12th Annual Minority Banquet Awards

When an 80-foot tall tsunami hit the coastal area of Sumatra in South East Asia, the impact was felt all the way across the ocean to Maryland, USA. Manjula Dissanayake a senior business major here at the Robert H. Smith School of Business and a native of Sri Lanka lost several relatives.

Do you know someone who is puzzled by tax laws or unsure about which credits and deductions they can take? Free tax help is available to certain individuals through the Campus Tax Clinic 2005 (CTC '05) hosted by the Smith School and a team of MBA students. Trained and certified community volunteer tax assistors will provide help with basic income tax returns to families earning less than $35,000 per year in Van Munching Hall on April 9th and 10th. Help us spread the word about this unique service!

On March 11, 2005, a group of industry professionals and full-time and prospective MBA students gathered for a day focused on the growing field of biotechnology. Kicking off the day was keynote speaker, Dr. Wei-Wu He, general partner and co-founder of Emerging Technology Partners LLC. Dr. Hes discussion focused on the importance of biotechnology in improving human life. He focused on a case study of the discovery of insulin as a life changing treatment for patients with diabetes. "Insulin," He said, was a perfect example of the team effort needed for success in biotechnology.

On March 4th, 2005, the Smith Association of Women MBAs hosted their marquee event: the Women's Leadership Conference (WLF) at the Robert H. Smith School of Business. Sponsored by Bank of America, the days activities included a keynote speech by Cynthia Flanders 82, MBA 88, Middle Market Banking Executive for the Mid-Atlantic region of Bank of America, and three panels touching on consulting, finance and non-traditional careers. The day concluded with a special topic seminar on "Negotiation for Women," taught by Dr. Joyce Russell, professor of management and organization at Smith. 

Students from the Robert H. Smith School of Business had an exciting, and possibly unprecedented, opportunity to participate in state legislature when they and their faculty advisor, Charles E. Olson, were invited to present research findings from a graduate field project (GFP) for PEPCO to the Maryland Senate Finance Committee on February 15, 2005.

The MBA program at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland ranked No. 20 among all U.S. MBA programs in the Financial Times MBA 2005 rankings, published January 24th. The influential rankings place Smiths MBA program No. 6 among all U.S. public business schools and No. 30 in the world. For the fourth straight year the Smith School has ranked among the top three of the best 25 U.S. business schools in the value for money category scoring No. 3.

The Smith CIO Forum, held October 8, explored the advantages and challenges of mobility with a full day of discussion and presentations on mobility in the workplace. Going Mobile, Changing the Pace and Place of Business brought together the world-class research of the Smith decision and information technologies faculty with the experience of high-level practitioners to explore issues of security, applications performance, and infrastructure key to the success of a mobile work force.

The 6th Annual Smith Consulting Forum, the annual signature event presented by the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business MBA Consulting Club, drew more than 175 participants on October 1, 2004. Sponsored by one of the worlds leading business consulting organizations, BearingPoint, the forum brought together current MBA students, alumni, faculty, experienced industry practitioners, and prominent experts for a daylong comprehensive exploration of current industry trends that are forcing an inevitable transformation in the landscape of the consulting industry.

The M.B.A. program at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business was ranked #1 by management consulting industry recruiters in The Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive Guide to Business Schools, published September 22. The survey also shows the Smith School is the #3 pick of corporate recruiters in the technology, telecommunications and Internet industry. Corporate recruiters from all industries rated Smith the worlds #7 school for information technology and the #10 school for entrepreneurship.