Experiential / Reality-based Learning
SERC Student Project Takes Center Stage at Google Higher Ed Leader Series Conference
Alumni
Alumnus Provides Mentorship and Monthly Commentary As Executive in Residence
From Maryland to Medellín: A Journey of Global Leadership and Experiential Learning
July 28, 2025
William “Bill” Longbrake, DBA ’76, has served as Executive in Residence at Smith since 2009, sharing expertise in finance, risk, housing, and policy while mentoring students, supporting research, and leading numerous national economic and nonprofit efforts.
July 23, 2025
For the Love of the Game
Amiel Sawdaye ’99 turned a childhood love of baseball into a World Series–winning career. Now SVP and assistant GM of the Arizona Diamondbacks, he credits Smith with sparking his passion for sports analytics.
July 01, 2025
Smith MBA Alumnus on Learning at Industry Speed
Marc Russo, MBA ’96, is CEO of Careforth, a company supporting family caregivers. He credits his Smith MBA with shaping his leadership path across top healthcare firms and says team-based learning at Smith prepared him for long-term success.
Krisha Chheda, ’25 MQF, presented a Google-sponsored credit risk project at Google’s Higher Ed Leader Series, highlighting Smith master’s students’ use of AI to analyze banking and fintech practices through the Smith Enterprise Risk Consortium’s experiential learning program.
Three Smith students joined peers from across the Americas at the 2025 CUIBE Global Summer Leadership Summit in Medellín, Colombia, gaining hands-on experience in global consulting, sustainability strategy and cultural exchange through workshops, field research and project-based learning.
July 24, 2025
Smith School DBA Prepares Leaders for Tomorrow's Challenges
Launched in 2023, the Smith School’s part-time Doctor of Business Administration program equips working professionals to lead in a tech-driven world through cross-disciplinary research, specialized coursework, and faculty-guided, practice-focused learning.
Faculty Insights On Latest News
May 30, 2025
Summer Reading List 2025
Get ready for summer with the 22nd Annual Summer Reading List for Business Leaders—featuring Smith School faculty picks on investing, neuroscience, human connection, and more, including a novel inspired by a radio show turned TV series.
Management and Organization
April 24, 2025
“The Future is Not What it Used to Be”
Ambiguity arises when choices must be made despite unclear outcomes, says Professor J. Gerald Suarez. In today’s fast-paced world, discernment, flexibility, and embracing uncertainty—not rigid control—are key to navigating change, complexity, and an unpredictable future.
Marketing
October 04, 2024
Small Businesses Take Big Hit from Apple’s Privacy Regulation
Smith marketing professor Daniel McCarthy's research found that Apple's 2021 App Tracking Transparency (ATT) significantly impacted small direct-to-consumer businesses. ATT caused a 37% drop in ad click-through rates and up to a 60% revenue decline for smaller firms reliant on Facebook ads.
AI for Customer Journeys: A Transformer Approach
Zipei Lu and P.K. Kannan’s forthcoming Journal of Marketing Research study introduces a Transformer-based AI model that accurately predicts digital customer behavior and delivers personalized marketing insights across complex, multi-touchpoint journeys, outperforming traditional methods in both precision and ROI.
Logistics, Business and Public Policy
July 15, 2025
A Way to Minimize the Pension Problem
Public pensions face mounting pressure amid economic uncertainty and legal battles. The Smith School’s T. Leigh Anenson offers a legal framework for reform, advocating “contract minimalism” to balance state budget constraints with fair protections for employee retirement benefits.
Accounting and Information Assurance
Study Shows EPA’s Unintended Effect on Voluntary Climate Disclosures by Public Firms
Public firms disclose significantly less about environmental risks when under EPA scrutiny, new research by Mark Zakota shows. His study highlights how such oversight may undermine SEC climate-transparency efforts—unless firms improve governance or agencies better coordinate enforcement.