McCombs School of Business: Email - McCombs School of Business Monthly News

IN THIS ISSUE
Texas MBAs Compete in CNBC's MBA Challenge
Job Opportunity at McCombs
Associate Dean Discusses MBA Tracks

Save the Date! The MBA Business Conference, March 27-29, 2008
Mark your calendars for the 3rd Annual MBA Alumni Business Conference. This year’s program will feature an expanded schedule with roundtables, corporate speakers and an experienced alumni reunion dinner. Learn more.

Don't Miss These Other Exciting Upcoming Dates!

3rd Annual MMA Awards Celebration September 28 Read more...

Reunion 2007, Classes of
1997 and 2002 November 9-11 Read more...

Texas MBA Team Yields to Yale in Finals of CNBC’s MBA Challenge, Presides Over Closing Bell at NASDAQ
After defeating MIT and Columbia in the first two rounds of CNBC’s “Fast Money MBA Challenge” Team Texas yielded to Yale in the finals, appearing live before a national audience at NASDAQ’s Times Square headquarters Aug. 22. Throughout the day leading up to the final show, the four from Texas—Ben Jones, Tim Killgoar, Justin Sander and Chris Semain—made appearances on the cable business network, presided over the closing bell at NASDAQ and represented McCombs with class, enthusiasm and grace under pressure. See the team profile.
Get the full story.
Watch the finals versus Yale.
Watch the second-round show versus Columbia Watch the first-round show versus MIT .

2007 Global Moot Corp® Champions Open Nasdaq Stock Market in New York
Rob Adams (far left), director of Moot Corp and McCombs management lecturer, and Omega Sensors, winners of the 2007 Global Moot Corp Competition, preside over the opening bell at Nasdaq Aug. 10, 2007 in New York City.

Take Our Survey Regarding Online Networking Resources
In an effort to continue to provide an alumni network that is valuable and easily accessible to you, we are conducting a short survey to gather your opinion regarding online networking resources. Thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts. Your feedback will help us create a stronger McCombs MBA Alumni Network. Take the survey.

McCombs Seeks Class Notes and Alumni News
McCombs is always interested in hearing from alumni. If you have news you’d like to see included our biannual Texas magazine, please click here.

Job Opportunity at McCombs: Assistant Director in MBA Career Services
McCombs seeks a experienced candidate for career advising, program management and career planning. View the complete job description and apply here. Search for the job with this number: 070827010488

McCombs Names Hall of Fame Inductees
Fred Hegi, Jr., William Johnson, Red McCombs and W.A. “Tex” Moncrief, Jr. will be inducted into the McCombs School of Business Hall of Fame at a reception and dinner on October 26. Established in 1983, the Hall of Fame honors former students, faculty, and other dedicated supporters of the University whose careers have brought distinction to McCombs. Honorees include individuals who have made outstanding professional contributions to the business community and who, by their exemplary civic, philanthropic and educational activities, have advanced humanity. Read more about this year’s inductees. Learn more about the Hall of Fame nomination process and/or nominate an individual for the 2007-08 award by October 16.

Thomas E. Campbell, Management Teacher, Dies
Thomas E. Campbell passed away on July 4, 2007. Campbell graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a degree in business in 1961 prior to joining the U.S. Marine Corps. After nearly 30 years of service, he retired at the rank of colonel. In 1990, he joined the Department of Management as a senior lecturer, where he maintained his tradition of demonstrating excellence until his second retirement in 2005. During his 15-year tenure, he earned the Eyes of Texas Award, Harkins Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence and several other outstanding teaching awards. He was a beloved member of the McCombs community and will be missed.

ALUMNI NEWS

Lend-A-Hand India Update
Raj Gilda (MBA ’01) and Lend-A-Hand India continue to help disadvantaged children with support from McCombs students. This summer, Priyanka Malhotra (MBA '08) and Farazdak Hafizjee (MBA '07) worked on Lend-A-Hand projects for three weeks in India. Malhotra and Hafizjee assessed the performance of eight high school vocational training centers servicing 1,300 students and crafted a growth strategy.
Read recent success stories
Read Raj Gilda’s profile

McCOMBS IN THE NEWS

Hirst Discusses MBA Tracks
MBA Podcaster, June 26, 2007
Eric Hirst, associate dean for graduate programs and accounting professor, was a recent guest on an online program at a site dedicated to future MBA students. Hirst said when considering MBA programs with an accounting concentration applicants should look for schools that are also strong in finance. “More and more accounting is based on what we call fair values, and fair values come out of valuation models,” Hirst said. “Sometimes they come out of market prices, but there are an awful lot of assets and liabilities that require measurement using much more sophisticated models. The best accountants are the ones who really have a very solid understanding of economics and finance as well.” Get the full story.

Clement Research Finds Favors for Wall Street Analysts Often Benefit Firms
Financial Times, Reuters, BusinessWeek, USA Today, et al., July 27, 2007
When corporate executives provide even small favors to security analysts, it can pay off in positive research coverage of their companies, according to a study co-authored by Michael Clement, associate professor of accounting. In the study, the authors examined surveys from security analysts from 2000 to 2003, in which 63 percent said they received favors from CEOs and CFOs. Analyzing the data, the authors concluded that the favors often dissuaded analysts from downgrading a company’s stock after an underwhelming earnings report or an acquisition of another firm in a different line of business “The bottom line is that favor-rendering is widespread and that it seems to be compromising the guidance experts provide to investors,” Clement said. The favors were not illegal, “not as blatant as bribery,” he added, and policing it would be difficult. There is no simple solution, Clement said, but “our findings suggest that it deserves to be taken seriously.” Read more in USA Today and BusinessWeek.

Mabley Discusses Life as an MBA Admissions Director
Austin Business Journal, Aug. 10, 2007
Tina Mabley, director of admissions for the full-time MBA program, recently sat down with the Austin Business Journal and talked about her job deciding who gets admitted to the McCombs School and who doesn't. Excerpt: “What’s the hardest part of your job? Mabley: We receive 1,600 to 1,700 applications a year. The volume is high, yet each one of those is an individual person who’s made a very big decision to go to graduate school. We try to give as much personal attention as we can. It gets hard sometimes with the volume, but we’ve put that as one of the priorities of our position in making sure we respect every applicant as they go through the process.” Get the full story.

Magazine Survey Ranks McCombs Sixth for Meeting Needs of CEOs
Chief Executive magazine, April 2007
A survey of CEOs published in Chief Executive magazine ranked McCombs sixth among top business schools. The question posed to the CEOs: Based either on your experience or your perception of business schools, which best suits the needs of CEOs? Get the full story.

McCombs Undergrad Program Ranked No. 7
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report released survey results for its 2008 edition of America’s Best Colleges. Under the Best Business Programs category, the McCombs undergraduate program was ranked No. 7. Individual specialties at McCombs were ranked as follows: Accounting: No. 1; Entrepreneurship: No. 7; Finance: No. 6; Insurance/Risk Management: No. 9; International Business: No. 7 (tie); Management: No. 5; Management Information Systems: No. 3; Marketing: No. 2 (tie); Production/Operations Management: No. 9; Quantitative Analysis/Methods: No. 7; Real Estate: No. 11(tie); Supply Chain Management/Logistics: No. 12.
Get the full list of U.S. News rankings.

View more McCombs School of Business News Online...
McCombs Monthly Archives

	Vol. 10, No. 7 August 29, 2007
	Alumni and Friends Links
	Alumni Website Development Update Your Address B-School Alumni Directory McCombs News Texas Exes Online Services

	Alum Excited about Upcoming Reunion and Overall McCombs Involvement Chris Spahr and Anne Bordonaro MBAs '02 The weekend of November 9-11 will be a time for reminiscing Austin-style for the classes of 1997 and 2002. Chris Spahr, the 2002 class president, serves on the reunion’s Informal Events Committee. Along with other members of the classes of 1997 and 2002, Chris is working on fun gatherings for alumni to reconnect. Helping to plan the reunion is just one example of Chris’s involvement as an alum. He also serves on the governance committee of the MMA Advisory Board. The committee makes decisions about the composition of the board and considers which issues to attack. Currently the board is focusing on integrating alumni from the full-time MBA program with McCombs Executive MBA programs and finding representatives from all programs to serve on the board. “As more people go through the newer executive programs, combining our efforts in the alumni network is a natural way to broaden and strengthen the alumni base and the Texas MBA offerings as a whole,” Chris says. Increasing participation in the alumni network is important to him, and because of that, Chris recently agreed to serve as Co-President of the Washington, DC alumni chapter. Chris is a natural at this, as prior to receiving his MBA in Austin, he lived in the DC area. Out of his class of 400, about 15 people previously lived in DC, and Chris says a good number returned upon graduation. One of the 15 was Chris’s future wife, Anne Bordonaro, who also received an MBA at the same time as him, though they had not known each other until attending McCombs. Chris and Anne were married this spring in Austin. Both are looking forward to returning to Austin again in November for the reunion. As for the reunion, Chris and other members from the class of 1997 and 2002 are planning a golf outing for alumni on Friday, November 9 and a second gathering during the football game on Saturday, likely at a bar downtown. Details will be finalized as the date nears. Read more about the 1997 and 2002 reunions.
	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.

	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. The McCombs School of Business 2005-06 Investors' Report is now available online. Visit the home page to view the 2005-06 donors and financial information. Related Links Hermes Society Matching Gift Program Give Online 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. McCombs Merchandise
	Gifts with the new McCombs logo are coming soon! Bookmark the online store for executive gifts, t-shirts and travel items. Show your school and university pride, whether you're in the stadium or cheering from the couch.