N E W S : S H O R T TA K E S McCOMBS, UT LAUDED FOR PRODUCING VC-BACKED ENTREPRENEURS
LIFELONG LEARNERS
Thanks to the university’s new Tower Fellows Program, experienced professionals have a unique Forty Acres opportunity. Currently accepting applications for the fall semester, the ninemonth Tower Fellows Program will offer up to 30 fellows — each with two- to-three decades of professional experience — access to UT courses and facilities, as well as educational and networking o p p o r t u n i t i e s . “ T h e To w e r Fellows Program is the perfect opportunity for highly accomplished individuals from all walks of life to explore, discover, reflect, and prepare for whatever they decide comes next,” says Gaylen Paulson, associate dean and dire c to r of Texas E xe cu tive Education at McCombs.
4 M c C O M B S .U T E X A S . E D U
COACHING YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS
Track & Field Athlete Gives Back
Fabian Jara Dohmann, MSF ’18, has a strong arm — and a big heart. The UT javelin thrower from Paraguay grew up in a single-parent household with two athletic older brothers. “No matter how hard I tried, they were always better than me, so I was never satisfied,” Dohmann says. That drive earned him a UT athletic scholarship and admission to McCombs, with a dream of becoming Paraguay’s secretary of sports or education. In April, he earned the Dorothy Smith Marbridge Foundation Community Service Award for motivational speaking to groups of kids in low-income Austin schools. “I was inspired by the right people and helped by so many people. I really value that,” says Dohmann, currently ranked No. 4 in the nation. Now, it’s his turn. “It’s my way to give back.”
In early April, 20 McCombs MBAs helped 90 students from the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders who were completing a three-month long capstone project addressing real company challenges. The MBAs offered constructive feedback ahead of the high school seniors’ final pitch to local professionals and entrepreneurs. “We enjoyed the opportunity to engage with these students and were impressed by their caliber,” says Jacqueline Sigler, MBA ’19, who organized the event. “The teachers and students all said it was constructive and a great dry run. They loved Rowling Hall and enjoyed hearing about our different paths and suggestions for life ahead as they graduate high school.”
NEW DEGREES Look for the latest degrees at Texas McCombs: certificates in Health Informatics and Health IT for both executives and professionals (spring 2018); an MD/MBA dual degree program for third-year medical students (fall 2018); an entrepreneurship minor open to all UT students (fall 2018); a dual-degree honors program in business and computer science (fall 2019), and certificates in risk management. McCombs is also hosting students in a new cross-disciplinary program in design thinking (fall 2018).
P H I L I P M E N C H ACA
McCombs and UT produce among the largest number of entrepreneurs backed by venture capital in the nation, according to the latest PitchBook ranking. A leading private equity and venture capital research firm, PitchBook tracked founders of companies who received a first round of venture funding between 2006 and 2017. Among business schools yielding founders with MBA degrees, McCombs landed at No. 11 among U.S. schools and No. 14 worldwide. Broken down by gender, UT came in No. 12 globally for the greatest number of female founders and tied for No. 16 among MBA alumnae founders.
