Dean Dolan Profiled in the Detroit Free Press

(Excerpts taken from http://www.freep.com/money/business/ walsh20_20030220.htm)

On February 20th, 2003, Robert Dolan, dean of the Business School, was profiled in the Detroit Free Press. Dean Dolan was at Harvard for 21 years before coming to Michigan. Many have asked why a Harvard guy would move to Michigan. Dolan had no interest in leaving Harvard when a search firm first called him about a business school dean's job at an unnamed university. A longtime Harvard marketing professor, Dolan had just been named senior associate dean to head Harvard Business School's research unit. He was happy and just embarking on a six-month faculty exchange program in Spain. 

The search firm called again and said the school was Michigan. Dolan perked up. Michigan, along with Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, always ranks among the best U.S. business schools. This was a shot at the top job at a prestige school. Dolan flew in from Barcelona for interviews. He never returned to Harvard.

Dolan explains how, unlike Harvard, the major schools at Michigan; law, business, medicine; collaborate and interact immensely. This year, Dolan has joined with UM Medical School dean Alan Lichter in a new program to help make doctors more savvy about the chaotic business of health care. 

View the current issue of MSJ at www.themsj.com. While you're linked to the MSJ, browse some sections of the paper -- you will get a great feeling for what's going on at the School. If this is your first time visiting the site, you will be asked to enter your name to login. Articles of interest this past week included:

• "Former SEC Chief Challenges Investors to 'Take on the Street' "

• "Winning Strategies for CEOs"

• "What, According To You, Is 'The Perfect Investment Vehicle?'"

• "Day in the Life" Experiences

These first year MBA students have made themselves available to answer questions about the MBA program. The professional and educational background of each Ambassador is listed to help you in deciding who to contact based on your background. If you have any questions, they are happy to provide you with information or resources via email.

A great way for our admitted students to meet Michigan is at Go Blue! Rendezvous on April 4th-6th. This weekend provides a wonderful opportunity for admits to meet classmates, faculty, students, alumni and staff. 

Decision 2 Applicants
We know it is tough waiting for decisions! The Admissions Committee is working very hard reviewing the strong pool of applications we received. We are also excited to announce that we have implemented online decision status for Fall 2003 applicants. This is only available to applicants who applied via our online application, Embark. Applicants will be notified of decisions on Friday, March 14th.

Decision 3 Applicants
Applications for our final deadline (Decision 3) are due tomorrow, March 1st. Please be assured that we will contact you if anything is missing from your application (e.g. recommendations, transcripts, etc.), or if we need additional information from you. To access our online application, please visit www.bus.umich.edu/apply. Applicants will be notified of decisions on May 15th.  

Evening Program Applicants

The deadline to submit your application for the Fall 2003 entering class is May 1st. Decisions will be returned by June 30th. Interviewing will begin next week, March 3rd, and run through April 18th. Be sure to schedule your interview early as slots get filled as we approach the deadline. 

"How is the Admissions Committee planning to communicate my decision?" 

For those applicants who submitted their applications via Embark, our online application, decisions will be accessible at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, March 14th. In order to access your decision, you will need to use your username and password to access Embark and review your decision. Please note that we have moved up our decision date in order for notification to fall during the work week rather than the weekend. 

For those applicants who applied via our hard copy application, we will be emailing your decision on Friday, March 14th. We also plan to reach out personally to each of our admits to share the good news. We typically do this by phone, but use email in some cases, especially to those located overseas due to time zone differences.

Dario Epstein (MBA '91) Featured on CNN en Español  
Dario Epstein, president of Sur Investments Company, was a guest on CNN en Español television program, "Economia y Finanzas," on Friday, February 14th. He talked about his recent appearance at the Business School as a guest in Dr. David Brophy's Finance class. The theme of Epstein's UM talk was "Venture Capital & Private Equity in Global and Emerging Markets." An estimated audience of 15 million people viewed the program, including business leaders and/or politicians, entrepreneurs and decision makers.

CNN en Español is viewed throughout Latin America. Epstein is a frequent guest on the program to discuss financial markets. He is an advisor to the Center of Venture Capital and Private Equity at the Business School, directed by Dr. Brophy. Epstein is also the president of the Business School's Alumni Club of South Florida.

First U.S. Child Receives Implanted Miniature Heart Pump at the University of Michigan 
A team of pediatric cardiac surgeons at the University of Michigan Health System successfully implanted a miniature heart pump in a 10 year old girl, the first American child and the youngest patient in the world to receive this device. The DeBakey ventricular assist device is designed for end-stage heart failure patients. Our young patient turned 11 years old three days after the operation and is doing well. Dr. Eric Devaney, who led the surgical team, said "This is our first case using the DeBakey heart pump and I'm glad we were able to help this little girl. The device should sustain her health until she can receive a heart transplant." Please click here to view the full article.

Office Hours
The Women in Business Initiative brings students and women business leaders together for valuable mentoring opportunities. On March 13th, alumnae from the University of Michigan Business School and other schools around campus will participate in the "Office Hours" program, and will speak with students about their career questions. Office Hours is sponsored by the Women's Leadership Council at the Business School which is comprised of women business leaders who currently advise and assist the School on plans, programs and research that assist women in business. 

For more information, please visit http://www.womeninbusiness.bus.umich.edu.

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), one of the premiere classical theater companies in the world, returns to the University of Michigan for an exciting three-week residency that features performances of The Merry Wives of Windsor, Coriolanus, and the winning novel, Midnight's Children, co-produced by the University of Michigan, the University Musical Society, the RSC and Columbia University. 

Performances run March 1st - 16th at the Power Center for the Performing Arts. For tickets, please call (734) 764-2538 or visit http://www.umich.edu/pres/rsc to purchase them online. 

Managing the Unexpected -- Business organizations must learn to operate "mindfully" to ensure high performance

Karl Weick, Rensis Likert Distinguished University Professor of Organizational Behavior and Psychology; and Kathleen Sutcliffe, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management; discuss why business organizations must operate "mindfully" in order to better manage unexpected events and ensure high performance. They also give "Five Practices for Developing "Mindfulness": 

• Preoccupation with failure

• Reluctance to simplify interpretations

• Sensitivity to operations

• Commitment to resilience

• Deference to expertise

Please click here to view the full article. More detailed explanations are also given for each of these practices.

William Davidson Institute Receives Top Ranking in World's Largest Collection of Economics Working Papers
The William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Business School has received a top ranking for its Working Paper Series in RePEc (Research Papers in Economics), the world's largest collection of online economics working papers and journal articles. The Institute's working paper series ranked above those of the Journal of Economic Perspectives and Organization for Economic Cooperation in Development (OECD).

The research group of the Institute encourages researchers from around the world to share their findings through the Davidson Institute Working Paper Series. The series features papers addressing business, economic or policy issues in transition and emerging market economies. Please visit http://www.wdi.bus.umich.edu/news/TopPapersRelease.doc for more information.

Unlike other case competitions where teams are given a case that has a pre-set solution, the teams at the MGMCC were presented with a real-life consulting problem: Cingular Wireless requested a proposal on how to reduce the number of customers leaving its services each month, called "churn rate." After sifting through thousands of pages of industry reports (and working on little or no sleep over 48 hours) in order to come up with a solution, the Michigan team recommended that Cingular become a low-cost leader instead of a high-technology provider. 

Michigan took home the Grand Prize of $3,000 cash and a crystal trophy for the team! For more details on the competition, please click here.