Bloomberg BusinessWeek has ranked The University of Toledo in the top 100 best undergraduate business schools of 2016.

The UT College of Business and Innovation ranked No. 96.  That is up 31 spots from its place in Bloomberg’s previous ranking of undergraduate business programs in 2014.

Bloomberg, a global business and financial information and news leader which has been ranking undergraduate business programs for ten years, updated its process this year by placing greater emphasis on jobs and removing data that does not directly relate to career preparation.

“Our tremendous success in securing jobs for our students — as high as 93 percent as of May 2015 graduates — through the work of our outstanding Business Career Programs Office obviously played a key part in producing great survey results for the Bloomberg study,” Terribeth Gordon-Moore, senior associate dean of the college, said.  “All of us in the College of Business and Innovation are very excited at this national recognition by Bloomberg of the quality and relevance of our programs. This further validates the quality of our faculty, the significance of our curriculum and the excellence of our students.”

Bloomberg surveyed more than 27,000 students from the 2016 graduating class at the 114 ranked schools and recruiters at nearly 600 companies.  It based its rankings on four main metrics:

• Employer Survey (40 percent of total score): Feedback from recruiters who hire recent business graduates on how well schools prepared students for jobs at their companies.

• Student Survey (35 percent): Students’ own ratings of the campus, career services department, and faculty and administrators.

• Starting Salary (15 percent): The base compensation of students who had jobs lined up, adjusted for salary variation across industries and regions.

• Internship (10 percent): The percentage of a school’s graduates who had at least one internship at any time during college.

Bloomberg provides these rankings to help guide prospective college students and their families through the process of choosing the right degree program for the career they want.

Media Coverage
13 ABC (April 25, 2016)

The University of Toledo’s College of Business and Innovation is again partnering with United Parcel Service and the U.S. Commercial Service to provide area small- and medium-sized businesses access to experts who will help their companies enter new markets through the Export Success program.

Beginning in April, Export Success participants meet monthly for nine months in specialized sessions covering relevant topics based on an understanding of current members’ needs. The program then helps companies develop plans to improve their business’ supply chain, identify talent, understand export financing and develop market entry strategies.

“Businesses today function on an international platform,” Dr. Gary Insch, dean of the College of Business and Innovation, said. “Facilitating existing or new exporters to enter foreign markets benefits all of northwest Ohio.

“Companies often recognize that expanding to international markets is something they should do. We make it easier for them to do this because we have the experts who will show them how to proceed. Furthermore, we provide them with all the criteria for success, whether they have a manufactured product or intellectual property.”

“Export Success not only assists companies that are planning to conduct international business, but it also works with businesses already doing business globally who are looking for ways to expand their international presence,” noted Debbe Skutch, director of the UT Center for Family and Privately Held Business, and Export Success program coordinator. “Furthermore, Export Success not only provides information, but actually matches local manufacturing companies with foreign markets.”

Chad Gottschalk of the Bionix Development Corp., said “Export Success provided a great learning experience and fantastic networking opportunities for myself and other members within our organization. It is always great to be a part of something where different members of a community bring collective thinking to the table. Every session provided a wealth of knowledge that helped me bring new ideas back to the office and apply them to my day-to-day activities.”

Export Success participants also have access to the International Trade Assistance Center, which provides free export assistance services to small- and medium-sized businesses. Services include market research; an examination of culture, finances and resources to make sure they are ready to export; locating sources of funding, such as a loan or grant; export compliance education; cultural and language assistance; export documentation; and logistics.

Other features and benefits of Export Success include access to ancillary educational programs offered by the UT College of Business and Innovation — such as the Schmidt School of Professional Sales and the Center for Family and Privately Held Business — and site visits to area companies that already have achieved a level of success in global entrepreneurship.

A limited number of grant and funding opportunities are available. For more information and to download a registration form, visit utoledo.edu/business/exportsuccess or call the UT Center for Family and Privately Held Business at 419.530.2068.

Real Leadership in the 21st Century is the theme of the 2016 KeyBank Global Leaders Forum, which will be presented by The University of Toledo College of Business and Innovation in two weeks on Thursday, March 17 in Savage Arena on Main Campus.

The morning-long program is free, but seating is limited and registration is required.

The keynote speaker will be global engagement authority Jim Haudan, CEO of Root Inc., which is located in Sylvania, Ohio and has been recognized nationally as a Great Place to Work. He will discuss “The Power of Engagement.” Haudan also is the author of the best-selling book, The Art of Engagement: Bridging the Gap Between People and Possibilities.

Also presenting at the event will be Jim Hoffman, president of KeyBank; Dr. Sharon L. Gaber, president of The University of Toledo; Dr. Clint Longenecker, UT Stranahan Distinguished University Professor and director of the Center for Leadership and Organization Excellence; and Marc Lautenbach, president and CEO of Pitney Bowes Inc.

“The KeyBank Global Leaders Forum provides a wonderful opportunity for our regional business owners and leaders to hear from difference-making leaders such as Jim Haudan, Marc Lautenbach, Dr. Longenecker and President Gaber,” Hoffman said. “It is part of our vision at KeyBank to help our community, and our businesses, thrive.”

“The University of Toledo College of Business and Innovation is extremely pleased to again partner with KeyBank to present another Global Leaders Forum,” said Dr. Gary Insch, dean of the College of Business and Innovation. “Holding the event in UT’s Savage Arena assures that hundreds of area professionals, as well as many UT students, will have an outstanding opportunity to learn, network and benefit from the presentations and discussions at this unique event.”

“As leaders are attempting to deal with the challenges of this turbulent economic environment, this event is a great way to discover new ideas for becoming a better leader and creating competitive advantage with people,” Longenecker said. “We invite them to come, be ready to learn, and be in a better position to make 2016 a great year.”

In 2008, KeyBank and the College of Business and Innovation presented the first Global Leaders Forum, which featured John Snow, former secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department, and the second event in 2013.

The Global Leadership Forum was created to provide an environment for regional business leaders to talk about contemporary issues, discuss cutting-edge leadership practices, and explore trends.

Convenient parking is available, and a continental breakfast will be served.

To register for this free forum, go to utoledo.edu/business/keybankforum.

Media Coverage
The Blade (March 4, 2016)
The Blade (March 18, 2016)

Professional sales students from more than 30 universities across the United States will visit The University of Toledo College of Business and Innovation this weekend to compete in the inaugural University of Toledo Invitational Sales Competition.

The sales competition will take place Friday and Saturday, Feb. 26 and 27, in classrooms and meeting rooms throughout the Savage & Associates Business Complex on the UT Main Campus.

The first rounds of the competition will take place from 9:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Friday, followed by the second round from 1:45 to 3 p.m. and quarterfinals will be from 4 to 5:40 p.m. The competition will conclude Saturday with the semifinals from 8:30 to 9:20 a.m. followed by the finals from 10:15 a.m. to 12:20 p.m.

The winners of the competition will be recognized at an awards luncheon at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Student Union Auditorium.

“The Edward Schmidt School of Professional Sales is widely recognized as one of the top educational sales programs in the nation, and we regularly send teams to other universities to participate in major sales competitions,” said Deirdre Jones, director of the Edward Schmidt School of Professional Sales. “Most sales competitions are intended for senior sales students, so we decided to establish a unique competition for freshmen, sophomore and junior sales students. This allows the students to practice and sharpen their sales skills earlier in their sales studies while also allowing employers to be the first to interact with the developing sales professionals of tomorrow.”

The event also will feature a career fair for participating students from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and from 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday in the Student Union Ingman Room.

“We are extremely pleased by the participation of so many respected sales schools from universities such as Missouri, Florida State, Purdue, Tuskegee, Oregon State, Wisconsin, Georgia State and more,” Jones said. “Furthermore, we are excited that major companies such as our product sponsor 3M, our rocket sponsor Quicken Loans, and other major companies including Goodyear, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Reynolds & Reynolds will be interacting with these students in role plays, as coaches, at our career fair and more.”

Marathon, Owens-Illinois, Dana Holding Corporation, Coca-Cola, ProMedica and Owens Corning are among the 110 businesses who will participate in The University of Toledo College of Business and Innovation spring job fair from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12 in the UT Student Union.

450 UT business students are expected to attend in search of internships and full-time employment.

More than 85 percent of UT College of Business and Innovation students participate in internships.  The job placement rate for Spring 2015 graduates was a record 88 percent.

“Once again we are excited and happy for our students that so many well-known companies are coming to the UT College of Business and Innovation to find the talent they need,” Dr. Terribeth Gordon-Moore, the college’s senior associate dean, said. “This reflects very positively on the quality of both our programs and our students. It also demonstrates the extremely dynamic and mutually beneficial relationship enjoyed by the college and recruiters for major national companies.”

Employers are looking for undergraduate students to participate in business internships and their leadership development programs, as well as for seniors and graduates seeking full-time employment, Gordon-Moore said, adding that freshmen students also are encouraged to attend the job fair to engage these company representatives and begin a relationship with these employers.

“This semi-annual job fair is part of what we do to prepare our students for their futures,” Gordon-Moore said, adding that the college’s Business Career Programs office works year-round to assist students in acquiring internships and jobs upon graduation.  “We strive to provide the necessary resources so our students can conduct their own tailored job searches.”

Media Coverage
The Blade (Feb. 12, 2016)

Christi Paul, anchor of CNN New Day Weekends and HLN’s Daily Share, will address graduates at The University of Toledo’s fall commencement 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 19 in Savage Arena.

The UT graduate and Bellevue-native, who also will receive an honorary degree during the ceremony, will address more than 2,000 candidates for degrees, including 138 doctoral candidates, 556 master’s candidates and 1,372 bachelor’s candidates.

This marks the first University of Toledo commencement for President Sharon L. Gaber.

Christi Paul

“From her time at UT to her successful career at CNN, Christi Paul has devoted her life to thoughtful curiosity, learning, and helping others with the power of information,” Gaber said. “She has been at the forefront of many major news stories of our time. The award-winning journalist and advocate for women and children is an inspiring voice who will offer a passionate message to our graduates and guests.”

The national journalist graduated from UT in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication degree with a focus on broadcast journalism.

“I’m humbled and honored to give the commencement speech and so grateful to UT, the professors who helped me grow, the staff who guided me to solid internships, and the friends I made along the way,” Paul said. “I will always credit UT for giving me my springboard into the journalism arena.”

Paul has covered many high-profile events throughout her distinguished career, including President Barack Obama’s second inauguration, Hurricane Sandy, and the Casey Anthony murder trial. She was in the anchor chair walking heartbroken viewers through the early hours of the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School and Virginia Tech.

Prior to joining CNN and HLN in 2003, Paul worked as an anchor and reporter in Phoenix, Ariz., and Boise, Idaho. The Idaho Press Club honored Paul for her series about a brave four-year-old girl who underwent a five-organ transplant. Paul began her career at WDTV in Clarksburg, W.Va.

The wife and mother of three also is passionate about helping children. Along with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Paul is co-founder of the “Find Our Children” series that airs on HLN. Viewers have helped bring home 35 missing kids as a result of the news profile segments. The center honored Paul in 2012 with its prestigious Hope Award for her efforts to make the world a safer place for children.

Paul serves on the National Advisory Council for the One Love Foundation, which works with teens to help end dating violence. Paul also serves on the Advisory Board for When Georgia Smiled that helps victims of domestic violence and sexual assault find healing, safety and joy.

UT recognized Paul in 2006 as an Outstanding Alumna of the former College of Arts and Sciences.

The fall commencement ceremony will recognize graduates from the Colleges of Adult and Lifelong Learning, Business and Innovation, Communication and the Arts, Judith Herb College of Education, Health Sciences, Languages, Literature and Social Sciences, Medicine and Life Sciences; Natural Sciences and Mathematics; Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; and Social Justice and Human Service.

Other college specific commencement ceremonies taking place are:

• College of Engineering: graduate commencement 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17; undergraduate commencement 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19. Both ceremonies will be held in Nitschke Auditorium.

• College of Nursing: 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18 in Nitschke Auditorium.

For more information, visit utoledo.edu/commencement.

Media Coverage
The Blade (Dec. 19, 2015)
The Blade (Dec. 20, 2015)

Two University of Toledo colleges have been named among the nation’s best by The Princeton Review.

The UT College of Law is listed in The Best 173 Law Schools and the UT College of Business and Innovation is listed in The Best 295 Business Schools.

“At the UT College of Law, we provide legal education on a personal scale,” said D. Benjamin Barros, dean of the College of Law. “Our goal is student success, and our faculty take the time to get to know their students. No one is just a number here.”

“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,” said Dr. Gary Insch, dean of the College of Business and Innovation. “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 UT College of Law had the top ranking on accessibility of professors (92) among Ohio’s nine law schools and The Princeton Review editors wrote, “Students speak overwhelmingly of the school’s obvious care and concern for their future.”

The UT College of Business and Innovation’s MBA program was praised as “one of the best in the Midwest” in the Princeton Review report, which stated “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.”

As CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, Travis T. Tygart was involved in one of the most high-profile cases when he and his agency took on seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.

Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m. in The University of Toledo’s Doermann Theater, hear Tygart talk about that case and more at the Edwin Dodd Distinguished Lecture Series in Business Ethics.

The lecture, named for former Owens-Illinois chairman Edwin Dodd, seeks to start a conversation about ethics while bringing together the fields of business and law.

Tygart

“The case is interesting and well-known,” said Dr. Gary S. Insch, dean of the College of Business and Innovation. “It crosses the boundaries of both areas; there is the obvious legal aspect to this, but Lance Armstrong used his name to create a business. Certainly there are business ethics questions associated with this.”

Tygart was chosen to speak at this lecture not only because of this particular case, but because of the background he has that bridges the gap between business and law. Though he received his JD from Southern Methodist University in 1999, he pursued a different path than most lawyers.

“From our perspective, it’s great to have speakers on campus who went to law school and then ended up doing something different with their lives,” said Geoffrey Rapp, UT associate dean for academic affairs in the College of law and the Harold A. Anderson Professor of Law and Values. “He has legal education but branched into a direction that a lot of people might not think is available if you go to get a JD. It’s nice for our students to get to see the diverse things someone can do after they go to law school.”

Under Tygart’s leadership, USADA’s efforts to protect clean athletes have included cooperating with federal authorities on numerous investigations such as the international steroid bust, Operation Raw deal, and the international doping conspiracy involving the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative in San Francisco.

Tygart also has been recognized by Sports Illustrated as one of the 50 most powerful people in sports; named to Time magazine’s 100 list of most influential people in the world for 2013; named one of the top 12 world sports personalities of the year by Sport Intern; selected as one of the world’s most influential sports personalities by Inside Sport; and was one of the Colorado lawyers of the year named by Colorado Law Weekly.

At 1 p.m. the day of the lecture, law students are invited to have “A Conversation With Travis Tygart,” moderated by Rapp and Benjamin G. Davis, UT associate professor of law. Held in the Law Center McQuade Law Auditorium, the event will offer an opportunity for students to ask Tygart questions and have a more personal conversation.

The free, public event later in the evening is geared toward students, but open to anyone who wishes to attend. Order free tickets at utoledo.edu/honorslecture.

This lecture is co-hosted by the College of Business and Innovation and the College of Law, and sponsored by Dana Holding Corp. and Owens-Illinois Inc.

Media Coverage
The Blade (Nov. 3, 2015)
The Blade (Nov. 5, 2015)

About 400 University of Toledo College of Business and Innovation students will participate in the college’s annual autumn job fair on Friday, Oct. 2 from 1 to 4 p.m. in the UT Student Union. 120 companies — including Medical Mutual of Ohio, the Cleveland Indians, Quicken Loans, Owens-Corning, O-I, Dana, ProMedica and 3M — will participate.

“Once again we are excited and happy for our students that so many well-known companies are coming to the UT College of Business and Innovation to find the talent they need,” said Dr. Terribeth Gordon-Moore, the college’s senior associate dean. “This reflects very positively on the quality of both our programs and our students. It also demonstrates the extremely dynamic and mutually beneficial relationship enjoyed by college and recruiters for major national companies such as Marathon, Goodyear, Enterprise, Coca-Cola and Ernst & Young.”

Employers are looking for undergraduate students to participate in business internships and their leadership development programs, as well as for seniors and graduates seeking full-time employment, Gordon-Moore said, adding that freshmen students also are encouraged to attend the job fair to engage these company representatives and begin a relationship with these employers.

“This semi-annual job fair is part of what we do to prepare our students for their futures,” said Gordon-Moore, adding that the college’s Business Career Programs office works year-round to assist students in acquiring internships and jobs upon graduation. “We strive to provide the necessary resources so our students can conduct their own tailored job searches.”

More than 85 percent of UT College of Business and Innovation students participate in internships, and the job placement rate for Spring, 2015 graduates was a record 88 percent.