On January 19, Lundquist College of Business academic advisor Tayah Butler received campus-wide recognition for her groundbreaking work promoting diversity. She was one of five UO employees honored with a 2012 Martin Luther King, Jr. Award. Butler--who is also a driving force behind the Diversity in the Workplace Symposium scheduled for this March--launched the Building Business Leaders project in September 2010.
"Whoosh-kerthomp!" That was the sound of bags of bread being tossed to participants in a question-and-answer session with the Entrepreneurship Club's first guest speaker of the winter term. "I like to bribe people to ask questions," explained Dave Dahl, the CEO of--and creative force behind--Dave's Killer Bread, the explosively successful Portland-based bread company.
This past winter break, seventeen undergraduates from the college's Honors Program traveled to Guatemala to help build homes for two families, through the University of Oregon's international exchange and service-learning program and Habitat for Humanity. "The experience was truly life-changing," said participant Ryan Dingler. "It enabled me to think more about the possible repercussions of future business decisions and how they may affect other parts of the world." Though only a few of the students spoke Spanish, the language barrier soon melted away.
He's built and fostered strong ties with industry--on the local, regional, national, and international levels. He's played a key role in securing government funding to further develop Pacific Northwest clean tech industry as a member of Manufacturing 21, the regional coalition for economic development. These are just a few of the reasons the Lundquist College of Business has honored Nagesh Murthy as the 2012 Thomas C. Stewart Distinguished Professor.
There's been a lot happening both off and on campus over the past weeks. Here are some of the highlights: the lobby of the Oregon Business Institute—home of our Portland-based executive education program--sports a new look reflecting the UO's rebranding of the program.
More than sixty of the school's MBA candidates traveled to Portland October 27-29 for the 2011 Net Impact Conference, the annual gathering of graduate students and professionals committed to using business skills to make the world a better place. Our students have traditionally made a strong showing at these events. This year they enjoyed an especially high profile because, in addition to being a conference co-host, the UO chapter played a leading role in organizing it. What's it like to transition from attendee to organizer?
What's the easiest way to stay up to date with activities of the students in the Building Business Leaders project? Just scan the group's brand-new QR code, created for them by Qreative Partnerships, a firm headed by area technology entrepreneur Quentin Harley. The high-tech graphic was unveiled during an October event celebrating the project's second year and welcoming the new group of students joining the original cohort.
"Putting together a team of twelve to fifteen people from different countries and different backgrounds and watching them bond over a common goal--it's one of my favorite things," said Kim Rambo-Reinitz, describing the Lundquist College undergraduate Peer Advising program she coordinates. Each year, business majors apply to take part in the program's extensive training in order to volunteer five hours a week providing drop-in advising to fellow students.
Five new faculty members have joined the Lundquist College of Business this fall. Some are up-and-coming talent. Others are already renowned in their fields. Their areas of expertise span many topics, including sports business, statistical analysis and mathematical optimization, disclosure policy, executive risk-taking, management, and more.
