What day is it and where am I?

It's Friday! Yea! We are finished with all new student Orientations for this year. Our next Orientation will be January 4-8 for the full-time Walton MBA program. Yesterday I had the very great pleasure of driving to Hot Springs in the rain. Rain is such a pleasant, passive word that comes nowhere close to describing what I was driving through. My wipers were going as fast as they could go, it was dark, and I happened to be driving through Fort Smith about 8:00 during the worst of it - traffic wasn't pleasant. When I reached Hot Springs it was hardly raining there so at least I was able to unload and get inside without having to deal with it anymore. Thankfully it had passed by the time I left at 3:00. The sun was out and I had a pleasant drive back to Fayetteville - except for those 18-wheelers on 270. I somehow managed to get stuck behind a line of trucks on a winding, 2-lane road going 40 miles an hour. I am not a patient person under the best of circumstances. This is a driving situation that highly frustrates me - no way to get around them and nowhere else to go. I just had to sit back and wait - something I don't do very well.

I did make it home safe and sound so all went well. I was also able to pass out program information to Human Resource managers in western and central Arkansas. Today is a beautiful, sunny day. We are experiencing very unusual weather for August in Arkansas. This is typically our hottest month but it is currently 69 degrees with an expected high to be in the 80s. Usually we are in the triple digits right now.

I haven't written since my kids started school. All is well on the home front. This is my daughter's first year playing school ball. She played peewee basketball for 4 years and now she gets to practice during school and ride the bus to games. No more mom and dad getting her to practice 2 nights a week and to games on Saturday. We'll still go to her games but it's nice to not have to worry about getting her to practice. She is also in pre-algebra this year. I am really hoping this goes well. She does very well in Math; it is not my favorite subject, in fact there wasn't much I liked less in school, and I am trying to keep my biases to myself. Her dad and I have encouraged her natural Math ability. Now it the real test - algebra. Fingers crossed.

Kindergarten is going well. Jack told me last night that zone 3 was outside voice, zone 2 was inside voice, and zone 1 was whisper. I am liking this a lot. While he was speaking very loudly to me, I said, "Jack, zone 2" and he immediately started using his inside voice. Woohoo. He also raised his hand when he wanted to talk to me. How cute is that?

Classes begin here at the University of Arkansas on Monday. Once I recup from these last 2 crazy weeks, I will get back to work on MBA applications. The final deadline is September 15th. The admissions committee is meeting on the 23rd. We will accept late applications as space allows. Our goal for this next class is 42-45 and we are currently at 28. If you are planning on joining the Walton MBA class of 2011, be sure that all application materials are submitted to the GSB by September 15th. Email gsb@walton.uark.edu with any questions.

Master of Accountancy (MAcc) Orientation

Today is the second and final day of MAcc Orientation. Here is the schedule for this day and a half event.

Yesterday
1:00-Welcome from Senior Associate Dean, Bill Curington, and Assistant Dean, Marion Dunagan
1:15-Program overview and course options-Dr. Gary Peters, program coordinator
1:45-Career Development Center presentation-Dr. Heather Sprandel and Renee Clay
2:30-Technology training
3:00-Teambuilding-Anna Lyst (our GA) and I sent them on a Scavenger Hunt
5:00-Wrap up and dismissal
5:30-Informal social at Jose's

Today
8:15-Those on graduate assistantship (GA) were debriefed
8:30-Breakfast
8:45-Overview of the day
9:00-Discussion panel-communication skills
10:30-Discussion panel-managing time and assignments
11:45-Lunch
1:00-Discussion panel-teams in the workplace
2:30-Discussion panel-career tracks and competencies
3:45-Planning for spring
4:30-Wrap up and dismissal
5:00-Reception at Powerhouse

All discussion panelists are from companies with strong ties to the Walton MAcc. This is a great opportunity for our new MAcc students to network and make that important first impression on potential future employers.











These photos was taken yesterday. This Orientation is held where their classes will be held, in Willard J. Walker Hall. This is a wonderful, state of the art building. For more details, visit http://waltoncollege.uark.edu/walkerhall/.

This last picture is of the winning team from the scavenger hunt. They are: Emily Hornok, Kayla Moschner, Tom Hauskey, Will Matthew, and Joe Holcomb.

On a separate note, today was the first day of school for my kids. My son, Jack, began kindergarten today. I have to say, that with Zoey, I was so excited about every milestone and welcomed them gladly as a sign of her growing up. It is completely different when it is the baby. I am in no hurry at all for him to grow up. I am not holding him back either, although it is tough sometimes. For instance, he did not want me to walk him in this morning. I really had to fight my instincts but I let him be independent and walk in by himself. After all, it is about him today, not me.

Tomorrow I am going to Hot Springs to attend a Human Resource conference. I will be sharing information about our 2 part-time programs with HR managers from Western Arkansas. It is definitely getting busier in the world of recruiting. I need to lace up my running shoes and get ready to go.

MMBA Orientation over - on to MAcc Orientation

MMBA (Walton's part-time MBA) was successfully wrapped up on Sunday. I will take this opportunity to share photos of the last 2 days of this 4 day event. Day 3 is spent working in teams on a project and then on day 4, a competition is held. All teams present their findings and a winner is selected. These first photos show the groups working together in our small group rooms. We have 12 of these rooms on the 4th floor of Walker Hall (http://waltoncollege.uark.edu/walkerhall). All have 42" plasmas and copy cams on the white boards.


On the final day of Orientation, all teams present their findings (what they spent day 3 doing) to judges. The top 3 teams then move to the finals. The day ends with the announcement of the winning team. The final picture is the class photo. What a great looking group. The first class of the semester will be held on Saturday, August 29. To see the full class schedule, visit http://gsb.uark.edu/mmba.asp. Application deadline for this program for fall 2010, is April 1, 2010. It is not too early to begin preparing your application packet for next fall. Visit http://gsb.uark.edu/admissions.asp for a complete list of admissions requirements. Today we will begin our Master of Accountancy (MAcc) Orientation. This event will begin this afternoon and end tomorrow evening. More details to follow tomorrow.

MMBA Orientation-day 3

Welcome to day 3 of MMBA Orientation. Today looks like this:

7:30 - breakfast

8:00 - class lecture

10:00 - project rules and team assignment

10:30 - work on group project

12:00 - lunch

1:00 - continue to work on group project

5:00 - submit group project and dismissed for the day

As you can tell by the schedule, today is a work day for our new MMBA students. They will be working on a project in teams. Tomorrow these teams will present their work to judges from the Walton College and representatives from some of our corporate partners. This is a great networking opportunity for our students. It gives them a chance to show their stuff and meet new executives from other companies.



I also want to share some photos of the first 2 days of this 4 day Orientation extravaganza. These first 2 were taken first thing in the morning. They are preparing for the icebreaker. I get to do this and it is always fun. I enjoy getting to know our new students better and listening to them as they get to know each other.












These next 2 were shot in the classroom on day 1 and day 2. Not only are they learning about the GSB and their program, they are also in class during this Orientation.












We'll wrap up this photo montage with pics of last night's Social. This is a chance for our new students to relax and mingle outside of the classroom. Those in the MMBA program are only in class one Saturday each month. However, they are together for 2 years so they become quite close. This Orientation sets the tone for the next 2 years and these relationships are beginning to form. We feel it is important for them to have a chance to get to know each other in a social setting before they attend their first class on August 29.

Downhill slide of day 2 - MMBA Orientation

Day 2 of Walton MMBA Orientation is nearly over. Once today is over, the halfway point is reached of this 4 day extravaganza - 2 days down, 2 to go. Deb (my colleague who handles student services - I do admissions and then she takes care of our students once admitted) works really hard on our Orientations. If I do say so myself, we do a mighty fine job - our evaluations back me up. Several students made a point of letting me know today how impressed they have been by this experience thus far and how excited they are about the program. As was mentioned yesterday, these are highly successful professionals, many of whom are working for Fortune 500 companies.

Here is how their day looked:
7:30 - breakfast
8:00 - class lecture (remember, they are earning 2 credit hours during these 4 days)
10:00 - break
10:15 - Career Development Center
10:45 - introduction of 1st semester classes and instructors
11:30 - walk to Union for lunch and photo ID's
1:00 - class lecture
3:00 - break
3:15 - teambuilding and project overview
5:00 - 7:00 - Class Social - a networking event for students, faculty, and staff (chance to mingle and socialize outside of the classroom - lots of good food and company)

A word about our Career Development Center (CDC) - this fantastic resource is located in our building. Their services are provided automatically to all of our full-time students. The Walton CDC works very hard to assist our full-time students in finding internships and job placement after graduation. Their services are not incorporated into the part-time MBA program because all of these students are currently employed. We do not want to risk the positive relationships we have with our local corporate partners and many employers are offering tuition assistance to their employees who are participating in this program. It would not speak well of us if we recruited their employees into our program and then helped them to get another job.

However, that being said, our part-time students can seek their services on their own. Many are not receiving assistance from their employer and several may be seeking other options. I cannot say enough about our CDC. They work very hard and take great personal satisfaction and pleasure in assisting our students in securing placement, finding that "great job." We are a small College so whether it's the GSB or the CDC, personal relationships are formed and our students are important to us.

I will be here tomorrow so tune back in for another summary of MMBA Orientation.

Day 1 of MMBA Orientation

MMBA Orientation began today and will go through Sunday. We have a great group of students but I may be a little biased since I recruited them. 56 new students will begin their MBA this semester. Here is a little more about them. They average 7 years of work experience and their average age is 30. 23 do not have a background in business.

Undergraduate degrees were attained from here (UofA), UT-Arlington, Depauw, Texas-Pan America, Texas A&M, Kansas, Tennessee, BYU, Mizzou, Western Michigan, Northern Illinois, New Mexico, Miami University, Indiana State, Florida, Washington, West Point, and James Madison just to name a few.

They represent the following companies: Walmart, JB Hunt, Tyson, Pfizer, Bayer, Unilever, Scotts Miracle Gro, ConAgra, IBM, Dr. Pepper/Snapple, P&G, Nestle Purina, Lance, and many more.

Here is the schedule for today:

7:45 - breakfast
8:15 - welcome from Senior Associate Dean, Bill Curington, MBA Director, Dr. Alan Ellstrand, and Assistant Dean Marion Dunagan.
8:30 - icebreaker
10:00 - break
10:15 - Program Overview - Dr. Alan Ellstrand
11:00 - Orientation to online learning
11:45 - lunch with MMBA alumni panel
1:30 - technology training and laptop setup
2:30 - ISIS (UofA's student information system) training
2:45 - break
3:00 - Lecture - Introduction to the Value Chain (Dr. Ellstrand teaches a Value Chain course during Orientation that is worth 2 credit hours)
5:00 - dismissal

Tomorrow will begin at 7:30 with breakfast. Come back then for more details about day 2.

If this sounds like the perfect program for you, you can find more information at gsb.uark.edu/mmba.asp and admissions requirements are at gsb.uark.edu/admissions.asp. Deadline is April 1; however, applications are accepted through July 31.

Fall Recruiting Schedule

My fall travel schedule is looking like this:

September 15 - Missouri State University Business Career Fair
September 16 - Tulsa University Business Career Fair
September 22 - University of Arkansas Engineering Expo (I have to walk across the street for this one)
October 7 - Missouri Southern State University Career Fair
October 15 - University of Arkansas - Fort Smith Career Fair
October 15 - Master's Information Session - World Trade Center, Rogers, AR
October 23 - Master's Open House (Willard J. Walker Hall, 5:30) and Social (Powerhouse 6-9)
October 28 - Arkansas Tech University Career Fair
November 4 - University of Central Arkansas Career Fair
November 5 - University of the Ozarks Career Fair

This schedule is not yet final. As more locations are added, I'll let you know. If I will be in your neighborhood this fall, please stop by and say, "hi."