When I joined the Lundquist College in mid-January as the Edward Maletis Dean, I knew I was stepping into a fast-paced, dynamic environment—and a college that was on the move. That has proved true! My first days as dean have been action-packed, including meeting and working with our terrific faculty, staff, advisory board, alumni, and donors.

If I had the pleasure of meeting you at a recent event, thank you. If not, I hope we are able to connect in the near future.

This email marks the revival of our Inner Circle newsletter for our closest and most engaged constituents. Several key Lundquist College initiatives are now coming to full fruition, and it's thrilling to be alongside faculty members, students, and alumni as each unfolds.

Our new Portland presence, 109 Naito, welcomed its first students in January with our Sports Product Management and Oregon Executive MBA programs moving into their new home. At our official opening celebration at the end of April, we thanked those that helped make our new space possible, including Patricia Peterson in memory of Ronald Weir Peterson, Ron and Chris Sauer and their family, Mark and Ann Edlen and Gerding Edlen, Molly and Rodney Malone, and Ellen Schmidt-Devlin and Fred Devlin in honor of Norman and Charlotte Schmidt.

On July 1, our accounting department will officially transition to a School of Accounting. What does it mean to be a school of accounting, not just a department? The new name makes official what we have long been doing as a department—emphasizing the professionalism, high ethical standards, self-responsibility, and continuous learning and development that is expected of all of those that choose accounting as their field of study. This change will allow our graduates" resumes and transcripts to more accurately reflect the professionalism and scope of experience each student encounters in the School of Accounting.

Also this summer, coursework for our new graduate degree offering—the Master of Science in Finance—is scheduled to begin. After extensive research, finance faculty members agree there is an underserved market need for a master's degree in the subject of finance, and we aim to fill it. The 12-month program will require at least 45 credits for completion. The academic emphasis is valuation and asset management.

This degree is also an answer to UO President Michael Schill's call for departments and schools to be more entrepreneurial. As the university's business college, we are proud to lead the way.

Our development team has been hard at work with you, and to date we have reached $86 million of our $100 million campaign goal. Thank you for your support! The need has never been greater—and we could not achieve our goals without you. For a fun way to give, we invite you to mark your calendars for UO's annual day of giving, May 18. Whether it's $5, five thousand, or $5 million, we honor and celebrate each and every one of you. You have our profound thanks.

Our faculty members also continue to elevate the Lundquist College and the University of Oregon with their research contributions. To highlight just a few examples, you can read about how assistant professor of marketing Jiao Zhang used jelly beans and Bruno Mars to better understand consumer behavior, and how assistant professor of management Lauren Lanahan's proposal, “Emerging Researchers on the Path to Innovation," earned a two-year funding grant in March from the National Science Foundation.

Additionally, the crowd for our inaugural Randy Papé Oregon Advanced Strategy and Leadership Symposium, April 6, was standing room only. At the end of April, we also hosted the first Oregon Marketing Symposium, which brought together researchers from around the nation and world to share scholarship and build connections.

All this AND our Ducks women's basketball team made it to the prestigious Elite Eight, and men's basketball made it all the way to the Final Four.

It has been a true joy to join forces with all of you to continue to build a strong and vibrant school that serves our students well. Thank you for everything that you do to support our work here at the Lundquist College. I remain excited and invigorated by not only what we have accomplished, but also optimistic about what we will accomplish together in the years to come.

Sarah E. Nutter
Edward Maletis Dean