McCombs School in the News
October 2003

Schkade Study Cited In Fight for Courts
The Wall Street Journal, Oct. 31, 2003
The consequences of political appointments of judges can be huge for the type of justice dispensed, wrote David Rogers in a recent Wall Street Journal analysis: “Republican and Democratic-appointed judges often interpret the law differently, not just on socially charged issues . . . but also on less obviously ideological issues, such as the rights of the disabled and access to corporate records.” To support his case, Rogers cited the recent study by Professors David Schkade of the McCombs School and Cass Sunstein of the University of Chicago, who found “a clear ideological bent between the views of judges appointed by Republican vs. Democratic presidents.” If the pool of judges on the bench shifts dramatically to one party, Rogers concluded from their study, the chances of more one-party panels also increase. In the words of Schkade and Sunstein, “For litigants in highly controversial cases, a great deal depends on the luck of the draw—the outcome of a random assignment of judges.” (Complete article at The Wall Street Journal Online requires subscription.) 

It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than McCombs, Longhorn Athlete Says
TexasSports.com, Oct. 30, 2003
In an interview with Jenny Andrews, freshman setter on the Longhorn volleyball team, the Louisiana athlete singled the McCombs School as one of her reasons for selecting Texas: “There wasn't a single thing I didn't like about Texas. I really wanted to make sure I went to a university with a great business school and a great volleyball program and UT fit the bill exactly. You don't get much better than the McCombs School of Business, and when I walked into Gregory Gym and saw all the white (championship) banners, I was sold.” (Read complete article at TexasSports.com.) 

Hyperion CEO Challenges Corporate Boards to Go Beyond Compliance
Yahoo! Finance, Oct. 29, 2003
In advance of the CEO Leadership Forum jointly hosted by BusinessWeek and the McCombs School, Jeff Rodek, chairman and CEO of Hyperion, called for corporate board members to shift their focus beyond compliance to breakthrough performance. Rodek’s view is that compliance is a minimum requirement and a board’s primary role is as the shareholder’s advocate. On Oct. 30, Rodek expanded on his ideas before an audience of senior executives at the CEO Forum on The University of Texas at Austin campus. Rodek spoke on a panel that included Herbert Kelleher, chairman of Southwest Airlines, and Robert Bennett, partner for Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom, LLP. Robert Prentice, a professor of business law at the McCombs School, moderated the panel. (Read complete article at Yahoo! Finance.) 

McCombs School to Host Net Impact Conference on Socially Responsible Business
GreenBiz.com, Oct. 29, 2003
Nov. 6-9 UT will host the 11th annual Net Impact Conference, drawing more than 1,000 MBAs and business leaders from around the world to discuss corporate social responsibility, business ethics and environmentally friendly business practices. The conference appears to embody a growing concern among business leaders to be more environmentally conscious. “The business world has changed a lot over the past few years,” said Richard Amato, director of UT’s Clean Energy Incubator. “Knowing about green business, alternative energy, sustainable resources and global economies is so much more important than it was before, and training in that is becoming a necessity rather than a luxury. Consumers and the general public are savvy and are demanding more of business, expecting corporations to be more socially responsible.” (Read complete article at GreenBiz.com.)

McCombs CEO Forum Features Southwest Airlines Chairman, Other Top Execs
Austin Business Journal, Dallas Business Journal, Oct. 29, 2003
Herb Kelleher, founder and chairman of Southwest Airlines, along with BusinessWeek Managing Editor Mark Morrison, will speak to CEOs and other business leaders as part of the McCombs School-Business Week joint CEO Leadership Forum on “Restoring Corporate Integrity and Public Trust.” The forum, one of four scheduled for 2003 with top business schools, explores the pressures on businesses in today’s environment, in which the private sector and the federal government are demanding that companies make wholesale changes, restore trust and avoid future transgressions. (Read complete article at the Austin Business Journal.) 

McCombs School Insurance Study Cited
The Valley Morning Star, Oct. 29, 2003
Changing insurance rates are greatly affecting the Rio Grande Valley, and insurance companies may begin using credit ratings as a factor when determining rates for customers. The article referred to a widely cited March 2003 study by the McCombs School’s Bureau of Business Research that reported a relationship between credit history and insurance losses. (Read complete article at The Valley Morning Star.)

McCombs MBA Ranks #32 Worldwide
Economist, Oct. 24, 2003
In their third survey of global business schools, the Economist Intelligence Unit, a division of the London-based magazine, ranked the McCombs School as the #32 MBA program worldwide and the #21 MBA program in the U.S. This was the first year that McCombs has participated in the ranking, which is based primarily on alumni and student surveys. (Complete article at Economist.com requires subscription.)

International Center to Employ McCombs School MBAs
Austin Business Journal, Oct. 22, 2003
The new International Center of Austin will serve as a hub for Austin business and the international community. It will be housed in the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce building to raise Austin’s visibility as an international city. The Journal article mentioned that UT has plans for an education desk, which would be manned by McCombs MBA students. (Read complete article at the Austin Business Journal.) 

McCombs Executive MBA Ranks #13 in U.S., PhD. Ranks #8 Worldwide
Financial Times, Oct. 20, 2003, Austin Business Journal, Oct. 22, 2003
The McCombs School's Option II Executive MBA program ranked #13 in the U.S. and #21 worldwide in the latest survey of executive MBA programs conducted by the Financial Times of London. Wharton's executive MBA topped the list, which once again showed a heavy representation of schools from the United Kingdom and Europe. The ranking relies on a mixture of diversity and international statistics, salary and career progress data from alumni, and program characteristics. The survey includes rankings for research (based on faculty publications) and doctoral programs (based on the placement success of PhD. candidates). McCombs ranked #16 worldwide for business research and was credited with the #8 doctoral program worldwide, according to the 2003 survey. (Read complete article at the Austin Business Journal.) 

Forbes Ranks McCombs MBA #16 for “Economic Payback”
Forbes, Oct. 13, 2003
“Our survey measures your return on investment in dollars and cents. It is not, unlike other b-school rankings, a survey asking recruiters to rank schools or grads to rate their experiences,” write Forbes editors Kurt Badenhausen and Lesley Kump in the magazine's bi-annual rankings issue. Forbes rates MBA programs based on the ability of graduates to recoup their educational investment. McCombs placed #16 nationally. The top schools for 2003 were Harvard, Columbia, Chicago, Dartmouth and Yale. (Complete article at Forbes.com requires registration.) 

McCombs Stock Trading Room a Model for Others
The Seattle Times, Oct. 8, 2003
The University of Washington business school just opened its virtual trading room, emulating other schools that use trading rooms to help students understand the way trading is done in the real world. The article cited the McCombs School as having a similar center in which graduate students can gain hands-on experience in trading. The McCombs School Financial Trading and Technology Center was the first of its kind on a college campus, and more than 20 other schools have since formed their own. (Complete article at The Seattle Times requires registration.) 

McCombs Option II Executive MBA Ranks #8 Worldwide
BusinessWeek, Oct. 6, 2003
The McCombs School's Option II Executive MBA program ranked #8 internationally in the latest survey of executive MBA programs conducted by BusinessWeek. Graduates singled out McCombs for teaching ethics, earning the school a #4 ranking in that category. Graduates also rated McCombs #1 in the student-satisfaction section of the survey, which accounted for half of the overall ranking. Kellogg repeated as the #1 executive MBA program in the overall rankings.

UBC President Sean Paul Praises McCombs BBA Program
Texas Monthly, October issue
According to the latest Texas Monthly, “Business is the most sought-after major on [the UT] campus, and value-added has a lot to do with it: First, a student can acquire a skill that might actually lead to a job, and second, it's just an exciting place to be. ‘Professors will drop by at two in the morning to check with people who are working on a project,’ said senior Sean Paul, the president of the Undergraduate Business Council.” (Read complete excerpt on McCombs Website.)

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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.