R. Eugene Klippel
R. Eugene Klippel

It’s an honor and a pleasure to address the alumni and friends of the School of Business and Economics as the new dean.

As some may remember, I taught within the School and served as dean from 1994 to 2001. I’m happy to be back in Houghton with familiar faces, as well as many new ones. Since returning to campus, I’ve been excited to see the School still bustling with energy and new ideas. We look forward to building the next steps in innovative and global education while immersing students and faculty in enriching experiences.

With that in mind, the concept of networking and relationships leads to future opportunities for us around the world. In this issue of Impact, we explore the bridges built by students, faculty, and staff through competitions, research, and the desire to make a worldwide impact. The New Venture Competition, a partnership between Michigan Tech and Central Michigan University, is an excellent example of this effort, as is our work in project management and other faculty-led competitions.

From there, we focus on three alumni: Maggie Chen ’04 finds career success and a balanced family life in the demanding world of international finance, Greg Horvath ’82 discovers what he refers to as “the biggest changes in information technology,” and Andy Storm ’99 combines engineering and business to help keep troops safe around the world.

Updates on campus include the new engineering management major and global business minor, a faculty-led market research project, and Dean Johnson’s award as the 2012 Michigan Teacher of the Year. Next we have an update on the Sam B. Tidwell red tie campaign from recent CPA recipients and our accounting faculty.

To round out this issue, the Tech MBA Online class of 2012 completes their degrees with an international capstone trip to Bangalore, India’s version of Silicon Valley. Two undergraduate students also provide their perspective on international travel by answering a few questions about their summer study abroad experiences in Germany and Spain.

Stay tuned for more news and stories of our successes.

All the best,

the dean's signature

R. Eugene Klippel
Dean, School of Business and Economics

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.