July 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.
Charles Snow, Mellon Foundation Faculty Fellow:
Charles Snow, Mellon Foundation Faculty Fellow, has been on the Smeal faculty since 1974, including serving three terms as chair of the Department of Management and Organization. Throughout his career, Snow has taught students and executives in the United States and more than 25 countries in Asia, Europe, and South America. His research interests include strategic management, organization design, and new organizational forms. One of his current projects is a study of Blade.org, a collaborative community of firms organized by IBM and Intel and focused on accelerating the development and adoption of open blade server platforms.
Software Invention Takes Three Student Entrepreneurs To Silicon Valley
Three Penn State students recently turned a class project into a tech
start-up already worth millions of dollars, taking them from Happy Valley to
Silicon Valley in a matter of months. Chris Fanini, David Rusenko, and Dan
Veltri, a Smeal finance major, are the trio behind Weebly.com, a free Web-based
application that allows users to quickly and easily create Web sites by clicking
and dragging elements onto their pages. In January 2006, Rusenko started
developing a tool to help students create Web portfolios for one of his classes.
Eighteen months later, the trio has relocated to San Francisco, signed up more
than 40,000 users, and turned down a multi-million dollar offer to buy them out.
For more details, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/news/releases/
jun07/weebly.html.
Smeal, World Campus Launch Online Supply Chain Management Master's Degree
Smeal and Penn State World Campus are offering a new master's degree program in supply chain management that will allow working professionals to earn a graduate degree by taking courses online. The Master of Professional Studies in supply chain management (MPS/SCM) starts in the fall 2007 semester. Applications for admission will be available online on July 9. The MPS/SCM program is designed specifically for current supply chain professionals, and emphasizes problem-solving competencies and leadership skills that are critical to leading business transformations through integrated supply chain planning and execution. For more information, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/mps.
Alumni Society Board Fall Meeting Set For October
Smeal's Alumni Society Board will hold its fall meeting October 4-6, 2007, in State College. At the spring meeting in April, about 40 alumni returned to campus to share their career experiences with Smeal students and take part in a number of activities. The weekend included a tour of Beaver Stadium and a lunch at the University Club with Penn Stater editor Tina Hay. Board members also served as judges in the college's academic competition, The Corporate Exchange. The Alumni Society Board offers its members the opportunity to take on a leadership role in the college through a variety of student mentoring initiatives, strategic task forces, and an awards and recognition program. For more information, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/alumni/alumorgs/directors.
Alumni And Friends: Meet Dean Thomas In North Carolina
Dean James Thomas will visit Charlotte, N.C., this month to meet with area friends and alumni of Smeal, discuss trends currently affecting business education, and share some of his vision for the future of the college. The reception is also an opportunity for guests to network with fellow alumni and connect with old friends and colleagues. The evening begins at 6 p.m. on July 30 at the Charlotte Marriott City Center. Complete details and registration information are available at http://media.smeal.psu.edu/dean.
Alumni Association Honors Smeal Board Of Visitors Member
Linda Wolf, a member of the Smeal Board of Visitors, has been named an Honorary Alumna by the Penn State Alumni Association. Wolf and three other longtime champions and benefactors of Penn State were honored during a ceremony on June 1 at The Nittany Lion Inn. Wolf currently chairs the Board of Visitors' marketing subcommittee. In this role, she has been instrumental in re-branding and redefining how the college markets itself to the outside world. She brings more than 30 years of experience in advertising and marketing to the board, including her years as chairperson and chief executive officer of global marketing agency Leo Burnett Worldwide. For more on the Wolf honor, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/news/releases/jun07/wolf.html.
Smeal Appoints New Department Chair, Interim Associate Dean
Smeal has named two faculty members to leadership positions in the college. Gus Colangelo, assistant professor of management, has been named interim associate dean for undergraduate programs for the 2007-2008 academic year. He replaces Jack Stevens, who will retire from Penn State in December. Dennis Gioia, professor of organizational behavior, has replaced Charles Snow as chair of Smeal's Department of Management and Organization. Snow spent three terms as chair of the department. For more details, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/news/releases/jun07/apptmnts.html.
Penn State Co-Hosts U.K. Conference On Weather, Risk, And Decision Making
Leading meteorologists and risk and decision-making scholars gathered June 6 to 8 in England to discuss the integration of risk management and weather forecasting at a conference organized by Smeal, the United Kingdom Meteorological Office, and the University of Exeter. Weather forecasts are one of the most visible and commonly used types of scientific forecast, yet the vast majority of them provide little in the way of precise information about forecast uncertainty. Economists and meteorologists at the conference worked to identify an effective way to aggregate and disseminate this information. One such project is the weather prediction markets experiment currently underway at Smeal's Laboratory for Economics Management and Auctions. For more details, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/news/releases/archive/may07/weather.html.
Op-Ed: Providing Excellent Customer Service Crucial In Business
Pat Cataldo, associate dean for executive education, writes in an op-ed that service and civility often seem to be missing in today's business environment. "Let's call it the 'Great Service Paradox,'" Cataldo writes. "In today's highly competitive economy, first-rate service is often the difference between success and failure. Why then do we encounter so many instances of less-than-stellar interaction between company and customer? Perhaps we all need to rethink the critical role that service plays in our businesses and lives." For Cataldo's complete commentary, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/news/releases/jun07/cataldo.html.
Members of the Smeal College faculty are contacted regularly by the world's news media. In May, faculty members were featured in media outlets such as The Christian Science Monitor, The San Diego Union-Tribune, and FinancialWeek. Additionally, Smeal MBA student Tom Aichele appeared on CNBC's "Fast Money." 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.
August 5-10
Executive Coaching Certification (Week
1)
http://www.smeal.psu.edu/psep/ecc.html
August
27-31
Essentials of Supply Chain Management
http://www.smeal.psu.edu/psep/mesc1.html
October
8-12
Executive Program for Women Leaders
http://www.smeal.psu.edu/psep/epwl.html
