I don’t need to tell any of you how much the financial world has changed since the beginning of our fall semester. While many may think this to be an inopportune time to be studying business, I believe the exact opposite. In times such as this, an understanding of business, markets, and economic effects is more important than ever. A number of “market driven” events (driven by our students, faculty, and corporate partners) continue to bring today’s events into the classrooms of Mays Business School. Some examples include:
- Representatives from Bank of America discussing current market events and their implications with our undergraduate students.
- Mays faculty members providing an overview of the events that have culminated in the current market conditions and impact on the employment markets to our MBA Class of ’09.
- Professor Len Bierman’s seminar class on a timely topic: the business issues addressed in the 2008 presidential election and the complicated relationship between money and politics.
- One of the faculty-led freshman seminars at Mays in which a group of 13 students read and critiqued the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 recently passed by Congress.
These are simply a few examples. As a person walks the hallways of the Wehner Building and listens to the activities in our classrooms, these topics are replacing textbook chapters as our students’ learning materials, allowing them to significantly benefit from our faculty’s expertise and currency in their fields.
As I visit with our former students, many ask what the economic future will hold. While nobody knows with certainty, I am certain that our students will be prepared for it. This is our mission.
I hope you enjoy this issue of Mays Business Online. Please stay in touch and contact me if your travels bring you back to campus.
Jerry R. Strawser ’83
Dean, Mays Business School
