This summer has been a busy one for the Robins School, including television appearances by two of our MBA students. CNBC's Fast Money featured Elizabeth Digges and Alex White on the segment "Grade the Trade". In the segment, MBA students from top business schools across the country appear via webcam on the live show. Schools featured in past episodes include Ohio State, Babson, William & Mary, University of Maryland, and University of Texas.

Each student is provided a hypothetical economic scenario and asked to offer investment advice about which stocks they would buy and sell. Their recommendations are graded by the show's panelists, each a professional trader.

Digges, a financial analyst at UPS Freight, earned an "A" for her answer to a scenario, "Moktada Al-Sadr galvanizes support in the Iraqi Parliament and ousts the Nuri-Al Maliki government, seizing control of Iraq. What are you buying, what are you selling as this scenario unfolds?

Digges said that she would get out of Halliburton and its spin-off KBR because of their exposure in Iraq. She would short the S&P ETF and the U.S. dollar and go long oil futures. She'd also buy Chevron, ExxonMobil and gold. In the long term, she would buy military contractors like General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin. She was graded by Pete Najarian, who is ranked one of the top 100 traders by Trader Monthly magazine.

"It was exciting, extremely fast-paced," Digges said.

Alex White, a pharmaceutical representative with Pfizer, received the question, "Retail deal making heats up as KKR buys Macy's and Eddie Lambert's Sears buys Safeway. What are you buying, what are you selling as this scenario unfolds?"

White indicated that he would buy stock in Kohl's, Dillard's and Supervalu, as they were likely to be takeover targets in the near future. He also indicated he would invest longer term in Wal-Mart. Panelist Jeff Macke, founder and president of Macke Asset Management, awarded Alex an "A-" for his recommendations.

White received his undergraduate degree from the University of Richmond in 2001, with a major in Speech Communication and minors in Business Administration and Political Science. He is expected to complete his MBA degree at the Robins School of Business in 2009.

This summer, the Richmond MBA hosted 8 MBA students from the Brazilian Business School. Two of the students came from the Brazilian Business School's new campus in Angola, Africa and six from their campus in Sño Paulo, Brazil.

While in Richmond, they attended a special 5-week program as part of the MBA Summer Session II. They took 2 MBA courses, Strategic Management with Roger Schnorbus and Leadership with Dr. Tom Shields.

The students come from a variety of business backgrounds including hospital administration, pharmaceuticals, electrical engineering, education, agriculture, oil, and aviation. They joined the MBA's international student body that includes students from China, India, Canada, Spain, Japan, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Norway, and South Korea.

The number of applications to the Richmond MBA rose for a third consecutive year as a higher volume of experienced professionals turn to graduate education as a means of advancing their careers.

Nationally, the total number of applicants to part-time MBA programs has risen approximately 15% over the past 3 years. At the Robins School, applications have soared 28%. The average GMAT score, a telling indicator of success in MBA programs, has also risen for three straight years, and is now 13 points higher (592 compared to 579) than it had been in 2004.

"We saw a dramatic increase this year among professionals with ten or more years of industry experience," said Richard Coughlan, Associate Dean for Graduate and Executive Education. "The MBA is no longer a degree meant exclusively for those in their twenties."

The incoming class of 48 students is 12% larger than last year's class and includes two students who have already completed doctorates. Three other incoming students hold masters degrees already. The group includes graduates of Colgate, Dartmouth, Cornell, Georgia Tech and University of Texas. Local schools are well represented with alumni from Virginia, Virginia Tech, Washington and Lee, and William and Mary joining the student body.

As in previous years, many of the Richmond area's largest firms are represented in the entering class. The banking and financial industries are well represented, with employees of Genworth Financial, LandAmerica Financial, Capital One and Wachovia Securities, as well as the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond enrolled. Manufacturing giants Honeywell, Alfa Laval, MeadWestvaco and Philip Morris USA are also sending managers to the Richmond MBA program this year.

The number of international students also continues to rise. Citizens of France, Spain, and Italy have already enrolled and will be joined by students from China, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Grenada in a class of 26 men and 22 women.

According to Coughlan, the proportion of women in Richmond's program has been increasing steadily, from approximately 30% five years ago to 44% today. The current national average of women in MBA programs hovers right around 30%. He cites the involvement of successful MBA women alumni including Lyn McDermid, Chief Information Officer at Dominion and Katie Gilstrap, Senior Vice President of Marketing at First Market Bank, as important role models who have helped build interest in the MBA program.

Students begin their graduate studies with an opening residency at the Jefferson Hotel in August, where they work in teams to tackle a real-life strategic issue facing a multinational firm headquartered in Richmond. A non-disclosure agreement prohibits the University from divulging details of the case until later. In previous years, MBA students from Richmond have tackled live cases for Pfizer, Federal Express, Wachovia and Campbell Soup Company.

The Robins School's signature program, the Mini MBA ^®, is currently accepting registrations for the Fall 2007 class. The program begins Monday, September 17th.

The Mini MBA^® is a non-credit evening program that provides a practical foundation in current business theory and practices in an intensive, 14-week format. The program is designed for professionals who are thinking about pursuing their MBA or looking to update their business skills and education.

Course topics include Leadership Strategies, Creativity and Innovation, Finance, Marketing, and more. For more information and registration information, call 804-289-8019 or visit http://business.richmond.edu/execed/MGTI520N.html.