Check Out Annelie's Blog Post

Annelie Reckling is a second year student in the Walton MMBA and will graduate in July. She has written a guest article chronicling her experience in the part-time MBA program. Be sure to see what Annelie has to say at:

http://sammwaltoncollegeofbusiness.blogspot.com/2010/03/why-walton-managerial-mba-annelies-view.html

Win, Win, Win

Here is a summary of the small business plan competitions to date. Total prize money is over $110,000 and there are several competitions yet to come.

Univ of Louisville, Feb. 19-20, 1st; winner Spirit Award-$15,500 - Biologics

Univ of Cincinnati, Feb. 25-26, 1st; winner Trade Show-$10,250 - Biologics

McGinnis Venture Competition - Carnegie Mellon, March 11-13, Winner Tech Track- $40,000 - Innervision

WBT Showcase, March 15-17, 3rd - GreenValley Solar

SDSU - Venture Challenge, March 18-20, finalist; winner tradeshow, $500 - Biologics

University of San Francisco International Business Plan Competition, March 25-26, 3rd; winner, elevator pitch, $4,000 - InnerVision

Stuart Clark Venture Championship--Manitoba, March 25-27, 1st, $15,000 - GreenValley Solar

Oakridge, March 24-26, 1st, $25,000 - GreenValley Solar

AR Governor's Cup, April 8-9

New Venture Championship - University of Oregon, April 8-10

8th Continent Business Plan Competition-Golden, CO, April 9-10

Rice, April 15-17

Moot Corp, May 5-8 - We have two teams competing here and may have a third!

Licensing Executives Society, May 18

Tri-State BP Competition, May 17-19

Spring Weather

Northwest Arkansas had some insane weather this weekend. On Friday, it was beautiful, sunny and 60 degrees. Then we stepped through an alternate universe and got over 13 inches of snow over the weekend. Today it is a gorgeous, sunny 50 degrees.

I wanted to share some pictures of my weekend, which happened to be the first day of spring. It was actually a very pretty snow. My kids had a great time.

This first picture is a snow fort they made with their dad yesterday. My son, Jack, is inside and Zoey is on top. Mom was inside curled up with a good book. The others show the depth.

Our dog, Skylar, is belly deep.

MAcc Admission Update

The application deadline for the Master of Accountancy (MAcc) was March 1. I just received the committee's decisions today. If you are among the applicants, send me an email and I'll tell you your status. Official letters will probably not be ready to go out until early-mid next week.

Fifty-nine total offers were made. Since the application pool was so large, we will only be accepting late applications from in-state candidates and those out-of-staters who can be self-funded. In-state tuition for the two semester program is approximately $14,000 while out-of-state tuition is closer to $30,000.

ALL FUNDING HAS BEEN AWARDED. ALL APPLICANTS FROM THIS POINT ON MUST BE SELF-FUNDED.

MIS - No longer accepting applications

The Walton full-time MIS program is no longer accepting applications for fall 2010. All spots have been filled. There is also currently a waiting list. Students wishing to be considered for fall 2011, application deadline will be February 1, 2011.

Applications for the part-time/Professional MIS are being accepted. Deadline was March 15; however, applications will be accepted through the summer as space allows. Application requirements can be found at http://gsb.uark.edu/admissions.asp and info about the Professional MIS can be found at http://gsb.uark.edu/profmis.asp.

Walton Small Business Team Strikes Again!

Small-business plan team, InnerVision (Liz Slape-MBA, Jeff Veltkamp-MMBA, Annelie Reckling-MMBA, Anoop Prasanna-MMBA, and Bryon Western-engineering) won the technology track at Carnegie-Mellon Saturday. At Carnegie-Mellon there are three winners - in life sciences, cleantech, and technology. The team won a $20,000 investment in the company and $20,000 in legal services. This team outperformed teams from Duke, UCLA, and UT in the first round.

Walton is off to another fantastic start this year. We have several teams competing and I will be sure to continue to share the results.

Here is a complete list of the results at Carnegie-Mellon. Those in italics were first round competitors of InnerVision.

TransportCHAIN-Carnegie Mellon University-1st Cleantech
Rubitection-Carnegie Mellon University
Seamless Receipts-Cornell University-won wildcard
OpenArms-Duke University-1st round competitor
Nirvana-Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (India)
QP Digital-Indiana University
CervoCheck-Johns Hopkins University
BizWiz-Johns Hopkins University
Drive Safe-Kennesaw State University
GlucaGO LLC-Purdue University
Bloodox-Universidad de los Andes (Colombia)
InnerVision-University of Arkansas-1st - technology
TekTrak-University of California, Los Angeles-1st round competitor
TenMed-University of California, San Diego
Power2Switch-University of Chicago
Thermal Conservation-U Illinois -Chicago
NanoMark-University of Louisville-1st - life sciences
SpectroDent-University of Manitoba (Canada)
Degree Energy Services-University of Maryland
Enertia-University of Michigan
June Energy-University of Michigan
Mosaic-University of Oregon
Digital Proctor-University of Texas at Austin-2nd-technology
Metabo View-University of Utah

Update on Master of Accountancy

The deadline for the Master of Accountancy (MAcc) program was March 1. Folders are now ready for Departmental review and we hope to have decisions back by Spring Break. University of Arkansas Spring Break is March 22-26.

The MAcc has an early decision deadline of September 15. Eighteen students were offered and accepted admission in September. We now have 58 more completed applications for the Department. Late applications will be accepted on a space available basis and it is too early to know their enrollment goal to determine if late applications will be accepted. I will keep you updated.

Last year, the GSB received a total of 79 application for MAcc; 59 of which were completed. This year, to date, we have received 105 and 79 are complete. We are very pleased with this increase.

The Accounting Department will now make admissions and funding decisions. These offer letters will include the financial offer. Those admitted in September will receive a scholarship/graduate assistantship letter if awarded.

Send questions to gsb@walton.uark.edu.

Open House and Social Tomorrow Night

Last night, Dr. Ellstrand and I hosted an MBA information session in Rogers at the Arkansas World Trade Center. We had a record number of prospective students in attendance and it went very well.

Tomorrow night, Thursday, March 11 we will host an Open House on campus in 403 Willard J. Walker Hall at 5:30. This event is for all master's degree programs in the Walton College - Master of Accountancy, Master of Arts in Economics, Master of Information Systems, and Master of Business Administration (MBA). The evening will begin with a brief discussion about the application process. Following this, students will break into small groups and meet with the program coordinators. This is a great opportunity to check out our state-of-the-art facilities and technology and to get your questions answered.

Following the Open House we are hosting a Spring Social at Powerhouse, just off Dickson Street. We host a Social three times a year: spring, summer, and fall. The Social is for current, former, new and prospective students to mingle with each other and GSB faculty. It gives our new and prospective students a great opportunity to get a feel for the Walton College and to meet current students and faculty. The Social also gives our current and former students a chance to get out of the classroom and enjoy each other's company. We love to have our alums come back and visit.

The next event will be held on Friday, July 10 and will follow the same format as tomorrow's Open House and Social.

Fayetteville - a great place to live

Fayetteville has had the good fortune to make many lists by Forbes magazine. The most recent is Top College Sports Towns and we are #7. The top 10 looks like this:

10. State College, Pa., Penn State University
9. College Park, Md. University of Maryland
8. Lexington, Ky. University of Kentucky
7. Fayetteville, Ark. University of Arkansas
6. Austin, Texas. University of Texas
5. College Station, Texas. Texas A&M University
4. Palo Alto, Calif. Stanford University
3. Norman, Okla. University of Oklahoma
2. Chapel Hill, N.C. University of North Carolina
1. Ann Arbor, Mich. University of Michigan

Forbes compiled the list by first looking at the quality of the total sports offerings at various universities as rated by members of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. Then “quality of life” was factored in, based on average home prices, median household income figures, the quality of the public school system and the local crime rate. The magazine also pulled a few details from its previous “best of” lists to fill out the picture.

Fayetteville was recognized for its easy access to lakes and hiking trails, as well as its farmers’ market, in addition to a solid public school system and high marks in the other areas. The sports program at the University of Arkansas, by itself, was ranked 25 on the list of total sports programs. http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/05/college-sports-towns-lifestyle-sports-college-towns.html

Already the Second Week of March

Where has the time gone? Purely a rhetorical question - I am not expecting an answer. March 1 was the application deadline for the Master of Accountancy program. We are nearly finished processing all incoming apps and will be turning them over to the admissions committee by the end of the week. This program had an early decision deadline last September and admitted 18 students at that time. Their goal for fall 2010 is 40. I don't know yet how many applications they have for this last official round but I'll know in the next day or two. The Program will accept late applications through the summer as space allows; however, all funding will be awarded to those applicants who submitted by the March 1 deadline.

Tomorrow the Graduate School of Business is hosting an MBA information session in Rogers, AR at the Arkansas World Trade Center at 5:30. Then on Thursday we will host an Open House here on campus for all master's degree programs at 5:30 in 403 Willard J. Walker Hall. Please join us if you are in the area. Both programs will provide the same information so attendance at one is sufficient.

The University of Arkansas's Spring Break is March 22-26 and the University will be closed that Friday the 26th. When we return March 29, there will really not be much time left before finals begin. Commencement is Saturday, May 8.

MBA - full-time and part-time application deadline is April 1. Part-time or Managerial MBA (MMBA) applications will be accepted through July as space allows. Final deadline for the full-time program is September 15. We anticipate awarding all funding opportunities to those who apply by the early decision deadline of April 1. Our goal is a class of 40 for spring 2011.

BiologicsMD Wins Again in Cincinnati

BiologicsMD won the small business plan competition at the University of Cincinnati Friday night. They also won 2nd in the trade show booth competition. That’s almost $26,000 won in a week’s time. The GSB is quite proud!

Team members are: Paul Mlakar (MMBA), Michael Thomas (MMBA), Misty Stevens (MMBA), and Robyn Goforth (Certificate in Entrepreneurship). Only Misty and Robyn were available to compete at Cincinnati. Other finishers were:

2nd - Johns Hopkins (this is the second John Hopkins team they’ve beat),
3rd - U Illinois-Chicago , and
4th - Indiana

Other teams in the competition were from Michigan, Oregon, Purdue, and Rice, among others.