School News

Julie and Ken Moelis Give $5 Million to Wharton Sports Business Initiative
Alumni Julie Taffet Moelis and Kenneth D. Moelis made a $5-million gift to support the Wharton Sports Business Initiative (WSBI). Led by Professor Kenneth Shropshire, the WSBI generates and disseminates knowledge about the sports industry through educational programs, strategic corporate partnerships, high-level student consulting assignments, global outreach and research. read news release

WCIT Creates Web Site Highlighting Wharton Technology
The new Technology at Wharton Web site features the School's award-winning technology initiatives and related information about the Alfred P. West, Jr. Learning Lab, Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS), the SPIKE student intranet, and the Wharton Lectern, a custom-designed podium so successful it is marketed to other educational institutions. visit website

Wharton Business Plan Competition Chooses 25 Semi-Finalists
Congratulations to the 25 entrepreneurial teams selected to advance to the final round of the Wharton Business Plan Competition. With concepts including Solution for Body Organs in Transit, "On Demand" Pure Water, Hi-Tech Sock for Amputees; and Breast Enhancer Inserts, the semi-finalists will compete for up to $70,000 in prizes and the chance to present their business plan at the annual Venture Finals on April 30, 2008. read news release

UBS and Wharton Continue Career Comeback Partnership
For a second consecutive year, UBS and Wharton will partner to help women leaders transition back into the workforce. The executive education program, "UBS Career Comeback: A Fellowship Program for Professionals Re-entering the Workforce," will be offered in April 2008. read news release

NFL Players Enroll in Wharton Program
More than 30 NFL players attended a recent Wharton program to assist them in preparing for their post-playing careers. The program focused on a broad range of business topics, including financial analysis, entrepreneurship, real estate development, stock market investing, negotiation skills, risk management, and community reinvestment. read news release

Wharton Faculty Visit the World Economic Forum
In his plenary address at the World Economic Forum, Bill Gates offered his expanded version of corporate social responsibility, calling his new idea "creative capitalism." Listening to Gates' speech that day were Wharton professors Howard Kunreuther and Michael Useem, who joined more than 2,000 of the world's leading business and political figures at the 38th annual WEF meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 23-27, 2008. read feature

Wharton and World Bank Group Members Launch Housing Finance Information Network
IFC and IBRD, members of the World Bank Group, and Wharton launched a Web portal to provide a global source of information on housing finance. The Housing Finance Information Network Web portal will consolidate housing finance information and knowledge with an emphasis on emerging markets and developing countries. read more

Wharton Staff Win Penn Models of Excellence Awards
Knowledge@Wharton has won the Penn Models of Excellence Award for its technologically novel and highly effective online business journal. Beverley Coulson of Wharton Computing also has won the award for her part in the Security and Privacy Impact Assessment (SPIA) Early Adopters & Coordinating Team, which improved Penn's overall management of sensitive information by voluntarily applying and promoting to other Penn environments the new SPIA program. read more

Prof. Howard Pack Delivers the Henry and Bryna David Lecture
Speaking at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., Professor Howard Pack discussed "The Role of Technology Transfer in Economic Development: Asian Successes vs. Middle Eastern Failures." read more

Undergrads Place Second in Marshall Case Competition
Undergraduate seniors Puneet Singh, Daniel Francis, Daniel Shin, and Edan Yacobovsky placed second last month in the USC Marshall Case Competition. They were coached by Marketing Professor Keith Niedermeier. read more

Knowledge@Wharton

'Talent on Demand': Applying Supply Chain Management to People
Failing to manage your company's talent needs, says Wharton management professor Peter Cappelli, "is the equivalent of failing to manage your supply chain." read more

Victimizing the Borrowers: Predatory Lending's Role in the Subprime Mortgage Crisis
As fallout from the subprime lending crisis continues, a number of remedies have been proposed to deal with it. read more

The Economic Stimulus Package: Will It Work, and for Whom?
Congress and the White House recently settled on an economic stimulus package with unusual speed, pushing the throttle to pull the economy out of a nosedive. Is this just election-year grandstanding, or does economic stimulus really work? read more

Wharton School Publishing

Former Wharton Dean and Professor Russell E. Palmer Authors New Book
Ultimate Leadership: Winning Execution Strategies for Your Situation
To succeed, leaders must understand and apply the core principles of leadership -- but that's not enough. They need to shape their approach for any unique situation. Too many leaders don't know how to do that -- and that's why they fail. Ultimate Leadership shows how to adapt the principles of leadership to different challenges, contexts, and organizations. read more

Wharton faculty and staff can take advantage of expanded benefits, including discounts and free domestic shipping. Those who register to become a member can get free access to audio summaries, author interviews and other valuable member-only content. Visit www.whartonsp.com/facstaff to register and access benefits. All WSP books also are available at the Penn Bookstore.

For more, visit the Wharton School Publishing website.

Wharton in the News

Financial Times
January 28, 2008 — Dean Thomas Robertson authored an article about business schools aspiring to be forces for social good. read article

The Wall Street Journal
January 12, 2008 — Susan Wachter, Richard B. Worley Professor of Financial Management; professor of Real Estate, Finance and City and Regional Planning, was quoted in an article about Bank of America's purchase of Countrywide and what it may mean for the housing industry.

BusinessWeek Online
January 11, 2008 — Gary Gorton, Robert Morris Professor of Banking; professor of Finance, was quoted in an article about the impact of the current economy on the commodities market.

The Wall Street Journal
January 10, 2008 — Stephen Hoch, Patty and Jay H. Baker Professor; professor of Marketing; director, Jay H. Baker Retailing Initiative, was quoted in a story about upcoming retail sales figures and weekly jobless claims figures and their relation to consumers' economic health.

U.S. News & World Report
January 9, 2008 — Olivia Mitchell, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Professor; professor of Insurance and Risk Management and Business and Public Policy; executive director, Pension Research Council; director, Boettner Center for Pensions and Retirement Research, was quoted in an article regarding how working affects retirement benefits.

The Wall Street Journal
January 6, 2008 — Jeremy Siegel, Russell E. Palmer Professor of Finance, was interviewed for a story about the impact that baby boomer retirement may have on the stock market.

Alumni in the News

Lawrence Schloss, WG'78, chairman and CEO of the private equity firm Diamond Castle Holdings, was featured in an article about his recent appointment to the Board of Tulane. (Times-Picayune, 1/2/08); Jeff Kozloff, W'99, president and CEO of Verilogue, was featured in an article about his company's software that analyzes patient-physician interactions. (The Philadelphia Inquirer, 1/14/08); Alister Campbell, WG'92, was interviewed about Zurich Financial Services Group, an insurance-based financial services provider with a global network of subsidiaries. Campbell is chief agent and CEO for Zurich Insurance Company in Canada. (The Globe and Mail, 1/24/08); Michael Nutter, W'79, was featured in an article about his plans as Philadelphia's new mayor. (Forbes, 1/28/08); Christopher Olivia, WG'94, president and CEO of the Cooper Health System in southern New Jersey, was noted as the newly appointed president and CEO at West Penn Allegheny Health System. (Pharma Business Week, 1/28/08); Leslie Prescott, WG'94, was noted as director of retirement management solutions at FundQuest, a global provider of managed account investment solutions for financial institutions and advisors. (Money Management Executive, 1/28/08).

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