NEWS: SHORT TAKES

McCombs took top ranks for some of the hardest-to-find MBA skills, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. Drawing from the portion of its MBA survey focused on recruiters, the business publication included McCombs among its “schools hitting the sweet spot.” McCombs showed its strength in three leading industry sectors:

No. 1 Strategic Thinking No. 3 Communication Skills

No. 1 Communication Skills No. 3 Leadership Skills

No. 2 Creative Problem-Solving No. 3 Strategic Thinking

Here’s another one for the record books: For the first time, McCombs alumni reached 10 percent in annual giving participation in 2014-2015. One in 10 McCombs grads gave financial gifts to the school, a goal set by former McCombs Dean Tom Gilligan as a first step toward matching the giving level of peer institutions. What helped McCombs reach its target? One factor was an emphasis on building connections with every potential donor.

McCombs research keeps corporations in line. Laura Starks, the Charles E. and Sarah M. Seay Regents Chair in Finance and the school’s associate dean for research, was honored this spring at the annual Academic Conference on Corporate Governance for her outstanding research contributions. Starks also gave the event’s keynote speech.

Your favorite McCombs professor can be as near as your nightstand. Marketing Professor Raj Raghunathan’s first book, If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Happy? hit online and in-store shelves in April, while Marketing Professor Vijay Mahajan’s latest book, Rise of the Rural Consumer, is due out this summer. Business, Government, and Society Professor David Spence co-authored Energy, Economics, and the Environment, a new edition of which came out in fall 2015.