Welcome from Dean Bruce Walker

Welcome to the February 2007 issue of Mizzou Business Online.  This issue highlights some of the important ways through which alumni stay involved with the MU College of Business.  Many MU graduates come back to campus and give their time, expertise, and financial support.  (Of course, it doesn’t take a personal trip to Cornell Hall to make a gift to the college; you can do that by mail or online!
 
Alumni involvement is integral to our college being a truly high-caliber business school.  Specifically, the generous financial support of our alumni and friends allows us to develop programs benefiting our students, recruit top-caliber faculty, and continue to enhance the world-class facility we have in Cornell Hall. 
 
The continued increase in membership in The Herbert J. Davenport Society illustrates how generous and dedicated our alumni are.  In 2006, the Society welcomed 33 new members and recognized 17 advancing members for their continued giving to the college.   Read more about the 2006 banquet here, where you can also see photos from the event plus a list of new members.
 
Another avenue that promotes alumni involvement is the college’s Speaker Series, which is an outstanding opportunity for our students (as well as faculty members and me) to meet and hear from prominent executives and entrepreneurs.  In the past year, we were visited by CEOs and presidents of companies – men and women who have changed the landscape of the business world in significant ways.  Read the story.
 
A past participant in the Speakers Series and one of our university’s most active alumni was honored recently by the Mizzou Alumni Association.  Ralph Clark (BA ’62, MA ’64) received the 51st Annual Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor the association presents to an alumnus.  Few, if any, alumni have given as much of their time and expertise to the college as Ralph.  We applaud his efforts and congratulate him on this very well-deserved award.   Read the story.

Ralph is just one example of the outstanding college alumni who contribute so much to the education of our students.  I am always impressed by the number of individuals who find ways to give back – by visiting a classroom as a Professor-for-a-Day, serving on a college advisory board, contributing to the college financially, or by simply spreading the good word about the MU College of Business.  Thank you for helping to make our college one of the finest business schools in the nation.  With the support we enjoy (and appreciate) from alumni and business firms, I know the future is very bright for the MU College of Business.

Sincerely,

Bruce J. Walker
Lansford Professor of Leadership and Dean

Last Edited: 2/8/2007