Olin Business School

Mahendra R. Gupta (right), PhD, the Geraldine J. and Robert L. Virgil Professor of Accounting and Management and dean of Olin Business School, chats with degree candidate Jamie Wolf of the Executive MBA (EMBA) St. Louis program Dec. 9 in McMillan Cafe prior to the EMBA graduation in Graham Chapel. The event marked the first time that all three of Olin’s EMBA programs graduated at the same time in the same place.

Students wanting to make a significant environmental impact on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis are encouraged to sign up for the third annual Olin Sustainability Case Competition. The registration deadline is Friday, Dec. 9.

More than 45 percent of undergraduate business students, and a larger fraction of MBA students, need financial assistance to attend Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis. Thanks to the Scholars in Business program, they can. Established in 1979, this named scholarship program is supported by hundreds of individuals and companies who provide more than 350 partial and full tuition named scholarships to Olin students.

Mahendra Gupta, PhD (middle), dean of Olin Business School and the Geraldine J. and Robert L. Virgil Professor of Accounting and Management, chats with guests during the 17th annual Olin Thanksgiving Feast Nov. 24 in the Knight Executive Education Center.

The following are among the new faculty members at Washington University: Joseph Cullen, PhD; Amr Farahat, PhD; Exequiel Hernández, PhD; Baojun Jiang, PhD; Ping C. Lieser, PhD; Asaf Manela, PhD; Matthew Ringgenberg, PhD; and Adina Sterling, PhD. Others will be introduced periodically.

Albert Pujols, the St. Louis Cardinals first baseman and Major League Baseball’s most coveted free agent, is clearly the best player in the game. But whichever team signs him this offseason will be overpaying, says an expert on pay-for-performance at Washington University in St. Louis.

Lead gifts totaling $25 million by two of Washington University in St. Louis’ most dedicated benefactors will support the university’s Olin Business School and its plans for two new innovative facilities for graduate education. The gifts — $15 million from Charles F. and Joanne Knight and $10 million from George and Carol Bauer through the Bauer Foundation — will provide the capital foundation for Olin’s second century of top-ranked undergraduate and graduate business programs, which have grown steadily since the establishment of the school in 1917.

Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis has been selected as the inaugural winner of the MBA Roundtable Innovator Award for its Critical Thinking@Olin initiative, designed to develop critical thinking skills in MBA students.

Fannie Mae, the biggest source of money for United States home loans, said last week it will need another $7.8 billion in federal aid following a third-quarter loss of more than $5 billion. As long as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are receiving subsidies, say banking experts at Washington University in St. Louis, there exists potential for another economic meltdown.

A field of 18 teams was narrowed to just eight finalists during the annual Olin Cup “elevator pitch” competition Nov. 10. Forty teams began the competition in September, vying for $70,000 in seed money to start a new company, but 12 were eliminated in an earlier round of judging.