Latest News: November 2005

Family Crucial To Beating The Stress Of Moving Abroad

A recent study from Penn State's Smeal College of Business published in the Academy of Management Journal sheds fresh light on the way people working in a foreign country handle the stress involved in their assignment. Specifically, the study refutes previous evidence and conventional wisdom that prior experience working overseas and the ability to speak the native language are the most important factors in adjusting to work in a foreign country.

Smeal Alum Named Chairman Of U.S. Steel

United States Steel Corporation announced that its board of directors has elected Smeal alumnus John P. Surma Jr. as chairman of the board, effective February 1, 2006. He will continue to serve as president and chief executive officer of the company.

Two Smeal Grads Head 19,000-Member CPA Society

Pennsylvania's 19,000-member CPA association is currently under the leadership of two Smeal College of Business alumni. Robert H. Krebs Jr. and J. Andrew Weidman serve as president and president-elect, respectively, of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA), the second-oldest organization of its type dedicated to preserving and promoting the interests of CPAs and the profession.

eBusiness Research Center Announces Competition Winners

The eBusiness Research Center at Penn State's Smeal College of Business has announced this year's winners of the Fifth Annual Doctoral Award Competition. The Outstanding Winner for 2005 is Dongwon Lee of the University of Minnesota for his proposal, "Understanding Price Rigidity in Internet-Based Selling: A Massive Quasi-Experimental Data Mining Approach."

Economist Ranks Penn State Executive Programs Among The World's Best

Penn State Executive Programs at the Smeal College of Business is one of only 14 open-enrollment executive education providers worldwide to be rated "good" or better by The Economist magazine in its ranking of executive education programs.

Smeal Expert: 'GM's Future More Uncertain Than Ever'

The decision by General Motors to close 12 plants and lay off 30,000 workers is just more bad news for the struggling U.S. automobile industry, according to Terrence Guay, clinical assistant professor of international business at Penn State's Smeal College of Business.

Smeal To Host Real Estate Lecture

Penn State's Smeal College of Business will host the Advance Realty Group Real Estate Lecture at 4:30 p.m. on November 17 in the Business Building's Struthers Auditorium. Joe Riggs, group president of K. Hovnanian Companies, will discuss the diverse opportunities offered by the real estate industry and its importance in our nation's future.

Fortune Ranks Smeal Grad Sixth Most Powerful Woman In Business

Fortune magazine has named Smeal College of Business alumna Patricia Woertz as one of the most powerful women in business for the seventh year in a row. Woertz, executive vice president of Chevron's Global Downstream division, is ranked sixth on the magazine's list.

Penn State Student Investment Fund Up 13 Percent On The Year

The student managers of the Nittany Lion Fund LLC, an investment portfolio at Penn State's Smeal College of Business that is worth $2.8 million, announced in their third-quarter report that the fund is up 12.98 percent since opening in January. The fund is considerably outperforming its benchmark, the S&P 500, which was up less than 3 percent when the report was issued.

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