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The WSB’s Most Popular News Stories of 2015

By Marguerite Darlington

December 30, 2015

The Wisconsin School of Business had an exceptional year in 2015, marked by award-winning research, innovative learning experiences, standout students, and nationally-recognized thought leadership.

As we look back on the last calendar year, we’d like to share our most popular news stories of 2015, and we hope that you will return here in 2016 to read more about our passionate community of leaders, learners, and scholars who are transforming higher education and helping students achieve their career goals.

1. WSB Ph.D. Student Honored for Innovative Approach to Insuring Agriculture Losses
Adolph Okine, a first-year Ph.D. student studying actuarial science at the Wisconsin School of Business, took an innovative statistical approach to predicting the negative effects of climate change on agriculture, and it paid off. Read about the team’s award, and why their methods have the potential to help developing economies.

Adolph Okine holding Best Paper Award

2. More Than a Sport: The Roller Derby Marketplace of Ideas
Craig Thompson, the Gilbert and Helen Churchill Professor of Marketing at the Wisconsin School of Business, explains how the marketplace of ideas operates using examples from the subculture of roller derby.

3. WSB Unveils New Classrooms Designed for Collaborative, Student-Centered Learning
In 2015, the Wisconsin School of Business unveiled something intended to revolutionize the student experience—a new, two-in-one, state-of-the-art collaborative learning classroom (CLC) that is unlike any other learning space at the School.

Paul Oliphant with ATW answers questions as he teaches faculty members how to use the new rooms, 2290-2294, on August 26, in Grainger Hall.

4. How to Promote Well-Being and Improve the Workplace
Well-being is a skill that can be learned and developed, according to Richard Davidson, founder and director of the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Find out why it helps improve both workplace culture and productivity.

5. The Importance of Seeing Beauty
The WSB’s Bolz Center for Arts Administration asked Diane Ragsdale from Erasmus University in the Netherlands to come to Wisconsin and teach “Aesthetics and Business,” a course designed to help students see business challenges—and solutions—in a different way.

6. The Wisconsin School of Business Welcomes Three New Faculty Members
For the third consecutive year, the Wisconsin School of Business has expanded its faculty ranks, adding three new talented faculty members to this passionate and diverse community.

Enno Siemsen, Andra Ghent, Martin Ganco

7. Wisconsin School of Business Team Wins Duff & Phelps Wall Street Investment Challenge for Third Time in Last Four Years
A team of Wisconsin BBA students walked into the boardroom of Duff & Phelps’ New York office and prevailed over all other challengers to win the Duff & Phelps YOUniversity Deal Challenge.

8. University of Wisconsin-Madison Student Entrepreneurs Compete for Startup Capital
The east atrium of Grainger Hall buzzed with excitement as teams of student entrepreneurs from across the University of Wisconsin–Madison vied for more than $50,000 in prizes at the 18th annual G. Steven Burrill Business Plan Competition hosted by the Wisconsin School of Business.

Cheng Liu and Eva Wang set up booth at Burrill Business Plan Competition

9. WSB Joins White House Initiative to Improve Opportunities for Women in Business
The Wisconsin School of Business joined leaders from 47 top business schools, as well as executives from leading U.S. companies, in Washington D.C. to determine the best way to address persistent disparities in opportunities available to women in business.

Professor Tom O'Guinn and MBA student Tim tour Capital Brewery with Richard King.10. A Recipe for Success
Richard King, a shareholder and director at Capital Brewery, asked Thomas O’Guinn, professor of marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin School of Business, if his MBA students would be interested in a project on beer. O’Guinn said yes, but not for the obvious reasons.


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