Tippie Magazine (Summer 2021) - Tippie College of Business

As we move past the most
acute phase of the pandemic,
what will be your priorities
for the college?
AKB First, we’d like to engage more
with companies, non-profits, and the
community—it’s our greatest opportunity
for growth. That engagement means
strategic partnerships with organizations
for things like live cases, student projects,
and executive speakers. We want to do
a great job developing, cultivating, and
tracking these partnerships.
Another top priority is to raise the external
reputation of the college, including our
reputation for research expertise.
We also want to expand our alumni
connections, both at the individual level
and through corporate connections.
Are there areas of the Tippie
experience that you consider
“hidden gems” that you’ll try
to draw attention to?
AKB There are a lot! We have a CPA pass rate
that’s one of the country’s best. (3) Both
our management and entrepreneurship as
well as our business analytics programs
have four faculty each in editorial positions
in some of the top journals in their fields.
Our Hawkinson Institute in the finance
department has created an extremely
successful pipeline to Wall Street. The
Marketing Institute in the marketing
department has 100 percent placement
rates with starting salaries up to 50 percent
higher than average. Last year the John
Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center provided
$460,800 in seed funding for new ventures
on campus and in the broader statewide
entrepreneurial ecosystem. And in 1988
our economics department launched the
Iowa Electronic Markets, our online futures
READ
BETWEEN THE LINES
(3) THE
80.7%
CPA PASS RATE
COMPARES TO A
58.6 %
RATE NATIONALLY;
it is 13th out
of 247 large
programs
nationally.
REFERENCE
“ What makes
me optimistic
about her
leadership?
AKB knows
Iowa. She has
committed
a significant
portion of
her career to
serving the
college, the
university, and
the state.”
—CRISTI
GLEASON, chair
of the accounting
department, and
Carson KPMG
Professor of
Accounting
market created for teaching and research.
It is the longest running real money
prediction market in the world.
Right now, few outside of Iowa City or the
people hiring these students know about
this great work. We want to make sure
that these programs, faculty, centers, and
institutes get attention more broadly. We
want to be a participant among worldclass
institutions in the discussions
about innovations in business and talent
development.
You’ve had an intense year,
but I hear that when things
aren’t so overwhelming,
you’re pretty fun at a party.
AKB I guess so! I like to go all-in on the
staff Halloween party. One year, I wore an
inflatable hippopotamus ballerina costume,
and I held up a sign that said, “Follow your
dreams.” Two years ago, before COVID, I
dressed in an inflatable T-rex costume and
held up a sign that said, “You are doing a
T-riffic job.” I love a good costume!
I do think people should try to have fun
with what they’re doing, and I try to bring
that attitude to work. I tell students and
junior faculty to enjoy the life you’re living
now, all of it, instead of thinking you’ll enjoy
it later. I think that approach matters.
What else do you want
alumni to know about what
the future holds for Tippie?
AKB I think they should be excited about
our faculty and programs—they should
be pleased with the quality of what we’re
doing and who we have doing it. They’re
going to be hearing more about Tippie,
because we’ll be showcasing more of what
we’re doing in a way that is going to make
them proud to talk about us. •
DYK?
Amy Kristof-Brown is a patron of the performing arts, especially musical theater and dance. How big of a fan? The kind that
saw the original cast of Hamilton perform on Broadway and has attended the Tony Awards. One of her favorite live events is
the annual Vail Dance Festival, a two-week international event featuring artists who use the venue to premiere new work.
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