Costello College of Business News

Many individuals speak of their time attending university as being their formative years. Coming from China, Yingjun Chen, MS Management ’18, not only grew as a business graduate student, but she also had to adjust to an entirely new country and culture.

For Charles “Chuck” Schue, Executive MBA ’05, his Native American heritage plays a significant role in his identity.

Consistently, across dozens of different measures, including social and economic equality, political division, and other indications of individualism versus collectivism, the United States experienced growing social connections that reached a peak in the 1960s, and then declined to reach record lows today.

Mandy O’Neill, associate professor of management, decided to step away from campus for a deeper dive into her research on organizational culture.

The George Mason University School of Business has partnered with Brown & Brown Insurance since 2008 in bringing campus audiences engaging, timely, and thought-provoking speakers through the Brown & Brown Speaker Series. Now the longest running speaker series at the university, 40 prestigious leaders have already taken the stage including Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Co-Founder of Cisco Systems Sandy Lerner, and CFO of Travel Channel Kellie Goldstein among many others.

Celia Miranda, now a senior majoring in information systems and operations management, attended a bootcamp for aspiring entrepreneurs when she was a high school senior. The bootcamp took place on the Fairfax campus of George Mason University. It was then and there that she learned what she wanted to do and where she was comfortable studying.

The Center for Retail Transformation and the Center for Real Estate Entrepreneurship at George Mason University School of Business have entered into a research collaboration with Fairfax County on the Relay project in Merrifield, Virginia. Relay is an autonomous (self-driving) electric public transportation shuttle that will circulate between the Mosaic District and the Dunn Loring Metrorail Station.

His sights set on the music industry, Daniel Cooper, a senior double majoring in marketing and management, has the drive, talent, and brains to make it big, but there was one more thing he needed–a little extra money to help him continue advancing his studies. Not coming from a family of means, Cooper realized he would have to find extra funds elsewhere to help finance his education. Thankfully for Cooper, generous people like Michael (MBA ’83) and Jane Anzilotti are part of his George Mason University School of Business extended family.

Before she began pursuing her MBA, Christina Snyder knew that women were underrepresented in business, not necessarily in the George Mason University School of Business, but certainly among leadership in the business world. Soon after starting her MBA studies at Mason, she discovered the Women in Business Initiative and the opportunity to apply for the Women in Business Initiative Endowed Scholarship. She leapt at the chance to apply, and she's so thankful that she did.

Attending George Mason University School of Business in the early-90s, Marie Robles, BS Accounting ’94, was mesmerized by the diversity she saw across campus. Students of all ethnic, religious, and other cultural backgrounds intermingled in the classrooms. Mason’s diversity made her feel at home. However, she’s aware that boardrooms and offices are often devoid of that inclusive and welcoming experience.

When Linh Le, a senior in the accounting accelerated master’s program, first arrived to George Mason University, she realized that even working multiple part-time jobs would still put tuition out of reach. Besides, she also understood that she would need that extra time to focus on her demanding courses. Adding to the hardships that she expected was the unexpected impact of COVID-19. She now finds herself on track for the accelerated program that would have been much harder to fund had she not applied for, and received, the Janis S. Reed Endowed Scholarship.

The pandemic has not killed brick and mortar stores despite the move of consumers to clicks and online buying. Only changes that provide greater convenience to consumers at reasonable cost to retailers will persist. Most disruptions have already been coming and the pace and convergence have simply been accelerated. But very big questions remain.