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MMA Network ONLINE CONNECTIONS
April 2003

In this Issue:
Alumni News
McCombs Business
Press Mentions


Alumni News

Reunion 2003: "In the Company of Friends"

The McCombs School welcomed the classes of 1978, 1993, and 1998 back to Austin this past weekend for Reunion 2003. The weekend was filled with local favorites such as Scholz's Beer Garten, Pease Park activities, as well as the latest B-school developments from the Dean, and a "Final Four" Watch Party. We hope it was a memorable weekend for everyone and a great chance to reconnect with good friends.



Alumni Coaches and the Art of Collaboration

This spring's Plus program module, The Art of Collaboration, brought nationally recognized communication expert Barbara Miller to an auditorium full of students to show them how to identify their own communication styles and work with other styles. First- year students then sharpened team-building and communication skills by working on various projects over the two week module. At the end of the module, business leaders and alumni were invited to take part in the “Executive Showcase”, where they served as coaches and observed the student presentations, read the executive summaries, and spent talking with each student team about the team’s work. Many thanks to those alumni who volunteered their time and expertise!
Get the full Plus story.


McCombs Matters

Beyond the Hedge: MBAs Explore One of Finance's Most Secretive Enclaves
An air of mystery tends to surround hedge funds. So perhaps it's not surprising that more than 150 students and finance professionals from across the country were willing to show up in Austin on March 28 to learn more about the industry at the inaugural McCombs MBA Hedge Fund Symposium.
Get the full story.

In the Press: U.S. News Ranks McCombs MBA #17 in U.S.
U.S. News and World Report released their latest graduate school rankings last Friday. The McCombs MBA placed #17 in the national survey. The school received top twenty rankings in ten of the publication's eleven specialty areas: Information Systems (3), Accounting (4), Entrepreneurship (7), Marketing (10), Quantitative Analysis (13), Productions/Operations Management (14), Finance (16), International Business (16), Supply Chain/Logistics (17), and General Management (19). U.S. News rated the Option II program #14 among executive MBAs. An Adobe PDF of the graduate rankings is available on our Web site.
View Adobe PDF of the Rankings.

The Class of 2003 Leave a Legacy Campaign Update
The 2003 class overwhelmingly elected to support the Plaza Renovation, which means that the School will be able to make a significant upgrade to the current project (Class of 2002's Legacy Campaign), creating an aesthetically pleasing, wireless-enabled outdoor venue for McCombs students. The Leave a Legacy Campaign will officially kick off on April 21 with a visit by Red McCombs!


Press Mentions

Prentice Says Batson Report Cuts Both Ways
Washington Post, March 7, 2003
In the latest installment of the Enron saga, Neal Batson, a court-appointed attorney, issued the most comprehensive report to date of the complex accounting and tax transactions that Enron's executives, lawyers and accountants used to shelter assets before and during the firm's meltdown. The report offers limited hope for thousands of Enron's creditors. “It could provide a roadmap for the prosecutors to figure out how to explain this to a jury,” said McCombs business law professor Robert Prentice (MSIS). But in places, added Prentice, the report may also provide ammunition for defense attorneys, as he elaborated in the article.

Study Supports Insurance Industry Assertions on Credit
San Antonio Express-News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram et al., March 7, 2003
“Have bad credit? Chances are, you're also more likely to file an insurance claim,” writes J.A. Dyer of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, summarizing a study just released by the Bureau of Business Research at the University of Texas at Austin. The study of more than 153,000 auto insurance policies found a “statistically significant” relationship between a person's credit history and tendency to incur losses on an auto insurance policy. “In general, lower credit scores were associated with larger incurred losses,” wrote study co-authors Bruce Kellison (BBR), Patrick Brockett (MSIS), Seon-Hi Shin and Shihong Li (PhD). Brockett and Kellison testified to the state senate on the study on March 11.


Kinney Points to Controversy over International Registration
Reuters, March 4, 2003
The new U.S. accounting oversight board was poised to defy European Union resistance to its legal reach on March 4 by voting to require U.S. and non-U.S. accounting firms to register with it, according to a Reuters dispatch widely reported internationally. Though passage was seen as likely, experts like McCombs audit specialist William Kinney were less than sanguine about its ultimate prospects. “This is a very controversial issue,” said Kinney, “because it approaches the limits of how far U.S. law can go around the world.”

Westphal Defends Composition of Shuttle Investigation Board
Houston Chronicle, March 3, 2003
Reacting to public scrutiny over the composition of the Space Shuttle Columbia Accident Investigation Board, McCombs professor James Westphal (Management) defended the board's heterogeneous composition. Critics contend that the board needs more scientists, but Westphal agrees with those who favor a healthy mix of scientific and non-scientific members, including experts in investigating accidents and organizing post-accident probes. “Scientists will provide you with facts,” Westphal said. “The other directors will be making judgments.” Westphal also suggested that the board should limit its size. “If there is one thing we know about large groups, it's that they become dysfunctional,” he said.