School of Business Gazette, March 1, 2006

BusinessWeek Notes Badger Power

“Today's CEOs are less likely than predecessors to be company loyalists or military veterans, says the latest census by recruitment outfit Spencer Stuart. They're also more apt to know the words to If You Want to Be a Badger.” So begins an article in the February 27, 2006 issue of BusinessWeek.  The article, complete with a photo of Bucky Badger, goes on to say that in 2005, “14 of the CEOs at S&P 500 companies held undergrad degrees from the University of Wisconsin. That puts it in a tie with Harvard for first place, ahead of Princeton, Stanford, Yale, and the University of Texas.” “Top Badgers” mentioned in the article include BBA accounting alumnus Tom Falk, chairman of the board and CEO of Kimberly-Clark, and MBA alumnus David Lesar, CEO of Halliburton.  

Wisconsin MBA Student Wins Grammy

Derek Kwan, a first-year MBA student with the Bolz Center for Arts Administration, won a Grammy last month in the category of Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album.

Kwan won for “Bebo De Cuba” featuring Bebo Valdes (Calle 54 Records), for which he was associate producer while working at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City before coming to the School of Business. He also co-produced another album nominated in the same category, “Una Noche Inolvidable” featuring the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra with Arturo O'Farrill (Palmetto Records).

Feature coverage of his Grammy win made the Wisconsin State Journal, Capital Times, Badger Herald, Daily Cardinal and the February issue of eNEWSLINE, published by  the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business

Kwan said, “It’s exciting, but it’s not about me; it’s about the artists. I’m just happy to be along for the ride. That’s what I’m hoping to do with my career, to facilitate and provide meaningful opportunities for the artists.”   
  
A Los Angeles native, Kwan earned his undergraduate degree in political science and music at Duke. In addition to producing live concerts, he has experience producing records. He works closely with the performing artists, helping them choose their repertoire and selecting the best takes during the mixing process.

Kwan hopes having an MBA in Arts Administration from UW-Madison will help him develop a career as a producer of a wider variety of art performance, including classical music and dance. As part of his studies with the Bolz Center for Arts Administration, he is working as the education and outreach coordinator for UW-Madison’s Union Theater.

Wall Street Journal Columnist to Be Business Writer in Residence

Justin Lahart, author of "Ahead of the Tape," a daily column in the Wall Street Journal and a former CNN/Money columnist, will speak to business and journalism classes the week of March 6-11. The spring semester's Business Writer in Residence began his journalistic career as a reporter at TheStreet.com, after teaching English in Japan and doing marketing and technical writing for an engineering firm in Michigan. For more information on his visit, contact Lari Fanlund, lfanlund@bus.wisc.edu, 262-2401 in the Office of Marketing and Communication.

Real Estate Club Travels to Phoenix

More than 40 members of the real estate club and real estate faculty members traveled to Phoenix, Ariz. in February to explore the Phoenix real estate market, which has been experiencing fast growth, primarily driven by the influx of California residents. Real Estate alumni in the Phoenix area were generous with their time and resources, putting together a series of presentations.   

Presentations included a visit to a town called Buckeye, 25 miles west of Phoenix that is expected to grow from a population of 35,000 today, to 100,000 within five years.   City planners from both Phoenix and Scottsdale gave perspectives on where they see their towns growing.  Developers active in those markets gave tours and presentations on their projects such as the Scottsdale Waterfront mixed-use project and the Artisan Lofts Project in Phoenix.  Alumni also arranged for a tour of Westgate, a massive mixed-use entertainment complex in Glendale that incorporates the new Arizona Cardinals NFL Stadium and the Phoenix Coyotes NHL Arena with high-end housing, restaurants, hotel, retail, theatre and music venues. Students also heard from Cavan, a real estate development company engaged in projects such as Seven Canyons, a high-end golf/resort community surrounded by the red rock formations of Sedona. The trip was arranged to coincide with the Wisconsin Real Estate Alumni Association’s spring board meeting.  

Another Wisconsin Accounting Student Named to FASB Internship

Troy Van Beek, a graduate student in the Five-Year Professional Program in Accounting at the UW-Madison School of Business, has been accepted for a post-graduate technical assistant internship at the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). FASB is the national standard setter for accounting and Van Beek gained one of five prestigious positions open nationally for post-graduate internships. He will work on topics such as principles-based accounting and accounting for complex financial instruments.

He is the sixth student in a row that the Department of Accounting and Information Systems at the UW-Madison School of Business has placed at FASB. Previous interns were Brian Goetsch, (2005-2006), Holly Kispert (2004-2005), Lauren Belot (2003-2004), Michael Maffei (2002-2003), and Jenni Boelter (2001-2002).

“The fact that, year after year, FASB turns to Wisconsin to fill these highly competitive intern positions shows the strength of our accounting students and our accounting program,” according to Accounting Professor Larry Rittenberg.

In the News

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is recognized as one of the top "Five Universities You Can Do Business With" in February's Inc. Magazine. The university is identified as one of five universities, which consistently produce upwards of 100 new, patents each year and foster entrepreneurship.

Professor of Real Estate and Urban Land Economics Timothy Riddiough, director of the UW Center for Real Estate, is quoted in "Site Can Help Gauge Value of House" in the Feb. 27 issue of the Baltimore Sun.

A group of MBA students' trip to Africa is featured in "UW Biz Students Travel to Get World View" in the Feb. 2 issue of the Capital Times. Gary Lessuise, assistant dean of the MBA program, Amy Schmidt, director of the Center for Brand and Product Management, and several students are quoted.
 
Finance Professor Jim Seward, of the Nicholas Center for Applied Corporate Finance, and Masako Ueda, assistant professor of finance, are quoted in "Small Businesses Get Angelic Help" in the Feb. 1 issue of the Wisconsin State Journal.

School of Business Dean Michael Knetter is quoted in "Greenspan Has Left the Building" in the Feb. 8 issue of the Daily Cardinal. The article discusses the role of the Federal Reserve chair.

A book by Dan Anderson, professor of actuarial science, risk management and insurance, "Corporate Survival: The Critical Importance of Sustainability Risk Management," was reviewed in the Jan. 30 issue of Business Insurance Magazine. Anderson's book was also featured in the Feb. 15 issue of Wisconsin Week.

School of Business Dean Michael Knetter is quoted in "Are We Saving Less but Getting Richer?" in the Feb. 11 issue of the Wisconsin State Journal. The article explores the decreasing rate of saving and the increasing level of wealth nationwide.

CIBER Director Susan Huber Miller was featured in the February issue of Business Beat. She discusses the Center for International Business Education and Research and challenges for area companies doing business internationally.

Director of the Small Business Development Center, Neil Lerner wrote an article in the February issue of Capital Region Business Journal. His article, "Strategic Partnerships Can Be a Good Way to Grow," was the fifth part of a series on how to grow a business.

Lori Holder-Webb, assistant professor of accounting and information systems, is quoted in "Business Professor Launches Corporate Reporting Study" on the Wisconsin Technology Network.

Toni Whited, associate professor of finance, being given the Brattle Prize in Corporate Finance is in the Jan. 30 issue of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Liah Hansen, an undergraduate marketing student, was featured in stories in the Wisconsin State Journal and Capital Times on her plan to sell advertising space on her forehead.   See “Foreheads for Sale” and “UW Seniors Aim to Use Noggins”.

Diversity Presentation on March 6

The School of Business Human Resources & Employment Relations and the Office of the Learning Environment will sponsor a program in Grainger Hall this month on issues of diversity and inclusiveness.
The UW-Madison Theatre for Social and Cultural Awareness (TSCA) will present the program Monday, March. 6, 11  a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in 5120 Grainger Hall. TSCA is becoming well known for its innovative and entertaining approach to issues of diversity and inclusiveness and topics relevant to today’s campus atmosphere.  All classified and academic staff (including academic teaching staff) are encouraged to attend this informal  opportunity to explore how to make a difference and improve the workplace environment.  Additional school wide diversity initiatives are being developed.

Seventh Annual Spring Biz Jobs Fair Slated

The seventh annual School of Business Spring Biz Jobs Fair will be held on Tuesday, March 28 from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at the Kohl Center. The fair is open to all UW-Madison undergraduate and graduate students interested in part-time, summer, or full-time career employment opportunities in business. Approximately 250 employer representatives from more than 95 organizations are already registered, and new company registrations will continue to come in right up to the event. More information is available online on the Business Career Center's Web site.

Faculty and staff of the School of Business are invited to join employer representatives during a light dinner buffet from 6 to 8 p.m. Please contact Carol Eisele in the Business Career Center, 3290 Grainger Hall, 262-4393 or cjeisele@bus.wisc.edu, if you would like to attend.

Spring Biz Jobs Fair 2006 is sponsored by the Business Career Center with assistance from Alpha Kappa Psi, Mu Kappa Tau and Student Faculty Board.

Wisconsin Business Alumni to Hold Event in San Francisco

Wisconsin Business Alumni will host a luncheon for alumni in the San Francisco area on Tuesday, March 7 from noon to 2 p.m. at the Bankers Club of San Francisco in the Bank of America Center. Faculty, staff and students who are planning to be in the area at that time are welcome to attend. For more information, contact Alumni Director Alisa Robertson, arobertson@bus.wisc.edu, 262-8777.

Economic Outlook to be Held March 24

Executive Education will host Economic Outlook on Friday, March 24.  For more than 30 years, the semi-annual event has been helping business leaders and owners translate economic trends into competitive intelligence.  Business leaders from throughout Wisconsin, northern Illinois and eastern Iowa are expected to attend. Economists and other experts will share their insights and predictions for local, regional, national and international economies and financial markets for the remainder of 2006  and beyond.
 Speakers include:

• Clare Zempel, Principal, Zempel Strategic
• Matthew Bishop, Editor, The Economist
• Richard E. Cavanagh, President and CEO, The Conference Board
• Don Nichols, Director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs, UW-Madison

For more information, go to: http://www.uwexeced.com/advancedmanagement/econ.htm.

Family Business Center Presents “Compensation and the Family Business”

The Family Business Center (FBC) will present Bob Wilkening, president of Wilkening & Company, as the keynote speaker at its March 28 program, “Compensation and the Family Business.” The event will be held at the Fluno Center’s Howard Auditorium with breakfast from 7 to 8 a.m. and program from 8 to 11:30 a.m. Participants will have an opportunity to review modern compensation theory and practice, from salary to other pay vehicles, some of which are unique to private companies. The program is open to FBC members and sponsors at no charge. Potential FBC members may attend one program for $100 per company. Registration is required. For more information on registering for this event, go to www.uwexeced.com/fbc/programs.

Bolz Students Present at National Conference

Four Bolz Center students presented a workshop session to arts professionals at the 49th annual national conference of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters in New York City this January. Invited and sponsored as part of Arts Presenters' William Dawson Endowment, the student presentation was the first effort in an ongoing partnership between the association and the Bolz Center for Arts Administration.

The students drew on research from consumer behavior, neuroscience, social psychology, and recent studies of arts audiences. The student team included Derek Kwan, Bridget Marquis, Jennifer Post and Erin McLennon, and was advised by Bolz Center Director Andrew Taylor.

Faculty-Staff News

Brian Mayhew, associate professor of accounting and information systems, was named to the editorial board of Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory for the upcoming year.

The MBA Program Office has a new advisor. Peggy Leister joined the School of Business in February as a university services program associate A.  Previously, she worked with UW Hospital and Clinics. Leister takes the place of Barb Peterson, who has moved to the Nicholas Center for Applied Corporate Finance. 

Shane Gillis resigned as lab manager for the Technology Support Center in February. Ron Charkowski is acting lab manager, while a Search and Screen Committee works to find a permanent lab manager. Charkowski has been working as a student technical support person in the Technology Support Center.

Robert Kozinets, associate professor of marketing, has officially ended his employment with the School of  Business.

CIBER Announces Two Students to Attend UAE Conference

The UW-Madison Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) has announced the winners of a campus-wide competition for funding to attend the second annual Women as Global Leaders conference, March 12-14, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Students Alexandra Kilsdonk and Amanee Markos were selected. Each will receive travel funding provided by CIBER in conjunction with the Don Leidel Scholarship Fund, created in honor of UW-Madison College of Letters & Science alumnus and former U.S. ambassador to Bahrain, Don Leidel. Alexandra Kilsdonk works as a student coordinator with the Pax Americana Institute Think Tank and, in addition to three other majors, is focusing on Middle Eastern Studies. Amanee Markos is focusing on women’s education and economic development within her International Studies major, and works as a Peer Advisor with International Academic Programs. Both students are currently studying Arabic. For more information on upcoming CIBER activities, please email uwmadisonciber@bus.wisc.edu

About the Gazette

The next issue of the School of Business Gazette will be emailed April 1. Submissions should be sent by March 27  to Lari Fanlund, lfanlund@bus.wisc.edu.