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 IN THIS ISSUE
Award Nominations
McCombs Faculty Speaker Series
Alumni in the News: Jim Beatty '99
Allen Holt Joins McCombs Development Team
Don't Miss These Exciting Upcoming Dates!
Austin Alumni Chapter
Winter Reception |
February 15 |
Read more... |
Women in Business
Leadership Conference |
February 16 |
Read more... |
| MBA Alumni Business Conference |
March 22-23 |
Read more... |
| 3rd Annual MMA Awards Celebration |
September 28 |
Read more... |
Reunion 2007, Classes of
1997 and 2002 |
November 9-11 |
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CLASSES OF 1997 and 2002: Save the Date!
Mark your calendars for November 9-11, 2007 to reconnect
with your classmates at your reunion.
We look forward to seeing you in Austin in November! |
Nominate a McCombs MBA Alumni Business Leader and an Outstanding Chapter Event!
The MMA Office is now accepting nominations for the 2007 Rising Star and Outstanding Chapter Event Awards. Dean Gau presents these awards annually at the MBA Alumni Awards Celebration. Next fall, the celebration will be held on September 28 at 6:30 p.m. at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel.
To be eligible for the 2007 awards, we must receive nominations by March 31, 2007. We will consider nominations received after March 31 for the 2008 awards. All nominations will remain active for a period of three years.
The Rising Star Award is presented to an alumnus/alumna no further than 10 years from MBA graduation who has been successful professionally and has helped strengthen the McCombs MBA Alumni Network. This is a graduate who has presented himself or herself as a consummate professional and dedicated businessperson.
The Outstanding Chapter Event Award is presented to a chapter that has held an exceptional event in the prior year that implements strategic initiatives of the McCombs MBA Alumni Network and promotes McCombs in their local area.
To download a nomination form and view past winners, visit the Awards Celebration Web site.
McCombs Faculty May Be Coming to a City Near You
The McCombs MBA Alumni (MMA) Faculty Speaker Series brings faculty to alumni chapters to discuss current business trends and topics. It is a great opportunity to learn from the latest research, gain faculty perspective, network with alumni, and stay connected to the McCombs School. “The knowledge that faculty impart, plus the interchange of ideas that occurs, provides an interesting dimension to the lectures,” says Jennie Loev, director of MBA Alumni Relations.
During the 2006-07 academic year, faculty will travel to Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Tulsa. Please visit the Faculty Speaker Web site for more information.
If your city does not currently have an alumni chapter and you would like to organize one in your area, contact mbaalumni@mccombs.utexas.edu.
Featured Job of the Month
Visit the Job Board for More Information on this and Other Exciting Opportunities Position: Manager, Product Marketing and Merchandising, InPhonic, Inc.
Job Description: The Manager of Product Marketing and Merchandising is responsible for the daily operations of the rapidly growing Wireless Accessory business. This includes buying product, price setting, inventory management, merchandising, vendor management, financial modeling, partner and channel marketing, and motivating sales teams.
New Director of Annual Giving is Ready to Shake Some Hands
 Allen Holt joined the Office of Resource Development in January as the new director of annual giving. A career fundraiser with more than 20 years of experience, Holt served most recently as assistant vice president of the Memorial Hermann Foundation in Houston. Originally from Mexia, Texas, Holt earned a BBA in marketing from Baylor in 1980 and went on to work in development for Baylor College of Medicine. Get the full story.
Spring Exec Ed Course Will Help You Follow Market Changes
Texas Executive Education programs challenge your thinking and add value to your professional life. Coming up this spring: Responding to Market Dynamics, May 10-11. This program offers you a foundation for designing market-based strategy and provides a set of tools useful for the development of a path toward profitability that is synchronous with changes in the market. For complete course description and registration information please visit us online or call us at 800-409-3932.
Attend the Third Annual Longhorn Business Forum
Thursday, March 1, 2007 City Place in Dallas
This half-day conference, the Texas Exes' largest networking event, offers both CLE and CPE credits and is a great opportunity for you to connect with other UT alumni. Scheduled speakers include Maxine Shapiro, internationally known motivational speaker, and Peter Elkind, co-author of “The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron.” Please visit us online for more information and to register.
 Pharmaceutical Company Takes Texas Moot Corp Competition
MacuCLEAR Corporation, a pharmaceutical company that has developed a treatment for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in people over the age of 50, defeated three teams Feb. 9 to win the Texas round of Moot Corp®, the prestigious new business venture competition hosted annually at McCombs. Get the full story.
ALUMNI IN THE NEWS
Former Marine Translates McCombs MBA into Health Career Center
Jim Beatty (MBA ’99) went from flying combat jets to running a hospital in Central Florida. Beatty, now CEO of Heart of Florida Regional Medical Center, says that military folks make great businesspeople. “Sure, they may have to have some training in a new field, but they already have the leadership abilities and know how to accept training and that’s an important skill to have,” he says in a recent Haines City The Ledger article. “They are very adaptable. I would like to see more retired military or young people just getting out of the service be recruited into the corporate world.” Read Beatty’s story.
McCombs Alumni Offer Marriage-Survival Tips for Exhausted Parents
Today, Jan. 23, 2007
 The experience of new parenthood is often complicated by marital stress as couples keep score of baby-related chores and try to incorporate romance into their hectic schedules. Stacie Cockrell and Julie Stone, MBAs ’96 and co-authors of “Babyproofing Your Marriage,” discussed the book and their experiences as mothers on the Today show Jan. 23. Fellow MBA ’96 alumni Debbie Baladad Miles, Brad Miles, Kathleen Lewis Mabley and Lou Mabley also participated in a focus group for the segment. Watch the segment.
McCOMBS IN THE NEWS
 Huang Research Discovers “Where to Put Your
Extra Cash”
The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 23, 2006
Research co-authored by Jennifer Huang, assistant professor of finance, suggests that some homeowners who make extra mortgage-principal payments could earn more by putting their money into retirement accounts. Get the full story.
February 16th Women in Business Leadership
Conference Receives National Media Coverage
The Women in Business Leadership Conference (WBLC), hosted each year since 2002 by the MBA Program at the McCombs School, seeks to cultivate the MBA women's community, enhance career networks for women and recognize the unique strengths women bring to business. This year's conference theme is "Defy Your Limits” and includes an impressive list of speakers. Yahoo! Finance recently featured the keynote speaker, Lee Epting, head of Nokia’s global mobile phone manufacturer's worldwide developer support program. Get the full story. To learn more about WBLC and to register, visit the WBLC Web site.
Starks’ Research Helps to Understand “January Effect”
Smart Money, Nov. 16, 2006
New research co-authored by Laura Starks, chair of the Finance Department, supports the strategy of using closed-end bond funds to make a quick New Year’s profit. Get the full story.
It’s Not What You Know But...
U.S. News & World Report, Dec. 17, 2006
Assistant finance professors Amir Barnea and Ilan Guedj find that the more “connected” a company’s board of directors, the bigger the paycheck going to its CEO. Get the full story.
Thanairongroj’s MBA Journal Highlights Admissions Process
BusinessWeek Online, Jan. 18, 2007
 In the first installment of his MBA Journal for BusinessWeek Online, David Thanairongroj, MBA ’08, gives prospective MBA students advice on applying to B-school and shares what brought him back to school for the second time. Thanairongroj holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer engineering, but after starting a business in 2003, he enrolled at McCombs to take his software engineering company to the next level. Read Thanairongroj’s first MBA Journal.
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Vol. 10, No. 1 February 15, 2007 |
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Alumni and Friends Links |
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Alumni Website
Development
Update Your Address
B-School Alumni Directory
McCombs News
Texas Exes Online Services
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Stephanie Andrews
Executive MBA Alumni Join Forces with MMA Network
AT&T isn’t the only organization doing some strategic merging these days. Stephanie Andrews, a 2003 graduate of the Texas Executive MBA program and executive director of AT&T’s call center technology and operations support group, is leading the integration of the McCombs School’s Executive MBA alumni organization with the broader McCombs MBA Alumni (MMA) Network.
As board president of the Executive MBA alumni organization, Andrews believes it’s a collaboration whose time has come. “We want it to be more than just inviting each other to our separate events,” she says. “We’re looking to have more synergy and are exploring opportunities to combine forces.”
The Executive MBA alumni organization has been in existence for about 12 years and has hosted a variety of continuing education programs, including an annual business seminar for the last 10 years. If the two groups work together, it will result in a boost in networking power, bringing the alumni database to more than 15,000.
The rebranding of the school’s entire portfolio of MBA programs led to the cooperative effort, as well as the realization that a McCombs MBA is the same degree whether it is earned in an executive program or in the full-time program. Indeed, if you talk to any executive MBA alumnus/alumna, he or she is bound to mention the same advantages of the degree that accrue to those in the full-time program.
Andrews’ story is similar to that of countless other Texas alumni. “I began in a technical role with Southwestern Bell, but when I moved into a position with a more operational focus, I felt I needed a different perspective.” Her employer supported Andrews’ pursuit of the educational program that would both challenge her professionally and benefit the company.
When she was contemplating a graduate education to supplement her undergraduate degree in computer science, her boss called the MBA a “magic decoder ring.” She has found that to be a fitting analogy. “The degree has given me a greater appreciation for all areas of the business, but especially finance,” Andrews says. “It has brought a lot of rigor to my thinking. I learned to question everything and try to see things from multiple perspectives before making a commitment to a position. I’m a lot more well rounded and objective now.”
As a leader, she has also attempted to bring that strategic mindset to her whole organization. And now, along with the leadership of the MMA Network, she’s set to apply the lessons of B-school to the school itself.
To learn more about the MBA Alumni Network, visit the McCombs MMA site. |
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Hire McCombs Alumni through the McCombs Job Board
Search for a job or promote employment opportunities to both current students and alumni of the McCombs School of Business.
Both the Alumni Directory and the McCombs Job Board are accessible through your UT EID (University of Texas Electronic Identification). Click here for more information on finding your UT EID, or contact the Registrar's office at 512-475-7656.
If you have any questions, please email us and refer to "Alumni Directory" or "McCombs Job Board" in the subject and content of your message. |
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Investment Opportunities
 Make a gift to the McCombs School Annual Fund and help us achieve our goal of becoming the best public business school in the nation. Give now.
Related Links
The MBA Alumni Endowed Excellence Fund provides an excellent opportunity for all alumni to give back to the school. Launching new MBA initiatives that will enhance the educational experience of MBA students, this fund is unique in that a committee of students, alumni, and MBA program office staff will work together to determine optimal usage of the funds.
The McCombs School of Business 2004-05 Investors' Report is now available online. Visit the home page to view the 2004-05 donors and financial information.
McCombs Merchandise
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 We've got t-shirts and other McCombs wearables in the online store. Show your school and university pride, whether you're in the stadium or cheering from the couch. | |
