Smeal Executive MBA Students Raise THON Funds

A silent auction and other fund-raisers organized by students in Penn State’s Smeal College of Business Executive MBA Program raised more than $5,500 for the fight against pediatric cancer. The money raised will be turned over to the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, an annual event that raises money for The Four Diamonds Fund, a charity fighting childhood cancer at the Penn State Children's Hospital in Hershey, Pa.

PHILADELPHIA (December 18, 2006) – A silent auction and other fund-raisers organized by students in Penn State's Smeal College of Business Executive MBA Program raised more than $5,500 for the fight against pediatric cancer.

The money raised will be turned over to the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, an annual event that raises money for The Four Diamonds Fund, a charity fighting childhood cancer at the Penn State Children's Hospital in Hershey, Pa.

Executive MBA students held the silent auction on Dec. 1 at the ACE Center in Lafayette Hill, Pa., to wrap up two weeks of fund-raising efforts.

"The desire to give back is a vital trait for toda's business leaders,” said Dennis Sheehan, Smeal associate dean of MBA programs. "And these student-organized efforts indicate to me that our Executive MBA students understand that it's necessary in business to be a good corporate citizen and to take the initiative in pushing philanthropic projects."

The students, who continue to work full time while pursuing their Smeal MBA, attend classes every other weekend at the ACE Center. The auction was timed to coincide with an in-session weekend and included items such as Penn State sports memorabilia and a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth.

The students also raised money through "jar wars," a fund-raising activity in which each class year—2007 and 2008—had a jar to fill with donations. On the night of the auction, bragging rights were up for grabs to the class that could bring in the most money.

The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON) is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. Last year, it raised more than $4 million for The Four Diamonds Fund. Over the past 35 years, THON participants have brought in more than $41 million and have helped thousands of children and families battle pediatric cancer. This collective effort, involving over 10,000 students, has become one of Penn State's greatest and most unifying traditions.

The 2007 THON begins Friday, Feb. 17 at the Bryce Jordan Center on Penn State's University Park campus.

About the Penn State Smeal College of Business EMBA
Penn State's Smeal College of Business offers an Executive MBA program using faculty from its University Park campus. Delivered every other weekend over a 21-month period in an executive format, the Smeal Executive MBA is one of only two programs in the Philadelphia area offered by a business school that is ranked among the best in the world by the Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, U.S. News and World Report, the Financial Times, and many others.

The program attracts students throughout the region from Connecticut, south to Virginia and west to Pittsburgh. Designed to help managers and professionals develop as leaders as part of an intimate learning community, the Smeal EMBA includes a yearlong course in leadership communication skills and one-on-one executive coaching. For more about the program, visit www.smeal.psu.edu/execmba.

REPORTERS & EDITORS: For more information, please contact Victoria Fryer in the Smeal College of Business Media Relations Office at 814-863-3798 or mediarelations@smeal.psu.edu.

Penn State's Smeal College of Business offers highly ranked undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, Ph.D., and executive education opportunities to more than 5,500 students at all levels. Featuring academic departments of accounting, finance, management and organization, marketing, risk management, and supply chain and information systems, the college is also home to major research centers such as the Center for Supply Chain Research, the Institute for the Study of Business Markets, the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Center for Global Business Studies, and the Center for the Management of Technological and Organizational Change.