Professors at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business placed No. 1 in the world for "faculty quality" in The Economist's 2016 full-time MBA rankings, marking the third consecutive year atop the category. Prior to the current run, the school finished No. 2 for faculty quality in 2013. Overall, the Smith School finished No. 47 globally and No. 32 in the United States in the latest rankings, released Oct. 13.

On Oct. 17, 2016, undergraduate students at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business who are in the Hospitality Business Fellows (HBF) program traveled a few miles down the road to visit the headquarters of Chesapeake Hospitality, a nationally-recognized hotel management company.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — The Fitbit-led fitness wearable market has been growing worldwide by more than 65 percent a year, and Apple is looking to gain a piece of the action. It’s been highlighting the fitness functionalities in its forthcoming Series 2 Watch.

The Hospitality Business Fellows (HBF) program at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business was launched on Aug. 29, 2016. The 15 students in Cohort 1 of the program welcomed to their first class five senior executives from Choice Hotels International, who spoke about the wide variety of career opportunities available in the hospitality industry.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Southwest Airlines has long swiped left on online travel agencies. But now a trio of matchmakers is pushing the airline into a forced marriage of sorts in the name of consumer protection.

The Center for Excellence in Service (CES) at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business welcomes Bloomberg, Inc. to the Professional Services Leadership Initiative (PSLI). The PSLI is a unique, cross-sector executive development program designed to prepare high-performing mid-level marketing managers for promotion to executive positions.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Recent headlines signal breakfast has been sizzling.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Walls of yellow lockers have popped up at Shoppers grocery outlets around Maryland, dwarfing the Redbox machines that customers have grown used to seeing near store entrances. The lockers belong to Amazon, which is giving the option of ordering online and then picking up in store.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Rio de Janeiro’s acting governor Francisco Dornelles recently warned that the Rio Olympic Games are headed to a “big failure.” He also called his state’s health care system “c

The 25th Annual Frontiers in Service Conference was held June 23-26, 2016, in beautiful Bergen, Norway, the gateway to the fjords of Norway and the birthplace for the world-renowned composer Edvard Grieg. Founded by Roland Rust, the Frontiers Conference is sponsored annually by the Smith School's Center for Excellence in Service, INFORMS, and the AMA SERVSIG. This year, the host institution was the Norwegian School of Economics.