SPRING 2007
VOL. 8 NO. 2

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Connections

Give a Scholarship. Give a Future  ◊ Alumni News ◊ 60 seconds with... ◊ Alumni Notes ◊ Honor Roll

Watch video of commencement address

An enthusiastic crowd gathered in Comcast Center on December 21, 2006, to cheer on a brand-new crop of proud Smith School alumni. Richard Schaeffer ’74, chairman of NYMEX Holdings, Inc., and the New York Mercantile Exchange, joined in the congratulations and urged his fellow business school alumni to persevere in the pursuits of their post-graduation goals.

“Like most accounting majors I knew, it was practically pre-ordained that I become an accountant,” Schaeffer told students, recalling when he graduated from the University of Maryland’s business school. But it wasn’t a career that suited him, and Schaeffer spent the next 11 years moving on to a number of different jobs, looking for the one that would click. He was 31 before his first taste of the commodities market. At that moment, said Schaeffer, he knew he had found the arena in which he wanted to work for the rest of his life.

Schaeffer went on to phenomenal success in his late-chosen field. He has served on the NYMEX Board for the past 16 years, and last fall he led its $383.5 million Initial Public Offering—the most successful IPO in the history of the New York Stock Exchange. Today NYMEX is the world’s largest physical commodity futures exchange and the preeminent trading forum for energy and precious metals.

“So if you don’t move right into your dream job, don’t despair. Learn from it, and keep moving forward,” counseled Schaeffer.

Every fall the Smith School pairs up current MBA students with Smith Alumni through the MBA Alumni Mentor program. As a first-year MBA student I am a protégé in the program, and I had the opportunity to meet my mentor, Gene Noble, for the first time at the Alumni Mentor Program Kick-Off Brunch last fall.

Gene has an entrepreneurial background, and immediately started offering me advice on idea generation and funding. We had a wonderful conversation during which we both learned about each others backgrounds and discussed my goals for the future. At the brunch I was able to get to know the other mentors and protégés in my cluster, the Entrepreneurship/Venture Capitalist cluster, as well. Throughout the year, a second-year MBA student, designated the cluster coordinator, will help organize events that allow the whole group to gather for question answering and advice sharing, not to mention a good time.

The program also offers events throughout the year. These events allow all 14 clusters to intermingle, like a recent happy hour that took place in Bethesda. At this event I had the opportunity to catch up with members of my cluster, as well as talk and make contact with mentors in my secondary area of interest, marketing.

I signed up to be a protégé because the program offers the opportunity to receive guidance from experienced professionals that will aid me in navigating graduate school, internships, and ultimately my career. The program provides a pathway to qualified mentors who are excited to be involved and help students in any way they can. It fosters a relationship that would normally be difficult for students to achieve on their own. My experiences in the program have been encouraging thus far and I look forward to taking full advantage of the advice, experience, and wisdom that the alumni mentors bring to the program.

Julia Pulzone ’84, MBA ’93, new president of the Smith School Alumni Chapter Board, says one of the board’s main goals is to increase its visibility and encourage alumni involvement. Pulzone, who has been a member of the Alumni Chapter Board for six years, says their goals are to get out the word that the chapter exists and to create new programs that will bring in more alumni and encourage them to reconnect with the school. “It’s important to identify what programs alumni want,” says Pulzone. “Recently the board assisted with the development of a major survey, the results of which will help us identify programs and events to develop for alumni.”

Pulzone spent 22 years working in senior financial management and is now a managing director at a private equity firm based in Washington, D.C. She also has experience in operating young and growing ventures. Now Pulzone will have the opportunity to apply her experience identifying viable ideas and designing sound business plans to the Smith School’s alumni outreach programs. She is pleased with the enthusiastic participation in the Smith School’s Alumni Mentor Program, and hopes to see more alumni participate in coming years. She also expects to see some interesting new ideas come from the board’s various committees.

“We’d like to give alumni a reason to continue building a relationship with the Smith School after graduation,” says Pulzone.

The Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) has a created a scholarship program to encourage freight transportation-related management development and has selected the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business as a recipient of the first year’s award.

The 2007 scholarship program will be made possible by a $30,000 gift from IANA to the Smith School. The scholarships will benefit undergraduate students in the Smith School’s Logistics, Transportation and Supply Chain Management (LTSCM) Fellows Program, which is set to launch in 2007 and includes exposure to the intermodal industry through field trips, participation in trade shows, presentations, speakers and internships.

The announcement marks the start of an effort by IANA to help increase understanding of intermodal transportation and its key role in strengthening the global economy via initiatives that support management development within the industry. The Smith School was selected as a recipient because its top-ranked logistics and supply chain management program has a strong focus on intermodalism. Michael Wilson, chairman of IANA, presented the gift to Elizabeth Mitchell, director of development at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School, during the Intermodal Expo in Fort Lauderdale.

“This program is an important step to assure that talented students who are enrolled in transportation-related programs receive substantial assistance in reaching their educational goals,” Wilson said. “The announcement of this program begins a long-term effort to support excellent, market-oriented academic programs.”

Job Opportunities
SOURCE (Smith Online Users Resource for Career Employment) is the Smith School’s online job posting system, used by employers, students and alumni to facilitate the recruiting of talented candidates. In 2005, Smith implemented a system that enables employers to post positions for alumni, and alumni to find and apply for those positions. We also provide links to other job boards since job seekers should be using multiple vehicles to search for employment opportunities.

Career Development Resources
The Smith Office of Career Management (OCM) partners with Lee Hecht Harrison to provide career development resources to Smith alumni. Lee Hecht Harrison’s CareerTools, a comprehensive online resource for job search and career management, offers a 10-step milestone process for career management, downloadable career planning tools, research guides, job postings, networking opportunities, and more. For a discounted fee, alumni can purchase additional services through the CareerTools Web site, including cover letter and resume critiques and individual career coaching.

Networking
Networking opportunities are everywhere at Smith. The school holds presentations, receptions, workshops, forums and a host of other events. Attend Smith events to build relationships, share information or develop contacts. If you want to network to hire Smith alumni or students, we can facilitate that too. In addition to the many events profiled on the Smith web site, SOURCE and CareerTools list non-Smith events.

Company and Industry Research
In addition to the information available through the CareerTools Web site, Smith provides access to two online research guides, Vault and WetFeet. These sites provide career guides and articles on companies, industries, and career development topics. Sample companies include Booz Allen Hamilton, General Mills, McKinsey & Company, and Proctor and Gamble. Industry guides range from accounting to venture capital, while career development topic guides offer information on cover letters, interviewing, negotiating, resumes, and more.

Access these resources at www.rhsmith.umd.edu/career/alumni.  Please feel free to contact Dana Monroig in the Smith Office of Career Management with questions about alumni career resources at 301-405-9978.