Tag: Alumni & Development

This article was originally published in the 2017 Olin Business Magazine.

Merry, MBA ’82, and Jim Mosbacher have committed $500,000 to support annual and endowed scholarships for Olin Business School students. Their gift was structured as a challenge to attract new Eliot Society Members, and it matched new Eliot Society membership gifts at any level. Merry is currently president of the William Greenleaf Eliot Society, and she and Jim are both partners at St. Louis-based investment firm Edward Jones.

“We’re committed to making education affordable for all students. As Eliot Society members, our gift not only supports scholarships for talented students, but also world-class faculty, innovative research, and outstanding academic programs,” Merry said. The
Mosbachers have been significant supporters of Olin and the Eliot Society since 1983. They are also role models and mentors for more than 200 WashU alumni—more than half from Olin—who are employed at Edward Jones. Like the Mosbachers, dozens of alumni working at Edward Jones volunteer their time and expertise in Olin classrooms as guest speakers and with students through mentoring programs and through their financial support for the Edward Jones Scholarship Program.

Merry Mosbacher was honored with a Distinguished Alumni Award in 2012. She was recognized as a St. Louis Woman of Achievement in 2013 and has been named one of the most influential businesswomen in St. Louis by the St. Louis Business Journal. Today, as principal of Insurance and Annuity Products at Edward Jones, she oversees more than $6 billion in sales a year.

Learn more about ways you can help Olin continue to be a world-class institution for business education.

This article was originally published in the 2017 Olin Business Magazine.

Alex Borchert, BSBA ’06, is managing director of investments at Altus Properties and Olin Alumni Board president (2017-18 academic year). He was the keynote speaker at the Undergraduate Programs graduation recognition ceremony in May.

Olin just wrapped up graduation celebrations for 2017, with recognition ceremonies on Dec. 2 and Dec. 8. What better time to revisit Alex’s advice for staying connected?

What advice did you share with the BSBA Class of 2017?

I was honored and quite humbled to speak at graduation. I shared a few guiding principles I’ve come to live by over my career.

The first dealt with protecting one’s integrity. We’ve all heard the platitude: “It takes a career to build a reputation of utmost integrity, but only one dishonest decision to destroy it.” Integrity is one of the only things I’ve found to be completely within one’s personal control in business. I can only hope that I enlightened a few graduates to its importance—and its fragility.

Another related to the value of embracing challenge and learning from failure. I hope that Olin’s 2017 graduates continue to seek fresh challenges as their careers mature—and don’t give into the comfort that success can breed.

I also assured them that the value they receive from WashU doesn’t end at graduation, but continues to grow as alumni.

How can alumni take advantage of the school’s global network?

Should any graduate desire to reconnect with the school or broaden their professional network via alumni connections within a city or industry, I encourage them to reach out directly to our tremendous Alumni & Development department. Don’t be shy; simply call them. They enjoy nothing more than working with alumni to ensure that we are maximizing the value of our incredible network. The alumni network at Olin is as strong as it has ever been. I encourage all of my fellow alums to take advantage of the tremendous opportunity it can provide.

What are the easiest ways to stay in touch or reconnect with Olin?

Some of my favorite opportunities for connection include joining the alumni mentorship program through the Alumni & Development department, providing mock interviews or “lunch and learns” via the Weston Career Center, notifying the Office of Corporate Relations that you’re available to speak to a class or student club about your industry or company, and the easiest of all involves attending one of the many alumni events hosted by our active alumni chapters from coast to coast.

Why give back? The reasons are as personal as they are varied. Washington University Alumni & Development interviewed five WashU alumni—including three Olin grads!—to discover why they dedicate finite time, money, and resources to better their alma mater.

Russ Shaw, BSBA ’85

“I think a key reason why I give time to the University is, I had such a positive experience myself. I loved my four years here. The academics were great. The student life was wonderful, and it’s just great, being an alum, to be able to come back and give back to the University.

This is a wonderful institution. It’s a world-leading institution, but it keeps getting better. There is a drive and a vision to keep making it better, stronger, the best academic institution in the world.”

Jeff Rosenkranz, BSBA ’84:

“Education, to Lisa and I, is very important—and not just for our kids, but making sure that everybody has access to education. And that’s a big reason why we support the University, both financially and with our time.”

Lisa Rosenkranz, BSBA ’82:

“I feel like WashU was the launching place for my personal and my professional life. It was the place where I grew up, where I really learned who I was, where I had learned that I could be independent.

My first job in marketing couldn’t have been a better job, and I really credit WashU with giving me that opportunity. I also wouldn’t know Jeff if it hadn’t been for WashU. If I hadn’t gone here, I wouldn’t have the wonderful life I have.”

This Giving Tuesday, we hope you’ll consider a gift to future generations of Olin Business School students. Learn more about ways you can help Olin continue to be a world-class institution for business education.