Black MBA - Winter 2008/2009 - (Page 14)

UP FRONT Anticipating the influx, in early December, the D.C. City Council approved emergency legislation that will allow District bars and nightclubs to stay open 24 hours and also allow them to serve alcohol until 5 a.m., three hours longer than normal. The extended hours will run from Jan. 17 through Jan. 20. Congressional offices nationwide have been flooded with requests to secure tickets for special spots on the Mall. There are only 240,000 tickets being distributed to members of the 111th Congress and the Presidential Inauguration Committee. The free tickets provide a spot, not a seat, near the Capitol lawn for the swearing in. Demand is so high that some members of Congress such as Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) are having a lottery to dispense their tickets. So far, Cardin’s office has received 55,000 requests for the 400 tickets he has to give. –Keith L. Alexander Heading to the inauguration? Send us your stories and photos: blackmbamagazine@ naylor.com. KEY EDUCATION GRANT FOR UNIVERSITY OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS THE NEED TO improve minority representation in math and science disciplines is well known, and while the new Barack Obama administration promises to make math and science education a “national priority,” there’s even more evidence that the gap continues to widen. In November, Notices of the American Mathematical S o c iet y repor te d t h at American boys are underrepresented in high-level math competitionscompared to some other nations, and girls are “highly underrepresented.” Minorities were practically nonexistent in the competitions. Thanks to a new federal grant, the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) is looking to make a dent in the problem. In October, the university announced a five-year, $11.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to fund the Virgin Islands Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (VI-EPSCoR). The new grant renews a 2004 NSF grant to the university, a rare piece of federal funding for a historically Black university (HBCU). Among the purposes of the grant are strengthening teacher and professional development in math and science, increasing the number and quality of undergraduates majoring in science and pursuing research experiences and increasing ties between UVI and science education from the elementary to the college levels. The Virgin Islands’ public school system is overwhelmingly Black. The grant also will allow program participants to conduct global research on the impacts of climate change, work closely with decision makers to apply science to effective management of the territory’s natural resources and address local and regional environmental challenges. – Dan Holly MASSMUTUAL INTRODUCES MULTICULTURAL SCHOLARSHIP MASSACHUSETTS MUTUAL LIFE Insurance Company, or MassMutual, announced in November its launch of a national multicultural scholarship program that will give $60,000 in university scholarship and internship money to African-American, Asian/Pacific and Hispanic college students. Collaborating with MassMutual are San Francisco Bay Area Insurance Agency, which will award three scholarships to Bay Area students, and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF), a 33-year-old organization that in its history has given out more than 86,000 scholarships, totaling more than $250 million, to Latino students at almost 2,000 colleges and universities nationwide. MassMutual will target four U.S. metropolitan areas to find potential scholarship awardees – San Francisco, Atlanta, Houston and Los Angeles. Applicants, who can apply for 12 $5,000 scholarships in their area, are required to have concentrations in the fields of accounting, business, economics, finance, marketing, math or statistics. Other requirements include that the student be a full-time sophomore, junior or senior at a U.S.-accredited college or university and have a 3.0 minimum GPA. An internship opportunity also is available to applicants via specific agencies. Applications for the MassMutual scholarship are due Feb. 18, 2009, and will be announced June 2009. – www.massmutual.com 14 BlackMBA • Winter 2008/2009 • www.nbmbaa.org http://www.massmutual.com http://www.nbmbaa.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Black MBA - Winter 2008/2009

Black MBA - Winter 2008/2009 Contents Preserving Dr. King’s Legacy: Harry E. Johnson is Six Years and $100 million into his First Fundraising Effort Online: www.nbmbaa.org and www.blackmbaonline.com Up Front: Inauguration Takes Over D.C. From the President: Connecting With the Basics The First 100 Days – Already in Progress Back to Basics: Finances 101 Is the Middle Class Disappearing? – Your View From Medals to MBA Conference Highlights Market Forces: The Job of Trying to Find a Job in a Tight Market Applying to an MBA Program?: Avoid Making these Five Critical Mistakes How They Did It: Catching up with the Winning Teams from NBMBAA’s 2008 National Case Competition Change It Up: If a New Job is at the Top of your New Year’s Resolutions, it’s Time for Careful Planning and Preparation Bull Market: Now is the Time to Take Advantage of Web 2.0 On the Move: Member News, Promotions and More Backstage at BET: NBMBAA’s Leadership Institute Takes on BET’s Case for Growth Toronto Rising: NBMBAA’s Toronto Chapter is on a Progressive Track, Building Strong Partnerships and Exposure as Membership Climbs NBMBAA® Chapters: Find Your Local Chapter Here Do What You Love: Turning Your Passion into a Successful Business Requires Patience, Planning and Plenty of Hard Work Above and Beyond: Meet the Winners of the 2008 Wells Fargo/NBMBAA Entrepreneurial Excellence Award Decorating by Design: Michelle Rider Leaves Corporate Life for Entrepreneurship Culture Shock: Black Museums Nationwide Appeal for Greater Support from the People whose Heritage they Strive to Preserve Gear Up for 2009: Books to Herald Success in the New Year Advertiser Index: Who’s Who in the Issue

Black MBA - Winter 2008/2009

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