Incoming MBA Students Make Impact through Service

By Jacqueline Molik Ghosen

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Incoming MBA students in the University at Buffalo School of Management will provide hundreds of hours of community service to local nonprofit organizations on August 21 as part of their entrée into the MBA program.

Nearly a hundred new MBA students will be divided into groups and will provide hands-on service to four nonprofit organizations: Buffalo Olmstead Parks Conservancy, Lothlorien Therapeutic Riding Center, the International Institute of Buffalo and Buffalo ReUSE. Service will include painting fences and barns, setting up refugee homes and organizing donations.

The service project is one component of MBA Advantage, the School of Management’s innovative professional development series. Beginning with orientation and continuing throughout the two-year MBA program, MBA Advantage helps students become quickly involved in the team-based learning environment that is the backbone of the UB MBA curriculum and develop skills that others might obtain only through years of corporate experience.

“We added a community service aspect to MBA Advantage this year to further strengthen our team-building goals, with the added benefit of assisting organizations that provide much-needed services to the people of Western New York,” says David Frasier, assistant dean and director of graduate programs in the School of Management. “In addition, companies today are very civic-minded, and this is yet another experience that helps our graduates make an impact on the firms that hire them.”

MBA Advantage continues throughout the students’ MBA experience, with informative and interactive seminars and workshops on such topics as case analysis, team building, globalization, innovation and creativity, sustainability, professional image management and job-search techniques.

The UB School of Management is recognized for its emphasis on real-world learning, community and economic impact, and the global perspective of its faculty, students and alumni. The school has been ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek, the Financial Times, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report and The Wall Street Journal for the quality of its programs and the return on investment it provides its graduates. For more information about the UB School of Management, visit mgt.buffalo.edu.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB’s more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.