Business Week: It's Not Just a Magazine Anymore

Everyone talks about how we should celebrate the Business School's excellent undergraduate program, but rarely does anyone do anything about it.

Long Phan has done something about it. In May the junior finance major masterminded the School's first Business Week, a multi-day celebration of the undergraduate business program's many achievements that have landed it in U.S. News & World Report's top 30 for more than a decade.

"We have amazing students and faculty and an incredibly supportive staff," says Phan, a member of the Undergraduate Business Council. "There is an amazing sense of community here, and I wanted to bring that to the forefront. I remember going to the Biz-B-Q my freshman year, and the dean was grilling burgers for students. I thought, 'That's awesome!'"

Oh, there was grilling at Business Week. But the festivities began indoors, with a Monday kickoff lunch to welcome incoming and prospective students and introduce them to the myriad activities, organizations and resources at the Business School, as well as the accomplishments of 2004-05 undergrads at mock investment tourneys, international case competitions and more. Starbucks CEO Jim Donald, making his first public appearance since becoming top barista at the world's leading java company, captivated a standing-room-only audience on Tuesday with his six tips for success in life.

Wednesday brought the 6th-annual Biz-B-Q, replete with an inflatable quarterstaff jousting ring, a lusty red convertible Mustang GT on display, a sloppy pie-eating contest (brought to you by those serious accounting types at Beta Alpha Psi), and a Pin-The-Toupee-On-The-Donald game, appropriately sponsored by the Human Resources Management faculty (who could probably teach Trump a thing or two about hiring and firing skills). The week closed with a make-your-own-sundae Thursday in the Undergraduate Commons. When the sprinkles had settled, nearly 1,000 students had participated in all the festivities.

Mission accomplished, says Phan, who led a team of 50 volunteers to execute this multi-ringed circus, with special assistance from student services counselor Bryan Crockett. But it was Phan with the plan, an inspiration met at a leadership conference he attended earlier in the year at the University of Texas, a kind of summit meeting of student honchos from the nation's top 30 business schools.

"When I went to this national conference, I realized that there's a world outside of the UW. And we're in the same league as these amazing schools," Phan says. "But I think most students don't realize that we're in league with the very best. Business Week was a chance to celebrate and be proud of that."

To view photos from Business Week 2005, visit:
http://students.washington.edu/ubc/pictures/index.html

Return to June 2005 BA Alumni News