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Spring 2008

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Alumni couple donates $6 million

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Upcoming Events

Watt’s Lecture
February 26

The Donchian Symposium on the Ethical Challenges of Leadership
March 5
Jepson Alumni Center
This groundbreaking program will provide an opportunity for students, scholars, and practitioners to engage in a meaningful dialogue about pressing ethical issues that leaders face.

Student Marketing Event
April 2, 4pm
The Martin Agency
A behind-the-scenes look into one of the nation’s premier ad agencies

Honors Convocation
April 8

Senior Dinner presented by AXA Advisors and Philip Morris USA
April 8

Virginia Global Business Ambassador Awards
April 10
University of Richmond
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is the keynote speaker at this annual World Affairs Council event

Reunion Weekend
April 11-13

McWick Case Competition
April 25

Mini MBA Graduation
April 28

MBA Graduation Reception
May 5
Jepson Alumni Center

Executive Advisory Council Meeting
May 8

Senior Wine and Cheese
May 10
Milhiser Green
Our annual event for graduating seniors and their families
Graduate & Executive News
• Learning the art of leadership at the Professional Executive
  Leadership School
• Robins School MBA Capstone: Helping area companies with strategic issues
• New Advanced Finance Certificate Series

Learning the art of leadership at the Professional Executive Leadership School
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Imagine this:  you’re a senior-level executive with no formal business education in charge of a multi-million dollar organization.  You worked your way up through the ranks from an entry-level position where you put in long hours on nights, weekends and holidays, putting your career on the line every single day. 

You had to be in tip-top mental, physical and emotional shape because your life or someone else’s depended on it.  You had to be alert to subtle changes and nuances, an expert at reading people, and poised to make crucial life-or-death decisions with the blink of an eye.

The business climate you are working in is constantly changing.  You have to deal with budgets, profits, losses, global issues, hiring, firing and retention.  You have to answer to the board, the community and the news media.   And that’s on a good day.

On top of these responsibilities add fighting drugs, gangs, cyber-crime, terrorism, and homeland security. 

You have just experienced the daily life of a police chief or mid-level law enforcement manager.

January 2008 marked the 15th year of the Professional Executive Leadership School (PELS) at the Robins School of Business.  PELS is a liberal arts-based educational experience for Virginia law enforcement executives who are middle management level and above. 

The intensive, three-week program focuses on the study of leadership. It acquaints participants with best practices in leadership and challenges them to examine ways of achieving personal and professional growth.  The faculty is drawn from all five of the University of Richmond’s schools - the Robins School, Arts & Sciences, Law, Leadership and Continuing Studies.

Chief Steve Crowder, Lexington PD, who completed the program in July 2006, wishes he had gone through the program ten years ago.

“I learned how to understand people and what motivates them.  Now I can lead them in a direction they will be interested in, and if they are interested, they will excel.  Morale, productivity, and teamwork across the generations have all increased. The PELS program is one of the top three leadership programs in the country, and I wonder if I would be as successful without it,” said Crowder.

Curriculum topics include foundations of leadership, relationship-centered leadership, ethics and leadership, leadership and politics, art and leadership, literature and leadership, religion and leadership, psychology and leadership, negotiations, strategic leadership, media relations, gender and leadership, motivational leadership, and leadership and the law.

“We draw students from the entire spectrum, including police chiefs, sheriffs, campus police and fire chiefs.  We draw from small towns like Orange and large counties like Fairfax.  Some are responsible for tremendous manpower and resources, others work on small forces.  All are using the skills they acquired at PELS every single day to make Virginia communities safer,” said Lex Eckenrode, CEO, Virginia Police Chiefs Foundation.

 
Robins School MBA Capstone: Helping area companies with strategic issues
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What do Bon Secours, Ace Hardware, Theatre IV, Markel Corporation and Moe’s Southwestern Grill have in common?  They all called upon expertise from the Robins School to help with important strategic issues.

Are you grappling with issues that are closely tied to the strategic direction of your firm?  If so, your company may qualify for some Robins School MBA expertise.

Each MBA student at the University of Richmond is required to complete a Capstone project before graduation.  MBA candidates, working alone or in pairs, recommend how to resolve a current strategic issue facing the organization.  The projects are hosted by local organizations at no cost to the host organization.

To qualify for a Capstone project, the issue must be closely tied to the strategic direction of the firm (or a major division or department) allowing students to apply knowledge they’ve acquired throughout the curriculum. 

For example, MBA candidate Christina Haase took the generic concept of recruitment and created a niche/boutique style business model for ClearPoint Resources.  She recommended ClearPoint create a workforce solutions division, turn recruitment into a science, and house the new division at the Virginia Biotech Research Park. 

“We created a business tool box by taking concepts and practices from the MBA program, recommendations from various experts and cues from industry successes to build the Scientific Division in a real world setting. The entire prep process took about a year,” said Haase.

Since completing the Capstone in December of 2005, being accepted into the Park facility in September 2006, and celebrating its one year anniversary, the newly created Scientific Division of ClearPoint Resources has been successful in not only achieving actual implementation within the one-year time frame, the division has added two staff positions, two offices and three new clients to ClearPoint's business.

"Christina took what was good business idea and made it great through the Robins School MBA Capstone program.  We have already begun to see how the addition of a Scientific Division for ClearPoint Resources can become an important part of our future business, said “Michael D. Traina, CEO, ClearPoint Resources.

MBA candidate Doug Palmore created a survey and selection methodology to help corporations such as Markel determine what amenities to offer to attract and retain the workforce of the future.

“Corporations are discovering they have to adapt to the values and lifestyles of the workforce of the future,” said Bruce Kay, Vice President, Corporate Real Estate, Markel Corporation.  “For example, the millennial generation has very distinct ideas about work, and their priorities are simple – they come first.  There are about 80 million of them entering the workforce and corporations need to be conscious of what their hot buttons are. 

“Other generations, including Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y, are equally as important to the workforce and have distinct ideas about what is important to them.  Doug’s research methodology and selection process offers a novel approach to an issue that will affect all businesses in the future.”

Additional issues addressed in Capstone include marketing, operations, new products or markets, expansion, staffing, outsourcing or technology.  Other possibilities include organizational change efforts, potential investments in plant and equipment or issues related to globalization. 

Supervised by a faculty member, the students use their academic and professional expertise (5-7 years of work experience) to analyze the company’s current situation and its industry, and provide recommendations for future actions.  Client deliverables include a comprehensive bound document, as well as a top-line presentation to host organization senior management.

Organizations that have hosted Richmond MBA Capstones include:

Ace Hardware
Bon Secours
Bruster’s
ClearPoint Resouces
First Market Bank
Genworth Financial
HHHunt Homes
Hourigan Construction
LandAmerica
Markel Corporation
MeadWestvaco
Moe’s Southwestern Grill
PhilipMorris USA
Theatre IV
Ukrop’s
Virginia Biotech Park
Virginia Heart Institute
Wachovia Securities
Willow Oaks CC
Wyeth Pharmaceutical

For more information on Capstone, contact Richard Coughlan, Associate Dean for Graduate and Executive Programs, at (804)289-8553.

 
New Advanced Finance Certificate Series
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Are you an MBA graduate or a senior executive with fiscal responsibility looking for advanced financial development? Then look no further than the Advanced Finance Certificate Series developed by Executive Education at the Robins School.

This intensive, 14-week program is designed to allow you to explore the latest developments in finance and to help you lead your organization through today’s environment of rapid change and growing global opportunities.

Instructed by the nationally-ranked Robins School of Business finance faculty, the program will also give you the opportunity to interact with other area senior finance executives. Class sessions include topics such as valuation metrics, current issues in enterprise risk management, corporate financing choices, derivatives, and global finance from a multinational corporation perspective.  The series concludes with a case discussion.

The program begins March 10.  Classes meet Monday evenings from 6-9pm.  For more information or to register, visit the Executive Education website.