Archive for October, 2009

by Aaron Wilder ‘08, Development Fellow

Thunderbird has a long history of leadership in educating socially-minded business leaders and has led the charge to incorporate ethics as a central component in management education across curriculum here in the United States as well as within foreign and other domestic institutions of higher learning. In fact, Dr. Ángel Cabrera, Thunderbird’s current president, chaired the committee that created the United Nations Global Compact’s Principles of Responsible Management Education (www.unprme.org) with the motivating realization that there cannot be a more socially responsible business world without academic institutions creating more socially responsible business leaders.
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by Alicia Sutton ‘09, Program Manager

We have a dilemma in the Thunderbird Alumni Relations Office: the Thunderbird Alumni Network is so well-connected and functional that it can almost exist without any connection back to the school.  Why is this a dilemma?  That’s a good question.
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by Keith Kerber, Assistant Director of Annual Giving

Just a few miles from Thunderbird, the Irish rock band, U2 performed on their awe inspiring 360º stage.  It was the band’s attempt to create intimacy…. “on a grand scale” Bono quipped.  Although I don’t think he heard me, I was pleased to sing along with Bono on my favorite lyric, “You’re packing a suitcase for a place, none of us has been; A place that has to be believed to be seen….”

The lyric, from the song Walk On, has encouraged me during some strenuous times and continues to stir me to dream big.  The song was inspired by the plight of Aung San Suu Kyi who has been kept under house for nearly 20 years after being elected prime minister of Burma in 1990.  It speaks of her tenacity to keep on believing and fighting for the freedom of the people of Burma in spite of her suppression.  What keeps her going?  Her belief that someday Myanmar will be free again.
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by Gbemi Disu ‘06, Assistant Director, Leadership Annual Giving

While I did not coin the phrase Thunder-Razzi, I feel it is an apt description of the next series of blogs that I plan to post. Finally my obsession with taking pictures can finally be of use, relatively speaking of course. I recall on my graduation day, a reporter from the Arizona Republic asked me what the one thing I will take away from Thunderbird was. At this time, I did not know that she was a reporter and assumed she was just a friendly guest of some other graduate. My penchant for being different led me to avoid the obvious answers of how the education was top notch, the professors were amazing, etc. In my mind, those were a given, thus I laughed heartily and said something to the effect of “I am most grateful for the fact that no matter where in the world I am, I will always have a friend and a place to stay!” Yes, I know, simply pure genius! In my defense, I didn’t realize this would be published or I would have given my response deeper thought!
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by Aaron Wilder ‘08, Development Fellow

In the past few years, there has been a dramatic society-wide increase of interest in learning about management, specifically in contexts diverging from the private, or for-profit, sector. Instead, attention has shifted toward other areas, most notably the social, or nonprofit, sector. The two main factors contributing to this increase of interest in social sector management from business students are the need to create greater social capital in an increasingly globalized world and the continuing need for skilled managers articulated by the millions of nonprofit institutions here in the United States as well as those abroad. Thunderbird students arrive on-campus with a mindset that is pre-disposed toward social responsibility and sustainable value creation. That mindset is expressed through volunteering at ThunderCares Day, being involved in social change student groups like ThunderGreen and GLOBE, as well as employing the management acumen learned at Thunderbird in a social sector career after graduation.
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by Alicia Sutton ‘09, Program Manager

The first week of November, T-birds will descend on Macau to celebrate the 2009 Thunderbird Global Reunion. In addition to the great reunion activities, check out some of these other things that Macau has to offer:

• Visit the historic Senado Square and the ruins of St. Paul’s
• Wander down the narrow alleys and off the tourist path. Start at St. Paul’s and head to a nearby courtyard or street to see an older and slower paced Macau. Don’t worry, Macau is so small, you are never far from the hotel.
• Visit the Venetian Hotel & Casino on the Cotai Strip to see the world’s largest casino.
• Visit the basement casino of the Hotel Lisboa to see what gambling in Macau was like before the Adelson and Wynn came to town.
• Head to the Protestant Cemetery - hard to find, but worth the trip.
• Visit the antique furniture shops near St. Paul’s – they will ship items all over the world.

If you would like to register for the Global Reunion, please click here.

by Keith Kerber, Assistant Director of Annual Giving

During these early weeks of our call center efforts to reach our alumni, I have spent a lot of time coaching our callers.  One of the biggest hurdles for these business students to overcome is the feeling that they are “taking” people’s money or asking them to “give up” cash they could use for something more tangible.  This is natural since most students here incur a fair amount of debt in order to further their education.  They would naturally have heightened awareness of conserving cash when on a restrictive budget.

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by Alicia Sutton ‘09, Program Manager

I am inspired today by some of Thunderbird’s smallest alumni chapters.  Through the work of their dedicated chapter leaders, our small alumni chapters are providing opportunities for T-birds all over the globe to connect to each other and to connect back to the school.

I received an email today from the Cairo chapter.  In an area of the world where there are less than 30 T-birds, chapter leader Sherif Wahdan ‘08 managed to get a group together to discuss politics, business opportunities and shared experiences.

 I was also contacted by a group of alumni in El Salvador that have started meeting for First Tuesday even though they do not have an official alumni chapter.  Look for that chapter to become official very soon.

If you haven’t been out to an alumni chapter event in awhile, you should go.  And take a moment to thank your chapter leader for the work they do to keep the alumni network strong.

by Gbemi Disu ‘06, Assistant Director, Leadership Annual Giving

I came across an article from CNN the other day that got my feathers just a little bit ruffled and so I thought of sharing it with you, dear readers, to get a little bit of your insight on the commentary.  Here is a link to the full article.
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