FALL 2012
OLINBUSINESS Email olinbusiness@wustl.edu Website olin.wustl.edu PHOTO BY RON KLEIN
Letters OlinBusiness Washington University in St. Louis Campus Box 1162 One Brookings Drive St. Louis, MO 63130-4899 Vol. 15, Fall 2012 OlinBusiness magazine is published annually by Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis. Unless otherwise noted, all articles may be reprinted without permission with appropriate credit to OlinBusiness magazine. Dean Mahendra Gupta Associate Dean and Director of Marketing & Communications Paula Crews, BSBA ’90 Editor Melody Walker
Not Business as Usual Being innovative, forward thinking, and proactive were part of Robert Brookings’ vision for the university’s new business school 95 years ago. He was, after all, an entrepreneur who transformed the Cupples Woodenware Co. from a regional to a national concern and created the first regional depot-warehouse that revolutionized merchandise delivery along the railroads and rivers. As a successful businessman and a visionary change agent, he saw the need for a school to research and promote best business practices in the St. Louis region and beyond. Settling for business as usual was not an option for him.
Staff Katie Bliss, A&S ’13, Class Notes Editor Leah Costantino, AB ’97 Teresa Melton Judy Milanovits Lexie Walther O’Brien, MBA ’90 Neil Schoenherr Suzanne Shenkman, PMBA ’06 Gloria Stukenbroeker Adrienne Wartts Gabe Watson
I like to think Mr. Brookings would be pleased with the way his vision has evolved. Nearly a century on, Olin is one of the top business schools in the world, where faculty and students are challenged to think critically and globally to solve today’s complex management issues. And our partnership with another Brookings legacy, the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, is helping to inspire and transform the business of governance through executive education for federal employees.
Audrey Westcott, BFA ’12 Katie Roth Wools Art Direction Jager Creative
Mr. Brookings would be delighted with our thriving entrepreneurship curriculum. MBA students have a new option to concentrate in entrepreneurship, and all students from across the university can pursue a minor in the discipline. We’re also partnering with the Brown School to offer courses in social entrepreneurship. Students launch dozens of new companies each year
that challenge the notion of business as usual. They hone their business plans in courses such as The Hatchery or competitions such as the Olin Cup. Check out the variety of innovative Olin startups profiled on page 24. Our alumni, too, follow in the footsteps of Mr. Brookings. Never satisfied with the status quo, they are change agents for the 21st century. From biotech to building a library in sub-Saharan Africa, these Olin graduates don’t practice business as usual. Six alumni share their inspiring work beginning on page 10. Without the original foresight and philanthropic generosity of Robert Brookings, Washington University would not be the internationally respected research institution it is today. Joanne and Chuck Knight and Carol and George Bauer carry on that tradition by leading the way with their generous gifts so that we may continue to strengthen Olin for its second century. We are all part of this proud tradition that is Olin. We owe it to our founders as well as generations of alums and friends since our beginning to always strive for excellence and integrity in all we do and never settle for business as usual.
Mahendra Gupta Dean and Geraldine J. & Robert L. Virgil Professor of Accounting & Management dean@olin.wustl.edu
CREATE KNOWLEDGE. INSPIRE INDIVIDUALS. TRANSFORM BUSINESS.
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