Welcome back from the long weekend (at least in the U.S.)! With first semester in full swing, let’s check in on the many campus happenings at Columbia and the Chicago GSB, as reported in the schools’ student newspapers.
Though it’s buried on page 11 of the Columbia Bottom Line, there was much-anticipated news coming out of the CBS administration, with Vice Dean Ziv introducing the new core curriculum that will take effect in Fall 2008. The new curriculum grew out of the school’s periodic review of the core and has been under discussion for more than a year. The design retains the current academic calendar, cluster system, and use of waivers, but adds several new academic options. Most significantly, the first-year core will now be divided into a required core, similar to the current model, and a “Flex Core,” which will allow students to choose one course from each of three “Flex Core Menus.” For a fuller explanation of the new model, be sure to check out the chart on page 11 that accompanies the article. In other CBS news, the 4th Annual Healthcare Conference set attendance records (story pg. 4) and the 5th Annual Social Enterprise Conference, featuring keynote speaker Patrick Cescau, Group Chief Executive of the combined Unilever PLC and Unilever N.V., was “better than ever” (story pg. 1). In other front page news, Columbia second-year student Chris Chen sat down for an interview with the Bottom Line to discuss his new DessertTruck venture, a mobile restaurant specializing in desserts that he began with a partner this fall. It’s a great example of how MBA students are able to put their ideas into action – and his descriptions of desserts are sure to make readers’ mouths water!
At Chicago, art was a hot topic of conversation in the latest issue of the Chibus. Chicago’s Harper Center has a committee that selects and purchase original artwork for display in the building, and two Chicago students offer their personal views of the collection. Second-year student Carolyn Teague took a tour of the Harper Center with professor Candice Prendergast, who heads the committee that selects the artwork. Said Teague afterwards, “I left feeling inspired.” Teague then tried to pass along that feeling by taking fellow student Ryan Granner on a tour of the artwork. Granner’s view: “You call this art?” The Harper Center’s artwork is a daily part of life for Chicago GSB students, so prospective students planning a visit to campus should be sure to check out the pieces – both the good and the bad – mentioned in these articles.
This week’s Chibus also featured several stories on students’ international experience opportunities. For students seeking a “unique” study abroad experience, the International Programs Office suggests studying abroad at one of Chicago’s partner schools in Asia, which include IIM-Ahmedabad, Chinese University of Hong Kong and Melbourne Business School. Writing on a similar theme, second-year student Krisztina Kohlhaas shared the story of her recent travels in Cambodia, a country whose people and past inspired a sense of “fierce respect.” In other GSB happenings, second-year student Leif Jackson wrote with an update on the Chicago contingent’s trip to the recent Net Impact Conference in Nashville. Chicago’s attendance at this event more than doubled last year’s total from the school, which Jackson sees as a sign of the “social and environmental mindset change in the make-up of [the] student body,” and which is certainly a positive sign for prospective Chicago students interested in social responsibility. Finally, like Columbia, Chicago also counts creative entrepreneurs among its students and alumni. In this issue, members of the Chibus staff sat down with Chicago area alumna Chandra Greer, who runs GREER, a successful stationery business inspired by the John F. Kennedy quote that “Civility is not a sign of weakness.” Those students and applicants considering starting up their own enterprises should be sure to check out Greer’s advice on successful entrepreneurship at the end of the article.
For more news from the schools, be sure to check out the full issues of these papers, as well as recent editions of the Harbus, Wharton Journal, Monroe Street Journal and Fuqua Times!
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