COBI Provides the #1 MBA/EMBA Value in America

As an alumnus of UT COBI, you may already know that the UT  business school  offers the largest and  most preferred MBA and EMBA programs in this region, with unmatched value and flexibility that help you expand your skills and enhance your career trajectory.

Now is the perfect time for you to consider obtaining your MBA and to help spread the word about this remarkable program. 

Here are some key points to remember:

Executive MBA Unique Benefits:

Short, Focused Timeframe — Just 15 months to complete your degree regardless of your undergraduate major, and all undergraduate majors from history to business and engineering are welcome in our program! You'll be busy during the 15 months, but you'll be proud of your accelerated career success upon graduation.

Position Yourself for Career Success — the UT EMBA program helps you develop the leadership skills and business acumen necessary to move ahead in your company or start your own business.

Community Business Involvement — Meet business leaders from the community through their active participation in our EMBA program.

Family Friendly — Our new blended model combines onsite courses and video-conferenced distance learning sessions, enabling you to reap the benefits of an Executive MBA while going to class on-campus only two weekends per month.

International Study Trip Included — The cost of traveling to and learning in an international environment is built into the program. You'll learn through a trip that combines company meetings, cultural immersion…and a dose of relaxation.

Relationship-Driven Program — develop lifelong friendships with classmates, mentoring relationships with faculty, and build a business network ready to help you in your career.

ROI — Emerge from the EMBA program with skills to address issues at your employer or your own business as you work on projects of your choosing.

Professional MBA Unique Benefits:

Short, Focused Timeframe — students with an undergraduate degree in business can complete the Professional MBA program in only 12 months going to school full-time, or in two calendar years going part-time.

You Decide When to Start — UT is the only MBA program in Northwest Ohio that allows you to start an MBA in the fall, spring, or summer semester.

Flexibility — UT’s Professional MBA program allows students to complete the MBA program at their own pace utilizing both in-class and online courses. The entire program can be completed while working full-time.

Choice of Majors — the UT Professional MBA program offers 9 majors, more than any other MBA program in Northwest Ohio. You can major in fields such as Finance, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, or Leadership, and you can choose electives in different disciplines.

To learn more about each of these MBA programs, contact Robert Detwiler at 419.530.2513 or email Robert.detwiler@utoledo.edu.

49th annual Pacemaker Awards honor Marianne Ballas, outstanding UT business students

The University of Toledo College of Business and Innovation and the Business Engagement and Leadership Council presented their 49th Annual Pacemaker Awards Friday, April 8 at the Inverness Country Club.

Each year the prestigious Pacemaker Award recognizes an individual for outstanding achievement in business as well as contributions to the community and the University.  The 2011 recipient of the Business Pacemaker Award is Marianne Ballas, President, Ballas Buick GMC.

In 2004, after 35 years in the car business, Ms. Ballas purchased her automotive dealership from her late husband George’s estate. She became the first woman car dealer in Ohio appointed by the Women’s Retail Network.  (Nationally, women own less than two percent of auto dealerships.)

In 2006, Ballas Buick GMC was awarded the Better Business Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics, the only dealership in the region to achieve this honor. The dealership has also received the Mark of Excellence award from General Motors, presented to less than one percent of dealers nationally for excellence in sales effectiveness, customer satisfaction and profitability.

Ms. Ballas was recently elected to the Buick/GMC National Dealer Council where she is one of just 22 dealers who meets with General Motors Corporation executives to assist in the direction of the Buick/GMC division.

Thomas G. Gutteridge, Dean, UT College of Business and Innovation, observed, “Marianne Ballas’ highly successful career, various community philanthropic activities and outstanding integrity and leadership in the regional business arena make her the ideal business professional  to receive this year’s Pacemaker Award, the College’s highest honor.”

In addition, the annual Pacemaker Awards are presented to UT College of Business and Innovation graduate and undergraduate students for their outstanding academic achievement as well as University and community service and leadership.

The 2011 student Pacemakers are: Applied Organizational Technology – Christopher Weisgarber; Accounting – Jaimie Morsillo and Jeff Warnke; Finance – Joe Corfman and Dan Hoover;  Information Operations & Technology Management – Alyssa Niese and Junjun Liu; Management – Alexander Ross and Caroline Sigley; Marketing and International Business – Jay Solarik and Cari Tubbs; Dean’s Office – Ryan Kremer; MBA – Nathan Syrek and Martina Turner; Ph.D. – Chenglei Huang.

BP donates $225K to provide diversity scholarships for dozens in business, engineering schools

In February it was announced that BP donated $225,000 to The University of Toledo to create the BP Scholars Program, devoted to increasing the number of women and minority professionals in business and engineering disciplines. The leadership gift will provide scholarships for both first-year and continuing students.

“Beyond our core business, BP invests in communities across more than 80 countries worldwide. One of our major priorities is supporting education and we are pleased to be partnering with the University of Toledo,” said Mark Dangler, president of the BP-Husky Refinery LLC in Oregon, Oh.

Paid out over three years, annual scholarships of $2,500 will be awarded to more than two dozen students in the Colleges of Engineering and Business and Innovation. BP will also mix the scholarships between high achieving current and incoming students and targeting residents of northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan.

Dr. Thomas Gutteridge, dean of the College of Business and Innovation, and Dr. Nagi Naganathan, dean of the College of Engineering, praised the long time partnerships BP has had with both colleges.

“BP has demonstrated repeatedly their commitment to the next generation of business leaders and this scholarship is just the latest example,” said Gutteridge, who pointed out that the scholarship fund is for students majoring in finance or entrepreneurial studies. COBI will also utilize $25,000 of its BP funding to establish a Minority Business Development Program and a Women in Business Development Program.

Said Naganathan, “A longtime partner in our co-op program, BP has repeatedly supported the research and academic activities of this college and our students. I can think of no more fitting occasion for BP to demonstrate their continuing generosity than during this week, set aside nationally to honor engineers.”

Vern Snyder, vice president for institutional advancement, said that $25,000 of the donation would go to support women and minority initiatives in the College of Engineering. “BP is an organization that gives strategically, with purpose, and as a result sees a tremendous return on its investments in the community. I have no doubt that trend will continue with this gift,” he said.

Scholarship winners will also experience a tour of the Oregon, Ohio refinery and lunch with BP leadership.

“Northwest Ohio has so many talented men and women and BP is proud to support students in their studies,” said Dangler.  “Currently, our refinery in Oregon has over 50 University of Toledo graduates working at the site, by far the largest representation of any one University working at our refinery.  This scholarship program with UT is an excellent opportunity to support education in the communities in which we work, live and raise our families,” said Dangler.

UT President Lloyd Jacobs said BP was a great community partner.

“We strive every day to make sure the education UT provides is relevant to a student’s growth, professionally, personally and culturally. Partners like BP help students along that path and the result is an increase in college graduates prepared to thrive in the professional world.”

CPA exam pass rates for UT COBI graduates exceed state and national averages

Individuals who want to be certified public accountants know that preparation for the CPA exam is of paramount importance. Where you study is essential, and the higher the pass rate by graduates at a particular college, the better.

That is why it is important that UT accounting students are enrolled at a College with a proven track record of its graduates successfully passing the CPA exam. 

According to the recently released report (for 2009) from the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), The University of Toledo College of Business and Innovation (UT COBI) graduates passed the CPA exam at rates exceeding both state and national averages.

Comparing the percentage of college graduates who passed all four parts of the CPA exam reveals:

                                                    Candidates with                                 All candidates
                                                   advanced degrees                                  with degrees

Across the United States:            38.21%                                          32.93%

Across Ohio:                                      43.08%                                          37.54%

UT COBI students:                           58.62%                                          40.91%

 “Our Masters of Science in Accounting (MSA) students did particularly well,” noted Dr. Donald Saftner, Chair, Department of Accounting at UT COBI. “Considering the auditing part of the exam, UT is ranked in the top ten schools nationally in pass rates among first-time candidates with advanced degrees.  Considering all four parts of the exam, advanced degree CPA candidates from UT COBI had a higher passing percentage than advanced degree candidates from all but two of the other 15 Ohio schools listed by NASBA”

“These results are a clear and powerful indication of the high caliber of our accounting programs, our dedicated faculty and the application of our students to achieve this important goal,” Dr. Saftner said. 

UT Business team claims first place in operations management district competition

The University of Toledo’s Chapter of APICS (Association for Operations Management) took the first place award in the APICS Mid-Atlantic District Case Competition, held February 12 and 13 in Pittsburgh.

“We were excited to beat teams such as Ohio State University, Michigan State University, Bowling Green State University, Penn State, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Dayton,” said Jenni Jones, President of the UT APICS Chapter.

“Our team had six members, and none of us had ever participated in a case competition before,” she added. “However, with the encouragement of our professors, our professional contacts and internships, we were able to apply all our experience and bring home a first place for UT!”

“This is the best thing that has ever happened to UTAPICS in its 21-year history,” said Professor P.S. Sundararaghavan, who has been the faculty advisor to the group.

COBI’s APICS team consisted of Jones, Michael Erney, Aaron Seaman, Bethany Harding, Junjun Liu and Xin Ma.

Dr. Udayan Nandkeolyar, COBI department of Information Operations & Technology Management, travelled with the team and provided moral support, however faculty were not allowed to have any communication with the team during the event.

APICS provides training, certification and resources for professionals in production, inventory, supply chain, materials management and purchasing. With more than 2,500 student members worldwide, APICS sponsors competitions and programs that promote education and interest in the operations management profession.

The UT APICS Chapter received an award of $1,350 for their first place finish in the district competition. UTAPICS student chapter was started in 1990 and hosts an annual joint dinner meeting with the parent chapter (Toledo APICS Chapter) in April. UTAPICS is very thankful to the Toledo APICS for providing material support, scholarships, professional contacts and lots of encouragement.

“This is wonderful news,” noted COBI Dean Thomas Gutteridge. “Their success makes a powerful statement about the quality of UT College of Business and Innovation students, faculty and programs within the field of supply chain management. Congratulations to all for a job extremely well done!”

Proposal funded

The National Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals Research and Global Issues committee has selected Robert Detwiler’s proposal, “Assessing Factors Influencing Student Academic Success in Law School,” for grant funding. Detwiler is the adviser/recruiter for undergraduate and masters program at COBI.  Congratulations Robert!!

ESSPS team places fifth at National Collegiate Sales Competition

The UT COBI team of students from the Edward H. Schmidt School of Professional Sales once again did outstanding work at the annual National Collegiate Sales Competition in March. 

The UT Team of Lyndsay Desautels and Jacob Krause, with alternate Joe Sessin, accompanied by coach Michael Mallin, came in fifth out of 61 participating universities, thus claiming the fourth runner-up position! This latest success is a continuation of a long run of strong national level performances by our sales teams, and is a testimony to the quality of our program and  the dedication of our students and faculty.

The competition is very intense, and the ESSPS staff begins preparation for the event in December each year. Dean Gutteridge indicated  “Congratulations and sincere thanks to Lindsay, Jacob and Joe for all of the hard work they put into this competition, and to the entire ESSPS faculty who coached and role-played with the students over the past several months.”