School Notes: School of Management
November/December 2026

Celebrating 50 years

SOM first opened its doors in September 1976. In 2026–27, the school is marking its 50th-anniversary year with events on campus and with alumni around the world, reflecting on five decades of advancing its mission to educate business and society. Panels at Evans Hall will highlight how faculty and alumni have brought values-driven business acumen to such diverse fields as clean energy, healthcare, and behavioral science. The school will also release a book-length history of its evolution.

Putting new skills in practice

Over the summer, MBA students dispersed across the country and the globe for internships at consulting firms, banks, tech companies, retail giants, nonprofits, and cultural organizations. Emma Thornton ’27MBA helped improve sustainability within Nike’s global supply chain; Dan Baglini ’27MBA drew on AI coursework from his first year during a stint at McKinsey; and Simran Dave ’27MBA explored a career in product marketing at Lyft. “SOM prepared me for this summer in a way I didn’t fully appreciate until I was on the job,” said Jay Choi ’27MBA of his internship at Amazon. 

Welcoming new faces

In July, two scholars joined the SOM faculty: Jerry Anunrojwong, assistant professor of operations, and Lan E. Luo ’20, assistant professor of marketing. A few days later, members of the MBA for Executives Class of 2028 began their studies; and a few weeks after that, new students in SOM’s residential master’s programs arrived on campus. During orientation, Dean Kerwin K. Charles noted that the “incredibly talented and heterogeneous” incoming class includes musicians, comedians, Olympic-level athletes, CEOs, entrepreneurs, and Fulbright scholars. “Nothing matters more than your genuine and robust engagement with each other,” Charles told the new students. “They’ll be the most important relationships you make while here.”