Thursday, June 7, 2012, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, June 10, 2012, 7:30 a.m. Writing Skills for Executives With digital communications, writing skills for executives are more important than ever. How can you be sure you’re staying professional while getting your point across?

In boardrooms, many members are standalone actors. They “listen, make their points and go home,” said Carly Fiorina, MBA ’80. “But the reality is the rest of the world sees the company board as a team with responsibilities.”

Professor Lemma W. Senbet has advice for his students: “I tell them to always do your best, wherever you are and whatever you are doing – you never know who could be watching. One thing leads to another and you may end up someplace very different from where you started. Situations are what you make of them.”

Debra L. Shapiro, the Clarice Smith Professor of Management and Organization at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, has been elected to serve a five-year term on the executive committee of the Academy of Management (AOM), effective August 2012. Shapiro will serve from August 2015-2016 as academy president and the year afterward as immediate past president.

The best way to do this – specifically how to effectively and efficiently sort through and manage enormous amounts of healthcare data to improve quality of care – was the topic of discussion among thought leaders from the Smith School, IBM and the federal government at the second annual IBM Business Analytics Workshop. Smith and IBM co-hosted the daylong event at Van Munching Hall on May 17, 2012.

Facebook's recently disclosed price range for its initial public offering anticipated in mid-May indicates the company’s value as just under $100 billion. This development indicates the Internet giant now is well positioned to grow, said Gerard Hoberg, associate professor of finance for the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Three staff members at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business were honored at the school’s faculty and staff assembly on May 11 as the recipients of the 2012 Staff Excellence Awards. The Staff Excellence Awards were established in 2008 to recognize the critical role that non-academic staff members play in the Smith School's success. In creating the awards, the Smith School strives to single out and personally recognize staff members for their superior performance and significant contributions each year.

Thursday, May 10, 2012, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, May 13, 2012, 7:30 a.m. Today’s Job Market andHow We Are PreparingStudents Taking on the current job market can seem a bit daunting, but with the right preparation candidates can set themselves apart.

“The world belongs to those who show up.” – Pat Cleveland, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies It would be a huge understatement to say that people came to Pat Cleveland’s going away ceremony to acknowledge her accomplishments as associate dean of undergraduate studies at the Robert H. Smith School of Business.

The Journal of Accounting and Public Policy (JAPP), edited by two professors at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, launched a new conference series that will rotate among the London School of Economics (LSE), IE Business School and the Smith School. The first conference was held on May 25, 2012, at the London School of Economics, London, UK. The theme of the first conference was “Accounting and Corporate Governance.”