SPRING 2006
VOL. 7 NO. 2

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Connections

■ Following Dreams After Fleeing Liberia ■ 60 Seconds With... ■ Atrium Named ■ Making Memories ■ Events etc

Frederick Alumni Networking Event
March 16, 2006, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Holiday Inn, Holidome & Conference Center, Frederick
Join Smith alumni in the Frederick region for the inaugural event of this alumni chapter. Smith professor Larry Gordon, co-author with Martin Loeb of Managing Cyber-Security Resources: A Cost-Benefit Analysis, will provide the group with useful tips to help managers understand how to use cyber-security resources more effectively.

Alumni Association Awards Gala
April 8, 2006, 7:00 p.m.
Riggs Alumni Center
The alumni association will celebrate its shining stars at the Annual Awards Gala at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center. This event recognizes alumni association award recipients and college/school distinguished alumni, including the Smith School’s Robert Johnson.

CFO Alumni Networking Event
April 11, 2006, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Van Munching Hall
Dave Goldfarb ’79, chief administrative officer and executive vice president with Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Lehman Brothers, will discuss time management and the unhealthy work habits that have become a pattern for many business people.

Northern Virginia Alumni Networking Event
April 18, 2006, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
The Ritz Carlton; Tysons Corner, VA
Join Dean Frank and fellow alumni to hear Ken Rehmann ’84, vice president of finance and business development for Ritz Carlton, share details of Ritz Carlton’s branding strategy and the company’s philosophy for achieving excellence in customer service with the audience

Joseph M. Wikler Finance Case Competition
April 27, 2006, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Van Munching Hall
Undergraduate students to showcase their abilities while simulating roles in the financial management profession.

Maryland Day
April 29, 2006, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
McKeldin Mall
Join your fellow Terps for a day of fun and celebration. Be sure to stop by our booth on McKeldin Mall for some great Smith stuff!

Smith Undergraduate Awards Banquet
May 4, 2006, 6:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Riggs Alumni Center
Milton Matthews ’68 will host this celebration of the achievements and accomplishments of our undergraduate students.

Alumni Mentor Program & Awards Picnic
May 6, 2006, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Van Munching Hall – Frank Auditorium & Thomas G. Pownall Atrium
The Alumni Mentor Program closes out the year by acknowledging the Senior Mentor of the Year, Young Mentor of the Year, Cluster of the Year and Coordinator of the Year. Dean Frank will speak.

Smith School Commencement
May 22, 2006, 4:00 p.m.
UMD - Comcast Center; 1,000 graduates
Carly Fiorina, MBA ’80 former chairman and chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard, will be the keynote speaker at the spring commencement ceremony.

Watching the Terps men’s basketball team take on Virginia Tech from a luxury suite in Comcast Center – with Testudo – might be something that you dream about if you’re a big fan of Maryland sports. Luckily, that was the case for the winner of a contest held on the new Smith eAlumni Network.

Denny Goforth ’98, vice president of UBS Financial Services, Inc., was the fortunate winner of the Smith School’s suite in Comcast Center for the Maryland-Va. Tech game on January 21. All Smith School alumni who updated their profiles on the Smith eAlumni Network last year were put into the drawing, which included tickets for 16 people in the luxury suite, UM goodie bags and a buffet of stadium fare.

“I was stunned! I don’t normally enter contests and certainly don’t normally win,” said Goforth, who brought his wife and twin toddlers to the game with him, along with 12 UM alumni friends. “It was difficult for me to believe. After that feeling quickly wore off, I was excited and quickly started making a mental list of who I could invite.”

Dean Howard Frank welcomed Goforth, his family, and friends to the suite, and Testudo stopped by to celebrate right before halftime. This was the first trip to a basketball game for Goforth’s twins (Benjamin and Emily), though the family regularly attends UM sporting events. “They quickly ran to the front of the suite and were mesmerized by the basketball court and all the excitement,” says Goforth. “Meeting and high-fiving Testudo was probably the highlight for both of them.”

Goforth says, “It was a great experience – for me, for my family and for my friends. Being able to watch the game from the luxury of a suite was wonderful. Being together with my friends and family was even better. Best of all, we won the game!”

To update your information and reconnect with old friends, log on to the Smith eAlumni Network at: http://www.alumninetwork.rhsmith.umd.edu.

The Smith School welcomes
eleven new members
to the Board of Visitors.

Lee Becker ’85, director, Boomer Esiason Foundation

Rita Carton, MBA ’79, vice president, operations management, Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Joe Chow, MBA ’93, chief financial officer, Harbour Networks

Mike Corvino, president, JanSport

Steve Finney, MBA ’83, senior vice president, Disney Retail

Terry Fitzpatrick ’75, senior vice president, SAIC

Robert Isaman ’85, vice president of integration, United Technologies Corp-Fire & Safety

Mark Ordan, chief executive officer, Balducci’s

Richard Schaeffer ’74, executive director, Global Energy Futures and vice chair, New York Mercantile Exchange

Ed Stein ’81, principal, Sandler O’Neill & Partners

David Trone ’88, MBA ’95, senior vice president and senior analyst, Fox-Pitt, Kelton

This summer, construction will begin on a new annex which will add 38,000 square feet of office and classroom space to the north end of Van Munching Hall, the Smith School’s home. Groundbreaking is slated for summer 2006 and completion in October 2007. The new annex will bring the building to 238,000 square feet.

As the school has grown, the need for additional space has become acute. The PhD program has experienced tremendous growth and now has 110 students, creating a need for more offices. There isn't enough classroom space, so 13 percent of the school's undergraduate courses meet in the Tawes Building. The new annex will not only solve these problems, it will create an improved learning experience for all Smith students.

“The Smith School already boasts one of the most technologically advanced facilities directed at management education in the world,” says Dean Howard Frank. “We will set the bar a notch higher with newly designed classrooms, research space, conference and student resource areas – all of which will be equipped with next-generation technology infrastructure.”

The annex will include an entrance plaza and attractive green space. The annex will be Van Munching Hall’s second expansion since 1993, when the original facility was constructed. In 2002, a new, 103,000 square foot wing was added, more than doubling the size of the building.

The original portion of the building was given a significant renovation this winter. Cosmetic changes include new paint, new carpet and improved lighting. More significant are the technology upgrades, which include installation of the latest connectivity, cabling and audio-visual equipment linked to a master control center providing central control and projection of all classroom images. Van Munching Hall’s advanced technology infrastructure includes complete wireless network coverage, four student computer labs, and five netcentric teaching and research labs.

The main entrance of Van Munching Hall has also gotten a facelift, as the blacktop parking lot has been replaced by an expanse of lawn, paths, and 41 young and mature trees. The mature trees—two sugar maples and a London plane tree—were a gift from a Smith alumnus, and give the area an established, park-like feel.

» See more photos.