MBA students write their own lessons

Sometimes you just have to leap into the deep end.

As university students across the country go back to school, 43 MBA students at the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business spent two weekends on lock-down — including a full weekend at the Jefferson Hotel — learning as much as they could about a local Fortune 500 company and writing up a case study.

One group recommended that locally based medical supplier Owens & Minor buy a smaller X-ray supply business in Michigan. That purchase should be paid for in five to seven years, the group said. And maybe Owens & Minor could outsource sales. Read more

UR appoints interim business dean

There’s a new dean on campus.

At least for now.

The University of Richmond announced Sunday that they have appointed economics chair Robert M. Schmidt to serve as interim dean of the Robins School of Business.

Schmidt has been a professor at the school for 28 years. He will take over July 1 for outgoing dean Jorge Haddock, who took the job of dean at the George Mason University School of Management.

Schmidt’s interim appointment comes on the heels of Henry N. Butler’s decision to turn down the deanship. You can read more about that here.

Schmidt will serve as dean while the search for a permanent successor continues. For more about Schmidt, check out his official university page.

Dean search at UR Biz School back to square one

The Robins School of Business must again search for a dean after a finalist for the job turned it down.

Citing financial considerations, Henry N. Butler, a law professor at Northwestern University, has withdrawn as the next dean at University of Richmond’s business school, according to an email sent to faculty and staff. Read more

Two seniors win $2,000 in UR biz plan contest

Two University of Richmond seniors took one giant step Friday to fund their startup, which they hope to get off the ground after graduating in several weeks.

On Friday night, Daniel Brunt and apartment-mate Christopher Genualdi pitched a panel of judges about their business, Sniff-Stick LLC, and won $2,000. Read more

Robins School steams ahead in BusinessWeek rankings

The University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business moved up eight slots to No. 12 on BusinessWeek’s list of top undergraduate business schools. Read more

UR business dean leaving for GMU

Three and a half years ago Jorge Haddock became the dean of the Robins School of Business at the University of Richmond, but he won’t be there much longer.

Haddock accepted an offer earlier this month from George Mason University in Fairfax to become the new dean of their School of Management. The GMU board of visitors is in the final approval process of his appointment, which will be effective in July. Haddock will continue as dean at UR for the time being. Read more

Knowledge is Good

Ten days after the University of Richmond set the date for the first information session about next fall’s MBA program, the 40 available seats were already reserved. Read more

Wall Street to Broad Street

When Wall Street institutions falter, Richmond feels the tremors. But the details of how all this will play out locally are anyone’s guess.

Pat Fishe, a professor of finance at the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business, said that the day’s events have several local ramifications. National banking activity could slow, and with our substantial banking sector, that could mean slowed growth locally, at least in hiring. Read more