New Alumni Online directory CARLSON helps alumni reconnect with classmates SCHOOL SPRING 2002 A MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS Is This the Future of Quality? GEMENT – UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA CARLSON SCHOOL OF MANA C ARLSON SCHOOL Carlson School A Magazine for Alumni and Friends CARLSON For information about Carlson School alumni programs, contact Alumni Relations toll free at SCHOOL 877-625-6468, (612) 625-1556 or by e-mail: [email protected]. Visit our Web site at www.CarlsonSchool.umn.edu. Dean’s Corner 1 As he takes the helm, Dean Larry Benveniste talks about The Carlson School magazine is published for his initiatives to move the school toward national alumni and friends of the Carlson School of Management. Direct correspondence to: Alumni leadership and better opportunities for students. Relations, Office of the Dean, 321-19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Pushing for Quality 2 Cyndy Hanson Quality is back like never before and our alumni are Editor leading their industries in quality initiatives. Learn about Stanley Wai recent trends in quality and how the Carlson School is Graphic Designer not only researching and teaching quality, but Contributing Writers: Lori Bush, Michael Franssen, Jen Gelbmann, implementing it into every aspect of the school. Tiffany Graupman, Cyndy Hanson, Frank Jossi Investing in People and Programs 10 Office of the Dean Larry Benveniste Faculty Focus 12 Dean Dennis Ahlburg Associate Dean for Faculty and Research Alumni Hero 13 John Anderson Associate Dean of Administration Alumni Connection 14 Tim Nantell Associate Dean of Domestic MBA Programs Snapshots 15 Bob Ruekert Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs Class Notes 16 Mike Houston Associate Dean of International Programs Lori Bush Director of Alumni Relations New Business Development Enterprise Laboratory Opens Steven Hatting Director of Development and Corporate Relations Business leaders, entrepreneurs, Chris Mayr faculty and students converged Director of Advancement September 13 at the grand opening of Cyndy Hanson the school’s New Business Develop- Interim Director of Communications ment Enterprise laboratory (NBDE). Advisory Board Leadership The laboratory was made possible James Campbell, ’64 BSB Chair, Board of Overseers through a $2.4 million gift from 3M Brent Blackey, ’80 BSB and other generous gifts from Chair, Alumni Advisory Board Rosemount Office Systems, Norwest Equity Partners and the Curtis L. © 2002 by the Regents of the University of Carlson Family Foundation. Minnesota. All rights reserved. At right, Xiaoyang Zhu, chief technology officer at startup company Micro Surfaces, Twenty-three students are currently Inc., speaks with entrepreneur Tom Niemic enrolled in this experiential program. at the NBDE grand opening . Accredited by AACSB International— On the cover: Carlson School alumni dressed in karate suits to symbolize their involvement The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business in the Six Sigma quality system. From left: alums Dan Ruemping, ’03 Evening MBA; Suzanne Holter, ’00 MBA; and Sukyul Suh, ’00 MBA. 28 C ARLSON SCHOOL The Dean’s Corner My sights are set on gaining a leadership and communication skills reputation as a truly national and that will distinguish them among international destination for the their peers. development of management knowl- edge and lifelong management Competition is fierce for our under- education. To get there, I will enhance graduate business program—the and expand our business partnerships typical Carlson School freshman is in beyond Minnesota; by partnering the top 8 percent of his or her high with national and international school class. That means many well- leaders, our students will have qualified Minnesota kids who want broader opportunities for hands-on to get into the program can’t. Our educational experiences. Increased challenge is to expand access to this involvement of business leaders will program, which is ranked 14th Larry Benveniste ensure that our graduates will not nationally. One of my priorities is to only enter their careers of choice, but find the space and resources to I feel very honored to have been also with their employers of choice, expand our faculty and this program named the new dean of the Carlson whether local, national or interna- so we can retain the talent that all too School. Ours is such a terrific institu- tional. Our alumni can play a key often leaves the region for other tion, with gifted faculty, amazing role in this area. business schools. students and a committed staff. We as a school should look to the future I believe the Carlson School’s core There is tremendous pressure on with great anticipation. pursuits—academic research, attract- business schools today. Those of us ing the best and the brightest students involved in business education are I inherit a school that has so much and faculty, and providing meaning- too intimately aware of the battle for going for it – a beautiful, state-of-the ful education resulting in great rankings and the competition for top art facility that is the envy of most careers—will allow us to best serve students and faculty. Our alumni business schools; a top faculty, noted our students, and businesses and know the reputation of a business nationally for its teaching and academic institutions around the school often rides on its MBA pro- research; and a curriculum that ties world. We will continue to focus our gram. The Carlson School is a leading great teaching with real professional strategies in these areas. academic business school, and we opportunities to give our students the need to make our mark nationally kind of meaningful education they We will assemble our excellent with our MBA program and attract want and that companies need. We programs into a comprehensive and more non-Minnesota students. are positioned to become one of the distinct menu that attracts students, premier business schools in the world. managers and recruiters from all over I will work to ensure that the Carlson the country and the world. We have School continues to help keep Strong collaboration with alumni and already begun to enhance our full- Minnesota strong, but at the same other friends in the business commu- time MBA program, and we are time reach out for greater global nity has made our successes possible. refining the concept of “enterprises” presence. I know we will succeed Their support means our faculty can in new business development, because of the core strengths embed- undertake meaningful research they finance and technology solutions as ded within the school and the can bring into the classroom. And an educational vehicle that can truly valuable relationships we have thanks to the dedication and commit- bridge the gap between theory and forged. With alumni support, we will ment of our business community, our practice. These student-managed continue to provide tomorrow’s students actively participate in career- businesses offer students the opportu- business leaders in Minnesota and enhancing, professional experiences. nity to develop the kind of hands-on throughout the world. 1 C ARLSON SCHOOL The Push for uality By Frank Jossi Q 2 C ARLSON SCHOOL American corporations love to banter about their devotion to quality. Ford Motor Company for years employed the slogan “quality is job one” to hammer home the message it cared about producing great automobiles. Levi’s once had the clever tag line “quality never goes out of style” and Ames Rubber chimes to customers that it offers “excellence through total quality.” Nearly every business touts a commitment to quality, and the press frequently lionizes such powerful quality proponents as General Electric’s Jack Welch and Motorola’s Bob Galvin. verage consumers define company or buying a personal quality as something that computer—quality has an element in Aworks for them over a period everything we see and do. Customer of time, doing what they want it to do expectations are higher than ever time and again. They may not care before. They want things done right how the watchmaker or automaker or the first time, and quickly, and if you clothing manufacturer created a don’t meet their expectations they’ll quality product; they only care that it go elsewhere.” works and that it lasts. And many times consumers will pay more for Quality programs could be found in perceived value, be it for a Nikon or a American business for much of the Mercedes Benz. last century. Among the 20th century leaders in quality is Dr. Joseph Juran, Business understands the equation, a 1924 University of Minnesota even if the quality they offer on some graduate whose 1,500-page “Juran of their products will not allow them Handbook for Quality Control” has to charge any more than competitors. been published regularly every 10 Within business, quality is less a years and offers painstakingly de- slogan and is more about studying tailed advice on nearly every aspect of processes, product design, customer quality improvement. The quality satisfaction and getting everyone in guru donated his foundation to the an office or plant excited about Carlson School in 1997, allowing for making improvements. The focus on the renaming and national expansion continuous improvement by Ameri- of what is now known as the Juran can business has led to a massive Center for Leadership in Quality. quality movement partly credited for huge productivity gains over the past If Juran got the ball moving in decade. quality, W. Edwards Deming kept it rolling from the 1950s to the 1980s, “Quality is extremely important, when he received credit for inspiring more so than ever before,” says Lisa the transformation of Japan’s fledg- Peterson-Nelson, chief of quality and ling post-war economy into a dy- process engineering at Data Recogni- namic global power. In 1987, the tion Corporation and a member of a United States government became Carlson School executive forum on involved in promoting quality by quality.