March 2006

ADMINISTRATIVE NEWS

MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN
This has been a busy month for Dean JIM GOODRICH and the Atkinson staff. Dean Goodrich had the opportunity to meet with the Willamette Board of Trustees in mid-February at Salishan Lodge on the Oregon Coast, sharing all the exciting events occurring at the Atkinson School. Several members of the Board and Willamette’s Administrative Council attended Portland Open House in February, followed by over a hundred people at a Grand Opening Event for the Willamette community on March 2nd.

Dean Goodrich will be traveling over the next month, teaching a portion of Atkinson’s Transit Management Certificate Program in California and meeting with alumni at an annual event in Palm Desert. Director of Development, DENISE CRAWFORD, and Director of Marketing, RUSSELL YOST, also had the opportunity to visit with Atkinson alumni in New York City during a recent conference. It is a pleasure to hear about the success of Atkinson’s graduates all over the world.

The recruitment team continues to travel extensively, communicating the benefits of Willamette’s MBA programs all over the country and the world. Willamette looks forward to welcome a new group of students in Portland and Salem this fall to join the Atkinson community.

Dean Goodrich will be making an announcement in next month’s edition about a new partnership between the Atkinson School and another leading business program. This new collaboration will increase Willamette’s executive education offerings in meeting the needs of business leaders. Until then...we invite you to continue reading to catch up on the latest news.

FAMILY ADDITIONS

CARRI MCBRIDE MBA‘01 and her husband, Don, welcomed a son, Aidan Edward, to their family on January 11, 2006. Aidan joins his big brother, Ethan, who is almost 2 years old. Carri continues to work in Human Resources at Planar Systems and Don is a physician in private practice.

UPDATES

RUSSELL ALLEN MBA‘93 recently received designation as a Certified School Business Administrator by the Oregon Association of School Business Officials. He is currently employed as the Director of Business for the Greater Albany Public School District.

CHARLIE HOPEWELL MM‘84 will be leaving Neilsen Manufacturing, Inc. after 24 years in the April/May time frame based on the company’s process of downsizing. He has accepted a position as VP of Manufacturing for Aluminite/Alumco. Aluminite manufactures window and door screens in plants across the U.S. and is corporate based in Chehalis, Washington. Charlie will oversee the various plants and future expansion as the company has positioned itself for significant growth in the next 5-10 years. “This is a great opportunity about which I am most excited,” writes Charlie. “The current management team is terrific and I look forward to participating actively with them moving forward. I will continue to stay in Salem until my youngest daughter graduates from high school at Blanchet Catholic School, after which time we will relocate to Chehalis.”

JOHN HOEKMAN MBA‘01 was recently invited to join the advisory board of Vancouver’s eco-friendly apparel company, Hemptown Clothing Co. With the addition of Hoekman, the advisory board is now comprised of four members. Since 2004, Hoekman has served as a Senior Vice President with Stephens Inc., a full service investment bank, where he focuses on business development in the areas of wealth management and investment banking. Previously, Hoekman directed private client investment strategy at Morgan Stanley and Oppenheimer and Co. Inc. Hoekman received a B.A. from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and an MBA in Finance from Willamette University. He subsequently completed an executive program in wealth management at NYU’s Stern School of Business, and received the advanced designation of Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) at Penn’s Wharton School. He is also a member of the Investment Management Consultants Association. This announcement was released publicly on February 21st on Yahoo! Finance. See the full press release: biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060221/to232.html?.v=24

ATKINSON NEWS

O’Neill Student Investment Fund
This month students started independent investing in small subaccounts of the master account. In addition to overall class positions, students now also work in teams of three or four to come up with investment ideas for team subaccounts.

After considering such diverse choices as a Chinese power utility, a Mexican cement company, and a Norwegian oil producer, students have settled for now on choices that are closer to home, such as U.S. drug companies and U.S. firms in the financial services sector. One team may be delivering extra excitement with an investment in gold. Of course, those team positions may change with little notice.

To practice a totally different investment concept, students will also begin researching prospects for a strategic, or long-term subaccount. An accompanying challenge will be to design a suitable benchmark for that type of investments.

Pictured: Students and members of the Advisory Board after student presentation of the 2006 OSIF benchmark.

Atkinson in the News
On March 6th an article appeared in the local section of the Statesman Journal about a group of Atkinson students a PaCE team, called EPyC. The article highlighted the PaCE team’s contributions to Reruns for Kids and Family Building Blocks. The article’s appearance in the newspaper was the result of hard work, a great relationship between EPyC and Reruns, and initiative taken by Michael Robinson, EPyC team member. Read the full article here: www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060306/NEWS/603060313

Another article appeared in the Statesman Journal on February 28th featuring a group of Atkinson Students and Professor who went to Dubai last month. The article titled “Mideast visit sheds light on port deal for students” ran in the education section of the local paper. The article focused on a presentation the students gave to Willamette students and faculty in light of the issue of foreign companies controlling U.S. ports. Read the full article here: www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060228/NEWS/602280314&SearchID=73237664254612

Atkinson Viewbook Wins Award
Atkinson’s viewbook, which is used for recruiting and public relations, won an “Award of Excellence” in the Recruitment/Viewbook Category of the 2005 UCDA Design Competition. UCDA received over 1,300 entries last year, with the judges awarding 204 awards of excellence, 13 silver awards and 8 gold awards. The UCDA (University & College Designers Association) Design Competition recognizes the best of the exceptional design work done to promote higher education.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Young Professionals of Portland Breakfast of Champions
March 16th, 2006
Young Professionals of Portland will be sponsoring a Breakfast Forum featuring (Republican Candidate for Governor) Kevin Mannix as a guest speaker on March 16th at 7:30 am, at the University Club in Portland. The cost for this event will be $25/person and pre-registration will be required. Register at: www.YoungProfessionalsOfPortland.com

Portland Forum Breakfast
April 11th, 2006
Join alumni and friends for breakfast at the Multnomah Athletic Club in Portland, April 11, to hear Ken Thrasher, Chairman & CEO of Compli, as he speaks on “Following the Rules: The New Buzz Around Compliance.” This event is co-sponsored by Willamette University and the Willamette Professional MBA program. For more information, contact alumni@willamette.edu or (800) 551-6794.

Annual Brownwater Festivities
April 27-29, 2006
Please mark these dates on your calendar so that you are able to participate in some of the traditional festivities including Casino Night, Golf Tournament, and the Innertube float down Mill Stream, among other activities. More details to follow.
Pull out those old Brownwater pictures!
The Atkinson Student Association is currently working on this year’s Brownwater festivities and they are looking for photographs and memorabilia from past Brownwater events. Either digital or print format is okay. Printed photos would be scanned and returned. Please contact Audrey Pederson if you have photos to share: apederso@willamette.edu.

Professional MBA Upcoming Information Sessions

Portland Information Session:
Tuesday, March 22
Location: Urban Wine Works, Portland Ore
Time: 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Directions: urbanwineworks.com/contact.html
Brief presentation about the Professional MBA at 6:15

More information is available online at www.willamette.edu/mba, under Events. RSVP is suggested, but not necessary. For more information contact Willamette University’s MBA offices at (503) 808-9901 (Portland) or (503) 370-6440 (Salem).

RECENT EVENTS

Willamette MBA Power Lunch
March 8, 2006
Special guest speaker, Wayne Card, talked about “The use of triangulation methods for projecting revenue.” Wayne is the Director of Business Intelligence for Hewlett-Packard’s Inkjet Supplies Business
(Strategic Planning, Forecasting, Performance Management, and Manufacturing Strategy)

Willamette PMBA and Statesman Journal’s B2B Magazine Host Forum
March 14, 2006
The Statesman Journal’s B2B Magazine and Willamette’s Professional MBA Program came together for a joint Business Community Forum on Tuesday, March 14th. The topic was “Salem’s International Connections.” Following the discussion, there was a brief presentation about the Professional MBA Program.

CAREER SERVICES

Career Statistics (as of March 1st):

• Class of 2006 – 35% have received offers of employment (22% acceptances)
• First year Internships – 22% have received internship offers (16% acceptances)

Many many more are in the thick of interviewing…

Key Career Events:
Oregon Bioscience Association Annual Conference: March 8th 2006
In addition to exciting keynote speakers the conference will feature panels on venture capital, workforce development, Oregon bioscience companies, and bioscience research at Oregon institutions. Will be held at the Oregon Zoo.

Salem Career TREK: March 10th, 2006
Students will tour three companies:
Don Pancho - tortilla manufacturer, Tour and talk with the CEO and Director of Marketing.
Secretary of State Audits Division - Tour of the consulting/auditing services this division provides for the various State agencies. Brief Tour of the State Capital Building, to see the chambers and offices of the Senators.
Willamette Valley Vineyards - Alum, Jim Bernau will talk about operations, marketing as well as entrepreneurialism. This will be followed by a tour of the facility and a wine tasting.

2006 GRADUATE STUDENT PROFILE

KYLE ROADMAN
Tektronix, Inc.
Kyle Roadman accepted a position in the Tektronix finance and accounting organization in September. Kyle will be supporting the Central Engineering organization within the Tektronix Instruments Business Unit. Job duties include forecasting and reporting of financial results, capital investment analysis, and strategic planning.

The job offer came after Kyle completed a 12-week internship with Tektronix in the summer of 2005. During the internship, Kyle was exposed to financial support techniques in all functional areas of the organization. Kyle also led an initiative to revise the corporate strategic operating models.

Prior to landing the internship with Tektronix, Kyle was searching for employment primarily in information technology and the software industry. Kyle found the most effective strategy was to broaden his outlook and consider a larger number of opportunities, even if some were outside of his preconceived employment profile. Under this scenario, the quality of available employers seemed to increase dramatically. This was especially true given that Kyle was focused exclusively on finding a position in the state of Oregon.

EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT CENTER

Utility Management Certificate Program
After it’s successful launch last fall, the Utility Management Certificate program returns September 25-29 and October 23-27, 2006. Co-sponsored by the Utility Education and Training Alliance, the UMC received excellent reviews from the participants and their employers for its rigor, comprehensiveness, and opportunities to learn from managers in different functional areas at gas and electric utilities, investor-owned and public. The program will be offered at Atkinson’s Portland Center. For more information, visit www.willamette.edu/agsm/utility/

Transit and Community Transportation Management Certificate Program
Atkinson’s Transit program will soon begin. The program, directed by Walt Diangson, is a management program for people working in or toward a transit management career. It is specific to the transit and paratransit industry and provides a major training option and resource to professionals in our region. The program will take place in Portland and Seattle and the starting date is April 3 for both locations. For more information, go to www.willamette.edu/mba/transit or contact Karen Piter at kpiter@willamette.edu.

STUDENT ASSOCIATION NEWS

SHRM Student Chapter
The Society of Human Resource Management Student Chapter and its members have been very busy this year. Please take a few minutes to read the first SHRM Newsletter for Spring 2006 by visiting the following link: www.willamette.edu/~bcoon/SHRM_Newsletter/Newsletter.html. The Board plans to release at least two updates every term in an effort to keep the AGSM community informed and involved in SHRM activities.

Atkinson SHRM Chapter members will be presenting at the upcoming Salem SHRM/NHRMA Chapter Meeting on the topic: “HR Rotational Programs: What Are They, Who Do They Benefit, & How To Implement Them.” The meeting will be on Tuesday, March 7th from 7-9 AM on the Willamette University campus, Putnam University Center, 3rd Floor.

Business Women’s Forum
The Business Women’s Forum (BWF) is proud to announce that it has officially secured a chapter of the National Association of Women MBAs (NAWMBA), an excellent organization committed to promoting women in business and increasing the opportunities for women MBAs. A link to our school has been added to their web site (posted on this web page, if you would like to take a look at the other schools we’ve joined: www.mbawomen.org/site/PageServer?pagename=MEM_our_chapters BWF will be working on adding activities to our yearly calendar that specifically speak to NAWMBA. Now that Atkinson is a chapter of this national organization, all women currently enrolled automatically become members, and all female alumni will be encouraged to participate as well. Any thoughts or ideas about how to go forward with this new opportunity would be greatly appreciated (contact Amanda Hemmert: ahemmert@willamette.edu).

The Business Women’s Forum (BWF) hosted their final speaker/dinner/discussion event for this year on Wednesday, March 8 at the Sassy Onion Grill. The topic of the evening was “Increasing Your Visibility: Stand Out In Your Organization” and featured two dynamic speakers - Valerie Kress, Digital Office Finance Manager at Intel and Kathy Long Holland, Founder of LongSherpa Design and former Divisional Head of New Products and Markets at Nike. The event included a social hour, dinner, and discussion. BWF was created to bring more female perspectives to AGSM, but everyone in the Atkinson community is welcome to come, listen, and participate at every event.

Atkinson Accounting Association
Atkinson Accounting Association (AAA) and the Fraud Accounting Class recently hosted two FBI Special Agents, Jeff Dale and Jane Brillhart, for an information session entitled: “White Collar Crime and Investigative Techniques in Foreign Counter-Intelligence.”

American Marketing Association
Atkinson’s American Marketing Association (AMA) chapter hosted a dual site visit to Columbia Sportswear and Nike on Friday, March 3rd. They heard presentations at both companies on general marketing, international, product marketing, development and sales.

Atkinson Management Today
The school’s first student-run business publication, is excited to announce its 2006-2007 editorial board. The new members are LEAH DANIELS (Managing Editor), TIM TANIS (Web Editor), PETER JOHNSON (Treasurer), and ALINA BOGIU (Marketing Editor). The new board is already busy working on AMT’s third edition, which is scheduled for release in late-April. The outgoing editors wish their successors well and look forward watching AMT grow under their guidance. To read AMT, go to www.willamette.edu/agsm/amt

STUDENT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Current student FADI BOURI represented Willamette MBA in the annual leadership conference of Beta Gamma Sigma in San Diego on February 9th-12th. The conference focused on developing leadership skills and the role of leaders in influencing teams.
There were 70 attendees from universities nationwide. “I had the chance to visit sunny San Diego and meet interesting people,” comments Fadi.

STAFF NEWS

Karen Yost, mother of Atkinson Director of Marketing RUSSELL YOST, passed away Friday, February 3. Karen had a joyful spirit and passion for teaching. She especially loved working with elementary school students and in her 25 years in the Salem-Keizer School District she taught at Morningside, Englewood, Sumpter, Washington and Mary Eyre Elementary Schools. She was an active member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, where a memorial service was held on Wednesday, February 8. Many students of Karen’s were in attendance at the service, as well as family and friends.

Donations may be made to the Karen Yost Memorial Fund at Mary Eyre Elementary School. The funds will be used to cover the cost of activities such as field trips for students who could not afford to participate otherwise. The school can be contacted at 503-399-3311 to make donations.

Administrative Assistant MARY STOUT is a grandmother again! Mary’s newest granddaughters, Marlo and Hadley were born on February 8th in Denver, Colorado to Laura and Alan Nibert. Marlo was 3lbs. 11 oz. and 16 1/4 inches and Hadley was 3lbs. 5 oz. and 15 3/4 inches.

CALENDAR NOTES

View the current events calendar at: www.willamette.edu/~schiapel/master_calendar/ and other information for alumni at: www.willamettealumni.com/events.

Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not.

– Pablo Picasso