The First Smith IBM Day Exposes Students to Consulting, Branding and Opportunity
The inaugural IBM Day at UMD’s Smith School of Business featured class takeovers, coffee chats, and networking. Alumni shared insights on AI, consulting, and martech careers. IBM highlighted SkillsBuild and partnerships, connecting coursework with real-world business and technology applications.
As DOJ Deprioritizes Foreign Lobbying Laws, Study Finds Enforcement Against Paul Manafort Drove Surge in Disclosures
A study in Organization Science by the Smith School’s Reuben Hurst and colleagues finds that Paul Manafort’s 2018 DOJ charges increased FARA compliance by 56%, illustrating “status-amplified deterrence,” where prosecuting prominent figures strengthens industry-wide accountability and transparency.
21 Smith School Professors Named Among Top 2% Scholars Worldwide
Twenty-one Smith School professors were named among the top 2% most cited researchers globally, according to Elsevier’s 2025 study across 22 fields. Representing both current and emeritus faculty, their impactful research advances business knowledge and global academic excellence.
Why ‘Entrepreneurship’ Replaced ‘Economics’ as the ‘E’ in BSE Scholars
The University of Maryland’s Smith School opened the Enterprise Mobility Foundation Career Boutique and Wellness Room, a partnership with BSE Scholars—now “Business, Society and Entrepreneurship.” The boutique, born from a student capstone, exemplifies BSE’s new entrepreneurial, hands-on mission.
Breaking ceilings: Debate training promotes leadership emergence by increasing assertiveness.
To date, little is known about what interventions can help individuals attain leadership roles in organizations. To address this knowledge gap, we integrate insights from the communication and leadership literatures to test debate training as a novel intervention for leadership emergence.
Status-Amplified Deterrence: Paul Manafort’s Prosecution Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act
Social control agents often struggle to deter organizational deviance. We propose a theory of “status-amplified deterrence” wherein enforcement’s deterrent effects are amplified when carried out against high-status organizational actors. First, this enforcement is interpreted as willingness and ability for far-reaching enforcement. Next, amplified deterrence occurs as these episodes become widely known through (1) extensive media coverage and (2) the marketing efforts of third-party compliance advisors. We examine this theory in the context of the U.S.
Smith Students Gain Graduate-Level Edge in Data-Driven Decision Making
University of Maryland professors Dave Waguespack and Evan Starr developed “Making Better Business Decisions with Data,” a course teaching undergraduates causal inference and AI-aided data analysis for strategic decision-making, preparing them for graduate studies, internships, and data-driven careers.
Smith Research Recognized for ‘Potential to Create Positive Societal Changes’
Doctoral student Eunseong Jang at the Smith School developed new statistical models to expand incomplete datasets, giving law enforcement and policymakers tools to fight drug trafficking. His NSF-funded research, guided by Margret Bjarnadottir and S. Raghu Raghavan, earned a $6,000 award for its societal impact.
Ambassador’s Visit Launches Effort to Build a Bridge Between Nigeria and Smith
The Smith School hosted Nigeria’s acting ambassador, Samson Itegboje, to strengthen partnerships benefiting students. Leaders discussed collaboration in AI, healthcare, and business. Nigerian students’ contributions were celebrated, and the visit highlighted opportunities for cultural exchange, research, internships, and global cooperation between institutions.
The ‘Infinite Workday’
The 2025 Work Trend Index highlights the rise of the “infinite workday,” with evening meetings boosting productivity but risking burnout. Smith School’s Nicole Coomber stresses employee agency, recommending agendas, alternatives like meeting-free days, and balance to protect well-being and retention.