Vanderbilt / Owen MBA News

We were delighted to connect last week with Christie St-John, who heads MBA admissions at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. St-John describes her career as “zig-zaggy,” referring to the fact that she started at Vanderbilt back in 1997 before zigging to Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business for nine years and then zagging back to Nashville and to Owen, where she’s been at the helm since 2012. As you’ll see below, her time up north impacted her preference for mountains over beach but did nothing to diminish her love of true southern fried chicken. A more in-depth Admissions Director Q&A with St-John will soon follow, but for now, enjoy getting to know her lighter side. (A big hockey fan, she's pictured above at a Nashville Predators game.)   Read more

Continuing our series of posts from applicants sharing how they arrived at a decision on where to enroll for business school, this week we hear from Dylan Bright about the admitted students’ weekend he attended at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. As you’ll read, the well-planned weekend helped him know that the Nashville school was the one for him. If you’ve recently decided on where you’re heading in the fall, we’d love to have you share your decision-making process with us in a subsequent post. And if you haven’t already, remember to submit via MBA DecisionWire! Read more

Today’s Friday from the Frontline features an interview with Lisa Atufunwa, a 29-year-old Denver native who submitted applications to five schools as part of Round 2. Business school has always been a part of her plan, and she’s hoping the MBA will help her pivot her career. Currently working in communications for a range of tech companies, startups and public holding companies, Atufunwa is targeting schools with strong programs in marketing. Her post-MBA goal is to become an assistant brand manager in the personal beauty sector, working for a company like L'Oréal, Sephora or Estée Lauder. “That’s always been a personal passion of mine,” she says. Read more

The associate dean for the MBA program at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business has been named the new dean of the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management, Tuck announced last week. M. Eric Johnson, a fixture in the Tuck community for the past 14 years, will assume his new post in Nashville on July 1st pending approval by Vanderbilt’s Board of Trust. “During his time at Tuck Eric was truly an academic leader at the school and an outstanding teacher,” Tuck Dean Paul Danos said in a statement. “He has been much beloved by students for his flair in the classroom and dedication to their personal transformation and by faculty and staff for his collegiality and wisdom," Danos continued. Read more