A New Norm Rising Generation of Women Shifts the Conversation Fulbright Scholar Stephanie Graf ’14 never saw herself as a barrier breaker when she came to the Smith School as an undergraduate student. She has an analytical mind and aptitude for business, so she enrolled as a double major in finance and marketing. “Gender never entered my mind,” she said. “All opportunities were equal.” While Graf understands the importance of talking about diversity, she sees a potential downside when conversations dwell too much on old narratives.

Dean Says Deep Experience Will Give Edge to Incoming Class Incoming Master of Science students will catch the attention of employers as they delve deep into specialized programs at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Dean Alex Triantis told the incoming class during orientation Aug. 18-22, 2014.

Part-time Programs Enroll 45 Percent Women in Fall 2014 WASHINGTON, D.C. (Aug. 25, 2014) — Business schools nationwide have struggled to close the gender enrollment gap, but the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business has found success with new programming options and personalized attention for part-time MBA students in Washington, D.C.

Limitless Resource Unlocking the Potential at the Intersection of Diversity, Risk and Innovation  Hewlett-Packard already had made strides in diversity when Carly Fiorina, MBA ’80, arrived as CEO in 1999. The Silicon Valley giant had progressive policies, feeder pools and employee networking groups in place. With the recruitment of Fiorina, HP also had the first woman leader of a Fortune 20 company.

Orientation leaders at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business know exactly what incoming full-time MBA students need. A committee of returning students led by Jen Long, Smith MBA Association vice president of student affairs, has played a major role in planning and delivering the two-week module that ends Aug. 23, 2014, with a Washington Nationals baseball outing.

A Conversation for Entire Organizations  Switching careers requires careful planning. The challenges multiply when a person tries to jump from the nonprofit sector to business. Becky Eisen, MBA ’12,  faced both scenarios when she came to the Smith School. Before enrolling in the full-time program, she worked as poverty campaign coordinator at the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. Today she is an associate product manager at McCormick & Company, a manufacturer of spices, herbs and flavorings in Hunt Valley, Md.

New scholarships, alliances and program innovations will expand opportunities for women at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, which already offers a range of initiatives designed to empower aspiring female managers.

A Seat at the Table Three Keys to Transformational Leadership  At work Donna Blackman, EMBA ’10, manages a team of 60 finance professionals. At home she manages two children. Navigating the dual roles requires skill, but Blackman does not claim to have a secret recipe for work-life balance. “You cannot have it all,” she said. “Not all the time.”

Hushed Questions Insights from a Shared Cup of Coffee  Brenda Freeman, MBA ’92, arrived at Pepsi as a young professional with marriage and children still in her future. Like many businesswomen, she wondered how these personal decisions would affect her career.

On July 24, 2014, 41 executives from EMBA Cohort 13 graduated from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, in a ceremony attended by more than 300 family, friends and faculty and staff of the Smith School at the university’s Riggs Alumni Center.