Home > Gazette > December 2006

Wisconsin’s Accounting Programs Ranked in Top 10

Both the undergraduate and graduate accounting programs of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business have been ranked in the top10 in the nation by Public Accounting Report.

The independent newsletter covering the accounting profession ranked UW-Madison’s undergraduate program in accounting 10th in the nation in its October 2006 issue, up three spots from last year.
 
Wisconsin’s graduate program was identified as one of two “biggest movers” in the publication’s graduate rankings, along with the University of Alabama.  “The Badgers jumped nine spots to crack the graduate list Top 10” according to the newsletter.  Wisconsin’s graduate program in accounting moved up to 9th after being ranked  #19 last year.

Public Accounting Report rankings for undergraduate and graduate programs are based on a reputational survey sent to accounting professors, department heads and department chairs, who were asked to identify programs they felt most consistently turn out students capable of someday attaining partner status.
 
“This is a very important ranking in the accounting domain, because this is what the accounting firms follow and it has an impact on where they focus their resources in terms of hiring ,” said Professor Jon Davis, chair of the Department of Accounting and Information Systems at the UW-Madison School of Business.

For its doctoral rankings, the newsletter asked participants to identify PhD programs they regarded as turning out quality accounting professors. Wisconsin’s doctoral program was ranked 21st, compared to 20th the previous year.
 
“The School of Business has a long tradition of having some of the strongest accounting programs in the nation,” said Dean Michael M. Knetter.  “Having both our undergraduate and graduate accounting programs ranked in the top 10  by Public Accounting Report is gratifying and will help us spread the word of the caliber of education offered here.  As with all our program rankings, we remain focused on the fundamentals —recruiting the best students, delivering a superior experience and providing outstanding career opportunities.” 

Business School Offers New Entrepreneurship Option for Undergrads

Students aiming to become successful entrepreneurs have a new academic option at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  The School of Business now offers students the opportunity to pursue a concentration in entrepreneurship within its undergraduate major in management and human resources.

"More and more of our highly qualified undergraduate students were requesting this opportunity," said Randall B. Dunham, chair of the Department of Management and  Human Resources. "Employers have been emphasizing the value of entrepreneurship training even for employees of traditional firms. We have an entrepreneurship faculty that is one of the best in the country; we are delighted to add to our portfolio of options for undergraduate business majors." 

The program is designed to offer training to students who may be interested in launching a business while in school, immediately following graduation, or later in their careers. The program will also provide training to students who wish to work in an existing small business, family business or startup, as well as those students who may provide services to startups, or provide services such as management consulting.

The new option has an enrollment limit with an admission process. For the current academic year, only a small group of students with junior standing were eligible to apply. Coursework will begin in fall 2007 and will integrate theory and practice. Students will meet with business professionals involved in entrepreneurship including entrepreneurs, lawyers, and venture capitalists. They'll also learn how to write business plans for local businesses, their own business ideas and for business plan competitions.

Assistant Professor Jon Eckhardt, the primary architect of the program added, "Similar to our successful MBA program in entrepreneurship, the overall goal of the new undergraduate option is to provide training, life experiences and mentors to facilitate the entrepreneurial aspirations of our students."

First Accenture Leadership Center Case Competition Slated

The Wisconsin Management Consulting Club (WMCC) is organizing and coordinating the first Accenture Leadership Center Case Competition, to be held Saturday, Dec. 2 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Grainger Hall.

Teams of three to four undergraduate students will be presented with a business case that tests their critical thinking skills. Prizes will include $500 for first place, $300 for second place and $200 for third place. All majors and years are allowed to enter. Four Accenture partners and recruiters will serve as judges for the event

Faculty and staff interested in additional information about the competition should contact Senior Lecturer Loren Kuzuhara, WMCC’s advisor, lkuzhara@bus.wisc.edu.

FACULTY-STAFF NEWS

Sung Kim, assistant professor in the Department of Operations and Information Management, will serve as an associate editor of Information Systems Research, a premier journal in the information systems field. 

Mo O’Connor, an academic advisor in the Undergraduate Programs Office, is being honored this month by Community Shares of Wisconsin as a Backyard Hero for her volunteer work with the Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools.

Carol Aspinwall and two Erdman Center students attended the Association for Operations Management (APICS) International Conference in Orlando this fall. Aspinwall presented a session at the conference on working with APICS international members. The Erdman Center students participated in the organization’s  first international student case competition.  In November, Aspinwall hosted a group of international students from the Erdman Center and members of the Graduate Business Christian Fellowship for an Un-Traditional Thanksgiving meal. Dishes from Korea, India, China and Taiwan were served, along with traditional American Thanksgiving fare.
 
Joan Gillman, director of special industries programs for the School of  Business,  continues to co-host a radio program on Madison 1670 AM, Monday through Friday from 6 to 7 p.m. Gillman  joins Jody Glynn Patrick, publisher of In Business magazine, for the program, "On Air with In Business" interviewing a variety of guests on topics of interest to a general business audience.  Program listeners also hear 30-second, on-air spots promoting various offerings of the School of Business. If you have a program you would like mentioned in these spots, please contact Lari Fanlund in the Office of Marketing and Communication.
 
Several School of Business faculty and classified or academic staff were granted emerita/emeritus status upon retirement by Chancellor John Wiley this fall. They include: Ruth Dahl, Sandra Ihle, Rod Matthews, Susan Sprague, Sandra Stark and Karen Stauffacher.

Arrivals

Kay Bradley joined the Undergraduate Programs Office in November as a new university services program associate A. She comes to the School of Business from the School of Medicine and Public Health, were she has been a student services coordinator.  She has a B.S. in business from UW-Parkside.

Linda Taylor has accepted a new position in the Copy Center, program assistant supervisor.  She replaces Jim Scallon.  Prior to joining the Copy Center in 2004, she had been with the Department of Physics-Plasma.  Taylor worked in the School of Business Copy Center previously, from 1994 to 1996, and worked in Executive  Education from 1996 to 1999.

Katherine Esposito  joined the Center for Real Estate as an associate outreach specialist in November. She has been a writer and editor for her own personal communications business, Scoop Communications, working with a wide range of clients.  She has worked with the UW-Madison Office of Corporate Relations, the Wisconsin Technology Network and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.  Esposito has a B.A. in history from UW-Madison.

Jacob Miller has accepted the position of student status examiner 2 in the Undergraduate Programs Office, effective Dec. 5. He comes to the School of Business from the UW-Madison  Nephrology Section, where he was a financial specialist. He has a degree in journalism from UW-Madison and is working on his master’s from the La Follette School of  Public Affairs.

James Woodrum has accepted the position of faculty associate with Executive Education as program director in the mid-management program area.  He has been an executive compensation consultant with Hewitt Associates LLC since 1984. He has a B.S. in finance from Millikin University and an M.M. from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. 

IN THE NEWS

People and programs of the School of Business were in local and national news last month.

The November issue of  Deal magazine mentioned Julie Richardson, School of Business alumna, in “From the former backwater of telecom,”  The article discussed Richardson’s role in building Merrill Lynch’s telecom and media industry group and J.P. Morgan Chase’s media and technology. 

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Wisconsin State Journal and The Capital Times mentioned the Distinguished Business Alumnus Awards given to Phil Gross and Paul Leff by the School of Business. 

Dean Michael Knetter was quoted in the Nov. 3 article “Boardroom Badgers: UW is a surprising CEO breeding ground” in The Capital Times.  The article noted the large number of CEOs that have graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The Capital Times featured a story on a t-shirt line created by two UW-Madison students, including business student Troy Vosseller.  Jon Eckhardt, assistant professor at the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship said it is rare for students to start a business.  He also mentioned the start of a new business school program for undergraduates focused on entrepreneurship.

The Capital Times mentioned the School of Business Executive Education program in “Ex-Lands’ End chief has winning touch” on Nov.1.  The article discussed Mike Smith, former Lands’ End CEO and his part in the Directors’ Summit™.

The article “Portable learning: Podcasting can help students study at any time, any place” in the Capital Times mentioned Randy Dunham, professor of management and human resources.  He was also quoted in “Professor in an iPod” in the Wisconsin State Journal.  Dunham talked about his use of podcasting in his classroom. 

Executive Education Emeritus Professor Edward Marien wrote a guest article “Meeting the Product Lifecycle Challenge” in the October issue of Supply Chain Management Review.

The Capital Region Business Journal quoted Neil Lerner, director of the Small Business Development Center, in “UW students get real to help businesses.”  The article discussed the program run through the Small Business Development Center in which business students help Wisconsin companies with marketing and development plans. 

Linda Gorchels, faculty associate in Executive Education, was quoted in “Building with the Web” in the Capital Region Business Journal.  The article discussed how the Internet can be used as a savvy marketing strategy and tool for companies. 

The Wisconsin State Journal quoted Stephen Malpezzi, professor of real estate, in “Home sales plunge in county.”    

Two Faculty Receive Grant for Research on Health Care Expenditures

Professor Edward W. (Jed) Frees of the Actuarial Science, Risk Management and Insurance Department and Associate Professor Marjorie A. Rosenberg,  Actuarial Science, Risk Management and Insurance  and Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, were recently awarded a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to study "longitudinal modeling of health care expenditures."  The long-term aims of the project are to provide tools to policymakers and healthcare professionals to help assess the impact of system changes, such as the success of disease management programs and cost-effectiveness analyses to help increase the understanding of the magnitude and timing of health care expenditures. Their work will emphasize the analysis of longitudinal data, with the goal of better aligning analytic models with empirical data patterns. Specific areas of focus will be in the areas of chronic diseases and on costs affecting the elderly.

New Executive Education Website Launched

A new Executive Education website was launched last month, the first major redevelopment since 2002.  The goal of the new Executive Education website is focused on making it easy for customers to find, navigate and register for programs and the site’s URL was changed to take advantage of the stronger search engine relevance of  “edu” domain names.

Development tools and features include:

• Search engine optimization that will improve site rankings on commonly used search terms used on Google and other search engines.
• Design and navigation tools that incorporate School of Business design standards and offer quicker site navigation and simplified  registration.
• A new statistics package that offers enhanced site reporting and visitor tracking features.

Check out the new site at: http://exed.wisc.edu

World Bank’s Development Report Presented Dec. 1

Emmanuel Jimenez of the World Bank will present  “World Development Report 2007: Development and the Next Generation” on Friday, Dec. 1, from 10:30 a.m. to noon in 4151 Grainger Hall. The presentation is sponsored by the Executive MBA program, the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) and the Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy (WAGE).

The number of people worldwide under age 25 is the largest in history.  What can governments and society do to expand opportunities, enhance capabilities, foster exercise of citizenship, and provide fair chances to the pool of youth talent?  What policies of investing in young people work?  How can countries coordinate actions to unleash the development of young people and fight poverty?

 Jimenez, staff director of the World Development Report 2007 team, will address these questions through an overview of this World Bank report. Jimenez has held a variety of positions as an economist and manager in the policy, research and operational units of the World Bank.  In addition to his role as staff director of the World Development Report team, since early 2002 he has also been sector director, human development, in the World Bank’s East Asia Region, where he is responsible for managing operational staff working on education and health issues.  Prior to joining the World Bank, he was on the faculty of the economics department at the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada. 

HOLIDAY NEWS

Dean’s Holiday Party Set for Dec. 13

Faculty and staff of the School of Business are invited to attend the Dean's Holiday Party, Wednesday, Dec. 13 from 3:30 to 5:30 in 5120 p.m. Please rsvp to Dianne Rothwell at drothwell@bus.wisc.edu no later than Thursday, Dec. 7.

Adopt a Family This Holiday

School of Business employees will again be participating in an “adopt a family” project benefiting a family serviced by Domestic Abuse Intervention Services. The holidays are an especially difficult time for those who have left an abusive situation. The goal of the program is to make their holidays special and relieve holiday stress by providing both fun and necessary gifts for mothers and their children.

Those interested in participating are asked to stop by 5151 Grainger. All gifts need to be new and should remain unwrapped. Gifts requested from the family include: clothing, household items, grocery store gift certificates and educational toys. Cash donations, which will be used to purchase remaining gift items and/or gift certificates, also will be gratefully accepted. Donations should be dropped off prior to Dec. 11, when the packages will be delivered to the shelter. For more information, please contact Alisa Robertson at 262-8777 or arobertson@bus.wisc.edu.

Winter Break Hours for Coffee Cart,  Deli  and Conference Services

The Atrium Coffee Cart will close Friday, Dec. 22 at 9:30 a.m. and reopen Monday, Jan 22.
 
The third floor Deli will close Friday, Dec. 22 at 1 p.m. and reopen Monday, Jan. 22 for the semester. 

Conference Services will close Thursday, Dec. 21 at 4:30 p.m. and reopen Tuesday, Jan. 2  at 7:45 a.m.  Coffee service will be available in the Conference Services office, Room 3259, beginning Monday, Jan. 8  from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.  

BUSINESS BRIEFS

No Dean Open Office Hours This Month

Due to a conflict, Dean Michael Knetter will not be able to  hold open office hours this month. Upcoming Gazettes will list office hours for the spring semester.  

Classified and Unclassified In-Service Session

Steve Schroeder, director of career planning and placement, and the staff of the Business Career Center will give a presentation on “Selecting the ‘Right’ Candidate for Your Vacant Position” for an in-service session on Tuesday, Dec. 5, at 10 a.m. in 3070 Grainger Hall. The presentation, “Part 2:  The Interview & After” will explore conducting interviews, calling references and selecting candidates. The in-service session is sponsored by the School of Business Office of Human Resources and Employment Relations.

About the Gazette

There will be no Jan. 1 issue of the School of Business Gazette, due to winter break. Submissions for the Feb. 1 issue should be sent by Jan. 26 to Lari Fanlund, lfanlund@bus.wisc.edu.