KU Business School News

Shane Moser, a third-year Ph.D. student at the KU School of Business, was awarded a $20,000 Kauffman Dissertation Fellowship from The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, Mo. The foundation received over 100 proposals for these fellowships, and Shane was one of only 16 award recipients.

Shane has undergraduate degrees in business administration and mathematics, and masters’ degrees in accounting and statistics – all from KU. Shane’s work experience includes time spent at Caterpillar, Deloitte and Sprint.

“The Kauffman fellowship allows me time to work on my dissertation, and could provide the money I need to present my dissertation at various conferences around the country,” said Shane.

His dissertation, “Does Diversity Among Co-Investing Venture Capital Firms Add Value for Entrepreneurial Companies?" involves researching the complementarities between venture capital firms that invest in the same high-tech start-up. School of Business faculty members George Bittlingmayer and Chris Anderson oversaw Shane’s proposal submission.

Shane is among elite company with this fellowship, with other recipients hailing from such prestigious institutions as Harvard, Stanford, Wisconsin-Madison, MIT, University of Chicago, Cornell and Carnegie Mellon.

MBA student Justin Lueger shares his first-hand experience at the recent Bayer Case Competition held for first-year KU MBA students at the North America Headquarters for Bayer Animal Health:

“There we were – standing in front of five of the highest paid, most intelligent and most senior executives of Bayer Animal Health, about to deliver what, in theory, should be a top-shelf business presentation…

“…That’s what made our situation so precarious. This wasn’t a known group of faculty who might ask predictable questions. Oh no, these judges wouldn’t hesitate for a second to slam our ideas, call us out on a lame recommendation, or ask pointed questions about our analysis. We had to be at the top of our game.”

Justin received the Case Competition Award for Best Presenter. Read more about his experiences at the 2007 Bayer Case Competition.

Each fall, the KU School of Business takes a group of selected accounting students on the road to meet with firms and alumni in major cities across the nation. So far this academic year, the XPlore program has traveled to New York, Chicago, Denver and Dallas. KU students have received 12 internship offers and five full-time job offers from companies they visited, including Deloitte & Touche, KPMG and Ernst & Young.

The Xplore program provides opportunities for accounting students to explore career paths outside the Kansas City area. During the action-packed four-day weekend, students meet with four or five recruiters at public accounting firms and have time to explore their own appointments within the city.

The XPlore program has been a hit with students and firms alike. Recently, the Association to Advance College Schools of Business (AACSB) review team visited the School of Business for re-accreditation purposes. The team applauded the XPlore program, recognizing it as an AACSB best practice in the accounting and information systems area.

Next up, the XPlore program will visit New York again in August, 2008.

Beginning this fall, the KU School of Business will send a regular email newsletter to the parents and family members of business students. This newsletter will contain important information on activities, dates and events that parents may need to know.

To subscribe your email address for this newsletter, visit: http://www.business.ku.edu/Undergraduate-ResourceforParents

Toni Dixon, director of communications, and the School of Business Communications Office won three Bronze Quill Awards of Excellence from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) for its publications. The Bronze Quill Awards are coveted recognition of excellence in business communications.

“Invest in Their Success,” received two Bronze Quill Awards of Excellence in the category of Publications (recognizing writing, message and overall look of the publication) and in the category of Design & Photography in a Brochure.

“Dean’s Report 2007” received a Bronze Quill Award of Excellence in the category of Annual Reports.

The IABC-Topeka Chapter presented the Bronze Quill Awards. IABC is a global organization of communication professionals and a leader in business communications, with chapters around the world.