• Spirited Interaction in the Giovanini Commons
• Dean Woo Heads AACSB International
• $15 Million Challenge Grants Further College Mission
• "10 Years Hence" Lecture Series

PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION

Spirited Interaction in the Giovanini Commons

Resolving conflicts through negotiation. Trading in a simulated stock market. Dreaming up marketing campaigns. Brainstorming using mind mapping techniques. Designing products. Even building paper bridges and developing teamwork during MBA orientation.

These are just some of the ways learning comes alive in the Giovanini Commons, a collaborative learning center completed in August 2003. Unique in higher education, the 8,500-square-foot facility in the Mendoza College of Business is designed to enhance flexibility with moveable furniture, partitions and technology stations and facilitate communication, creative thinking and group problem solving.

Dean Woo Heads AACSB International

Dean Carolyn Woo was elected the first woman chairperson of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) in 2003. The organization sets accreditation standards and promotes excellence in undergraduate and graduate business education worldwide. “Dean Woo provided exceptional leadership during the most complex year in AACSB’s 88-year history,” said John Fernandes, AACSB President and CEO.

$15 Million Challenge Grants Further College Mission

When friends and colleagues Bill Hank (’54) and Luke McGuinness (’66) join forces, great things are accomplished. Together, Hank and McGuinness turned MacNeal Hospital into a top-rated medical facility. While managing a successful holding company, Hank served as a board member of the health system and McGuinness directed operations. They later sold the health system, using the proceeds to launch the MacNeal Health Foundation. In the fall of 2004, Hank and McGuinness teamed up to financially support the Mendoza College of Business and have challenged their fellow alumni and friends to match their grants: the Hank family pledged $10 million and the MacNeal Foundation pledged $5 million to Mendoza. Hank said he hopes that the money will help the College secure its future as a “premier business school.”

“10 Years Hence”Lecture Series

In the Spring 2005 semester, Mendoza hosted the “Ten Years Hence” lecture series exposing students and faculty to critical emerging issues in a changing world. Lectures addressed a broad range of topics, such as global aging, nanotechnology, asymmetrical warfare and resource management. A common theme rang throughout the series: changes in population will dramatically affect the global economy and the earth’s store of natural resources. Jerome Glenn, co-director of the United Nations University’s Millennium Project and a featured lecturer, said “…it has become increasingly clear that humanity has the resources to address its global challenges; what is less clear is how much wisdom, good will, and intelligence will be focused on these challenges.”