Smeal College of Business Offering Graduate Certificate in Corporate Accounting
The Penn State Smeal College of Business now provides a Certificate in Corporate Accounting (CORAC) option for postgraduate students. The online program requires 12 credit hours.
Startup Lessons: ParkingBee
The path for startups can be treacherous. In the series “Startup Lessons,” we examine new MBA startups at the ground level to understand how they succeed.
Smeal Professor Named College Faculty Director
Penn State Smeal College of Business has announced that Lou Gattis, clinical professor of finance, has been named the faculty director for the college. Gattis came to Smeal in 2004. Before his career at Smeal, he spent fifteen years in corporate finance and investment management where he worked for companies such as IBM and Freddie Mac. Gattis also served as an adjunct professor in finance and economics at George Mason University as well as professor of finance at the University of Maryland.
As faculty director at Smeal, Gattis will be accountable for various academic aspects of the MBA program, including the curriculum, concentrations and global immersions. In a Smeal press release, Gattis explained that the role of the faculty director is to “work closely with MBA students, staff, and faculty to advocate academic integrity, continuously improve the curriculum, and promote student academic achievement.” In addition to serving in his new position, Professor Gattis will continue to teach one course in financial modeling.
Smeal College of Business Mourns Passing of Founder of the School’s Venture Capital Center
John D. Garber ’40 passed away last month in Palm Desert, Calif. He and his wife, Bette, were significant contributors to the Penn State Smeal College of Business, establishing the John and Bette Garber Venture Capital Center for Penn State Smeal MBA students in 1999.
The Garber Venture Capital Center—part of the college’s Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship—is a $5 million venture fund that supports student-managed private equity investing in early stage technology-based companies.
“The generous contributions to our college from the Garber family have provided our MBA students with an unmatched opportunity, through the Garber Venture Capital Center, that prepares them to think critically about business, investment, and risk,” said Charles H. Whiteman, John and Becky Surma Dean of Smeal.
John and Bette’s $5 million commitment to Smeal in 1999 to establish the Garber Venture Capital Center was at that time the largest gift across the country to a program of this nature. Over the course of his career, John invested in numerous start-up companies and wanted to provide Penn State Smeal MBA students the opportunity to gain experience doing so as well.
Students engage in the venture capital process by enrolling in the Garber Practicum seminar. Entrepreneurs from several prospective investment properties present their business concepts, then students perform due diligence on these firms. Toward the end of the seminar, the student teams present their findings to their peers and vote on which, if any, properties warrant an investment.
