The Simon School is ranked among the top business schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in its annual survey. Simon ranked 27th in the magazine’s May 2010 issue. The School was ranked 29th last year. The survey also ranked Simon 13th in finance, 31st in accounting and 24th in part-time MBA [...]
Simon School of Business Dean Mark Zupan is quoted in a recent column by former Wall Street Journal senior editor Ron Alsop about the advantages for getting an MBA right out of college or shortly thereafter. The new column on the GMAC Web site is titled “The Alsop Perspective: The Millennial Generation’s Rush to Get an MBA.” [...]
With the assistance of Simon alumnus Sean Flaherty and his firm ITX Corporation, the School now has its own iPhone/iPod Touch application! Available for free at Apple’s iTunes store, the Simon app contains the latest news, events, and information on the School. A second phase of the app is already in development and will be [...]
Prof. Abraham Seidmann
We seldom face problems when we are about to meet with our physicians. However, long waits at the doctor’s office or medical clinic increase the actual time spent receiving care. In bigger cities, parking troubles only makes the situation worse. Most importantly, there are scenarios where the patient may not prefer to walk or travel to the physician due to their clinical condition. All these issues can be addressed through telemedicine which relies on communications and information technology to deliver clinical care to patients. In essence, physicians and specialists can access medical images or communicate with patients using AV applications such as Skype where the patient is remotely located at his/her home or medical facility and the physician is in the office. The aim of this technology is to provide superior medical care at lower cost by using information technology and communication to reduce the number of doctor visits a patient makes. The critical factors that determine the outcome of this technology are:
To evaluate telemedicine, a random controlled study involving Parkinson’s patients was conducted by Simon Graduate School of Business Professor Abraham Seidmann in conjunction with co-authors from the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Department of Neurology and Johns Hopkins. The initial research indicated that medical results for patients using telemedicine were superior as compared to patients using traditional means of medical care (results). Patients felt they received superior care and expressed their desire to continue using telemedicine and family members also encouraged its use (results). The study demonstrated that telemedicine has great potential for mainstream use for Parkinson’s patients, as well as others with chronic medical conditions, since the technology makes it easier to share data and images as compared to transporting patients to their physicians. The authors note that telemedicine is at the tipping point of a successful era and future success beckons.
The 4th annual Mark Ain Business Model Competition, made possible by support from Simon alumnus and entrepreneur Mark S. Ain ’67, founder of Kronos Incorporated, has finally come to an end. During the final round of the competition, each team had 10 minutes to present their concept, analysis, and recommended business model for a new start-up company. This was followed up by a grueling series of questioning, with a panel of judges incessantly trying to find flaws in their concepts/analysis. After a private deliberation, the team of judges, all seasoned entrepreneurs and business executives, came to a decision.
The 1st place team, winning $10,000, was MediTel Health Solutions, consisting of Benjamin George ’13 (M.D.) and Jason Reminick ’13 (M.D. and M.B.A.). Their business concept revolved around connecting Parkinson’s patients and physicians via Web-based video conferencing technology, a win-win for both specialists and patients. On MediTel Health Solutions’ concept, Ain commented, “This is something that really needs to be solved in the real world. I think you have something here – congratulations!”
Coming in 2nd place and winning $2,500 was QMD Biosystems, a company aimed at developing biosensor devices that detect specific food-borne pathogens in an efficient, low-cost manner. Their team consisted of Christophe Dorrer ’11 (M.B.A.), Soumya Mitra ’10 (M.B.A.), and Jie Qiao ’11 (M.B.A.). Lastly, wrapping up the top three and receiving $1,000 was I-Squared Materials. Their business concept involved enhancing the performance of lithium ion batteries. This team consisted of Sriram Atchutuni ’10 (Executive M.B.A.), Pankaj Gupta ’13 (Ph.D.), Nitin Tyagi ’11 (M.S.), and Weston Wicks ’11 (M.B.A.).
Mark Ain commented, “The judges had to make some very tough decisions.” When all was said and done, Ain made it clear that judging this contest “keeps getting harder every year.”
Social entrepreneur and University of Rochester alum, Chris Hartman, recently spoke at the Simon School regarding his new local economic development plan. To give you his back story, Chris is a Rochester native, born and raised. He attended Vassar College and declared an independent major in environmental education. Post-college, he worked for eight years at Sprout Creek Farm in Poughkeepsie, transforming it into an efficient, organic, grass-based dairy farm. Not long after, Chris moved back to Rochester to start a family and attend the Warner School of Education for graduate studies. 
Noticing a lack of access to healthy and nutritious food options for his neighborhood, Hartman created the South Wedge Farmers Market in 2007. He went on to create the West Side Farmers Market and The Good Food Collective as well.
Now a teacher at the Harley School here in Rochester, Hartman sees the need for a community food enterprise that retains profits locally, encompassing the entire food supply chain from farming to restaurants. “Rochester spends $400 million on food and only 2% of that is local,” said Hartman. He continued, “If we move that figure to 10% – and that’s a realistic goal – we’re talking $40 million being reinvested into our community on an annual basis.” Hartman is now in the process of growing his latest, and possibly greatest, endeavor, Headwater Foods Inc. Headwater Foods is Hartman’s attempt to vertically integrate all possible links in the supply chain for local food including distribution, processing, restaurants, compost centers, etc. This for-profit, for-change company has a “triple bottom line,” as Hartman put it: profit, people and planet. Headwater Foods is committed to growing the community economically, socially and environmentally.
“There’s a lot of exciting possibility for the Rochester community and local businesses with this vertically integrated model,” Hartman noted. “We need to think creatively beyond the current, boutique, high-priced nature of local food and make it more widely accessible.” Hartman acknowledged that future business leaders, such as current Simon School students, need to realize the enormous potential for local and sustainable economic development here in the Rochester community.
F. W. de Klerk, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former President of South Africa
F. W. de Klerk, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former President of South Africa, delivered a luncheon keynote address during the “Challenges to Leadership and Governance” Conference hosted by the Simon Graduate School of Business in partnership with the Stern Stewart Leadership Institute on April 29-30, 2010 at The Pierre Hotel in New York City.
De Klerk examined the many challenges facing the United States today including the economy, terrorist threats, environmental issues andkeeping pace with global technologies, among other key topics.
A series of panel discussions ensued over the two-day conference featuring global leaders, industry notables and preeminent faculty. Panelists examined the key issues facing senior business executives in light of changes in government policies and the recent financial crisis. Speakers, including CEOs and board members of major multinational corporations, addressed controversial topics such as the role of government and its impact on corporate decision-making and governance, concern over looming inflation, the causes of the value meltdown and the role of integrity in business leadership.
“The Simon School is pleased to bring these important topics to the forefront of public debate, to ensure that opinions are heard and controversial topics are covered in an open and straightforward manner,” says Simon School Dean Mark Zupan. The conference coincides with the School’s strategic plan to engage in meaningful and relevant discourse on public policy.
More to come on the conference soon.
[Video] Dean Zupan talks about the fee increase for #international students to live, work & study in the US http://youtu.be/g8ICDTk-q60 #MBA
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