Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

MSB Finds New Home, Looks to Future

On the first day of classes for the fall 2009 semester, students in the McDonough School of Business no longer departed for five separate classroom buildings on campus and instead convened in the new Rafik B. Hariri building. As we approach the end of the inaugural academic year of the new home of the MSB, students and administrators expressed satisfaction with the new building, but maintain that there is still room for growth for the program.

“Coming together under one roof provides us with the unified space we need to build on our community of achievement that focuses on developing leaders with a global mindset,” Chris Kormis, the MSB’s associate dean for marketing and communications, said in an e-mail.

Kormis said that the new building offers abundant new spaces including 15 classrooms, 34 breakout rooms and a 400-seat auditorium.

The expansion of the business school’s facilities has allowed for significant improvements to existing programs such as the distinguished leader series, according to Ronak Parikh (MSB ’12). Speakers this year have included Richard Branson, Ted Leonsis and former president of India Abdul Kalam.

The new facilities have also improved the academic experience for students, said Lowell Karr (MSB ’11), president of the MSB Academic Council. Karr cited the building’s technology as being helpful in creating a better working environment.

“The building is essentially state of the art in terms of quality and technical aspects. Every breakout room has a large TV that can be connected to a laptop, helping groups better work on their projects and produce better work,” Karr said.

The new building helped to boost the MSB’s undergraduate program ranking to 23rd in the nation this year, one spot up from 2009.While administrators are pleased with the climb in the rankings, students said that the limitations of the curriculum could be a cause for the MSB not being ranked higher.

“Georgetown focuses heavily on finance and to an extent accounting, and not much on majors like marketing, management, international business or operations management,” Parikh said. “We have an exceptional faculty, but the diversity of course selection does not match that of [schools like] NYU.”

While students expressed some dissatisfaction with the curriculum, the main area needing improvement for the MSB seems to lie in assisting students in planning for the future. According to the Career Center’s senior survey from the Class of 2009, 76 percent of MSB graduates found employment after graduation. Eleven percent are still seeking employment. Nine percent went to graduate or professional school.

Parikh said that the MSB had not provided him with guidance about pursuing a master’s degree. Norean Sharpe, an associate dean in the MSB, said that the MSB trains students for professional development, citing the Alumni Mentor Program, which allows for alumni to give career advice to juniors and seniors doing summer internships in D.C. and New York City, and the Professional Development Series, a series of pre-professional panels.

“Judging from the number of internships our juniors obtain, I believe that Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business provides an excellent academic foundation and an extensive alumni network for our students,” Sharpe said.

Students are not entirely convinced of the effectiveness of these initiatives, however, which are mainly geared towards juniors and seniors.

“From what I’ve heard, [the MSB] doesn’t give you direct support with the job search,” Parikh said. “I feel that the MSB should also assist in this aspect of business students’ lives. Much of the success students have with internships is on their own merit or through family or alumni connections.”

Karr said that the MSB is effective in helping people find internships, but indicated that this is largely the result of guidance from faculty.

“The MSB is very good at preparing students to find business jobs and internships. Faculty are an amazing resource for students to help them with contacts, references and advice on how to help get such a job,” Karr said.

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