Big, Deep Breath

Let me pause for just a minute to get by bearings and my breath. The University was closed last Monday in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Tuesday through Friday we worked frantically to process PhD applications. The deadline was January 15. Our goal was to have all incoming materials processed (entered into the computer, scanned to our online file system, and matched-documents come in piecemeal and they must all be filed with the corresponding application). We were successful. Before we left the office on Friday, the Departments had been given electronic access to their applications. As the days go by, we continue to receive incoming materials and these are processed and forwarded to the Departments.

The deadline for University fellowships is February 1. Departments will submit their nominations to us and we will process them and deliver them to the Graduate School. First round offers will go out mid-February as will our denies. A short waiting list will be kept for each program. Depending on the responses received from the first round, second round offers will then go out. All PhD programs are admitting this fall except for Information Systems.

Master of Information Systems deadline is February 1. You can find our list of application requirements at http://gsb.uark.edu/admissions.asp. Our focus will turn to MIS as soon as fellowship nominations are delivered to the Graduate School. Next week I will go through the MIS files and notify students of any missing documents. The admissions committee will not meet until mid-February. This gives us a chance to process the first round of PhD offers. MIS offers will then go out mid-late February.

I will also begin traveling next month. My February calendar looks like this:

February 8 - Corporate Visit to Walmart's ISD
February 15 - Corporate Visit to Tyson
February 16 - Open House and Social-Walton College and Powerhouse Seafood and Grill
February 21 - Career Fair-Walton College
February 22 - Career Fair - College of Engineering-UofA
February 23 - Career Fair - Hendrix
February 23 - Corporate Visit - UAMS
February 29 - Career Fair-University of the Ozarks

Days 2, 3, and 4

I am behind. Let me catch up. Tuesday, Day 2 of Orientation, was Team Day. The class had completed StrengthsQuest, on online assessment that determined their top 5 strengths out of a possible 34. The day looked like this:

8:00 StrengthsQuest summary
10:00 Break
10:15 Team building activity
12:30 Lunch
1:30 How to present a case
2:00 Presentation pointers
2:30 Dismissed

This was a very fun day. It began with relevant information regarding personal strengths. This helped students better understand themselves and also provided important information to allow them to work better in teams. The day flowed smoothly into a team activity.

Day 3 was spent working in teams on a case presentation.

Day 4, today, was the Case Competition. The class was divided into 12 teams. Three teams advanced to the finals. The winner of the 2012 MBA Orientation Case Competition was Team K - Thibault Vittet, Amberle Morgan, Mark Eastham. The case used was a Google case so here they are with their Google Championship Belts (complete with spinning "G"). I will post more photos next week.


Tomorrow is Retail Immersion day. We will start bright and early in the morning at 7:30. We'll load onto a bus and head to a Walmart distribution center. Lunch will follow and then the day will be capped by a visit to a local, major Walmart vendor. More to follow next week.

The University will be closed on Monday, January 16th in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

MBA Orientation - Day 1

We kicked off our MBA Orientation today. The final class looks like this:

# = 46
GMAT = 631
GPA = 3.2
age = 25
35% female
32% international-representing China, India, Hong Kong, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and France.

Today's agenda looked like this:

8:00 - check-in and breakfast
8:15 - welcome
8:30 - ice breaker
9:45 - break
10:00 - program overview
10:30 - building your brand
11:30 - mentor activity
12:00 - lunch
1:30 - technology set up
2:20 - break
2:30 - graduate assistantships
3:00 - academic integrity
4:00 - career services
5:30 - current student/alumni panel off-campus

Tonight is also the national championship between LSU and Alabama, the only two teams the Razorbacks lost to this year.

Tomorrow we will start again at 7:45. I will update and post pictures as the week progresses.

Welcome Class of 2013!

Happy New Year

The University was closed Friday, December 23 through Monday, January 2. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday catching up on email. This is a very exciting and busy time for us at the Graduate School of Business.

On the Student Services side, we have MBA Orientation next week. Orientation is Monday, January 9 through Friday, January 13. This is one of my favorite times of year. We are expecting 44 students. Many of them I have met, but there are also several others I have not yet had the privilege of meeting. I greatly enjoy meeting the students I have been emailing and corresponding with for so long. This is a busy, fun-filled week. I'll post more details and pictures as the week progresses.

On the Admissions side, our first of many application deadline is approaching. The PhD deadline is January 15th. Walton has PhD's in Accounting, Economics, Finance, Information Systems, Management, Marketing, and Supply Chain. The first round of admissions decisions will go out mid-February.

The Master of Information Systems deadline is February 1. You can find the complete list of our application requirements at http://gsb.uark.edu/admissions.asp. Those who apply by the program deadlines are eligible for funding. Information about the funding available can be found at http://gsb.uark.edu/finaid.asp.

Tomorrow night is a big night for the Razorbacks. We play Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl. GO HOGS!