Northwestern University
When Brian Otte challenged his classmates in the Kellogg Miami Executive MBA Program to give generously for their class gifts, they responded impressively.

In fact, all members of the 2009 class committed to supporting the pledge total of $223,450. That commitment broke Kellogg records for the most promised by an Executive MBA class and was the highest average amount ever pledged per Executive MBA student. Students also contributed to the cash gifts for the wait staff and cleaning crew at the Hyatt Regency, where they had stayed during their program. Clinical Professor Harry Kraemer was so inspired by the classes’ generosity that he contributed $1,000 to the class gift.

Students met with senior government officials and executives from local and multinational companies. They experienced firsthand the dramatic impacts of private property rights through the school’s association with the Institute for Liberty and Democracy (ILD). 

"International involvement and proactive engagement with institutions and individuals onsite is a highlight of the W. P. Carey Executive MBA experience," says Ajay Vinze, faculty director.

The program selects locations for site visits by considering business impact potential among different regions and countries throughout the globe.  The program will visit Thailand and Vietnam in 2011. 

Georgetown University
Prince Felipe of Asturias, the heir to the Spanish throne, recently met with students from the Georgetown-ESADE Global Executive MBA Program during their module in Madrid.

Now in its second year, the program is a partnership between Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and Walsh School of Foreign Service and the ESADE Business School in Spain.

In speaking with the students, Prince Felipe discussed a range of topics, including the global financial crisis and his experiences as a student in the Georgetown School of Foreign Service 15 years ago.

Carlos Losada, general director of ESADE, led the delegation, accompanying the 29 students in the program who come from 12 countries. After the students completed their studies in Madrid, they traveled to Moscow for classes. In July, they will come to New York City and then to Washington, D.C., for their July 31 graduation.

The Georgetown-ESADE Global Executive MBA immerses students in international business, politics, leadership, and management in eight of the world’s most important centers of business and policymaking: Washington, D.C.; Barcelona, Spain; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Bangalore, India; Madrid, Spain; Moscow, Russia; and New York City. Designed for the highly mobile, global executive student, the 14-month program consists of six residency modules that span four continents.

University of Central Florida
Recognizing the real value of experiencing firsthand the business environment of another country, the University of Central Florida designed its weeklong international residency as a mandatory component of its Executive MBA Program curriculum.

Integrated into the International Business Analysis course that students take in the fourth session of the program, the residency enriches the educational experience by providing an excellent opportunity to expand student understanding of business practices in a global marketplace.

The class of 2010 and their faculty chose to visit Hong Kong and Macau. Students listened to management presentations and participated in panel discussions about a variety of topics that ranged from the challenges of doing business in Hong Kong and China to the advantages in investing in the country with executives from KPMG, C. Russell International, The Tomorrow Group, and Intertrust Hong Kong.

They toured the facilities of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, DHL Global Forwarding, Cisco Systems, and National Australia Bank, and also took a trip to Macau where they learned about operations of the Venetian Macau Ltd. Students also discussed management issues with the VP of Park Operations of Hong Kong Disneyland, a trip highlight. Students immersed themselves in the culture during Hong Kong city tours, bay cruises, and historical site visits.

University of Pennsylvania
In early January, Wharton offered its first course in India, Innovation and the Indian Health Care Industry. This three-day mini-course at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad covered the full range of health care issues in India – hospital management, medical tourism, pharmaceuticals, and more.  Nine Wharton executive MBA students attended, joining 21 full-time MBA students, and three undergraduates. 

Business School São Paulo
In April, Business School São Paulo (BSP) launched a new study – the Panel of the Pharmaceutical Industry (PIF), which identified some market trends in Brazil.

"The goal is that the survey becomes a tool for debates on strategic issues in the sector," says Ricardo Pitelli Britto. Professors Britto and José Fernando Ramadinha lead the study.

Themes from the first edition included the motivating trends and factors of mergers and acquisitions; investment management and products pipeline; and communication management and distribution. The analysis involved 27 companies that represent 40 percent of the Brazilian pharmaceutical market. The study generated significant media coverage in major business newspapers, websites, and specialized magazines.

In other news, Laureate International Universities (LIU) named former President Bill Clinton as an honorary chancellor. Clinton will work in areas such as social responsibility, youth leadership, and increased access to higher education. BSP is a member of LIU.

"Last year I had the opportunity to visit the Laureate's universities in Spain, Brazil, and Peru, to speak to students and the communities they serve," says Clinton. "These private universities exemplify the same principles of innovation and social responsibility in education that we worked to advance during my presidency and now through my foundation."

Concordia University
After much anticipation, students, faculty, and staff of the Executive MBA Program at Concordia University are enjoying the new state-of the-art classroom, study rooms, and offices in the new John Molson building.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Leadership (LEED) silver-certified building stands 15 floors high, with two underground floors. The architectural jewel is located in the heart of Quartier Concordia in downtown Montreal.

One of the most established such programs in Canada, the Executive MBA Program at Concordia University will celebrate its 25th anniversary in October by organizing a black tie masquerade gala at one of the most prestigious venues in downtown Montreal, the Windsor Ballroom. Approximately 300 alumni, including alumni from China and France, and throughout North America, plan to join the celebration.

In addition to commemorating the milestone, the program launched two Speaker Series that feature program alumni.

In January the series, Marketing Yourself During Tough Economic Times, focused on networking and successful on boarding for those senior-level candidates in transition during the economic downturn. Joanne Miller (EMBA 2000), senior recruiter at Autodesk, and Richard Joly (EMBA 1998), president of Leaders and Co., shared their expertise with participants.

In May the series, What to Do Now to Rebound from the Downturn, offered both the business and personal investment point of view.  Dominique Vincent (EMBA 1995), portfolio manager at MacDougall, MacDougall & McTier, and Annamaria Testani (EMBA 2000), senior vice president, National Business Development at Wellington West Capital, provided an insider’s look at the world of investing.

Loyola University Maryland
The Loyola University Maryland Sellinger School of Business will complete the transition to a new Executive MBA leadership team July 1.

Karyl B. Leggio, Ph.D., dean of the Sellinger School, has named Christy DeVader, Ph.D., chair of the management and international business department, as associate dean of the school and Gloria Phillips-Wren, Ph.D., chair of the information systems and operations management department, as academic director of the Executive MBA Program, effective July 1.

In February, Leggio named Manette Frese (’82, MBA ’90), former director of Executive MBA Programs, as assistant dean of graduate programs. Frese, who joined Loyola in 1984, is responsible for enrollment management, external relations, and program operations for all part-time graduate business programs at the Sellinger School.

The leadership team aims to expand the scope of educational opportunities within the Executive MBA Program and revise the new curriculum, launched in the fall 2009, to meet the ever-changing needs of the business world and address student feedback from the previous academic year. The program will add a personal development course, a cohort-based elective, integrated application presentations, and domestic field study to the curriculum.

"This leadership team’s deep commitment to advancing the Sellinger School and our offerings is already evident in their response to student and corporate feedback on the new curriculum,” says Leggio. “Their efforts will play a key part in our mission of becoming the nation’s leading Catholic, comprehensive university business school."

MIP
The MIP School of Management celebrates the 10th anniversary of its Executive MBA Program this year.

Since its start, more than 1,000 professionals graduated from the MIP Executive MBA Program. A recent survey demonstrated that Italian and international companies appreciate the quality of the program’s Executive MBA students.

In the last few years, the program has focused on personal skills development. A new challenge started three years ago when the program introduced international study trips to China, Russia, and India. More than 150 students attended these study tours, providing unique economic and cultural experiences. MIP looks forward to continuing enhancing its experiences for Executive MBA students.

The Ohio State University
In March, television station ONN and The Ohio State University launched Ohio Means Business, a new half-hour program that showcases the companies and leaders who are reshaping Ohio’s business world.

The premiere episode examined the development of advanced and renewable energy and the impact of this fast-growing industry on Ohio’s business landscape.  The show focused specifically on solar and wind energy markets and companies in Ohio.

“Never before have the connections between Ohio State and our business partners been so robust,” says University President E. Gordon Gee. “Together, we are collaborating to build Ohio’s new knowledge economy, and I am glad our efforts are being featured through this new venture.”
 
Ohio Means Business provides a comprehensive look at how emerging and established industries are blending innovation, entrepreneurship, education, and cutting-edge research to help Ohio excel in the new economy. The show looks at tough issues facing Ohio’s economic future with experts from throughout the university providing analysis and insights on research innovations.

“Fisher is pleased to partner with The Ohio State University and ONN to bring Ohio Means Business to Ohio viewers,” said Christine A. Poon, dean of Fisher College of Business. “We are confident we can play a key role in this new venture—highlighting the people, the companies, and the initiatives that bring economic development to Ohio and showcasing how collaborations between the academic and business communities can turn ideas into business.”

Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University recently named Gary L. Mangiofico associate dean for Fully-Employed Programs and Executive Programs at Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Business and Management.

CEO of Los Angeles Universal Preschool and Pepperdine University professor, Mangiofico will assume responsibility for Executive Programs – including the Executive MBA, Presidential Key Executive MBA, and master of science in organizational development – and for all part-time programs – including the Fully-Employed MBA, bachelor of science in management, and master of science in management and leadership – effective this summer. He also will oversee student recruitment for these programs and the Graziadio School’s marketing, communications, and public relations operations.

“Dr. Mangiofico’s rich experience in executive leadership in the corporate and non-profit sectors, along with his seven years of experience across our programs in the Graziadio School, have effectively prepared him to lead our executive education certificate program and the degree programs,” says Dean Linda A. Livingstone.

Mangiofico has been member of the practitioner faculty of organizational theory and management and director of the master’s program in organizational development at Pepperdine’s Graziadio School, where he has taught since 2003. He is a former vice president for Johnson & Johnson Health Care Services; COO and senior vice president for Pathmakers, an integrated behavioral health practice management group; senior vice president for Apria Healthcare Group; and CEO for CPC Alhambra Hospital.

Rollins College
Christopher Johnson recently joined Rollins College as an instructional design specialist. In this role, Johnson will design the delivery methods for the online component of the Rollins Key Executive MBA (KEMBA).

“Much of what has enabled the Rollins MBA to consistently place at the top of the rankings has been our interpersonal approach and our emphasis on the quality of the education,” says Craig McAllaster, dean of the Rollins MBA.  “In devising KEMBA’s blended approach, we wanted to make sure that our students receive an online component that is as compelling as what they would experience in class.”
 
Before joining the Rollins MBA, Johnson was a director of academic computing at New York Law School, where he helped found the school’s academic computing department.  Johnson worked with key faculty and executives to formulate and enact instructional technology initiatives and provided long-term strategy and vision for the academic computing infrastructure.

Thunderbird Global School of Management
The first class of Thunderbird Executive MBA–Europe students began their studies this year in Geneva.

This program is run in collaboration with the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, which provides support and hosts some of the Thunderbird modules at its Geneva campus. Delivered in a modular format, the program is targeted to working professionals in Europe and the Middle East. Most Executive MBA Program modules take place in Geneva with global rotations in China, Russia, the Middle East, and the Americas.

In other news, Professor David Bowen became the new chief academic officer and dean of the school in March. Bowen previously served as dean from 2001 to 2005. He is responsible for overseeing all academic matters in the school, including faculty planning and support, thought leadership, accreditation and compliance, curriculum innovation, and program quality assurance.

University of Tennessee
The Physician Executive MBA Class of 2009 commissioned Knoxville-based professional fiber artist Bailey Earith to create an original piece of artwork, representing the students’ professions and experiences in the program, as its class gift.

In other news, students, staff, alumni, and faculty of the University of Tennessee’s Class of 2010 Professional MBA Program traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, for the program’s annual international immersion in May. A student blog about the trip is available at http://utcee.blogspot.com.

Faculty milestones include the following:

Missy Bowers was named a McKamey Scholar.

Joe Carcello, Ernst & Young Professor in Accounting, won the 2010 Tennessee Society of CPAs Outstanding Educator Award and the department’s Dixon Hughes award for excellence in research.

Amy Cathey won the Executive MBA 2009 Faculty of the Year Award.

Carolyn Cuddy became the UT Center for Executive Education’s chief operating officer, a newly created position, while continuing as its executive director, degree programs.

Harvard Business Publishing released The New Supply Chain Agenda by Paul Dittmann and Tom Mentzer in May 2010.

Terry Esper won the Full-Time MBA 2009 First-Year Faculty of the Year Award.

Diane Mollenkopf was named a Stokely Scholar.

Matt Myers, Nestle USA Professor in Marketing, was appointed to a five-year term as department head.

Bill Neilson, Holly Chair of Excellence, is co-leading the college’s first undergraduate summer trip to Germany.

Allen Pannell won the Aerospace & Defense MBA 2009 Faculty of the Year Award.

Richard (Dick) Reizenstein won the Physician Executive MBA 2009 Faculty of the Year Award.

John Riblett, director of the college’s Center for Executive Education, retired May 2010 after 35 years.

Mike Stahl, Stokely, professor of business, joined UT’s Executive MBA Program as a core faculty member teaching strategic management.

Theodore P. Stank, associate dean and Dove Professor in Logistics and Transportation, co-hosted a Supply Chain Management Review webinar, which looked at supply chain-related executive education programs available in the classroom and online.

Jan Williams, Stokely Foundation Leadership Chair and dean of the College of Business Administration, is chair-elect of the board of directors of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the premier accreditation body for business colleges. Williams becomes chair in 2011.

Duke University
Blair Sheppard, dean of the Fuqua School of Business, will travel with Global Executive MBA students to teach a new seminar series called Leadership in a Global Economy: Culture, Civilizations, and Implications for the Firm.

Through lectures and hosted conversations with prominent global business executives, the seminar will provide both the theoretical framework and real-world cases to help students understand the historical and cultural aspects of each residency region – China, India, Russia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America – in the Global Executive MBA Program.

Sheppard, the invited C-level guests, and students will explore the sociopolitical, economic, and cultural aspects of each region, the challenges of doing business in the region as a non-native multinational firm, and conversely, the challenges that are faced by native companies operating in a multinational role. Through these intimate leader-to-leader engagements, students will become better prepared to lead their firm's global initiatives by learning from the C-level executives who lead global firms.

The seminar spans the entire program and kicked off with the class that started in May 2010. Dennis Gillings, founder, chairman, and CEO of Quintiles Transnational Corporation, and Andrew Witty, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline, served as the first industry executives to participate in the seminar.

Maastricht University School of Business and Economics
After four successful years, Maastricht University School of Business and Economics recently enhanced the leadership development trajectory in its Modular Executive MBA.

The trajectory aims at developing participants’ leadership effectiveness in an engaging and personalized way. It stimulates learning that helps participants as they deal with leadership challenges at work and in daily life, whether related to personal leadership or to leadership with or without formal authority. It also stimulates leadership development in an ongoing way by offering a variety of interconnected learning threads that include the following:

• Intake questionnaire that helps participants learn more about their impact at work and stimulates self-awareness
  
  
• Individual meetings with a professional coach that support reflection and deep change
  
  
• Team assignments and skills trainings during the modules that provide additional learning experiences and opportunities to experiment with new behaviors 
  
  
• Buddy coaching sessions with a fellow participant and mutual learning group meetings to support this ongoing development and stimulate shared learning, as well as to develop coaching skills
  
  
• Conceptual knowledge on leadership that is offered as part of MBA modules
  
  
• Leadership Development Report, which is written by students and serves as a supporting tool for integrating their learning process

The trajectory offers an integrated structure of tailor-made learning that goes beyond a one-size-fits-all approach and stimulates students to expand their individual leadership range and effectiveness.

Rider University
Rider University recently revised its Executive MBA Program to provide current and aspiring executives with the necessary knowledge and background to not only survive in today’s difficult competitive environment, but to advance in their careers.

Students can continue to work full time while earning an MBA in 17 months; they also complete classes and graduate with the same integrated group of up to 25 students, maximizing networking outcomes to complement the faculty and business executive relationships that develop in the program. A personal professional coaching program, The Leadership Edge, runs throughout the program.

The 46.5 credit program consists of two parts:

• The first part sets expectations about what it means to operate at an executive level. It then delivers a solid foundation in business concepts and basic leadership and team skills.
  
  
• The second part provides advanced executive sessions on a variety of current business themes of relevance to executives.  It also includes a seminar on international business, which involves approximately two weeks of travel in a key economic region of the globe.

Other program highlights include learning advanced business theory from faculty while concurrently receiving practical executive input from business leaders who lend their personal insight to the classroom discussion; convenient scheduling with almost all sessions on Saturdays; and an all-inclusive price that covers the cost of tuition, books, international seminar travel, and meals on class days.

University of Maryland
University of Maryland University College has developed a group coaching program to aid in developing effective global leaders. 

During the course of the 21-month Executive MBA Program, a coach and a small group of students work together to help each group member achieve individual leadership goals, as well as the leadership competencies that are developed as goals for the Executive MBA Program.  The coaching emphasizes the development of interpersonal skills that global leaders need, as well as provides ongoing support for each group member, by applying coaching skills such as listening, questioning, celebrating successes, and encouraging new behaviors that reinforce the growth of each group member.

Each student develops SMART goals based on the confidential feedback that the student receives from leadership assessments. The SMART goals form the foundation for tracking growth. The program nurtures the development of each student’s leadership skills by providing students with the opportunity to receive and offer support in a facilitated coaching environment that builds trust and confidentiality.

In addition to the coaching, the program also schedules several leadership-focused residences for the entire cohort. In the residencies, students participate in multicultural scenarios to elicit and enhance global leadership competencies.

University of Miami
The University of Miami School of Business Administration is producing a series of audio segments entitled Leadership Minute with WOSO radio in Puerto Rico, where the school delivers an Executive MBA Program.

When faculty members travel to San Juan to teach in the program, they also record the radio segments about material that they are teaching in class. The minute-long segments address key business topics, such as the importance of gathering statistics, leadership and employee motivation, customer relationships and product customization, managerial economics and game theory, and supply and demand management – that are relevant to the current economic situation and to the Puerto Rican business audience.