Georgetown University

An announcement from the school explains that the gift was made by Hariri’s son, Saad Hariri, the newly designated prime minister of Lebanon and a 1992 alumnus of the McDonough School of Business.

The multi-million dollar gift will help cover the final costs of constructing the new building, which will begin holding classes for all business school students in September. In addition to supporting the Rafik B. Hariri Building, the funds also will create two endowed scholarships, one each for an undergraduate and a graduate student.

Read more about Rafik B. Hariri and his son Saad Hariri’s ties to the Georgetown community here.

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“We are certainly proud of our faculty at the Tepper School and the contributions that their academic research continues to make for the global business and finance communities,” said Kenneth Dunn, dean of the Tepper School.

“We welcome our new faculty members who bring international experience from other academic programs and who will continue the tradition of world-class academic research here. Their teaching and perspectives will be beneficial to the academic experience of our students.”

Incoming faculty include seven tenure-track professors and two visiting professors whose key research areas include the fields of Economics, Organizational Behavior, Finance, Marketing, Accounting and Information Systems. For more information about each of these new faculty members, click here.

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A news release from the school reveals that officials and faculty at SOM have already begun meeting to determine exactly how the roughly 230,000 square feet will be used. Deputy Dean Stan Garstka has said there will be a sophisticated media center, classrooms outfitted like boardrooms to enable broadcasting, a 350-seat auditorium, a library, and the William and Elizabeth Beinecke Terrace Room, a large space for lectures, dinners, and formal events.

Garstka said faculty have focused intently on the classrooms, coming up with different concepts for spaces to teach the core curriculum and electives. “It’s all in support of the curriculum,” he said. “The collaborative nature of our curriculum requires classrooms that aren’t typical classrooms. This whole process is aimed at coming up with the best teaching environment in the world.”

The construction phase is expected to take about three years, but the start date will largely be determined by fundraising, as the project won’t begin until funding is secured.

To see more visualizations of the planned campus, click here.

(courtyard image courtesy of  Foster+Partners, Yale SOM)

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See the article that ran in BusinessWeek today, The New Criterion for MBA Admissions.  Stacy Blackman was quoted!

This new French-Russian program is open to candidates who are looking for international management studies in leading academic institutions and for direct experience of the business environment in both Europe and Russia. It is designed for students from any country who hold a Bachelor’s degree in any field. The profile of graduates, as well as their proficiency in English, French and Russian will be major assets for carriers in multinational companies operating in Europe and in Russia.

The program is comprised of two years of study: one year in Paris and one year in St Petersburg. At the end of the program, successful candidates will be granted the HEC Master of Science in Management and the Master in International Business of the GSOM of St Petersburg.

Meanwhile, HEC Paris’ double master’s degree with the Getulio Foundation in Brazil builds on the schools’ 30-year collaboration in graduate student and faculty exchange and in managerial training in Paris and São Paulo. French businesses located in Brazil and Brazilian businesses located in France are in desperate need of Management graduates capable of working in both countries, and in three languages, Portuguese, French and English.

Students following the program will receive a double degree: Master of Sciences in Management from HEC Paris, and the Brazilian Degree in International Management – Mestrado Profissional Em Gestao Internacional.

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The required essay topics are:

Job Essays

1. Please give a detailed description of your job, including nature of work, major responsibilities; and, where relevant, employees under your supervision, size of budget, number of clients/products and results achieved. (250 words)

2. Please give us a full description of your career since graduating from university. If you were to remain with your present employer, what would be your next step in terms of position? (250 words)

Personal Essays

1. Give a candid description of yourself, stressing the personal characteristics you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses and the main factors, which have influenced your personal development, giving examples when necessary. (400 words approx.)

2. Describe what you believe to be your two most substantial accomplishments to date, explaining why you view them as such. (400 words approx.)

3. Describe a situation taken from school, business, civil or military life, where you did not meet your personal objectives, and discuss briefly the effect. (250 words approx.)

4. Discuss your career goals. What skills do you expect to gain from studying at INSEAD and how will they contribute to your professional career. (500 words approx.)

5. Please choose one of the following two essay topics:

a) Have you ever experienced culture shock? What did it mean to you? (250 words approx.), or
b) What would you say to a foreigner moving to your home country? (250 words approx.)

Click here for the dates and deadlines for the upcoming intakes.

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Rather than toiling four to six years on the job before applying, these applicants are determined to head off to B-school with the glow of graduation still fresh in their minds. The Millennials, as this impatient generation is known, are changing the equation for business schools.

Damast finds that more schools are selectively dropping their age requirements and allowing students to submit the GRE for admissions rather than the GMAT, a move they say helps them reach undergraduates who might not otherwise consider a business degree.

Also, programs such as Harvard’s 2+2, Krannart’s 3+2, and Simon’s Early Leaders Initiative are designed to attract a younger, more diverse pool of applications.

So why the surge in interest? The weak economy is undoubtedly a factor, but another element is also at play. Julia Tyler, a vice-president of the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC), tells BW:

“I’m speculating here, but it may be that parents are at cocktail parties and they hear their friends talk about how their child is going to law school and medical school at 21 and they think, why not business school?” Tyler says. “I do think there is an influence of the helicopter-parent factors here that shouldn’t be underestimated.”

All signs indicate that outreach to applicants without the traditional work experience is a success. MBA admissions at Harvard announced a 34% increase in total 2009 2+2 Program applications to 844 from 631 last year.

“These are people who, when they’re in college and thinking about what to do next, may not know what doors an MBA can open for them,” admissions director Deirdre Leopold said. “The grand design is to get the message out to a different group of people at a time before they are making other decisions about their career.”

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Here are the essay questions for the Class of 2012:

Answer essay questions 1, 2, and two of the four options for essay 3.

Essay 1: What matters most to you, and why?
The best examples of Essay 1 reflect the process of self-examination that you have undertaken to write them.
They give us a vivid and genuine image of who you are—and they also convey how you became the person you are.
They do not focus merely on what you’ve done or accomplished. Instead, they share with us the values, experiences, and lessons that have shaped your perspectives.
They are written from the heart and address not only a person, situation, or event, but also how that person, situation, or event has influenced your life.

Essay 2: What are your career aspirations? How will your education at Stanford help you achieve them?
Use this essay to explain your view of your future, not to repeat accomplishments from your past.
You should address three distinct topics:
your career aspirations
the role of an MBA education in achieving those aspirations
and your rationale for earning that MBA at Stanford, in particular.

The best examples of Essay 2 express your passions or focused interests; explain why you have decided to pursue graduate education in management; and demonstrate your desire to take advantage of the opportunities that are distinctive to the Stanford MBA Program.

Essay 3: Answer two of the four questions below. Tell us not only what you did but also how you did it. What was the outcome? How did people respond? Only describe experiences that have occurred during the last three years.

Option A: Tell us about a time when you built or developed a team whose performance exceeded expectations.
Option B: Tell us about a time when you made a lasting impact on your organization.
Option C: Tell us about a time when you motivated others to support your vision or initiative.
Option D: Tell us about a time when you went beyond what was defined, established, or expected.

As previously announced, the school has moved up the Round 1 application deadline to October 7, 2009. Stanford may also be extending interviews earlier this year and the school encourages prospective students to submit an application as early as possible within the chosen round.

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For a concise, thoughtful guide that will help you navigate the MBA admissions process with greater success, order our NEW book, The MBA Application Roadmap.

The four required essays for first-time applicants are:

• Describe the ways in which your family and/or community have helped shape your development. (750 words)

• Describe the biggest risk you have ever taken, the outcome, and what you learned in the process. (500 words)

• Describe your short-term and long-term career goals.  What is your motivation for pursuing an MBA now and how will UCLA Anderson help you to achieve your goals? (750 words)

• Select and respond to one of the two following questions. We would like you to respond to the question by recording an audio or video response (up to 10Mb maximum) for upload in the online application. If you are unable to submit your response via audio or video, then please prepare a written response instead. (250 words)

a. Entrepreneurship is a mindset that embraces innovation and risk-taking within both established and new organizations.  Describe an instance in which you exhibited this mindset.

b.  What is something people will find surprising about you?

OPTIONAL: Are there any extenuating circumstances in your profile about which the Admissions Committee should be aware? (250 words)

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Stage 1
Deadline: October 9, 2009
Interview Decision By: October 30, 2009
Notification: December 11, 2009

Stage 2
Deadline: January 15, 2010
Interview Decision By: February 5, 2010
Notification: March 12, 2010

Stage 3
Deadline: April 2, 2010
Interview Decision By: April 30, 2010
Notification: May 28, 2010

The deadline for receiving applications will be on the stated date at 23:59 in your local time zone.

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For a concise, thoughtful guide that will help you navigate the MBA admissions process with greater success, order our NEW book, The MBA Application Roadmap.

Magoosh is an online test preparation service that aims to provide high quality, affordable GMAT prep.  All four founders scored in the 97th to 99th percentile on the GMAT, however the team recognizes that a high score is not the only criterion for a good teacher.  Therefore, Magoosh seeks out high scoring and experienced GMAT tutors to develop content.  Brent Hanneson, the current Magoosh tutor and a beatthegmat.com featured expert, scored a 770 on the GMAT and has over seven years of tutoring experience in a range of settings.

The site currently supports the quantitative section of the GMAT.  During a practice session, a user answers questions on an easy-to-use online interface that requires no software installation.  Immediately after answering each question, the user can view a detailed video and text explanation.  The videos also teach general concepts that can be applied across similar question types. In addition, the user can compare his or her score and pace for each question to an average user’s. At any point during the session, the user can view results and review any answered questions.

Magoosh plans to release new features in July including a display of subject-based results (e.g., Algebra, Geometry, etc…) and a chance to earn bonus questions for referrals.  The team is also excited to hear ideas for additional features from the user community.

For a better understanding of Magoosh’s service visit the website. You can answer up to 10 sample questions without signing up.  After signing up, you can answer over 100 additional questions.  Magoosh is currently offering a free trial until July 31 and will announce pricing soon.

Faculty from the partnering institutions will work with 30 female Saudi students to refine the skills they need to create real plans for entrepreneurial ventures, including how to navigate the challenges of designing and delivering social entrepreneurship programs, enhancing leadership skills, and cultivating the creative processes necessary for success.

In addition, several successful female entrepreneurs with ventures in corporate social responsibility, traditional not-for-profits, and social entrepreneurship, will share their experiences during the program’s speaker series component.

This program is funded through the Middle East Partnership Initiative.

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The new school – a name has yet to be decided – will span three sites in France, – Lille in northern France, Paris and Sophia Antipolis in the south. It will eventually have campuses and international partnerships on all five continents: Asia (China and India), the United States, Brazil, Australia, Russia and Morocco.  The Chinese and Moroccan campuses exist already, and a US project is expected in 2010.

The ambition of the group is to offer its students a truly international experience, training students in areas close to businesses in the knowledge economy. It will also provide a 100% international education. Its educational portfolio will cover a range of bachelors, masters and specialized masters, PhD and MBA programs as well as offering a Grande Ecole program.

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The deadlines are:

Early Action
Deadline: October 6, 2009
Notification: November 24, 2009

Round 1
Deadline: November 12, 2009
Notification: January 19, 2010

Round 2
Deadline: January 7, 2010
Notification: March 8, 2010

Round 3
Deadline: March 9, 2010
Notification: April 22, 2010

Please note that The Duke MBA Early Action round option is for applicants who have completed their MBA research and have decided that The Duke MBA is the best program for them. Any applications submitted to other schools must be withdrawn upon an offer of admission from The Duke MBA.

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For a concise, thoughtful guide that will help you navigate the MBA admissions process with greater success, order our NEW book, The MBA Application Roadmap.

Application Deadlines

Round 1: October 8, 2009 (decisions due by December 18, 2009)
Round 2: January 7, 2010 (decisions due by April 2, 2010)
Round 3: March 10, 2010 (decisions due by May 7, 2010)

Essay Questions

Short Answers

Please answer each of the four questions below with a short paragraph of no more than 150 words. This is an opportunity to distill your core ideas, values, goals and motivations into a set of snapshots that help tell us who you are, where you are headed, and why. (600 words maximum)

1. What are your professional goals immediately after you receive your MBA?

2. What are your long-term career aspirations?

3. Why are you choosing to pursue an MBA and why now? (If you plan to use your MBA experience to make a significant change in the field or nature of your career, please tell us what you have done to prepare for this transition.)

4. What attracts you specifically to the Yale School of Management’s MBA program?

Personal Statement 1
Describe an accomplishment that exhibits your leadership style. The description should include evidence of your leadership skills, the actions you took, and the impact you had on your organization. (500 words maximum)

Personal Statement 2
Choose one of the following topics and answer it in essay form. Please indicate the topic number at the beginning of your essay. (500 words maximum)

1. A central premise of our teaching about leadership at the Yale School of Management is that true leadership—leadership that helps to address a significant problem in a new way—is necessarily personal. It is only when personal passion aligns with meaningful aspirations that individuals are able to inspire others to act in support of an important goal or cause. What are you most passionate about, and how have you demonstrated a commitment to this passion?

2. What achievement are you most proud of and why?

3. What is the most difficult feedback you have received from another person or the most significant weakness you have perceived in yourself? What steps have you taken to address it and how will business school contribute to this process?

4. Describe a situation in which you devised and implemented a creative or unique solution to a difficult problem. What obstacles did you face and how did you overcome them?

5. Required for reapplicants: What steps have you taken to improve your candidacy since your last application?

Additional Information (Optional)

If any aspect of your candidacy needs further explanation, please provide any additional information that you would like the Admissions Committee to consider. (250 words maximum)

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With that in mind, Business Week asked professors and students at top business schools to share the five books they’d put at the top of their personal summer reading lists. Titles ranged from the classic novel to contemporary nonfiction, but when read together create an encyclopedia of leadership, Francesca Di Meglio reports.

“Reading will make you a better businessperson and a better, happier person,” Erik Gordon, associate director of the Zell-Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, tells Di Meglio. “Students don’t want to hear it. They want to know the magical formula that will get them rich tomorrow, but we have a duty to try and convince them.”

See the complete list of recommended titles at  “Summer 2009 Books: MBA Reading List” on Business Week’s Getting In blog.

(Beach reading image by Flickr user Scissorhands33, CC 2.0)

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For a concise, thoughtful guide that will help you navigate the MBA admissions process with greater success, order our NEW book, The MBA Application Roadmap.

According to Ben Aris‘ recent piece in Business News Europe, Vanhonacker is the man to do it: he already set up China’s first business school CEIBS (China Europe International Business School) over a decade ago, which is now one of the world’s 10 best schools as ranked by Financial Times last year.

A top-notch business school in Russia is badly needed, Aris reports. A recent study by consultants McKinsey found that up to 80% of the gap between the US’ productivity and Russia’s was simply due to poor management. Virtually all of Russia’s top companies complain that the lack of good managers is the single biggest impediment to business.

Skolkovo will become fully operational at the start of next year when the first 45 full-time students enroll for the €50,000 MBA course. Just last week, the school announced its core faculty team. Learn more about this international group of instructors here.

“We call the program an MBA, but the product is unique and it needs explaining. It is not a typical MBA for the typical applicant,” says Vanhonacker. “We are looking for a more entrepreneurial type of person with energy and the desire to make a difference, as you need these qualities in the fast moving emerging markets.”

How is Skolkovo different?

Rather than stay on campus and pour over case studies, students will spend the first 12 months of the 16-month course on five projects that throw them into the real world. Their “exercises” are to solve real world problems in real world companies.

Also, Aris writes that the directness of the school’s approach is also reflected in its marketing campaign. Skolkovo is looking for unusual students; the school does not advertise in the mainstream international press (apart from a few ads in the Financial Times) and spends most of its time looking for students through social networking sites and similar forums on the internet.

Much of what the school is proposing to do is a pretty radical experiment in new teaching methods, Aris reports, noting that given Vanhonacker’s track record, established schools are keen to see if Skolkovo’s formula will prove successful. “We are being closely watched by other schools, especially in the US, as we are doing things they would like to do but can’t,” says Vanhonacker.

EYARC is a collaboration of faculty and professionals dedicated to helping the next generation of accounting professionals meet the fast-changing needs of the global financial markets.

Jennifer Blouin, Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business said, “Making an effort to maximize pedagogical flexibility, EYARC offered faculty extensive training and materials useful for developing IFRS curriculum at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The class notes, cases, and high level spotlights on convergence issues created by EYARC’s team of academics and practice professionals will be invaluable as I incorporate IFRS into my syllabus.”

Meanwhile, James Wahlen, Professor of Accounting and Chairman of the MBA Program at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University said, “The EYARC IFRS faculty training was an outstanding experience. Several accounting faculty and retired partners assembled a comprehensive and detailed set of materials that will help me and accounting faculty members all over the country incorporate an understanding of IFRS into our courses. This training is a great example of how practice and academia can partner for the benefit of our students, our teaching and research, and our profession.”

Read more about this endeavor here.

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Construction of the 235,000-square-foot glass and cut-stone structure (pictured), designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects of Toronto, will begin in August on a site where soccer fields are currently located. It is to be completed by March 2011. The so-far unnamed new building has been designed using the latest green technology, and will be the second LEED-certified building on campus.

“Ivey has grown tremendously in recent years, and more growth is predicted in the coming years,” Ivey Dean Carol Stephenson is quoted as saying, adding that “A world-class business school needs a world-class facility.”

(image credit: Hariri Pontarini Architects)

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For a concise, thoughtful guide that will help you navigate the MBA admissions process with greater success, order our NEW book, The MBA Application Roadmap.