Olin Business School

John Wallace, Robert S. Brookings’ great-grandnephew, talks with Tenille Washburn (JD ’01), a student in the Brookings Executive Education (BEE) program, before a dinner at the Knight Center March 31. With Wallace is his wife, Ellen Wallace (right). The Wallaces were in town for a BEE conference on Daring to Lead. Robert S. Brookings was president of the Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees from 1895 to 1928.

Olin Business School celebrated its 97th birthday March 28 with barbecue, arcade games and fun in the school’s newly opened Knight and Bauer halls. Pictured is Olin employee Nate Quest.

Could a cup of coffee bring faculty across campus together to expand and enhance research and teaching while broadening perspectives? That’s the idea behind the Office of the Provost’s Bring Your Own Idea program, which awards grants to support gatherings of faculty from across Washington University in St. Louis around meaningful topics.

Placing a bet with a few friends on the NCAA basketball tournament this year? You might not enjoy the experience as much as if you hadn’t laid down any money. “Predictions have a negative effect on enjoyment when the outcome is relatively uncertain,” as in the upcoming basketball tournament, says Stephen M. Nowlis, PhD, the August A. Busch, Jr. Distinguished Professor in Marketing at Olin Business School.

As big data moves to the forefront of the boardroom, how do businesses keep up and find qualified people to manage it all? Olin Business School aims to help solve this problem with the launch of its Master of Science in Customer Analytics degree, offered in partnership with IBM.

From a product’s ease of use to its number of overall features, consumers often make tradeoffs in choosing a product. Although consumers tend to prefer higher functionality in the long-term, they often prefer no-hassle convenience in the short-term. A new study out of Olin Business School finds that highlighting price helps consumers stick to their long-term preferences by nudging them to think about value.

Business professor Jack Nickerson offers a game plan — backed by solid academic research — for mid-level managers charged with leading organizational change.

Alumnus Ed deZevallos is a lifelong serial entrepreneur, managing risk against reward and sharing his success to ­provide opportunities for others.

Business student Marc Bernstein and architecture student Miriam Alexandroff, both juniors, won the top prize in this year’s Olin Sustainability Case Competition. The question was: Can WUSTL strengthen the local economy and limit its carbon footprint by sourcing more locally grown food, while still providing nutritionally balanced and diverse food options?

Joe Fox, associate dean and director of MBA programs at Olin Business School, has been named president of the MBA Roundtable, a collaborative, nonprofit organization that facilitates the exchange of information and resources on MBA curricular innovation.