SMITH BRAIN TRUST -- Do not wait for permission to be a leader. J. Gerald Suarez, Smith School Professor of the Practice in Systems Thinking and Design, says individuals can take charge of their future and act as leaders, regardless of their positions within an organization.

Digital piracy has persisted in the past decade. In the music world, the Recording Industry Association of America claims illegal downloads annually drain $12.5 billion and 70,000 jobs from the U.S. economy.

A recent CBC Music report holds up music bands as models of good Tweeting skills, citing Atlanta rapper Waka Flocka Flame as one example with 1.3 million followers. “@wakaFlockabsm has something for everyone,” the report says. “Fun interactions with fans, inspirational quotes and weird hashtags.” Social media has become increasingly important for musicians to engage fans, promote output and subsequently lift record and concert sales — a dynamic analyzed in a recent study from the Smith School.

The University of Maryland has selected Smith School Professor Gilad Chen as a 2014-15 Distinguished Scholar-Teacher. He is one of six professors to receive the honor this year.

China’s fastest-growing luxury auto seller is not from Europe, Japan or the United States. The honor goes to Tata Motors from India. Meanwhile, Shanghai Electric earns its largest revenue outside China from India. Anil K. Gupta, the Michael Dingman Chair in Global Strategy and Entrepreneurship, shows how Indian and Chinese companies are winning in each other’s markets in his new book, “The Silk Road Rediscovered.” “They are whetting their appetite for further global expansion, ensuring that they will have two of the world’s four largest economies by 2025,” Gupta says.

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith, UMD ’10, and 14 other NFL players gathered in Baltimore for offseason training — but not for the gridiron. Instead, they worked on their business skills during a program designed by Smith’s Office of Executive Programs and NFL Player Engagement.

Smith's Faulkender to Reporters: U.S. Companies will Evade New Measures Michael Faulkender, associate professor of finance in the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, says companies will find ways around the Department of the Treasury's new measures to deter U.S.

In keeping with the College of Behavior and Social Sciences’ focus on interdisciplinary research and activity, its partnership with the Robert H. Smith School of Business to launch the Center for the Study of Business Ethics, Regulation and Crime (C-BERC) has generated new ideas and information at the intersection of theory, policy and practice that serves as a resource for business leaders, policymakers and practitioners.

Students at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business take dozens of courses in business, but there is usually ‘that one class’ that stands out as a game changer, making a profound and lasting impact. We asked our students and alumni via Facebook to tell us about their favorite courses at Smith. Here are their top 10 courses: 1. Forensic Accounting/Fraud Aditya Yerramilli ’09 says Forensic Accounting/Fraud from Sandra Rose: “Set me up for my entire professional career.”

The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business is proud to welcome 22 new PhD students this fall. There are 89 total students in Smith's doctoral program, which is ranked No. 11 in the world by Financial Times (2014). Here are some fun facts about this year’s incoming PhD students: