Archive for the ‘Authors’ Category

by Keith C. Kerber, Assistant Director Annual Giving

‘Twas the week before Christmas, and all throughout Thunderbird,
Not a student could be seen nor a professor be heard. 
To the ends of the earth they all went in a flash,
No hesitation with three weeks sans class. 

Why bother reading for the semester ahead?
While visions of distant lands danced in their heads.
Why should they spend the time studying in the IBIC,
When diverse and wild cultures await their first visit.

Now Melinda, now Alan, now Arvind and Jenny!
Go Marie, go Gonzalo, go Jaseem, and Haley
To Kilamanjaro, to Machu Picchu, or to the Great Wall,
Dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!

Practice those languages and cross-cultural skills,
You’ll put them to use for business or thrills. 
See you next semester; we trust you’ll return.
For without you, there’d be no Thunderbird.

But don’t stay here forever ‘cause we’d rather you go,
Creating prosperity all over the globe.
You’re all so amazing, there’s no doubt about that
The world needs more T-birds and I’ll drink to that!

In addition to a drink I’m giving a gift to ensure the world has more Thunderbirds? Will you give a gift today? Thank you.

In the most recent post to his blog “International Political Economy Zone,” Emmanuel Yujuico ’01 explores the relationship between indicators of climate change and conflict.

Yujuico is currently a research fellow working on ASEAN economic integration at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His interests are in anything pertaining to IPE.

Mary Adams, ’82, who is the founder of Massachusetts-based Intellectual Capital Advisors recently published “Prevention is the Best Approach” in the Home Work section of CFO Magazine’s cfo.com Web site.

Adams’ posting came in response to a recent CFO Magazine article called “What’s a Reputation Worth?”

In her posting, Adams calls reputation “the new bottom line.”

Also, check out more from Adams on management, innovation and a variety of other current topics in her blog “Smarter Companies.”

by Kelly Hicks, Stewardship Coordinator

Luisa Solarte ’98 was a senior Coca-Cola Manager in Colombia and a graduate of Thunderbird.  She was an exceptional person valued both for her business professionalism and her commitment to her home country of Colombia.  Tragically, she was killed in a terrorist attack that took place on February 7, 2003 in  Bogotá.  She believed passionately in what entrepreneurism and customer service could achieve in an embattled economy and society like Colombia.  She brought to her work all the skills and knowledge she had learned at Thunderbird.

This scholarship endowment is dedicated to Luisa’s memory by The Coca-Cola Foundation and to the furtherance of the hope and skills so much a part of her life.  We welcome you to add to this endowed scholarship or one of the many scholarships available to Thunderbird students, listed here.

by Keith C. Kerber, Assistant Director of Annual Giving

Do you ever arrive at your workspace with a necessary task to do and think to yourself, “I really don’t want to do this today.”?  Maybe it’s one of those tasks you just don’t want to do.  Period!  I enjoy working at Thunderbird and I love all that it is doing and all that it stands for however, I have those moments.  In fact, if I’m honest, I have them weekly.

That’s when I look at the number of Yes’s on the wall of my cube and I tell myself, “They all said yes, so Kerber, you can do this.”  Then I get back to work.

This week’s number is 4,499.  In the 09-10 fiscal year 4,499 T-bird alumni have said yes to Thunderbird with a financial contribution.  Wow!  4,499 people gave so this organization can inspire and equip more than 1,200 students with the business and management skills they need to create prosperity all over the world!

It may be a little corny but I imagine the crowd of 4,499 alumni donors out in front of my office building cheering for Thunderbird.  Each of them saying yes to the work I do – no, not the specific tasks assigned to my role – but to the overall work of Thunderbird.

And I wonder, “do those 4,499 alumni know how inspired I am by their gift?”

So if you are one of those 4,499 T-birds, know that you made my day!  Thank you.

Your gift will do far more than just make my day.  Discover how at www.thunderbird.edu/giving

by Kelly Hicks, Stewardship Coordinator

During the Thunderbird Global Council’s annual dinner in March, a number of Thunderbird students from China entertained us by performing a Chinese Fan Dance and a version of the Pass the Flower game.  In this version, the holder of the special flower was given a hand drawn piece of Chinese art done by one of our current students.  No one knew which was the special flower until the end.  After tossing the flower table to table, appropriately, the flower ended up in the hands of Thunderbird Global Council member Ian McCluskey ‘82 who had earlier in the day visited his late wife’s grave on Thunderbird’s campus.

Gayle came to Thunderbird in the Fall of 1981 to embark on a new adventure following more than a year of regular visits to the hospital for chemotherapy.  By the Spring of 1982, Gayle’s problems reappeared and more chemotherapy treatments ensued.  In August of 1982, Ian and Gayle were married.

A personal account by Professor Richard Mahoney says she was “achingly gaunt, but glowing in that was of hers.”  Gayle slipped away peacefully one evening the following August.  Her legacy remains at Thunderbird.  There is a plaque on a large pine tree located on the southside of the A dorms with a quote that was very special to Gayle.  And there is a scholarship, for students who have made significant contributions to the Thunderbird community and have financial need so that others may finish what Gayle had fought so hard to accomplish.  Read Ian McCluskey’s article here.

We welcome you to add to this endowed scholarship or one of the many scholarships available to Thunderbird students, listed here.

by Kelly Hicks, Stewardship Coordinator

The many scholarships at Thunderbird have helped countless students over the years.  Mr. Charles H. Mannel Sr. understood this better than most due to his tenure as Vice President of External Affairs from 1976 through 1990.

During his time here, Mr. Mannel and his wife Rose traveled the world to promote the School, raise funds, and attend First Tuesdays.  They also had various students living with them over the years while they completed their degrees.  Charles was the embodiment of the Thunderbird Mystique, and although he officially retired, he was unofficially an Ambassador of Thunderbird for life.  He recruited students and sold the value of the Thunderbird experience until the day he died.  When he passed away in February 2006, his son Charles Jr. (Class of 1982) and daughter Laura Kay Mannel-Harsh (Class of 1983) created an endowed scholarship for continuing students in the full-time MBA program knowing that their parents would appreciate the continuation of their wish to help others reach their goals through their education at Thunderbird.

We welcome you to add to this endowed scholarship or one of the many scholarships available to Thunderbird students, listed here.

by Keith C. Kerber, Assistant Director of Annual Giving

That’s what the alumnus living in South Korea told Barsha, one of our Student Campaign Ambassadors (SCAs) who hails from Nepal. It had been 5 years since he had heard from anyone at Thunderbird. Within a few minutes, Barsha had updated the email and residential address of this long lost alumnus. Soon he will receive the Thunderbird magazine and the monthly alumni newsletter and be back in touch with Thunderbird. 

Last Tuesday night, a dozen of our SCAs gathered for a late night calling session so that we could reach our alumni throughout Asia. It was a great time from 8 pm until midnight. At one point I heard Hindi, English, Japanese and Chinese all being spoken simultaneously! 

It was a win-win-win: Alumni had the opportunity to speak with current students and learn about Thunderbird, students got to learn about Asian alumni and companies, and we raised more than $5,000 for Thunderbird. We look forward to another late night session in coming weeks.

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

Super First Tuesday in New York was held at the Galway Hooker Pub on March 2nd, 2010.  Below are a few photographs from the event.

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What is design thinking?
Why does the ability to be a design thinker matter?
What would the outcomes look like with a world informed by design thinkers?
What if a generation of design thinkers came from Thunderbird Global School of Management?

These are just a few of the questions I’ve been contemplating over the past year.  The more I talked with colleagues and associates, like Thunderbird board of trustee, Dick DeVos, alumni and Global Council members, Jack Taylor ‘71 and David Young ‘91, and family and friends who attended design schools, and the more I read, (A Whole New Mind and Drive, both by Daniel Pink, Out of Our Minds by Sir Ken Robinson, Disrupting Class:  How Disruptive Innovation will Change the Way the World Learns by Clayton Christensen and The Art of Innovation by IDEO’s general manager, Tom Kelley, among other books and articles), I began to wonder,

What if design schools had access to Thunderbird’s global education and our students had access to design thinkers and methodologies that encouraged and stimulated design thinking? 

This question prompted other questions:  What is design thinking and why does it matter?
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