Archive for the ‘Networking’ Category

Smeal EMBA In New York!

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

The Smeal EMBA community is a proud sponsor of the 2009 Hope Gala on Friday January 23, 2009 in New York. The event starts at 7PM and is black tie optional. The elegant evening will include dinner, dancing, a live and silent auction, speakers, Four Diamonds Families, raffles, and cocktails. The event, it it’s first year, is expected to have 300+ Penn State Alumni in attendance raising money for pediatric cancer research at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center.  This kicked off 2009 in New York for the Smeal EMBA, events with the PSU  Alumni Chapter, and The Penn State “Lions of Wall Street”.

Approximately 25% of the students enrolled in the Smeal EMBA either live or work in New York City.

Warren Buffett & Smeal

Monday, January 12th, 2009

A group of 27 MBA students from Penn State’s Smeal College of Business will travel to Omaha, Neb., next week to meet with Warren Buffett, chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathway and arguably the most successful investor of all time.

Highlights of the Feb. 6 trip include tours of Berkshire subsidiary companies, a two-hour meeting with Buffett, and lunch with the world’s richest man at one of his favorite Omaha steakhouses. During the meeting at Berkshire headquarters, Buffett will take questions from the students on issues ranging from his experiences in business to the state of the global economy.

The Smeal trip is part of a regular routine for Buffett, who occasionally hosts groups of MBA students from the country’s leading business schools. But for the Smeal students and those from five other universities who will be joining them, this is a unique chance to pick the brain of one of the brightest business minds ever.

Smeal, the 2nd largest business school in the country as well as one the top ranked business schools in the country will be one of the five scools chosen to have to participate.

Smeal Business Clubs & Online Networking

Monday, September 15th, 2008

The Penn State network is famous for many things.  Being the largest in the world, being connected through an amazing alumni database, and having truly dynamic and engaged alumni groups – to name a few.  The Smeal Business Club of Philadelphia is no exception; in fact this group holds many monthly gatherings of Smeal Alumni in the Philadelphia area, click here to see what they are up to this month!  Smeal Business Clubs are also located in Pittsburgh, New York and will be coming soon to other areas.  

Smeal, the 2nd largest business school in the US offers graduates of the college opportunities to network virtually as well using the “Smeal Connect” website.  Think facebook, LinkedIn and monster all wrapped together in a private online environment for Smeal graduates ONLY!

When you are looking at EMBA programs one thing to consider is the value of the network – and the energy and funding the college/university puts into actually connecting alum’s to each other.  Joining Smeal as a graduate means a lifetime of connections. 

Smeal EMBA – Schedule for the Fall

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

We just finalized our fall schedule for events, and I can’t begin to tell you how excited I was when I saw the entire season on paper, out in front of me.  In addition to our normal “informational events” where we educate prospective students about our Executive MBA program we have philanthropic events (to support pediatric cancer research through our partnership with Dance Marathon), events celebrating “Women in Business” through our partnership with PINK Magazine,  and events designed to help our vast alumni network connect after work at one of our many networking events.  All in all, it’s a busy schedule – but one that will make the holiday season and our December 19th, 2008 early application deadline come fast.  To learn more about our events visit our website www.smealemba.com!

Smeal EMBA – Faculty are What Count

Saturday, July 12th, 2008

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. 

Giving Back

Saturday, July 5th, 2008

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!”

Chocolate & Wine Tasting

Sunday, June 29th, 2008

I enjoy wine, and I enjoy chocolate – in moderation.  I never had thought, however, that these two things could be paired for an amazing taste experience.  That all changed this past Friday when Traci Gentry, Director of Global Chocolate Innovation at The Hershey Company taught our students how to formally taste chocolate, how to describe the flavor nuances like a professional, and how to pair premium chocolate with readily available wines. The tasting included chocolates from Hershey’s extensive brand portfolio, including Cacao Reserve, Scharffen Berger, and Dagoba.  My favorite was the “Raging Bull Zinfandel & Dagoba” pairing.  Dagoba, an organic dark chocolate had (of all things) a chili pepper finish to it that was a very pleasant surprise and a great match to the spicy of zinfandel.  For our students it was another experience and an example of the learning that happens outside of the class room on Friday nights when you are enrolled in the Smeal EMBA program.

Penn State, Smeal EMBA – Networking and Graduation

Monday, June 16th, 2008

What a great week!  Tuesday we had an alumni networking event hosted by KPMG at their world headquarters in Manhattan, and Friday we had an event at the Ace Center, a few miles outside of Philadelphia.  On Saturday the members of the Smeal EMBA class of 2008 celebrated their completion of their MBA’s with friends, family and faculty in State College.  At each of the networking events we had more than 50 attendees – from multiple years and multiple disciplines.  At the celebration we had more than 400 attendees to support the graduating class of 50 students.  Joe Paterno spoke briefly, congratulating the graduates and welcoming their families.  Connections to the past and the future were “happening” everywhere and I, while tired from traveling and attending all the events, was proud once again to be a Penn Stater!