Eighteen months ago, although already armed with a masters degree in chemical engineering from John Hopkins University, Eric Gwin was set on pushing himself to hit the textbooks again. In February 2005, this technical assistant to the president of Constellation Energy Group, Inc., graduated with an Executive Masters of Business Administration (EMBA) from the Robert H. Smith of Business, together with 20 classmates.

Singapore & College Park Md., November 30, 2004 - The University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business and ChinaCast Communication Holdings Limited ("ChinaCast"), a leading provider of e-learning solutions in China, today announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding ("MOU") to deliver education courses and programs to students in the People's Republic of China. ChinaCast continues to expand its lead position in the e-learning business in China and has already helped more than a dozen Chinese universities build nationwide e-learning networks.

The University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business has announced its intent to expand the Smith Executive MBA (EMBA) program in China to include Shanghai beginning in November 2005. The school also custom MBA program for Otis Elevator China, one of the fastest growing multinational corporations in China. The announcements were made in Shanghai, where Smith School Dean Howard Frank is currently participating in an Asian economic development mission led by Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr.

The Smith CIO Forum, held October 8, explored the advantages and challenges of mobility with a full day of discussion and presentations on mobility in the workplace. Going Mobile, Changing the Pace and Place of Business brought together the world-class research of the Smith decision and information technologies faculty with the experience of high-level practitioners to explore issues of security, applications performance, and infrastructure key to the success of a mobile work force.

The Smith School is gearing up for its third Executive MBA class, scheduled to start on March 28, 2004. The deadline for registration was Friday, March 12. Applications for the 18-month, globally focused program are accepted on a rolling basis. About the Smith EMBA The Smith EMBA was established in January 2003 and follows a quicker, more intense track than many area EMBA programs. In an increasingly competitive market, the program has attracted interest from candidates in the mid-Atlantic region, throughout the country, and around the world.

For the past two years eSmith has been evolving into a comprehensive gateway that allows students, faculty, and staff to navigate through a network of public and private information, services, and business functions of the Smith School and the University of Maryland. The internal portal provides a secure infrastructure to present Web-based applications and information to the Smith community, focusing on tools for collaboration, research, and personal productivity.

The Graduate Women In Business Club (GWIB) and the Master's Programs Office recently invited prospective female MBA students to explore the Smith MBA from a woman's perspective. GWIB's first annual open house showcased the dynamic women of Smith's past, present, and future, by joining alumnae, current students, and incoming students.

The campus, the professors, the technology - 40 MBA and undergraduate business students from Australia and Poland are impressed by it all. Coming from 110-degree temperatures in Australia, through heightened security (even shoe checks), 31 students from RMIT University (the former Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) and nine students from the Polish-American Center at the University of Lodz arrived in the United States in January for a two-week academic study program at the Smith School.

For Andy Kim, MBA ’20, the desire to make banking a better experience for Korean speakers runs deep. Kim, vice president and business banking relationship manager at M&T Bank, made the list of the Baltimore Business Journal’s 2020 Leaders in Diversity Award for his efforts in building a Korean-speaking banking team within his branch.

Development banker Evelyn Hartwick, EMBA '10, embraces ambiguity and stretch assignments as a way of life. "People who resist change don't grow," she says. Hartwick knew little of the world outside El Salvador when she arrived in the United States at the start of a civil war that tore apart her country in the 1980s. She was 17, fresh out of high school and alone in a foreign place. "I had $200 in my pocket, and I didn't know any English," she says. "Needless to say, I experienced culture shock when I got to New York to study."