Business Dean Announces MBA Changes In Report To Trustees
January 19, 2001
University Park, Pa. -- The phrase, "this is no longer your father’s Oldsmobile," applies well to The Smeal College of Business Administration as the dean outlined a vision for the future of the college to the Penn State Board of Trustees.

"Reacting to changing conditions is not enough, we must lead," explained Dean Judy Olian during her informational presentation to the University Board of Trustees today (Jan. 19).

"A business school must enhance the understanding of business concepts and skills for those entering and operating in the marketplace, prepare students as leaders of tomorrow’s global organizations, and contribute to a knowledge-base that improves market performance," said Olian, who became dean July 1, 2000.

"Being a leader for tomorrow’s business education model requires Smeal College to come to grips with the constancy of change and the growing impatience of financial and consumer markets for the time it takes to engineer change," she said.

Olian noted that Smeal College is taking a proactive role in shaping business practice through its internationally known faculty and research centers. The college is also positioning itself as a leader in preparing graduates for tomorrow’s converging economies.

Smeal College is hiring aggressively to address its faculty resource needs over the next five years. Olian also revealed plans for a revised MBA Program.

"We are renewing the MBA from the ground up and it will be differentiated around convergence. Each student will emerge with knowledge of the core functions of business, and the boundary-spanning market opportunities that emerge by linking these core functions," said Olian.

After covering the core concepts in business, she explained, boundary-spanning or convergent thinking will be stimulated through a series of portfolios where cross functional courses from multiple departments are clustered around boundary-spanning concepts. 

"For example, the supply chain portfolio will combine concepts and courses in marketing, operations research, information systems and logistics. The portfolio in entrepreneurship will cluster finance, accounting, intellectual property law and marketing," said Olian. 

An integrative course on perspectives for the converging economies will run the duration of the student’s program, and each student will experience meaningful immersion opportunities in business, including a company internship, and an optional global business study tour. In addition, the new Smeal College financial trading room will open in April.

"The new MBA program is designed to be outward looking with external advisory boards for each portfolio, it’s modular and flexible to enable customization around students’ interests and time constraints," said Olian. The renewed program will be offered to incoming MBAs, beginning August 2001.

Olian stated her goal for the Smeal undergraduate program was to be ranked among the top 10 by 2005.

"With the support of this outstanding Board of Trustees and this extraordinary University community, I know we can do it," says Olian.

Editors: For additional information, contact Steve Infanti of the Smeal College External Relations Office at 814-863-3798 or smi3@psu.edu