• Robert Van Order, Oliver T. Carr Professor of Real Estate and co-chair of the Department of Finance, testified before the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment. The topic of the May 14 hearing was “Returning Private Capital to Mortgage Markets:  A Fundamental for Housing Finance Reform.” For Van Order’s testimony, go here.

• Howard Beales, professor of strategic management and public policy, testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance.  The May 7 hearing focused on “Credit Reports: What Accuracy and Errors Mean for Consumers.” For a link to Beale’s testimony, go here.

• Annamaria Lusardi, Denit Trust Distinguished Scholar in Economics and Accountancy, who is academic director of GWSB’s Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (G-FLEC), testified on April 24 at the U.S. Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee’s Subcommittee on Children and Families’ hearing on “The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy Education For Students.”

Every year, Emerald Group Publishing invites each journal’s editorial team to nominate an outstanding paper from the previous year (2012). Hassan and Stephen Craft (GWSB, Ph.D. 2001), dean & professor of business, Michael E. Stephens College of Business, University of Montevallo, published “Examining world market segmentation and brand positioning strategies” in the Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 29 Issue: 5, pp. 344 – 356.

The paper examined conceptual and empirical linkages between international market segmentation bases and brand positioning strategies. An examination of an inventory of market segmentation factors in relation to four global strategic positioning decision options revealed practical implications for firms operating in increasingly globalizing markets.  The paper can be downloaded here.

Graduating GWSB students had a lot to celebrate at the gala. (Photos by Abby Greenawalt)

More than 1,000 GWSB graduates and their guests enjoyed music, drinks and delicacies such as smoked duck and brie pizza at the GWSB graduation gala.  The May 14 celebration was held at the Kogod Courtyard of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture in Washington, D.C.  The band Invitation entertained at the event, which was open to graduating undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff and guests.  Music was provided by the band Invitation.

The gala menu featured such items as ratatouille tart and baked alaska brownie stix.

Gala guests enjoyed food, drinks and music.

Kristen Burnell

Job title:  Associate Director of Operation for the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC).

Job duties:  I help strategize and execute the internal and external business operations of GFLEC.

How long have you worked at GW:  13 months.

What’s best, so far, about working here:  The opportunity to meet some really friendly and talented people.

What’s something your co-workers do not know about you:  I was vegetarian for 15 years, but the Oklahoman in me has come out again, and I enjoy eating anything that used to move.

Where did you grow up:  Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Any hobbies?  Travel, photography, scuba diving, reading, baking, and needlepoint.

What do you enjoy doing on the weekend:  Hanging out with friends, relaxing in a park when it’s warm, continuing to explore D.C., since I’m still fairly new here, and reading.

Favorite vacation spots:  Anywhere with a warm beach and scuba diving.

A favorite book:  Sister of my Heart by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.

A favorite movie:  Roman Holiday.

A favorite food:  Indian is my favorite cuisine.

E-mail:  kburnell@gwu.edu

Phone:  202-994-7148

SBI’s 2013 postgraduate sports course rankings were published in its magazine’s May edition.

Programs were evaluated on such criteria as how many languages courses are taught in, gender balance, alumni network and availability of internships.

GWSB’s MBA in sport management ranked fourth overall, behind Ohio University’s MBA and Masters in Sports Administration (first); The independent International Centre for Sports Studies’ (Neuchâtel, Switzerland) master’s programs in sport management, law and humanities (second); and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst’s MBA in sport management (third).

For more on the rankings, go here.

The FLSS will resume at GWSB in the fall. Click here to read Bourke’s paper.

The FLSS is a joint initiative of the Federal Reserve Board and the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC) at GWSB. Additional information about the seminar series and directions to GWSB can be found here.

Korean language instructors visited the IMF and learned about teaching Korean in a business context at a GW-CIBER workshop.

Korean-language instructors took part in a professional development workshop earlier this month at GWSB, hosted by the GW Center for International Business Education & Research (GW-CIBER).

GW-CIBER’s second professional development workshop for instructors of “business Korean” was held as part of the center’s business language immersion event series. It was led by Young-Key Kim-Renaud and Miok D. Pak, both GW professors of Korean who are part of the GW-CIBER business language faculty team.

The workshop’s objective was to give participants an opportunity to learn methods for teaching the Korean language in a business context.

Speakers included the minister for economic affairs from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Washington, D.C., who spoke about the state of the Korean-U.S. economic and trade relations. Representatives from private industry compared Korean and American business cultures and discussed the globalization of Korean business. The group visited the International Monetary Fund, where they heard a presentation on Korea and the IMF.

Edward Cherian

A GWSB professor, Edward J. Cherian, is the faculty recipient of the 2013 GW Award, which is presented each year to a student, professor, and staff member who works to improve the University’s ties to community.

“Each has shaped the University and made it the outstanding institution it is today,” said GW Provost Steven Lerman.

The recipients were honored at GW’s May 19 commencement.

“Every day I come to work and continue to learn; I spend more time learning than I do teaching – that’s what this institution allows me to do,” said Cherian, a professor of information systems and technology management.

Cherian has served on GW’s Innovation Task Force, a group charged with soliciting feedback from the community about GW’s strengths and potential for improvement in academics and operations.

He has also served on the University Budget Committee and the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, and was advisor on the development of GWSB’s online healthcare MBA.

“I am working with so many staff and faculty who are also committed to excellence in this University, and this has provided me with real satisfaction,” Cherian said.

The other winners were student Joshua D’Angelo, who graduated from the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences; and Deputy General Counsel Charles K. Barber.

To read more about the GW Award in GW Today, go here.

The lectures, which drew widespread media coverage, were part of a course on the role of the Fed in the economy.

In the lectures, Bernanke traced the history of the central bank from the financial panics of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that led to its founding, in 1913, through the Great Depression, World War II and the 2008 financial crisis.

The book, The Federal Reserve and the Financial Crisis, is based on the GWSB lectures.  It offers insight into the Fed’s handling of recent economic challenges, and lessons that can be taken away from its actions.

As part of the global MBA curriculum, all first-year students participate in one of several CAPs so they have experience working on a professional consultancy project abroad by the end of their first year of study.

A three-course sequence is designed to help them prepare and implement their projects overseas.

Each year, CAP locations vary, depending on areas of faculty expertise. But they typically reflect a diversity of geographic locations and content.

This year, students worked on:

• supply-chain management for an automotive manufacturer in Mumbai, India;
• advertising and food services/facilities management in Lima, Peru;
• small and medium-sized agricultural businesses in Kigali, Rwanda;
• clean-tech enterprises in Sweden;
• marketing for a Turkish dairy producer.

To read about the students’ experiences, go to the 2013 CAP blog.

GWSB’s 2013 graduates clap for a speaker at their May 17 commencement. (Photo by Julie Woodford)

More than 500 graduate and 400 undergraduate students walked across the stage at the Charles E. Smith Center to graduate from GWSB on May 17. They were exhorted to set big goals and work hard to achieve them – for the good of society as well as themselves.

“Find passion in what you do,” Dean Doug Guthrie told the graduates.  “Dream about dreaming big dreams; don’t be afraid of that.”  When you hit a patch of uncertainty, Guthrie said, embrace it as a chance to make meaningful change.

“Uncertainty and opportunity:  this is where the future lies,” he said. “Think about giving. Consider that you can make the world a better place.”

Keynote speaker and GW Trustee Steve Ross, BBA, `81, told graduates to never grow complacent.  Ross is senior vice president
at RBC Wealth Management, a position he achieved by working his way up from a $3.65-per hour-intern with Ferris, Baker, Watts, which was acquired by RBC.

Along the way, Ross picked up advice on setting long-term goals, cultivating your own talents instead of envying others, and absorbing lessons from those who’ve gone before you.

As a case in point, Ross spoke of carpooling with his firm’s founder, George M. Ferris Sr., who worked into his 90s.

Ross interviewed Ferris “to sponge everything I could about economic history, the stock market, his successes and failures, and how he made a contribution to society,” and ultimately compiled 60 pages of notes.

Even today, “I often reflect on many of his thoughts and statements,” Ross said.

Graduate student speaker Andreas Schneider, MBA, `13, who co-founded Washington’s first kombucha (fermented tea) microbrewery, Capital Kombucha, with John Lee, MBA, `13, and Daniel Lieberman, JD/MBA, `13, said the number that best quantifies his time at GWSB is 1.7.

That number – 1.7 – is the percentage of people in the United States who hold an MBA – a small minority with the skills to address challenging problems like unemployment, Schneider said.

“We have the opportunity to create opportunity, the chance to give others a chance,” he said.

Gabbi Baker, BBA, `13, the undergraduate speaker, said she is leaving GWSB having learned the value of networking, team work, accepting failure, speaking up, and giving back.

“We now have a responsibility not only to continue learning, but to share these lessons with others and use them as we enter the world to make a difference,” she said.

The story was carried by other media outlets, including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (5/13).

“Philanthropy” examined modern civic leadership through the lens of special guest Paull Young, Director of Digital at charity: water, a non-profit company bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. The company is widely recognized for its innovative philanthropy. It stands by its 100% model-all donations go directly to bringing clean water to those in need; it also connects donors to the projects they help fund with a full report of the exact community they helped, including photos and GPS coordinates. charity: water was recently awarded a $5 million Google Global Impact Award to support water-monitoring technologies.

Paull Young Interview Highlights

Click here to watch the full Paull Young interview.

Click below to view photos from the interview and reception.

Research by Lusardi and colleague Carlo de Bassa Scheresberg for the National Bureau of Economic Research on growth in high-cost loans was the focus of a story (4/25) in The Washington Post’s Business section.

Lusardi and Scheresberg’s research is also referenced, and Lusardi quoted, in a Wall Street Journal story (4/24) on teenagers and economics.

Lusardi was interviewed by The Chicago Tribune (4/21) on the value of financial literacy programs.

Lusardi’s testimony before a U.S. Senate subcommittee on financial literacy was referenced in stories on numerous media outlets, including Voxxi (4/27):

Maddox was recommended by more than two dozen former and present GWSB colleagues and students. She will accept the award in June in Phoenix at the federation’s national conference.

Carson, professor of management science, and Winslow, professor of management, were named Emeriti Professors.  Beales, professor of strategic management and public policy, and Hassan, professor of marketing, were honored as “Silver Anniversary Faculty” for their 25 years of service to the School.

The luncheon will provide an opportunity to hear about successes achieved by entrepreneurs from emerging economies, and speakers who work to enhance entrepreneurial communities around the globe. Through an interactive platform, participants will learn about innovation and how diaspora groups to create new opportunities.

To register, go here.
 

Kate Stockrahm

Job title:  Events Coordinator

Job duties:  All things GWSB commencement-related.

How long have you worked at GW:  Three months.

What’s best, so far, about working here:  The people — and all of the leftover food items brought to our office (for my rather immediate consumption).

What’s something your co-workers do not know about you:  I will always accept a bacon-topped cupcake. Always. (In fairness, I believe they do know this about me. However, I am not going to turn down the opportunity to request more bacon-topped cupcakes.)

Where did you grow up:  Detroit, Michigan.

Family:  My father, Dan; my mother, Pier; my younger brother, Alex; my dog, Sparkles; and my cats, Puma and Special Agent Jack Bauer.

What do you enjoy doing on the weekend:  going to concerts, playing soccer or volleyball, relaxing with friends.

Favorite vacation spots:  Home.

A (current) favorite book:  This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz.

A favorite movie:  Sin City.

A favorite food:  Steak (with a side of more steak.)

E-mail:  kstock@gwu.edu

Phone:  202-994-8518

Kyung Won Na

Former Korean congresswoman Kyung Won Na spoke at GWSB last month about her experience as chairwoman of the recent 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games in South Korea – the most successful winter games in Special Olympics’ history. Na also discussed her experience in her country’s congress, and the national impact of the recent Special Olympics, which served as a test case for South Korea’s hosting of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang.

Na, who has a doctorate in international law, was a member of the 17^th and 18^th National Assembly of Joong-gu in Seoul. Prior to her election, she was national spokesperson for the ruling National Party. Na is a member of Special Olympics International’s board of directors and a co-representative of Korea Parents Association for the Disabled.

To hear an interview with Na on the importance of the Special Olympics, go here.

Those interested should submit their intent to present by May 10.

Service science is an emerging field on the interdisciplinary study of service.  It can encompass aspects of operations management, marketing, service research, information systems and computing, economics, and organization.

Those interested in submitting an abstract should e-mail their first and last names and e-mail addresses to informs.ssc@gmail.com by the deadline to receive a confirmed invitation to submit online.

Brazilian civil servants wrapped up a semester of study through GWSB’s Center for Latin American Issues’ Minerva program last month.

A group of 10 Latin American civil servants completed a semester of training on modern market economies through GWSB’s Center for Latin American Issues (CLAI).  Their program was capped by an April 23 ceremony in which they received certificates and heard from Dean Doug Guthrie.

The Minerva program, named for the Roman goddess of wisdom, is designed to improve public employees’ understanding of economics and finance, both in theory and operation.  It’s primarily aimed at civil servants with responsibility for public finances at the federal, state or local level.

Established by CLAI and a group of Brazilian entrepreneurs in 1994, the program was created for mid-level Brazilian career public servants in an effort to improve the effectiveness of that country’s civil service.  It has since expanded to include other countries, although only Brazilians took part in the most recent course.

So far, the program has graduated over 333 civil servants from Brazil alone. Offered twice a year at GWSB, it covers concepts of economics, finance, economic policy-making and regulation.

The program is funded by a combination of public and private funds from Brazil.

Annamaria Lusardi was honored at an April dinner with the 2013 William E. Odom Visionary Leadership Award from the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit coalition of organizations that works to advance financial literacy among students in pre-kindergarten through college. The award was announced earlier this year.

Annamaria Lusardi, Denit Trust Distinguished Scholar in Economics and Accountancy, had a bleak message for a U.S. Senate subcommittee last week:  Americans are woefully unprepared for making decisions about money.

Lusardi, who is academic director of GWSB’s Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (G-FLEC), testified on April 24 at the U.S. Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee’s Subcommittee on Children and Families’ hearing on “The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy Education For Students.”

“I am here today to tell you that the vast majority of Americans do not have the financial knowledge they need to fully participate in the economy or to make informed decisions about their own financial futures,” said Lusardi, an advocate of teaching school children about personal finances.

“This reality has implications for their lives and for the economic health of the country,” she said.

You can follow Lusardi on Twitter.

For more on the hearing, go here.

Meanwhile, the Center’s spring Financial Literacy Seminar Series (FLSS) continued with a May 2 presentation by Jing Cai, assistant professor of economics at the University of Michigan, on “Social Networks and the Decision to Insure.”

The FLSS is a joint initiative of the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) and the G-FLEC, formerly the Global Center for Financial Literacy. For more information on the series, and links to papers, go here.

For questions, contact the Center at finlitseries@gwu.edu.

GWSB undergraduate students Zach Herman and Dylan Fox took the grand prize at a TCU case competition with their fundraising platform for small organizations, Crowdvance.

GWSB undergraduate students Dylan Fox and Zach Herman won the $15,000 grand prize in the Richards Barrentine Values and Ventures™ Business Plan Competition hosted by the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University.

The annual competition for college undergraduates is aimed at rewarding socially conscious businesses.

The GWSB team won for Crowdvance, an online fundraising tool that helps small organizations raise money.  Crowdvance beat out 27 other startups from universities around the country and overseas.

Founded in 2011, Crowdvance has already helped several organizations improve their fundraising tactics, including the GW Womens Field Hockey team. Crowdvance helped the team raise $1,000 in under four weeks for its annual charity game for breast cancer.

Crowdvance helps small organizations, such as youth soccer leagues, student groups and small nonprofits, raise funds by rewarding donors with deals such as discounted concert tickets or apparel from partner companies.

GWSB students also scored big in other recent competitions:

• Capitol Advertising, the undergraduate advertising club, took first place in the recent District 2 American Advertising Federation (AAF) National Student Advertising Competition.  (The AAF has 15 districts, each of which is comprised of one to five states.)  GWSB undergraduate students Gabbi Baker, Jamie Clark, Peter Cook, Sevara Mallyn, and Hunter Pritchard now head to the national competition in June at the AAF conference in Phoenix.
  

  GWSB undergraduates advance to a national advertising competition in June after winning their district competition.

• GWSB students finished in the international top 10 at the 2013 DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America)  International Career Development Conference’s global case study competition.  As part of the conference, students participated in educational sessions and rounds of competition across 24 categories. This year, GWSB had three times as many finalists, and over twice as many students who placed in the international top 10, as in previous years.  Here are the results:

GWSB undergraduates finished in the international Top 10 in this year’s DECA global case competition.

International Top 10 Winners:  Dominic Newmann and Paul Bryne, juniors, jnternational marketing; Marissa Wiener, junior, corporate finance; Conor Travers, junior, accounting; Lucas Machamer, freshman, human resources management.

International First, Second, and Third Place Winners:  Usama Kahn, junior, third place, corporate finance; Maxwell Tingle, freshman, third place, sales meeting management; Joshua Lodestro, senior, second place, marketing management; Gregory Lidrbauch, sophomore, second place, corporate finance.

Dean Doug Guthrie congratulates the 2013 recipient of the Business Gives Back alumni award, Bill Ziegler.

Business Gives Back (BGB), a student-led initiative that celebrates GWSB’s commitment to promoting responsible corporate citizenship by fostering partnerships between business, alumni, students, and their communities, honored an alumnus and a student at its annual gala.

The distinguished alumnus award was presented to Bill Ziegler, BBA, ’81; managing director and chief operating officer of Talengin, a talent development company that contributes 25 percent of its profits to global organizations that improve opportunities for children.

The student impact award went to Meradith Leebrick, global MBA, `14, for her work with Abriendo Mente, a community development initiative that empowers rural Costa Rican communities by providing educational, technological and social programs to those who need it most.

Associate Dean for Graduate Programs Liesl Riddle joins Meradith Leebrick, winner of the 2013 Business Gives Back student award, at the BGB gala. (Photos by Julie Woodford)

At the gala, GWSB’s global MBA students joined with professors, alumni and members of the Washington, D.C., business community to celebrate responsible business while raising funds for BGB. This year’s gala was sponsored by KPMG, Fidelity Investments, and Relay Foods.

Now in its third year, BGB was launched by a group of global MBA students to capitalize on the diversity of backgrounds, talents and interests of the student body. BGB is supported through contributions from GWSB community, including student groups, the administration and corporate sponsorships.

Follow BGB on Twitter.

Members of the GWSB winning team in the Pfizer case competition are, (L to R), Vina Verman, Eric Miller, Johnny Samuel, Greg Brace and Amanda Cassiday.

GWSB Team Wins Pfizer Case Competition

A team of GWSB global MBA students took first place in a Pfizer case competition for their proposal on overcoming barriers to getting adults around the world vaccinated against disease.

First-year GMBA students Greg Brace, Amanda Cassiday, Eric Miller, John Samuel and Vina Verman represented GWSB at the competition on April 20.

They beat teams from Harvard, Columbia, Dartmouth, Georgetown and a number of other top schools to win a $3,000 award; Harvard came in second and Columbia, third.

“It was a lot of work but we came up with a great plan for Pfizer and had an amazing time making the presentation and interacting with the Pfizer judges,” said Brace.

The case theme was “Global Barriers to Adult Vaccinations.”  The team was required to identify barriers to adult vaccinations and propose a solution for overcoming the barriers.

Cassiday said the challenge was initially hard to approach.

“It asked us to develop a solution to a very global, complex challenge that could not benefit from a ‘one size fits all’ solution,” she said.  Eventually, the team designed a strategy that could be tailored to fit different circumstances and environments.

Cassiday said that GWSB team members’ varied experiences in the pharmaceutical, international development, finance and telecommunications industries provided an advantage, because they all had different strengths — and perspectives — they brought to bear in coming up with a solid proposal.

In addition to winning prize money, the team may enjoy the satisfaction of seeing some of their ideas implemented.  Cassiday said Pfizer has approached them about using some of their proposed strategies in a campaign to be unveiled this summer.

Bill’s company, Talengin, contributes 25 percent of its profit margins back to society through pro bono work. Meradith is co-founder and executive director of Abriendo Mentes (Opening Minds), a nonprofit in Costa Rica. The organization works to deliver quality education programs to an under-served population in Costa Rica. All proceeds from the event will go to Meradith’s nonprofit.