The Smith School Welcomes its Newest Undergraduates with the Ernst & Young Freshman Fellows Orientation Program

College Park, Md. – Aug. 30, 2009 – The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business hosted its first-ever Ernst & Young Freshman Fellows Orientation Program. The company’s generous $250,000 gift to the Smith School in June 2009 created the orientation program and endowment, and produced two days of team-building, top-rate keynote speakers and seminars, and real-life ethics training for the freshmen in attendance. Ernst & Young has a 30-year relationship with the Smith School, with their giving totaling over $1 million, including construction of an Ernst & Young classroom and the establishment of a student scholarship.

Staffed by representatives from both the Smith School and Ernst & Young, the day kicked off with group icebreakers, followed by a sit-down brunch, giving the newest members of the Smith community the perfect opportunity to get to know each other, Smith faculty and staff, and the enthusiastic Ernst & Young volunteers. After an introduction and welcome from Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Dr. Pat Cleveland, keynote speaker Jeff Hoops, ethics and compliance officer for the Americas and chief privacy officer for Ernst & Young, took the stage.

In a talk titled “Your Business Career Starts Today,” Hoops delivered practical advice with an ethical message, incorporating anecdotes from his years of corporate experience – in fact, he has been with Ernst & Young for a total of 35 years, serving as partner for 25 years. With most of his experience in the accounting world, Hoops observed that the strict ethical practices of accountants has started to spill over into the business world as whole, saying, “People want it; clients expect it; regulators demand it.”

After giving case studies in ethical behavior, and inviting students from the crowd on-stage to act out ethical dilemmas, Hoops iterated several “Practical Tips” for the students to take with them through college and into the work force. First, he advised, doing the right thing is habit-forming, and if you do the right thing often enough, it will simply become second-nature. Additionally, he also lectured that “Your reputation is everything,” and “It’s what you do next that counts” in a compromising situation.

Partnering with student mentors, Ernst & Young then hosted a lively fashion show, with outfits centered on the theme “Dress for Success – or Not.” Student mentors then stole the show with bright green suits, poolside looks and even pajamas, epitomizing the “or Not” in the show’s title. Diamonds in the rough were those students dressed perfectly for casual, business casual and business formal, from pressed collared shirts to closed-toe pumps.

Closing out the day was the wildly popular Civility Improv, written and directed by, and starring Ernst & Young volunteers, and emceed by Rob Myers, of Ernst & Young. The actors presented four scenarios with questionable practices – from a consulting employee behaving badly at a clients’ office to college students trading homework for a date with an attractive classmate – and then asked Smith students to evaluate how the situations played out. The students provided thoughtful answers, even citing the university’s honor code when considering how to resolve a volatile situation.

To close out the session, Dean Cleveland thanked her volunteers from both Ernst & Young and the Smith School to thunderous applause. And ending the day on a perfect note, Ernst & Young handed every Smith student a colorful BPA-free water bottle branded with their logo.