Providing sound advice on the complex issues surrounding a company's recent acquisition was all in a few days' work for the Lundquist College students who took part in this year's PricewaterhouseCooper xACT case competition.
They came from as far away as China, New York, and Chicago. All told, a grand total of seventy-five guests--spanning Lundquist College graduating classes 2000 through 2012--made the trip to attend the first-ever reunion of the University of Oregon Investment Group (UOIG).
"When was the last time you were excited about ketchup?" asked Shannon Oliver, MBA '13, in a video shown to the judges of the Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship (LCE)'s annual graduate-level Venture Quest Investment Competition.
Students seeking direct routes to their dream careers received expert navigation tips from experienced professionals at this October's Career Paths panel series, the signature fall event of the Lundquist College Career Services office.
Ambition kindled, eight WSBC-ers took up the challenge, each delivering an original five-minute presentation to visitors from Nike's summer internship talent acquisition team of Wendy Scott and Zachary Taylor '08, himself an alum of the college's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center.
The November morning may have been cold and damp, but team spirit--not to mention pure adrenaline--did a good job of warming the crowd gathered to watch Lee Corso and the gang broadcast ESPN College GameDay from the University of Oregon's Memorial Quad.
Michael Crooke is: A) former CEO of Patagonia and Revolution Living (parent company of Flexcar); B) a former Navy SEAL; C) the University of Oregon's first Professor of Practice; D) helping the Lundquist College's new Business Innovation Institute redefine the space where entrepreneurship and sustainability intersect.
Growing is succeeding. It is a necessary aspect of remaining competitive. In higher education, that includes growing and developing the ranks of our already exceptional faculty.
Beta Alpha Psi chapter received Superior Status for the ninth consecutive year, David Guenther named 2012 Outstanding Master of Accounting Teacher, and more.
When Lundquist College of Business undergraduate Brittany Lundberg set out for her first Bend Venture Conference last year, she was "intrigued, but not quite sure what it was." When she left a day and a half later, her mind was made up: "I knew without a doubt I wanted to be an entrepreneur." This year, Lundberg--now the marketing officer of the college's Entrepreneurship Club--headed back to Bend with nine of her fellow club members to watch aspiring startups compete for $265,000 in seed money.
Judy Sheldon, MBA '11, spent three weeks in September hosting China's Hongxia Wei as part of the Global Sports Mentoring Program—a newly launched collaboration between the U.S. Department of State and espnW. The program's goal is to connect international and American women to build capacity for sports programs that empower women and girls worldwide. Of the seventeen participating organizations, the University of Oregon was the only academic institution invited to take part.
"I have not seen such a group of energized, talented, and hungry students in my thirty-year business career. There is something special going on in Eugene." said visiting executive Lawrence Jackson, former president and CEO of procurement for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., after spending the day at the Lundquist College of Business.
When Pam Birkel, MBA '13, offered her services to TrackTown12—organizers of last summer's Olympic Trials at Hayward Field—she figured she'd land a spot as a recycling volunteer. Instead, she played a key role helping the event gain gold-level sustainability certification from the Council for Responsible Sport (ReSport), the national nonprofit advancing responsibly produced sports events. And because the Olympic Trials was the first multiday competition to be evaluated by ReSport, Birkel's work also helped set a benchmark for future multiday events throughout the nation.
