Tag Archives: mccombs

Academics, Alexandria, Centennial, MPA Council, Student Life

Happy New Year!

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Last year I wrote a blog about New Year’s resolutions, so this year I thought I’d switch it up and look at the past year in review. And because accountants love numbers so much, let us take a look at the past year in numbers.

300: Hours of lost sleep

268: Number of Intermediate Accounting problems worked

750: Cups of coffee drank

64.5: Hours spent researching tax law

90: Number of hours spent at McCombs studying during finals

10: Number of Esteemed Lyceum Speakers

13: Number of football games I wish I we had won

9: Number of football games actually won

11: Number of interceptions thrown by UT quarterbacks in 2012 (ugh, this just pains my heart)

28: Number of volleyball games won on the pursuit of the national championship (and this one warms my heart right back up!)

13: Number of Longhorn medals in the 2012 London Summer Olympics (6 gold, 5 silver, 2 bronze)

67: Number of all-time gold medals won by Longhorns (not a 2012 fact, but this picture definitely went viral in the UT network during 2012)

309: Number of new MPA candidates admitted

2: Number of MPA Council awards given at 2012 spring commencement

100: Number of years UT Accounting has celebrated

7: Number of years in a row UT Accounting has been ranked #1 at the graduate level

2: Number of National Championships won by Longhorns this year

1: Number of med schools coming to the UT Austin community

2012 was clearly a fantastic year, and here’s to 2013 being as equally memorable and classy!

Keep it classy, Longhorns.

Academics, Events, Melissa, Student Life

The Man in the Glass

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Harvin C Moore IIIA few weeks ago, Professor Limburg and the MPA program welcomed Harvin C. Moore to speak at our Distinguished Speaker Lyceum.

Mr. Moore began his presentation with some relatable stories, his qualifications, and who he was. To give you some background, Mr. Moore was a lawyer, businessman, and UT Grad (Hook ‘Em!) who had much success in both Real Estate Development and the Savings and Loan business. He was known for having a “Midas touch”  due to his gift for putting together lucrative real estate deals. His story seemed to be similar to others we have had the pleasure of hearing this semester in Lyceum- a successful businessperson who has graciously volunteered their time to share with us personal anecdotes and provide some advice before we head off into the real world.

All of a sudden, Mr. Moore began describing a scenario to us and asked us to close our eyes and imagine a man standing alone in the middle of El Paso. (Are you a little confused? Don’t worry- we were too.) Much to our surprise, we open our eyes and see Mr. Moore standing on stage and he begins to tell us of his time in PRISON in El Paso. His company had been issuing illegal loans, and justifying it to themselves because they were solvent at the time of the loan. Being solvent doesn’t negate the fact that the type of loaning Mr. Moore was participating in was illegal. He explained that after he was notified about the criminal charges, he knew he could not sit in the court room and plead “not guilty.”  Thus, Mr. Moore went to prison.

I found his story so interesting, and it was quite an eye-opener to the entire Lyceum audience. The MPA program provides us with ample opportunities to succeed, yet once we do succeed, we must be sure that we maintain our ethical principles. In his message, Mr. Moore alluded to the poem, The Man in the Glass, by Dale Wimbrow. The poem reminds us that we will all have the opportunity at least once in our lives to act in a way that compromises our ethical beliefs, but if you can’t live with yourself after you make such decision, it probably is the wrong decision.

Academics, Events, Pierre

Analytics in Practice: Going Beyond the Buzzwords

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The MPA Distinguished Speaker Lyceum is one of the most important traditions in the MPA program. Last Tuesday we hosted Ms. Camille Stovall, a partner at Deloitte and the Chief Operating Officer of Deloitte Financial Advisory Services (FAS). The conversational interview between Ms. Stovall, Professor Steve Limberg, and my fellow MPA students ranged from how to approach difficult restructurings to the importance of analytics. The latter prompted Prof. Limberg to ask just how analytics are used in the real world.

Continue reading Analytics in Practice: Going Beyond the Buzzwords →

Academics, Feature, Melissa, Student Life

Welcome back, Longhorns!

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BevoWelcome back, everyone! If you are new to the MPA program this year- congratulations and I hope you are excited for an amazing year! I hope everyone had a wonderful summer and the transition back into the swing of things isn’t proving to be too difficult. My summer was a fun one, but I am glad to be back at McCombs.

Over the summer I was informed of some fantastic news about UT. The UT Austin ALPFA Chapter received the Student Chapter Award for the Central Region! ALPFA is largest Latino association for business professionals and students with chapters nationwide. Every year they chose a student chapter from each region and this year, it was UT! I am increasingly humbled and honored to be a part of this school when I learn about all of the accomplishments and accolades that UT is constantly bringing in.

Another tidbit of exciting news this summer was the selection of the winners for the 2012 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards. This year, two McCombs professors were honorable recipients, Anitesh Barua and Steven Kachelmeier. I had the opportunity to take an MPA class with Professor Kachelmeier last semester and it is great to see a familiar professor receive this award! In the article, Professor Kachelmeier is quoted regarding the importance of passion in a teaching role saying, “If a teacher is not passionate about the subject matter, one can hardly expect students to feel otherwise.” Passion about the subject is something that I really value in a professor and if you are new to McCombs this year, you can certainly expect to see passion for their subject is key to McCombs professors.

Alexandria, Career, Student Life

Spreading Light

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I’m sure I’m not the only one who has been shocked and dismayed at the news reports of our military’s horrific treatment of Afghans. The recent outbreak of these stories on top of an onslaught of reports regarding the poor treatment of US citizens at the hands of fellow Americans causes me to ask the question, “Is America becoming heartless?”

The Economic Collapse Blog certainly thinks so. The article, “19 Signs that America is Becoming a Heartless Place,” argues that as America has fallen on tough times with the down-trending economy and seemingly endless wars in which we are engaged, Americans have become more cynical and heartless. It then backs this claim with 19 recent American news stories.

The business world especially faces claims of being “heartless.” There are numerous frauds, Ponzi schemes, and immoral decisions led by business professionals that have led to the public perceiving business as “heartless.”

The thought that our country and the business world have become heartless makes me very concerned for the future. Obviously, my peers and I only have so much control in changing the future of our country. Yet, I do have faith in our ability to turn the tide and make the business world a more caring and considerate place.

I say this because McCombs instills the importance of ethical decision making. We value the needs of company stakeholders and community participants. Continue reading Spreading Light →