Marriott School of Management professor Brent D. Wilson says “aloha” to Provo and Brigham Young University and “aloha” to Laie and BYU—Hawaii. After nearly 20 years as a professor of international business and finance at the Marriott School, Wilson is heading to Hawaii to serve as the dean of BYU—Hawaii’s School of Business.

The dean’s office presented the sixth annual Marriott School Staff Excellence Award to five staff members May 24 in recognition of their contributions to Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management. M. Idon Openshaw, dean’s office special events coordinator; Laura N. Thompson, MBA program secretary; Dyanne Law, advisement center assistant director; Heather N. Bowers, School of Accountancy and Information Systems budget director; and Amy Kohler, undergraduate program coordinator, accepted the award and received a $500 cash stipend during a staff luncheon at the Riverside Country Club.

The Marriott School of Management’s Exchange magazine has been keeping alumni informed and in touch with innovative business information and ideas for 25 years. Now, with its latest innovation, Exchange has a new look, new features and a new name: Marriott Alumni Magazine. The new name ties the magazine more closely to the school, which was named in 1989 for J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott — founders of the Marriott Corporation and generous contributors to the school of management. “The new magazine will enhance career development and better connect our alumni to BYU’s Marriott School,” said Marriott School Dean Ned C. Hill.

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) recognized the educational accomplishments of Brigham Young University professor W. Steve Albrecht with its most prestigious educators award last month. Albrecht, the associate dean of the Marriott School of Management, received AICPA’s Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award at the organization’s annual council meeting in Washington, D.C.

Participants in the Marriott School’s Seventh Annual Management Conference will be treated to an in-depth exploration of emerging e-business technologies, a behind the scenes look at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games and much more June 28-30. Twenty-seven speakers, including Bernard Daines — pioneer of broadband technology and one of Newsweeks’s 100 men to watch in the new millennium — and Keith Jenkins — senior vice president at AOL— will be traveling to Brigham Young University to discuss value-based principles of leadership for organizations, communities and families.

In its first-ever ranking of business schools, The Wall Street Journal named Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management one of ten “hidden gems.” The Marriott School ranked fifth, in the hidden gems category — “less-heralded schools with great graduates.” Overall, The Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive survey ranked the Marriott School MBA program 41st worldwide.

Dodging a final exam proved profitable for students at Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management. Vit Miska, a second-year MISM student and Jeremy Hafen, a second-year MAcc student, earned cash awards and funding for the school with their winning entries in an e-commerce essay contest sponsored by Federal Express.

Marriott School Professor Lawrence C. Walters was recognized by the American Society of Public Administration for the best public administration article in 2000. His article,“Putting More Public in Policy Analysis,” which appeared in the July/August edition of Public Administration Review (PAR), won the Louis Brownlow Award for the best article by a practitioner.

Brigham Young University’s business and law schools are among the top 50 in the United States, reports the 2002 edition of the U.S. News & World Report guide “Best GraduateSchools.” The J. Reuben Clark Law School is ranked 38th in the nation, and the Marriott School of Management is ranked 44th.

It’s a stinky situation but nothing a group of marketing students at Brigham Young University’s Marriott School can’t handle. Cows at the BYU Dairy are supplying the dairy notonly with thousands of gallons of milk but also with mountains of manure each year. “Manure disposal is a big issue environmentally because of the smell and the weed seed found in the manure,” said BYU Farm Manager, Carl Richie.

The Marriott School at Brigham Young University anticipates hundreds of participants at its fourth annual Microenterprise Conference 5-7 April 2001. The free conference, believed to be the largest of its kind, is open to BYU students, faculty, staff and the public. Microenterprise is a movement that uses small loans and business education to help the poor become self-reliant. This year’s theme, “Practical Approaches to Ending Poverty,” will bring together educators, investors and non-governmental organizations from around the world.

Success magazine ranks the Marriott School’s Center for Entrepreneurship among the best entrepreneurial programs in the country. In the February/March issue, the Marriott School ranked 33rd on the magazine’s top 50 list of “Best Entrepreneurial Business Schools.” “We are pleased with the recognition that Success magazine has given us,” said Hal Heaton, a professor of the Marriott School’s Center for Entrepreneurship. “Entrepreneurship continues to be an area of intense interest by BYU students and we continually strive to offer the best program possible.” Business schools were ranked according to caliber of students, faculty, curriculum, outreach to the community, innovative programs, follow-up of graduates and reputation among fellow schools.

The founder of Grameen Bank, a microenterprise bank that has helped more than two million people start small businesses, will speak at Brigham Young University on Tuesday, 20 March. Dr. Muhammad Yunus will address “Poverty Solutions that Work” in the Joseph Smith Building auditorium at 3:15 p.m. Dr. Yunus’s speech is open to BYU students, faculty, staff and the public.

The Marriott School at Brigham Young University honored Robert L. Gardner with the school’s 2001 Outstanding Faculty Award, the highest distinction given by the school to a faculty member. Along with Gardner, the school also recognized five other faculty members for their excellence in teaching, research and citizenship at a banquet 6 March in the Wilkinson Student Center.

Forget waiting for this year’s tax refund. For the first time ever, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) center at Brigham Young University can help you file your taxes electronically – cutting the wait for your refund by as much as two weeks. The VITA center, a free tax preparation help lab sponsored by BYU’s Marriott School and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), is now equipped with TaxWise, an electronic filing software.

How much is an idea worth? The Marriott School’s Center for Entrepreneurship thinks its worth $5,000 in cash — the award for this year’s Business Plan Competition winner. All Brigham Young University students are invited to submit business plan ideas before 5 p.m. on Monday, 12 March in 610 TNRB. “We’re looking for the next success story,” said Donald H. Livingstone, Director of BYU’s Center for Entrepreneurship. “Some of the best business plans come from non-traditional sources.

One Marriott School student recently received a big boost from the Kemper Foundation. Kyle Widdison, a sophomore from Hooper, Utah, majoring in accounting, has been named one of 80 national Kemper Scholars. The honor, which provides financial support and summer internships for three years, will assist Widdison in fulfilling his aspiration to become a successful business leader.

The founder and CEO of WinFiles.com (formerly Windows95.com) will be the keynote speaker at Brigham Young University’s semi-annual e-business conference on Friday, 9 Feb. Steve Jenkins, who sold WinFiles.com in February 1999 to CNET, Inc. for $11.5 million, will address the conference’s theme, “Dot-Coms Melt Down: How Companies Survive and Thrive in our Current Economic Situation.” Hosted by the Marriott School’s Kevin and Debra Rollins Center for eBusiness, the conference will begin at 9:30 a.m. in room 151 of the Tanner Building.

One student’s experience at Brigham Young University has driven him nuts. Nathan Murray, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering from Shelley, Idaho, is the founder and president of Nutty Guys, a business selling a variety of nuts at discount prices. Murray is not only a budding entrepreneur but also the 2000 Student Entrepreneur of the Year.