May 2007
Welcome to the Smeal Zine!
Here's the latest issue of SMEAL Zine, a monthly electronic magazine designed to keep alumni and friends in touch with the latest news and information from Penn State's Smeal College of Business and its nationally ranked programs and world-renowned research centers.
Hans Baumgartner, Professor of Marketing:
Hans Baumgartner, professor of marketing, has been named chair of Smeal's Department of Marketing, a position he's held in interim since July 1. Baumgartner, who also serves as Charles and Lillian Binder faculty fellow, has been on the Smeal faculty since 1989, specializing in consumer behavior and research methodology. His marketing research is concerned with how consumers form judgments about objects and events and how these judgments influence actual behavior. He holds a master's degree in business from the University of Innsbruck in Austria, an M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Arlington, and a master's in statistics and a Ph.D. in marketing from Stanford University.
Alumni Association Honors Two Smeal MBA Grads
The Penn State Alumni Association presented two graduates of the Smeal MBA Program with its Alumni Achievement Award, an honor for Penn State alumni who have achieved an extraordinary level of professional accomplishment by the age of 35. Alan M. Majewski '02 MBA, chief financial officer for Standard Steel, and Heath Mitts '96 MBA, vice president of corporate finance at IDEX Corp., were honored by the Alumni Association at a dinner on March 30 at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. For more information, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/news/releases/
apr07/mbaaaa.html.
Smeal Alum, Board Of Visitors Chair To Deliver Commencement Address
Martha B. Jordan '76, partner in the international law firm of Latham & Watkins LLP and chair of the Smeal Board of Visitors, will deliver the commencement address at this Smeal's graduation ceremony, set for 1:30 p.m. on May 20 in the Bryce Jordan Center. Jordan's law practice focuses on a broad range of real estate project representation involving the transfer and/or financing of large portfolios of property. She has held a variety of management roles at Latham & Watkins, most recently as the managing partner for the firm's 300-lawyer founding office in Los Angeles, from 1998 through June of 2004. For more details, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/news/releases/
apr07/cmcmnt.html.
Pittsburgh Executive Education Program To Explore 'Leadership In The Global Economy'
Penn State Executive Programs, Smeal's executive education division, in collaboration with four Penn State campuses, will host a two-day, high-level executive education program for Pittsburgh-area business leaders focusing on organizational effectiveness and strategy development in the ever-changing international marketplace. "Leadership in the Global Economy," to be held June 21??“22, will feature Fariborz Ghadar, director of the Center for Global Business Studies at Smeal, and Albert A. Vicere, executive education professor of strategic leadership at Smeal. For more details and registration information, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/psep/lge.html.
Energy And Sports Leaders Latest To Share 'Executive Insights'
Smeal's new guest speaker series, Leadership In Focus: Executive Insights, came to a close for the semester with Andrew Seck, manager of business planning and support and vice president for corporate affairs for a number of Shell Exploration & Production companies in the United States. Seck discussed leadership and business topics, as well as Shell's business continuity efforts in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Also last month, several executives from the world of sports gathered at Smeal to discuss the growing sports business sector. Team owners, general managers, and league officials shared their expertise with students and discussed career options in sports marketing and finance. For more on Executive Insights, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/about/lecture/execin.html.
Smeal Student Named 'The Next CEO' At Annual Competition
Alex Herman, a junior majoring in finance at Smeal, took first place in the college's annual chief-executive simulation challenge, The Next CEO. Ten Smeal undergraduates participated in the competition, posing as CEOs of multibillion-dollar global corporations to answer questions about how their companies should respond to complex business crises and major world events. The contest was a culmination of weeks of intensive preparation for the students, including a trip to Washington for two study sessions at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. For more on the The Next CEO, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/thenextceo.
Smeal Marketing Club Earns National Honors
The Penn State Marketing Association (PSMA), a Smeal student organization, recently won several national awards at the American Marketing Association's AMA International Collegiate Conference, held this year in New Orleans. For the second year in a row, the Smeal chapter won an overall Superior Collegiate Chapter award and Best Overall Exhibit for the tradeshow competition. The overall chapter award places PSMA among the top four AMA collegiate chapters in the nation. For more details, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/news/releases/apr07/psma.html.
Garber Fund Grows Investment In DiamondBack Truck Covers
Smeal's $5 million student-managed Garber Venture Capital Fund recently invested $25,000 in DiamondBack Automotive Accessories, Inc., one of the fastest-growing truck accessory companies in the world. The Garber Fund is part of the Nittany Lion Venture Capital Association (NLVC), an MBA student-run management group that works with small companies and other investment groups in early stage business planning, execution and due-diligence assignments. For more information, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/mba/studlife/studorgs/psen.html.
High School Students To Explore The Stock Market In Trading Room Summer Camp
Smeal is hosting a resident and day camp this summer for high school students entering grades 10 through 12 who are interested in learning about finance and the stock market. "Stock Market Madness" will be held July 15 through 20 on Penn State's University Park campus. Campers will spend the week in Smeal's state-of-the-art Trading Room, learning the basics about financial management from Smeal finance professors and students. For more information, visit http://www.outreach.psu.edu/cnf/stockmarketcamp.
Members of the Smeal College faculty are contacted regularly by the world's news media. In March, faculty members were featured in media outlets such as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Entrepreneur magazine, and India's Economic Times. For a complete list, please visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/news/innews/index.html.
Programs and Events
Penn State Executive Programs is currently accepting reservations for its upcoming programs. Please visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/psep/date.html for more information or click the links below for some of the specific programs being offered.
June 24-27
Coaching Skills For Managers And Executives
http://www.smeal.psu.edu/psep/csme.html
August 27-31
Essential Of Supply Chain Management
http://www.smeal.psu.edu/psep/mesc1.html
September 9-14
The Management Program For Leaders In Government And Public Service
http://www.smeal.psu.edu/psep/mpps.html
