Evan Smestad

“There isn’t another program in supply chain management that combines the marketing or demand side with the fulfillment side of business. The Grainger Center focuses on the entire supply chain which is how a business should be run. You won’t get a better opportunity to understand this at another program.”

EVAN SMESTAD
MBA Class of 2004
Hewlett-Packard, Roseville, CA

Beyond the Classroom

Center Activities

Student interaction with professionals in the field of supply chain management is a hallmark of the Grainger Center. Several times throughout the year, students meet with and learn from executives in various settings - visiting executives lecture in the Supply Chain Management Seminar class and in the “hot topics” executive speaker series. Students, faculty, and staff travel each semester to distribution centers and manufacturing facilities to get a firsthand view of a supply chain operation in action. Grainger Center students participate in the prestigious FedEx Freight International Graduate Logistics Case Competition. Students attend professional enrichment courses through the School of Business Executive Education series, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) annual conference, CSCMP Roundtable presentations in Milwaukee, and Institute of Supply Management Madison chapter presentations and seminars. Every other year, students have the opportunity to participate in a Center-sponsored international experience. In 2007, the Center spent a week in Dublin and Waterford, Ireland. The trip included visits to and tours of IBM, Intel, and Genzyme and meetings with representatives of the Ireland Development Authority and the National Institute of Transport and Logistics. The experience culminated with a fantastic exchange with faculty, staff, and students in the supply chain management master's program at University College of Dublin.

In September 2007, first- and second-year MBA students officially met each other for the first time aboard a cruise of Lake Monona.

The fall 2007 site visit to Kansas City, Missouri, included a tour of Harley-Davidson's Vehicle and Powertrain Operations facility.

The January 2007 visit to Genzyme in Waterford, Ireland: one of many stops on the "global experience" itinerary.

 

Social activities are also planned throughout the year for Grainger Center students. The annual welcome dinner allows new students to meet faculty, staff, and returning Grainger Center students.  A dinner with members of the Executive Advisory Board is held each fall. A holiday party celebrates conclusion of the first semester, and an end-of-the-year reception salutes May graduates.

 

100% Placement

Supply chain management talent is in high demand, as the Grainger Center's placement record of 100% placement for summer internships and full-time employment reflects. Grainger Center graduates achieve quickly and notably. Average starting salaries are consistently the highest among peer schools, ranging from $80,000 to $110,000.

Close Community

Grainger Center students have the best of two worlds--the resources of a large, world-class university and hands-on, personalized attention made possible by the in-depth resources offered by the Grainger Center. The Grainger Center provides each student with personalized career and academic advising.  Students are connected--directly and personally--with an extensive network of industry executives, alumni, corporate partners, and faculty. Students receive personalized guidance from this network throughout their time in the Wisconsin MBA.

Industry Partnerships

The Grainger Center has deep ties to industry. Its extensive network of corporate partners provides real-world perspective that enhances the curriculum and applied learning program and provides invaluable career guidance to students. The Grainger Center's Executive Advisory Board is comprised of senior executives at leading firms renowned for supply chain management excellence.

Integrated Learning Environment

The Grainger Center's curriculum is cross-functional, applied, and collaborative, allowing students to learn about supply chain management in an integrated business framework from renowned faculty with expertise in supply chain management and other business disciplines.