The Walton MBA

As I have previously mentioned, our new MBA class is about to start. Their Orientation is next week, January 5-9. Classes begin on January 12. This class consists of 37 students. This newly redesigned retail focused MBA first began in January of 2007. That class had 30 students; they graduated in May, 2008 with an average starting salary (at graduation) of $75,452. The second class began in January of 2008. This class consists of 32 students and they will graduate in May of 2009. The class to start next week will be our third class in this new program. This new class has 37 students. I am thrilled that we have been able to steadily grow this exciting new program. Our goal is to grow the program slowly - not at the expense of quality. We have been very fortunate to have high quality applicants. I expect this trend to continue. I am thrilled to already have 9 applications for the group that will begin in January, 2010. It seems impossible to already be planning the MBA class of 2011, but that is the way of the recruiting cycle. It is just one big circle - continuously in process with never an end in sight. Here are summaries of the first three classes of the Walton MBA:

graduating class of 2008 - 30 students, average GMAT = 625, average work experience was a little over 3 years, and their average GPA was about a 3.3.

graduating class of 2009 - 32 students, average GMAT = 630, average work experience was a little over 2 years, and their average GPA was about a 3.3.

graduating class of 2010 - 37 students, average GMAT = 628, average work experience is 3 1/2 years, and their average GPA is 3.4.

graduating class of 2011 - yet to be determined. My goal is to admit at least 40 students to this class. If you are interested in being among this elite group, early application deadline is April 1 and final application deadline is September 15. You will receive the admissions committee's decision within one month of each application deadline.

Don't forget about our amazing graduate assistantship (GA) opportunities. These are awarded based on GMAT score and work experience. A full assistantship will waive tuition and provide a stipend of $2500 each semester. The partial assistantship waives out-of-state tution, provides the same stipend of $2500 each semeser, plus an additional scholarship of $2500. Many students are able to work off-campus. We have wonderful partnerships with many Fortune 500 companies located in Northwest Arkansas. These companies hire our MBA student who have been awarded a GA. Students on GA will work 15 hours a week.

In review, if you would like to apply to the MBA program to begin in January, 2010, early application deadline is April 1. Please submit application materials by that deadline for early consideration. You can apply online at gsb.uark.edu.

Upcoming Deadlines

This is a reminder that ALL PhD applications are due by January 15. Please do not wait until the last minute to submit application materials. The Departments are anxious for their files and it does take our office a few days to process new materials.

Don't forget that the reason for this deadline is that the University deadline for the DDF (Distinguished Doctoral Fellowship) is February 2. This award is worth $37,000 annually for four years.

Some Departments will accept late applications but that is only if they are unable to make admissions decisions with those files that were completed by the deadline. Most departments will admit based on those files received by January 15.

The application deadline for the Master of Arts in Economics and the Master of Information Systems is February 1 (since this is a Sunday, it will be February 2 this year). If you have any questions regarding the application process for any of our master's degree programs or PhD degree programs, please email gsb@walton.uark.edu.

Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas Everyone

Ho Ho Ho. Santa will be coming to my house tonight. At least that is what my 4 year old son is thinking. Soon I will not be able to say, "You better be good. Santa is watching."

On Friday I took him to the Fayetteville square to enjoy the Christmas lights and to ride the ponies. This time of year is truly joyous in Fayetteville. The downtown square is lit with lights and children with their families are running around. The square is lit in November and the holiday season kicks off with a parade. My family has already made numerous trips through the square, both by car and foot. This event is called The Lights of the Ozarks.

My 11 year old even enjoys it. She is too big for the pony rides this year. This is a sad occasion for mom. She has had a pony ride (every year) during the Lights of the Ozarks. Well, my son still has a few years left to ride the ponies.


If you are not into pony rides, there is also the carriage. Who wouldn't enjoy a beautiful carriage ride during the Christmas season around the Historic Downtown Square?

These lights remain up through the New Year. Fayetteville is a wonderful town. This is just another example of its beauty.

PhD Application Deadline is Quickly Approaching

Final application deadline for all PhD applications is January 15. Please keep in mind that there are two American Holidays between now and then: Christmas and New Year's. United States mail will not be delivered on either Holiday so please plan accordingly. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION MATERIALS.

As a final reminder, an application is not complete until we have received ALL of the following:

application
application fee
resume
official transcripts
letters of recommendation
personal statement
GMAT or GRE score

International students must also submit:
TOEFL
speaking portion of either ibT (26) or IELTS (7.0)
Supplemental Educational form
Financial form

All documents can be downloaded from the website at: gsb.uark.edu.

In order to be considered for the big bucks, the DDF which totals $37,000 annually, the Department must nominate you by the February 2 deadline. This is why the January 15 deadline is so important. The Departments needs time to evaluate their applications, decide who to offer admission to, and then complete nomination forms for DDF.

Time is definitely a factor. Some Departments will accept late applications but that is only if they were not able to fill their slots from those applications that were submitted by the deadline. Also, late applications are not eligible for the DDF. International students are not eligible for DDF but they are eligible for DAF which totals $27,000 annually. This deadline is more flexible.

The University will be closed...

The University of Arkansas will be closed from Wednesday, December 24 through Friday, January 2. I am taking advantage of this opportunity to take a few extra days off for some much needed rest and recuperation before the spring semester gets underway. I will be out of the office starting tomorrow. I will be checking email and I will drop into the office a time or two. I am going to try to post to the blog during the break but it won't be with the same regularity that I post now. Be sure to check the blog during the Holiday season.

Important upcoming deadlines:

ALL PHD APPLICATIONS ARE DUE JANUARY 15!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Master of Arts in Economics applications are due February 1
Master of Information Systems (full-time) applications are due February 1.

When we return in January, we will go immediately into MBA Orientation. Simultaneously, we will be working frantically on PhD applications.

Walton College students, and those from around the world, enjoy your Holiday break.

Walton MBA Class of 2010

Our new MBA class will begin in three weeks. If you are a member of this class, let me welcome you. As I mentioned in my previous post, we admitted a few VERY late applicants on Friday. The class now consists of 37 students. I am very excited about this group. Their average GMAT is 628, average GPA is 3.4, they average 3.5 years of work experience, and their average age is 26. Of the 37, 15 are female and 12 are International - representing India, China, and France. This group has a variety of undergraduate backgrounds from business to engineering to physics and many more. They have worked at companies such as Wal-Mart, JB Hunt, Tullius Taylor Sartain Sartain, Northwestern Mutual, KPMG, and others.

Next semester the Walton College will have about 160 MBA students. There are currently two classes of part-time students and the full-time class that will graduate in May. In the spring semester, we always have two full-time classes while in the fall, there is only one class. Spring is a very exciting time. The new class is just getting started while the other class is getting ready to graduate. This class can see the light at the end of the tunnel and there is an energy in the air.

I am looking forward to meeting our new class of Walton MBA students. Orientation is January 5-9. Immediately upon completing Orientation, I will start working on the next class, the Walton MBA class of 2011. This class will begin January 2010. Ah, no rest for the wicked.

Finals, finals, finals

Final exams started here at the University of Arkansas yesterday, Thursday, December 11. Right now, the 4th floor of Walker Hall is teeming with MBA students. The 4th floor has 12 small group rooms and they are currently in hot demand. Just for fun I thought I would run upstairs (my office is on the 3rd floor of Walker Hall) and take some candid photos of the students hard at work. Keep in mind that these are taken on my little camera phone and our students are in study mode. They are not dressed up and they are a little sleep deprived and harried.

This is Matt hard at work. I am technologically challenged and I had to take the photo twice. He said, "really, Rebel?"


This is Spencer and he is in one of the most popular study rooms. It has a solid wall of windows. We call this one the fish bowl.


This is Dave Alderson, world-famous MBA blogger. You can read his blog by clicking on the link on the right.


Nathan and Justin are trying the "two is better than one" approach.





There are 32 students in this class and these are the lucky few I caught upstairs. Today we added a few more to the next class and I will write about that in my next post.

Tis the "Party" Season

The Graduate School of Business just hosted its Holiday party this morning. We held the drop-in event from 11:00-2:00 for our current students as well as Walton College employees. This is a great opportunity for students to grab a bite to eat and a little caffeine while they are studying for finals. Faculty and staff are also mingling, enjoying the brief break from the piles of work on their desks.

Yes, it's that wonderful time of year again - not only are the holidays around the corner but finals are upon us. Finals began for the University today and will end on the 17th. Classes resume on January 12. For our new MBA class, they will begin with Orientation, January 5-9.

This week-long Orientation truly gets the 16-month, three-semester MBA program started off on the right foot. We do get all of the administrative "stuff" done - payroll, registration, ID, etc. However, it's not all paperwork and business, we also have a lot of fun. There is an overnight retreat as well. Fun activities are scheduled to encourage teamwork and to assist the class in getting to know each other. One of the most popular days is our retail immersion day. On this day, different retail locations are visited as is a Wal-Mart Distribution Center. We cap off the week with a little friendly competition. This is business after all.

So, yes - this is a very busy time of year - for us and for our students (both current and the ones getting ready to get started next month).

Recap of MBA Accomplishments in 2008

Our newly redesigned retail-focused MBA first began in January of 2007. To be such a young program, we have made great strides. I want to recap the accomplishments of 2008. I am sure I will forget something. If I do, hopefully someone will tell me and I will just post an addendum later.

Beginning in the spring, Walton graduate students particip-ated in the Donald W. Reynolds Small Business Plan Competition in Little Rock, AR. Teams from the Walton College swept the competition, placing 1st ($20,000), 2nd ($10,000), and 3rd ($5,000). These teams consisted of MBA students (full and part-time) as well as students from the Master of Accountancy program. These teams went on to participate in a tri-state (Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Nevada) competition in Las Vegas. The team that placed second here in Arkansas won the competition in Vegas (another $25,000). Their photo is shown above.

Also in the spring, our MBA students concentrating in Finance took part in the Shollmier Fund Portfolio Competition. Walton MBA students placed first, competing against 2,300 students from 257 schools in 69 countries. Cory Scott, a Walton MBA student, was even interviewed on CNBC about the groups success.


This fall semester, MBA students placed third in the FedEx Freight Inter-national Graduate Logistics Case Compe-tition. Twelve teams from around the world competed in Fayetteville in November. Their photo is attached.

As a result of all of this wonderful success, the Walton MBA was ranked 10th in the Most Competitive Student Category by Princeton Review. I say, "you haven't seen anything yet!"

Finals are approaching

This time of year is always frenzied. Students feel a mixture of relief and anxiety. On the one hand, the semester is nearly over and they are looking forward to the Holiday break with much enthusiasm. On the other hand, finals must be survived in order to truly enjoy and appreciate that Holiday break. During this time, students are spending many, many hours in Walker Hall.



The Graduate School of Business (GSB) is housed in the new, state-of-the-art Willard J. Walker Hall. We moved in to Walker Hall in July of 2007. The 4th floor is reserved for GSB students only. We have 12 small group rooms that can only be accessed (with ID card) by current GSB students. These rooms are VERY popular right now. Students are spending a great deal of time working in these rooms - preparing for final exams and finishing group projects. I have attached a picture of one of the small group rooms. They are all equipped with 42" plasmas screens and marker boards.



I have also included a picture of the financial trading center. As Dave's blog details, MBA students in the Finance track spend many hours in this real-world trading center. If students are not in the trading center or in a group room, they are more than likely in class.

We have two classrooms on the 4th floor. All MBA classes are held in these classrooms - see picture - as well as many other program classes.



Whereas this time of year is a bit chaotic, we have done what we can to assist our students at this time by providing them with the absolute best facilities and technology.

The Walton MBA - Part-time option

Let's talk about our part-time MBA option. We call this program our Managerial MBA. This program starts each August and students take six hours a semester for six semesters by attending class in Fayetteville one Saturday each month. We admit approximately 60-65 students each year. Companies represented by current students are: Wal-Mart, Tyson, P&G, JB Hunt, ConAgra, Colgate-Palmolive, Nestle-Purina, Dr. Pepper Snapple, ABF Freight, Welch's, Kraft, and many more. This program truly has outstanding students from Northwest Arkansas and surrounding areas.

Since this program only meets one Saturday each month, students can attend Walton's Managerial MBA from all over the nation. Application requirements are the same as for the full-time program and can be found at gsb.uark.edu. Application deadline is April 1; however, we do accept applications throughout the summer.

This program is "one price fits all". In-state, out-of-state, or international students pay the same tuition. The current cost of the program is $26,500 for the two years. This covers all tuition, fees, books, parking, and food on class days.

Many employers offer tuition assistance. If you are interested in this program, consult with your HR department to learn about your employer's policy.

This program is competitive and selective. We admit approximately 50% of our applicants. The admissions committee basis admissions decision on the applicants entire package with greater emphasis being placed on GMAT score and work history.

It is possible to visit on a class day, have lunch with current students, and observe a class. If this is of interest, let me know.

PhD Application Deadline is Around the Corner

For those of you who are planning on applying to one of Walton College's PhD programs, that deadline is quickly approaching. All materials should be submitted by January 15. Your application is not considered to be complete until the following items have been received:
Application
Application fee
Current resume
Three letters of recommendation
Personal statement of objectives
GMAT/GRE score
Official transcripts from all previously attended universities

International applicants must also submit:
Educational form
Financial form
TOEFL - we must have a spoken English test score. This can be fulfilled by either taking the TOEFL or the IELTS.

The funding opportunities are amazing. With a GMAT of 650 and a master's GPA of 3.75, domestic applicants are eligible for the Distinguished Doctoral Fellowship (DDF). This entitles you to $37,000 annually for four years.

With a GMAT of 600 and a master's GPA of 3.5, you are eligible for the Doctoral Academy Fellowship (DAF). This will provide $27,000 annually for four years. International applicants are eligible for this fellowship.

The Graduate School at the University of Arkansas selects all recipients of the DDF and DAF. The Walton College PhD application deadline is set so that our applicants will be eligible for these funding opportunities.

BE SURE TO SUBMIT ALL APPLICATION MATERIALS BY JANUARY 15, 2009. The sooner the better.

Update on MBA Admissions

Right now (and I say that knowing it could change in a minute) we have 31 admits for January 2009. Of this 31, 11 are female and 12 are International. Average GMAT = 631, average GPA = 3.4, and average work experience = 3.8 years.

There are three applications nearly complete and I am still receiving calls and emails daily from students inquiring about beginning the MBA in the spring. With the current economy, MBA applications should rise. At this point, for January, funding is extremely limited. We have awarded all of our full assistantships (GA). We do have some flexibility with the partial assistantships. These GAs waive out-of-state tuition, provide a stipend of $2500 each semester, plus a scholarship of $2500. Students who receive this GA will pay in-state tuition but will receive $10,000 over three semesters. In exchange you work 15 hours a week.

We will continue to accept completed application packets through next Friday, December 12. The University is closed December 24 through January 2. MBA Orientation is January 5-9. This is a mandatory Orientation. We must have the MBA class completely finalized before we leave for the Holidays.

Please contact me with questions.

Back from the Holidays - RFID & ITRI

I do apologize. I took advantage of the Thanksgiving break and I actually took the whole week off. Thus, no blogging for me for a week. I am back now and I have just gotten caught up with my emails. Now it is time to spend a little time blogging. I want to provide more information about some opportunities that we have here at the Walton College.

RFID Research Center

The Walton College has the only accredited academic RFID lab in the world.
The mission of the RFID Research Center is to create and extend knowledge in the use of RFID (radio frequency identification) and its impact on business and society. This is an internationally recognized leader in RFID application research.

The RFID Research Center is a student-staffed testing and research center. As a technical facility, the lab is used by students and faculty from various disciplines. Research and information from the students in this facility are highly respected in the wireless sensor community and have been published in leading journals and presented at numerous events. The center also serves as an educational resource for companies or individuals searching for value in wireless technology.

The RFID lab covers nearly 10,000 square feet and includes two dock doors, conveyor system, pallet and backroom storage racks, backroom transition doors, baler/compactor system, and a simulated store. The RFID laboratory emphasizes replication of the physical environment and equipment used in supply chains, asset management, and other RFID applications. Real-world conditions are simulated as closely as possible.

Information Technology Research Institute (ITRI)

A nationally competitive research center serving Arkansas and the world.
The ITRI’s mission is to advance the state of research and practice in the development and use of information technology for enhancing the performance of individuals and organizations; provide a forum for multi-disciplinary work on issues related to information technology; promote student interest in the study of information technologies; and facilitate the exchange of information between the academic and business communities.

The ITRI’s goals are to:
• Create rigorous and relevant IT research
• Encourage and promote IT research
• Understand, explore, and encourage multi-disciplinary perspectives toward IT and IT research
• Provide a high quality IT research atmosphere that is of recognizable national and international standard
• Increase interest in the study of IT
• Attract students to the field of IT
• Cooperate with industry to address IT issues through research and development
• Keep constituents informed of leading edge research through dissemination of information via various outlets such as seminars, working paper, etc.
• Facilitate interactions between and within academia and industry