Two current Robert H. Smith School of Business students and a recent alumnus were among the top winners of the sixth annual University of Maryland $50K Business Plan Competition that wrapped up Friday, April 7, 2006.

Terpedoes Consulting, LLC comprised of part-time students Kennedy Jennifer Kern, Felipe Moreno-Hines, Andrew Sachs, Jeffrey Wells, and Karen Zee won the 2006 Smith School Part-time MBA Case Competition. The final round of the grueling seven-week 39-team competition was held on March 3, 2006 in Van Munching Hall. The final round was judged by Dean Howard Frank, Mark Ordan (COO, The Mills Corporation), and Professor Ken G. Smith (Deans Chaired Professor, Department of Management and Organization, Robert H. Smith School of Business).

For the past 20 years, the Smith School has been honoring and rewarding outstanding faculty members, instructors and PhD students for their teaching excellence. The Smith School community submitted 124 nominations for 58 teachers for the 2005-06 Krowe/Legg Mason Teaching Awards and 10 emerged as winners. (see list below)

Thirty-nine teams of four-to-five part-time MBA students are participating in this year's 2006 Part-time MBA Case Competition. The Grand Prize is $1,000 for each team member. Sixteen teams advanced to the semi-finals, which were held on Friday, February 24, and four teams emerged as finalists.

Robert Isaman '85, vice president, integration at UTC Fire & Security (UTCFS), a division of United Technologies Corporation, addressed a lively audience of Smith School graduates, family members, friends, and Smith faculty and administrators at the Smith School's winter commencement ceremony on Thursday, December 22. Nearly 350 candidates were eligible to attend the graduation ceremony, which was held at the Comcast Center: eight doctoral, 25 executive MBA, 100 MBA/MS, and 210 undergraduate business degrees were awarded.

The University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business is seeking nominations for the schools 2006 Smith Leadership and Excellence Awards. The annual awards, which pay tribute to business leaders and organizations that have made a significant and positive impact in the mid-Atlantic region, will be presented in four categories: Business Excellence, Leaders for the Digital Economy, Leadership Excellence, and Public Excellence.

The part-time MBA program at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business is rated as the No. 7 program in the United States according to the latest Forbes Best Business Schools report. Forbes school rankings are based on return on investment meaning compensation five years after graduation minus tuition. Forbes also places the Smith Schools full-time program among the best in the United States and at No. 29 it is the top ranked business management program for the region.

The Smith School offers congratulations to the 770 undergraduate, 300 MBA/MS, 25 Executive MBA, and 10 PhD new degree holders who graduated on May 22, 2005.  Kevin Plank '96, founder and CEO of Under Armour Performance Apparel, delivered an inspiring keynote address to a packed Comcast Center. "I'm appreciative of the life and business skills that UM taught me," he began. Drawing on his experience as a football player at Maryland and his keen entrepreneurial instinct, Plank recounted his vision and roadmap to "creating the world's greatest football undershirt."

Avaya Inc (NYSE:AV) a leading global provider of business communications software, systems and services, and the University of Marylands Robert H. Smith School of Business today announced an expansion of their research and development relationship with a new virtual community project and the extension of existing work in communications-enabling supply chains and executive mobility into new scenarios and applications.

The part-time MBA program at the Robert H. Smith School of Business is rated as the No. 10 program in the United States according to the latestU.S. News & World Report business school report. The magazines America's Best Graduate Schools 2006 Edition also places the Smith School among the nations best for its full-time MBA program and in several other business specialties, including information systems, supply chain/logistics and entrepreneurship.