Robert H. Smith School Of Business

The Robert H. Smith School of Business is a school of business management within the University of Maryland, College Park. The school was named after alumnus Robert H. Smith (Accounting '50). One of 12 colleges and schools at the university's main campus, the Smith School offers programs at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, including bachelor's degrees, full-time and part-time Master of Business Administration (MBA) degrees, MS degrees, Executive MBA degrees, Ph.D.s, and executive education outreach programs to the corporate community. Undergraduate degrees are offered in accounting, finance, information systems, international business, supply chain management, marketing, general business and operations management. The University of Maryland's Smith School of Business is accredited by AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the premier accrediting agency for bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs in business administration and accounting. Alexander J. Triantis assumed duties as dean of the Smith School in Sept 2013.

Location

The Robert H. Smith School of Business is a part of the University of Maryland, located in College Park, MD, just outside of Washington, D.C. The school also has a presence at Shady Grove, Baltimore, as well as the Reagan International Building in Washington, D.C. The Smith School offers an executive MBA program in Beijing, China.

History

1921

University of Maryland’s Department of Economics/Business Administration offers its first formal business curriculum. In its first year, 394 students enroll and take required courses such as diplomacy, constitutional law, public speaking, and ROTC. By 1925 there are 46 faculty members.

1938

The Department becomes the College of Commerce; W. Mackenzie Stevens is appointed as the college’s first dean. Stevens photo. Stevens was an internationally known economist and educator, holding an MBA from Northwestern and a PhD from American University. He was distinguished for serving as a technical advisor to the Republic of Chinaâ€"quite an adventure in the days before globalization, when it took weeks by ship to reach that far-off landâ€"and a principal organizational specialist to the federal government.

1940

The College of Commerce joins the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), then the national accredity agency, and the undergraduate business program is accredited.

1966

The doctoral program is established with two candidates for the degree of Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), James Donnelly (Marketing) and John Ivancevich (Management and Organization,) who will go on to author the classic textbook Fundamentals of Management. An information systems management major is offered for the first time, reflecting an awareness of the computer’s importance in business practice (if not yet in everyday life).

1975

The Shady Grove and College Park part-time MBA programs begin, as the school seeks to be responsive to the needs of the professional management community. Dean Lamone resolves to avoid the “stigma of a casual part-time program” by instituting a curriculum no less rigorous than that of the full-time MBA program.

1987

Michael D. Dingman, founder of Signal Corporation (now Allied Signal), gives a $2 million gift to create the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship. One of the first entrepreneurial centers in the nation, Dingman Center facilitates and supports the growth of new enterprise ventures, helping budding entrepreneurs develop the strategies that will let them get off to a healthy start.

1990

The Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) is established to grapple with the growing trend toward globalization.

1992

Leo Van Munching, Jr. '50 business school alumnus and president of the company holding exclusive franchise to import and distribute Heineken and Amstel Light beer, donates $5 million toward the construction of the college's new home, Van Munching Hall.

1998

On March 30, 1998, Robert H. Smith, an alumnus who graduated in 1950, pledges $15 million in support of business school. Named the Robert H. Smith School of Business in his honor, this transformational gift allows the school to develop the facilities and resources it needs to make its vision a reality.

2000

The Smith School launches a part-time, evening MBA program in Washington, D.C. This brings the total number of evening tracks to five, offered at three locations: Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., and Shady Grove (Montgomery County, Md.)

A new faculty category is created: non-tenure track permanent, “superstar” teaching professors to improve the quality of teaching in the undergraduate program and reduce the overall teaching burden of tenure-track faculty.

2001

Smith’s first Netcentricity Conference brings together experts to discuss the impact that ever-changing technology is having on the forces that drive business challenges, whether financial, strategic, organizational or technological.

2002

The opening of the new wing of Van Munching Hall doubles the size of the school, uniting the undergrad and graduate students under one roof for the first time ever and making it possible for nearly all the undergraduate business courses to be offered in one building, rather than 13 different buildings scattered across campus.

The Center for Electronic Markets and Enterprises receives a three-year, $2-million grant from the National Science Foundation to study electronic markets for time-sensitive goods; research will be conducted at the center by Smith School faculty and members of the University’s economics and computer science departments.

2003

Carly Fiorina, MBA’80 and chairman and CEO of Hewlett Packard Company, is keynote speaker at the Smith CIO Forum, a yearly meeting of top information officers, technology strategists and academic researchers.

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship helps initiate the New Markets Growth Fund (NMGF), $20-million venture capital fund created to invest in early and expansion stage companies located in economically distressed sections of Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Investors in the NMGF include public entities, private institutions, and high net worth individuals.

The 18-month executive MBA (EMBA) program is launched. The program is designed to provide just-in-time, built-to-order executive education to managers while addressing the educational and developmental needs of their sponsoring companies.

The Smith School identifies itself as a model for business education and knowledge advancement for the 21st century with the adoption of a new tag line, “Leaders for the Digital Economy.”

The Smith School introduces an Executive MBA program in Beijing, China. The Beijing program is offered in partnership with the University for International Business and Economics, which provides facilities, support and marketing while Smith School provides academic content and faculty.

2004

The New Markets Growth Fund Practicum course, in which MBA students work with the $20 million New Markets Growth Fund, is unanimously selected as the winner of the 2003 national Outstanding Entrepreneurship Course of the Year at the 18th Annual United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Annual Conference in Dallas.

Nextel announces a ground-breaking partnership with the Smith School to distribute its Blackberry handheld to the entering full-time MBA class. MBA students will have instant access to professors, coursework, and each other as part of the most wired MBA program ever.

2005

Smith launches the Center for Health Information and Decision Systems (CHIDS), a research and development center aimed at delivering cutting-edge research and thought leadership focusing on the use of advanced information and decision technologies in the health care systems business processes and management.

In its first year, the school's China Business Plan Competition attracts 20 Chinese start-ups eager to win the $45,000 in prizes offered.

Smith launches its Undergraduate Fellows Program to give opportunities to specialize and integrate classroom knowledge with real-world activities and hands-on applications through internships, labs, extracurricular programming and other experiential learning opportunities.

2006

In response to a critical shortage of auditors after the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Smith launches its Master of Business in Accounting program. It will become the first of several new MS programs.

A $1.4 million grant from the Department of Education allows the Smith School to launch the Center for International Business Education and Research, to serve as a significant national resource center for regional businesses, academics, students and public policy makers. It is one of only 30 CIBER centers nationwide, each selected for demonstrated global strengths and reputation.

Smith is ranked No. 9 in the United States by the Princeton Review for offering the greatest opportunity for minority students.

Smith creates the $50,000 Lemma Senbet Fund to gives students the chance to research companies and manage and invest money from the school’s endowment fund. The fund managers’ goal is to outperform the S&P 500 index. The fund will pay a 5 percent dividend to the Deans Office each year.

2007

Smith alumni Carly Fiorina, former president and chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, and Kevin Plank, founder and chief executive of Under Armour, create a $175,000 alumni donor endowment fund for the Smith Schools Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship to invest in student- and alumni-run companies.

Smith custom executive education program is ranked No. 8 globally for value for the money by the Financial Times.

2008

Smith strengthens the attractiveness of its PhD program with a $12 million initiative that provides “super-stipends,” more research support and state-of-the-art facilities.

G. “Anand” Anandalingam is appointed dean of the Smith School. Anandalingam, who joined the school in 2001, was Ralph J. Tyser Professor of Management Science and served as senior associate dean, chair of Smith’s decision, operations and information technologies department. He earned his Ph.D. (1981) and S.M. (1977) in operations research with a minor in economics from Harvard University, and he holds a B.A./M.A. in electrical sciences from Cambridge University, England. Prior to joining the Smith School, he held academic and leadership positions at the University of Pennsylvania and its Wharton School of Business for nearly 15 years. He also served on the faculty at the University of Virginia.

Smith is selected as an inaugural “Changemaker Campus” in partnership with Ashoka, a non-profit network of social entrepreneurs. Ashoka chose the University of Maryland as one of four U.S. campuses to develop a model for future university-based initiatives that will promote innovation and social change.

2009

Smith launches its MS in Business: Finance degree.

The Smith School launches the Center for Social Value Creation to engage every student in courses and experiential learning programs that build leadership and an understanding of how businesses can create both economic prosperity and transformative social change. Melissa Carrier is named executive director.

The school expands its space in Baltimore’s BioPark to better serve students at the Baltimore campus.

EY donates $250,000 to create the EY Freshman Fellows Orientation Program and endowment. The gift will support orientation programs and presentations for Smith’s two-year Freshman Fellows program, an innovative combination of cohort-style classes, experiential learning, co-curricular activities and events that create a cohesive learning community linking students, faculty, staff, corporate partners and alumni.

The Center for Financial Policy is launched to promote research and education in financial policy that impacts corporate governance, capital allocation and risk management, emerging markets, and the stability of the global financial system.

2010

The Smith School partners with U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are teaming up for the Global Challenge, a first-of-its-kind competition that challenges teams of MBA and other graduate students to develop business solutions that support international development. Teams will be tasked with devising a new public-private alliance that allows a private enterprise to meet its long-term business goals while contributing to international development initiatives in a specified region.

The Center for Leadership, Innovation and Change is launched to promote research and programs that foster effective leadership, build organizational capabilities for innovation and change, and promote social stewardship in organizations.

The BB&T Foundation gives $1.5 million to support to business ethics and leadership programs at Smith. Awarded over a 10-year period, the gift will fund new curriculum and the BB&T Colloquium on Capitalism, Ethics and Leadership lecture series.

Smith receives a $1 million endowment from the Henry & Elaine Kaufman Foundation to support a fellowship in business history, in affiliation with the school’s Center for Financial Policy. University of Maryland history professor David Sicilia was appointed the first Henry Kaufman Fellow in Business History.

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship celebrates its 25th anniversary with a visit from benefactor Michael Dingman, international investor, businessman and philanthropist.

2011

Smith partners with the Gettysburg Foundation to develop customized leadership programs that integrate lessons from the historic Civil War battle.

2012

Smith is one of five business schools selected by The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) to participate in a groundbreaking pilot program aimed at enhancing the strategic communication and reputation management education provided to the nation’s MBA candidates.

2013

The Dingman Center’s Cupid’s Cup Business Competition goes national for the first time.

The school’s first online degree program, the online MBA, is launched.

Academic

Departments

• Accounting & Information Assurance
• Decision, Operations & Information Technologies
• Finance
• Logistics, Business & Public Policy
• Management & Organization
• Marketing

Globalization

Smith School views globalization as a multi-dimensional mission:

Globalization of course content At the MBA level, every student is required to take at least two courses focusing squarely on different facets of globalization: a required course on “global economic environment,” and an elective course from a set of highly relevant courses on globalization (such as “global supply chain management,” and “international economics for managers).

Globalization of experience At the MBA level, Smith’s 10-day study abroad programs provide candidates opportunities to meet with executives, visit multinational organizations, and enjoy cultural and social events while earning academic credit. Past courses have covered alternative fuels in Brazil, agricultural exports in Chile and the emerging stock exchanges in India and China. Smith students have participated in courses in India, China, Dubai/Tunisia, France, the Czech Republic, Spain, Chile, Brazil, and Argentina. At the undergraduate level, the multi-pronged Undergraduate Fellows Program offers students opportunities for foreign study trips through the BMGT Honors track, the International Business track, and the Global Opportunities track.

Globalization of student/alumni base The Smith School is pursuing globalization on this dimension via two channels: globalization of the student body at the home base (College Park) and a targeted globalization of the school’s EMBA program and non-degree executive education to selected locations in Asia and Europe.

Globalization of research The faculty at the Smith School does outstanding research that is both international in nature and that has global implications. The Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) plays an important role in fostering research on global business issues through a number of research and travel awards as well as best paper certificates.

Entrepreneurship

With the Smith School's Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship serving as the hub, the entrepreneurship program covers a wide variety of entrepreneurial subjects, including social responsibility. Coursework is reinforced by co-curricular learning and mentoring, faculty research projects, hosted events, business plan competitions, and professional organizations. The Center offers the following programs:

• Pitch Dingman - An opportunity each semester for student Entrepreneurs to pitch their business idea for a $2,500 grand prize, www.ter.ps/pitchdingman
• Dingman Center Angels - For start-up organizations to connect with Angel Investors, www.ter.ps/angels
• Dingman Jumpstart - Two week intensive program to launch a business, www.ter.ps/jumpstart
• Tech Transfer - Technology commercialization with partnership of MTech & the Office of Technology Commercialization
• Global Reach - China Business Plan Competition and other global entrepreneurial activities
• Legal Office Hours - Free legal business advice from leading local attorneys

Dual Degrees

MBA students may earn the following dual degrees. Application and coursework requirements may vary by program.

MBA/JD Degree (Juris Doctor)
MBA/MS Degree (Master of Science in Business Administration: Finance or Accounting)
MBA/MPP Degree (Master of Public Policy)
MBA/MSW Degree (Master of Social Work)

Rankings

The Smith School’s strengths in both academics and research are reflected in its rankings and other accolades. The BusinessWeek ranks the school's full-time MBA program as "Top 30 Programs" in the U.S. The Financial Times also ranks the school’s full-time MBA program #18 in the U.S. (2011) For part-time MBA program, it is ranked among the nation’s best and is annually rated the best in the Washington, D.C.â€"Baltimore region by U.S. News & World Report [1].

Class Profile

While many business schools struggle to enroll more than 30-35% women in a class, Smith's 2014 Part-Time MBA cohort consists of 45% women.

General Class Profile

Female: 29%
International: 35%
Married: N/A

Ethnicity/US Students in Program:

African American: 7%
Asian American: 18%
Hispanic or Latino American: 4%
Multiethnic/Multiracial : 0%
Native American: 0%
White (Non-Hispanic): 71%
Chose not to report: 0%

Students from following regions:

Africa: 2%
Asia: 22%
Eastern Europe and Central Asia: 9%
Latin America and the Caribbean: 3%
Middle East: 2%
North America: 60%
Oceania: 0%
Western Europe: 2%
Percentage of students with dual citizenship: N/A

Entering North American citizens by region:

Northeast: 9%
Mid-Atlantic: 81%
South: 1%
Southwest: 0%
Midwest: 3%
West: 6%

Mean months of work experience of newest entering class: 56

Median months of work experience of newest entering class: 48

Research

Smith is at the forefront of creating, understanding and leveraging the modern world’s evolving business models. Our Centers of Excellence & Research work to bring game-changing research into the classroom and the boardroom for maximum impact. Smith immerses its students in complex and evolving marketplaces where critical thinking, creativity and entrepreneurship are at the core of the enterprise.

• Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship: Founded in 1986, the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship is a top-tier entrepreneurial institute recognized around the world as a leader in enterprise creation. Forward looking and community focused, the Center actively encourages a real-world business culture that innovatively bridges the theoretical with the practical. http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/dingman
• Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER): The Smith CIBER was established on July 1, 2006 and is designed to be a national resource center for teaching, research and outreach in international business and related fields. It was funded with a $1.42 million, four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education and 100% matching funds from the Smith School and University of Maryland. The overarching purpose of the CIBER Program is to enhance the international competitiveness of American business. http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/ciber
• Center for Digital Thought and Strategy (DIGITS): Digital technologies have made possible new markets and business models. Understanding the factors associated with the success or failure of these new models is the key to leveraging the power of digitization and IT within organizations and markets. Center for Digital Thought & Strategy (DIGITS) is at the forefront in understanding the impact of the digital technologies across industries. http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/digits
• Center for Excellence in Service: The Service Sciences, Management and Engineering (SSME) initiative combines computer science, operations research, industrial engineering, business strategy, management sciences, social and cognitive sciences, and legal sciences to enhance the services-driven economy. http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/ces
• Center for Health and Information Decision Systems (CHIDS):CHIDS is an academic research center with collaboration from industry and government affiliates, and is designed to research, analyze, and recommend solutions to challenges surrounding the introduction and integration of information and decision technologies into the health care system.
• Center for Leadership, Innovation and Change (CLIC): CLIC is focused on producing vanguard research and programs and related activities that are instrumental in fostering effective leadership, building organizational capabilities that support and promote effective innovation and change, and promoting social stewardship in organizations. Through its exceptional research capabilities and related programs, activities, and events that advance leadership practice and strategy of connecting research and practice on leadership, the Center serves a broad audience of executives, managers, scholars, instructors, students, and alumni, while also seeking their input. http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/clic
• Supply Chain Management Center: The Supply Chain Management Center strives to integrate the leading edge business practices and technologies of the real-time supply chain into the undergraduate and graduate programs in Supply Chain Management at the Smith School. SCMC is also committed to a research agenda in the newly emerging areas in the field. http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/scmc
• Center for Complexity in Business: The past ten years have witnessed an explosion in the field of Complexity as the availability of cheap computational power has allowed researchers and practitioners to successfully apply complex systems methods to analyze previously intractable problems. At exactly the same time, important trends, such as globalization and rapid advances in Internet and communications technologies have rendered business systems more complex and unpredictable than ever. The Center for Complexity in Business is focused on the application of complex systems to business problems and thus attempts to simplify the business systems. http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/ccb
• Center for Social Value Creation: In today’s volatile and evolving business landscape, social impact is playing a critical role in determining how organizations operate, are funded and ultimately succeed. The Center for Social Value Creation through its engaging curriculum, real-world field experience, cutting-edge research, and targeted career planning, immerses students in complex and dynamic marketplaces where creative vision and thoughtful entrepreneurship to tackle some of society’s most critical environmental and humanitarian needs. http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/svc
• Center for Financial Policy: The speed at which the current financial crisis unfolded, as well as its financial and global impact heightens the need for a broader, interdisciplinary perspective to addressing financial policy and corporate governance issues. The mission of the Center of Financial Policy is to develop thought leadership in financial policy that impacts corporate performance, capital allocation and the stability of the global financial system. http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/cfp

Student Involvement

Student Clubs and Organizations (MBA Program)

At the Robert H. Smith school of Business, full-time MBA students are actively involved in a number of academic, professional and social activities, through participation in events and initiatives managed by the MBA Association (MBAA). The MBAA also coordinates multiple student-run groups, which in turn host multiple such events throughout the school year. Each of these clubs host multiple events that are aimed at both, the career development of students, and community development at Smith.

Development

In 2006, The Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park announced a $12 million PhD program initiative. The initiative â€" one of the most ambitious in the United States â€" increases annual doctoral stipends by 45 percent to $32,500 and provides research and travel support.

Alumni

• Eric Billings, Chairman/Founder of FBR Capital Markets, Chairman and CEO of Arlington Asset Investment Corp
• Larry David '70, Actor, Writer and Producer ("Curb Your Enthusiasm" & "Seinfeld")
• Paul T. Dell'Isola, Managing Director & Head of Capital Markets Sales at FBR Capital Markets
• Carly Fiorina '80, Businesswoman, Former Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Hewlett-Packard
• David Goldfarb '79, Chief Financial Officer and a Managing Director of Lehman Bros
• Kevin Plank '96, Founder of athletic apparel line Under Armour
• Richard Schaeffer, Chairman of NYMEX
• Neal Shear, Global Head of Securities, UBS
• Jigar Shah, CEO of Carbon War Room, former CEO of SunEdison
• Genevievette Walker-Lightfoot, former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission attorney
• Gary Williams '68, Former Head Coach of University of Maryland Men's Basketball

See also

• List of United States business school rankings
• List of business schools in the United States

References

External links

• Official website