Smith Business Magazine: Special Silver Jubilee Edition - Magazine - Page 31
The Best Students
Mr. Smith also wanted the
business school to attract the
very best students.
That wasn’t happening in the
PhD program in 2007, recalls
G. Anand Anandalingam, the
Ralph J. Tyser Professor of
Management Science who was
senior associate dean then. “We
were losing the best students to
many of our competitors.”
“We made the audacious
proposal to Bob Smith to
provide additional funds to
allow the school to provide the
largest PhD stipends of any
U.S. business school.”
In 2008, Smith invested in the
PhD program to increase doctoral
stipends by 45%, increase
昀椀nancial awards, revamp
physical space, and provide
research and travel support.
“The world of business
schools–and especially
potential PhD students–took
notice,” said Anandalingam.
“He really enabled our PhD
program to thrive like it had
never thrived before,” said
Debra Shapiro, the Clarice
Smith Professor of Management
and Organization (named for
Mr. Smith’s wife). Shapiro
was assistant dean of doctoral
programs in 2008.
Mr. Smith also endowed
undergraduate and master’s
scholarships and helped fund
global initiatives to send
students abroad, giving them
a 昀椀rst-hand taste of what it
means to be a global citizen.
The Smith School continues
to 昀椀nd new ways to attract top
talent. In the fall of 2022,
the school introduced the
Interdisciplinary Business
Honors living-learning program
and the Smith Business
Leadership Fellows program—
two brand new programs
to attract the most talented
undergraduate students.
This fall, the school launched
the Doctor of Business Administration degree program for
working professionals who
want to take their research
skills to the next level.
He really enabled
our PhD program
to thrive like
it had never
thrived before.
Photos by Mike Morgan and Tony Richards
Former Dean G. Anand Anandalingam
A Smith PhD being
hooded at commencement
—Debra Shapiro
The world of
business schools–and
especially potential
PhD students–
took notice.
—G. Anand Anandalingam
Debra Shapiro with
PhD graduates
rhsmith-editor@umd.edu
Michelle Smith with Smith students
fall 2023
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