Spring 2017
Welcome to the Spring 2017 edition of the College of Business's newsletter!
While spring seems to have taken its time getting here to Missoula, I am hopeful warm weather and more sunshine is on its way. And in the true spirit of the spring season, I want to devote much of this newsletter to recognizing the amazing accomplishments of our alumni as well as our current and graduating students, without whom the College of Business would not be the success it is today.
In my second semester as the Sprunk and Burnham Endowed Dean for the UM College of Business, I’ve been blown away by the generosity, support and fascinating success stories of our alumni. On Friday, March 31st, we honored our 2017 Outstanding Alumni. This year’s honorees included Stefanie Strack, General Manager of Nike Skateboarding in North America for Nike, Inc., and Craig Anderson, Senior Vice President and Wealth Management Advisor for Merrill Lynch in Billings. While Stefanie and Craig share a common theme of being highly successful, their stories and backgrounds are drastically different, illustrating firsthand that there is no single path to success. We are proud that their paths included the College of Business.
Our business students got a firsthand look into many of these different journeys to success (and the inevitable failures that occur along the way) when the College of Business recently hosted its very first session of “TED-style talks”, a round of short five-minute talks featuring many inspiring members of our Business Advisory Council. The response to these presentations from our students has been overwhelmingly positive, and I hope it’s the start of a new tradition for the College of Business.
Understanding the value of our individual stories is a critical lesson for students to learn, not only from the perspective of seasoned alumni but also from our current students. We recently featured a video on our website of one of our many bright and inspiring students, senior Taylor McDermott. A native of rural Montana, Taylor’s journey has taken many exciting turns during her time in the College of Business, including a once-in-a-lifetime internship with global consulting firm KPMG and a full-time job offer upon graduation. Check out her video below to hear more about her journey from “jeans to jets”.
For the latest news and insights at the business school, I invite you all to follow and connect with me on Facebook: @MontanaBusinessDean. You can also keep track of the latest news on the College of Business page: @UMSoba.
Happy spring and Go Griz!
Dean Christopher Shook
Video: FROM JEANS TO JETS...
College of Business Awards 2017 Outstanding Alumni
Montana Student Entrepreneurs Excel at 2017 John Ruffatto Startup Challenge
Entertainment Management Students Attend Vegas Music Summit
FAST Enterprises Finds Valuable Recruits at UM's College of Business
“Failure?” was the topic of the first Ted-style talks to students, alumni and advisory boards.
The Business Advisory Council members who were scheduled to rotate off of the Council were challenged by Dean Shook to talk about the topic of “Failure?” in five-minute Ted-style talks...Read more...
Students Study Sustainable Business in New Zealand and Australia
