Over 100 professional consultants, students, and alumni gathered at Van Munching Hall in mid-November for the 2011 Consulting Forum, hosted by the MBA Consulting Clubat the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Freshman get a crash course in the art of networking—from MBAs. Networking is an essential skill in the professional’s arsenal, and you can’t get started too early. On Thursday, November 10, the Smith School’s Freshman Fellows learned how to work a room from an unusual source—Smith MBA students. The freshman got a quick presentation on tips and best practices, and then split into small groups to practice networking and present their personal elevator pitch for review.

When Mariya Golotyuk ’10 moved to the United States from Ukraine, she never expected that less than a decade later she would be recognized as the U.S. Army Cadet Command’s Cadet of the Year. Golotyuk, who anticipates graduating with her MBA in 2012, also captured the top spot on the Order of Merit List, which ranks all Army ROTC seniors across the nation.

Smith MBAs Fernanda Lopez, Lacey Nguyen, and Stephen Huie won first prize in the Hitachi Pioneer Employer Curriculum Change Competition and Second Prize in the Hitachi Pioneer Employer Case Competition. The Smith team reached the final round, held at the 2011 Net Impact Conference in Portland, OR, in late October, after passing the first rounds last spring. The competition involved a case competition and curriculum change component, both focusing on the strategic human capital management of low-wage workers at the bottom of the ladder.

College Park, Md. – Oct. 24, 2011 – A college football weekend likely comes to mind when a mid-autumn competition is associated with beer and the likes of UCLA, Texas A&M and the University of Virginia. Teams from these schools and others recently concluded a pressure-packed competition. But it involved neither athletics nor tailgating fans. Instead, MBA students matched their skills as the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business staged its 5th annual Mergers and Acquisitions Competition.

College Park, Md. – September 21, 2011 – The University of Maryland is among the top in the nation for its leading entrepreneurship programs for undergraduate and graduate students, ranking No. 18 and No. 22 respectively by The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine. The Robert H.

The Center for Social Value Creation led the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business to a No. 37 global ranking (No. 28 U.S.) in the Aspen Institute’s 2011-2012 “Beyond Grey Pinstripes” survey of business schools. Schools are recognized for demonstrating significant leadership in integrating social, environmental and ethical issues into their MBA programs.

MBA students got a dose of career guidance at their introduction to Smith’s Office of Career Services (OCS) on Wednesday and Thursday of Full-Time MBA Orientation Week. The OCS is rallying students behind its mission to help them develop as leaders for the organizations where they will ultimately land at the conclusion of their two-year MBA program and the orientation content reflected that goal.

The Comcast Center was full of good cheer as the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business celebrated the commencement of approximately 780 undergrads, 360 MBAs, 19 EMBAs, and seven doctoral students on May 20, 2011.

The 18th Annual William D. Bradford Awards Banquet was held on April 27, 2011 at the Riggs Center, University of Maryland in College Park. The Bradford Banquet is the marquee event of the Black and Hispanic MBA Associations that honors the legacy of one of Smith’s former deans and finance chair - Dr. William Bradford - and celebrates the diversity at Smith.