Interview by John A. Byrne

(Poets&Quants) -- If Columbia Business School Dean Glenn Hubbard were to advise his McKinsey-bound son on where to get his MBA, Hubbard says there are only four or five programs that he would recommend. He declines to mention the schools by name, but you can rest assured that Columbia would be on the list along with Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton. That leaves a lot of very good schools off the list.

Hubbard, dean of Columbia's business school since July 2004, is an economist by training. He joined Columbia in 1988, after beginning his teaching career at Northwestern. He was chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President George Bush and a top economic advisor to Mitt Romney during his recent presidential campaign.

In a wide-ranging interview with Poets&Quants, Hubbard discusses, among other things, the anxiety in MBA programs, whether Warren Buffett will become a donor, and Columbia's MBA application plunge last year, vastly exceeding downturns at other elite business schools.

Last year, applications to Columbia's MBA program fell by 19%, more than at any other top business school. How are things looking this year?

We are fortunate that our applications are up 9% year-over-year. What was weird about our drop is that it came along all at once. I told the faculty I felt like Wile E. Coyote, where he ran off the cliff and didn't know it yet. We had a couple of years where applications had plateaued and then all of a sudden crashed. But fortunately we are back up.

Your decline was generally attributed to Wall Street's troubles and the fact that Columbia's fortunes are so closely tied to Wall Street. Agree?

Wharton had a similar pattern. And if you were to do a trend line, we are both on that line. Harvard is above it. Harvard is the one school at the top where if you did a trend line pre-crisis and looked at applications, it's above it.

Do you think the decline is related to the belief that the value of the MBA degree has declined?

No. I think the value of the degree is still very high if you can go to a good school. If you go to any top business school, you will gain a skill set and mindset to make you a very good business leader. If you have in mind only an analytical job track, you might want to question the ROI. I think it's really hard to defend, at least in money terms, the value of an MBA beyond the top business schools.

See the original post:
Is an MBA worth it?

Milo ( | )

Milo the Lynx, the University of Colorado Denver's new school mascot, was introduced Thursday.

Named for a combination of the Mile High City and the campus' location near Lower Downtown, Milo will become a fixture, school officials say, not only at athletic events but in the university community as well.

The process for getting a mascot began during the 2011-12 academic year after the student body expressed interest. A mascot-development committee was formed, and CU Denver students, alumni, faculty and staff were given several opportunities via online and in-person surveys, focus groups and informal interviews to provide input on the mascot type, personality, name and visual identity.

While the CU Anschutz Medical Campus was involved in the selection process, Milo will represent only CU Denver. Milo now joins the university system's mascot heritage, which features Chip and Ralphie at the CU-Boulder campus, and Clyde the mountain lion for CU-Colorado Springs.

Excerpt from:
Milo the Lynx becomes new mascot for University of Colorado Denver

Jenna Mullins, who graduated from Auburn University at the age of 20, is seen Thursday at her home in Hokes Bluff. Mullins was enrolled in high school and Gadsden State at the same time and graduated from both the same year.

Not many 20-year-olds have a college alumni license plate holder. Jenna Mullins does.

Jenna, a 2010 graduate of Hokes Bluff High School and Gadsden State Community College, graduated in December from Auburn University.

She graduated from high school and the two-year college the same year, thanks to the dual enrollment program.

Jenna always excelled in school and began taking dual enrollment classes in ninth grade after her mother, Susan a former instructor at the school learned about it through a co-worker whose child, in school in another county, was doing dual enrollment.

She enjoyed school. I enjoyed the challenge, she said.

She was taking regular classes at Hokes Bluff. Instead of a taking an elective that had little impact, she decided to take the college classes. The school officials approved her request, and she began.

Jenna was taking some college courses before she could even drive. Her older brother, Matt, would take her there.

She also worked before she could drive, spending one summer at the Hokes Bluff ball fields, managing the concession stand.

It was the beginning of Jenna's senior year in high school when she first realized she had enough college credits to possibly graduate from community college at the same time as high school.

Original post:
Woman graduates Auburn at 20 thanks to dual enrollment

(Photo by: Raychel Johnson) President Wight learns about Scott Nagaos undergraduate research project on frog skin disease.

On Thursday morning at Capitol Hill, purple Wildcat ice cream was given to members of the Utah Legislature by Weber State University alumni groups and undergraduate students presenting research projects.

The WSU Day at the Capitol underwent its 10thyear with 21 different undergraduate research posters and 19 projects. Many students were at the Capitol presenting for their first time. WSU President Charles Wight, also a first-timer, went around to each research poster to learn more. He said the variety of subjects represented was incredible and that most of the students at the event are finishing up and going on to medical school or graduate school.

Oh, its amazing, said Wight, surrounded by a sea of purple ties and jackets worn by WSU alumni supporters and students. It really shows what Weber State students can accomplish as part of their undergraduate education.

The emeritus alumni have been part of the WSU Day at the Capitol since its beginning. In previous years, they would journey up to the Capitol to speak with Utah lawmakers and remind the legislature about WSU issues. Now, for the fourth year in a row, the alumni group has invited undergraduate students to present their research projects in the rotunda of the Capitol building and hopefully gain the attention of the Utah legislative body.

Wight met with the emeritus alumni last night to discuss where WSU sits on the legislative agenda and what messages to give to legislatures in order to support WSU in the 2013 legislative session.

I think we have great support from our local legislatures, and a lot of them are in leadership positions, Wight said. There is a lot of uncertainty now about not only the state budget, but the federal budget, and so its hard to be really predictive about whats going to happen as the final outcome, but I know we have great support.

The planning class in the geography department assisted students with their undergraduate research project. Brad McIlrath, a WSU student, helped with the project titled Ogden WSU Intermodal Hub Site Plan. The project highlighted a new plan for a WSU center in downtown Ogden where there will be a testing center and dorm-style housing. The project also highlighted a new bus route or streetcar that would travel from WSUs Ogden campus to downtown.

Although a lack of funding prevents this plan from actually occurring, McIlrath said that, as economic development increases, public transit and mass transit becomes extremely important. He also said presenting the project would help him prepare for a job in the future.

Its going to be valuable in that aspect, and I think its going to be even more valuable in trying to help Ogden City revitalize its downtown area, McIlrath said. This is what Weber State is doing, and this is applicable to real life.

Read this article:
Undergrad presentations seek legislative attention

Interview by John A. Byrne

(Poets&Quants) -- If Columbia Business School Dean Glenn Hubbard were to advise his McKinsey-bound son on where to get his MBA, Hubbard says there are only four or five programs that he would recommend. He declines to mention the schools by name, but you can rest assured that Columbia would be on the list along with Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton. That leaves a lot of very good schools off the list.

Hubbard, dean of Columbia's business school since July 2004, is an economist by training. He joined Columbia in 1988, after beginning his teaching career at Northwestern. He was chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President George Bush and a top economic advisor to Mitt Romney during his recent presidential campaign.

In a wide-ranging interview with Poets&Quants, Hubbard discusses, among other things, the anxiety in MBA programs, whether Warren Buffett will become a donor, and Columbia's MBA application plunge last year, vastly exceeding downturns at other elite business schools.

Last year, applications to Columbia's MBA program fell by 19%, more than at any other top business school. How are things looking this year?

We are fortunate that our applications are up 9% year-over-year. What was weird about our drop is that it came along all at once. I told the faculty I felt like Wile E. Coyote, where he ran off the cliff and didn't know it yet. We had a couple of years where applications had plateaued and then all of a sudden crashed. But fortunately we are back up.

Your decline was generally attributed to Wall Street's troubles and the fact that Columbia's fortunes are so closely tied to Wall Street. Agree?

Wharton had a similar pattern. And if you were to do a trend line, we are both on that line. Harvard is above it. Harvard is the one school at the top where if you did a trend line pre-crisis and looked at applications, it's above it.

Do you think the decline is related to the belief that the value of the MBA degree has declined?

No. I think the value of the degree is still very high if you can go to a good school. If you go to any top business school, you will gain a skill set and mindset to make you a very good business leader. If you have in mind only an analytical job track, you might want to question the ROI. I think it's really hard to defend, at least in money terms, the value of an MBA beyond the top business schools.

See the original post:
Columbia B-school's Glenn Hubbard: Is an MBA worth it?