MEINDERS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS - Spring 2023
Meinders School of Business and the OKC Thunder NBA Team Partnership
֭Ƶ’s Meinders School of Business and the OKC Thunder launched a partnership in fall 2022 to provide students with real-world experience and exposure to leaders of a global organization. Meinders undergraduate and graduate students participated in high-level experiential learning through job shadowing with Thunder executives during a recent home game – enriching their understanding of business operations. Students met with executives to learn about their roles with the Thunder organization and job shadowed through halftime, seeing first-hand what it takes to bring a Thunder game to life.
Thunder Leadership MBA groups from Professor Justin Wareham’s MBA Business Strategy class presented their project research to support the Oklahoma City Thunder in developing “go-to-market” strategies to build international partnerships.
Additionally, Jose Nava entered to win a special sweepstakes held by the Meinders School of Business and the OKC Thunder where he won a $23,500 scholarship towards the Thunder Leadership MBA. His entry won and he earned free throws on court during a game against the Houston Rockets in Jan. He made nine baskets, totaling $13,500 in additional scholarship money and will start his studies this fall.
Mark Beffort, Cathy Keating and Barry Switzer honored at Hall of Honor
The 36th annual induction ceremony of the 2022 Oklahoma Commerce & Industry Hall of Honor welcomed three new honorees. Mark Beffort, CEO of Newmark Robinson Park, received the Chairman’s Award; Cathy Keating, former First Lady of Oklahoma, received the Lifetime Achievement Award; and Barry Switzer, member of the College Football Hall of Fame and legendary coach of the Oklahoma Sooners and Dallas Cowboys, received the Outstanding Achievement Award.
֭Ƶ established the Oklahoma Commerce & Industry Hall of Honor to recognize business and community leaders who have made significant contributions to the growth and development of Oklahoma, while raising funds for vital scholarships for ֭Ƶ business students.
Texas Regional Ethics Bowl at Texas A&M – San Antonio
Meinders School of Business students competed in the 2022 Texas Regional Ethics Bowl at Texas A&M - San Antonio on November 12, 2022. The ethics debate team is coached by Justin Wareham, associate professor of management with students participating, including Sofie Smith, Mackenzie Moon, Grant Baber, Kayla Nguyen, Ashley Nguyen and Katelynn Murphy.
Meinders School launching four new online MBA concentrations
The Meinders School of Business will launch four new online MBA concentrations in time for the summer 2023 semester. Joining the school’s existing MBA tracks in leadership and health care administration are MBA concentrations in corporate accounting, data analytics, financial analytics and energy. All six tracks include an emphasis on understanding and development of leadership skills.
The university also will reduce the price of its online MBA programs nearly in half to a total cost of $15,000, which works out to $417 per credit hour.
Meinders School boosts STEM status
֭Ƶ has added four graduate programs with STEM designation in the Meinders School of Business. These are thanks in part to Herman Meinders, the namesake of ֭Ƶ’s business school, who pledged a $3 million gift to the university to develop and launch the series of STEM-related degree programs, among several other initiatives.
The new programs include a Master of Science in Data Analytics, Master of Science in Financial Analytics, MBA in Data Analytics and MBA in Financial Analytics.