Robert H. Smith School of Business - University of Maryland, College Park

Smith School Launches Redesigned Web Site

The Robert H. Smith School of Business has launched a newly designed Web site as part of the schools new visual identity program. The new Web site, which was unveiled to the public on November 10, is designed to enhance the experience of the more than 100,000 people who come to the Smith School Web site each month, from Smith alumni and corporate recruiters to prospective students, current students, faculty, and staff. The new site also reflects the way in which Smith has in recent years, transformed its knowledge and research base, curricula and modes of delivery to meet the demands of a business environment driven by the rapid exchange of information the digital economy.

Information about the Smith School has been organized into key sections on the home page, with departments, offices and individual programs easily accessed from the home page. Users who come to the Smith site to apply, recruit, give, visit or log in to portal areas can do so directly from the top of any page on the site. A consistent theme on the new site is that of connections, illustrated through the use of interconnected circle and lines.

Smith connects students to faculty, theory to practice, entrepreneurs to venture capital, businesses to solutions, and graduates to careers. And Smith connections on three continents influence business and business education all over the world, said Smith School Dean Howard Frank.

Web Site The home page continues to feature news about the school and its community of leaders for the digital economy. Currently, visitors will find information about Smiths new Executive MBA program in Shanghai, the recent visit to Smith by Nobel Prize winner John Nash, and the $2 million National Science Foundation grant awarded to Smith Professor Louiqa Raschid. News items will also be prevalent in other sections of the Web site. Visitors will find redesigned sections for SMITHbusiness, the schools business magazine, Research@Smith, the schools research newsletter, and Smith in the News, which highlights news articles about the school and its experts. For the very latest on upcoming events at Smith, users can access the schools new Dynamic Online Calendar.

New elements of the site include a message and video about the schools tag line, Leaders for the Digital Economy, which was adopted in 2003. The school has also added a section about the schools history, and a profile of Robert H. Smith (Accounting 50), for whom the school was named in 1998. In the new Multimedia Library, visitors can view numerous Smith School videos, including speeches by such business leaders as HP CEO and Smith alumna Carly Fiorina (MBA 80) and interview segments from Smith Business Close-Up, the television program the school produces with Maryland Public Television.

Naturally, a section of the site is devoted to Smith Research, which is shaping best business practices in today's digital economy. After experiencing what may well be the most successful faculty recruiting program of any business school, the schools research productivity has been outstanding. In a search of 30 top business journals from 2002 to 2003, The Business Research Project places Smiths research output at #5 among business schools worldwide. And for three of the past four years, Smiths research productivity has been ranked #7 or better by the Financial Times. The research section of the new Web site enables users to learn about Smith research, connect with the schools cutting edge business and outreach centers, and find books written by Smith faculty members.

We invite you to explore the Smith Schools new Web site and if you haven't done so already, add it to your favorites and visit often. Look for new content every day and use the site as a resource for ideas and techniques that shape business practice in the digital economy.

Wed like to hear what you think of the new site and Smiths new graphic identity. If you have trouble finding anything, please visit the "Help" page. Please contact us at info@rhsmith.umd.edu.