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| March 2012 |
| administrative news |
| Message from the Dean |
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Dear Willamette MBA Community,
In Mid-February, Willamette University inaugurated its 25th President, Stephen E. Thorsett. The official installation ceremony, the culmination of a very busy week of events, | |
welcomed a number of local, state and national representatives to campus who offered their congratulations on the momentous occasion.
In President Thorsett's inaugural address he discussed what makes Willamette University a distinct institution of learning. Through his formal listening groups on campus and informal conversations with alumni and friends in the community, he concluded that it is "the connections" that truly set our school apart.
"The idea of connection is right at the surface of our self-image, what we nearly always say first about ourselves," he explained. "In every listening group discussion so far, with staff, faculty, students, alumni and parents, one of the very first strengths mentioned was a sense of interpersonal connection. Willamette was consistently and repeatedly described as a warm and friendly community, where people support and help one another."
As you reflect on your experience at Atkinson and at Willamette, I encourage you to think about the connections you made and how they have influenced your career and your life. This newsletter is full of ways you can continue to connect with and support us as we live out the image of Willamette explained so articulately by President Thorsett. |
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| Best Wishes, |
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| Debra J. Ringold, Dean and JELD-WEN Professor of Free Enterprise |
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| alumni news |
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| Family Additions |
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Tracy Feng Butler MBA'02 and Mark Butler '91, MBA'03 became the proud parents of Kiera Rae Butler on February 14, 2012. Kiera was 6 lbs 11 ounces and 19.5 inches.
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| Updates |
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| Jay Desai MBA'89
recently authored a book titled "Accountability: Angst, Awareness, Action", on India's public administration and governance systems, to be published by Pearson in March 2012. |  |
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| After 23 years at Rockwell Collins (Flight Dynamics), Thomas Geiger MBA'96
left the company and joined Universal Avionics in Redmond, Washington
as Senior Manager of Program Management. He will be splitting time
between the office in Redmond, and the home office. |
| | | Michael Robinson '05, MBA'07 was
recently promoted as the Creative Manager for Nautilus. Michael
manages the Creative team that supports all graphic and web design for
Bowflex, Nautilus, Schwinn Fitness, CoreBody Reformer and Universal. In
this role, he also manages DRTV production, the Nautilus mobile
programs and the Bowflex Affiliate program. |
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| Judy Hutchison MBA'08 joined the Board of Directors of the Classroom Law Project, the non-profit that sponsors "Mock Trial" and "We The People" programs in local schools. Judy also serves as the Co-Chair of the Ambassador Board for the Cascade Pacific Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and in June 2012 one of their events is to rappel down the US Bank Tower in Portland. "Looking for more daredevil volunteers!" writes Judy. |
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| Shigemasa Shin '94 was recently promoted to President and CEO of Thai Escorp Ltd. and TES E&M Service Co., Ltd. Thai Escorp was established in 1988 as a local company of Shinsho Corporation, a core trading company of Kobe Steel Group, to supply materials and distribute products and services among the Group. Ever since it has played an important role as a headquarter of Shinsho Corporation in Southeast Asia. |
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| atkinson news |
| MBA for Professionals Hosted Executive Reception with President Thorsett |
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The Willamette University MBA for Professionals program celebrated the success of the program with a reception featuring special guest, Willamette University President Stephen E. Thorsett on Tuesday, March 12th, 2012. The large number of attendees represented MBA program alumni, faculty, staff and executives from around the Mid-Willamette Valley.
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| Willamette MBA Featured in International Newspaper |
| Willamette MBA was recently featured in the Hindustan Times, one of the largest newspapers in India, by circulation. Director of Marketing Russell Yost MBA'05 and Director of Recruitment Aimee Akimoff MBA'11 were interviewed for the article which was timed for publication just following Aimee's visit to Mumbai to participate in the MBA Tour. The article discusses international students in the program, courses, admission criteria and the success rate of Willamette MBA students in their search for jobs. Read the full article here. |
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| Oregon Ethics in Business Announces 2012 Finalists |
Oregon Ethics in Business, a project of Atkinson Graduate School of Management and Rotary Club of Portland honors those organizations and individuals who have demonstrated ethical business practice in its broadest interpretation: in the workplace, the marketplace, the environment, and the community. The recipients of these awards will have, by act and example, gone beyond the expected to achieve excellence in ethical business practices. |  |
Congratulations to the 2012 Finalists:
BUSINESS CATEGORY
The Collins Company
Wildish Company
NOT-FOR-PROFIT CATEGORY
Camp Fire Columbia
Medical Teams International
Next STep Recycling
Northwest Family Services
INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY
Graham Covington
Kathy Moeller Herrid
George Rode
The winners of the Ethics in Business Awards will be announced at the ceremony on June 13th at the Governor Hotel. Details below under Events.
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Hult Global Case Challenge Wrap-Up
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The presentation was prepared and practiced, details of the schedule ahead were slowly leeching out, and the team from Willamette University: first-year students, Joe Garrison, Christal Lee, Casey Morgan, and Katie Skaar and second-year student Bradford McKeown, were excited that the weekend of February 24th had finally arrived. The team was warmly welcomed to Hult's International Business School campus in San Francisco on Thursday where they encountered a first look at the competition.
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The team from Willamette MBA prepared well and presented on the case for 9 and half minutes, with questions from the judges following. Although the team did not advance to the finals to be held in New York, they felt that they learned a lot, came home with some valuable lessons to employ for next years' challenge, and proud that they were able to represent Willamette University.
Read the full story about the team's journey to the Hult Global Case Challenge on the Willamette MBA blog. |
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| events |
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Upcoming Events |
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| Early Career and Career Change MBA Preview Evening |
Prospective students are invited to visit the Salem, Oregon campus, connect with current students, experience a sample class, meet Willamette MBA alumni and answer your questions about life in the Willamette Early Career and Career Change MBA program.
Save the date for Preview Evening - April 21, 2012, 3:00pm - 8:00pm:
Link to more information |
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| Save the Date for Brownwater! |
An Atkinson tradition for more than 35 years, Brownwater is a three-day event put on by the Atkinson Student Association that celebrates Spring, graduation and the end of the academic year. Continue the tradition by celebrating with fellow alumni, faculty, staff and students at the annual Casino Night, Brownwater Regatta and other events.
May 3 - 5, 2012
More details to come.
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| Oregon Ethics in Business Awards Banquet |
Oregon Ethics in Business, a project of Atkinson Graduate School of Management and Rotary Club of Portland honors those organizations and individuals who have demonstrated ethical business practice in its broadest interpretation: in the workplace, the marketplace, the environment, and the community. The recipients of these awards will have, by act and example, gone beyond the expected to achieve excellence in ethical business practices.
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June 13, 2012 at 6:00 p.m.
Location: The Governor Hotel
Keynote Speaker: Max Williams President and CEO of The Oregon Community Foundation
For more information, to purchase tickets and to find out about sponsorship opportunities, please visit the Oregon Ethics in Business website. |
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| Dean's Lunch Series - Join Dean Ringold in Salem or Portland |
Connect with Debra Ringold, Dean of the Atkinson Graduate School of Management, Willamette MBA alumni, current and prospective students, and staff at a Willamette MBA for Professionals 'Real Connections' Luncheon.
View the Willamette MBA events page for upcoming dates and times in Portland and Salem:
Link to Dean's Lunch Series |
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| Calendar |
Mar 13
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Dean's Lunches Series |
Mar 21
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Power Lunch Speaker, Salem |
Apr 4
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Dean's Lunches Series |
Apr 10
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Dean's Lunches Series |
Apr 21
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Early Career/Career Change MBA Preview Evening |
Apr 27
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PACE New Venture Presentations |
Apr 27
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Career Management and Coaching Certificate |
May 1
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Early Career/Career Change MBA Application Deadline |
May 3-5
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Brownwater |
May 4
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Career Management and Coaching Certificate |
May 4
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Mentorship Event |
May 25
| Career Management and Coaching Certificate |
Jun 8
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Career Management and Coaching Certificate |
Jun 13
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Ethics in Business Awards Banquet |
Jun 28
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Portland Summer Gathering |
Jul 13
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Salem Mid-Summer Gathering | | | | | alumni events calendar | | atkinson events calendar | | |
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| career management |
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| Update from the Career Management Team: Beth Ursin & Shelby Gould |
| NW MBA Career Day: This year, our NW Consortium Career Day was moved to the Convention Center, where we had 25 employers participating from: |
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Acme Business Consulting, Aequitas Capital Management, AXA Advisors, LLC, Banfield Pet Hospital, Blount International, Inc, Boly:Welch, Cambia Health Solutions, Columbia Sportswear, Daimler Trucks, Ecova, FBI, Gallup, Hitachi Consulting, Kaiser Permanente, Leupold Stevens, Mercy Corps, Northstar Resource Group, Northwestern Mutual, Oregon Secretary of State Audits Dvision, PCC Structurals, Point B Solutions Group, Portland General Electric, RV Kuhns & Associates, Slalom Consulting and Tektronix. In addition, national MBA associations were present including NAWMBA, NBMBA and NSHMBA. Every year, students secure relationships that result in internships and jobs. This year was no different with several students reporting subsequent interviews.
Rubicon Consulting and Gallup both had company information sessions close to the event which drew several Willamette students who have moved forward in the interview process as a result.
Company Treks in the Willamette Valley: Our Portland Trek started at 4:45am with a committed group of students meeting at DA Davidson in Lake Oswego to hear analysts talk before the market opened. This visit was followed by Daimler Trucks where alum Tori Flanigan CLA'06 MBA'10 presented along with several other professionals interested in attracting students to their "CAReer Leadership Development" programs and internships. Daimler will be on campus to recruit in April. The day finished with a luncheon event at Intel where alumni talked about their careers in finance, marketing and other areas. This event was organized by alumni Kevin McClaughry CLA'89 MBA'91, Nels Swenson CLA'98 MBA'99 and Ashlee Stoeger MBA'11. The student Marketing Association led a day of company visits to Xerox, Edelman organized by alum Nancy Garcia '08, MBA'10, Sparkloft Media and the Portland Timbers. We also brought several students to visit Salem Health where they interacted with alumni, Denise Hoover MBA'04, Cassie Cooke MBA'11 and Cort Garrison MBA'09.
Companies on Campus: Avanade, Tektronix (with alum Eric Hagen MBA'96) and Nike all launched their spring recruiting season by sourcing candidates on campus this winter. |
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| executive development center |
| Alumni Inspired Conversation - "Dealing Practically with Uncertainty" |
New lines of business. Competition from new players. Technological innovation. These actions create uncertainty, and many organizations are not prepared to deal with it. In fact, organizations often have procedures and requirements that, in the name of stability, render it impossible to make intelligent decisions about what to do next. In this session we'll discuss how to be effective in the face of uncertainty, mixing entrepreneurial expertise and strategies on how to work around barriers in a way that your organization might actually support.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Noon-1:00pm
Presented by Rob Wiltbank, Associate Professor of Strategic Management
Online as a Webinar
In-Person at the Willamette University Portland Center (1120 NW Couch Street, Suite 450, Portland, OR)
For More Information or to RSVP, Click Here. |
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| faculty news |
Mark J. Ahn, Larry W. Ettner, and JD/MBA candidate Amanda Loupin recently had a paper published titled "Values v. traits-based approaches to leadership: insights from an analysis of the Aeneid", in the Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 33 Iss: 2, pp.112 - 130.
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Professor Lisbeth Claus presented a paper entitled, "Duty of Care: HR's Role in Managing Human Capital Risk." at the Annual Symposium of the Lake Washington Human Resources Association in Seattle (February 9). She facilitated a workshop on "Keeping a mobile global workforce safe in an unsafe world" for the Global Special Interest Group of the Portland Human Resource Association in Portland (March 2). Professor Claus also appeared in multiple television interviews speaking about duty of care and corporate responsibility in South Africa this month: ABNDigital Network and Summit TV.
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Professor Wei Wu presented his research paper "Financing Development Stage Biotechnology Companies: Reverse Mergers vs. IPOs" at the Midwest Finance Association 2012 Annual Meeting in New Orleans. The paper was co-authored with Atkinson finance professor Robert Couch and former Atkinson professor Mark Ahn. The paper examines Reverse Merger as an alternative way to go public, compared against IPO in the biotech industry. Read the full article here.
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Professor Fred Thompson published "Financial panic, economic threat, and sovereign debt crises" in Public Money and Management 32/3 (2012).
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| staff news |
Melinda Rogers joined the Atkinson Graduate School as the new Director of the Executive Development Center. Melinda has over 15 years of experience in a variety of HR roles with Fortune 500 companies Qualcomm and Hewlett-Packard.
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| Most recently, she held the position of Vice President of Enterprise Learning at Knowledge Universe, the world's largest privately held early childhood education company. At Knowledge Universe, Melinda was responsible for leading company-wide initiatives such as employee culture and employee brand development. She has extensive experience with cultural change leadership, transition management, organizational development, succession planning, and linking HR strategy to business results. In addition to supporting the development of business plans and strategies, Melinda has served as an executive coach and worked closely to develop corporate staff and executive teams. Before beginning her career in human resource management, Melinda spent 10 years in line management positions in sales, engineering, and supply chain. These experiences have allowed her to quickly build credibility with line managers and develop practical solutions that are directly tied to business objectives. |
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| student news |
Second-year student, Omar Alghanmi is a proud new father to baby, Hamad, born in early March 2012 in Salem, Ore.
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| Second-year student, Justin Hanseth, together with Terra Phoenix Design, has just finished three permaculture masterplan designs in Costa Rica and is beginning a new one in Peru next week for a retreat center and health clinic. In the Pacific Northwest, he recently contributed to the design of Beacon Foot Forest and Community by Design, LLC. Justin was also the presenter at the annual fundraiser for All People Be Happy in Portland last month, to raise money for service projects in Africa, Asia, and Central America. |
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| "If you cannot be the poet, be the poem" |
David Carradine
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This email newsletter was sent to members of the Willamette/Atkinson community and subscribers from the Atkinson Graduate School. If you wish to unsubscribe to ATKINSONews, simply reply or email aakimoff@willamette.edu with your request.
ATKINSONews is a monthly newsletter from the Atkinson Graduate School of Management of Willamette University, Salem, Oregon. It is distributed to the current Atkinson community, subscribed alumni and University administrators via email each month during the academic year.
Mission: As an effort to foster one of Atkinson's significant purposes - to establish a close community - ATKINSONews's mission is to provide an accurate and timely forum for disseminating current news and events involving the school and its current and former community members.
Acknowledgements: I thank the following contributors for this month's issue: Russell Yost, Tracy Butler, Jay Desai, Thomas Geiger, Michael Robinson, Judy Hutchison, Shigemasa Shin, Katie Skaar, Larry Ettner, Beth Ursin, Lisbeth Claus, Wei Wu, and Omar Alghanmi.
Subscriptions: Recipients wishing to unsubscribe (excluding current community members) must do so by submitting your request to unsubscribe. Current Atkinson community members (faculty, staff and students) cannot unsubscribe but can instruct their email software to purge or block the newsletter via Message Filters (Netscape) or Message Rules (Microsoft) applications. And last, please update your email address with us when your email address changes.
Comments/Corrections/Suggestions: I encourage and appreciate that you send your thoughts, comments, criticisms, corrections or suggestions about ATKINSONews to aakimoff@willamette.edu. Corrections will be addressed in the following issue and all your comments or suggestions will be thoughtfully considered.
Submissions: You may submit any news item pertaining to your academic life or significant personal milestones including (but not limited to) promotions, awards, accolades, engagements, marriages and babies. Also, if you know of a near future event you think might be of interest to the Atkinson community, submit that item as well. I will try to include all appropriate submissions as time and space allow. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday noon, the week before publication. Please send your submissions electronically to ATKINSONews.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect those of the Atkinson Graduate School Administration or Willamette University.
Newsletter Archives: Past editions of ATKINSONews are located online.
Thanks for reading. Aimee Akimoff, Compiler/Editor | | |
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