Advanced Excel

Professional development (PD) is an important part of the Walton full-time MBA. Short courses and guest speakers are examples of PD. Today we offered an advanced Excel class. This class was held 8-5. There are never any regular classes on Friday. All MBA classes are an hour and 20 minutes either Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday. Friday is used for studying, working, and attending PD. Here are some pictures of the class and lunch.

And this last one is a couple of guys I saw throwing a rugby ball around outside my building. You don't see rugby balls around here too often. We do see lots of footballs and Frisbees being tossed around.
I guess they have spring fever. Me too.

On a personal note, today is my son's 6th birthday. I went and had lunch with him. He was so excited. We have a busy weekend ahead - his party is tomorrow. Big fun.

Walton Career Fair

Yesterday was the Walton Career Fair. Here are some pictures. The first one is of me at my table and the rest will give you an idea of the success of the fair. It was a great event. New MBA students attended looking for summer internships and our graduating students were looking for "the job." Undergrads were there doing the same thing. It was extremely well attended and there were some great companies there looking for great talent.

Check Out Full Details of Win by BiologicsMD

For full details of the University of Louisville small business plan competition and Walton's win, visit http://business.louisville.edu/content/view/848/741/.

New Walton Team Off To A Good Start

Three Walton MBA students: Paul Mlakar, Michael Thomas, Misty Stevens, and Robyn Goforth, who is seeking her Certificate in Entrepreneurship won the Cardinal Challenge at the University of Louisville. They have a drug that builds bone to treat osteoporosis. The first place win garnered them $15,000 and they also won the Spirit Award - another $500 for most enthusiastic team. Other finalists were IU, Johns Hopkins, and Rice. Other teams who also competed in Louisville were Louisville, Oregon, BYU, Manitoba, Kennesaw State, University of Illinois-Chicago, University of Cincinnati, and Michigan. This team has only just begun.

Upcoming Recruiting Schedule

Next Tuesday, February 23 is the Walton College Business Career Fair Express. This event will be held in the Reynolds Razorback Stadium - East Indoor Club 10-12 and 1-3. Transportation from the Harmon Parking Deck to the Stadium is available 9-4. This event requires business casual attire (at minimum). I will be attending this event representing the Walton Graduate School of Business.

The next MBA America Tour event will be on Wednesday, March 3 at Sheraton Clayton Plaza Hotel, 7730 Bonhomme Avenue, Clayton, Missouri - 6:00-8:00. Visit the website to register and for more details - http://www.mbaamericatour.com/.

On March 8 I will be attending an Athletic Career Fair at the Reynolds Razorback Stadium - 6:30-8:30.

March 9, Dr. Ellstrand (MBA Director) and I will host an information session in Rogers at the Arkansas World Trade Center - 5:30.

The GSB Spring Open House and Social will be Thursday, March 11. The Open House will be in 403 Willard J. Walker Hall at 5:30. The Social will be at Powerhouse Seafood and Grill - 6:00-8:00. The Open House is for prospective students for any of our master's degrees - Master of Accountancy, Master of Arts in Economics, Master of Business Administration, and Master of Information Systems. This is your chance to visit our facilities and meet the program directors. The Social is for prospective, current, and former GSB students as well as our faculty. RSVP to either event at gsb@walton.uark.edu.

My final event in March is on Wednesday the 17th at Tyson's Corporate offices. I will be there presenting information about our two part-time programs - MBA and MIS. Please plan on attending if you are a Tyson employee.

Spring Break for the University of Arkansas is March 22-26.

Today is Friday and I am definitely looking forward to the weekend.

Pretty Busy Around Here

This picture was taken from the walkway near my office. It is of the Forum. As you can see, this is a great area for students to study and work in small groups. Mid-terms are right around the corner so the building is pretty busy right now. Our students have also been taking full advantage of the small group rooms. These rooms are for graduate students only and all have 42" plasmas and marker boards with copy cams. Below is a picture of a small group room.

The facilities and technology here at the Walton Graduate School of Business are definitely state of the art. Below is one of our classrooms. Most master's degree classes are held in one of these classrooms.
Our next Open House will be held on Thursday, March 11 at 5:30. Come see our facilities and learn more about our master's degree programs. Email gsb@walton.uark.edu with questions or to RSVP.

Admissions Update

The first round of offers have been made for our PhD programs. Each Walton PhD program is very small thus making the admission process highly competitive and selective. We receive approximately 40 applications for each program yet will enroll only 2-4 students this fall (for a total of 16-18). PhD application deadline was January 15. DDF nomination deadline was February 1. The DDF selection process is completed at the University level, not within Walton College. Walton was fortunate enough to receive 5 DDF awards and 8 DAFs. Admitted Walton PhD students will receive a graduate assistantship (GA) of $17,000. The DDF provides an additional fellowship of $20,000 while the DAF provides $10,000. We do have a wait list. Once we hear back from the first round of offers, we then will make more offers or send denial letters to those not selected.

MIS deadline was February 1. The Department is reviewing applications now and will be making admissions decisions either this week or next. Late applications will be accepted; however, it is anticipated that all financial assistance will be awarded to those who applied by the deadline. The enrollment goal for MIS is 20-25.

MAcc application deadline is March 1. We have already admitted 18 students into next fall's Master of Accountancy program at the early decision deadline last September. The goal for this class is 40. Late applications will also be accepted but there will be no funding opportunities available for late applicants.

Final MBA numbers for spring 2010 were: 157 total application received (compared to 97 last year), 92 completed applications (compared to 70 for the last 2 years), 56 students were offered admission, and we enrolled 36. Early decision deadline for January 2011 is April 1. All those wanting financial assistance should apply by this date. We anticipate that all funding will be awarded during this first round of admissions. We have already received over 50 MBA applications for next year.

Professional MIS Update

I copied this from the MIS blog. The Professional MIS program is redesigning their method of delivery. Their curriculum is not changing, just their method of delivery.

Part-Time Program Enhancements
We have some pretty big news to share - we are broadening the appeal and accessibility of our part-time graduate programs in Information Systems. Beginning Fall 2010, courses in the Walton Professional MIS degree and BI Certificate programs will be delivered in a new format. Classes will be held one Saturday per month (two per month during summer), and we are now offering "IT Toolkit" preparatory courses during the summer to help prepare students from non-IT backgrounds for success in the program and facilitate a smooth transition into the field of information systems. For more information about these programs, visit http://gsb.uark.edu/mis.asp.

News is spreading, and applications for the Walton Professional MIS, ERP Certificate, and BI Certificate programs are coming in regularly. The deadline for application to the Walton Professional MIS program is March 15 (late applications will be considered on a space-available basis), and applications for the ERP and BI Certificate programs should be completed by May 1.

MBA America Tour Events Cancelled

Because of this crazy weather, lots of snow, the MBA America Tour events in Chicago tomorrow (Tuesday) and in Kansas City on Wednesday have been cancelled. Visit the website at www.mbaamericatour.com for updates and contact information for participating schools.

Application (and Weather) Update

Today is the application deadline for the Master of Information Systems program. Last year they received a record number of applications (80 and enrolled 21) and I am expecting similar results this year. It is too soon to tell. We'll receive several this week.

Today is also the deadline for DDF nominations. The DDF is the Distinguished Doctoral Fellowship and the amount is $20,000 annually (awarded on top of our GA which is $17,000). PhD candidates who have a GMAT score of at least 650, master's GPA of at least 3.75, and a writing score of at least 5 are eligible for nomination. I must say that we are very fortunate at the Walton College. Many of our PhD applicants meet these criteria. The selection process is conducted at the University level (it is not a Walton College award). Each Department must submit their nominations today. Last year they awarded 8 DDFs. Many students who are eligible are not selected to receive the award. We will be turning in our nominations this afternoon.

This will be a busy week for me. On Wednesday I am going to Houston and on Thursday, I'll be in Dallas for the MBA America Tour. Be sure to check out the website at http://www.mbaamericatour.com/ to see if we'll be coming to a city near you.

Fayetteville did get extreme winter weather over the weekend. It began with icy rain on Thursday evening and then switched to snow on Friday and the University was closed on Friday. Thankfully it was not as bad as the ice storm we got this time last year. Today it is overcast and a cold 28 degrees.