Smith Newslink: Alumni

President Bush Recognizes Robert H. Smith For
Philanthropy Supporting Humanities
President George W. Bush awarded Robert H. Smith, a key benefactor and namesake of the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, with the prestigious National Humanities Medal for 2008 for his philanthropic contributions to the humanities. Smith received his award during a ceremony on Monday at the White House East Room. In total, nine distinguished Americans, one museum, and a philanthropic foundation were honored for their exemplary contributions to the humanities and were recognized for their scholarship, literary works, philanthropy, and preservation efforts.

Smith School Receives Top Ranking from BusinessWeek
The Smith School’s MBA program is one of the best in the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore region and an impressive No. 3 in the United States for research in BusinessWeek’s 2008 survey of “The Best B-schools.” The rankings, which are published every other year, were based on a survey of the graduating class of 2008, a survey of corporate recruiters and a measure of “intellectual capital” – the number of faculty articles published in a list of top 20 academic journals. Smith is ranked in No. 26 in the U.S. and No. 3 in the intellectual capital category. The school has consistently ranked among the nation’s best by BusinessWeek since 1998.

Smith Reassures Students: More on the Financial Crisis
Smith students are understandably concerned about their job prospects in the current economy. Business school faculty and staff worked to understand the evolving situation and help students strategize for successful placement post-graduation.

Entrepreneurship Week at Maryland
November 17 through 21
Various venues on campus
Join students across campus for a university-wide celebration of Global Entrepreneurship Week, led by the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (MTECH), a unit of the A. James Clark School of Engineering, and the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship. The two will jointly offer speakers, programs and activities designed to spark the imagination and fan the spirit of entrepreneurship. The week is co-sponsored by the University of Maryland Network for Entrepreneurs (UM-NET) which facilitates campus collaboration across the units of the university, and the Office of Research Administration and Advancement.

Innovative Product Design and Development
Course 3, Certificate in Innovation Management Program
Friday, Nov. 21, 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
The third course in the Certificate in Innovation Management program focuses on methods that agile companies are using today, including how to accelerate concepts to launch products faster and how to iteratively integrate customer feedback into their development in order to gain a competitive advantage. Join us and learn how to navigate today's increasing design challenges and create great user experiences with your products; how to turn product design into strategic advantage for your company; and best practices in design and manufacturing for quickly getting innovative products to market. Register today.

End of Semester MBA Celebration
Thursday, Dec. 4, 6 - 8 p.m.
BlackFinn Restaurant and Saloon
4901 Fairmont Avenue
Bethesda, MD
Join fellow MBA alumni, current MBA students, and MBA faculty and staff at BlackFinn Restaurant and Saloon for an end of semester celebration, hosted by the Alumni Chapter Board’s MBA Committee. Welcome in the holidays with this great networking opportunity with the Smith MBA community. Enjoy complimentary appetizers, drink specials and raffle prizes. BlackFinn is just a 5-minute walk from the Bethesda Metro Station on the red line. RSVP online by Tuesday, Dec. 2.

November 2008