Spring 2013
Dean’s Message – Greg Hanifee, Assistant Dean of Executive Programs
Dear EMBA Alumni,
The spring season at Van Munching Hall is always bustling with activity and numerous events. As you can tell from the abbreviated list below, there are numerous ways to connect with the Smith School and either support the current and prospective EMBA students or simply get engaged and have some fun. We proudly welcomed our newest cohort of 41 executives in January. Many of our EMBA 12s participated in a study abroad and several brave souls weathered the cold and “Financial Restructuring & Strategy” here at Van Munching Hall.
I also want to thank many of you who have participated in both the recent rankings surveys and a survey on developing our brand. I know at times it may seem like we’re inundating you with requests for your opinions and support, but it helps us tremendously and your voice does matter. Speaking of your voice, one of our EMBA alums, Jennifer Reynolds (EMBA10, JReynolds@akonni.com), now sits on the Smith MBA Alumni Board, so please contact Jennifer with ideas, thoughts or suggestions that can help us retain our position as a leading business school. Thank you, Jennifer, for serving our community.
The big news here at Smith is that Dean “Anand” Anandalingam is stepping down as Dean of the Smith School in June. Dean Anand has been one of the visionaries for the creation of our EMBA program, leveraging his previous time at UPenn to help recruit the team from Wharton to launch our world-class program. As many of you know, he taught in many of the early cohorts. The university has a nationwide search underway and we have a few more months to work with him, but if you see him, please join us in wishing him well. To read more about Dean Anand and the search for our next dean, please see the link below.
Cheers,
Greg Hanifee, Assistant Dean
In this issue:
- Introducing EMBA Cohort 13
- Dean Anand Announces Departure
- Smith School in the News
- Smith EMBA Gettysburg Leadership Retreat – May 3 to 4
- Upcoming Events
- Alumni Updates
On Jan. 21 the newest group of Smith Executive MBAs began their 19-month journey. Forty-one students from diverse professional and cultural backgrounds representing government, non-profit, private, public, small and Fortune 500 companies, joined the ranks of future Smith EMBA alumni. To learn more about the cohort statistics, check out their class profile.
If you are interested in networking with any of the current EMBA 12 or 13 students before the spring alumni, current and prospective student happy hour, feel free to reach out to Shelbi Brookshire. Speaking of Shelbi, you may have noticed she is in the photo as she is a student in EMBA 13. Congrats, Shelbi!
Dean Anand Will Step Down in June 2013
The Smith School’s Dean G. “Anand” Anandalingam will step down at
the end of his five-year term on June 30, 2013. He plans to pursue teaching,
research and leadership in the area of social innovation and entrepreneurship
in partnership with institutions worldwide.
Dean Anand already had an impressive academic resume when he came to the Smith School in 2001 after 14 years with the University of Pennsylvania, with numerous publications, awards and honors under his belt. He became dean in 2008 with the goals of strengthening the school’s educational offerings, increasing students’ global competencies, and increasing the school’s intellectual reach.
During the course of his tenure, Dean Anand pursued initiatives to improve the student experience and better connect the school with outside audiences, including business leaders, policymakers and the media. The MBA program was redesigned to incorporate experiential learning through an integrated “Smith Experience.” The undergraduate curriculum was redesigned to significantly reduce class sizes in core courses and incorporate ethics and social responsibility throughout. The Smith School also launched several specialized Master of Science programs in Finance, Supply Chain Management, Information Systems and Marketing Analytics.
Global citizenship was an important initiative for the Smith School. More global learning opportunities were created. Global study courses and international consulting projects were structured to provide relevant and challenging educational experiences, and global issues were woven throughout the curriculum at all levels.
The Smith School also expanded its activities in innovation and entrepreneurship through the Dingman Center. The prestigious Cupid’s Cup Business Competition was expanded to attract national participation. New entrepreneurship activities were started in China in partnership with Peking University and in Israel in partnership with the Technion.
Dean Anand launched new research centers to better connect practitioners and policy makers with Smith thought leadership, including the Center for Social Value Creation, the Center for Financial Policy, the Center for Leadership, Innovation and Change, and the Center for Health Information and Decision Systems. Faculty research continued to be ranked in the top 10. The Smith School was rated as a top-20 business school for media mentions.
Under his leadership and with the support of the Robert H. Smith family, the Office of Career Services was expanded and renovated, and 16 new staff members were hired. The placement statistics for both undergraduate and MBA students reached new heights. The PhD program started to place students as faculty members in places like Harvard, UCLA, Rice, Peking University and ESADE.
Alumni engagement has also increased. The school launched four regional alumni clubs—in New York City, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Beijing, China —to create more networking and engagement opportunities. Working closely with the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, Dean Anand restructured the Board of Advisors to incorporate more diversity of gender, ethnicity and experience. The school surpassed its goal for the University of Maryland’s Great Expectations capital campaign, raising more than $110 million to support scholarships, facilities and faculty recruitment.
These efforts have cemented the school’s place as a top-tier institution. Smith was ranked No. 24 in the 2012 BusinessWeek rankings — which also rated the school as No. 2 in student satisfaction, No. 2 in career services, and No. 2 in teaching, and the EMBA program is ranked as high as #17 in the World by BusinessWeek.
The university launched a nationwide search for Dean Anand’s replacement in December 2012, employing executive search firm Isaacson Miller. I will keep you updated on news of the search process, and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.
Smith School in the News – Set Goals not Resolutions by Rob Sheehan
Set Goals not Resolutions by Rob Sheehan
If it’s time for you to set those once-a-year resolutions that
you know will fade by March, then this article is not for you. But if
you are ready to make a long-term commitment to achieving higher levels
of performance and having more satisfaction in life, then consider getting
serious about goal-setting.
Read more. You can also read Rob’s brief article on the Power of
Goals
online.
Career Coach: An employer’s prescription for sickness in
the workplace by Joyce Russell
The flu season arrived earlier than usual this past fall and it has
been widely reported as one of the worst in a decade. What can employers
do?
Read more.
Save the Date! Smith EMBA Gettysburg Leadership Retreat
May 3 - 4, 2013
This unique, interactive and unforgettable experience combines history
and leadership lessons from the battle of Gettysburg. We will depart
for Gettysburg, Penn., from Gaithersburg, Md., on Friday, May 3, and
return on Saturday, May 4. The two-day program will be led by Gettysburg
and Smith School experts. We will spend Friday on the battlefield, walking
in the footsteps of leaders, and reviewing their leadership and resource
allocation decisions. In the evening, we will hold a reception and networking
event. We wrap things up on Saturday morning with a session on thought
leadership, returning to Shady Grove by 1 p.m.
March 1, 2013 - The Fifth Annual Social Enterprise Symposium:
“Here and Now”
The Center for Social Value Creation at the University of Maryland’s
Robert H. Smith School of Business invites you to its Fifth Annual Social
Enterprise Symposium: “Here and now.” The Symposium explores the role
of business in creating lasting social and environmental change, and
is an event unlike any other at UMD. Visit
www.rhsmith.umd.edu/ses
for more details.
March 8, 2013 – The Smith Business School Summit
Sponsored by the Office of Career Services in cooperation with
MBA student leaders, the Smith School Business Summit provides an opportunity
for the entire Smith School community to engage in compelling discussions
on currents trends and strategies. The event will open with a keynote
address, followed by a series of expert panels including: consulting,
marketing analytics, cybersecurity, healthcare, sustainability, real
estate, finance, and hospitality. Read more at
www.rhsmith.umd.edu/ssbs.
April 5, 2013 - Save the date for Cupid's Cup. For those of you who have attended in the past, you know this entrepreneurial competition sponsored by UMD's Kevin Plank has become quite the signature event. Read more at www.cupidscup.com.
April 15, 2013 – CFP Distinguished Speaker Series. The Center for Financial Policy at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business is pleased to announce a Distinguished Speaker Series featuring a distinguished speech "Shadow banking: issues and regulatory approaches" by Jaime Caruana, General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Register at ter.ps/caruana.
April 26, 2013 – Save the date for Emerging Markets at the Crossroads: Current Challenges and Future Prospects. You'll hear from international experts representing academia, government and business at this exciting day-long event, which investigates the slowing growth of booming emerging markets and the positive role that diaspora communities play – both in the U.S. and in their ancestral countries. This year's Emerging Markets Forum is hosted by the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) and the Center for Financial Policy (CFP). For more information, contact Valerie Mahar.
May 6, 2013 – IMPACT
Hear HR and Organizational Development experts from CSX, the Robert
H. Smith School of Business, ManTech and Isis Associates. Contribute
your own experience and best practices on topics including: leadership
development, a culture of safety, strategic planning, running a corporate
university, and owning the room.
More details and registration can be found online.
Natesh Manikoth (EMBA 2) has joined the FAA as the chief scientist for NAS Software.
Kim Sullivan (EMBA 9) has accepted a new position with the design and consulting company Gensler where she will be co-leading the Workplace Studio.
Margot Nassau (EMBA 11) is departing the Smithsonian Institution after 12 years and will join the production operations and finance department of WGBH in Boston in March.
Karen Reinhardt (EMBA 10) started a new position in January as the director of talent and organizational capability for the newly formed business area, mission systems and training, at Lockheed Martin.
Amadou Cisse (EMBA 12) and his wife Salimata welcomed their daughter, Iman, on Jan. 8.
Randy Mortis (EMBA 10) and his wife Smitha welcomed Aaron Joseph on Feb. 7.
EMBA Alumni Newsletter
Previous editions can be found online.
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We would like to request personal updates to share with all of our EMBA alumni. We would like to highlight your successes! Please send any updates you want to share such as new job or new baby. Email the updates to emba_alumni@rhsmith.umd.edu.