Business & Entrepreneurship

Kevin G. Hall, national economics correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers, has won the 2011 Weidenbaum Center Award for Evidence-Based Journalism. Hall will receive the award during the center’s annual media retreat June 26-29 in Cape Cod.

AARP’s ambiguous statements about Social Security benefit cuts have led to a public roasting of the organization for caving into public pressure, says Merton C. Bernstein, LLB, a nationally recognized expert on Social Security and the Walter D. Coles Professor Emeritus at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. “Whatever stance AARP has taken, it does not provide ‘cover’ for the Obama Administration to agree to cut benefits now, soon or in the future. If AARP does not vigorously and clearly repudiate what some see as willingness to accept benefit cuts, AARP will be the loser.”

While Groupon is popular at the moment, the company’s business model may not be sustainable over the long term, says a marketing expert at Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis.

Lt. Gen. George J. Flynn, deputy commandant for combat development and integration for the U.S. Marine Corps, will share experiences from a distinguished 30-year military career at a Leadership Symposium Breakfast at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 21, at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis. The event is part of Marine Week festivities taking place in St. Louis June 20-26.

As part of its commitment to developing entrepreneurs, this summer the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies will host 25 undergraduate interns at local commercial and social startup ventures. The interns will host panel discussions from 2:30-4 p.m. each Friday during the summer.

Washington University in St. Louis will host the 2011 North American Summer Meeting of the Econometric Society June 9-12. The Econometric Society, which has a worldwide membership, is the most prestigious learned society in the field of economics.

The wave of destructive tornadoes throughout the United States this spring has resulted in an outpouring of charitable donations, including on eBay. While all donations help the cause, raising funds through eBay auctions can be particularly effective, both for consumers and sellers, according to research by a strategy professor at Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis.

Hazards with horrific outcomes — like the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan — are not only difficult to contemplate but are also challenging to plan for financially. Especially when the odds of them happening are incredibly low, says Stuart I. Greenbaum, management expert at Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis.

A new online service designed to “match” law students with potential employers is backed by a proprietary algorithm written by Andrew Martin, PhD, professor of law and director of the Center for Empirical Research in the Law (CERL) at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, and Kevin Quinn, PhD, professor at the University of California at Berkeley. JD Match, the brainchild of law firm consultants Bruce MacEwen and Janet Stanton, is loosely based on a medical school model, which is operated by the National Residency Matching Program and links medical students to available residency opportunities annually on Match Day.

Earning a master’s of business administration degree from Olin Business School is challenging. Having your education interrupted to serve your country in Iraq makes that challenge even more insurmountable. But Hugh Tychsen has met the obstacles head on, and will receive his MBA at the May 20 Commencement.