Each week we collect MBA news from leading business schools to give you a quick overview of the latest trending topics.
In this week’s MBA News You Need digest, an HBS professor examines the availability of the H-1B visa, Yale SOM discusses its Affinity Week events, CBS announces new home for its Leadership Essentials program, Chicago Booth highlights its Civic Scholars program, and Georgetown McDonough names its 2019-2020 Poland Real Estate Fellows.
HBS Professor Examines Availability of H-1B Visas
Dimitri V. D’Arbeloff – MBA Class of 1955 Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School professor William Kerr examines if the U.S. risks losing its role as the leader in global talent if more isn’t done to make the country welcoming to talented immigrants. He spends some time reflecting on whether or not the H-1B visa program should be expanded even more than it already has in his analysis, “The Gift of Global Talent: How Migration Shapes Business, Economy & Society.”
H-1B visas are the beginning of a pathway from temporary work to permanent residency in the U.S.; however, the number of visas available are capped each year at a far lower number than demand.
Hesitation to expand H-1B visa access could be attributed to the fear that visa holders might replace U.S.-born workers as less expensive talent. There’s also a problem when it comes to mobility; talented immigrants are beholden to their sponsor for the first couple of years, which means they have weaker job mobility and fewer negotiating advantages. At the same time, there’s evidence that global talent sparks more innovation and productivity.
While the limit of H-1B visas may be considered an arcane system, Kerr believes, “We should welcome and harness global talent, not push it away.”
To read the original article, visit Working Knowledge.
Yale SOM Hosts Affinity Week
Every Yale SOM MBA student arrives with a unique story. Affinity Week, which features various affinity clubs and the student government, was dedicated to celebrating those stories with a variety of events specific to each organization. The goal of the week was to help the Yale SOM community build bridges amongst the clubs, encourage collaboration, and increase engagement with student groups.
Some of the most popular events at Affinity Week included:
- Coming-Out Monologues: Live storytelling of coming-out stories from Out of Office members.
- Open Mic Night: Stories and performances by community members in Evans Hall.
- Bystander Training: Participants learn how to generate positive actions, interrupt harm, and evaluate situations.
- Game Night with Boos: A game night for all students with games such as Jeopardy!
The importance of allyship and advocacy was emphasized throughout each event. The idea is that the Yale SOM community continues to make an effort to show up for each other and engage in constructive conversations.
First-year Community & Inclusion leader Danny Hurvitz said, “The growth and knowledge shared during this week will undoubtedly build our already tight-knit community with a greater awareness of one another’s’ experiences and will help us move forward as a stronger student body.”
CBS to Move Popular Executive Education Course Online
In 2020, Columbia Business School will launch a new online course based on the school’s already popular Leadership Essentials in-person program. The online course is designed to help executives improve their effectiveness and develop essential leadership abilities. In particular, the program focuses on team leadership, emotional intelligence, conflict management, and leading change.
The original in-person program takes place over two days with four half-day sessions.
- Day 1: There are two sessions on this day, starting with Leadership Styles and Emotional Intelligence and followed by Leadership Styles and Managing Change.
- Day 2: The two sessions on day two delve into Leadership and Group Dynamics, followed by Leadership and Personality.
The goal at the end of the program is to help leaders answer a few key questions, including:
- What are the different leadership styles, and what role does emotional intelligence play?
- What key actions are needed to plan and implement change?
- What climate is required to create groups that can be lead?
- How much of leadership is driven by environment?
You can sign up to receive updates about the new online Leadership Essentials program here.
Chicago Booth Highlights Civic Scholars Program
Nonprofit and public sector employees considering an MBA degree, take note: Chicago Booth offers substantial scholarships—up to 100 percent—through its Civic Scholars Program. The program is designed specifically for emerging leaders within the social impact space who are driven to take on roles within operations, management, and strategy in the public and nonprofit sectors.
This year the Civic Scholars Program was expanded to offer both full- and partial-tuition scholarships for Full-Time, Evening, and Weekend students. This expansion also includes a deeper partnership with Booth’s Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation, which is committed to solving complex social and environmental problems. The eventual goal being to arm government and nonprofit employees with the leadership and career skills they need to tackle some of the globe’s most intractable problems.
Neubauer Civic Scholars are taught by the same faculty and earn the same MBA degrees as traditional Chicago Booth students, but they also receive specialized programming and networking opportunities. To date, six Scholars have graduated from the program, and 21 are currently enrolled.
Georgetown McDonough Names MBA Real Estate Fellows
Every year, the Steers Center for Global Real Estate at Georgetown McDonough announces its Poland Real Estate Fellows. Each fellow receives a $10,000 scholarship toward their MBA degree and joins a select group of talented leaders in the field of commercial real estate. Here are the 2019-2020 fellows:
- Zachary Albert
- Colin Chiarodo
- James MacKenzie
- Nataly Perkowski
- Nicholas Quaglia
- Faizan Qureshi
Each of these Class of 2020 MBA students was selected based on their level of commitment to advancing the discipline of real estate at McDonough. Nicholas Quaglia reflected, “The list of past Poland Fellows is an incredible group who have gone on to do great things in the industry and who are actively involved in improving the program and helping guide current students.”
Read more about the 2019-2020 Poland Real Estate Fellows here.
