School News

Gift Establishes John M. Bendheim Loan Forgiveness Fund for Public Service
Wharton recently announced the creation of the John M. Bendheim Loan Forgiveness Fund for Public Service, designed to encourage Wharton MBA graduates to pursue careers in the public and not-for-profit sectors. Awards from the fund will be used to help cover the cost of the MBA graduates' educational debt obligations. A $2.5 million grant from the Leon Lowenstein Foundation established the fund. John M. Bendheim, W'40, and his son, Thomas L. Bendheim, WG'90, G'90, are directors of the Leon Lowenstein Foundation. read news release
Wharton Welcomes Students Displaced by Hurricane Katrina
Wharton recently welcomed 18 undergraduate and 12 graduate students who were impacted by Hurricane Katrina. After the hurricane, Penn announced that it would offer academically qualified Philadelphia-area students enrolled at colleges and universities in hurricane-stricken areas the opportunity to take fall semester classes at Penn. Wharton students have been active fundraisers for victims of the storm. The undergraduate Wharton Council ordered 5000 bracelets in Mardi Gras colors with the words "The Big Easy" to sell on Locust Walk and at all undergraduate benefit events. Wharton alumni clubs are also responding to the Hurricane Katrina crisis. Most notably, the Wharton Club of Houston, spearheaded by president emeritus Jonathan H. Lack, WG'91, is reaching out to help displaced Wharton alumni find jobs in Houston. visit Wharton Club of Houston website; visit Wharton website

Wharton Launches Three New Learning Simulations
With the introduction of new learning simulations in management, economics, and operations and information management, Wharton is engaging students with real-world exercises that provide hands-on experience in macroeconomic policy development, salary allocation, and production line optimization. The launch of these new offerings brings to 23 the total of simulations developed and deployed by the Learning Lab, which was founded in 2001 through a $10-million gift from alumnus Alfred West Jr., WG'66. read news release

Wharton to Hold 37th Annual Seminars for Business Journalists
From Oct. 16-20, Wharton will host reporters from around the world for the annual Seminars for Business Journalists. Now in its 37th year, the program includes intensive lectures and hands-on exercises to help participants gain a better understanding of key business and economic issues. This year's participants represent publications such as The Economist, Time, The Los Angeles Times, The Economic Times (India), Newsday, and The Vietnam News. visit Seminar website
New Students Hail From Around the Country and World
Wharton recently matriculated 519 undergraduate students. That is the combined total for the single degree program, Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business, Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, and Nursing Health Care Management program. The Wharton undergraduate students were selected from a pool of 4,201 applications. They hail from 48 U.S. states and 43 countries from around the globe. Nearly 40 percent are female. The traditional Wharton MBA Program recently welcomed its Class of 2007. The incoming class of 795 students is a highly talented and diverse group, representing a record-breaking number of 63 countries. Forty-three percent of the class is international and 32 percent are female.
Undergraduate Division Sponsors First Sophomore Reorientation
The Wharton Undergraduate Division held the first-ever "Sophomore Reorientation," an innovative, spirited initiative aimed at helping Wharton sophomores prepare for the year ahead. Sessions were held on topics such as "The Wharton Curve: Debunking the Myths," "The Roads to Research," and "Introduction to Career Services."
MBA Admissions to Host More Than 70 Events in 40 Countries
MBA Admissions will hold more than 70 receptions in 40 countries for individuals interested in learning more about an MBA or applying to an MBA program. This year's receptions are the first for Thomas Caleel, Wharton's new director of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid. Receptions will be held around the world in cities such as Accra, Beijing, Beirut, Dubai, Frankfort, Lagos, London, Moscow, Mumbai, Nairobi, Paris, Seoul, and Tokyo. read more
Wharton School Publishing to Hold Audio Conference
On Nov. 10, Wharton School Publishing will hold a Soundview Audio conference with author Jon Huntsman, W'59 on his book Winners Never Cheat. The interactive audio conference will offer practical steps on how to listen to your moral compass, build teams with moral conviction, and earn the rewards that only come with giving back. Wharton faculty and staff are offered a special price to participate. Register at Soundview Audio Conferences
In other news from Wharton School Publishing, Harvard Business School professor Michael Roberto recently published a book entitled Why Great Leaders Don't Take Yes For An Answer: Managing For Conflict and Consensus, which offers readers insights into managing teams, mitigating risk, and promoting ethics through effective governance.
Wharton faculty and staff can take advantage of expanded benefits, including discounts and free shipping. Those who register to become a member of Whartonsp.com can get free access to audio summaries and author interviews and a range of interesting and valuable member only content. Visit http://www.whartonsp.com/facstaff to register and access benefits. All WSP books also are available at the Penn Bookstore.
Wharton MBAExec Students Visit President and Business Leaders in India
Students in the MBA for Executives Program at Wharton West recently traveled to India to meet with key business and government leaders as part of an ongoing effort to learn more about the country's growing influence in the international marketplace. During their visit, they met with the president of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who gave an overview of India's Mission 2020 to make the country a developed nation. The international trip, part of the Wharton curriculum, provides an opportunity for both students and international industry and government leaders to learn from each other about forward-looking business trends in the region. read new release; read more about visit with the President of India

Heard on Campus
A number of executives came to Wharton in September to discuss business and leadership. Speakers included:

Sept. 13 — Jim Donald, president, CEO and director of Starbucks
Sept. 13 — Farhad Mohit, WG'96, chief products officer, chairman and founder of Shopzilla
Sept. 20 — Peter Thomas Roth, W'79, CEO of Peter Thomas Roth Labs
Sept. 27 — Tracey Weber, WG'95, senior vice president of air, car and last minute deals at Travelocity
Sept. 27 — Aditya Mittal, W'96, president and group CFO of Mittal Steel
Sept. 29 — Edward D. Breen, chairman and CEO of Tyco International

Joint Team Wins INSEAD Business Plan Competition
A team of Wharton MBA students and an INSEAD student recently won the INSEAD Business Plan Competition. The business plan was for VivaTech Imaging, which is focused on developing a new imaging technology for breast cancer detection that is safer, more accurate, simpler to use, and less painful than existing technologies. The Wharton students included: Nikhil Lalwani, WG'05, Dr. Alexander Schuth, WG'05, Anya Schiess, WG'05, and Dr. Sanjiv Talwar, WG'05.

Around the World on $48 (or So): How High Can Discount Airlines Fly?
As two more major airlines, Delta and Northwest, file for bankruptcy protection, it's the discount carriers that appear to be winning the battle for America's skies. Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, AirTran and other low-fare carriers are poised to capture even more market share at the expense of troubled legacy carriers. read more

A Month after Katrina: Lessons from Leadership Failures
Hurricane Katrina not only devastated the city of New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast of the U.S., it initiated a bitter debate about the leadership -- or lack thereof -- exhibited by government officials before, during and after the storm. read more

The 'Masculine' and 'Feminine' Sides of Leadership and Culture: Perception vs. Reality
Workers' general notions about the effectiveness of male and female managers can be as important as their actual leadership abilities or business results, according to a session on gender and leadership at a recent Wharton Executive Education program entitled, “Women in Leadership: Legacies, Opportunities and Challenges.” read more

San Francisco Chronicle
September 20, 2005 — Todd Sinai, associate professor of real estate, was featured in an article titled, "Bubble Won't Burst: Study Finds Bay Area Housing Prices in Line with Economic Growth," about his research on housing prices. Sinai also coauthored an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal and has been interviewed by outlets such as CNBC, Bloomberg Radio and Reuters. read article

The Wall Street Journal
September 19, 2005 — Mary Benner, assistant professor of management, was quoted in an article about management strategies involving quality improvement programs.

Financial Times
September 15, 2005 — Kent Smetters, associate professor of insurance and risk management, was quoted in an article about leadership management and its impact on financial statements.

The Wall Street Journal
September 12, 2005 — Kevin Werbach, assistant professor of legal studies and business ethics, was quoted in an article about new broadband products.

CNBC
September 9, 2005 — Jeremy Siegel, Russell E. Palmer Professor of Finance, was interviewed about the effect of gasoline prices on the economy.

BBC Radio
August 30, 2005 — Howard Kunreuther, Cecilia Yen Koo Professor; Professor of Decision Sciences and Business and Public Policy, was interviewed about the impact of Hurricane Katrina on risk insurance.

Dow Kim, WG'90, trader-in-chief in the New York office of Merrill Lynch, was featured in an article about his career. (Forbes Global, 9/19/05); Wendy Finerman, WG'82, was noted as the producer of Fox's 2000 The Devil Wears Prada. (FilmStew.com, 9/19/05); Steven Nichtberger, W'83, was featured in an article about his career as CEO of Tengion, a biotechnology company. (The Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/19/05); Frank Lavin, WG'95, currently U.S. Ambassador to Singapore, was featured in an article about his nomination by President Bush to be Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade. (States News, 9/15/05); Leo Kiley, WG'71, was featured in an article about his position as chairman of Molson Coors. (The Sunday Times, England), 9/11/05); Elliot Peters, W'89, was featured in an article about his appointment as senior counsel and head of digital legal affairs at Warner Music Group. (Billboard.biz, 8/29/05).

Finance Conference
(October 14)

Marketing Conference
(October 28)

Wharton Leadership Lecture
Rob Henrikson, President, COO, Chairman & CEO-Elect, MetLife
(November 3)

Wharton Women in Business Conference
(November 4)

World Negotiations Forum
(November 8-9)

Highlight: Attend the Wharton-Sponsored World Negotiations Forum in New York City on Nov. 8 and 9. Speakers include: Professor Richard Shell, Madeleine Albright, and Robert Cialdini. To register, call 866.711.4476 and mention 'Wharton pricing' or register at http://www.hsm-us.com/wnf and enter code NNY/E1/WM/05. The special pricing is time sensitive.