March 30, 2017, was an evening of empowerment and celebration as 200 women gathered at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business for the Sixth Annual Women Leading Women forum honoring financial planner and industry leader Marguerita (Rita) Cheng ’93, founder and CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth. Watch video highlights.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — People who share copyrighted content on digital piracy sites don’t get paid or protected from lawsuits. So why do they do it? “The major motivation is building reputation in these online communities,” says Kalinda Ukanwa, one of 34 women PhD candidates at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. “They want bragging rights.”

The Center for Social Value Creation at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business introduced its first “Leadership for Better Business Award” at the annual Social Enterprise Symposium on Friday, March 3, 2017. The award was created to recognize individuals who embody business principles that advance economic, social and environmental prosperity.

Across industry and sector, businesses are widening their lenses in pursuit of strategies that benefit both business and society. Gone are the days of the single bottom line. In today's world, purpose-driven business has accelerated to a degree that might be surprising.

In conjunction with Women’s History Month, the Office of Diversity Initiatives at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business has organized March 2017 as Smith Women’s Month – a month of empowerment, enlightenment and education around topics of interest to Smith women.

Before she got her executive MBA degree from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Jennifer Lee-Harrison, EMBA '11, held numerous consulting jobs, rose to a senior director position, collaborated with Steve Harvey, and contributed to a successful strategic marketing plan. Yet she still asked herself: “What do I want to be when I grow up?”

Event Highlights As Bloomberg L.P.’s Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Erika Irish Brown is on the front line to advance diversity in the workplace. She will talk frankly about her role and personal experiences with students, alumni, faculty and staff at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business when she joins Dean Alex Triantis for the Diversity Fireside Chat.

The Social Enterprise Symposium (SES), hosted by the Center for Social Value Creation at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, is less than a month away, on March 3, 2017. If you’re someone who likes to push the envelope, explore big ideas and wants to create a better world, SES is definitely for you. Here are five reasons why you should attend #SES17:

We received more than 250 submissions for the third iteration of the Smith Photo Contest at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. After a month of online voting and judges’ deliberation, we are proud to share the 20 winning photographs from the talented Smith community. Winners were selected in six categories: action, architectural, campus, global, landscape, and portrait. Of the 20 winners, two were selected through online voting on Smith’s Facebook page as the People’s Choice award.

Building the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and then the National Museum of African American History and Culture changes a person. Lisa Anders, an MBA graduate at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, led both projects and will discuss her experiences at a Black History Month celebration 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 8, 2017, at the campus’ Riggs Alumni Center.