In an event organized by four Smith MBA students, 40 students from the University of Maryland and the U.S. Naval Academy drove Land Rovers off-road as part of a program to help them become safer drivers. The event was held on April 12, 2003, and hosted by Land Rover University in Lanham, Md.

Approximately 100 students, faculty, administrators, alumni, and honored guests attended the 10th Annual William D. Bradford Awards Banquet. The Black MBA Association (BMBAA) and Hispanic MBA Association (HMBAA) hosted the banquet, held on April 11, 2003, at the Greenbelt Marriott (Greenbelt, Md). The event promotes networking among Smith students, corporate sponsors, and distinguished alumni. This year's theme centered on the impact of diversity on corporate leadership.

Credit risk management is one of the most critical issues facing energy companies today, and a team of Smith School MBA consultants has given Constellation Power Source a leg up in managing this area. For their outstanding work in developing a credit-risk model for Constellation, the team was named best MBA consulting project for 2000-03 at a recent awards ceremony.

Reaching across the academic community, Smith′s Graduate Women in Business club (GWIB) gathered more than 50 Smith alumni, current and prospective students, faculty, and administrators to discuss ways women can achieve influence in the workplace. In honor of Women′s History Month, the event was held on March 6 and included a networking session followed by a panel discussion about strategies on how women earn respect and gain power in the workplace.

Karen Goetze, MBA candidate 2004 and incoming MBA Association (MBAA) president, traveled to France earlier this month to compete in the 2003 French National Championships for indoor track and field. Goetze took home the bronze medal for her specialty, the 1500 meters. The competition lasted three days with the final on March 1, 2003.

Smith School undergraduate and MBA students recently joined Treasury Secretary John Snow and Commerce Secretary Don Evans for a nationally-televised town hall meeting on the White House economic stimulus plan. The students, along with Smith School Professor of International Business Peter Morici and students from two other universities, participated in the economic discussion on CNBCs Capital Report program, which aired Tuesday, February 25, 2003.

Last week, as the L'Oreal e-Strat challenge entered a crucial stage, two Smith teams were sitting proudly in first and second place in the North American standings. The competition is far from over, but the leading 176 teams globally will be invited to submit a business plan in addition to their final round of decisions. Ten lucky teams will meet in Paris, April 22, for the finals.

The Smith Schools Net Impact chapter has named three second-year MBA students as its 2002 Internship Fund Award winners. They are Greg Deviny, Katherine Ollinger, and Talicia Safford. Each receives a financial stipend for interning at a non-profit or socially responsible organization this past summer. Net Impact created the Internship Fund in 2001 because such internships often pay considerably less than other summer internships.

Grit, Determination, and Teamwork LiftSmith MBA Soccer Team in Championship Series By Co-Captains Nicolas Piris Sassin (MBA 03) and Brian Guerin (MBA 04)

The Robert H. Smith School of Business has jumped to #25, up two spots from #27, in BusinessWeek magazine's just-released biennial rankings of the nation's best business schools. The rankings are part of 'The Best B-Schools' cover story in BusinessWeek's October 21 issue, now available on newsstands.