The first CEMA Strategic Leadership Residency (SLR) is scheduled for June 5-10 at Washington University in St. Louis. You must apply and be accepted in the Certified Executive MBA Administrators (CEMA) program before enrolling in the SLR, so complete your CEMA application now. It’s available at http://www.emba.org/courseofferings.htm. Whether director, assistant dean, or assistant director, you can advance your career by adding CEMA to your list of credentials.

The first professional designation for experienced administrators in the Executive MBA industry, CEMA offers you the opportunity to:

• Improve your on-the-job performance
  
  
• Support your career goals and prepare you for additional leadership roles
  
  
• Expand your network of colleagues
  
  
• Raise industry standards
  
  
• Gain recognition and acknowledgement for your efforts from academic and industry peers

You need at least three years of experience in the executive MBA industry to apply. Other requirements include attendance at two Executive MBA conferences, as well as participation in the Executive MBA Toolkit and the Marketing and Admissions program (years of experience and knowledge may exempt you from the toolkit and seminar requirements).

The newly developed global professional designation program for Executive MBA administrators focuses on strategic issues, leadership, and executive decision making. As with the council’s Marketing and Admissions program, the SLR features world-class faculty presenting on management issues that are critical to the executive MBA industry. Examples of faculty and topics include:

• Leadership in Higher Education
  Andy Policano, Former Dean and Professor, University of Wisconsin
  
  
• Team Development and Team Projects
  Gary Selden, Associate Professor of Marketing and Professional Sales, Kennesaw State University
  
  
• Strategic Planning and Management
  William Lindsey, Assistant Dean and Director, Executive MBA, Loyola Marymount University
  
  
• Leadership
  Monica McGrath
  Adjunct Assistant Professor, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
  
  
• Innovation and Creativity
  Harry Vardis, Owner, Creative Focus, Inc., EFFIE winner and author

Whether you seek the prestige and career rewards that come with the CEMA designation or the training in advanced leadership, management processes, and strategic planning, make plans to join us June 5-10 for this exciting new program.

Download information and the application form at http://www.emba.org/courseofferings.htm. Contact Maury Kalnitz at 770-352-0854 or maury@embac.org or Donna Blackburn at 404-651-1042 or blackburn@gsu.edu with questions.

You can gain valuable insights about your programs by participating in the 2004 Student Exit Survey. Use the materials available through your online research portal to survey your students this spring.

To capture a true picture of student opinions, the council recommends that member schools survey their students before graduation. The 2003-04 questionnaire incorporates new measures on professional development and return-on-investment outcomes, in addition to new open-ended questions. You may choose to administer the survey as a paper handout or online. Submit completed surveys to FGI by June 30, 2004.

By accessing your school’s research portal, you can sign-up and download survey materials. The questionnaire and survey instructions also are posted at www.embac.org/research.htm.

Survey administrator FGI Research sent out reminders with instructions in March. If you did not receive the reminder or cannot access your research portal, contact Anne Saulter at asaulter@fgiresearch.com.

Coming soon in May to your research portal, look for the new 2004 Program Survey. By posting the survey earlier, per member request, you'll have more time to complete it before summer.

The 2004 Program Survey features new sections on faculty, classroom technology, student services, and international trips. It’s easy to complete. Simply update the information that you submitted last year and answer the new questions.

Survey administrator FGI Research sent program peer reports to participating programs in December. If you did not receive your report, please contact FGI. If you would like to receive a copy, but did not participate in the survey, you may purchase the aggregate report for $300 by submitting the order form at http://www.embac.org/research.htm.

Hire new staff lately? Make sure that you keep the council current on your contact information. You can easily update that information online through your research portal.

Visit the council web site at www.embac.org and log into your research portal to check and change your program’s contact information. Forget your password, or need help accessing your research portal? Contact Anne Saulter at asaulter@fgiresearch.com for assistance.

Remember: You also can search the council directory online by clicking Member Tools and entering emba for both the user and password fields.

Travel to one of the world’s most beautiful and intriguing cities for the 2004 Executive MBA Council Conference, set for Oct. 30-Nov. 2, 2004. Don’t miss any of the treasures of the San Francisco area.

Convenient to reach via air, San Francisco also offers a wealth of options for those who like to explore. You'll stay at one of the city’s finest hotels, located near several attractions. Some area highlights include:

• Fisherman’s Wharf, a trolley ride away
  
  
• Alcatraz, a ferry ride away from the wharf
  
  
• The Golden Gate bridge
  
  
• Yerba Buena Gardens, within walking distance of the hotel
  
  
• The Museum of Modern Art, within walking distance of the hotel
  
  
• Excellent dining and shopping
  
  
• Wine country of Napa and Sonoma, just north of the city
  
  
• Stunning vistas of the ocean along Pacific Coast Highway One and in the cities of Monterey and Carmel, just south of the city

Share your knowledge and expertise with your colleagues or take that great idea of yours and develop it further. Available online at http://www.embac.org/annualconference_rfp.htm, the Request for Proposal form gives you the opportunity to submit your proposal for concurrent or developmental workshops at this year’s Executive MBA Council Conference.

Emphasis will be placed on presentations that involve the conference theme, "Building Bridges: Creating Connections," including sessions that relate to the four conference tracks:

• Faculty Connections
  
  
• Corporate Relations
  
  
• International Collaborations
  
  
• Student Experience

Submit your RFP online no later than June 4, 2004. Conference committee members will notify session and workshop presenters by July 12.

Questions? Contact Lucy Maillette of Michigan State University at 800-882-1239 or maillette@bus.msu.edu or John Fraser of the University of Iowa at 319-335-1043 or john-fraser@uiowa.edu.

In 2005, Barcelona will be the site of the Executive MBA Council conference. Interested in helping with planning?

Dianne Bevelander-Cleton and Jana Allen, 2005 conference co-chairs, are looking for volunteers to chair the following conference committees:

• Plenary speakers/sessions
  
  
• Concurrent/development sessions
  
  
• Local schools
  
  
• Marketing
  
  
• Faculty dinner
  
  
• Special event
  
  
• Optional activities

The co-chairs plan to match a U.S. chair with an international chair for each committee. Committee chairs then recruit volunteers to help them with their committee tasks. If you are interested in volunteering to chair one of these committees, please submit a brief statement of your interest and time commitment to Dianne Bevelander-Cleton at dcleton@rsm.nl and Jana Allen at Jana_Allen@baylor.edu.