Carly Fiorina, named among the most powerful women in business by Fortune and Forbes Magazine, will headline a University of Maryland -Robert H. Smith School of Business conference exploring the transformative role of women in emerging markets. A Smith MBA holder (1980) and former chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co., Fiorina is a keynote speaker for:

Classes kicked off April 12 in Beijing for the Smith School’s new cohort of executive MBA students in China. The Smith School partners with China’s University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) to offer the joint 18-month degree program. The partnership began in 2003 and relaunches this year after a four-year hiatus. The program focuses on executive coaching, entrepreneurship and global perspectives. Greg Hanifee, assistant dean of executive programs at the Smith School, greeted the new class in an opening ceremony during the program’s first course session.

Though it’s been in existence less than a decade, the Smith School’s executive MBA program has quickly gained ground as a top-ranked program in the U.S. With the recent U.S. News & World ranking placing the program at No. 23 in the nation, the Smith EMBA now has secured a top-25 recognition by all the major outlets that rank executive programs – the only program in the Washington region with that achievement.

Though cell phones are usually considered devices that connect people, they may make users less socially minded, finds a recent study from the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business. In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Ajay Abraham talks about new research that examines how using a cell phone impacts behavior.

Estimates are pegging Facebook’s current valuation at $100 billion with its initial public offering coming up this spring. The social media giant will no doubt have the year’s most talked about IPO, but is it a good deal? In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Gerard Hoberg talks about Facebook’s impending initial public offering.

The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business is offering a unique opportunity to go directly into its full-time MBA program in fall 2012. The MBA Direct Admit Program will admit five highly qualified 2012 graduates from the University of Maryland at College Park to the Smith School’s full-time MBA program, enrolling in fall 2012.

You may have heard what your client, boss or co-worker just said. But were you really listening? In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Ken White talks about what it means to actively listen and how mastering this skill can help your career.

The University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business ranks second worldwide in faculty research produced from 2008-2010 in the discipline of supply chain management and logistics.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Gerard Hoberg, associate professor of finance for the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, is available to discuss how the anticipated Facebook IPO will affect the company and discuss the factors that would make Facebook or any IPO a good investment vehicle. The IPO filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission would be followed by Facebook’s initial public offering in about three months.

Where does the housing market go from here? In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Clifford Rossi, executive-in-residence of finance, shares his prognosis for the housing market for the year ahead.