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. August 2006 MBA STUDENT HELPS TAKE START-UP NATIONAL A Smeal MBA student interning for HAPPYBABY, a start-up organic baby food company, is playing a major role in taking the company from a regional start-up to a national brand in fewer than six months. In only six weeks, John Bodnar, MBA class of 2007, secured enough organic produce—in an extremely tight market—to keep the company on schedule to go national by September. For more on Bodnar's internship experience, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/news/releases/ jul06/bodnar.html. ANNUAL CONFERENCES APPROACHING FOR SMEAL RESEARCH CENTERS Two Smeal research centers will hold flagship meetings in the coming weeks. The Institute for the Study of Business Markets will host its 23rd annual Members Meeting on Aug. 22-23 at the Nittany Lion Inn. This year's conference will explore the various roles of business-to-business marketing in driving growth. For more information, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/isbm/ seminars/aug06.html. The Center for Supply Chain Research's two-day Fall 2006 Supply Chain Leaders Forum will begin on Sept. 7 at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. The annual event brings together leading supply chain and logistics professionals and academics in the field to discuss future challenges that organizations must monitor to remain competitive. For more information, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/cscr/edop/ news/sclff06.html. SMEAL'S GARBER FUND INVESTS IN DIAMONDBACK TRUCK COVERS Smeal's student-managed Garber Venture Capital Fund has announced a $200,000 investment in DiamondBack Automotive Accessories, Inc., one of the fastest-growing truck accessory companies in the world. Based in Philipsburg, Pa., DiamondBack makes truck bed covers from diamond plate aluminum, turning the entire truck bed into a secure vault, while allowing users to carry a payload on top of the cover. The Garber Fund is part of the Nittany Lion Venture Capital Association, 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 on the fund, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/news/releases/jul06/garber.html. PROFESSOR ON LEASE-ACCOUNTING RULES REWRITE: 'IT'S ABOUT TIME' The Financial Accounting Standards Board recently announced that it's going to begin a restructuring of its standards for lease accounting. J. Edward Ketz, associate professor of accounting, is in favor of changing the lease-accounting regulations because they are currently structured to "allow corporations to make believe that significant assets and liabilities don't exist." Ketz says that several corporations have $10 to $15 billion of off-balance sheet lease liabilities, which can mislead inexperienced investors. For more comment from Ketz, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/news/releases/jul06/ketzfasb.html. EXECUTIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM PLANNED FOR CORPORATE IT EXECUTIVES Information technology executives and senior managers can explore strategies that optimize IT investments for enterprise-wide business needs at a unique executive education program hosted by Penn State Executive Programs on Sept. 11-15. The five-day program, "The Enterprise Technology Strategist: Aligning IT & Business Strategies," brings together the academic expertise of Penn State faculty members from Smeal and the College of Information Sciences and Technology with the real-world business experiences of Gartner, Inc. For more details and registration information, visit: http://www.smeal.psu.edu/psep/eets.html. ALUMNI MEET NEW DEAN DURING ARTS FESTIVAL Dean James B. Thomas addressed a crowd of Smeal friends and alumni on July 14 during an event that showcased the artistic side of the Smeal community. Thomas outlined his vision for the future of the college and said it was good to be back home at Smeal after spending seven years as dean of the College of Information Sciences and Technology. The event was held to coincide with the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts and featured artwork on display by students, faculty and friends of the college. To view photos of the event, visit http://media.smeal.psu.edu/zine/080106/artsfest. BARTON NAMED MMM CO-DIRECTOR Russell Barton, professor of supply chain and information systems, has been named co-director of the master's degree program in manufacturing management. He represents Smeal in the Master of Manufacturing Management (MMM) degree program, which is administered jointly between Smeal and the College of Engineering. Barton was also recently appointed as associate director of the Center for the Management of Technological and Organizational Change, where he's charged with increasing the research center's connections with students in the MMM program. For more on the MMM degree, visit http://www.mmmdegree.psu.edu. MEDIA ROUND-UP Members of the Smeal College faculty are contacted regularly by the world's news media. In July, faculty members were featured in media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Reuters, and Dow Jones Newswires. For a more 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. September 10-15 Leading With Impact: Aligning Organizations For Performance http://www.smeal.psu.edu/psep/lwi.html September 17-21 Designing And Leading Competitive Supply Chains http://www.smeal.psu.edu/psep/mesc1.html October 1-6 Marketing Strategy For Growth In Business Markets http://www.smeal.psu.edu/psep/msbm.html