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wr \ m o~ !I ~m~i r I p ~ i Z .lU ··JC..l.1U\.J\..l.lUl'ilL In;:).l.l.lU.lIUl' CONGRESSIONAL SCRUTINY Look , .r ~'~o: Yount Defends IIULu form :i? Air Base Gift to nune ;0." ~~~:~ School He Heads vtter I ~.:a' ~I :tt nted Ie To Field .MEnICAN Institute For Foreign Trade's tenure " d ~' .. IJ~ .pc~man~n~. as.~. ~esu l t of fi nal 'erbird Chanqes , Type Training Girc 1 For Work· Of Peac( COVEH STOHY 2 THE FOUNDING A New Idea is Born Like the Phoenix bird that rose from its own ashes, Thunderbird rose triumphantly from the aftermath of World War II. Here is the story of its fortuitous beginning 8 GUIDING THE SCHOOL TO GREATNESS Presidential Leadership Eight presidents have led Thunderbird through its 50-year history. All had strong international backgrounds, all knew for certain Thunderbird's potential for greatness, and all were called at some point to fight off serious threats to the School's unique identity. In the end, however, each president moved the School forward in his own individual way 42 PIONEER STUDENTS Those Very First Years Jack Rokahr '47 recalls life as one of the very first T'birds at the American Institute of Foreign Trade I FEATVHES 24 TECHNOLOGY The Future Begins Now Thunderbird is transforming the way it creates and delivers its product 27 INTERAD Brand Name Wmner Thunderbird's most famous adveltising and marketing course has a rich history of success 34 CAREER SERVICES Timing is Everything Job markets fluctuate, but T'birds have always succeeded 36 FOREIGN PROGRAMS Total Inunersion Overseas programs have provided valuable linguistic and cultural immersion for scores of students 38 MEDIA A Controversial Start The School's #1 ranking in 1996 by u.s. News generated much publicity-but not quite as much as Thunderbird's controversial opening in 1946 PHOTO GALLERY 30 FACU LTY Thunderbird professors have shaped students' futures for half a century 44 COMMENCEMENT From 1947 to 1996, this rite of passage has been shared by generations of T'birds 40 LIBRARY Remember Lora Jeanne Wheeler? 18 BALLOON RACE Student food booths were a highlight of the balloon race on campus 28 THEN & NOW The School has grown a lot over the years-the Tower is now a student center, the open Mall is filled with buildings, the entrance is further south on 59th Avenue, and the old Army barracks are now modern residence halls-but that same T'bird mystique remains ,1:1 D EPAHT~I ENTS 49 UPDATES Alumni news from around the world ALUMNI MEMORIES "The memories stiU are aU magnificent. " Diego J. Veitia '66, Chairman and CEO, International Assets Holding Corporation [52] 46 CAMPUS NEWS • New World Wide Web site • BKY library now high-tech communications facility • Former CNN chief speaks at commencement • Executive Partner Program launched • 50th anniversary receptions scheduled plus more! ON TH E COV ER: Joe Culver '57 puts a bear hug on his son, Andrew Culver '86, at commencement; Dr. William Schurz, Latin American expert and one of Thunderbird's most beloved professors; The Thwer, now used as the Thunderbird Student Center. A New Idea Is Born he creation of Thunderbird generated a lot of heat-not just the temperature kind, but the controversy kind. The story of what is now the world's leading graduate school of international management began at the end of World War II. Finley P·eter Dunne and W. Stouder Thompson, two colonels in the Army Air Forces (AAF), had an idea for a new kind of school-one that would train people to conduct foreign trade. As they were winding down their post-war duties, the two began to talk about the future of the country. "In the course of our conversation," Dunne recalls, "the point was raised that the United States, for many years to come, would be in a position to expand its trade with other nations on a large scale. The fact was also mentioned that, although we had the raw materials and the technical capacity to produce and deliver the goods, this country was notoriously short of personnel trained for foreign trade." SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE The more Dunne and Thompson talked, the more they realized that the industrial power America had built up to fight the war would be turning out goods for an international marketplace. Furthermore, they had an even more revolutionary idea-that the people who would be going into that marketplace should be trained for it. Neither of the two was an educator, and they wanted "a first-rate educational man" to lead this venture. Who better, they thought, than Lt. General Barton Kyle Yount, who headed the largest educational institution the world has ever seen. As head of the Army Air Training Command, Yount was widely respected for having developed training programs for more than two million army personnel during the war. At first Yount was cautious. "His interest, while genuine, was dependent upon the results of further investigation of the scope of such a school and of the amount to which it might THUNDERBIRD 50 I 3 I 1996 Like the Phoenix bird that rose from its own ashes, Thunderbird rose from the aftermath of World War II benefit veterans and other students, business concerns, and the foreign policy of the United States," Dunne reported. Dunne and Thompson went to New York "to investigate the market for graduates of such a school as we proposed, " visiting companies like the National City Bank, General Electric, Westinghouse, 20th Century Fox Films and several others that conducted international business. Yount then accompanied Thompson and Dunne to check out Thunderbird Field I as a possible site. Later the three visited Dunne's alma mater, Harvard, to consult with some of the graduate school's business faculty about the proposed educational program. "It was the clear understanding of all concerned that the proposed Institute must be of the highest caliber and that there THUNDERBIRD 50 /3/ 1996 KYLE YOUNT, mE SCHOOCS FIRST PRESIDENT, HAD BEEN COMMANDER OF mE ARMY AIR FORcEs TRAINING COMMAND. must be no question whatever as to the quality of the instruction offered or of the high standing of the faculty." Dunne said. The founding trio became a duo in June, 1946 when Thompson, who felt his financial situation could not sustain his participation in a nonprofit venture, returned to his business ventures in Cleveland. "UNQUESTIONABLY OUR BEST REPRESENTATIVES ABROAD" Yount was finally convinced. "I knew that the young men who were going to foreign countries to represent American business were, in many cases, entirely untrained and unfit to represent their firms and their government," Yount said. "Unquestionably, our best representatives abroad are those SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE NOTICE OF SALE SURPLUS GOVERNMENT Tho l~~~n~~r..RA~~EO~J..! of uJ \\'I\r t\~,,"f"h t\clmini~. ration herl'hy J:'h' p~ nnticf' thnt it now hll~ f\vaJl.. hi" tor elispo""l, IInelrr the Surpl" o "rnpHly Art of 1!IH anel SPA n,·,·. R.·~u l"tion II. tho followlnlt r,·,,1 prnflrrty whie·1t hllll I",en dn" I"rpel .. orpill. hy tlto Governm~nt. , Thunderbird Field No. I, Plancor No. 488 Thullderbh'd Field in Arizona Becomes Latin-Anlerica School GRA..NT TO "EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION" INDER CONGRESSIONAL SCRUTINY Comminee AUo 10 Look! ~~'::'2 Yount Defends • The Instllu .. !fJj;~ Air Base Gift to era! IOYernJIIIl vet1ed Into • $ :~~[~~ :School He Heads married velel1 I ~A~: ~:V;S'., General and Colonel Instt No n ed Title To Field THE AMERICAN Institute For Foreign Trade's tenure on Thund . d" .. b~ . pc~man:n~. as .!l. ~~slllt of final ap-l ·hunderbird Chanqes New Type Training Girds Men For Work· Of Peace ~ra "" - •• I - - ............... ..... ,,-- ~ ! Foreign Trade Schooli ; Graduates Go 10 Jobs ! ! , ; Rr~~~~~I!t ~r~z'A;:;!)~ca~rS~ ;.~~ i tule for Forel -- e ' ~ oll-v. SPEC IAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 4 who come in close contact with the people through their business associations and who, therefore, learn their customs, psychology, and their way of thinking. They can make friends for our COlIDtry; or they can make enemies. " YOlIDt and Durme insisted that those business people should not only mow the intricacies of conducting trade, but should also be familiar with the "various backgrolIDd factors that would in1luence their work and life" in other cOlIDtries. And equally important, they should speak the language of the people they were working with. In 1946, that meant Spanish and Portuguese for the Latin American market. At that time, the fOlIDders had Americans in mind as students. Little did they mow that 50 years from then, more than a third of the students would be from other cOlIDtries. But that may have been the only error in their thinking, because otherwise, they were clearly ahead of their time. It would be 25 years before any school came close to the ThlIDderbird concept and another 15 years before the idea of international business education captured the attention of the academic world The officers mew that ThlIDderbird Field I was being deactivated and soon to be declared war surplus, and perhaps they might obtain the property at a discolIDt through the Surplus Property Act, which provided "discolIDts to nonprofit, nontaxable educational institutions on acCOlIDt of benefits which may accrue to the United States." The base was known as the "COlIDtry Club of the Air Forces" for what one newspaper THUNDERBIRD 50 I 3 I 1996 described as "its architectural beauty and fine landscaping, n and it seemed to be an ideal location. After all, it had two swimming pools. AN INVESTIGATION Dunne and Yount submitted a bid for the airfield, which was valued at $407,000, and obtained it at 100 percent discount-literally a gift-raising a furor that extended from coast to coast. A Congressional investigation into the property ensued, led by Rep. Roger Slaughter, chairman of the House Surplus Property Committee. Were these army officers profiteering from the war assets? Was this a legitimate nonprofit school or a profit-making scam to get government property? Had the General deliberately had Thunderbird Field declared surplus property in order to secure it for his own purposes? Were the appraisers who recommended that the property be used for a school in cahoots with the General? In an article headlined "Here's How to Get Free Gift of $407,000 of U.S. Property, n a Washington Daily News reporter wrote, "What's the matter with War Assets Administration? Why can't poor old Uncle Sam sell screen, wire, nails, air fields, like any other property owner without getting wrapped in red tape and bogged doubtful deals?" Dozens of similar articles appeared in newspapers across the country. The investigation was big news, and it was clear that the committee chairman, Roger Slaughter, wanted to make an THUNDERBIRD 50 131 1996 example of this case. Newspapers around the country covered the hearings of the House Surplus Property Committee. An article in the Washington Post reported that "The appraisers said they considered that of all possible uses of Thunderbird-a home for the aged or orphans, a hospital, a sanitarium, a private flying school, an agricultural packing plant, or a resort hotelthey felt that the private school for boys would develop the highest value. n Finally, after eloquent testimony from Yount and Dunne plus Phoenix businessmen Alfred Knight, Walter Bimson, Frank Brophy, and A F. Morairity, with especially convincing arguments by Frank Snell (phoenix attorney and founding board member for whom the Snell Learning Center is named) the committee exonerated the School. Not only did the School fully qualify for the nonprofit discount, the Congressmen agreed, but it would actually contribute to the cause of world peace, an objective that was written into the mission of the School. SIX MONTHS TO LIFTOFF From its incorporation on April 8, 1946, until its opening day on October 1, Dunne and Yount had less than six months to establish a curriculum, assemble a faculty, acquire furnishings, remodel classrooms, and recruit a student body. And in between, they had more than a month of battling with Congress. Somehow they did it all. Bankers Trust and Chase in New York, along with Valley National Bank, the Bank of Douglas, SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE ELOQlJENT TESTIMONY "This is the first school of its kind in the United States, and I expect it to become much larger and of great importance." QUOTES FROM TESTIMONY SEPT. 5, 1946 TO THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON SURPLUS PROPERTY REGARDING THE ACQUISITION "Our interviews with leading educators in Boston, New York, and Washington had convinced us that the proposed Institute was on the right track, and would render a real service to this country." A. F. MORAIRITY, FOUNDING BOARD MEMBER OF THUNDERBIRD FIELD I BY THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR FOREIGN TRADE FINLEY PETER DUNNE " ... such a school made a lot of sense; that it would be .. . a real contribution to the welfare of the Nation, particularly in furthering the good neighbor policy with the countries to the south of us. It seemed to us to be a sound and concrete proposal for helping to better our relations with these countries." FRANK SNEIL, FOUNDING TRUSTEE "We have today under contract the majority of a faculty of 18 members, all of whom are of first-rank caliber and all of whom are acknowledged authorities in their particular fields. At a cost of more than $50,000, the Institute has completed the rehabilitation of the buildings and grounds of Thunderbird Field No. 1." "The need for a school such as the American Institute for Foreign Trade is apparent to anyone who has traveled in foreign countries and observed how inadequately prepared are many of our foreign representatives. The ordinary school for this purpose is too apt to be inadequate because its approach is intended to be academic, and its leaders schoolmasters rather than men of "Since this is a nonprofit institution, the affairs with large experience." private investors could not hope for FINLEy PETER DUNNE, FOUNDER FRANK C. BROPHY, any financial reward .. .. The only --... ~---------------, FOUNDING BOARD MEMBER reason they were willing to place their money in this institution was because of their confidence in its merit and because of the great benefit which they thought it could render the city, the state and the nation." BARTON KYLE YOUNT, FOUNDING PRESIDENT and the First National Bank in Phoenix, provided substantial funding in the form of unsecured loans. Dunne became secretary- treasurer and director of student personnel. With a knack for p.r., he shopped the Thtmderbird idea around the media and the story was picked up by Collier's magazine, Business Week, Reader's Digest, the Miami Herald, Des Moines Register, Los Angeles Examiner and more. Amazingly, they opened the doors on October I, 1946 to a start-up class of 285 students, mostly Gis, including people like Joe Klein, who would later become chairman of the board of trustees; and Emily Adacusky, the first woman graduate, who was hired by Standard Oil for a post in Venezuela; or the three Backer brothers (Jolly went to work for Bank of America; John was hired by Libby; and Robert became a trainee for The Automobile Insurance Company). Of all the staff members who started with Yount, Berger and Mabel Erickson would become the most beloved of all and would see nearly five decades of the Thunderbird Mystique. Mabel had been Yount's secretary during the war, and he persuaded her to come to Arizona to help him with the Herculean SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE AFl'ER WORLD WAR n, IT WAS DETERMINED 'l1fAT THE BEST USE OF THUNDERBIRD FIELD WOULD BE FOR A SCHOOL TO TEACH PEOPLE HOW TO 00 BUSINESS IN OTHER OOUNTRIESi 'lHUS THE AMERICAN INSmUI'E FOR FOREIGN TRADE WAS BORN. task of the running of the School. With Mabel came her husband Berger, and the pair would become the team that through the years were the heart and soul of the young school. Mabel was promoted from secretary to registrar in 1951 and later became director of placement and alumni affairs. Berger, whom Yount tapped to be business manager, later became executive vice president and was known affectionately as "Mr. Thunderbird." The early members of the board of directors (now called trustees) were a stellar group of top echelon Phoenix business leaders, generous with both their time and their money. It is a tribute to their loyalty that several of the trustees on today's board have followed in the footsteps of their fathers who served in those early years-people like David Lincoln who followed his father John C. Lincoln and whose generosity made possible the Joan and David Lincoln Computer Center and the World Business Administration Wing; E.V. "Ted" O'Malley Jr., whose father was on the board from the first year; Gary Herberger, whose father G. R. Herberger came on the board in the early 1950s and served through six presidents; and Dick Snell, whose father stands next to Yount and THUNDERBIRD 50 131 1996 IN SPITE OF mE SCHooCs LATIN AMERICAN BMPHASJS, A SURPRISING NUMBER OF mE f1RST GBADUA11NG c:LA&S STAYED IN mE STATEs, AND A HANDFUL WENT TO MORE REMOTE OVERSEAS LOCA'l1ONS-SHANGHAI, GUAM, SAUDI ARABIA. -~-- Dunne as one of the founders of Thunderbird. The younger Snell recently completed a term as chairman of the board of Thunderbird, just as his father had so many years ago. General Yount also named a National Advisory Council that boasted members like Paul Litchfield, Chairman of the Board of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.; Bruce Barton, Chairman of the Board of Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osborn (lmown as BBD&O); Lowell Thomas, author and commentator; Lewis Douglas, U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain; Henry "Hap" Arnold, former Commanding General of the Army Air Forces; and C. R. Smith, Chairman of the Board of American Airlines. THEY TAUGHT THEM WELL The faculty that gambled on a dream to teach that first year were unique as well. Dr. Fred J. Kelly, chief of the Division of Higher Education in the U.S. Office of Education and former president of the University of Idaho, was selected by Yount as a consultant to recruit the faculty. Dr. Robert W. Bradbury, former professor of foreign trade at Louisiana State University and later chief economic analyst for the U.S. Embassy in THUNDERBIRD 50 /31 1996 Mexico City, was the first dean of the institute and professor of foreign trade. Dr. John C. Patterson, advisor on language and area studies, who had resigned as chief of the division of Latin American education relations in the national office of education, held the title of Advisor on Academic Affairs. Dr. Marjorie C. Johnston, professor of Spanish language (formerly a language consultant in the U.S. Office of Education), headed the Department of Languages for the first year, succeeded by Dr. Howard Tessen. Dr. William Schurz, author, scholar, and diplomat, who had held foreign service posts in Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil, and other Latin American counties and had served a number of years in the Department of State, became Director of the Department of Area Studies. Those first few years were challenging, exciting and ultimately rewarding for both faculty and students. Despite typical start-up financial worries and a physical plant that left much to be desired, there was an indomitable Thunderbird spirit that could not-would not-be crushed. The students were a special breed. They came from all over the United States, and they ended up all over the world. -Nelda CroweU • SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE f a time warp could bring together the eight presidents that have led Thunderbird throughout its 50-year history, they would find they have a great deal in common. Undoubtedly They would also find they liad even more basic values in common. Each of them had a strong international background, each was lured by the chance to do something that really mattered, and each knew for certain that Thunderbird had the potential for greatness. All f the presidents aced the challenges inhere t in the physical facilities, and tfiey all alked the tightrope that stretch betw en ding and progress. Over the yea~s, t ey also fought off threats that }Vou d try to move the school, change its focus, or smother it out of exiStenae. They dealt with isolationism, r cession rade constraints, and the vagari s ofintemational politics. Yet through all of its a -century, certain constants have remained that no president could-or would want to-cli ge: the three-part curriculum, the indomitable student body, the avor of the old underbird Field, the learning that goes on ou - side the classroom, the collegial environment, the Thunderb' alumni network. Each president moved the School forward-made it better tharl it was before. The result is that today Thunderbird is rank (:l number one for international business among a bilge and grpwing crowd of prestigious competitors. to A GENTLEMAN AND AN EDUCATOR BARTON KYLE YOUNT APRIL 8, 1946-JULY 11,1949 f there is one word that best describes Lt. General Barton Kyle Yount, it would be "distinguished." First there was his distinguished appearance and demeanorwhite- haired, handsome, calm, cautious, confident, dignified, modest-with the proud military bearing that one might expect of this 1907 West Point graduate. Then there was his distinguished military career . .As commanding general of the Army Air Forces Training Command, he had been in charge of training more than two million soldiers during World War II and had served in Paris, China, Okinawa, and Hawaii. He had traveled around the world inspecting the air bases under his command, and he understood what the end of the war meant for American business. And finally there was his distinguished manner as he testified before the U.S. House Surplus Property Committee. The committee members were investigating the transfer of Thunderbird Field to the newly-formed American Institute for Foreign Trade at a 100% discount-literally giving the property away. Yount remained calm as he told the committee, "We cannot imagine a better use for Thunderbird Field .... In seeking to accomplish its patriotic and much-needed purpose, the Institute is currently assembling the finest faculty of its kind in the world," he assured the Congressmen. Dr. Edward E. Pratt, visiting lecturer at Thunderbird and former aide to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, praised the "almost miraculous" materialization of an idea: "To General Yount must go the lion's share of the credit. I know of no other man who could have successfully put together the jigsaw pieces of this puzzle. He refused to be discouraged or deterred; his friendly determination never turned aside or turned back, nor will it." Yount started by picking off three of the top people in the U.S. Office of Education: Dr. Fred J. Kelly, director of the division of higher education; Dr. John THUNDERBIRD PRESIDENT BARTON KYLE YOUNT VISITS WITH SOME OF TIIE EARLY STUDENTS WHO WOULD SOON BECOME LEADERS IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS. THUNDERBIRD 50 131 1996 C. Patterson, chief of the division of Latin American education relations; and Dr. Marjorie C. Johnston, who was in the division of international educational relations. Then he recruited three more experts: Wesley Frost, former Ambassador to Paraguay; Dr. William Schurz, author of several books on South America and widely-recognized Latin American specialist; and William Shaterian, author, lawyer, and officer in the foreign department of National City Bank. In his methodical military way, born from having developed one of the world's best army training programs, Yount went about the task of acquiring Thunderbird Field and developing it into a peacetime THE INfTIAL FOCUS OF TIIE school facility-not an easy SCHOOL WAS ON LATIN task with Congress breathing AMERICA. down his neck. He then raised funds from businesses in Phoenix and New York, put together a board of trustees and a prestigious national advisory council, developed the courses that would fill out the three-part curriculum, hired the faculty, and acquired the student body. All in just six months. At Yount's death just three years after the School started, Dr. William Schurz wrote, "One of those who had known General Yount called him 'the finest gentleman in the Army.' He trained more men for war than any other man in the history of warfare; however, he never gloried in the destruction that war entails. And when it was over at last, he could have settled down in some quiet town to live with his rich memories in a wellearned retirement. Instead he went to work again, and at a new career. He wished to train young Americans how to live among other peoples in such a way that they would reflect credit on themselves and their country. So he founded this school, which is a living monument to him and to his devotion and to the greatness of soul of a very noble figure in American life." SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE DIPLO~IAT, AllTHOH, TEACIIEH AND SCHOLAH WILLIAM SCHURZ JULY, 1949-JUNE, 1951 r. Schurz never wanted to be president. He loved teaching, and he loved writing. He loved his students, and he loved Latin America And he loved Thunderbird, which was why he accepted the presidency after Yount's death. Considering his distaste for the job, it's all the more amazing that he accomplished so much in his two years as president. When Yount died suddenly of a heart attack on July 11, 1949, the School was shaken. Yount was more than just the founder; he was the rock, the leader, the very personality of the School. The selection of his successor was a major concern. Fortunately, one of Yount's outstanding faculty hires was the eminent diplomat, scholar, teacher, and world traveler, Dr. trade at the University of Houston could take certain foreign trade courses at Thunderbird to be applied as electives toward their Bachelor of Business Administration degree. At the same time, students from AIFT who wanted to continue their study toward the Bachelor of Business Administration degree could enroll at the University of Houston and get degree credit for courses at AlFT. Another of Schurz's proDR. WILLIAM SCHURZ (LEFr) TOOK SPECIAL PRIDE IN WATCH-ING THE STUDENTS GRADUATE William Schurz, who from the very start, had endeared himself to the faculty as well as the students. With his great stature in the academic community, three degrees from the University of California, the respect he had gained from the faculty, and his knowledge of Latin America, he jects was the development of AND HE WAS KNOWN FOR KEEPthe first alumni fund-raising ING IN TOUCH WITII TIlE ALUMNI. campaign that netted 263 con-was the logical successor to Yount, assuming the presidency in mid-year of 1949. But Schurz was a scholar, a writer, and a teacher. He never liked the administration part of the School-the fund-raising, the financial dickering, the paperwork, the confinement. And he missed teaching. In June of 1951, after having been president for less than two years, he submitted his resignation. Among his lasting accomplishments, however, was the establishment of the Keyman program, which would form the nucleus of executive training at Thunderbird. The six-week program was designed to provide intensive language and area work for domestically trained executives who would be assigned to foreign posts. Members of the first Keyman class were from Procter and Gamble headed to the finn's branch offices in Mexico and Cuba Schurz also offered the first summer session, primarily for language instruction, in the summer of 1951. It was not one of his great successes. The hot summer proved to be too much and the program was quickly discontinued, to be resurrected some 20 years later-after the buildings were air-conditioned. He also negotiated the first cooperative academic program before Thunderbird began offering a full bachelor's degree. Under that program, students majoring in foreign tributors for a total of $1,875.50, not bad in 1950. More than 25 percent of the graduates in the classes of 1947 through 1950 contributed to the campaign. After Schurz's death, the alumni would carry on the tradition by donating to the William Schurz Library Fund. GRATEFUL STUDENTS The following letter was sent to Dr. Schun by an employee of Compania Fleischmann Colombiana, Inc. (Standard Brands) who graduated in May, 1952. ''It's hard to realize that it's been 21/2 years since we started at AIFr. It was truly the best year we have ever spent. I don't mean to sound sentimenPAUL WILsON TAUGHT ACCOUNTING. tal, but a certain note of nostalgia always CTeeps in when we think about the schooL Everything has worked out beautifuUy for us-I like my job, we enjoy living in Cotombia, we have a comfortable house,ou?' childTen aTe attending a good school, and the prospects for the futuTe took exceedingly bright. Now what more can any school offer a student afle?' only one yea?: You might be interested to know (I'm SUTe you've heaTd this many times before) that every COUTSe I took at AIFI' is put to wOTk eve?Y day .... The Spanish goes without saying, what with 250 employees in the company and only thTee that speak English. My wife has DR. FRANK JACKLE made excel- TAUGlIT SPANISH. lent progress too and is 'way ahead of the non-AlET wives who have been herefor fouT or five yeaTS. I have Te-read YOUT book andfind that it means a good deal moTe to me after a yeaT of traveling around Cotombia. We have 15 brunches here and I must audit the books of each one, and thanks to Mr. Wilson, I am able! Most of my time is devoted to advertising and sales promotion, so I quieUy thank Mr. Murphy every day. I am JOTlmer impm·ting premium merchandise to be used as seifliquidating premiums, so equipped with what I learned from Mr. Frikmt and Mr. Shaterian, I can baTge Tight into the Aduana (Customs) and aTgue in afainy convincing style. With the mountain of TepOTts that are the necessary evil of aU subsidiary companies, I thank Mr. Jackle every day (Lord how I thank him at the end of each quarter!) with a great deal of humbleness, I can say that I'm doing a good job fOT the company and have an exceUent challengefor thefuture. For this, a sincere Thanks to AlIT and to aU those who make it great. " MAKING THE COMPANIES SIT UP AND TAKE NOTICE EDWARD R. JULIBER JANUARY 1, 1952-JULY 1,1953 hen Ed Juliber was named president of Thunderbird, he was an entirely different breed from either Schurz or Yount. Newly arrived in Phoenix, he had quickly become acquainted with the city's business leaders, and his reputation in international matters seemed to be a good fit with Thunderbird. Juliber knew he had to do two things: recruit students and get the school on a sound financial footing. "I came to the conclusion that the primary responsibility of the president was to raise enough money to keep the School in existence." Before he had been in office two months, he announced a daunting travel schedule that took him into the headquarters of dozens of the nation's largest corporations. On his first trip to California, he met with alumni and more than a half-dozen firms. A month later, he hit the corporate circuit in the East and Midwest meeting with more than 70 companies. His argument was that the School was producing a product, just like companies do. "The only difference between you and us," he would say, "is that we never collect for it," and he would give his pitch for funds in return for the employees that companies had hired from Thunderbird. When he went to see Mr. S. C. Johnson (Johnson Wax), he says, "I memorized the names of all the young men that Johnson had employed, and I talked to him about different ones and the jobs they were doing for his company." It worked. S. C. Johnson becan1e a contributor. Juliber had assumed the presidency on January 1, 1952 and held the position only a year and a half; but the business world beckoned. When he was asked to become vice president of Phoenix Title and Trust, he accepted, confident in turning over the leadership to Carl Sauer, who had been appointed by Schurz on March 20, 1950 to be assistant to the president. Sauer had worked with Schurz in the U.S. State Department's Division of Cultural Relations, had a master's degree in Spanish and education, and had a strong international business background. ED JULIBER HAD A BACKGROUND IN GOVERNMENT AND HAD SPENT A GREAT DEAL OF TIME IN JAPAN. CARL SAUER JULY 1, 1953-APRIL 19,1966 hen Carl Sauer became president, Thunderbird had already passed through its infancy, and the initial attention it received as a unique educational concept had begun to wane. Now came the hard part-recruiting students, maintaining a faculty, and making ends meet. The honeymoon was over, and there were bills to pay. In addition, there was a requirement in the transfer of the property from the War Assets Administration that before the School could acquire clear title to the land, the property had to be used ten years for a school to teach foreign trade. It was a heavy burden for the president to bear in times when international business was THUNDERBIRD 50 /3/ 19 96 11 hardly the buzz word it is today, and a recession was looming. For most of the 13 Sauer years, enrollment was maintained between 175 and 275 students, and the School held its ground. A few buildings were remodeled or expanded, new courses were instituted as global commerce grew, and there were minor changes in the board of trustees. The Keyman (executive education) program maintained a small but steady enrollment. The few faculty members who left for better- paying jobs were replaced with new people, but otherwise it was business as usual, and the CARL SAUER'S PUSH FOR AFF1UATION WITH THE AMERICAN MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION BOOSTED THE SCHOOr:S REPUTATION. SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE fiscal situation remained tenuous. Banks who believed in the Thunderbird concept willingly continued to loan the School funds to keep it afloat and just as willingly forgave those loans. The main blips on the screen were a proposal to move the School to Ellis Island, later dropped, and the President's "En Award, given to the School by the President of the United States for its "contribution to the U.S. Export Expansion program. n Student recruitment included more and more visits to PRESIDENT SAUER RECEIVES TIlE PRESIDENT'S E AWARD FOR EXPORT EXCEILENCE, TIlE ONLY SCHOOL TO RECEIVE SUCH undergraduate schools, and a AN HONOR. FOR MANY strong public relations pro- YEARS, TIlE "E" FIAG WAS gram kept the enrollment FLOWN ON TIlE THUN-more or less steady. DERBffiD FIAGPOLE AS A Nevertheless, there was TRIBUTE TO THE SCHOOLS ample proof that a Thunder- PRAGMATIC APPROACH TO bird education was of great EDUCATION. value to employers. When the students graduated, .most were virtually assured of jobs. Placement was nearly always between 80 and 90 percentDR. MILTON TOWNER, APPOINTED BY SAUER, WAS TIlE POINT PERSON IN GETTING NCAACCREDITATION. sometimes even higher. In response, corporate donations were more important than ever, and efforts to court the corporations were constant. On the down side, however, the condition of the physical facilities continued a downward spiral. Buildings and infrastructure were patched together as the budget permitted. Perennial problems of water availability, interminable problems with the water pumping system, deteriorating roads, and leaky roofs dominated the president's concerns. LASTING SIGNIFICANCE In the final assessment, two events of lasting significance would mark the Sauer administration-affiliation with the American Management Association and the start of efforts to become accredited. Actual accreditation would come in 1969 driven by Dean Milton Towner, one of Sauer's major appointments. The School's affiliation in July, 1963 with the American Management Association gave the AMA primary responsibility for the financial operation of the School. The move was described by Sauer as "the single most important forward step in the development of AIFT," although time has softened that assessment. The alliance proved to be a boost for the School's morale by providing the support of a strong national organization. In reality, the AMA was never called upon to provide actual dollars to SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 12 prop up the budget; but the mere fact that it was affiliated seemed to provide a level of security that the institution needed, and its voluntary contributions were significant. The afflliation did several other things as well: It helped publicize the School, made AMA training programs available, added to the Thunderbird library, helped upgrade the management course content, developed an exchange of board members, gave advice in legal and fiscal matters, and perhaps most important, provided a substantial fringe benefit package for Thunderbird personnel. The AMA also provided the impetus to change the name of the School from "institute" to "graduate school, n ultimately resulting in the 1967 name change to Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management, a name that would last less than seven years. When Sauer stepped down because of his health, he said, "We are nowata significant 'take-off' point, in caliber, in enrollment, in placement, in faculty, in construction of facilities. " PRESIDENT SAUER WAS ESPECIALLY PROUD OF IDS EXTENSIVE RECORD COLLECTION, wmCH WAS PARTIALLY DESTROYED IN A FIRE IN 1961 ALONG WITH PROFESSOR GAONA'S ART COLLECTION. THUNDERBIRD 50 13 1 1996 DR.ARTHUR PETERSON SHOWS OFF idency of Thunderbird, the board recognized his substantial accomplishments with a traditional employees' service PLANS FOR TIIE award. It was an award Peterson had initiNEW BARTON KYLE YOUNT MEMORIAL LIBRARY. ated to aclmowledge length of service-a tie tack in the shape of the old Thunderbird Field logo studded with one diamond for each five years of service. But the award presented to Peterson by the board had six diamonds. Peterson quipped, "This would mean I have been at the School 30 years." The chairman responded that the board felt he had accomplished as much in his three and a half years as one might expect in 30 years, and they felt the service award was well deserved. LOWELL THOMAS, WO~FAMOUSBRO~ CASTER, NARRATED TIIE SCHOor:S FIRST PROMOTIONAL FILM, THE MARCO POLOS OF THUNDERBIRD. [LEFT] FRANK SNELL, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD AND DR. ARTHUR PETERSON BREAK GROUND FOR TIIE NEW EAST APARTMENTS. SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 14 ROBERT DELANEY SEPT. 1, 1970-MAY 20,1971 obert Delaney seemed to possess most of the qualifications a Thunderbird president should haveyouth, academic credentials, overseas experience, business experience, and fund-raising skill. He had been director of the Edward R. Murrow Center of Public Diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and had a winning personality. But the board could not predict how he would do on the job, who he would choose to be in his administration, or how he would fit in with the Thunderbird culture. On all three counts, Delaney and Thunderbird proved to be a poor fit. Together with his new number two man, JOM Schott, Delaney attempted a massive transformation for Thunderbird. It was a transplant that did not take. Faculty and students were in turmoil over arbitrary removal of courses, increased requirements, inconsistent faculty policies, and a steady stream of new rules and regulations. An atmosphere of mistrust and noncommunication developed quickly. A flurry of letters and petitions got the attention of the board of trustees. Schott, senior V.p. for academic affairs, was dismissed immediately in February. Delaney was permitted to stay to the end of the term. And the board, in its considerable wisdom, consulted a student committee, consisting of Robert N. Rutherford II, Oscar Cerallo, Todd Hall, Fred Leenerts, and Barton K. ROBERT DELANEY Yount III, to help set the future direc- SERVED LESS THAN tion of the School and qualifications for Delaney's successor. An interdisciplinary faculty committee also outlined a set of recommendaA YEAR AS THUNDERBffiD'S SIXTH PRESIDENT. tions for the next president, a telling document indeed, that stated the next president should "possess many of the following strengths: • Understand well basic management principles • Communicate with Board of Directors, administration, faculty, and students • Make thoughtful decisions and be able to defend them • Treat all faculty equally and fairly. Does not make separate deals • Is known and respected in academic, administrative, and international business circles • Is of a mature age (40-55) • Understands and appreciates Thunderbird, its goals, its philosophy • Will retain the tripartite training: area, world business, and languages • Likes the Mountain West and our kind of people and is not deprecatory of them." THUNDERBIRD 50 / 3 / 1996 GAINING ACCREDITATION "The main thing on my mind was the accreditation," Voris recalls. At the time of his arrival, the upheaval surrounding Delaney had caught the attention of the NCA, and the organization was concerned about the accreditation it had so recently granted "They gave us a year," Voris says, "in order to demonstrate that we were on the right track. I immediately started looking for key faculty- people with strong academic credentials and international experience. It was especially important in the World Business Department," he said, "because that was the area the accreditation people were looking at carefully. " One of several people he hired during that time was Dr. Marshall Geer, whose strong academic and international credentials made him just the kind of person Voris was seeking. Geer readily made himself available to the North Central Association and willingly served on their evaluation teams, and along the way led-and still leads-Thunderbird's NCA accreditation. Other faculty members with strong academic credentials and international business experience soon followed. And Thunderbird got its NCA reaccreditation in 1974. Accreditation by the American Assembly of Collegiate School of Business (AACSB) was another matter. That would require that either Thunderbird adopt a traditional MBA or the AACSB itself change its long-held structured accreditation standards. With the strength of the three-part curriculum well established, adopting an MBA would destroy the very essence of the school, something Voris would not consider. Instead, he chose the latter route and began slowly to lay the groundwork for change in the AACSB. A long-time member of the AACSB, he continued to participate in the organization, serving two terms on its board, as well as seven years on its international committee, three as chairman. He was also on the AACSB standards committee, and it THE EN'IRANCE SIGN SHOWS was there that he was influential in persuading the organization to add an international dimension to the accreditation requirements. Change came slowly. The encouragement of change in the AACSB would later be accelerated by his successor, and combined with external forces, would result in changing the AACSB standards, eventually making Thunderbird eligible for, and finally getting, accreditation. OFF mE SCHooL's NEW NAME RAISING FUNDS FOlLOWING mE NAME A fiscal conservative working CHANGE IN 1973. THE TElL with a conservative board, Voris INTERFAITH CENTER IS IN THE found himself treading a fine BACKGROUND. line between the desperate needs of the campus and the necessity for holding the line on spending. In spite of increasing enrolbnent, he took the position that Thunderbird should be a "small elite graduate school with enrolbnent of near 750 students, " but that could only happen if revenue increased Voris laid it on the line to the board of trustees. "The School has a chance for greatness," he challenged, "but it cannot achieve it if we continue to live from year to year on tuition and fees. In plain English, ladies and gentlemen, we need your help. I would hope that the board would turn its full attention to this ftmd-raising drive." The board responded somewhat better than they had in years past, but still the school got thousands when it needed millions. "We traveled around the world calling on companies," he said "Fund-raising is difficult," Voris admits and says it will always be an issue at a specialized management school like Thunderbird. Nevertheless, the School's contributions did reach a million dollars for the first time in 1982, and in 1988 topped the $2 million mark. ADDITIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS DURING VORIS'S TERM: • Expanded Thunderbird programs to overseas locations including international exchange programs, dual degree programs, and Thunderbird courses offered in other countries. • Began the Wmterim term offering unique experimental courses and attracting major executives as speakers. • Changed the name to American Graduate School of International Management. • Sold the land across 59th Avenue to the east for development into apartments (Sagewood, Sun Creek, Country Gables). • Formed the World Business Advisory Council (now the Global Advisory Council). • Started the Consular Ball (now the Ambassadors' Ball) as a fund-raising activity of the Consular Corps of Arizona to benefit student scholarships. • Created the International Executive of the Year Award and black-tie dinner. • Granted the first of several honorary degrees to Walter Bimson of Valley National Bank (now Bank One), one of the School's initial financiers. • Promoted a plan to use the School's perimeter land for use as an international business park. • Encouraged the Friends of Thunderbird (created by Mrs. Voris) and its fund-raising event, the Thunderbird Balloon Classic, which developed into the School's largest scholarship fund. SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 16 THUNDERBIRD SO I 3 I 1996 THE WILLIAM VORIS HALL OF MODERN LANGUAGES WAS NAMED BY ITS DONOR GEORGE GETZ TO HONOR VORIS'S SUPPORT OF THE LANGUAGE PROGRAM. IMPROVING FACILITIES When he arrived in 1971, Voris may have wondered just what he had gotten himself into. "I remember our crews being out there repairing the plumbing at midnight with water spouting out of holes in the pipes," Voris recalls. His first task was to take care of urgent repairs, while seeing West Apartments to completion. The auditorium, dining hall, classrooms, and dorms were all refurbished in Voris's first few years. "The only bond we ever issued was for urgent repairs," he says. One of the most serious decisions faced by the School during Voris's time was whether to accept a 1974 offer to move the School to Carefree, then a small development north of Scottsdale. The debate centered around whether it would be easier to raise $15 million for new facilities in another location or $5 million to refurbish old buildings on the Thunderbird site. "I'm certainly glad we didn't do it," Voris reflects. "The area they proposed never has developed, and the alumni did not like the idea of moving away from the Thunderbird Campus." GETTING A NEW LOOK After the decision to stay put was made and the essential repair work was done at the Thunderbird Campus, the School began to get a new look. Two new dorms on each side of Founders Hall and the Tell Interfaith Center were the first of several construction projects. A large portion of the extended mall that is now the center of the campus bears the mark of the Voris administration: the Talley Career Services Center in 1978 and three years later, the Snell Learning Center in 1981. Complete renovation of the west hangar into the Thunderbird Activity Center was completed the next year, converting what Voris describes as "just a bare hangar with a tin roof' into an auditorium that could be used for graduation, InterAd presentations, and special events. Just in time for the School's 40th anniversary in 1987, the new computer THE JACUZZI FOUNTAIN FORMS TIlE CENTERPIECE FOR TIlE SNELL LEARNING CENTER BUILT IN 1981. THE ERICKSON ALUMNI PAVIl10N AND MALL, ALONG WITH TIlE COMPUTER CENTER AND MODERN LANGUAGES BUILDING, CHANGED TIlE FACE AND FOCUS OF THE CAMPUS. services building, the new language faculty building, and the pavilion and mall gave the School a whole new look. Gone was the scorching expanse of black asphalt in front of the tower. In its place were wide sidewalks and green grasslots of it-and a shaded pavilion that has since become not only a study spot but also the focus of events such as Asia Night. Voris also knew the important role that media attention could play in student recruitment and hiring, so he made the rounds regularly of the national newspapers and magazines. Articles on the School appeared in dozens of national media like theNew York 'Ihnes, WallStreet Journal, Time, Newsweek, Business Week, and Forbes. Thunderbird, although not yet a household name, was getting more and more visible, and students kept coming. Enrollment, which had just begun to climb in the 1960s, took a dramatic increase in the 1970s spurred partly by a nationwide recession. Students who couldn't get jobs went to graduate school. In the fall of 1973, it reached 874 students, an increase of 200 over the previous year. By the time of Voris's retirement, enrollment had been held to near 1,000 students for a half-dozen years. Placing those graduates became a priority, and more visits to companies were on the agenda of nearly every administrator. "Everyone knows that if we have no students, there would be no school; and we also know that if the students do not feel they can get jobs, they will not come here," Voris said. It was a neverending concern of every president. Gradually companies became more and more aware of the School, and placement continued to rise. At the time Voris announced his retirement, technology was accelerating at breakneck speed, executive education was an exploding field, and competition for students and faculty was intense. A construction program was off to a good start, but there were still significant needs. It seemed that no matter how much the School improved, there would always be catching up to do. THUNDERBIRD 50 13 I 1996 17 SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE BALLOON RACE . ' . . :: . MAVIS VORIS WAS THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE INTERNATIONAL AUCTION, WHICH RAISED MONEYFORSCHO~HWS AT THE BALWON RACE. [RIGHT] FIFTEEN HOT AIR BALLOONS WERE FEATURED IN THE FIRST THUNDERBIRD BALLOON RACE IN 1975. STUDENT FOOD BOOTHS WERE A MAJOR ATTRACTION OF THE BALLOON RACE WHEN IT WAS HELD ON THE BALLOON RACE WAS MOVED FROM THE GLENDALE AIRPORT TO WESTWORLD IN SCOTTSDALE,WHEREITIS CURRENTLY HELD. BECOMING THE VERY BEST ROY A. HERBERGER, JR. JULY 1,1989- hunderbird was no longer unique and it needed a leader who could keep the School ahead of a fastgrowing pack of imitators. Dr. Roy A Herberger, Jr., former dean of the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University, was the right man at the right time. A highly respected academician with superb credentials, he had created USC's International Business Education and Research program and was known as a savvy fund-raiser. In just three years, the School's annual revenue shot up from $15.9 million to $27.6 million, and for the first time in decades, there was money to work with. Herberger was determined to make Thunderbird fulfill its potential to be a world-class competitor, but there was work to do. The perennial facilities problems continued to pester the institution in a period Herberger describes as "building the ship and sailing it at the same time." One dorm (one of the former barracks) had suffered from the ravages of time, so replacement was an immediate concern. The usual cosmetic details of painting and landscaping needed to be taken care of as well. It isn't possible to single out anyone accomplishment as Herberger's greatest and best. In just seven years under his leadership, Thunderbird has made giant strides in a dozen directions. AACSB accreditation would have to be high on the list. But so would the improvement of technology and facilities. The campus looks like a picture of the success it is. The question was, Would he accept the job? "I looked at the School as if I were an outside consultant making recommendations for the future course of the School," he says. "The first problem I looked at was financial, and I began to see ways that could be solved. Then I took a good look at the faculty. I met some people who were enthusiastic and saw the same future for the School that I did. Others, however, did not. I still wasn't sure this was what I should do, so late in the day of my visit to campus, I went over to the Pub and talked to the students. That's where I saw the excitement I was looking for. Those students were bright and energetic and filled with the same kind of vision that I had. That's when I decided to come to Thunderbird." THE TIfUNDERBIRD Executive education has soared to become a $7 million operation. Some of the world's best faculty have been attracted to Thunderbird, and there are very few individuals in academic or corporate cirIn his first few months, Herberger made four important decisions that would spark the resources to do many other things. Realizing that Thunderbird was undervalued in comparison to other graduate schools of business, his STUDENT BODY HAS INCREASED des that have not heard of Thunderbird. Not IN SIZE, QUALITY, AND DIVERSITY UNDER PRESIDENT ROY HERBERGER (WITH GLOBE). only have they heard of it, but there is no argument these days that Thunderbird is the very best at what it does. first move was to propose a three-year 50 percent tuition increase. Next, he pushed the enrollment goal up to allow for growth in the student body and hired expert faculty to teach them. He then set the wheels in motion for a capital campaign, and when all the financial building blocks were in place, he proposed a $10 million bond issue to finance new construction. It didn't hurt that Trustee Dick Snell happened to be an expert in bond strategy. Lastly, Herberger set out to put the executive education program on a fast track by hiring M. Edgar Barrett, one of the nation's leading experts. THUNDERBIRD 50 131 1996 19 The students are better than ever, and there's a waiting list. GMAT scores have steadily risen. More and more students are coming in speaking a second language but often taking yet a third. International experience of some kind is nearly universal. Fund-raising under Herberger's administration has topped the $20 million mark, including some major government grants, a new phenomenon for Thunderbird. The School's foreign programs have doubled and now include a facility in Europe and one in Asia "We've done some new and innovative things, and we'll continue to be creative as we try to become even more global." SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE ACCREDITATION OR ELSE The AACSB's accreditation of Thunderbird on April 11, 1994 was not only a milestone for the School, but it marked a change in higher education as a whole--a move toward greater flexibility in all of education, an acknowledgment that education must pave the way for society, and recognition of the global nature of business. When Roy Herberger was hired to be president of Thunderbird, he was already highly respected in the AACSB, had served on several committees, and was a popular speaker at AACSB seminars. One of his objectives, from the day he was hired, was to achieve AACSB accreditation. By that time it was clear that Thunderbird would never reach its potential without it. Major grants only went to AACSB-accredited schools. Eligibility for published rankings was limited to AACSB-accredited schools. Foreign governments would pay for their students to attend a U.S. school only if the School were AACSB accredited. Would Thunderbird have to surrender and grant an MBA to be accredited? To avoid that possibility and the resulting protests, Herberger worked on two fronts. One was to elevate the academic stature and visibility of Thunderbird so no one could argue about its quality. The other was to work within the AACSB to broaden its standards to include a school like Thunderbird that teaches language and international studies along with business. As an AACSB insider, Herberger continued to be a popular figure among business school deans. He hosted seminars for new deans, organized seminars for internationalizing curriculums, chaired the AACSB international committee and served on the AACSB board of directors. Meanwhile, other external forces were surfacing. Many schools were changing their mission statements and becoming more flexible. The old standards for an MBA just didn't fit anymore- and not just for Thunderbird. To its great credit, the AACSB responded with its most significant change in decades. Under the new standards, a school could be accredited based on how well it fulfilled its mission, rather than a specific set of courses, and Thunderbird was to be a test case. The happy ending is that it was one of the first innovative schools to be accredited under the new AACSB standards. THE VERY BEST OF EVERYTHING step in the right direction, but the Tower Building and "C" Building were inadequate for the other two departments, and meeting space was at a premium; conference facilities were nonexistent. Plans for the faculty center, proposed in the 1980s, were updated and put on a fast track. By the time Herberger had been on campus three years, the School had a new entrance, the International Studies Department and World Business Department faculties were in new buildings, all the administrative services were in one location in the new World Business Administration Wing, and the new AT&T Auditorium and flexible meeting rooms had been incorporated into the construction. A continuous bloom of flowers and new landscaping softened the scene. The stage was set. Then came the players. New faculty members came to Thunderbird from places like Dartmouth, Harvard, American University, USC. They also came from other countries as befits a truly global institution-India, Australia, Germany, Algeria, China Word quickly spread that being hired for the Thunderbird faculty was an extraordinary achievement. It took more than just a list of publications. Good teaching was at the top of the list along with international experience. Keeping up-to-date in their field was a must; business experience was essential. And a Ph.D. was part of the job description. A faculty member who didn't measure up had to endure the pressure of the students, often harsher judges than the faculty review committees. MEETING THE NEEDS OF BUSINESS One other theme running through the Herberger administration is the necessity for Thunderbird to meet the needs of business. That meant, for example, adding two new degrees, both initiated by the faculty: the Master of International Health Management degree (1991) and the Master of International Management of Technology (1993). Both were designed to fill voids in rapidly expanding industries. It has also meant expanding executive education in a big way-and providing the facilities to do it. Founders Hall was converted into the Executive Education Center, and nearby dorms were remodeled to suit the client executives. The auditorium became two case-style classrooms, and a new Executive Education building will be completed next year. One theme that runs through the Herberger administration is quality-- of faculty, of instruction, of facilities, of students, of staff, of service. The most visible evidence is in the new buildings-eight of them if you include the two under construction-plus a grand entrance worthy of a grand school. In order to attract outstanding faculty, the offices had to exude quality. The new language building had been a THUNDERBffiD NOW HAS A DEFINITE LOOK OF SUCCESS WITH EIGHT NEW BUILDINGS CONSTRUCTED OVER THE PAST SEVEN YEARS. Under the direction of Dr. M. Edgar Barrett, brought by Herberger from SMU, new programs for executives were added to supplement the Thunderbird Management Center's customized programs. First came the Executive M.I.M., a tightened version of the M.I.M. Then came a series of short seminars that put Thunderbird in the same market as the Harvards and Whartons that were well established in the field. The next step was the Thunderbird SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 20 THUNDERBIRD 50 131 1996 International Consortium, a group of carefully selected finns that would receive customized training for a substantial annual fee, drawing some big names like Scott Paper, AlliedSignal, AT&T, Kellogg, mM, and more. A 13-week certificate program is the most recent addition, along with a special course in English language for foreign students preparing for American graduate school. No longer just the Keyman courses, the Thunderbird Executive Education program is ranked among the top five in the nation, has grown over 900 percent, and is among the country's top 20 fastest growing executive programs. Last year it brought in more than $7 million, and more importantly, has established relationships with some new companies that had little previous knowledge about the School. UTHUNDERBIRD, " A HOUSEHOLD NAME? One complaint of Thunderbird has echoed through the decades from the early 1950s when Schurz told the trustees, "This school is better known outside the country that it is in its own home town. We need to get better known locally." Roy Herberger has tirelessly set about to change that impression. Now considered one of the foremost leaders in the Phoenix business community, he is on every list of movers and shakers in the Phoenix area As head of the area's economic development group, he has been a major force in the internationalization of the area Every civic leader, every major business, every government agency now knows Thunderbird. They seek out interns, they speak on campus, they provide class projects, and they hire Thunderbird graduates. Herberger has also made his presence felt in government circles, as he was called upon to testify on NAFTA during the crisis stages of its passage. It is no accident that former Secretary THUNDERBIRD 50 13 I 1996 21 TO BECOME A $7 MILLION OPERATION, BRINGING IN EXECUTIVES FROM MAJOR MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS. AIL STUDENTS ARE NOW REQUIRED TO HAVE ACCESS TO A PERSONAL COMPUTER, THUNDERBIRD NOW HAS A WEB PAGE, AND MANY ALUMNI KEEP IN TOUCH ELECTRONICALLY. of State Lawrence Eagleburger, former governor of the Federal Reserve Martha Seger, and former U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle are all currently on the roster of Thunderbird visiting faculty. Wmterim on Wall Street and Winterim in Washington are well established programs that attract major players as speakers in both locations. Government grants of more than $4 million attest to the School's success. The media, too, have taken notice of Thunderbird. Herberger has met with editors across the U.S. and in many countries. Educational publications such as the MBA Newsletter look to him for comment on the state of international education. With AACSB accreditation came eligibility for the media rankings, and Thunderbird took its rightful place as the number one graduate school of international management in the March 18, 1996 issue of u.s. News & World Report. Business Week now places Thunderbird in its top 40 graduate schools of business, and magazines like Fortune and Forbes turn to Thunderbird faculty for their expertise. A WORLD-CLASS INSTITUTION When Herberger speaks on the subject of international education to other deans, uthey are struck by the fact that we invest about $50 million a year in just one thing-international SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE management," Herberger says. "We've done it. We're there. They are just not able to compete on our level with the sheer mass of this institution moving in one focused direction." "The single greatest advantage we have is our alumni," Herberger says. "No other school can build a program fast enough to have the kind of worldwide alurrmi body we have. No one can touch us on that score. Now our challenge is to use technology in terms of making that structure work to our mutual advantage. " A VISION FOR THE FUTURE Herberger gives considerable credit for Thunderbird's success to the active participation of a very strong board of trustees. "I don't know of a single school in the world that has the caliber of board we do," he says, referring to both the types of executives as well as their commitment to the School. "There's a reason they came on board," he adds. "They want to be part of a world-class institution that has this singular mission and is capable of carrying it out. " • -Nelda Crowell hen Roy Herberger talks about the future of Thunderbird, he gets anxious, his eyes light up, and he talks fast. He knows that remaining a world-class competitor in the year 2000 will be much different from becoming a worldclass competitor when he came to Thunderbird in 1989. A visionary, Herberger sees the world changing rapidly and he knows that the School will have to do some major restructuring to meet the demands that the technology-centered information- hungry 21st century will create. Looking back at moments of opportunity the School has seen in its 50 years, Herberger wonders, "Will people look back at this time in the School's history and say that we seized the moment? We have tremendous opportunities today, but the world is redefining the marketplace at a rate that will increase the pressure on us. "We have to have multiple delivery systems for every single thing we do, from the catalog to alumni programs to our M.I.M. courses. We have a lot to offer here, and we need to find new ways to package that information for business markets, for our M.I.M. students, for government clientele. And we have to have multiple venues around the world. " He looks to the alumni as a key element in this new world, and he is constantly seeking ways for Thunderbird to keep them close to the School. "WILL PEOPLE LOOK BACK AT Herberger sees a whole division of the School developing new products that will use the School's knowledge and expertise for a variety of audiences in a variety of forms-multimedia CDs, satellite-broadcast programs, Internet programming, backed by a host of technology that is not even developed yet. For many people at Thunderbird, he admits, it will be a TIllS TIME IN THE stretch, and there will be a learning curve-very much the same "building the ship and sailing SCHOOL'S it" idea that he experienced with the facilities early in his administration. Only now the "ship" HISTORY AND SAY is technology and the building process is an intellectual and creative one. Executive education at Thunderbird will continue to be critical to the School's future, he THAT WE SEIZED believes. The world's professions are changing so fast that a university education will never THE MOMENT?" be sufficient preparation for the business that must be done. If educational institutions don't provide that knowledge, he believes industry will, and is already doing it in many cases. Herberger sees the new competition as being organizations like Motorola and the University of Phoenix. One additional driving force will be the financial one, he believes. "We have to look at the pricing aspect of our products," he says, speaking like the marketer that he is. "We simply can't continue to raise tuition every year. We have to find new, more effective ways to deliver our courses. I see the day coming when we will have to commit to significant increases in the value of our education while lowering its costs to the market. "In spite of all we have accomplished," he says, "I think of Thunderbird as just beginning. I feel vulnerable and excited at the same time," he says, as he describes what must become Thunderbird's re-birth to prepare for its next half-century. As it celebrates its 50th anniversary, today's Thunderbird is once again a Phoenix bird-ready to rise from the ashes of the 20th century into a new world. -Nelda CroweU • SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 22 THUNDERBIRD 50 13/ 1996 THE FUTURE BEGINS NOW The history of technology at Thunderbird is brief-but the future is BIG W thin days of taking ove, as interim Chief Information Officer this past June, Bill Gillis mapped out a rather ambitious schedule for Thunderbird. His goal: complete two years of information technology development in less than six months, everything from networking the dorms and accelerating development of Thunderbird's Internet site and distance learning facilities, to developing the School's flrst electronic courseware on CD-ROM. Sound aggressive? Not for Gillis. A member of Thunderbird's Board of Trustees, Gillis honed his "just do it" approach as president of information technology subsidiaries at Charles Schwab, Motorola, and US WEST. Not· surprisingly, his energetic approach is in perfect sync with Thunderbird's new technology strategy: transform the way the world's most influential international busi-ness school delivers its product to students, alumni, and corporations. "Five years ago we were admittedly behind the technology power curve," says President Roy Herberger. "Thunderbird's drive now is to stay as close to the front of the technology wave as we can." THE HISTORY For many alumni who graduated before 1994, the idea that Thunderbird could be at the front of the technology wave might seem unlikely. True, technology has always been an important part of the School. The language lab built in 1959 was considered one of the most advanced facilities in the country at the time, and the School's first advanced computer lab for students was built in 1987 with the help of trustee David Lincoln and his wife Joan. FORAD, a computer simulation game that teaches students how to man-age the treasury function of a multinational corporation, has been a part of the classroom since the '80s. Professors have employed computers as teaching tools in Thunderbird's modem lecture halls since 1990. Even InterAd-which used to rely on flipcharts and slideshows for presentations- has become a high-tech multimedia production run by computer. But it wasn't until 1994, when the School opened the Merle A Hinrichs International Business Information Centre (!BIC), that Thunderbird caught up with the technology curve. Built in large part with the financial assistance of Merle Hinrichs '65, Chairman of The Asian Sources Media Group in Hong Kong, the IBIC is a testament to state-of-the-art research technology. Its online library catalog can be accessed from dorm rooms, professors' offices, even offsite through the Internet. Instead of wading through thick volumes SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 24 THUNDERBIRD 50 131 1996 of industry statistics, students now have access to more than 40 electronic databases, as well as video language stations and multimedia computers equipped with CD-ROMs. This technological growth isn't just a case of keeping up with the Jones' either. The School is embracing technology both in and out of the classroom for a purpose: to create better global managers. According to President Herberger, a global manager who is truly information literate must employ technology as a critical backdrop to the way business succeeds. "r used to tell people 'Our students will be computer literate,'" says Herberger. "Now I tell them, 'I want our students to understand how to use information in a strategic business sense. '" ELECTRONIC LINKS If the mlc represents the School's technology commitment to its students, the recently upgraded computer infrastructure represents Thunderbird's commitment to faculty, staff and especially alumni. Professors, administration and students communicate daily via a campuswide E-mail system compatible with the Internet. Many professors' offices are now equipped with Pentium computers, CD-ROMs, and the latest software and web browsers. The School has also invested in technology that has created better communication links to the global T'bird network-links not only between the School and alumni, but also among alumni. Three years ago, Thunderbird updated its alumni database, making it easier for alumni to keep in contact with other T'birds in the network, and for the School to better tailor its services to alumni. Also, this December Thunderbird will publish its alumni directory on CDROM for the first time. Perhaps the most popular technology initiative for alumni, however, is the Thunderbird Forum located on CompuServe. Introduced in 1994, the Forum is a private online network exclusive to Thunderbird (it also has the historical distinction of being the first online alumni network developed by CompuServe). Today the "virtual" T'bird network connects over 2,500 alumni in 50 countries, enabling them to communicate instantly regardless of geography or time zones. "The thunderbird Forum is an important milestone in Thunderbird's strategy is to transform the way the world's most influential international business school delivers its product to students, alumni, and corporations. the School's history," says Nelda Crowell, Assistant Vice President for Communication and project head. "It allows us to offer a connection to all classes, from 1947 to the most recent." The Thunderbird Forum also has a valuable practical side: alumni use it to exchange business information and network for jobs. MULTIMEDIA AND T'BIRD WEB SITE As impressive as all this technological growth sounds, the real story is that it's only the start of a well-planned effort. According to Gillis, the School has been aggressively developing both short- and long-term strategies since 1993 with the help of experts like John Berndt of Lucent Technologies THUNDERBIRD 50 131 1996 25 SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE (fonnerly AT&T) and Tommy George of Motorola Semiconductor, who sit on Thunderbird's advisory boards (see sidebar). "What we are seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg," notes Gillis. "Our goal is that not one of our competitors will be able to boast better application of technology than Thunderbird." One dynamic example of how Thunderbird plans to capitalize on technology is the new Barton Kyle Yount Centre, opening in October of 1996. The building many alumni remember as the "library" is being remodeled into a high-tech communications center, complete with multimedia classrooms and video production studios. Among other things, the Centre will allow Thunderbird to develop electronic courseware that can be distributed around the world via CD-ROM, video, and satellite. Thunderbird's first CD-ROM project, a course on global negotiation and arbitration being developed by Professors Bill King and Karen Walch, will be available next year. A second example of how Thunderbird is applying technology to the way it delivers products is the new Thunderbird web site (http://www.t-bird.edu). In addition to providing current infonnation about the School and its programs, the site is helping the School market itself. For example, corporate visitors to the web site are encouraged to set up internships with the School as well as to hire students. Prospective students can use the site to contact the School electronically for admissions information- and even see a preview of the dorm rooms. According to Judy Johnson, associate vice president for admissions and recruiting, already ten percent of Thunderbird's admissions inquiries arrive via the Internet. FUTURE DIRECTIONS? What of the future? Gillis, for one, is shooting for the moon. "I see the Thunderbird educational 'product' available around the world within the next three years, either via satellite or online. I also envision creating 'interactive' educational products that are intelligent, such as a CD-ROM that can reach out to the Internet periodically to gather updated information from the School." Gillis also sees major changes in the way stu-dents will seek employment. "I see us offering students the technology to conduct interviews directly from the Yount Centre to any major employer's office worldwide, saving time and money for both the students and the corporate recruiters." leadership in education is any indicator of its technological future, one thing is for certain-the competition better keep an eye out. -Thomas McMillan . Technological transformation, of course, never comes easily. But Thunderbird is definitely off and running, very fast and very aggressively. And if the School's 50 years of global ' lima '''',- ~ '--" '- ... ..... Bllpwt" ',~ FllTPHE SrCCESS President Roy Herberger says new technology is key to the School's future Thunderbird: How is Thunderbird using technology to move forward? Herberger: Investing in fancy hardware is not the driving force here, content is. Our goal is to use all these emerging technologies to better harness the valuable information Thunderbird possesses, and to deliver that infonnation in dynamic, innovative ways. The reality is that technology allows us to create better international managers and deliver new educational products to our alumni. Thunderbird: What was your most important step so far? Herberger: Bringing in smart people to our advisory boards who were corporate leaders in infonnation management, procurement and distribution. Imagine baving people at your side like Bill Grumbles, Chairman of Turner International; John Berndt, President of Multimedia Ventures & Technologies at Lucent Technologies; Tommy George, President and General Manager of Motorola Semiconductor's product sector; Merle Hinrichs, Chairman of The Asian Sources Media Group; and Cyrus Freidheim Jr., Vice Chairman of Booz ....- H OWEVER YOU SAY IT,,.. ....... duJel .. ~_ic."* Allen & Hamilton. These leaders and their companies showed us the true power and future of a global technology network. Thunderbird: Can you give an example of how technology will affect the relationship between alumni and the School? Herberger: First, we are hoping to convince alumni that graduation is an extinct tenn. I would like to see our alumni consider the completion of their graduate studies at Thunderbird just one stage of a career life-cycle of events. In other words, I see a future where an alumnus never leaves the concept of his or her institution of higher learning. Technology will allow us to continuously serve the needs of our alumni, whether that need is career assistance, database access, or a window into networking with other alumni. Second, when we say we are in "contact" with an alumnus, we have to mean interactive. Think about what it means if our alumni, faculty and students possess the means to drop queries into an infonnation web that could generate instant, valuable feedback. It means that you could tap into the power of the entire Thunderbird network, anytime and anywhere. Thunderbird: Is technology changing the face of education? Herberger: Education has traditionally been one of the most unchanged industries. You could almost count on the rules of doing business. Now, with technology, the barriers to entry are being dropped. Our markets are being reshaped, the way we deliver our product is shifting, our customer base is changing. Yes, the education industry is changing dramatically, and whoever stands still will be run over. That won't be us. SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 26 THUNDERBIRD 50 13 I 1996 CRACKING MARKETS TH E INTERAo WAY Thunderbird:s most famous advertising and marketing course has a rich history of success A lmost 20 years ago Jooeph Handly '77 and his fellow InterAd team spent many a long night developing a marketing strategy for introducing L'eggs in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately his group lost in the final judging to a team that helped introduce one of America's most popular toys into Mexico-the Frisbee. Despite not winning InterAd that year, Handly says he gained something even more valuable than first place: just taking the InterAd course gave him an edge into the advertising industry. "InterAd was the big thing on my lips when I interviewed," recalls Handly. "It was just an invaluable experience. InterAd was like working for a real-life advertising agency." Whether the year is 1977 or 1996, InterAd is-and has always been-one of the most sought after courses at Thunderbird. The workshop regularly draws Fortune 500 clients to campus for advice on penetrating foreign markets from Costa Rica to Korea Students' end-of-term marketing presentations typically draw an audience of over 200 with sophisticated marketing plans and computer presentations. InterAd's inception in 1958, however, was about as innocuous as its name: Advertising Theory and Practice. Students used to spend hours in the library researching the companies and the markets they hoped to penetrate. Early InterAd teams had to attract their own sponsors. Final presentations usually consisted of typed reports, poster boards, and slide shows. But five professors and four decades later, the course now called Advanced International Marketing and Advertising Workshop, has emerged as one of the premiere capstone courses at Thunderbird-and one of the least theoretical. The class was founded and taught by promi-nent New York ad man Edwin Coleman. He was followed by an impressive list of advertising veterans: Norton Sobo, Paul Schlesinger (the father of the Mr. Clean commercial), Sumner Wyman, and, for the past five years, Frank Callahan (who helped write the famous "Oh I wish I were an Oscar Meyer wiener.. ." song). GREAT REPUTATION. Today's students are researching the companies-and the markets-firsthand. The fee paid by companies who want to participate in InterAd now rivals the Thunderbird tuition. It also includes a travel allowance for the student team to send several members to the target market to conduct firsthand consumer research. A list of recent clients includes many of today's household brand names: Kellogg's, Kodak, Hershey, the Ford Motor Co. This past spring, InterAd teams created marketing plans for Coca-Cola to penetrate the emerging markets in Malaysia and Vietnam. One reason InterAd has consistently been able to draw name-brand companies for nearly four decades is the quality of the students' final work. Companies may take 60 to 80 percent of students' recommendations. Some take the students as well. What about the future of InterAd? Will it, like the products and companies it markets, continue to build market share worldwide? "InterAd has a terrific reputation among ad agencies," says Martin Susz '79, former senior vice president at J. Walter Thompson and now head of worldwide advertising at IBM. "It has become a global brand name in itself." Susz should know-his company used InterAd in 1986 to market computers in China ---,jennifer Barrett • Til E\ & N O\\' [ABOVE) THE OLD AlRCRAFI' TOWER (SHOWN HERE IN 1958) HAS ALWAYS BEEN A CAMPUS LANDMARK. [RIGHT) NOW REMODELED INTO A STUDENT CENTER AND SURROUNDED BY GRASS AND FLOWERS, THE 1996 VERSION REMAINS THE CENTER OF CAMPUS LIFE. [LEFr) THE ALUMNI PAVllJON BUILT IN 1987 IS SHOWN,WOKING SOUTH FROM THE TOWER, WITH THE WORLD BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION BUILDING BUILT IN 1992 IN THE BACKGROUND. [BELOW) THE OPEN MALL AREA PRIOR TO 1987. [BELOW] BUILDINGS TIIAT ONCE SERVED AS ARMY BARRACKS HAVE BEEN TOTALLY REMODELED FOR STUDENT UVING. [RIGHT] OTHERS WERE REPLACED DURING THE 1990S WITH MODERN TWO-STORY RESIDENCE HALLS. [ABOVE] IN THE SCHOOr:S EARLY YEARS, FOUNDERS HALL WAS THE ENTRANCE TO THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR FOREIGN TRADE. [LEFT] THE NEW ENTRANCE, WHICH OPENED IN 1992 NEAR THE SOUTH HANGAR, FEATURES THE WORD "WELCOME" IN ALL TEN LANGUAGES TAUGHT AT THE SCHOOL. FACrLTY More than anything else, we remember the faculty and administrators who guided us at Thunderbird. Their patience gave us confidence; their determination kept us going; their lessons made us succeed. 3. Fra.ll.Ci4aJ (jaolf.aSpanish for the real world 4. 'Ruh~MutMM a never-ending smile 5. JiHt-Milk working us hard and making us like it 6. Ta.eiw KiHtthe Korean scholar 1. Frait.k Tu.tczbw fun with finance 2. Rbbert (ju1ick 7. F~Ba.bar~ multinational mentor 8. cIr.r~ Britt the joy of German 9. BiltK~ each student a special person 13.joMzeriIJ marketing guru with a Brazilian touch 14. BobMor~ understanding without judgment 10. Bert v~PJUi JOM Mai:Ir.U honors for marketing and finance 11. Cb~ Fleek Em.. one of our own 12. The" TPJtCUf a winning team 1. BryfUf/ H~fte, demanding our very best 2 BerJer Eric/aolt/ Mr. Thunderbird 3. }olm Art/utr a T'bird Renaissance man 4. Di.c,k MaJumey a consistent favorite s. glelut,. F0ltj scholar, teacher, friend 6. Dolt/ScIuH.UJtstatistics made easy 7·}°ttlf~ D~ everything with style 8. Eka,. whiJ:e" French with a flair !J.jbYj~ V~b the Spanish gentleman 10. jbM CbItidiJt, viewing the world at large 11.joMKeiiy earning our admiration 12. paid jOluub~ inspiring entrepreneurship 13. LtMseJf.iwy~de, NOYbW zest for life; love for students 14. Andrew-cIuutj scholar in 3 languages l unde<bITd" fi"t graduating class had great timing. With the end of the war, scores of American companies were eager to expand into the lucrative Latin American market. And in 1947 The American Institute of Foreign Trade was the only school in the country specializing in Latin American business, culture and language. is Eve Roger Nagarkar '84, director of new projects development, develops and manages Career Services programs that need technology-based solutions. more encouraging: the average starting salary in 1984 had doubled from a decade earlier to nearly $30,000. In fact, according to an Associated Press story that year, there was such an acute shortage of graduates specializing in international business that more than half the While the job market has always fluctuated, T'birds have consistently found success Despite these market fluctuations, T'birds have consistently found success in their career choices. In a February 1984 Forbes article, James Hillestad, then head of creative services for longtime recruiter Chemical Bank, reported that Thunderbird graduates Thunderbird class had been hired before they finished their courses (see sidebar). Nonetheless, that still left the other half of the class. Jack Rokahr '47 for one recalls hours spent in the library laboriously copying by hand the names and addresses of companies he might work for upon graduation. He typed and sent off over 70 letters, from which he eventually got two great job offers. flUCTUATIONS. While times have changed since Rokahr's day, the truth is graduates will always find themselves at the mercy of the job market yo-yo. For example, all through the 1950s and 1960s and into the 1970s, placement rates of 80 or 90 percent were common. Then a recession in the mid-70s hit college placement hard from two directions. Bachelor's degree graduates who couldn't find jobs went to graduate school instead (enrollment jumped at Thunderbird as it did at in their career choices. business schools throughout the country). But as the recession lingered, there were even more graduates competing in a slimmer job market. In 1982, the School held a record 5,504 job interviews on campus. But the following year, Carol Hazelett, former director of Career Services, sent a staff memo out lamenting the loss of recruiters from the construction equipment, farm implement and petroleum industries-three of the top six industries T'birds were then entering. That same year a downturn in the economy forced the cancellation of 29 regular corporate visits, plus the total number of interviews was about 3,500- down nearly a third from the year before. Nonetheless, the next year Career Services reported over 70 percent of Thunderbirds had accepted a position of their choice within 60 days of graduation. Even recruited for their marketing group had gone "right to the top of their class." That may be one reason why, a decade later, companies such as AT&T and Schering-Plough consider Thunderbird Citibank In Thunderbird's Corner for 50 Years When the American Institute of Foreign Trade graduated its first dass in 1947, over half a dozen students went to The National City Bank of New York--fllaking it one of the School's top recruiters that year. Over the past 50 years the names have changed, but the relationship between Thunderbird and Citibank has not. The company hired 16 graduates from the 1995-96 dass and four interns this summer. In fact. even after 50 years Citibank is still the School's top recruiter. SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 34 THUNDERBIRD 50 / 3 / 1996 graduates good material for their "fast track" executive programs, according to David Martin, current director of employer relations. Last year, graduates accepted many high-level positions such as senior vice president, vice president of operations, Services Center. "At first, we were one of the only institutions providing international expertise. Now we are competing with other business schools and other experienced business people." As a result, today's T'birds are trained not only in international business, but in and international sales manager. In the past two decades the average starting salary has nearly tripled, to about $50,300 with a range up to $144,000. The number of recruiters has grown to 271 organizations, everything from Cargill to Coca-Cola. Yet, the list still includes many names that have recruited since Thunderbird first openedcompanies like Goodhow to get the job they want. As part of the new curriculum, students must complete a halfsemester workshop in career management. In addition, they may submit information for a Thunderbird computer database used by companies to target specific recruits. Students also have access to on-line postings and notebooks and bulletin boards full of job opportunities. The number of recruiters has grown to 271 organizations in 1995-96, yet the list still includes companies that have recruited since Thunderbird first opened-names like Goodyear, Citibank, and Bank of America. Today's T'birds, of course, also have the time-honored advantage of the "Thunderbird Mystique," a network of over 28,000 year, Citibank, and Bank of America Though many T'birds still go to work in Latin America, many now flnd work in emerging markets such as Eastern Europe and Asia COMPETITION Growth isn't necessarily all good news, however. As thejob market grows, so does the competition. "The whole market place for Thunderbird graduates has changed," says Roger Nagarkar '84, director of new projects development for the Career According to David Roberts '73, vice president of The Global Financial Institutions Group for Citibank N.A., Thunderbird is also one of Citibank's top recruiting destinations, sharing the spotlight with prestigious MBA schools such as New York University's Stern School and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. As Roberts points out. however, Thunderbird is the only school on Citibank's list that focuses exclusively on global education. That key factor, among others, may explain alumni working in over 9,000 companies and organizations in at least 130 countries throughout the world. As Keith Rowe '49 (now deceased) observed some 45 years ago: " ... After talking This newspaper article from 1947 paints a colorful picture of what getting a job was like for the first graduating class. to a lot of boys from school I realize that the opportunities are limitless and no matter how hard jobs are to get, if one has patience and looks around he can find what he wants. [Thunderbird) really opens a lot of doors when one is looking for a job," • -Jennifer Barrett David Roberts '73 of Citibank teaches students during Winterim on Wall Street 1996. why rbirds are credited with being a big part of Citibank's overseas expansions in the 19505 and 19605. As far back as 1963, Citibank counted 89 T'birds among its employees, including Bob Feagles '51 and Clarence Wasson '49. Today, it employs an estimated 150 rbirds throughout the world. "Thunderbird has played a very big part in our history, H says Roberts, who himself has been with Citibank for over 20 years. The bank also provides year-round support to the School in a variety of areas, from I 232 Veterans Out to Snare World Trade PHOENIX, Ariz.- {II'} -The first 232 graduates of the American Institute of Foreign Trade, virtually an all·veteran school, are on their way south. Behind them is eight and oneIvllf months of study in the cus· toms, culture, languages, busi· 11('55 techniques and traditions or the Americas. So intensive was the study that many with·, nut previous knowlcd~e, became fluE'nt in Spanish or Portu- , guese. I The in stitute was establiShec111 .11 year allo at Thunderbird field, wartime training ('('nter, for airmen, under the presidency I nf Lt. Gen. Barton A. Yount, l USA (Ret.), wartime commander of the AAF training command. So acute was the shortage of lIlIch lIlen that half the graduates were hired before they fini shed I their courses. Employers include l ' slIch firms as Goodyear National City Bank of New York, Texas Co., United I' r uil, Stand· ; ard Oil oC New Jersey, Singer i Sewing Machine, Sperry Corp., '1' Union Carbon and Carbide, Bank of America and U. S. gov~ n\ll1ent agencies. Typical graduat{'s are Joe I Gra( with a geology degree. who i became interested ill South America as a fir st li eu tenant during the war and is now headed sou th as a mining engineer; and Emily Adacusky, for. nler army nurse, who will a company hospital ..-.. - .... cia . There were men in the fir cosponsoring the European Reunion in Budapest this year to funding a marketing class study on launching Citibank's AAdvantage card in Brazil. As Citibank continues to increase operations around the globe, Roberts says he is happy to see rbird students still enthusiastic to be a part of that expansion. Just last September, during Corporate Career Activity Week, Roberts made the Citibank presentation personally- to an audience of more than 250 eager Thunderbird students. THUNDERBIRD 50 131 1996 35 SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE TOTAL IMMERSION I n 1980, officials from Cluna', number one business school toured some of America's premier institutions hoping to set up the first Sino-American business school program. When the administrators stopped in at Thunderbird, they had yet to visit the bastions of the Ivy League. But by the time they left the School, one Thunderbird official believes they had already made their choice-The American Graduate School of International Management. "We were such a different kind of school compared to the mainstream MBA schools," explains Associate Dean of Admissions Stephen Beaver, coordinator of foreign programs in the 1970s and 80s. Chinese administrators were caught by surprise, for example, when Thunderbird's student body president, an American raised in Hawaii, spoke to them in fluent Mandarin Chinese. After spending most of their tour in boardrooms, they were also eager to "push their sleeves up" and help Overseas programs and exchanges have provided Thunderbird students a unique opportunity for linguistic and cultural immersion Beaver (who was born in China) cook a traditional Chinese dinner in his kitchen. There were few foreigners even in China when Thunderbird sent its first group of students to Beijing's University of International Business and Economics the following summer. Beaver calis the initial program "a real hardship trip." T'birds were housed in decaying remnants of 1950s Russian imperialism and bused the 45 minutes to campus each day. Produce was often delivered by cart and dumped in piles on street corners. Permits had to be obtained for each visit outside of Beijing- and that added up quickly as the group traveled over 5,000 miles throughout China Today, Thunderbird's 100week summer program in China allows students to attend both the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing and the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. Foreign students no longer stand out, or apart. They live on campus in Western-style comfort and travel wherever they please. Of all the countries where Thunderbird has established programs over the last two decades, Beaver says China has changed the most drastically. MEXICO. But China was not the School's flrst program abroad. Thunderbird had been sending students to Guadalajara, Mexico, for almost 10 years before the China program was established That the School's first studies abroad program was in Mexico won't surprise most T'bird alumni. As Beaver points out, Spanish has always been the School's most popular language course. Almost 25 years after the first summer program in Guadalajara was launched, it continues to draw the most applications of any of the School's 20 programs throughout the world. This summer, 79 students attended the 100week session. Other programs have not attracted quite so many students, but Professor SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 36 THUNDERBIRD 50 I 3 I 1996 Llewellyn Howell, current director of overseas programs, says that it is important Thunderbird maintain a global scope. The School is pretty close to achieving that objective today with programs in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and the Middle East. Thunderbird already offers two yearround programs at its campuses in Archamps, France (near Geneva), and Tokyo, Japan. The School's European program began in the late 1970s, but moved from Yugoslavia to England to Belgium, and three different sites in France, before the Archamps campus was established near the Swiss-Franco border. The Japanese program moved just once, from the Japanese Institute for International Studies and Training in F't\jinomiya. Thunderbird opened its own center in Tokyo in 1991. Thunderbird also has summer programs in Moscow and Austria. "All of these are our faculty, our curriculum, our schedules," says Howell, "and that makes a big difference." Of all overseas programs, those run by Thunderbird faculty have always drawn the most student interest. But that has not prevented the School from having exchange programs with institutions all over the globe, from Cairo to Chinese administrators were caught by surprise when Thunderbird's student body president, an American raised in Hawaii, spoke to them in fluent Mandarin Chinese. Costa Rica The exchanges may be limited by number restrictions and curriculum or scheduling conflicts, but Howell says they continue to attract students as a unique opportunity for total linguistic and cultural inunersion. In Spain, one of Thunderbird's oldest exchange programs is with the Escuela Superior de Administracion y Direccion de Empresas (ESADE), located in Barcelona. The two schools have maintained a transatlantic dual-degree program for over 20 years now. More recently Thunderbird has established a semester exchange program with the Instituto Universitario de Administracion y Direccion de Empresas in Madrid. WINTERIM. Other new off-campus programs offer students a change of scenery without leaving the States. The School has established three-week Winterim symposiums on Wall Street and in Washington D.C.-the latter drawing nearly 50 T'birds in 1996. More than two dozen students this year took advantage of another new Winterim program in Chile and Peru, where they met both company presidents and the country's President, Alberto F't\jimori. Of course the School has an eye on other emerging markets as well-from India to the Pacific Rim. Overseas director Howell likens Thunderbird's strategy to that of a multinational corporation. "We're trying to pay attention to where business is going," explains Howell. "We want to have a foot in each region where there are opportunities for our graduates. That's what we teach, and we should practice what we preach." • -Jennifer Barrett 37 SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE l\lEDI.\ One Heck of a Start Thunderbird's No.1 ranking by u.s .. News in 1996 generated much publicity for the School-but not quite as much as its controversial opening in 1946 T. dat. was JWle 23, 1948. THUNDERBffiD FIELD IN ARIZONA BECOMES LATIN-AMERICA SCHOOL declared the headline in The New York Herald Tribune, in one of the earliest newspaper articles about Thunderbird: Phoenix, Ariz., June 22-Thunderbird Field, "show-place" of the Army's wartime flying schools, was formerly turned over to the American Institute for Foreign Trade last Thursday for civilian peacetime training of young men for governmental and commercial service in Latin American countries. To Thunderbird founders Barton K. Yount and Finley P. Dunne, Jr., national media attention for a new school hoping to attract students seemed idyllic. Who could buy such publicity? Just a few months later, however, the shine of free publicity had worn off. Thunderbird was still making headlines in dozens of newspapers, all right-but not the headlines it wanted. GRANT TO "EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION" UNDER CONGRESSIONAL SCRUTINY blasted the headline in The Cincinnati Times-Star on August 17, 1946. "New Dealers themselves blinked today at the latest New Deal project-a school to serve world peace under the direc- "diplomacy" school noted a year later: "The publicity that followed the award .. . brought almost 3,000 letters from would-be students." With such an unusual introduction, it isn't surprising that the national media has kept its eyes on the School over the years. In 1959 Thunderbird (then AIFI') was featured in Look magazine; in 1965, in Fortune; in the 70s and 80s in Newsweek, Nation's Business, The New York Times, Business World, even The London Times. In fact, despite its controversial inception into mainstream media, the School has generated nothlng but good publicity since. Its media reputation may have been cemented by the recent u.s. News ranking, but the foundation has always been there. James Grant, current Assistant Vice President of Public Affairs, says he aims to keep building on that solid foundation, too. The latest strategy: establish the school as a source, not just a subject, for reporters. "Today we're emphasizing the wonderful base of expertise on this campus and the media are responding well," he says. "Journalists are increasingly looking to Thunderbird as a news source for international business." School faculty are appearing as sources, subjects, and writers. Norman Levine, an adjunct professor and executive director of the institute for international policy, has authored dozens of articles carried in newspapers throughout the country. Since World Business Associate Professor Graeme Rankine co-published a paper on stock splits, both he and his findings have been featured in Business Week, Forbes, and numerous newspaper articles. In fact, high-profile newspapers tion of a retired colonel and lieutenant colonel to whom the war assets administration turned over a $407,000 government property at 100 percent discount," wrote one irate reporter at the Chicago Tribune. "Thunderbird was offering a global slant to business education are turning to Thunderbird as a regular source on all matters of international business. Reporters from The Miami Herald called the School for recent stories on business in Southeast Asia and South Africa. USA Today reporters have sought faculty sources on topics ranging from Coca-Cola's reorganization to GOOD PUBLICITY. Eventually, the School and its founders were cleared of any wrongdoing. Ironically, all the bad publicity ended up helping Thunderbird. As a feature article in Collier's about the new when most B-school deans never thought it was important. Indeed, for nearly 30 years, the school had the only intemational business program in the United States .... Now that nearly every executive chatters on about global-this and global-that, Thunderbird is sitting pretty. One recent study proclaimed it the number one intemational MBA [sic) program in the country.n -Business Week Guide to The Best Business Schools (1995) multicultural CEOs. The L.A. Times quoted faculty in recent stories on SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 38 THUNDER81RD SO 131 1996 expatriates and cutbacks in overseas allowances. T'birds themselves are also becoming an important source of media coverage for the School, from profiles in hometown newspapers to front-page stories in The Chicago Sun TImes and features in Global Finance. For instance, Mary Beth Robles '81 made headlines in Brazil as the first female vice president for marketing at Colgate-Palmolive. Mannti Cummins '92 and David Felix '92 were featured in a Success magazine story on entrepreneurs (the pair formed a dental services network in Mexico in 1994 and anticipate annual revenues close to $8 million within the next couple years). Many alumni are also generating a considerable amount of p.r. for the School. In his interview with Success, Cummins credited Thunderbird's unique curriculum for deepening the skills he needed to penetrate the Mexican market. Robles' multilingual abilities were attributed in part to her coursework at Thunderbird. A Miami Herald story on Maria Justo '82-who took the helm at Eagle National Bank this MIt is a fact. well-known to businessmen and students of foreign relations in the United States. that while Americans are versatile at home. very few have ever learned how to behave abroad. They say and do the wrong things. talk too much. laugh at the wrong time. and in general are too rigidly American. scornful of foreign customs. Thus they trample on the sensibilities of their hosts, arousing resentment and distrust which have cost American business millions of dollars .... [At Thunderbird) pupils acquire the Latin American concept of business timing-the sociable. gracious approach as opposed to Yankee go-getter tactics. M - from Collier's Magazine October 25. 1947 In 1959 Thunderbird (then AIFT) was featured in Look magazine; in 1965, in Fortune; in the 70s and 80s in Newsweek, Forbes, The New York Times, Business World, and The London Times. spring at the age of 37 -mentioned Thunderbird as an influence to her impressive career in banking. With Thunderbird's 50th anniversary this year and its number-one ranking in Us. News, the School is primed for even greater national and international news coverage. But as the School's founders--and just about any alumnus from 1946 to 1996-might argue, making headlines is hardly news for Thunderbird. While Business Week recently reported that recruiters consider Thunderbird "a leader in global business," that's the same observation reporters at the Associated Press made in 1946-the first year the School opened. -Jennifer Barrett • THUNDERBIRD 50 131 1996 39 SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE Library The Sclwol s first library was adjacent to what is now the storage hangar, its first books gathered from second-hand stores in New York City, forming the nucleus of a collection focused exclusively on international business. The library was a favorite project of Barton Kyle Yount. An alumni newsletter of 1949 reported that he took immense pride in sfwwing it to visitors. [RIGHT] FROM 1953 UNTIL HER RETIREMENT IN 1988, LORA JEANNE WHEELER DID MORE THAN JUST RUN THE LIBRARY, SHE WAS THE LIBRARY. [ABOVE] THE NEW BARTON KYLE YOUNT MEMORIAL LIBRARY WAS BUILT IN 1971, AND A PLAQUE HONORING THE GENERAL WAS PLACED AT THE ENTRANCE. PERIODICALS HAS LONG BEEN AN OUTSTANDING FEATURE OF THE LIBRARY. THUNDERBIRD 50 /3/ 1996 41 [LEFr] Nr ONE TIME, THE CARD CATALOG WAS THE FOCAL POINT OF THE LIBRARY. NOW THE CATALOG IS CARRIED ONLINE AND PROVIDES ACCESS TO A MULTITUDE OF LIBRARIES. [BELOW] IN 1994 MERLE A HINRICHS '65 GAVE MORE THAN A MlLIJON DOlLARS TO BUILD THE NEW INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS INFORMATION CENTRE, WInCH COMBINED ALL OF THE RESEARCH FACILIT1ES INTO ONE BUILDING, INCLUDING THE BOOK COLLECTION, VIDEOS, RARE BOOKS, THE DOM PEDRO IT COLLECTION, AND THE ISRC. SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE HISTORY THE LIBRARY Those Very First Years The American Institute for Foreign Trade was born in 1946, forged out of the destruction of World War II and the promise of a new future. To Thunderbird Field they came, young men and women returning to a normal civilian existence, driven by the promise of becoming global ambassadors of trade. For them, and for every T'bird who has followed in their footsteps, it was the beginning of an unforgettable life-long journey. T hin¥ days '""'" returning home from World War n, Jack Rokahr found himself standing in the middle of a desert airstrip outside Glendale, Arizona The year was 1946, and the place was the newly created American Institute of Foreign Trade. "There we were, 250 some ex-GIs and a handful of WACs and navy nurses, all trying to return to a normal civilian existence,» recalls Jack. His strongest memory of that first year is the friendships. "We had all faced death in the war, so 1 think the Thunderbird tradition of having fun with friends had strong roots in that first year.» In the classroom the emphasis was strictly on Latin America "We took Spanish and Portuguese, the wonderful Dr. Schurz taught us area studies, and of course there were the business courses,» recalls Jack. "I fondly remember Dr. Schurz teaching us about the history, the culture, and the geography of Latin America, all with the purpose of preparing us to go into this exciting new world. » One of the students' favorite studying spots in those days was by the water. "We often conducted 42 THUNDERBIRD 50 /3/ 1996 .. JACK ROKAHR '47 SPENT AN ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY, TRAVELING ALL OVER ASIA AND SOUTH AMERICA, AND LATER WORKED FOR THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE. "I WAS MARKETING SQUIBB PENICILLlN IN KABUL, AFGHANISTAN BACK IN 1951, LONG BEFORE THE RUSSIANS DECIDED TO INVADE, » HE POINTS OUT. THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN IN 1951. A TOUCH FOOTBALL GAME; CAMPUS OUTDOOR CLASS "We had allfaced death in the war, so I think the Thunderbird our Spanish class out by the pool," says Jack, "all sitting there in our swimming trunks while the magnificent Senora Placida Smith corrected our pronunciations." Jack also spent a good deal of his time in the library, combing through Moody's Industrials, developing lists of international companies he could tradition of having fun with friends had strong roots in that first year. " write to apply for employment after he graduated. Outside the classroom, life at Thunderbird was a consequence of being stuck in the middle of nowhere. "We slept five to a barracks room, with one bathroom," recalls Jack. Very few students at that time had cars, so they spent most of their time on the campus. On Saturdays, they sometimes hitched a ride into Glendale to catch the bus into the 'big city' of Phoenix. For exercise they would play baseball or football, and jog on the airstrip ("I never wanted to go beyond the airstrips because I was deathly afraid of the rattlesnakes," he adds). What does Jack Rokahr think of Thunderbird today? "I've been back to the old airfield a couple of times since 1947," he says. "I find what has been accomplished there is absolutely wonderful. No question about it-what I learned at Thunderbird was the foundation for my international career. " • JACK ROKAHR '47 AT THE LOS ANGELES 5<mI ANNIVERSARY ALUMNI RECEPTION. THUNDERBIRD 50 13 1 1996 43 SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 19805 Graduation in the quad. 1989 Awards are a tradition at graduation. 1985 Jeane Kirkpatrick, former ambassador of the United States to the United Nations, spoke at graduation. 1989 A future T'bird? Booker Robinson Warren '6B receiving the Barton Kyle Yount award at graduation. 1985 Professor Dennis Guthery, the "king of marketing research," received the outstanding professor award in the World Business Department. 1991 Vice president for student affairs Brian Bates and students. 1973 "Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management" (sign in background) was the official name of the School from 1968-1973. Pictured are Michael May '74, Peter Hellwig '73, Stephen Austin '73, and Thomas Sunde '73. 1987 Pamela Barit '87, Thunderbird's 20,OOOth student to graduate. Jack Donnelly '60, Renee Donnelly, and Mark Donnelly '95. 1981 Getting that degree is an important moment. 1988 Daniel Yamamoto '88 and family. 1983 A student proudly displays her country's flag at commencement. 1989 The Thunderbird diploma. 8·'iU·iii NEW DINING HALL Construction of a new Dining Hall, underway since May 1, is expected to be completed by early 1997. The new facility will be located between the Tower and the East Hangar. PARIS REUNION SET The 1997 EuropeanAlumni Reunion location is official-Paris, France (June 12-15,1997)! This year's alumni chairmen include John Cook '79, Ed Pierce '91, and Eric Delhaye '89. A pre-reunion open house in st. Remy de Provence is being planned by David Carpita '67, owner of the famed Mas de Cornud Cooking School and Country Inn. Mark your calendars! NEWS ::' ~l, ! 'I' ! • ,I I 01.' I II, I! 01 I ~ • .' ~ "-,-.~,, i.;.1t'"* _____ ~ _______ ~ _ _ .. fJ'mrgpjs 811mB!! .~ .. Bum,,, Qti4" & DDJNPmBlRQ HOWEVER YOU SAY rr, youw .... d iofonnoliOil to "",c.ed in YOII' cluoe •• Thuoderbird oad in JOII' Thunderbird Soars Online Thunderbird has launched its own World Wide Web site. The site, http://www.t-bird. edu, includes information about the School and its programs. Prospective students worldwide are using the site to request admissions information and even see a preview of the dorm rooms. According to Judy Johnson, associate vice president for recruiting and admissions, already ten percent of Thunderbird's admissions inquiries arrive via the Internet The site also is helping some students get jobs. Corporate visitors to thunderbird's web site are encouraged to set up internships with the School-and, of course, to hire students. Professor Dale Davison Davison Heading World Business Accounting professor Dr. Dale Davison, remembered fondly by many alumni as the person who made them really want to study accounting, succeeded Dr. Robert Grosse as chairman of the Department of World Business this fall. Davison, who was also academic director of the Executive Master of International Degree Program, is known for his classroom presence as well as his ability to make accounting jokes funny. From 1993 to 1996 Davison was the project director of a $500,000 federal CABNIS grant to assist a consortium of U.S. businesses, including McDonnell Douglas, to market products and develop joint ventures with Russian companies. FormerCNN Chief Speaks at Commencement Peter C. Vesey, president of Peter C. Vesey & Associates and former chief of CNN Internation- Peter C. Vesey (r), former chiefofCNN International, and Tracy Nottingham '96, aI, gave the commencement address at the August 9 ceremony . Vesey's career in local, national, and international television news spans more than 28 years, 16 of them at CNN. He left CNN this winner of the year to establish his own interna-tional news consultancy. About Barton Kyle 200 students from 22 countries Yount Award received their degrees at the cere- for Summer mony, held at the Wigwam Resort. 1996 AMEXVP EarnsEMIM Gordon Smith, vice president of Credit Operations for American Express, was one of 31 graduates this summer of Thunderbird's Executive Masters oj International Management Program (EMIM). Smith, a native of Great Britain, represented his country in the flag ceremony along with the MIM graduates. EMIM is a two-year degree program offered to executives with at least ten years of international work experience. Classes meet on alternating weekends, and during three-week residency periods in Phoenix, Latin America, Europe and Asia. (For EMIM iriformation, contact program director Elliott Nelson '91 at 602-978-7921.) SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 46 THUNDERBIRD 50 131 1996 [above) Katherine K. Herberger (I) and G. Robert Herberger (r) and (at right) Richard Snell GACmembers advising Thunderbird students last fall: (I-r) Jim Young, Assistant to the Chairman, EDS; Ted Fuller '72, Director, Johnson & Higgins; Kai Hoshi, President, Canon Trading USA; and John Fiasco '75, President and Managing Director, Southeast Region, Banker's Trust Snell, Herbergers Honored with Degrees Honorary doctoral degrees were presented at this spring's commencement to three of the School's most influential leaders, G. Robert Herberger, Katherine K. Herberger, and Richard Snell. Robert Herberger served 25 years as a Trustee, from 1952 to 1977 and was instrumental in the early development of Thunderbird into an internationally renowned institution. Katherine Herberger, who has been a part of Thunderbird for most of its 50 years, is a founding member of the Thunderbird International Symposium, which brings world-renowned speakers to the School and supports student scholarships. Snell, a member of the Board of Trustees for 18 years and chairman from 1989 to 1993, oversaw one of Thunderbird's most critical periods of physical and program expansion, particularly the highly successful executive education program. Snell is currently chairman, president, and CEO of Pinnacle West Capital Corporation. His father, Frank Snell, was one of Thunderbird's founding trustees. Technology Takes Off Most alunmi remember the Barton Kyle Yount building as the campus library. But this year, the building got a rebirth-and a new purpose. The building will reopen this October as the Barton Kyle Yount Centre, a high-tech communications facility complete with multimedia classrooms and video production studios. The Centre will allow Thunderbird to develop and distribute electronic courseware around the world via CD-ROM, video, and satellite. The new facility may also change the way students seek employment. Plans are for future students to conduct interviews via satellite directly from the Yount Centre, beaming themselves to major employers worldwide. Storm Damages East Hangar The Thunderbird campus sustained moderately heavy damage in a severe storm that struck on August 14. One of the hardest hit buildings was the old World War II East Hangar. One hundred mileper- hour winds tore off large sections of the roof, allowing rain into the School's Post Office and bookstore. The Global Market, which sells craft items from around the world to support student scholarships, was also damaged. Other destruction occurred when sections of the roof over the Keyman guest rooms (located in the northwest corner of campus) caved in after two 80-foot pine trees fell on top of the building. A Japanese student, just arrived for the fall semester, was staying in one of the rooms when the trees crashed through the roof. She was not hurt. Also, the East Apartments building had nearly half of its roof tiles blown off, with the debris scat-tered as far as the Department of Modem Languages building. Even the new dining hall under construction suffered damage: Newly installed metal work was twisted by the strong winds. Follow the Leader Thunderbird has launched a new mentor program called the Executive Partner Program that pairs successful business leaders with current students. Members of the Global Advisory Council, a group of more than 100 corporate executives from around the world that advises the School on strategic planning, will be matched with current students interested in similar career paths. The GAC members will provide students with career counseling as well as insights into their particular industry. 50 Reasons to Celebrate If you haven't heard by now, Thunderbird is celebrating its 50th anniversary, including a gala homecoming and reunion celebration this November 1-3. The School is also bringing 50th anniversary receptions to several cities across the country, including Chicago on October 16, 1996, and Houston on October 17. West Coast receptions in San Francisco and Los Angeles kicked off the festivities earlier this summer, drawing over 600 T'birds from the classes of '47 to '96. Both the European Reunion held June 6-9 in Budapest and the Asian Reunion held September 6-8 in Singapore featured special 50th themes and events. Future anniversary reception sites include Miami (February 13, 1997), Washington, D.C. (March 13, 1997), and New York City. THUNDERBIRD 50 131 1996 47 SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE At the Los Angeles 50th Anniversary Reception, T'bird friends Dennis Blank '80 and Maurice Saw '81 reunited after more than 15 years THE GOOD NEWS. [YOU CAN NOW INSTANTLY REACH OVER 2,500 T'BIRDS WORLDWIDE FROM YOUR COMPUTER VIA THE ........••.................•.•...•.•. "I IIAVE BUN ABl [ I () II{A(.K I)OWN NINI I ()NC~1 ()~I rl<lfNJ)~ AM) (IASSMAIIS.IT'<' (.1<1 AT In Hr IN [OIJUI AC,AIN." ~ JAMt'> RLiNNHOIDT '81, <'INCAPORE JOIN THOUSANDS OF ALUMNI WHO ARE PART OF THE "VIRTUAL" T'BIRD NETWORK ON COMPUSERVE. YOU GET ACCESS NOT ONLY TO THE EXCLUSIVE THUNDERBIRD FORUM, BUT ALSO TO THOUSANDS OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS FORUMS ON COMPUSERVE. PLUS DIRECT INTERNET ACCESS. AS A FORUM MEMBER YOU CAN COMMUNICATE WITH T'BIRDS AROUND THE GLOBE, NETWORK ELECTRONICALLY, SEARCH FOR JOBS, AND STAY ABREAST OF ALUMNI EVENTS WORLDWIDE. STAYING IN TOUCH IS EASY TOO-YOU RECEIVE A SINGLE COMPUSERVE ID NUMBER THAT TRAVELS WITH YOU NO MATTER WHERE BUSINESS OR PLEASURE TAKES YOU. JOIN TODAY! THE BAD NEWS. [WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT TIME ZONES T'BIRDS LIVE IN, WE HOPE YOU LIKE GETTING EMAIL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.] TO JOIN THE THUNDERBIRD FORUM, FAX THE COMPLETED FORM BELOW TO 602-978-8238 (FAX) OR CALL 602-978-7811 FOR MORE INFORMATION. I •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ; ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• • •• • •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• CompuServe Or mail to Office of Communication, Fax to (602) 978-8238 Thunderbird Campus, 15249 N. 59th Avenue, Check one: 0 Business 0 Home Glendale, AZ 85306-6007 N a me~ ________________________________________________________ _ Address ______________________________________________________ _ City _______________________ _ State. _____ Postal code _______ _ Country,________________ Phone ___________ _ Fax, _____________ _ ID Number_________________ Class year ___________ _ CompuServe Non-members: Sign-up and Payment Sign me up for CompuServe. Membership includes a CompuServe software kit, first month free CompuServe membership ($9.95 value) plus $15 usage-credit. o I have enclosed a check for $18 (US), payable to ''Thunderbird'' o Charge $18 (US) for the above services to my 0 Visa 0 MasterCard Card No. ____________________________ _ Exp. Date ______________ _ Signature __________________________________________________ _ Please send me a kit for (specify one): Type 0 DOS 0 Mac 0 Windows Disk Size 0 3.5" 0 5.25" Current CompuServe Members: o I'm already a CompuServe member. Please sign me up FREE for the Thunderbird Forum. My CompuServe ID number is: '47-'59 Richard P. Valelly '47 is retired with wife, Nancy Parks, in Mt. Pleasant, SC. Anthony T. Lodico '49 is executive vice president of RFQ-NET, Inc. in Carlsbad, CA. Richard D. Swanson '52 is retired in Stockton, CA. William Schollard Jr. '53 is director of business administration at Corporacion Andina de Fometo in Caracas, Venezuela Gilbert W. Corey '55 is owner of GWC & Associates in Cathedral City, CA. Roy Young '55 is a retired engineer. He and his wife, Jane, reside in Glendale, CA. Jack Buteftsh '56 is president at Special Events Inc. in San Juan Capistrano, CA. Joseph A. Hopkins '56 is an investment representative for Edward D. Jones & Co. He lives with his wife, Ann, in Weslaco, TX. Harry J . Laubach '56 is retired in Kailua, Ill. Sterling S. Waggener '57 is a partner at Waggener, Arterburn & Standiferd in Topeka, KS. J .H. "Ham" De thero '58 is senior vice president of Commercial Bank of San Francisco. He recently received a special Export Citizen of the Year award for his extraordinary volunteer work in promoting exports almost from the start of his career in 1958. '60-'64 Robert Malcom '60 is managing director at Atkinson & Co. in Princeton, NJ. P. Dewey Black '61 works in real estate services at Black & Company in Newport Beach, CA. Peter E. Blanchard '62 is a Associates in Scottsdale, AZ. James B. Kent '62 is a principal at Ryan, Hankin, Kent, Inc. in San Francisco, CA. David B. McCaughey '62 is vice president at Eurocal Internatio
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