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Stanford GSB News

 

MBA Students Get First-Hand View of Washington

April 2004

STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS—Secretary of State Colin Powell described how he applied lessons learned as an MBA student at George Washington University when he met with 20 Business School students during their third annual spring study trip to the nation's capital in April.

Powell, Education Secretary Rod Paige, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, and CIA Executive Director A.B. Krongard were among the 40 government and private sector leaders students met with during their week-long trip. They also attended a dinner with Congressman Jim Kolbe, R-Arizona, MBA '67. The student-run trip set out to further acquaint students with the national policy environment and explore the intersection of government and business.

The student team held 26 meetings with cabinet and sub-cabinet officials, Senators, Congressmen, White House staff, military experts, lobbyists, members of the press, embassies, and developmental organizations. (See below for a full list of meetings).

They also hosted a cocktail reception for Business School alumni in the Washington area plus MBA admits to the School, and attended a dinner with Colombian Ambassador Luis Moreno.

A recurring theme of the trip was the breadth of the opportunities available in the public and private sector. The Stanford Graduate School of Business roots extend back to 1924 when a group of business leaders gathered at the request of then Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover to consider creating a graduate school of business on the West Coast. Hoover, a Stanford alumnus, trustee, and future U.S. president, hoped to halt the trend of bright students going east to get a degree. The Graduate School of Business opened the following fall.

In 1971, the GSB's fourth Dean, Arjay Miller, sought to formalize the School's links with the public sector when he established the Public Management Program (PMP), which would train managers for this sector. Today, about one-quarter of Stanford MBA's graduate with PMP certificates.

Leveraging these foundations and the GSB alumni base, the student Government & Politics Club, counting about 20 percent of the student body as members, has created the annual Washington, DC study trip.

2004 Stanford GSB D.C. Study Trip Meetings

Secretary of State Colin Powell
Secretary of Education Rod Paige
Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz
Director of Office of Management and Budget Josh Bolten
Executive Director of CIA A.B. Krongard
FBI Director of Criminal Investigations Grant Ashley
Undersecretary of Treasury John Taylor
Undersecretary of Education (designate) Edward McPherson

Senators:
Majority Leader of the Senate Bill Frist
Senator John McCain
Senator Edward Kennedy
Senator and former co-CEO/Chairman of Goldman Sachs Jon Corzine
Senator Richard Lugar

Representatives:
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
Congressman Jim Kolbe

Ed Gillespie, Chairman of Republican National Committee
James Carville and Tucker Carlson, Co-Hosts of Crossfire
Keith Hennessy, Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Deputy Director of National Economic Council
Kevin Warsh, Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy
Charles Schott, MBA '83, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Treasury
Richard Boucher, Assistant Secretary of State (Department Spokesman)
Nina Rees, Deputy Undersecretary of Education
Sally Stroup, Assistant Secretary of Education
Vice Admiral James Metzger, Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Mack McLarty, former President Clinton's Chief of Staff
Vance Hitch, CIO of the Department of Justice
AFL-CIO

Developmental Organizations:
International Monetary Fund
International Finance Corporation
Overseas Private Investment Corporation

Press and Communications:
Evan Thomas, Assistant Managing Editor of Newsweek
Mark Halperin of ABC
Ed Henry of Roll Call
Ron Bonjean, Director of Public Affairs for the Secretary of Commerce
Raul Damas, Director of Operations at Latino Opinions
Jeff Kimbell, CEO of Kimbell and Associates

Foreign Government Representatives:
Colombian Ambassador Luis Moreno
India Embassy Political Minister Ashok Sajjanhar