Marshall's Study Abroad Program: Quite Unappealing

A few years ago the Dean of the College of Letters, Arts & Sciences at the University of Southern California (USC) launched the College Dean’s Prize for the Enrichment of Student Academic Life. Peter Starr (see photo), Dean of the College, contends that he "has found that students are often the best originators of fresh ideas." As Dean, he values the input students offer. Therefore, he has created this opportunity to elicit proposals from USC students to enrich academic life and the educational experience. So here is mine: I propose renewing the Marshall School of Business’s study abroad program. Studying abroad gives students a unique business perspective that they would otherwise not learn from the Marshall School of Business (MSB). USC, as a whole, has four strategic initiatives intended to improve the university's status as a thriving research and learning institution: undergraduate education, interdisciplinary research and education, programs building on the resources of Southern California and Los Angeles, and internationalization. Through internationalization, USC hopes "to enhance future global opportunities for education, research, and career development;" it seems basic that offering study abroad programs contributes to USC’s goal for internationalization.

What is hindering USC from expanding on this goal is MSB's International Exchange Program (IEP), which appears lackluster and inadequate. Marshall maintains that the IEP “gives students the opportunity to widen their exposure to the business theories, practices and concerns of the international community, as well as immerse themselves within a foreign tradition. Students are absorbed into a different culture, meet people from other parts of the world, learn from new perspectives and take in exciting new surroundings.” Although true, it is also limited. The program only offers opportunities at fourteen business schools around the world in Australia, Hong Kong, Denmark, Hungary, Spain, France, South Korea, Singapore, Netherlands, Thailand, and the UK (see map), and it is literally an exchange; therefore openings to all sites are contingent upon the partner school sending students to USC, meaning that some sites may not be available during certain semesters. In order to permit more interested students into IEP, Marshall needs to significantly expand the list of participating institutions, and that list should include countries in East, Southeast, and South Asia, in Africa and the Middle East, and in Latin America.

There are still more limitations to MSB’s program. One in particular is that study abroad participants must pay the standard USC full-time student tuition flat-rate. True, financial aid packages still apply and may be adjusted according to your host program. However, "in addition to the USC flat-rate for tuition, students are responsible for all expenses including, room and board, books and supplies, meals, airfare, health insurance, application fees, passport and visa fees, and other personal and travel expenses." This increases total costs by thousands of dollars. What USC needs to do, in order to make this program more accessible, is provide funds to help defray some of the costs involved. The overseas experience ought to cost no more than a comparable period of study at USC. Even in these difficult economic times, resources can be found at least among USC’s alumni population, especially among those who had opportunities to study abroad. USC prides itself on the mystical force known as the "Trojan Network." This "network" provides students with opportunities to expand contacts and enhance their experience at USC. According to the Marshall School of Business (pictured), "the USC Marshall Alumni Association delivers the promise of the Trojan Family. The Marshall Alumni Association is specifically dedicated to the business school, with five alumni chapters and over 300 Marshall alumni volunteers who work together to deliver this promise." With over 68,000 Marshall alumni worldwide, it is a wonder why MSB is not utilizing its resources. Continually, another downfall about the MSB study abroad program is that a student is not guaranteed to be sent to the school of their choice. During the application process, candidates rank the list of schools, starting with their top choice. Due to the limited amount of spots available per school, a student can request to be sent to the UK, but will actually be sent to Singapore. Worse, if a student is not accepted into the school of their choice, there is no backing out. The contract is binding. With the tens of thousands of dollars being spent, students should go where they want.

Reasonable templates for structuring USC’s program exist. Other members of the Association of American Universities hit the bulls-eye when it comes to study abroad programs. Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business extends an array of opportunities for students wishing to study abroad, serving as a model that USC should imitate. The Tepper School currently offers admission to thirty-seven institutions in twenty different countries, including countries not currently offered by USC, such as Ecuador, South Korea, and New Zealand. Additionally, Cornell University offers unique scholarships specified to study abroad students only. Along with the general financial aid offered to students, such as government sponsored scholarships and aid, Cornell grants scholarships specifically to students planning to study abroad, greatly alleviating the financial stress that these international programs elicit. The most appealing aspect of most business schools' study abroad programs, such as the University of Iowa and the University of Maryland at College Park, is that the institutions allow students to apply to the international school of their choice, and if their application is rejected, the student is not required to attend some other international school. USC should follow the example set by these institutions in changing the binding study abroad agreement to non-binding.

Marshall should use these schools’ programs, and those of many other members of the Association of American Universities (see logo), as quintessential representatives. By simply furthering the study abroad program, USC would be a step closer in achieving its goal of internationalization. Internationalization is of growing importance and Southern California is at the hub of it, due to its relations with Mexico and Pacific and Latin America. USC could easily use its interactions with these countries to offer opportunities at these locations. Overall, USC should build on its strong base of alumni and its Southern California location to achieve its goal of internationalization and help bring its study abroad program to a level of accessibility and comprehensiveness that will put the institution at the top of the pack.

Carly Fiorina: Role Model for Everyone

The purpose of the honorary degrees program at the University of Southern California is to recognize individuals who have distinguished themselves and made a significant impact in their profession. Along with these professional achievements, the candidate must possess qualities worthy of emulation and respect, possessing a framework of high personal integrity and concern for the good of the public. The candidate’s achievement and distinction in activity should be consonant with the mission of the University of Southern California: advancement and enrichment, while possessing the five attributes (pictured) of an ideal Trojan: faithfulness, scholarliness, skillfulness, courage, and ambition. One of the most deserving people for this award is Carly Fiorina.

At the age of twenty-three, Carly Fiorina was a law school drop-out without a clue as to what her future held. Twenty-two years later, Fortune magazine named her “The Most Powerful Woman in Business” for the sixth consecutive year. Fiorina, or simply “Carly,” as many liked to call her when she was head of Hewlett-Packard (HP)—an 88 year-old $94 billion high-tech company and one of the most admired corporations in the world—was blazing new trails for business professionals everywhere. Then, the unthinkable happened: she lost her job in a very public board battle. Her five-year tenure was marked with bold, sweeping initiatives, including the acquisition of Compaq Computer that nearly doubled the company’s size. There is no doubt she is a strong-willed person, and she believed strongly in her vision for the company. Although this takeover appeared to hinder HP at first, Carly’s vision turned out to be rewarding, especially in the eyes of Wall Street. Today, HP (logo pictured) is on a roll, and has not veered from Carly’s original position that “bigger is better.” Now that the company has finally “digested” the mammoth Compaq acquisition, its financial performance has righted itself and the company has regained its momentum. A strong case can be made that Carly was prematurely ousted; and, in fact, she laid the groundwork for one of the most remarkable corporate makeovers in the history of business.

Today, Carly Fiorina has assumed a role as a controversial but world-class leader, writing books and giving speeches about her leadership. In a bit of vindication, HP recently endured a board scandal that raised new questions about how fairly Carly may have been treated. Her story provides rich discussion for women and men everywhere trying to break through a glass ceiling. She was chairman and chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard from 1999 to 2005, becoming the first woman to serve as CEO of a company included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. As chairman, Carly had a mandate to “shake things up” with HP, and that is exactly what she did. Carly used her incredible skill-set to reinvent HP, and today the company is stronger than ever.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in medieval history and philosophy from Stanford University; Carly continued her schooling and earned her MBA from Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland and a Master of Science degree from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. Carly once mentioned that the job market for “knowledge of Copernicus or 12th Century European monks” was not very strong; hence, her sudden change towards business rather than her original philosophy plan.

Prior to joining HP, Carly spent nearly twenty years at AT&T and Lucent Technologies, where she held a number of senior leadership positions and directed Lucent’s initial public offering and subsequent spin-off from AT&T. She was named an Honorary Fellow of the London Business School in July 2001; she was also honored with the 2002 Appeal of Conscience Award and the 2003 Concern Worldwide “Seeds of Hope” Award in recognition of her worldwide efforts to make “global citizenship” a priority for business. Moreover, the Private Sector Council honored Carly with its 2004 Leadership Award for her contributions to improving the business of government. And if those awards were not enough, the White House appointed her to the U.S. Space Commission to assist in advising in the nation’s space science agenda and helping contribute a broad range of high-tech expertise.

Since leaving HP in 2005, Carly continues to make her mark on American business issues. She currently sits on the New York Stock Exchange’s executive board and serves on the board of the World Economic Foundation, which is committed to building partnerships to promote sustainable economic and social development.

Carly Fiorina’s story opens a door of possibility for people everywhere: people do not need to be limited by stereotypes. Instead, they should feel emboldened to be driven by their own sense of possibility and accomplishment. Carly (pictured) once stated in the North Carolina A&T commencement address that people everywhere “should be motivated by what they believe they can become.” The people who focus on possibilities achieve much more in life than the people who focus on limitations and restraints. If asked about her job loss at HP, Carly will respond that she has no regrets; she learned an exuberant amount of knowledge from her mistakes. If she had to do it all over again, she would not change a thing.

In short, Carly has character. She embodies a set of principles based on courage, determination, and vision. These qualities are most illustrated in the advice she offered to the graduating class of 2005 of the North Carolina A&T students: “When people have stereotypes of what you cannot do, show them what you can do. When they have stereotypes of what you will not do, show them what you will do. Every time you pass these tests, you learn more about yourself. Every time you resist someone else’s smaller notion of who you really are, you test your courage and your endurance. Each time you endure, and stay true to yourself, you become stronger and better.” Carly Fiorina has taught Americans that the glass ceiling still exists; but, it is people like Carly have raised it considerably, and, someday, it will be broken once and for all. Anyone can do whatever they set their mind to, and in a nutshell, that is what Carly Fiorina represents, and why she is so deserving of the University of Southern California’s honorary degree for a doctoral in science. She possesses all qualities inscribed on the University of Southern California’s forsaken “Tommy Trojan” and her achievements possess an ongoing and significant importance today. She is an inspiration to aspiring leaders, both male and female, interested in either business or art history. Her impact pervades across all fields and delves into the minds of everyone with the desire to succeed.