The Smeal Executive MBA Team Blog

What differentiates your program? 

I love that question when I get it from prospective students - mainly because the answer is so simple - faculty.  Faculty not only differentiate the Smeal program - they (faculty) are what makes any program, and ought to be the first thing you look at when thinking about joining an executive MBA (any executive MBA).  Sure, the Smeal EMBA program offers an unparalleled out-of-classroom experience (networking, executive & career coaching, in-residence Friday’s with faculty/staff), but I would contend that it is the faculty that have the biggest impact on your learning, and ought to be the starting point of any discussion regarding the quality of a school.  As an EMBA student at Smeal you can bet on one thing - at Smeal you will be taught by the best MBA faculty in the country. 

In fact, at Smeal you get full time faculty members who have the academic credentials, teaching experience, and the real-world consulting/corporate experience you need to get a broad based and up to date education.  The mix of these three items (credential, teaching history, real world experience) provide the student an education that can not be matched by programs who use faculty that sometimes hold full time jobs in addition to teaching or are retired executives who use personal experience to teach, or in some cases use adjunct faculty that may be less experienced than members of the student base.

If you have doubts about the quality of faculty and wonder whether faculty really makes a difference consider sitting in on a class to take a “test drive” of the class room environment.  At Smeal you can sit in on a class as your schedule allows, no matter what class is in session - we have only the best, and are proud to offer you a few minutes in the class to see for yourself. 

One thing that always impresses me when I interview candidates is the level of engagement they have with philanthropic causes.  “Giving Back” is something that differentiates the Smeal EMBA program, and as we look at multiple candidates we always try to establish if the Smeal program is a cultural fit for someone.  And, it turns out that those who engage with their community by giving their time, talent or treasures to the community tend to be a good fit for Smeal.

Why? Because Smeal EMBA’s have been giving back to their community since the inception of the program.  The inaugural class of 2004 donated $50,000 to the construction of the 200,000 square foot building that is now the home of the Smeal College at University Park.  And, since 2006 the Smeal EMBA’s have joined all Penn State students and campuses in giving through Dance Marathon to the Four Diamonds Fund - a fund dedicated to providing care to, and finding a cure for pediatric cancer.  Last year the Smeal EMBA  raised more than $12,000 for this great cause in various ways.  The EMBA program, students and for that matter Penn State students in general, have a culture of giving that is unparalleled.  In 2007/2008, through Dance Marathon, the students of Penn State raised $6.6 million to help cure pediatric cancer.

You can only imagine my pride this past week when while planning for our annual “Dance Marathon” event we received a volunteer from every class (current & alum) to serve on the planning committee.  Not only did we receive volunteers to serve, we started getting RSVP’s before we even sent the invitation!  To quote Joe Paterno, “This (Dance Marathon) is what we mean when we say – We Are! Penn State!”