Owen Student Re-VU

Casino Night 2009

Eleanor Williams — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:42:47 +0000

The Vanderbilt Marketing Association organized and hosted its annual Casino Night on Thursday, November 5th. The Owen lobby came to life with a D.J. and authentic casino tables for Black Jack, Roulette, Craps, and Texas Hold'em manned by professional dealers. The activities also included several raffle prize give-aways which were donated by SATCO, Sams, Starbucks, and The Patterson House. There was a great turnout and the proceeds of the evening were donated to the Boys & Girls Club of Nashville. The VMA would like to thank everyone for their support!

Owen Halloween Party 2009

Eleanor Williams — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:24:24 +0000

Owen students, friends, and family went all out on their costumes to attend the annual Owen Halloween Party on Friday, October 30th 2009. The 100% Owen club organized the event, which took place downtown at BB Kings from 8:00 until midnight, to benefit Boys & Girls Club of Nashville through the ticket sales. They sold 350 tickets which generated a total of $3,375 for the donation. There was quite an array of characters which made for an interesting evening and a definite good time!

Distinguished Speaker Series - Ron Terwilliger

Suzanne Feinstein — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:11:27 +0000

On Oct. 28, 2009, Ron Terwilliger, noted philanthropist and chairman and CEO of Trammell Crow Residential, spoke to Owen students in Averbuch Auditorium as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series. Trammell Crow Residential is the largest developer of multi-family housing in the United States. Mr. Terwilliger is also chairman of the International Board of Directors of Habitat for Humanity and past chairman of the Urban Land Institute. Mr. Terwilliger shared stories about his path to leadership and his vision and commitment to help provide low-income families achieve housing with dignity.

Department of Development and Alumni Relations Kegs Event

Eleanor Williams — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:03:09 +0000

The Department of Development and Alumni Relations hosted the weekly kegs event at Owen on Thursday October 29th, 2009. The event presented current students with the opportunity to mix and mingle with local and visiting alumni in their natural setting. Attendance was high for both alumni and current students, representative of the strong connections that both groups formed at Owen and their desire to continue to do so in the future.

National MBA Human Capital Case Competition

Eleanor Williams — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:40:20 +0000

Vanderbilt hosted the third annual National MBA Human Capital Case Competition on October 16th-17th, which was sponsored by Deloitte. Vanderbilt took first place, a $10,000 prize, among the ten teams that were selected to compete from all over the country. Congratulations to the team which consisted of three second-year MBA students, Heidi Wallenhorst, Joe Parise, and Eric Bilbrey, and 3 first-year MBA students, Sarah Hultquist, Lindsey Goldman, and Kristen Schaefer. The entire event was coordinated by the Leadership team, Chapin Hertel, Hana Crume, and Lindsey White.

BrandWeek 2009

Eleanor Williams — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:49:35 +0000

The first ever BrandWeek took place over fall break 2009. It was designed as an immersion week for marketing students and kicked off with a brand building workshop at Owen, followed by three days of on-site visits to prominent companies based in Louisville, KY. The first visit was to Brown Forman where students heard from several high level executives on a range of topics including corporate social responsibility and the nature of global brands. The next visit was to GE, which included presentations on their overall marketing strategy by the CMO and on eco-friendly home products by the innovation team. Humana was the final destination which also included a broad range of topics for discussion. The week was a huge success, providing students with an inside perspective on highly successful companies.

BRAZIL: Fall Break 2009

Eleanor Williams — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:25:29 +0000

Members of the Global Business Association organized a business immersion trip to Brazil for 20 Owen students over fall break 2009. The goal was to provide the students with an inside perspective on how various Brazilian and international companies conduct business in Brazil. The trip started with a three day stint in Rio de Janiero followed by four days in Sao Paulo. The agenda included visits to Vale, Petrobras, Einstein Hospital, Natura, Bridgestone, Embraer, Johnson & Johnson, and the University of Sao Paulo. Dinner at the Brazilian steakhouses, the Flamengo vs. Sao Paulo soccer match and attractions such as Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf were a few of the highlights of the trip.

Cork & Barrel: Blind Wine Tasting Event

Eleanor Williams — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:58:41 +0000

The Owen Cork & Barrel Society hosted their annual blind wine tasting event on September 29th. To participate, members formed teams of three and selected a South American red of their choice for each member of their team to bring as the entry fee. Each bottle of wine was disguised in a brown paper bag and assigned a number to ensure the impartiality of the event. Students recorded their comments and rankings based purely on taste, not appearance. The team whose wine received the highest rankings for the majority of participants took home all of the remaining bottles of wine, more than 30 in this case!

WBA Happy Hour at Cabana

Eleanor Williams — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:09:00 +0000

The Women's Business Association hosted their annual fall happy hour event at Cabana in Hillsboro Village on Friday, September 18th. There was a great turn out from both classes and several faculty members also attended. It was a chance to mix and mingle, discuss issues specific to women in the business community, and of course enjoy a cocktail after a long week of classes.

100% Owen Habitat for Humanity Build

Eleanor Williams — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 03:45:24 +0000

On Saturday, September 12th, 100% Owen organized a group of students to help with the construction of Timberwood, the latest Habitat for Humanity all-volunteer neighborhood located in northeast Nashville. A total of more than 30 students with representation from both classes spent the entire day doing heavy lifting and hammering since it was the first weekend building a house for the Habitat Partner family. 100% Owen is committed to giving back to the community and this was truly representative of their ability to make a significant impact, both on the students participating as well as the family that now has a new home.

Owen Tailgate: Vandy vs. Western Carolina

Eleanor Williams — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 22:45:12 +0000

The season opener for Vanderbilt football was Saturday, September 5, against Western Carolina, and kickoff was at 6:30. The Owen tailgate took place at the regular spot in Vandyville with tents and corn-hole. The OSGA provided tons of cold beverages and the Owen Culinary Society demonstrated their skills on the grill. Students showed their support by wearing black and gold. It was a great day to start the season; Vanderbilt beat Western Carolina 45-0.

Trivia Night!

Eleanor Williams — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:56:42 +0000

The 100% Owen club organized the annual Trivia Night event during kegs on September 3rd to raise money for the Boys and Girls Club of Middle Tennessee. The $8 individual entry fee yielded a considerable donation to the organization and also covered pizza and prizes for the top 3 teams. There was a high level of participation, fierce competition, and a playful atmosphere, reflecting the typical nature of the Owen student body.

Internship Fair

Eleanor Williams — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:31:57 +0000

The OSGA hosted the annual internship fair during kegs on August 27th. It was an opportunity for second year students to share their summer experiences with fellow classmates and first year students who may be interested in pursuing similar career paths. There was a high level of participation which afforded that a broad range of companies and positions were represented, ranging from large corporations to small startups.

Owen Fall Classic

Eleanor Williams — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:51:07 +0000

The Owen Fall Classic took place at the Windtree Golf Club on August 21st, 2009. There was a great turnout with 120 participants, 119 students and Dean Lehman. It was a 4 person scramble, so there were 30 pairings total that were a mix of first and second year students based on each player's handicap or average score. The day was a success on all counts, perfect weather and everyone managed to stay out of the pond.

Owen Club Fair

Eleanor Williams — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:07:35 +0000

During the first kegs of the year, all of the student clubs and organizations put together a fair to promote their various clubs. The purpose was to engage the first year students and encourage them to get involved in the clubs and organizations that interest them. There was a wide array of options, ranging from the more academic Finance and Consulting Clubs to social clubs like Cork & Barrel and the Owen Culinary Society.

Orientation 2009: Habitat for Humanity Build

Eleanor Williams — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:01:48 +0000

On the last day of Owen Orientation, the incoming first year class participated in a Habitat for Humanity build. Students worked in teams to complete 12 new frames for homes for one of the local Habitat communities in the Nashville area. Some students had the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to handle power tools, a rare talent among this set, while the majority of students hammered with genuine enthusiasm to complete the task at hand.

Owen Orientation Kick-Off: Build a Bike Challenge

Eleanor Williams — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:20:12 +0000

The first day of Owen Orientation posed a unique challenge for the incoming first year class. The task at hand was to build a bike, which at first glance may not have seemed like much of a challenge. So, to make things interesting, the bike parts were scattered across campus and the necessary tools for the operation were limited and to garner their use required savvy negotiation skills. The bikes were donated to the Oasis Center at the end of the day.

Accelerator 2009: Week 4

Accelerator — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:02:57 +0000

The fourth and final week of Accelerator was marked by presentations to executives from Sony Music Entertainment, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee/Gordian Health Solutions and Coca Cola Enterprises, as well as the final Accelerator dinner, celebrating the many accomplishments during the program.

Students, parents, faculty, staff and friends packed the historic War Memorial Auditorium in downtown Nashville to reflect on the past four weeks and marvel at how much was accomplished in such a short period of time. These students, once again, did more than they ever imagined!

Follow Accelerator: blog > | photos >

Accelerator 2009: Week 3

Accelerator — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:02:01 +0000

The third week of Accelerator was marked by presentations to the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and Cisco-Presidio, Career Day and a two-night road trip to Chattanooga and Atlanta to begin projects with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee/Gordian Health Solutions and Coca Cola Enterprises.

BCBST/Gordian welcomed Accelerator students at a pre-launch event at Lookout Mountain Golf Club in Chattanooga, followed by a morning of presentations and meetings at BCBST's new headquarters as they launched their social media project. In Atlanta, Coca Cola Enterprises treated the students to an afternoon at the World of Coke before getting down to buisness the following morning with the launch of their corporate responsibility and sustainability project.

Follow Accelerator: blog > | photos >

Accelerator 2009: Week 2

Accelerator — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:38:39 +0000

The second week of Accelerator quickly passed with presentations to Video Gaming Technologies and Arrington Vineyards, project launches with Sony Music Entertainment and Cisco/Presidio, a field research trip at the CMA Music Festival in downtown Nashville and the second of two networking Business Breakfasts.

Congratulations to the following winning teams …

Video Gaming Technologies: Priscilla Arellano, Alex Dowd, Kate Grumbles, Donny McCunniff, Eppa Rixey, Will Parker Roe, Riley Strong, Fark Tari, Patrick Widen and Kyle Clay (coach).

Arrington Vineyards: Nick Cromydas, Mary Beth Gribble, Geoff Miller, Melinda Moyo, Raul Perez-Gurdian, Rachel Sullivan, Cat Wearn and Eric Bilbrey (coach).

Follow Accelerator: blog > | photos >

Accelerator 2009: Week 1

Accelerator — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:32:48 +0000

Accelerator-Vanderbilt Summer Business Institute wrapped up its first of four weeks with three project launches (Video Gaming Technologies, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and Arrington Vineyards), more than 35 hours of classroom time, an Urban Adventure race in downtown Nashville and an incredibly entertaining Talent Night at Owen. Follow Accelerator: blog > | photos >

Owenstock

Tiffany Gnau — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:33:21 +0000

The Owen Media and Entertainment Group hosted Owenstock at the last Thursday social of the year. OMEG is target toward students who have an interest in any area of media, including music, sports, television, entertainment and hospitality management. The evening consisted of performances by Owen students.

Capitalist Ball

Tiffany Gnau — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:08:00 +0000

Owen's annual black tie formal took place at the Sommet Center's Suite Level Club. Live Music was provided by Groove Addiction. The Capitalist Ball was a great chance for Owen students to socialize before leaving for the summer or graduating.

Charity Auction

Carl Liu — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 21:05:10 +0000

100% Owen, the school's community service club, held an auction to benefit the Boys and Girls Club. The theme was "Studio 54" and a 70s theme costume contest was held. Some of the items auctioned included a ride in a WWII plane, dinner for 20 at the Standard restaurant, a sailing trip with Dean Lehman, car wash by Owen students and a trip to the shooting range with Professor Germain Boer.

Balancing Career and Family

Tiffany Gnau — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:32:21 +0000

The Women's Business Association hosted a lunch with Erika Bogar King. Erika is a 1999 Owen graduate who works for Deloitte. She spent several years as a consultant and is currently the National Talent Delivery Leader for Consulting. She is also the wife of a fellow Owen graduate and the mother of two young sons. Erika spoke about how to best manage career and family. She suggested that studens understand that there will be times in their lives when either work or family take precendence and to be flexible. She also recommended being clear with employers when requesting time off, a change in work hours, or a less demanding role and carefully outline how the change can help the business. When taking time off, Erika also recommended keeping in touch with collegues and changes in the industry in order to be fully productive once returning to work.

Oscar Mayer Wienermobile visits Owen

Tiffany Gnau — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:16:34 +0000

The Oscar Mayer wienermobile made a stop at Owen. Chris Brown, a first-year MBA student, spend a year traveling the country as an Oscar Mayer hotdogger after graduating from college. He spoke to Professor Kimberly Pace's Public Relations class about his experience and surprised the class by arranging a visit by the weinermobile.

International Food Festival

Tiffany Gnau — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:22:18 +0000

Over 250 people attended the annual International Food Festival hosted by the Global Business Association this Thursday. Eleven teams of students from around the world competed to win prizes for best food and cultural display. Owen students, faculty and staff got the opportunity to sample traditional food prepared by fellow students. The winner for the best food was China and the winner for the best cultural dispaly was Peru.

Global Week

Tiffany Gnau — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:45:54 +0000

April 6th-10th was Global Week at Owen, sponsored by the Global Business Association. The Owen student body is comprised of students from around the world. Each day during lunch, international students displayed information about the culture and customs of their home country. Students were also invited to answer a quiz to test their knowledge of each country. Monday focused on India, Tuesday focused on China, and Thursday focused on Peru. Global Week concluded with the International Food Festival.

Owen Follies

Tiffany Gnau — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:18:59 +0000

Owen Follies is an annual comedy show run by Owen students at the Belcourt Theatre in Hillsboro Village. The night is a mix of short live skits, recorded shorts, and slideshows of pictures taken of Owen students throughout the year. It is a chance for students to make fun of themselves, professors, the administration and each other.

WBA Presents Fun, Fashion & Cocktails

Carl Liu — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:14:36 +0000

The Owen community, local alumni and business owners enjoyed Fun, Fashion and Cocktails, a fashion show presented by the Owen Women's Business Association. Eleven MBA students modeled the latest workplace fashions from the area’s hottest boutiques. The event took place in the Owen lobby from 5:30-7:30 pm. Cocktails and light hors d'oeuvres were served. A $10 donation at the door went to benefit Dress for Success, a non-profit organization designed to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and career development tools.

Careers with Impact Symposium

Suzanne Feinstein — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 14:23:29 +0000

On Saturday, March 21, students presented "Careers with Impact," a day of panel discussions on profitable environmentally and socially conscious careers. The event registration included breakfast, lunch and a gift bag. The symposium included panelists from FedEx, Brown-Forman, Centerstone, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Grey Matters Capital, Thistle Farms and more. Panels include Green Building Industry, Corporate Social Responsibility, Leadership of Non-profits, Sustainable Investment, Creating a Fulfilling Career, Marketing Sustainability, and Social Entrepreneurship.

Recycling Drive

Tiffany Gnau — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:52:29 +0000

Owen's chapter of Net Impact hosted a recycling drive as part of Green Week. Net Impact's mission is to make a positive impact on society by growing and strengthening a community of new leaders who use business to improve the world. Items such as cell phones, ink cartridges, batteries, eye glasses, CDs, telephone books and class packs were collected during the drive. As part of Green Week, Net Impact also encouraged students to walk, ride, or carpool to school. The club also organized a trash pickup at Hamilton Creek Metro Park, a St. Patrick's day party, sold free trade coffee and invited local sustainable businesspeople to the Thursday evening social. The week culminated with a "Careers with Impact" Symposium that gave students a chance to hear from industry leaders in the new sustainable economy.

Black History Month Social

Tiffany Gnau — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:03:28 +0000

The Owen Black Student Association hosted the Thursday social in celebration of Black History Month. Entertainment was provided by Nalaji-Amari (Vanderbilt's African Dance Troup), spoken word, and live music.

Design for Sustainability Product Fair

Tiffany Gnau — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 01:22:02 +0000

Students of Professor Dave Owens's Green Product Design class showcased their final projects in the Owen Lobby. The students were tasked with designing sustainable products and services for a rural village in Bangladesh. The evaluation criteria was based on people (societal sustainability), planet (environmental sustainability), and profits (financial sustainability.)

Compensation speaker

Tiffany Gnau — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 23:01:07 +0000

Ben Elrod, a 2002 Owen graduate, hosted a lunch and learn about the field of compensation Management. Finance and Human and Organization Performance students were in attendance. Elrod is the Managing Director of Compensation and Benefits for the Corrections Corporation of America. CCA is headquartered in Nashville and founded the private corrections management industry. It specializes in the design, construction, expansion and management of prisons, jails, and detention facilities. Elrod spoke about the career of a compensation professional, including the design, building and manageing of organizations' total reward systems. The goal of a compensation system is to align individuals and groups with firm strategy, and attract and retain key talent. This is done by managing base pay, benefits, incentives, and executive pay. Elrod also spoke about what he sees as the top five issues facing compensation. These included the impact of Obama, the new congress and the employee free choice act; union negotiations; merit increases; short-term incentive plan redesign; and long-term incentive issues.

Trivia Night

Tiffany Gnau — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:47:26 +0000

Do you know the number of countries that border Turkey or who the shortest US president was? Some members of the Owen community did. 100% Owen hosted a trivia night with proceeds benefiting the Boys & Girls club. More than 25 teams of Owen students, significant others, and professors competed answering 21 questions on an assortment of topics. The winning team was made up of 1st year MBA students.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Entrepreneurship

Tiffany Gnau — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:36:57 +0000

Dr. Scott said that he believes there are certain personal qualities that make a successful entrepreneur. These include a passion for success, a fear of failure, and an out of the box idea or business plan. He also said that there are good, bad, and ugly parts of entrepreneurship. The good includes being hailed as a hero, the bad is that many ventures fail, and the ugly is the humiliation that can result. However, if after all that you want to do it again, then you are a true entrepreneur. Dr. Scott also gave his tips for success. He emphasized that timing and management were everything and told students to hire the brightest employees possible and then trust them to make decisions. Some other tips were to focus, constantly strategize, be professional, and seek counseling to keep your mind and body in top shape.

Smart Printing Initiative

Tiffany Gnau — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:48:33 +0000

Owen's Net Impact chapter kicked off the Smart Printing Initiative by displaying a tree that was made out of wasted paper collected from printers over the past few weeks. The display is part of any educational campaign aimed at discouraging unnecessary printing. The goal of this initiative is to reduce the amount of paper wasted at Owen and to promote responsible consumption. The initiave also comes with a challenge for Owen students to decrease their paper usage by 25% by the end of the year. The money saved will be used to purchase paper with a higher recycled content.

Toys for Tots Drive

Tiffany Gnau — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:17:16 +0000

Owen's community service club, 100% Owen, sponsored a toy drive to benefit Toys for Tots. Toys for Tots is a program run by the U.S. Marine Corps that collects new, unwrapped toys during the holiday season. The toys will be given to needy children in the Nashville community.

GBU UAE trip presentation

Tiffany Gnau — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:56:28 +0000

The Global Business Association international immersion participants shared what they learned from their trip to the United Arab Emirates with the rest of the Owen community. Nine students, including MBA 1st and 2nd years and MSF students spent Thanksgiving break in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. While there, they visited nine companies in varying industries including healthcare, finance, and real estate. The trip was a great opportunity for students to learn about the business landscape of the UAE, challenges of a fast-growing economy, business practices in other countries, and also sightsee and have fun.

Owen Voices International Dinner

Alejo Icaza — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 15:09:40 +0000

Owen Voices, a program by the Global Business Association, pairs American 2nd year students with international first years. The purpose is to ease the transition for the international student and better integrate both communities to help students learn about each other's culture. The dinner was held at Monell's in Franklin, a traditional southern restaurant.

Net Impact hosts author of "Strategies for a Green Economy"

Tiffany Gnau — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:11:37 +0000

Joel Makower, author of Strategies for the Green Economy and the executive editor of GreenBiz.com, spoke at Owen to members of Net Impact’s Owen chapter, Vanderbilt undergrad chapter, and the Nashville professional chapter. Makower spoke about how the green movement has gotten to the point where most companies are asking “what is our green strategy?” Green design now touches all parts of an organization and crosses many functions. For this reason, he encouraged people to promote innovation no matter where in an organization they work, one doesn’t need to be part of the environmental department to make a difference and encourage innovation. Makower stated that he doesn’t have an answer to the question, “how green is good enough?” In order for companies to have credibility they must ask “what do you know?” “What are you doing?” “What are you saying?” Companies that can demonstrate this can be taken seriously.

Real Estate Case Competition

Tiffany Gnau — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:01:00 +0000

Owen students won fourth in the National Real Estate Challenge held at the University of Texas at Austin. The case was provided by Goldman Sachs and focused on a business plan that included the purchase of a Central American-incorporated company, demolition of the hotel, and the construction of a two-tower luxury condominium development. The Owen team was made up of first-year students Doug Archibald and Stephen Songy and second-year students Will Eckstein, Shelby Pool, Ryan Seibels and Matt Treble. The University of Texas at Austin won first in the competition followed by the University of Pennsylvania and Yale. Other teams competing included the University of California at Berkeley, Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, Virginia, Duke, Harvard, Northwestern, Michigan, MIT, NYU, Stanford, UCLA, North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Southern California and Wisconsin.

WBA dinner

Tiffany Gnau — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 01:09:46 +0000

The Woman’s Business Association sponsored a dinner at Joyce Rothenberg's house. Rothenberg is the director of Owen's Career Management Center. This was a great opportunity dinner for students, faculty, and staff to get to know one another on an informal level.

LDP: A legacy of leadership

Carl Liu — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:00:51 +0000

The second-year Leadership Development Coaches hosted the weekly Owen social night to showcase what how this program enriches the Owen experience and translates into valuable managerial skills. All Owen students take part in the LDP program which focuses on giving and receiving feedback, team effectiveness, and leadership development.

IBC hosts Diwali

Carl Liu — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:50:47 +0000

The Indian Business Association hosted Diwali "the festival of lights." The night included information about the history of this Indian festival, a the fashion show, dancing, and music performed by Owen students from India. Students also had the opportunity to taste authentic Indian cuisine. This event serves to educate the Owen community about this historic country and the importance of emerging markets.

Casino Night at Owen

Carl Liu — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:21:35 +0000

Owen was transformed into "NashVegas" as the Vanderbilt Marketing Association held its annual casino night. This event gave Owen students the chance to demonstrate their skills on the table. The admission proceeds served as a donation to the Boys and Girls Club of middle Tennessee.

Owen Halloween Party

Carl Liu — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:26:44 +0000

100% Owen hosted a Halloween party at B.B King’s downtown. Music was provided by Super T. Students dressed in their craziest costumes including movie actors, cartoon characters, and athletes.

Owen Voices Game Night

Alejo Icaza — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:05:45 +0000

Owen voices, a program that pairs American 2nd year students with international 1st years, held an international game night in the Owen lobby. This event was an opportunity for international students to show American students traditional games that are popular in their home countries.

Dean's Book Club

Tiffany Gnau — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:42:11 +0000

The first session of the Dean's book club discussed the book The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria. Dean Jim Bradford guided the conversation. The discussion began with students introducing themselves and giving a quick summary of their background to understand each others perspectives. Students then debated how accurate Zakaria's portrayal is and what they see as the future of the United States' place in the world and the postitives and negatives of globalization.

OBSA BBQ

Tiffany Gnau — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:30:06 +0000

The Owen Black Studen Association held it's annual BBQ fundraiser. The event also serves as an an opportunity to network and have fun with fellow students. This year the event was catered by Neely’s BBQ, which has been featured on The Food Network and is an example of an African-American business in the Nashville community. The event far exceeded expectations and achieved more than a 50% margin of profit and served 120 students, staff, and faculty

Jason Alba event

Tiffany Gnau — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 21:21:49 +0000

Jason Alba, CEO and creator of JibberJobber and author of I’m on LinkedIn… Now What??? came to Owen to speak with students. The Career Management Center sponsored the sessions to teach students how to optimize their online presence to find jobs and attract potential recruiters. Alba spoke about the importance of networking, both growing one’s network and nurturing those relationships. He also provided tips for branding a person’s LinkedIn profile to match their career goals and attract recruiters.

Club Fair

Tiffany Gnau — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:15:06 +0000

The Owen club fair was held at the weekly Thursday social. It provided an opportunity for 1st year students to learn about the different ways to get involved at Owen. 2nd year club officers described the purpose of each club, what activities were planned for the year, and ways to get involved. Each concentration at Owen has a club. In addition there are clubs based on interests, such as the Culinary Society and Net Impact, a club aimed at increasing environmental sustainability through business.

International Students Visit the Wildhorse Saloon

Ann Magruder (guest reporter) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:06:33 +0000

The USBCC Discovered That "Shake Your Bottom" Can Cause Giggles In Any Language: As an introduction to Nashville culture, 30 international students and some locals headed to the Wildhorse Saloon for an introduction to country music and the country phenomenon of 'line dancing.' After a few eight-counts of grapevines, rocksteps, stomps and claps, nothing gets the crowd going quite like shaking your bottom. Of course, if you’re in the back of the line, you get to watch everyone else shake theirs!

Owen students recognized at Earth Day Festival

Edmundo Cepeda — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:50:49 +0000

During the Earth Day Festival held at Centennial Park, Net Impact members James Butler and Kelley Brewer were honored for their contributions in making the Festival carbon neutral!

Capitalist Ball

Tiffany Gnau — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:25:56 +0000

Owen students celebrated the end of the school year at the annual Capitalist Ball. An 80s cover band provided the music for the formal held at the Nashville City Club downtown. Pictured are Owen 1st years Shige Onodo and Ann Magruder.

WBA Social

Tiffany Gnau — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 19:16:29 +0000

The Women's Business Association held a wine and cheese Spring Social to celebrate the end of the year and bid farewell to the 2nd year students. Pictured are 1st year MBA students Amanda Pullins, O'Neill Crist-Fulk, Colleen Mackey, Trisha Thompson, and 2nd year Tasha Ross.

Owen team dream ends in semifinals

Edmundo Cepeda — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 16:00:13 +0000

After a great season, Owen's soccer team ("Your Mama") lost in a close game during the semifinals. The team was trying to recapture the championship held by an Owen team two years ago.

Global food festival

Edmundo Cepeda — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:44:30 +0000

The Global Food Festival featured 12 teams from all over the world showcasing their cultures and food. Owen's most important intercultural event of the year was won by the China team. Attendees enjoyed music, performances and food from around the world.

John F. Brock, President and CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc at Owen

Edmundo Cepeda — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:33:39 +0000

John F. Brock, President and Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., spoke in front of 100+ Owen students, faculty and staff. His lecture, "Delivering a Legacy of Winning," focused on the challenges faced by Coca-Cola Enterprises and how they are tackling them.

Owen follies

Edmundo Cepeda — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:24:05 +0000

Owen Follies believes that life should not be taken so seriously, and that during this magical hiatus from the real world we call graduate school, there are things that should be celebrated, things on which students should look back with a single, perfect tear, and things on which, quite frankly, students should mock and deride. This year, as in years past, Follies took place at the historic Belcourt Theater, with an attendance of over 200 students.

100% Owen Auction

Edmundo Cepeda — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:32:39 +0000

100% Owen and the Vanderbilt MBA community held its 11th annual spring charity auction, with the goal of raising funds for the Boys & Girls Club of Middle Tennessee. At the end of the evening, $12,000+ dollars were raised.

Investment Property Seminar

Edmundo Cepeda — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 03:18:58 +0000

The Real Estate Club hosted an Investment Property Seminar imparted by Mr. Ben delCarmen (Vanderbilt MBA 2005) of Latitude Realty Group. The seminar was open to all students, faculty and staff interested in one day owning investment real estate.

The Changing Workforce and the War for Talent

Tiffany Gnau — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 18:46:48 +0000

Bob McNabb, Executive Vice President of Korn Ferry and CEO of Futurestep spoke to students about changes in human capital management. He gave tips to Owen students tips on how to communicate with Millennials and the importance of leadership development among all employees. As CEO of Futurestep, Korn Ferry's outsourced recruitment subsidiary, he is responsible for setting the company's strategy and overseeing global operations and hopes to lead Futurestep to be the premier provider of recruitment outsourcing solutions.

Marketing Madness

Edmundo Cepeda — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:05:03 +0000

Marketing Madness is an annual brand competition among teams of current students to promote an existing brand as creatively and effectively as possible. Each team selects a brand and then creates a booth to promote the brand. This year, Team ASSETS (Ethan Dunham, Erin White, Shana Levy, David McIntosh and Jessica McConnell) were voted by students and professors as the winners of Marketing Madness!!

Taking on the world’s toughest energy challenges

Edmundo Cepeda — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 02:55:46 +0000

The Finance Club invited Mr. Gary Weed, Vice President & Downstream Controller at ExxonMobil, to speak at Owen. Mr. Weed spoke to MBA and MSF students about the challenges facing the energy industry, and how ExxonMobil is meeting those challenges.

Entrepreneurs & Investors: Inside the Black Box of Venture Capital

Edmundo Cepeda — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 02:45:31 +0000

Mike Aspinwall, partner with Talcott Partners, spoke in front of MBA students and faculty at Owen. He began his talk by giving a brief background of Talcott Partners, a capital firm that makes lead and control-featured expansion-stage venture and growth equity investments in innovative financial services and healthcare services companies. Mr. Aspinwall talked about the three stages any investor goes through: the investment, the relationships and the journey.

Investing the Templeton way

Edmundo Cepeda — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 02:16:38 +0000

The Finance Club invited Lauren C. Templeton to speak at Owen about her new book “Investing the Templeton Way”. Her presentation was a great opportunity learn about value investment and how her great grand uncle Sir John Templeton created some of the world’s largest and most successful international investment funds.

Lauren C. Templeton is the owner of the Chattanooga-based investment firm, Lauren Templeton Capital Management, LLC. She is also the founder and Chairman of the Southeastern Hedge Fund Association, Inc.

Monopoly Night

Tiffany Gnau — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:40:37 +0000

The Owen Real Estate Club hosted Monopoly Night, sponsored by members of the local real estate community. Students played by "Speed Monopoly" rules. Proceeds benefited Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.

The New Economics of Energy and Food

Edmundo Cepeda — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:43:12 +0000

As part of green week activities' Net Impact hosted a round table with Jacob Gordon, writer at Treehugger.com and Sarah Bellos, co-founder of ASK Apparel and Nashville Urban Harvest. In the round table they discussed the localization of energy and food economies as well as their impact on business, the environment and the security of these resources.

LiveScribe CEO Jim Marggraff

Tiffany Gnau — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:31:54 +0000

Jim Marggraff, CEO of LiveScribe and a serial entrepreneur, spoke to Owen students. Marggraff spoke about his career as an entrepreneur, including his roles as co-founder of StrataCom and Explore Technologies and inventor of the LeapFrog FLY pentop computer. He also demonstrated his newest venture, the LiveScribe smartpen. The smartpen writes and records speech and synchronizes the two to revolutionize student note-taking habits. The final for the core Marketing class had students market the introduction of the LiveScribe smartpen. At the conclusion of the talk and product demonstration Marggraff presented smartpens to Ashley Lykins, Danielle Craig and Destry Nelson, whose Marketing finals were chosen by the LiveScribe team for their thought and originality.

Building a Fundable Company

Edmundo Cepeda — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 02:00:48 +0000

A distinguished panel of bankers, investors, and consultants discussed issues related to capitalizing growing companies. Topics included capital markets activity, business organization, interaction with financial partners, and development of business plans, financial projections, and deal marketing materials. The Panel was compossed of Ken Berberich, Senior VP and Manager of HealthCare at Corporate Banking and Treasury Services, First Tennessee, Vic Gatto, Partner at Solidus Company, John Harrison, Senior Managing Director at Harbert Management Corporation, Jim Meade, Partner at Accounting and Assurance LBMC, Chris Sloan, Member of Boult, Cummings, Conners, & Berry. The panel Moderator was Scotte Hudsmith, Executive Vice President of Finance and Development at Passport Health Communications

Owen Information Technology Expo

Edmundo Cepeda — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 01:42:38 +0000

The Owen School IT Department in partnership with Net Impact hosted the "Technology Expo 2008" featuring emerging technology and highlighting the corporate social responsibility efforts of technology companies. Participating companies included: Dell, CDWG, Apple, Lenovo, Sprint, Verizon, Technical Innovations and HP. Student that visited the booths, had an opportunity to learn about new products/technologies and their corporate social responsibility efforts. In addition, next generation consoles were installed so attendants could play and test their abilities.

Home buying seminar

Edmundo Cepeda — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 01:24:32 +0000

The Real Estate Club hosted a Home Buying Seminar for first time buyers. Ben delCarmen (Class of Owen '05) and John Rula of Latitude Realty Group walked the 50+ attendants through the home buying process and showed them everything from how to search for a house to what documents are needed for closing.

Leadership - lessons learned in the military and applied in business

Edmundo Cepeda — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 01:10:59 +0000

The Owen Executive Programs and the Owen Armed Forces Club hosted a special luncheon presentation by Digital Fusion CEO and Lt Gen (RET) USMC Frank Libutti. This event provided an extraordinary opportunity to hear the leadership insights from the military and how they can be applied to business. Gen Libutti is currently the CEO of Digital Fusion, an information technology services company in Huntsville, AL.

Drink Blind

Tiffany Gnau — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:29:16 +0000

Cork and Barrel (Owen’s wine appreciation club) held a drink blind in the Owen lobby. Teams of students bought three bottles of cabernet sauvignon and, with the labels covered, rated each other's wines. The winners went home with an unopened bottle of all the wines tasted at the event. The winning team consisted of MBA second years Suzanne Gerus, Rachel Baltuth, and Erin Hofman and their bottle of Villa Mt. Eden.

Chairman of AIM Family of Mutual Funds speaks at Owen

Edmundo Cepeda — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 22:22:44 +0000

Bruce L. Crockett, Chairman of the AIM Family of Mutual Funds, and father of MBA Class of 2008 Drew Crockett spoke to 100+ faculty, staff, MBA, MSF, and MACC students.

Mr. Crockett spoke about how he has alway taken the fork on the road,and how that led him to become the President and CEO of COMSAT Corporation, early in his career.

His advice to everyone present was to always take the fork on the road, even if that means going through the hardest path.

Professor Barry's film response

Edmundo Cepeda — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 22:06:18 +0000

As part of the Series of Films, Lectures and Panel Discussions "Iraq War: 5 Years and Counting" Owen's Professor Bruce Barry led the film response of "Control Room". Along with Professor Barry, John McCarthy, Director of of the Max Kade Institute and Micheal Schoenfeld, Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs answered the questions of the audience.

"Control Room" is an eye-opening documentary about Al Jazeera, the Arab world's most popular news outlet, and the most profound film to date on how the U.S. government has manipulated the news coverage in Iraq.

For the complete film schedule visit

Owen Places 2nd in Case Competition

Tiffany Gnau — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 21:08:22 +0000

Owen students took second place at the Venture Capital Investment Competition held at the Wharton School of Business. The VCIC helps students learn what it is like to be a venture capitalist. The students act as investors, with real entrepreneurs pitching their business plans to them. The students then had to create executive summaries and present their ideas and field questions from a panel of venture capitalists. The Owen team consisted of Owen 1st years Vishal Bansal and Neeraj Rao and 2nd years Oscar Atkinson, Michael Augustine, and Chris Caughman.

McKinsey's Marketing experts visits Owen

Edmundo Cepeda — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 22:00:21 +0000

The Vanderbilt China Business Forum invited to Owen, one of the top experts in the world on marketing in China, Ian St-Maurice. Mr. St-Maurice is a China marketing specialist for McKinsey & Company. He has been working out of McKinsey’s offices in Shanghai for many years, and is a well-known author of many of McKinsey’s research reports on China. He talked about the life of a consultant his transition from private industry to consulting. In addition, he talked about the Asian markets and the consumer behaviors on them.

Annual Chili cook-off

Edmundo Cepeda — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:11:37 +0000

The entrepreneurship club hosted the annual chili cook-off. 12 different teams competed to become the best chili and best marketing in Vanderbilt. At the end "Hot Beef Injection II: Electric Chicken Boogaloo" was voted by the 100+ attendants as the best chili, and "Cooked up my date" was awarded the best marketing at the competition.

Annual Law school Vs. Business school dodge-ball tournament

Edmundo Cepeda — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 16:13:00 +0000

The Law and Business society organized the annual Law Vs. Business schools dodge-ball tournament. Over ten teams battled for their schools to become dodge-ball champions. Last year reigning champions lost the opportunity to reclaim their crown. At the end, Owen maintained the supremacy over Law School and kept the championship. After the tournament was over the participants enjoyed refreshments and food.

Mardi Gras party at Owen

Edmundo Cepeda — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:16:37 +0000

The Office of Development and Alumni Relations will hosted a Mardi Gras social for Alumni and students. Students, staff, faculty enjoyed and evening full of jazz, food and beverages New Orleans style. As part of the evening the work of Peter Veruki was recognized.

Nissan Senior Vice-president spoke at Owen

Edmundo Cepeda — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:18:00 +0000

Bill Krueger Senior Vice-President for Manufacturing, Purchasing and Supply Chain Management, The Americas, spoke about Nissan's supply chain practices. He emphasized the use of Monozukuri at Nissan. Monozukuri creates value by reducing the total delivered cost of high quality products to Nissan’s customers.