Tag: communications

Olin lost a friend this past week. I lost a friend this past week. Annette Veech taught business management communications to MBA students at Olin, but her impact went beyond the classroom.

As a student in the Professional MBA program, I watched how her coaching helped to grow and groom the confidence of students who would prefer to take a five-hour calculus test than make a presentation in front of a group of peers for 30 seconds.

Mostly, I recall Annette’s impact on me. During a semester in her class, she helped me to hone what would eventually be my Olin Cup presentation, where I won the student prize.

Over time and while taking her crisis communications course, I learned we had something in common.

Annette gave me this handmade card and bookmark when my son Henry was born three years ago.

She too spent time outside class, creating things with her hands. Annette was a talented mixed media artist, which often included handmade greeting cards and bookmarks.

I applied to my first craft show after listening to Annette’s advice. Her work has been featured in a number of local shows and galleries, including the St. Louis Artist Guild. Her bio on Cloth Paper Scissors, an online community for mixed media artists reads, “I create mixed media and the occasional assemblage. Nature, vintage and found items, paint, fabric — all conspire to capture my attention. Much of my art is inspired by nature and the desire to share positive energy.”

Annette was also a talented fiction writer. On her website, she shared several excerpts of a novel she’d been writing. I don’t know if she finished it. Though she was a very private person, I found her generous. As a friend and colleague, she was warm, selfless and unflinchingly genuine.

I will miss her light and energy.

Blog post submitted by: Suzanne Shenkman, Olin MBA’06. Suzanne is a Brand Manager in Olin’s Marketing & Communications department.

Annette Veech, Senior Lecturer in Business Communication, passed away July 1 after a long and valiant battle with cancer.  She had taught at Olin Business School since 1998.

Postdoctoral Lecturer in Communications Elizabeth Petre contributed this post.

On April 22, 135 Washington University students participated in the final stage of the Management Communication Client Project (MCCP): the Showcase Finale Event held in May Auditorium. The event featured seven student teams that presented final recommendations to clients on a real-world communications issue. Students enrolled in MGT201 devoted hours to working on a key communications issue for the following St. Louis cultural institutions: the Gateway Festival Orchestra of St. Louis, the Arts and Education Council of St. Louis, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, the Missouri History Museum, the St. Louis Science Center, Grand Center Inc., and the City Museum. The students’ presentations helped the organizations understand the scope of the communications issue, and provided creative recommendations for the organizations to adopt.

As the newest semester-length project in the course, the MCCP provides real-world context for student teams to interact with actual clients on a current communications issue. At the beginning of the semester, each section of MGT201 is assigned one Course Client who identifies a communications issue that the organization is facing. Student teams then evaluate and research the issue throughout the semester, with one team selected to represent the class at the Showcase Finale Event. Students have the opportunity to work with corporate clients during the fall semester, and St. Louis cultural institutions during the spring semester. The MCCP is designed to enhance students’ communication skills by having student teams research the communicative context each organization is operating in, and develop ways to effectively move their client to act on the proposed recommendations.

MGT201 professor Linda Buhr and I enjoyed working with students and clients through the MCCP as a way to foster connections between the University and the St. Louis community. The Showcase Finale Event represented the culmination of the students’ efforts throughout the semester, and we look forward to welcoming a new group of MGT201 students and clients in the fall.