McCOMBS: FROM THE DEAN
The Future of Leadership: Collaboration — and all the unknowns that are certain to come with it. We look to our past to gain a foothold. We look to our accomplished community to offer wise counsel. And, we are mindful that unanticipated disruptions in higher education will never cease to offer fresh challenges. The leadership and teamwork needed to accomplish our ambitious goals are at the heart of what makes our institution so unparalleled. We are a community of highly accomplished collaborators. We find our strength in working together, and in so doing, we empower each other to achieve so much more than we ever could on our own. This issue explores stories of how at McCombs, leadership and teamwork are inextricably interconnected. Our cover subject, Sam Ehlinger, BBA ’21, Texas’s most accomplished quarterback in a decade and a serious-minded business student as well, is on pace for challenging many long-held Longhorn records. He has also been recognized for his ability to motivate and encourage both his teammates and his classmates. “It’s important to have a heartbeat for what others around you need,” he says. Ju st a s member s of a sports team need to be able to react swiftly to each other’s moves, members of work teams need to respond to the rapid changes that technology is bringing to their industries. This is especially true for the profession of accounting, where new data analytics and artificial intelligence tools are upending the way business gets done. Nichole Jordan, BBA ’95, national managing partner of growth and performance at accounting firm Grant Thornton, discusses how she sees the industry shifting as a result. And faculty members of McCombs’ No. 1 T T E X AS M c C O M B S , W E A R E A L WAYS B U I L D I N G TOWA R D T H E F U T U R E
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ranked Accounting Program share how their updates to the curriculum reflect the new realities of the profession. At the same time McCombs’ academic departments are working to make sure the curriculum prepares students for state-of-theart business practice, internal operations at the school are evolving as well. Last year, I appointed McCombs’ first chief marketing officer, Emily Reagan, MBA ’99, to integrate our marketing strategy and resources across the school. She has been hard at work devising a plan for building a national and global brand image to compete with our elite peers in business education. This issue of McCombs includes a story about her objectives and accomplishments thus far. Finally, in the midst of all the preparations we are making for the future, we also think it’s important to remember and honor the significant accomplishments of our past. In this issue, we look back at the history of the MBA Investment Fund, one of the first legally constituted private investment companies to be managed by university students. Earlier this year, the fund celebrated its 25th anniversary. Many of the founding investors and previous student managers came back to campus to celebrate the extraordinary efforts of so many committed individuals who have continued to make the fund one of McCombs’ most amazing success stories. We are honored to be a part of so many important journeys that have had such a significant impact on people’s lives and careers. At the heart of all of them is the connection we all share through McCombs. It is a community of leaders who know we are stronger when we work together. Our knowledge that we are part of such a winning team is what makes our bold future possible.
JAY HARTZELL Dean and Centennial Chair in Business Education Leadership
P H OTO G R A P H BY D E N N I S B U R N E T T