Real Humans of the Drexel LeBow Class of 2019
Over 100 years since the founding of what would become the Drexel University Bennett S. LeBow College of Business, the business school, located in the heart of Philadelphia, has steadily transformed into one of the nation’s most dynamic landing spots for MBA candidates. Alongside the LeBow MBA, Masters and Executive programs, the school offers a highly—regarded part-time and Online MBA, both of which have been recognized among the best in the country by U.S. News & World Report and the Financial Times.
With so many acclaimed AACSB-accredited programs, its only natural that the LeBow College of Business would be cultivating an increasingly diverse MBA class. These students have an opportunity to study accounting, business analytics, supply chain management & logistics, economics, finance, general business and marketing, taught by over 100 full-time professors at the business school. Currently, around 3,800 students are enrolled in various graduate, undergraduate, and doctoral programs. An estimated 1,020 are enrolled in the graduate programs alone, making LeBow one of the largest private business schools in the country.
Outside Gerri C. LeBow Hall, the center of Drexel’s LeBow College of Business
Of the 3,800 aforementioned students at LeBow, approximately 450 come from 60 countries outside of the United States. The numbers, however, only tell a small story about the Drexel LeBow Class of 2019. To learn more about what it means to earn a graduate degree from LeBow, we interview five current students, who come from several corners of the world: from Asia, to Europe, to right here in Philly. Read on to see what’s in store for these students at LeBow and what life after an MBA and Masters may look like.
Philly Schools React to Eagles Super Bowl Triumph
Philadelphia Eagles fans around the world rejoiced last night, taking home the first Super Bowl victory in the history of the organization. A handful of Philly business schools also joined in the jubilation after the upset of the New England Patriots, sharing a round of joyous reactions.
Drexel University and the LeBow College of Business was among the first to share their reaction to the Eagles victory, posting a celebratory video from University president John Fry.
On behalf of #Drexel Dragons everywhere, congratulations to our Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia @Eagles! #SBLII #SB52 #SuperBowlChampions #flyeaglesfly pic.twitter.com/VLtQkxezgn
— Drexel University (@DrexelUniv) February 5, 2018
Temple University and the Fox School of Business were a bit less formal in their congratulatory Eagles reaction, posting the following.
“True leadership is about action.” #FlyEaglesFly https://t.co/NSip55sAE6
— Fox School (@foxschool) February 5, 2018
Hey @Eagles,
That was fly. #FlyEaglesFly— Temple University (@TempleUniv) February 5, 2018
The West Chester Philadelphia campus took things a bit further, lighting up its buildings in heavy Eagles green.
WCU’s Philadelphia campus showing just a tad 😉 of Philadelphia @Eagles pride #flyeaglesfly #superbowlchamps #ramsup #wcuphilly pic.twitter.com/QsXFeio5Gr
— West Chester U (@WCUofPA) February 5, 2018
Villanova Business went a bit of a different direction, with students Michelle Maduras (’19 VSB) and Kriya Amin (’19 VSB) review the night’s ads in a live feed. Some of their favorites from Sunday night came from Mountain Dew, Doritos, and, of course, the New York Giants’ Dirty Dancing inspired tribute.
That's all from us! Thanks for following our SuperBowl takeover, and congratulations to the @Eagles, #FlyEagelsFly!!! pic.twitter.com/54q7KeFNee
— Villanova Business (@VU_Business) February 5, 2018
Out of Chicago, experts from the Northwestern Kellogg School of Management revealed their thoughts on the Super Bowl 52 ads, which you can check out over at Clear Admit.
Drexel LeBow Professor Talks Pitfalls of Paid Parental Leave Laws
Natalie Pedersen, Assistant Professor at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business wrote an opinion piece for the Philadelphia Inquirer in which she examined the dilemmas many companies face surrounding parental leave for new parents. The main issue Pedersen explored in the article was the complexities of accommodating the needs of new mother versus new fathers.
Well-meaning employers have faced costly legal battles for providing too much leeway for new mothers. Estee Lauder, for example, employed a policy in 2013 that gave new mothers six weeks of paid parental leave in addition to paid time off to recover physically from giving birth. Fathers, under the company policy, earned two weeks of paid parental leave. This seemingly compassionate policy was actually the justification for a class-action law suit against the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is facing a similar class-action lawsuit for offering “primary caregivers” 16 paid weeks of parental leave after the birth or adoption of a child, but only two weeks for the nonprimary giver.
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the policy violated the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, both of which do not allow companies to pay employees differently and offer different benefits based on gender.
In fact, under federal law, U.S. employees are not guaranteed any paid parental leave whatsoever. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) does require that some employees are given three months unpaid parental leave.
Pedersen sites studies that show that giving new parents time off of work is important for several reasons. Babies whose parents stayed home with them when they were newborns have been shown to have higher IQs and decreased infant mortality rates. Pedersen also mentions that paid leave is a wise move on the part of employers, because it will strengthen employees’ loyalty to the organization.
Companies who wish to provide benefits for new parents that extend beyond the minimum requirements of the FLMA do have options. Employers can give paid parental leave, so long as they are cautions about adhering to the parameters of the law. In fact, they can even offer slightly different benefits for new mothers and new fathers without legal ramifications. Birth mothers are recuperating from the physical aftermath of pregnancy and birth, so they can receive paid time off for medical reasons, whereas new fathers are ineligible for this benefit.
Natalie Pedersen teaches legal studies at LeBow College of Business, and has been published in several journals, including the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies and the Hofstra Labor and Employment Law Journal. She earned her BS in economics from The Wharton School at UPenn and a JD from Harvard University.
Applications Remain Open for Drexel Analytics 50 Competition
Drexel University’s Lebow College of Business and CIO.com have partnered to build the Analytics 50 Awards program, which will honor 50 companies for their innovative uses of analytics. The competition is in its second year, and the deadline to enter has been extended to May 31, 2017.
The Top 5 Philly Marketing MBAs
Marketing is a competitive career field, and not all MBA programs are designed to train you to be a marketer. The key is finding a program that not only builds your skills in strategy, business, consumer behavior, decision-making theory and more but also has the right contacts within the marketing industry to help you get a job at a top company after graduation.
If you live in or are heading to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, choosing the right MBA program for a career in marketing could be a difficult choice. There are a dozen programs to choose from, and each offers a unique perspective and special features that make them attractive. So, how do you decide which school to attend for an MBA in marketing?
