scheduled for September 2003.
Top International Student Traders Emerge From Inaugural Global Trading Competition
Following the fourth-and-final round on April 26 of the inaugural Global Trading Competition, an online contest sponsored by Financial Trading System (FTS) and Penn State University's Smeal College of Business, the first-, second-, and third-place competitors in the competition have been named. Bradley C. Barnhorst (Penn State U. U.S.), Michael Larkin (U. of Toronto Canada), and Christos Theophilou (U. of Reading U.K.) finished ahead of the field of more than 140 participating undergraduates and graduates representing 42 universities and eight countries from around the world, and will receive $5,000, $1,000, and $500, respectively.
The Expanding Scope Of Business Risk
This past week, Case Western University's business school drew national attention, but not the good kind of attention. The reason was an attack on building occupants by a disgruntled ex-employee. The attack resulted in the death of an MBA student leader, the injury of two others, and a tremendous emotional toll on the school.
Smeal College MBA Team Advances Deep Into MBA Jungle
Four MBA students from Penn State’s Smeal College of Business recently qualified for the final round of eight teams at the MBA Jungle Business Plan Challenge in New York City, an international case competition featuring 100 business schools and 164 individual teams from around the world.
Leading Insurance Scholar Joins Smeal College Faculty
Keith J. Crocker will rejoin Penn State University on July 1 as the William Elliott Chaired Professor of Insurance in the Smeal College of Business, following seven years on the faculty at the University of Michigan Business School.
Smeal College Professor Featured In Prestigious Management Science Lecture Series
Gary L. Lilien, Distinguished Research Professor of Management Science and Research Director of the Institute for the Study of Business Markets (ISBM) in Penn State’s Smeal College of Business, recently presented the 12th Annual E. Leonard Arnoff Memorial Lecture on the Practice of Management Science at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Business Administration.
Financial Times Ranks Penn State Executive Programs Among World's Best
The Smeal College of Business’ Penn State Executive Programs ranked 19th in the world, 13th among U.S. universities, and in the top 5 among U.S. public universities according to the Financial Times ’ 2003 Global Executive Education Rankings. These results build on the program’s overall ranking of 22nd a year ago.
Brokerage Firms' Choice Stocks Perform Below S&P 500 In Smeal Professor's Study
The average returns of stocks recommended by major U.S. brokerage firms over the past decade fall short of the S&P 500 while showing greater volatility than the overall market, according to a recent study by Dr. J. Randall Woolridge of Penn State University’s Smeal College of Business. The study has been accepted for publication by the Journal of Investing.
Counting Dollars From HR Investments
It's déjà vu all over again. With companies experiencing shrinking revenues, they must cut costs. Shutting down their core product or services pipelines is out of the question so they turn elsewhere to remove expenses that have no obvious bearing on performance or revenue. Where do they look? HR of course, to squeeze the people side of the business. Why? Because HR expenditures are considered discretionary, expended only when there's money to burn.
