It is with great enthusiasm that we begin a new semester in the Black School of Business.
Our school continues working to promote engagement, foster collaboration, and contribute to the success of our students, alumni, stakeholders, and industry partners.
Here’s some of the latest news from our school. If you have feedback for me—thoughts or ideas you’d like to share about the school and the directions we’re taking—I’d be most interested in hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Dr. Greg Filbeck, CFA, FRM, CAIA, CIPM, PRM
Director, Black School of Business
Samuel P. Black III Professor of Finance and Risk Management
[email protected]
Black School of Business highlighted in Erie Times-News
A recent issue of the Erie Times-News featured a profile of the many great things happening in the Black School of Business. Jim Martin, business reporter for the Times-News, interviewed school director Dr. Greg Filbeck on the growth of programs and new initiatives being undertaken.
Black School of Business among the best on two annual lists
The Black School of Business MBA program has been listed among the best in the country by the Princeton Review. The list takes into account academics, job-placement rates, and admissions selectivity, among other factors. The Black School is also included among U.S. News & World Report’s Best Business Programs for 2018. Read more about the Princeton Review rankings here.
Sprint executive named newest Executive in Residence
Mark Nachman
Mark Nachman, regional president for Sprint, is the newest Executive in Residence at the Black School of Business. He joins the school’s first executive, Justin Bloyd, a 2005 Behrend graduate and the president of RB Sigma. Through the Executive in Residence program, successful business professionals share their experiences and insights with Black School of Business Students on an ongoing basis. Read more about the Executive in Residence program.
Spring 2018 Corporate Days
Corporate Days provide an opportunity for individual organizations to visit the Black School of Business to talk with current students about employment prospects. The school welcomes corporations, non-profit entities, and civic organizations. A given day’s agenda typically allows for visibility throughout the college’s Burke building and opportunities for group and individual interactions. Upcoming Corporate Days are as follows: BNY Mellon (Wednesday, February 7); Enterprise Holdings (Wednesday, February 14); ERIE Insurance (Tuesday, February 20), and Wegmans (Wednesday, February 21). If your organization might be interested in having a Corporate Day, contact us.
Alumnus presents at Finance Speaker Series
Eric Frei ’16, a fund financial services supervisor (FFS) with The Vanguard Group, spoke about his experience in the company’s rotational group at the Finance Speaker Series. You can read about Eric's early-career success here.
New associate director to advance research and outreach endeavors
Engaging students and faculty members both within and beyond the classroom is a strategic focus of the Black School of Business. To advance this priority, the school has created a new administrative position focusing on research and corporate outreach with lecturer in finance, Eric Robbins, in the leadership role. As associate director of research and corporate outreach, Eric will be the primary contact for company and organizational engagement. He will be responsible for establishing new business and industry partnerships, facilitating faculty interactions with companies, coordinating company visits and tours, and assisting in larger research and industry engagement endeavors. If you have ideas for engaging with the school, feel free to reach out to Eric at [email protected] or by phone at 814-898-6940.
Advisory Board grows with ten new members
The Black School of Business Advisory Board now numbers 50 business professionals with the addition of ten new members: Justin Bloyd, president of RB Sigma in Mentor, Ohio; Joi Goffus, procurement manager and recruiting lead for Bechtel Plant Machinery, Inc. in Monroeville; Hank Graygo, professional engineer and owner of H.F. Graygo Engineering in Erie; David Heubel, director of North American sales for Eriez Magnetics in Erie; John Magenau, former director of the Black School of Business; Mark Nachman, regional president for Sprint in Pittsburgh; Adam Nelson, finance advisor and owner of Edward Jones in Erie; Kristen Pickwick, director of financial planning and analysis for Wingstop Restaurants in Dallas, Texas; Jim Voss, principal with HBK in Erie; and Jenny Zhang, director of corporate finance and M & A for Global Brands Group in New York City.
Pinto is first American to receive international research award
Jeff Pinto
The International Project Management Association has selected Dr. Jeffrey Pinto, professor of management in the Black School of Business, for its annual research award. He is the first American to receive the award, which recognizes career achievement in the field of project management. Read more about Jeff's award here.
Celebrating Global Entrepreneurship Week
To mark Global Entrepreneurship Week in mid-November, Penn State Behrend hosted a series of talks and presentations on entrepreneurship and business start-up topics. Dr. Yohannes Haile, assistant teaching professor of management, served as co-planner of the week's events highlighted here.
Marketing offers Creative Cloud workshops
Last fall, Adobe’s Creative Cloud (CC) became available at no cost to all Penn State students, faculty, and staff members. Lecturer in marketing Kristen McAuley developed and presented a series of four workshops to give Behrend students hands-on experience with this industry-standard software.
Mentoring program launches
The Black School of Business’ new mentoring program launched in the fall with 40 pairings of first-year students and sophomores with juniors and seniors. A total of 66 juniors and seniors, in turn, were paired with 36 alumni mentors. If you might like to consider serving as a mentor to Black School of Business students in their junior and senior years, please contact us.
Faculty searches underway
The Black School of Business plans to hire five new faculty members starting in the 2018-2019 academic year. Recruiting is underway for a tenure-track faculty member in Project and Supply Chain Management as well as fixed-term faculty members in Marketing, Management, Management Information Systems, and Economics.
AACSB visit set for mid-March
The Black School of Business will welcome the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation team to campus March 18-20, 2018. The visit is an essential part of the process for being reaccredited. AACSB, considered to be the gold standard for business school accreditation, is held by only 5 percent of all business schools worldwide. Read more about the value of AACSB accreditation here.