This month, Columbia Business School honored the class of 2012 at the recognition ceremonies for graduates of the School’s Full-Time and Executive MBA Programs.
“It has been particularly gratifying to see how the members of your class exemplify some of the things I hold most dear about Columbia Business School,” Dean Glenn Hubbard said in remarks that celebrated the class’s accomplishments. “Since the day you arrived on campus for orientation, we have challenged you to be interesting and contributing members of this community. You have met this challenge.”
The dean reaffirmed the positive role that business plays in society and reinforced the responsibility of business schools to create whole business leaders — “thinkers and doers who are able to grasp the 360-degree view and inspire confidence through their decision-making and problem-solving skills.” He urged graduates to acknowledge that their MBA is “a calling card that says to the world, ‘I am entrepreneurial. I am a problem solver who understands the whole puzzle, not just a piece of it — and I can seize upon opportunity in any environment.’”
During an economic downturn, it is entrepreneurship and innovation, Hubbard said, that leads the way to renewed growth. “Recognizing and capturing opportunity is especially important — and beneficial to society at large — during down times and periods of recovery,” he said.
Finally, the dean invited graduates to begin a life of engagement in business and society. “Most of all, never forget what a noble calling business is and the power that lies within each of you to transform lives of other business leaders and entrepreneurs, along with communities and nations around the world,” Hubbard said. “Remember that your MBA is a Master of Choices, and that what matters most is not the change jingling in your pockets after commencement but the change you make in the world.”
The members of the class of 2012 were also honored at Columbia University’s Commencement on May 16, where three Columbia Business School alumni — Rosa V. Alonso ’94, Hau Yee Ng-Lo ’89, and Nicholas Rudd ’64 — were honored with alumni medals.
Find more photos on the School’s Facebook page.