Longenecker one of five professors featured on the first Business Skills DVD from The Great Courses

Dr. Clint Longenecker, Stranahan Distinguished University Professor and Director of the Center for Leadership and Organizational Excellence in the UT College of Business and Innovation, is one of five business professors from top US business schools  featured in the recently released  Critical Business Skills for Success Lecture Series published by The Great Courses.

For 25 years, The Great Courses has been publishing audios, videos, CDs and DVD’s featuring the world’s best professors on topics in the fields of science, mathematics, history, fine arts, music, religion, philosophy, literature, finance and more. Ryan Davis, a recruiter from the Great Courses stated, “The Great Courses selects only the top 1% of professor in the world to share their knowledge with our world-wide customer base of adult learners.”

Dr. Clint Longenecker

“Everyone wants to know: What does it take to reach success in business, the kind of success that lasts? It all comes down to a solid grasp of the fundamentals of business—the same kind that are taught to MBA students in many of the world's most prestigious business schools, including our own,” Longenecker said.

The comprehensive Great Courses five-part, 60-lecture course, Critical Business Skills for Success, is designed to give people this kind of integrated, accessible introduction. Each of the Critical Business Skills for Success course's five parts is a detailed look at a particular skill: strategy, operations, finance and accounting, organizational behavior, and marketing     Longenecker’s sections are focuses on Organizational Behavior and High Performance Leadership.

“The Great Courses Series has an exceptional   following among life-long learners  as they draw talent from the best schools from around the world,” Longenecker said. “Their lecture series are developed with amazing professors from universities such as Harvard, Michigan, Yale, Duke, Ohio State, UCLA, Emory and others. To have The University of Toledo included in these circles in a series with worldwide distribution is a wonderful thing.”

“I also think that the ideas shared in Great Courses programs are more powerful  than ideas being included in a book, primarily because of the reach and the powerful learning associated with great and dynamic lectures and with these topics being available on DVDs, CDs, streaming,” Longenecker said. The lectures were recorded late last year and the Critical Business Skills Series was released world-wide in the spring of 2015.

“This kind of well-rounded business education is useful to anyone who works in a company of any size,” said Longenecker, who was named by The Economist as one of the top 15 business professors in the world.”

The CD and DVD versions include, 60 lectures, a 496-page printed course guidebook, and a downloadable PDF of the course guidebook. The program is available at TheGreatCourses.com.

College of Business and Innovation featured in The Princeton Review’s Best 295 Business Schools: 2016 Edition

The University of Toledo College of Business and Innovation (COBI) is one of the nation's best business schools, according to the education services company, The Princeton Review (www.princetonreview.com), which features the school in the new 2016 edition of its new guide, The Best 295 Business Schools.

The Princeton Review surveyed 22,000 students attending the 295 business schools. The 80-question survey asked students to rate their schools on several topics and report on their experiences at them. Some ranking list tallies also factored in school-reported data.

Their report states, “One of the best in the Midwest, the MBA program at The University of Toledo features affordability and flexibility that help you expand your skills and opportunities without interrupting your career. The college’s history of excellence in practical, relevant education based on cutting-edge research and business engagement will take your career to the next level. The UT MBA curriculum is designed to equip future leaders with relevant, real-world knowledge about the workings of every level of the enterprise: employees, customers, the firm itself, and all levels of the economy.”

“The schools we selected for these guides all offer academically outstanding degrees: we recommend them highly,” said Robert Franek, Publisher, The Princeton Review. “Their program offerings vary considerably, and we salute and highlight those distinctions in our profiles. Our purpose is not to rank schools hierarchically or crown any school as "best" overall. Our goal is to provide school profiles combined with multiple rating scores and ranking lists to help applicants choose the best b-school for them. ”

“All of us in the College of Business and Innovation are very excited at this continuing recognition by The Princeton Review of the quality and relevance of our programs,” noted Dr. Gary Insch, COBI Dean. “This recognition by The Princeton Review further validates the quality of our faculty, the significance of our curriculum and the excellence of our students.”

The Princeton Review's ranking list tallies factor in data from its surveys of business school students completed during the 2014-15, 2013-14, and 2012-13 school years. The survey asked students about their school's academics, student body and campus life, and their career plans. All institutional data reported in these editions was collected in 2014-15.

Orion Jones see his talent, focus and hard work pay off in the COBI classroom and on the football field

College of Business and Innovation senior Orion Jones is an impressive defensive lineman on the Toledo Rockets football team who had three sacks when the undefeated Rockets bested Arkansas State in the Glass Bowl in September.

In addition to admitting “I just like to hit the quarterback and tackle people,” Orion credits much of his success on the football field to his grandfather…who taught him how to wrestle.

Orion Jones

“My grandfather was a wrestler. He taught me everything about wrestling, about competing in championships. I’ve been wrestling since I was five, and I’m really good at it.”

Orion claims that he started playing football “late, in the fourth grade,” but that “wrestling really helped me with football, teaching me body control and leverage.”

“I’ve always been a defensive lineman, and I’ve been good at that position ever since Jenks High School in (his home state of) Oklahoma,” where he was ranked number two and received all conference and all state recognition.

“I had schools like Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas reaching out to me.  When the coaches from Toledo came and visited me and my family, I had never heard of it. The coaches were honest with me and my family, so I just prayed about it and I committed to Toledo.”

“The culture of the team is changing, and the energy is an amazing thing. The biggest surprise is when I play, I really feel like I’m not doing anything. It’s mystical to be a player in college.  I feel something I never felt before. I just kept believing in God, and I speak to the source of everything every morning.   I literally ask him, ‘Let me get a sack,’ then I get a sack on the next play. I am so thankful about what he is doing for me.”

“The first thing that jumped out to me about UT was the business school.  A lot of my family members have their own business.”

“The best thing about UT is opportunity. COBI prepares students through interviews, career fairs, networking and taking care of their students. Darlene Stevens in COBI is my mother away from home, and I am so grateful to her for all she has done for me.”

“My major is professional sales, and last year I did an internship with Owens-Corning. I really loved it; the atmosphere was one of a community, and if I needed help, I could ask anyone.”

“Also, in 2013 I did an internship with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, putting on a camp for about 150 student athletes, where about 40 of them gave their lives to Christ.  I am grateful to be a part of it.”

“I love playing football in Toledo, and I think we are going to be undefeated. But now there is more pressure. Our ultimate goal is a MAC championship, and every game counts, ” he said.

“My plan is to play pro football, and I’m pretty sure that I will be a draft prospect. I would love to be a defensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys!”

“I basically live for the business school and football and spending time with the team, otherwise I just relax and chill with my teammates and friends. For fun, I like to go out and eat lots, especially shrimp”

With his playing skills, an eye to a professional future, his business classes/internships and his laser focus on his goals, Orion reveals his inner motivations when he says, “I don’t want to let my grandfather, my family or my team down.”

Whether it’s in pro football, business or everyday life, there seems little chance that will ever happen.