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Robins School News
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BusinessWeek ranks Robins School MBA program 14th among "Best Part-Time MBA Programs"
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BusinessWeek magazine has ranked the Robins School of Business MBA Program 14th in the country on its new list of “The Best Part-Time MBA Programs”.
The Robins School MBA program was the only professional MBA program in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia to make the list. The Robins School received high marks for salary increases of its MBA graduates (2nd) and student satisfaction (4th), while earning the magazine’s grade of A for teaching quality and A-plus for caliber of students. Only UCLA, Emory University and the University of Chicago had more-satisfied students.
“This ranking confirms that a challenging curriculum can make a difference in the lives and careers of the region’s most ambitious professionals,” said Richard Coughlan, associate dean for graduate and executive programs at the Robins School. “At a time when so many MBA programs are promoting instant gratification through rapid completion of the degree, our students have found real value in the opportunities we provide for rich conversation and deep thinking throughout an extended period of study.”
In arriving at the rankings, BusinessWeek identified finalists from among nearly 340 part-time MBA programs and surveyed students who were preparing to graduate, measuring their satisfaction with the MBA experience from teaching to course content to career outcomes. It also factored in the change in their pre- and post-MBA salaries, the importance of the MBA degree in achieving their goals and a variety of measures of academic quality.
Robins School MBA graduates lauded what they said are the program’s strengths. “Richmond was a great choice for me to get my MBA, said Larry Marsh, a 1994 program graduate and a managing director of Lehman Brothers in New York. “The program combined high-quality faculty and small, interactive classes with the flexibility to accommodate a schedule when I was working a lot of hours in my job.”
“I got the opportunity to turn real business situations into rich, thought-provoking learning and leadership experiences,” said Lyn McDermid, a 2000 graduate and chief information officer of Dominion Resources. “My fellow students ranged from college graduates attending full time to combined law-MBA degree students to seasoned executives with full-time careers. Most professors were tenured faculty of the Robins School who taught leading-edge business theories.”
The Robins School’s MBA program joins the undergraduate school of business as a nationally ranked program. For the past two years, BusinessWeek has ranked the undergraduate program among the top 25 on its list of top business schools.
“We share this accolade with the business community of central Virginia,” said Jorge Haddock, dean of the Robins School. “We’re proud of the relationships we’ve built with the area’s best employers, who have strengthened the Robins School in so many ways.”
Details on the BusinessWeek rankings are available online at www.businessweek.com/bschools.
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Joe Hoyle named Virginia winner in U.S. Professors
of the Year competition
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Joe Hoyle, associate professor of accounting at the Robins School of Business, has been selected the Virginia winner in the U.S. Professors of the Year competition, sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Higher Education.
Hoyle was selected for the honor from more than 300 top professors in the country, nominated by their colleges and universities. Winners were chosen from 40 states and the District of Columbia in several rounds of competition conducted by the Carnegie Endowment and CASE.
Hoyle has been previously honored for his Socratic method of teaching accounting, which students say is demanding, but ultimately highly effective preparation for the profession. He recently published a free online guide to teaching college, which has won praise and recognition in higher education. After reading the guide, James Lang, a columnist for The Chronicle of Higher Education, said Hoyle “was someone who not only cared deeply about teaching, but also had spent a career thinking about it and taking it seriously.”
BusinessWeek magazine has named Hoyle one of 22 Favorite Undergraduate Business Professors nationally, and he is winner of the Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. He also is the author of an advanced accounting textbook, now in its eighth printing.
In supporting Hoyle’s nomination, Heather Michelle Rice, a former student, said Hoyle “taught us accounting, but more importantly, he educated us on how to be successful in the world whether it was about developing a strong work ethic, never becoming complacent, pushing ourselves to reach our full potential or just finding that passion that drives us each and every day.”
CASE and the Carnegie Foundation have been partners in offering Professors of the Year since 1981. TIAA-CREF, one of America's leading financial services organizations and higher education's premier retirement system, became the primary sponsor for the awards ceremony in 2000. Additional support for the program is received from a number of higher education associations, including Phi Beta Kappa.
Click here to watch Professor Hoyle’s interview about the recognition on the CBS Channel 6 program Virginia This Morning.
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Globalization and Interconnectedness: the Robins School focuses on China
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Preparing students to work in business is no longer a domestic issue. In this new era of the global economy, policymakers, educators, business and industry are concerned with strengthening the United States not only for international competition but in building partnerships.
Named the “hottest” school for international studies by Newsweek, the University of Richmond offers many international opportunities for students. Recently, the Robins School has focused on China, one of the fastest growing emerging markets in the world.
“When we think of doing business, we must first think of doing business globally,” said Jorge Haddock, Dean and Professor, Robins School of Business. “As one of the fastest growing emerging markets in the world, China can not be overlooked. The Robins School offers several programs to broaden students' perspectives and develop their cross-cultural business skills.”
To this end, three Robins School faculty members, Drs. Lascu, Altay and Wight, traveled throughout China, Tibet and Taiwan on the Faculty Seminar Abroad last summer. They met with academic counterparts, political and business figures, and visited important cultural sites. Their goal was to establish faculty and student exchange programs, increasing the number of students who study in China as well as the number of Chinese and Taiwanese students and faculty who come to Richmond; and to incorporate China into their curriculums.
Last fall, the Robins’ School Opening Residency focused on China. The Opening Residency is a case-based introductory experience for MBA students. Working in teams, they analyze a "live" case, based on a real firm with a pending business issue. The residency concludes with a competition judged by representatives of the case company and the faculty. This year’s Opening Residency studied The Brink’s Company and their entry into China.
The competition was judged by Ron Rokosz, President of Brink’s International and Nasser Chanda, Director of Corporate Development of the Brink’s Company. "The Opening Residency case far exceeded our expectations. The students were energetic, competitive and rigorous in their analysis. The students provided innovative and viable solutions for our expansion into China. We were impressed with the program and the level of engagement by all participants at the University of Richmond, “said Chanda.
Broadening the China experience to the Richmond community, the Robins School was a co-sponsor of the World Affairs Council of Greater Richmond’s series on China last fall. The four-part series, “China’s Future,” focused on China’s political, economic, environmental and global prospects, bringing in experts from around the world.
China affects the daily lives of virtually every person and business in the world. Chinese firms are suppliers, customers, and competitors. U.S. business leaders must understand Chinese culture and values in order to successfully deal with their Chinese counterparts. “As highlighted in these programs, at the Robins School of Business we are serious about China... and getting more serious each day,” said Dr. Thomas J. Cossé, Associate Dean of International Programs at the Robins School.
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Watt's Lecture features Harrah's VP and 1st Annual Finance Networking Reception
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The gaming industry is one of the most exciting and fast paced businesses in the world with risks every hour of the day...and night. Managing the risk for the world's largest gaming and entertainment company is just as fast paced and exciting.
Lance J. Ewing, Vice President of Risk Management for Harrah's Entertainment Inc., will turn over some hidden cards to provide a peek into the fascinating world of risk management in his talk, “Gaming Risk: A Roll of the Dice.” He will discuss the financial aspects of gambling and hospitality exposures while entertaining with stories of risk and mitigating losses.
The lecture will be held Tuesday, February 26 from 4:00-5:00pm in Camp Concert Hall at the Modlin Center for the Arts. It will be followed by the First Annual Richmond Area Finance Networking Reception in the Booth Lobby. This will be a great opportunity to meet current business school students and reconnect with fellow Spider alumni working in the finance industry.
Please visit the event website for more information or to RSVP.
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