Welcome Smith School Students!

This is an especially exciting time for members of the Smith School community. As we begin another academic school year, we would like to take this opportunity to highlight some of the Smith School's most recent success stories and introduce you to new faculty members and students.

Undergraduate

Smith's undergraduate business program was ranked among the nations top business schools by U.S. News & World Report in its America's Best Colleges 2005 report, released Friday, August 20. The Smith School, which is ranked #20 overall, also earned top-20 rankings in six specialty categories: #7 Management Information Systems, #8 Supply Chain Management and Logistics, #12 Entrepreneurship, #13 Management, #15 Production and Operations Management, and #18 Finance.

MBA

One hundred and sixty students representing 22 countries came together in mid-August in the new wing of Van Munching Hall to begin their two-year journey through the top-ranked Smith School MBA program. The weeklong orientation featured keynote speakers, team-building exercises (at UM's Campus Recreation Center's Outdoor Adventure Complex), career planning, and networking events. The students were surprised with Nextel BlackBerry 7510 wireless handheld devices, which Smith is delivering to all of its full-time MBA students for the fall 2004 semester. The objective of the groundbreaking initiative is to encourage Smith School MBAs to explore the potential of always on technology and to teach them how to leverage such technology in the educational experience.

New PhD Students

The Smith School is pleased to announce the addition of 21 new PhD candidates in fall 2004, bringing the total number of students in the doctoral program to 115. This years students come to Smith from the United States as well as India, Turkey, China, Canada, Israel, Brazil, Singapore, and Taiwan.

New Faculty

At the heart of any business school is its faculty, and this year we welcome 12 new professors. At Smith, students have the opportunity to learn from internationally recognized teachers who create and share knowledge that advances business practice and prepares students to succeed in a dynamic, technology-powered marketplace.

Leaders for the Digital Economy

Leaders for the Digital Economy was adopted as the Smith Schools tag line in 2003. It means different things to different people and you have to really take the words apart to have a true understanding of the vision, says Smith School Dean Howard Frank.

This whole world is being transformed, the world of the very near future is a digital world where everything is digital, the processes are digital, the products are digital, the services are provided digitally, and the economy is generated by digital products and services, says Frank.

The "theme" of the Robert H. Smith School of Business is the convergence of a business and technology. "Technology is transforming society, the economy, the way we do business so it must transform the Smith School, it must be reflected in the curriculum and the way we do research and in the way we deliver services, says Frank.