Finance guru Warren Buffett, the worlds second wealthiest man, met with Smith students on May 22 as part of a trip organized by the school's Finance, Banking and Investment Society, an undergraduate student group. Buffett answered questions from 48 students for several hours at his office in Nebraska. "I've been planning the specific logistics and details of the trip since November 2004," said Shai Dardashti, a senior finance major. "More importantly, however, I've been reading about Warren Buffett since I was 13 and started writing letters to him in 2000."

College Park June 1, 2005 The University of Marylands Robert H. Smith School of Business and TiE-DC, one of Washington's largest business networking organizations, today announced the launch of the TiE-Smith Fellows Program, a 14-week program that will provide area entrepreneurs with mentorship and support. The announcement was made at MAVAs Capital Connection, an annual mid-Atlantic venture association and the regions top venue for bringing entrepreneurs and venture investors together to discover emerging leaders and start-up companies.

A team of four Smith MBAs -- Casey Rentch, Matt Adinolfi, Kamran Shahid, and Mohammed Alam -- took home first place and $4,000 at the Second Annual Inter-MBA Asset Management Competition, held at the the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College. Six student teams from area graduate schools participated in the seven-month competition by managing investment portfolios and issuing final reports on strategy and performance.

Ten members of the Smith chapter of Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) will be going to SIFEs national championship after winning in the Washington, D.C., area regional competition. The competition was held in Crystal City, Va., on April 13, 2005.

The University of Maryland chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) used to have just 15 members. Today, thanks to the efforts of Professors Mary Harms and Steve Vargo, and the 15 carryover members from last year, that number has multiplied 10 fold, and the chapter now boasts 150 active, national members! This dramatic increase, along with an overnight trip to New York City and increased philanthropic efforts, was enough to catch the attention of the national AMA.

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 second annual Joseph M. Wikler Finance Case Competition was held on Friday, April 29, 2005, at the Robert H. Smith School of Business. Six teams of four to five undergraduate students participated in this years competition, chosen from 2004-5 BMGT 440 class teams. This year's winners are Hallie Aaron, Megan Cantor, Emilie Hendershot, Alisa Michnik, and Jack Seng (pictured, left).

On March 11, 2005, a group of industry professionals and full-time and prospective MBA students gathered for a day focused on the growing field of biotechnology. Kicking off the day was keynote speaker, Dr. Wei-Wu He, general partner and co-founder of Emerging Technology Partners LLC. Dr. Hes discussion focused on the importance of biotechnology in improving human life. He focused on a case study of the discovery of insulin as a life changing treatment for patients with diabetes. "Insulin," He said, was a perfect example of the team effort needed for success in biotechnology.

All 330 second-year Smith part-time MBA students joined for the first time at the inaugural Part-time MBA Case Competition's final round on Jan. 17 in College Park. It was a cold and blustery afternoon, but the weather helped set the mood for what was to come analysis of a Harvard Business Review general management case about ice cream!

Smith School Students Impress Judges at Spring 2001 Accenture MBA Case Competition The Accenture MBA Case Competition, the third of four experiential learning modules (ELMs) for Smith School MBAs, took place May 11-16, 2001.