What's Current February 2024

February 2024

 
Welcome to the February edition of What’s Current! This month was busy with a number of outstanding events and conferences, including our annual John Wooden Global Leadership Awards, HBA Vitals, the Energy Innovation Conference and two conversations in the
Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series. With BBSA and Out@Anderson in the lead, we also celebrated Back History Month and LGBTQ+ Awareness Week. Read on for highlights from these events and other current community spotlights!

Dean Tony Bernardo
 

Visionary Executives Ed Bastian and Ken Frazier Lead with Values

Recipients of Anderson’s John Wooden Global Leadership Award exemplify transformative leadership

 
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Congratulations, Andy Cofino (’25),
Ryan Hayes (’24), Tiffany Lin (’24) and Juhie Rathor (’24)

Our 2023 John Wooden fellows embody Coach’s leadership ideals and commitment to improving the lives of others

 
Learn More About the Fellows
 

Health Policy Expert Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel Reviews the Riskiest Predictions of the Future

The noted oncologist and bioethicist opened the Healthcare Business Association’s 10th anniversary Vitals conference with a keynote focused on technology megatrends

 
Listen to Keynote
 

Accelerating Clean Tech Innovation through Mobility, ESG, AI and More

Anderson’s Center for Impact, and the Energy and Cleantech Association hosted the 9th annual Energy Innovation Conference

 
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AI Meets Transformative Leaders at Innovate

The Easton Center and AnderTech’s annual conference celebrates the tech-driven world

 
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How Southern California Edison Is Building the Grid of the Future

SCE president and CEO Steven Powell (B.S. ’00, ’10) outlines the most promising avenues to California’s decarbonization goals

 
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Queer@Anderson Celebrates LGBTQ+ Awareness Week

We asked Out@Anderson co-presidents Ike Zhan (MBA ’25) and Mikaela Stephens (MBA ’25) to show us what the Anderson queer community is like and the events that make up this year’s Awareness Week

 
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Anderson Black Alumni President Is an Entrepreneur, Father of Four, Math YouTuber and More

2020 John Wooden Global Leadership Fellow Stephen Johnson (B.S. ’05, ’21) says it’s no secret he gets up early to do it all

 
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Anderson EMBA Michael Whitt (’06) Is a Fourth-Generation Problem Solver

The Cal Poly professor and medical device patent holder recalls how the Price Center supported his entrepreneurship aspirations

 
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Ed Shapiro (’90) Receives the 2024 John E. Anderson Distinguished Alumni Award

The former investment manager now dedicates himself full time to philanthropic causes

 
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An Alternative Path to Entrepreneurship

Investor and one-time Price Center TA Kent Weaver’s (’99) course has led to many an entrepreneurial acquisition

 
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Be Open to an International Career

Savita Iyer (’05) has worked in finance at The Walt Disney Company for 15 years but doesn’t feel like she’ll ever get stuck doing the same thing

 
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One of the Most Important Findings in Cancer Research

Jennifer Kao shows that a high percentage of cancer studies don’t publicly share trial results, despite the federal disclosure requirements

 
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Cashless Payments: Faster Transactions, Easier Borrowing and Increased Household Income

System provides digital record of payments for India’s vast self-employed ranks, satisfying lenders, and raising the likelihood of starting a business

 
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Anderson in the News

February highlights in the global press

NIHCM Foundation
New uses of existing drugs
Assistant Professor of Strategy Jennifer Kao earned National Institute for Health Care Management funding for her research into the effects of FDA regulation and off-label drug use on incentives for pharmaceutical innovation.

Harvard Business Review
It’s time for sustainability to become a core part of MBA programs
Magali Delmas cites evolving global climate disclosure regulations as one of many reasons business schools must adapt their curricula in response to the increasing demand for professionals skilled in sustainability and climate change management.

Phys.org
Rice study shows how allyship can combat discrimination in STEM for Blacks, Latinos
Research on the importance of assuming psychological standing that was co-authored by the late Jenessa Shapiro, UCLA professor of management and organizations and of psychology, has been published by the Journal of Business and Psychology.

Fast Company
4 ways to rethink your strategy
Not all executives understand what strategy is. Professor Emeritus Richard Rumelt clarifies that strategy isn’t a simple wish list of lofty goals, it’s a specific and coherent response to — and approach to overcoming — obstacles to progress.