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Briefs
- Undergrad Students Learn about Business by Building One
- MBAs Win $100,000 for Revolutionary Health Device
- Business Undergrads Conduct Research that Counts
- R. Conrad Doenges: McCombs Leader and Finance Professor Dies
- Lupe Fraga Keeps Astronauts Supplied
- William Cooper Honored for a Lifetime of Achievement
- Women Business Leaders Convene in Austin
Undergraduate Students Learn about Business by Building One
Groceries on campus? Dormitory wake-up calls? Tacos on 6th street? Three teams of business students brought these proposals to life as part of the inaugural undergraduate business plan competition, tX.Ventures.2001.
More than 1,400 students participated in the tX.Ventures 2001 competition, which aims to bring to the undergraduate program the same entrepreneurial focus that is a core pillar of the School’s graduate program. Teams of five first-year students competed against one another to devise the best hypothetical business plan.
“It’s events like these that create the next Michael Dells of the world,” said Poonam Kapoor with Southwestern Bell. “It was truly a one of a kind tournament involving our young business students of today who are sure to be our future business leaders of tomorrow.” Kapoor served as one of several judges from the Austin and Dallas business communities.
The tournament provided an ideal opportunity for new students to develop their communication skills, display their entrepreneurial interests, and become aware of business challenges while receiving constructive feedback.
“This was an excellent opportunity for these undergraduates to test their skills in a professional setting,” said tournament organizer Cathie Alexander. “One corporation was so thoroughly impressed with the creativity and viability of the presentations, they made a blanket internship offer to all students involved with the tournament.”
Similar to the graduate MOOT CORP Competition, judges evaluated plans based on how thoroughly they were written, how well they were presented, and their viability under the restrictive variables. Charlie's Tea Shack, Wake up UT, and UGS received awards at a ceremony and dinner. Other business ideas included a campus eCafe and a campus bike rental store. Event sponsors included Northern Trust Bank, Southwestern Bell, Waveset Technologies, and University Federal Credit Union.
tX.Ventures.2001 is a part of the Leadership Development and Contemporary Issues program within the McCombs School.
MBAs Win $100,000 for Revolutionary Health Device
A team of five McCombs MBAs secured a $100,000 investment when they won the 19th annual Texas MOOT CORP® competition in December. Their company, Private Concepts, will market an at-home cervical cancer screen test developed to offer women convenience and privacy.
Dr. Patrick Pevoto, a member of Private Concepts and a practicing obstetrician and gynecologist, developed the Pevlon Home Cervical Cancer Screen based on concerns expressed by his patients. The device will encourage women to self-administer a cervical cancer screen in the privacy of their own homes.
In addition to the $100,000 investment, Private Concepts will receive a free year in the Austin Technology Incubator, an invitation to the global competition, and numerous industry and venture capital contacts.
“This was one of our best competitions. The teams articulated their ideas well and showed that they are capable of launching their ventures,” said Dr. Gary Cadenhead, MOOT CORP® Director.
The judges functioned as an investment group seeking to reach consensus on the venture they would fund. Texas MOOT CORP® was the first competition of its kind in the world and has become the premiere launching pad for MBA entrepreneurs to start viable ventures.
Business Undergrads Conduct Research that Counts
While consumers continue to order goods over the Internet—and to return them because they didn’t fit or didn’t meet their expectations—research is being conducted on the UT campus to ensure that what you purchase over the Internet won’t have to be sent back. Undergraduate business honors student Mutki Jindal presented her research findings on substitute measures at the Economic Science Association Conference in Barcelona Spain last year.
Say the word ‘research’ and many people in the education community conjure images of graduate students mentored by passionate faculty, tucked away in well-equipped labs. As a major research university, the University of Texas at Austin sees its share of that scenario.
But what about research at the undergraduate level? After all, shouldn’t one of the top research universities in the United States be fostering the research discipline at the very earliest opportunity?
“Yes,” says UT’s Vice President for Research, Juan Sanchez, and the Undergraduate Research Fellowship (URF) is the means through which it happens. The University awards up to $1000 annually to qualifying undergraduate students to conduct research. The URF has traditionally been awarded to students in natural sciences and engineering.
Increasingly, though, business students have been URF recipients and have been taking their research very seriously.
“Research grants are available for studying business-related issues,” says Jay Koehler, a University Distinguished Teaching Associate and professor in the McCombs School. “They are not reserved for chemists and anthropologists.
“And I think it’s a great idea to get undergraduates involved in the world of research,” he continues. “Not only does it provide the students with a potentially life-altering educational experience, but it also promotes one-on-one student-faculty interactions. In my experience, McCombs school students really do make important contributions to faculty research programs.”
Mutki Jindal, who worked with economics professor Alfred Norman, found that when consumers were presented with appropriate online substitutes for physically testing a pen, they could make a purchasing decision that they were happy with once they received the actual product. “Certain things cannot be displayed online,” explains Jindal. “but people can still effectively determine their best alternative if given the right information.” In the case of the pens, Jindal and Norman displayed side-by-side examples of how the pens laid down ink, as well as images of the pens themselves.
Jindal isn’t the only URF recipient doing significant work in the field of business. Last June business senior Arienne Brint co-authored a paper that was presented at the prestigious Psychology and Economics Conference in Brussels. She and Dr. Koehler, her mentor, studied the psychological aspects of the loss of chance doctrine—or the idea that the negligent actions of another—usually a medical doctor—cost the victim a chance for a better outcome. The study looked at the factors affecting whether or not a jury is willing to award a large sum to a plaintiff. The distinction Brint earned for conducting such meaningful research set her apart from many other talented students and helped her gain acceptance to Harvard Law School.
“Because most of the best universities have a strong research emphasis, these research projects can go a long way toward helping our students get into the best graduate programs,” says Koehler.
Undergraduates who are interested in research can become involved in a number of different ways. For example, this academic year, eight students signed up for independent studies with Koehler to learn more about and participate in research. “The students acted as experimenters for a variety of projects, including one that examined predicted reactions to the 9-11 attack,” says the professor. Morley Campbell, one of the students involved in the project, says, “The goal of the 9-11 research is to understand how people’s perceptions about the World Trade Center tragedy change over time.”
Lilly He, McCombs School senior, believes that her research experience taught her skills that aren’t commonly emphasized in the business school. “The business discipline doesn’t really emphasize creativity, but for the project I had to be creative and come up with an interesting topic on my own,” she says. “I also had to complete something from start to finish in a way we are not normally trained to do.”
McCombs School Leader and Finance Professor Dies
R. Conrad Doenges, a McCombs School professor emeritus and former associate dean, passed away September 14, 2001 following an extended hospitalization. Professor Doenges had a long and distinguished career at the University of Texas at Austin that spanned 35 years and influenced thousands of students.
“Conrad’s commitment to students, the Business School, and the University over such an extended period of time has been rarely achieved in the history of the school,” said Urton Anderson, associate dean for undergraduate programs at the McCombs School and Doenges’ successor.
Doenges joined the business faculty in 1964 as an assistant professor and was promoted to full professor in 1974. He served as the associate dean for the Graduate School of Business (1972-1976), Finance Department chair (1976-1980), and associate dean for undergraduate programs (1987-1996). In 1983, he was named the Arthur Andersen & Co. Alumni Centennial Professor in Finance, and held that title (emeritus) until his death.
At the time of his retirement from the McCombs School in May 2000, Doenges was the second oldest faculty member still actively teaching in the School, and the faculty member with the longest history of service. Through his leadership and vision over 10 years as associate dean of the undergraduate program, he was able to transform an unruly giant into a program that currently ranks 5th in the country among undergraduate programs of business.
If you wish to contribute to a Memorial Fund in Doenges’ name, you can make your contribution to the University of Texas at Austin, noted in memory of Conrad Doenges, and mailed to Sandy Dorman, Director of Individual Giving and Endowments, Resource Development, GSB 5.176, McCombs School of Business, UT-Austin, 78712.
Lupe Fraga Keeps Astronauts Supplied
Few stories inspire like true American success stories. Lupe Fraga, President and CEO of Houston’s Tejas Office Products, Inc., is one such story, and the McCombs School is proud to have played a small role in it.
In 1994, Fraga attended the Community Minority Business Advancement Program (CMBA) in Houston. Dr. Ernest W. Walker of the McCombs School had launched the CMBA Program in Dallas in 1993 to provide minority and women small business owners with the tools for commercial success, and extended the program to Houston the following year.
We’re not saying that CMBA was the sole cause of Fraga’s achievement—he was a successful businessman long before he enrolled in the program—but he definitely found it to be a terrific value and a real help. “I am a firm believer in this program,” says Fraga. “It has given me the necessary skills to manage the resources we have in our organization.” A 1957 graduate of Texas A&M’s accounting program, Fraga founded Tejas Office Products in 1962, making him one of Houston’s most well established business owners in his industry.
Through years of complete commitment to delivering customer value, Fraga has built strong ties to many of the largest companies in the Houston area, including Shell Oil Company, Methodist Hospital, and Reliant Energy. Tejas is also the primary supplier for Houston’s University of Texas Health Science Center as well as United Space Alliance—the company that launches NASA’s Space Shuttle. And to prove it, he has a signed photo from Shuttle astronauts recognizing his mission-critical support of NASA’s supply needs!
Strategic use of the Internet and its potential to streamline supply-chain, billing, and service delivery has enabled him to successfully compete against far larger office supply companies.
Not only is Fraga’s a business success story, but he is also an inspirational figure for minority business owners. Tejas has been listed among the Top 500 companies by the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce many years running, and regularly ranks among the top minority-owned companies in the Houston Chronicle’s annual ranking. Lupe Fraga, himself, has appeared on the cover of Hispanic Business magazine, and he serves on the boards of numerous community groups.
Beginning to contemplate retirement, Fraga sent both his son Stephen and his daughter Michele to the CMBA Program. Another daughter, Alisa Kautzmann, plans to enroll in CMBA in the coming year. With their inherited business sense and CMBA Program training, the Fragas plan to keep Tejas Office one of the brightest stars in the Houston business firmament.
Offered in four cities across Texas, the Community Minority Business Advancement program is intended to benefit minorities and women, traditionally underrepresented in small business, but is open to all small business owners and operators regardless of race or gender. Classes are scheduled in the evening to fit the busy schedules of small business owners, and the cost is affordable. “It’s attainable for everyone,” says Fraga.
Current Houston sponsors of the program, whose contributions keep the cost to participants low, include Southwest Airlines, H-E-B, Ford Motor Company, Conoco, Frost Bank, and Sterling Bank. Recruiting partners, who promote the program to their membership and the business community, include the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Houston Citizens Chamber of Commerce, Houston Minority Business Council, and the Houston Women’s Business Council, among many others.
For more information, or to support this important educational opportunity, please contact Cristi Treviño at 512-471-7907 or cristi.trevino@mccombs.utexas.edu.
William Cooper Honored for a Lifetime of Achievement
In January 2002, the American Accounting Association’s (AAA) Management Accounting section presented its first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award to William W. Cooper. Cooper is the Foster Parker Professor (Emeritus) of Finance and Management and Professor (Emeritus) of Accounting, Management Science and Information Systems at the McCombs School.
An extremely accomplished researcher and educator who remains prolific despite his retirement, Cooper is credited with providing the impetus to transform ‘Cost Accounting’ into ‘Management Accounting.’ “He is an ‘evolutionary’,” said Jacob Birnberg, the University of Pittsburgh professor who presented the award to Cooper at the AAA Managerial Section meeting in Austin.
In a seminal paper Cooper published in 1951, he intended to extend the theory of the firm to control the intra-organizational issue of management control. “Bill argued that the role of management accounting is to assist management in making better decisions, not providing data intended solely for valuation,” said Birnberg.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was created to honor individuals who over their careers have made significant contributions to Management Accounting through research, teaching, and service to the area.
Women Business Leaders Convene in Austin
UT’s first annual Women in Business Leadership Conference (WBLC) drew more than 200 participants from the McCombs MBA program and featured distinguished panelists discussing the tools women must acquire to be successful, what it takes to be a leader in different organizations, how to negotiate, balancing work and life, and entering non-traditional fields.
“The WBLC was created as a way for us to gain access to female role models in the business world,” says Suzie Kornblum, a second-year MBA student and director of the group that organized the conference. “The lack of role models is one of the main reasons cited by female MBA students when they are asked why they think more women don’t pursue the degree.”
The day provided not just a wealth of knowledge for the female MBA students in attendance, but also the chance to interact on a personal level with strong role models, including Bernee Strom, The Strom Group; Kay Hammer, Evolutionary Technologies International; Brigid Shea, Brigid Shea & Associates; Margo Weisz, Austin CDC; Jan Harris, Motorola; Karen Quintos, Dell; Carol Thompson, The Thompson Group; Alicia Smith-Kriese, GSD&M; and Dr. Courtney Price, Venture Quest, among many others.
The WBLC presented its 2002 Trailblazer Award to Amy Miller, UT MBA 1992, and founder and CEO of Amy’s Ice Creams. Amy’s Ice Creams currently has 10 stores in Austin, San Antonio, and Houston.
“My mission,” Miller said upon receiving the award, “is to make people’s day.” She entered the Executive MBA program after opening her first store and said that the discipline she learned while in the program contributed immeasurably to her success.
In addition to supporting the WBLC, the McCombs School has begun several initiatives to help raise the numbers of females seeking MBAs. The school is a founding member of an alliance working to build awareness of business education and careers among young women and to support the careers of women through business networks. The full-time MBA program began a new marketing campaign aimed at women, which includes a helpful website, http://mba.mccombs.utexas.edu/MBAWomen.
For information on specific programs at the McCombs School, consult our contacts page. For media information, contact the Communications Director by phone at 512-471-3314 or by email at CommunicationsDirector@mccombs.utexas.edu.
