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.
Mark Dirsmith, Deloitte Professor of Accounting:
Mark Dirsmith, Deloitte Professor of Accounting, has been named recipient of the American Accounting Association's ABO Section Notable Contribution Award in Behavioral Accounting Literature. The award is a lifetime contribution award and is given to exceptional individuals who have made significant contributions in the behavioral accounting literature. Dirsmith is the author of more than 100 publications, including three monographs and more than 70 journal articles in accounting, institutional economics, organizational theory, public administration, health care administration, sociology, and strategic management journals. He is a past recipient of the Les Shonto Undergraduate Excellence in Accounting Education Award and Penn State's George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Smeal Club Regains Presence In Philadelphia
The revitalized Smeal Business Club of Philadelphia is growing. Its goal is to bring Smeal alumni together for networking, social interaction, and personal and professional development, while supporting the goals of Smeal, Penn State, and the Alumni Association. The club's inaugural event at the Pyramid Club featured Dean James Thomas sharing his plan of action to become a top five public business school. Members of the club were on campus on July 14 as part of the Alumni Association's ice cream social held during the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. Alumni had the opportunity to meet a few of the club's leaders, sign up to become a member of the club, and learn about the fall activities that the club has planned. A few of these activities include a networking reception, a corporate tour, events surrounding the Penn State-Temple football game, and a holiday party. For more information about the Smeal Philadelphia Club and to learn how to become a member, visit http://www.phillysmeal.org.
Smeal Research Measures Narcissistic CEOs' Effect On Corporate Strategy, Performance
Companies led by more narcissistic chief executives tend to make more frequent strategy changes, undertake larger and more frequent acquisitions, and have more extreme and irregular fluctuations in performance, according to new Smeal research. Arijit Chatterjee, graduate lecturer, and Donald Hambrick, Smeal Chaired Professor of Management, gauged the level of narcissism exhibited by 111 CEOs and compared it to the subsequent strategies and performance of their companies. "Highly narcissistic CEOs—defined as those who have very inflated self-views, and who are preoccupied with having those self-views continuously reinforced—can be expected to engage in behaviors and make decisions that have major consequences not only for the individuals who interact directly with them, but also for broader sets of stakeholders," they write. For more on their research, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/news/releases/jul07/hambrick.html.
Study Urges Compensation-Based Approach To Drug Patent Compulsory Licensing
A new paper by a Smeal professor argues that ambiguous international rules outlining when and how governments may "break" pharmaceutical patents may end up significantly reducing incentives for innovation while at the same time failing to increase access to medicines. In "Confronting Myths and Myopia on the Road from Doha," Daniel Cahoy, associate professor of business law, argues that the problem is a lack of clarity in compensation for patent owners. He suggests that a three-tiered approach to compulsory license remuneration based on a country's individual ability to pay would do much to resolve the predicament. For more on Cahoy's study, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/news/releases/jul07/cahoy.html.
Smeal Launches Executive Education Program For Women
Penn State Executive Programs will launch a new executive education program this fall designed specifically for women and focusing on the unique challenges and opportunities that women face in their work environments. Executive Program for Women Leaders, conducted in alliance with SHAMBAUGH Leadership, will be held October 8-12 on Penn State's University Park campus. The program's content is based on Rebecca Shambaugh's forthcoming book titled It's Not A Glass Ceiling, It's A Sticky Floor, to be published by McGraw-Hill this fall. The four-day program utilizes targeted assessments and tools that create a greater awareness of the self-limiting beliefs, assumptions, and behaviors—termed "sticky floors" by Shambaugh—that hold women back in their careers. For more details and registration information, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/psep/epwl.html.
Smeal Executive MBA Program Welcomes Class Of 2009
The Smeal Executive MBA Program, based in Philadelphia and run on alternating weekends, welcomes the class of 2009 this month. The class is made up of more than 50 professionals from Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington D.C. With an average age of 39, and students from around the country, the Smeal EMBA Program is one of the fastest-growing EMBA programs in the Middle Atlantic. While class enrollment for the August 2007 start is officially closed, you can learn more about the Smeal Executive MBA Program by visiting http://www.smeal.psu.edu/execmba, or by contacting program director P. Jake Ray at 866-999-3622 or jakeray@psu.edu.
College Announces Faculty Promotions, Tenure
Smeal awarded promotions and tenure to several faculty members last month. From associate professor to full professor: Orie Baron, professor of accounting, and Rajdeep Grewal, professor of marketing. From assistant professor to associate professor with tenure: Daniel Cahoy, associate professor of business law, Min Ding, associate professor of marketing, Henock Louis, associate professor of accounting, and Michelle Lowry, associate professor of finance. For more details, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/news/releases/jul07/faculty.html.
Two Friends Of Smeal, Penn State Pass Away
Smeal and Penn State lost two friends recently with the deaths of alumnus David Sykes '40 and Bette Garber, wife of Smeal alumnus John Garber '40. Sykes retired from his 41-year career with Giant Food, Inc., in 1996 as director, senior vice president of finance, corporate secretary, and chief financial officer. With his wife, he endowed the David B. and Shirley L. Sykes Endowed Professorship in Finance, currently held by William Kracaw. Bette and John Garber were married for 64 years. Together, they established Smeal's Garber Venture Capital Fund in 1999 with a $5 million commitment to bring reality to the teaching of entrepreneurship and venture capital.
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 Associated Press, The Washington Post, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Additionally, Smeal MBA student Jason Munson 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.
September 9-14
Designing and Leading Competitive Supply Chains
http://www.smeal.psu.edu/psep/dlsc.html
October 7-10
Coaching Skills for Managers and Executives
http://www.smeal.psu.edu/psep/csme.html
October 21-26
Developing Managerial Effectiveness
http://www.smeal.psu.edu/psep/dme.html
