New Seminar Prepares Businesswomen To Serve on Corporate Boards 1 The first participants to complete "Positioning Women for Corporate Boards," a three-day seminar designed to prepare female business leaders for membership on corporate boards of directors, posed with the seminar's organizers, Dr. Constantine Konstans (far left, front row), Jerry Hoag (far left, back row), Dr. Diane Seay McNulty (second from left, back row) and Dr. David Springate (far right, front row). Held in May 2004 at The UTD School of Management (SOM), the seminar was co-sponsored by the SOM, Leadership America, Inc. and the Leadership Texas Alumnae Association. The seminar program combined firsthand experiences of current corporate board members and selection committee chairmen as well as case studies presented by faculty from SOM's Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance (IECG) and The Leadership Center at UTD. The corporate governance and board operations session was presented by Dr. Konstans, IECG's executive director, and two Deloitte & Touche USA LLP executives, 2 Judith McMillin, Deloitte's mid-America regional partner-in-charge, Global Employer Solutions Practice, and 3 Sherrie G. McAvoy, Deloitte's national director of Corporate Compliance and Ethics Consulting and leader, Mid-America Corporate Governance Practice. 4 Other presenters included David Palmlund, senior partner, Highland Partners, who spoke on "A Search Professional's Thoughts on Board Selections," and 5 Cece Smith, co-founder and managing general partner, Philips-Smith-Machens Venture Partners, who addressed the opening dinner meeting. The most recent three-day "Positioning Women for Corporate Boards" seminar was held at the UTD School of Management November 8-10. For more information, visit http://som.utdallas.edu/pwcb. Entrepreneurship Concentration Is a New Option for Grad Students Beginning this fall, School of Management (SOM) graduate students with entrepreneurial interests can get the tools they need to bring their business ideas to fruition in the real world. Now available for students in both SOM's Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Science in Management and Administrative Sciences (MAS) degree programs, a new concentration in innovation and entrepreneurship is designed to give students a jump-start toward starting their own businesses or making strong contributions within entrepreneurial companies. "We can't give a person a great business idea or the drive to become an entrepreneur, but we can provide background, knowledge, skills and perspective so they can make informed choices and hit the ground running," says Dr. Joseph Picken, a faculty member in the school's Organizations, Strategy and International Management area and creator of the new innovation and entrepreneurship concentration. The concentration focuses on the processes of innovation and new-venture development in entrepreneurial firms, including opportunity identification and evaluation, financing, strategy, marketing and new-venture management. Emphasizing technological innovation in both large and small organizations, the multidisciplinary sequence of courses seeks to prepare students for successful careers either as principals or key functional managers in emerging growth firms, or as leaders of technological innovation in established firms. "We wanted to develop a program that would emphasize innovation and technology-based entrepreneurship, as compared to other local programs that offer a more general focus on family or smaller businesses," says Dr. Picken. The new concentration is available as one of five possible concentrations offered through the 36-hour MAS program and as one of seven concentrations offered in the 53-hour MBA program. In addition to the core requirements of the degree program, students who choose the entrepreneurship concentration must take five foundation courses in innovation and entrepreneurship and can choose from an extensive list of suggested electives representing key functional areas. While all courses are taught by full-time faculty, many courses in the concentration also involve practicing entrepreneurs who share their experiences and participate in case discussions, says Dr. Picken, who has more than 25 years experience working in or with entrepreneurial firms gained during a 35-year business career prior to joining the SOM. SOM Staff Member Receives UTD Employee Award Nilza Molina-Lopez, administrative assistant in The School of Management's Information Systems and Operations Management area, has received a Celebrate Achievement: Reward Excellence (CARE) Award from the UTD Staff Council. Ms. Molina-Lopez was praised as "one of those unique individuals who can brighten up your day with a smile and a caring word." Award recipients were honored in ceremonies in May. Each received a certificate and an engraved clock to commemorate their contributions to the university. The award is given to a maximum of six employees twice each year by the council and is approved by UTD President Franklyn Jenifer to honor outstanding staff members. They may be nominated by fellow staff, faculty, visitors or customers of the university. Financial Management Association Students Make Contacts in NYC A group of UTD Financial Management Association students spent a week in August visiting the financial district in New York City. The group of 25 students met with officials and visited 10 companies, including JPMorgan Chase; Labranche & Co. Inc.; Investment Technology Group, Inc.; Morgan Stanley; and Bloomberg as well as the New York Mercantile Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. The purpose of the trip was for members to learn, firsthand, about the financial industry as well as to develop connections that might further their future careers. The UTD Financial Management Association, which has 50 members, provides opportunities for professional interaction between academicians, practitioners and students, and works to enhance education in the field of finance. Adviser to the UTD chapter is Dr. Mary Chaffin, a member of The School of Management's (SOM) Finance and Managerial Economics faculty. Dr. Chaffin is also an assistant dean and the college master for SOM undergraduate programs. Newest Scholarship Program Benefits Five MBA Students The School of Management's Scholarship Committee has named the first five recipients of the Summerfield Roberts Scholarship in the school's newest scholarship program. Named as 2004 Summerfield Roberts Scholars are Joseph Lundquist, Melody Macaluso, Christopher Shane McCullough, Thomas Nguyen and Natasha Garcia. All are students in the school's part-time Professional MBA Program and each has received a $1,000 scholarship that is renewable for up to seven semesters and will cover approximately half of the tuition and fees for their UTD MBA degree. Dr. Steve Perkins, the school's associate dean for Graduate Programs and administrator of the scholarship program, says to be eligible for the scholarship, students should have high entering qualifications and be newly enrolled in the part-time Professional MBA Program. To remain eligible, students must take at least six credit hours each semester and maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0. The scholarship application requires a letter of recommendation and a brief narrative outlining how the student has progressed in his or her professional career as well as how he or she sees the MBA degree advancing future career progress. Applicants must be Texas residents. The new scholarship program is made possible by an $88,500 grant from the Summerfield G. Roberts Foundation, which is named after Dallas oilman, inventor and investor Summerfield G. Roberts. "Mr. Roberts was a Dallas business leader and fifth-generation Texan. His foundation gives back to the community through scholarships to Texas students studying business," Dr. Perkins says. For more information on the Summerfield Roberts Scholarship Program, contact Dr. Perkins at 972-883-6789 or perkins@utdallas.edu. Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance Beverly Jones (below, right), senior vice president, Marsh FINPRO Claims Advocacy, delivered the luncheon address at an Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance seminar held at the SOM in May. The seminar focused on financial statement analysis for directors and non-financial senior officers. Ms. Jones discussed the changing landscape of director and officer liability insurance coverage in the post-Enron era. Also attending the event was Jay Chappell (left), a specialist in directors' and officers' liability insurance who is a senior vice president in the Dallas office of Marsh and a new member of The School of Management Advisory Council (see New Chairman Welcomes Five New Members on page 18). School of Management Dean Hasan Pirkul, Ph.D. (center), welcomed the seminar's participants and speakers. School Helps Roll Out New Program to Help Young Women ÔWise Up' Financially Project Management Student Wins Company Award Brenden Martin, an MBA student in The School of Management's Project Management Program, has received a President's Award from his employer, Misys Healthcare Systems, which implements, supports and installs software systems for hospitals. A Dallas-based project manager for Misys, Mr. Martin was recognized primarily for turning around a client account relationship that had taken a turn for the worse. The company's President's Award recognizes individuals who have shown remarkable achievement over the previous year, including outstanding contributions and performance, dedication as team players, and commitment to providing the very best in customer service. "This award is a great honor," Mr. Martin says. "Within our company, only 30 out of 1,700 people were selected for the award. And the selection is done by our executive team, from vice presidents on up to the CEO. For them to recognize the achievement of people at my level is really something." In his current Misys role, Mr. Martin oversees implementation of software for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Mr. Martin took over the account in June 2003 and quickly began resolving issues, reconciling with the client and rebuilding the customer relationship. A 1991 Louisiana Tech University life sciences undergrad, Mr. Martin enrolled in The UTD School of Management's Project Management Program in fall 2003. He attributes part of his success to what he has learned through the program. "Our first phase in the MBA program covered nine project management knowledge areas that provided soft skills on team building, negotiation, organizational structure and organizational politics," he says. "Our instructors had been out there working, so they provided real-life examples and role play. We were able to build our skills in those areas, and we received toolkits to take back to work and use. Those things have really helped me on the job." Project Management Student Wins Company Award Brenden Martin, an MBA student in The School of Management's Project Management Program, has received a President's Award from his employer, Misys Healthcare Systems, which implements, supports and installs software systems for hospitals. A Dallas-based project manager for Misys, Mr. Martin was recognized primarily for turning around a client account relationship that had taken a turn for the worse. The company's President's Award recognizes individuals who have shown remarkable achievement over the previous year, including outstanding contributions and performance, dedication as team players, and commitment to providing the very best in customer service. "This award is a great honor," Mr. Martin says. "Within our company, only 30 out of 1,700 people were selected for the award. And the selection is done by our executive team, from vice presidents on up to the CEO. For them to recognize the achievement of people at my level is really something." In his current Misys role, Mr. Martin oversees implementation of software for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Mr. Martin took over the account in June 2003 and quickly began resolving issues, reconciling with the client and rebuilding the customer relationship. A 1991 Louisiana Tech University life sciences undergrad, Mr. Martin enrolled in The UTD School of Management's Project Management Program in fall 2003. He attributes part of his success to what he has learned through the program. "Our first phase in the MBA program covered nine project management knowledge areas that provided soft skills on team building, negotiation, organizational structure and organizational politics," he says. "Our instructors had been out there working, so they provided real-life examples and role play. We were able to build our skills in those areas, and we received toolkits to take back to work and use. Those things have really helped me on the job."