Roger S. Kintzel, publisher of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, spoke during the closing reception.
Two decades of mentoring
It has been a full generation since Goizueta started its Alumni Mentor Program. Now, in its twentieth year, the program is more popular than ever, with a record number of participants.
It all began with the old Emory Business School Club of Atlanta, says Ted Daywalt ’80MBA. “It was seen as a way to get the alumni involved in the school as well as provide assistance to the students. As the club dissolved, management of the mentoring program went to the staff, and then to the Goizueta Business School Alumni Association, which could reach more alums for involvement,” says Daywalt, now a member of the Goizueta Business School Alumni Association Board.
The program struggled through its early years, but in the late 1980s, Ellie Thompson ’87MBA came on board as Goizueta’s first director of alumni relations. She began working with a group of students led by Herb Silverman ’89MBA. “It was very student driven,” Thompson says. “We started with maybe ten matches, all MBA students.” Silverman took over as the next director of alumni relations, and the program started to grow.
Thompson returned as director of alumni relations in 1996. She estimates there were about 150 matches at the time. From there, the mentoring program became more formalized, with its own brochure, specific requirements, and an annual event to encourage both students and mentors. By the end of the decade, the program was expanded to include BBAs and evening MBAs, as well as executive MBAs. It also added an e-mentoring component to allow alumni worldwide to participate.
This school year there are more than 400 mentor-student pairings, says Paul Towne, associate director of alumni relations and program coordinator. “Last year there were only 278; this is the biggest one-year jump in the program’s history,” he says. There are now two annual events—an opening breakfast and a closing reception—and various non-mandatory get-togethers and seminars throughout the school year.
David B. Kusiel ’84BBA and Chip Gross ’97MBA have served as co-chairs of the program for the past several years. Kusiel, a senior vice president at Morgan Stanley, has served as a mentor for more than ten years. “The program gives students an opportunity to see what’s out there,” he says, “and the alumni
get a connection with the school.”
Gross, strategy manager for UPS Interactive Communications, believes the current business environment has been good for the program. “It’s growing every year, driven by the economic climate,” he says. “People want to do more networking.”
For more information, contact Paul Towne at 404.727.3147 or www.goizueta.emory.edu/alumni/get_invol_mentor.html.—Sarah Banick