Home > About > Note from the Dean, August 2009
Note from the Dean
As we start another academic year, you'll be proud to know that life is very exciting at Pitt. Despite the uncertainty of our economy, we are preparing to welcome 584 new students into our undergraduate and graduate programs (321 freshmen in CBA, 156 full-time MBAs, 95 part-time MBAs, and 12 PhDs). We are pleased to offer these students, along with all our returning students, some unique extracurricular learning opportunities.
Next month (September 24 and 25), the G-20 summit will be in Pittsburgh. To commemorate this historic meeting of world leaders in our city, Pitt Business is hosting a month-long celebration of the G-20 member countries with spotlights and forums on the role of the G-20 in our global economy. We will be featuring one G-20 country each day leading up to the Pittsburgh Summit. On four Wednesday evenings prior to the summit, we've invited individuals from the finance ministry or central bank of select G-20 countries to speak to our students about economic and international business issues from their country's perspective.
The G-20 Summit is a wonderful opportunity to teach our students about globalism in a very real context. We're collaborating with the University and the City of Pittsburgh to be included in other campus-wide events as well. Please visit www.business.pitt.edu/g20, for more details. We hope to take advantage of this opportunity to promote Katz and CBA and raise our reputation.
We are pleased to welcome Bob Kelly, Chairman and CEO of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, October 1, for the third Thought Leaders in Business speakers' forum. This seminar is made possible by the generous support of alumni Shekar Narasimhan (MBA '75) and Ed Hurley (MBA '78). The event is designed to expose students to leading business thinkers and to allow the entire Pitt Business community to reflect on what it means to be a leader. Bob will be discussing the origins of the financial crisis and the efforts being made to strengthen the U.S. financial system, as well as the global financial outlook—a fitting follow up to the G-20 summit.
On November 20, Katz alumnus L. Frederick Southerland (MBA '74)—executive vice president, chief financial officer, and group executive of ARAMARK Corporation—will be speaking to students as part of our Executive Spotlight series. Among other things, he will offer insights based on his experiences from ARAMARK's transition from being a publicly held company to being a private corporation.
In addition to these events, we are looking forward to welcoming you and your families back to campus October 23-25 for Homecoming Weekend. This issue of Pitt Business provides more information about activities planned for the event, including the CBA Alumni Anniversary and 10-Year Reunion Brunch on October 25 in the newly renovated ballroom of the University Club. Our alumni are a source of great pride for the school and I look forward to opportunities like Homecoming, where I can connect with our graduates, current students, and friends. And, of course, I look forward to talking about the great progress we are making at the school and giving you lots of reasons to be proud. Our goal is to make your degree more valuable everyday. Thanks for your support, see you in October, and Hail to Pitt!
Best regards,
John
