AlumNews
www.webster.ac.at
Fall 2007
Graduation 2007
World famous psychologist gives graduation address One of life’s highlights
Its one of those days in life that you never forget Graduation! This year it was the turn of the graduating class of 2007, more than 110 altogether, who now officially join you as alumni of Webster Vienna. A bright and warm day with the sunlight flooding the reception area made the excitement of the graduating students reach a highpoint. Over 700 guests attended, making this year’s graduation in the beautiful and elegant ambience of the Vienna Konzerthaus the biggest Commencement Ceremony Webster Vienna has ever held! This year’s graduation speaker was the renowned social psychologist Dr. Philip Zimbardo, who also received an Honorary Doctorate from Webster. In his speech he not only reminded us, that “the best antidote to Evil is a nation of young people ready to take the path toward heroism”, but also quoted Nikos Kazantzakis with Zorba, The Greek, in the great dance of life – “that we all should devote our creative energies to giving love to others, not making war against them”. After the obligatory tassel movement awardees and graduates were officially released with the continued on page 5 best wishes for their future.
calendar 2007
August 27 Fall I Term begins September 18 On Campus Art Exhibition Opening – Maja Vukoje Thomas K Lang Gallery, 3rd floor, Webster University, 7:00 pm 27 Open Information Evening OMV Conference Center, 3rd floor, Webster University, 5:00 pm October 3 13th Annual Webster Works Worldwide 10 Alumni Get-Together, Urania, 1010 Vienna, Uraniastraße 1, 7:00 pm 19 Fall I Term ends 22 Thanksgiving OMV Conference Center, 3rd floor, Webster University, 5:00 pm 29 Fall II Term begins November 21 Der Mann “Brotway”, Guided Tour Kurt Mann Bäckerei und Konditorei 1230 Vienna, Perfektastr.100, 7:00pm 29 Open Information Evening OMV Conference Center, 3rd floor, Webster University, 5:00 pm December 21 Fall II Term Ends
Although all care is taken to ensure accuracy in the calendar, it is always best to check if an event is actually taking place before attending: www.webster.ac.at
A publication of Webster University Berchtoldgasse 1, 1220 Vienna, Austria Tel: +43 1 269 92 93 0 Fax: +43 1 269 92 93 13 info@webster.ac.at www.webster.ac.at Editor: Anna Ganovszky Texts: Stefano Cantini, Anna Ganovszky, Tina Gausterer-Hofmeister, Verena Karlsson, Christian Newman. Layout: Jennifer Rakow-Stepper Printer: S-Print, 1220 Vienna
Alumni Relations Vienna
Well my life has changed a great deal in the last few months since beginning my position in the alumni office. I have learnt how to juggle a 30 hour a week job with one husband, two children, endless kindergarten play dates whilst in the middle of building a house! I always said that 2007 was going to be my year and my prediction is proving to be correct. In May as a “taster” I attended the Alumni Cocktail and Graduation Ball where I managed to touch base with a lot of alumni. This was such a great event and would have to be one of the highlights of my position, meeting up with such a diverse group of interesting people whom all share one common interest Webster. Bravo Verena on the organization of this event. It was also here that I met Stefano Can-
tini and Angelica Vuzum-de la Rosa and as such the new Webster Vienna Alumni Team was presented including Verena and me. After a week of work we were visited by our colleagues from St Louis, Matt Andrew, Interim Vice President for Development and Alumni Programs and Jennifer JezekTaussig, Director of Alumni Programs and International Development. This was a fantastic opportunity to learn about the alumni office in St Louis and to see the enthusiasm they have for the Vienna Gold Chapter. This was also a reason for another alumni get-together at Die Halle which was a great evening. Photos of the event are on page 3. The Webster Vienna Alumni Library Drive is up and running and we are looking forward to contributions to improve our Library resources on campus. Please refer to the library article on page 6. Most of all, a big welcome and congratulations to the 110 new alumni who joined us on May 19, 2007, I look forward to meeting you at the various events that we have planned in the Fall. A great deal has changed at Webster Vienna since I have been on maternity leave as I am sure a great deal has changed in your lives. Please keep us updated so that we can better serve you, our alumni. Do you have a new job or have you completed further education? Have you moved or changed your e-mail address got married or had a baby? I love hearing updates from you all, so please keep them coming. There are a lot of short stories in this edition of the AlumNews about special happenings in your lives and careers featured in the Alumni Roundup. Thank you to all of you who contributed. Congratulations to Verena Bstieler, Department Head of University Advancement, on her marriage to Ulf Karlsson in Sweden in August. Please note Verena’s new surname and e-mail address: karlsson@webster.ac.at. I hope that you all had a wonderful summer break wherever you are and I look forward to working together with you to keep this Vienna Gold Chapter as successful as ever. Anna Ganovszky Alumni & Student Affairs Coordinator Fall/2007 1
Alumni
Layla Abdul-Hadi, BA ‘87 Samuel Adams, MBA ‘05
roundup
Brussels.
Felix Diaba, BA ‘91 is the
is employed by OPEC in Vienna as head of the human resource section and the administration & human resources department. was named chief editor and oil market analyst at PVM Oil Associates Vienna, the consulting and research arm of the PVM Group which excels as one of the leading providers of knowledge based services to the oil industry. PVM is a private company established in 1971 in New York to broker oil products and is now the world's leading independent broker of oil instruments. Sam supervises a team of three analysts; two of them are Webster alumni, Christopher Neumiller, MBA ‘07 and Matija Zlamalik, BA ‘05.
Susan, BA ‘95 and Christoph Brader, BA ‘94
financial controler of the Austria Hotels International which owns 14 hotels in different locations in Austria and the Czech Republic with a total capacity of 1568 rooms.
Martin Feichtenschlager, BA ‘07 began working in
India after graduating from Webster. He was named business analyst for all German speaking countries for the company Evalueserve in Gurgaon (India). Evalueserve is a leading provider of Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) services offering custom research, analytics and intellectual property solutions for clients all around the world. Their analyst teams cover multiple industries, across every continent, in more than 50 languages.
Thomas Gansberger, BA ‘02
neurological causes of motor dysfunctions experienced by astronauts and ailments like the Parkinson's disease experienced by people on earth. It is the perfect position for him on the way to achieving his biggest dream to become the first Croatian in space. Besides that he is also part of the organizing committee for the International Forum on the Human Presence in Space which took place in Split, Croatia between August 24 and 26, 2007. This forum gave the public an opportunity to learn about human space flight. Wilfried Kalb, BA ‘88 * and his partner Sandra Fandl are happy to announce the arrival of Theresa-Franziska born February 5, 2007. She is a sister for Dorian (13)
on completion of his Webster Vienna degree. From 1992 to 1997 he worked for the Central Bank of Slovenia, Ljubljana as the head of foreign exchange reserves management. From 1999 to 2001 he moved to London as an associate with McKinsey Company before moving back to Ljubljana as head of the M&A department with Publikum. In 2003 he married Daniela and moved to his current position of executive director, asset management and brokerage division of KD Holding in Ljubljana. His son Kael Gregor was born in 2005.
Martin Mayrhofer, BA ‘98
Gernot was CEO of Salzburger Sparkasse.
Marco Navarretta, MBA ‘06
Was named chief financial officer for AKA (Alföld Koncessziós Autópálya) Zrt in Budapest, Hungary. The company was founded in 1994 to design,
was a proprietary trader of equities in New York after completing his studies at Webster. In June of this year he decided to return to Bratislava to be closer to his partner. Currently he is engaged in research on the efficacy of investment/ speculative methodologies with close examination of modern finance vs.traditional fundamental approaches. He will be setting up a web presence (www.improbability finance.com) sometime in the middle of August contrasting his experiences as an equities trader with the findings of his research.
Nenad Pacek, MA ‘95
was promoted to vice-president for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA),
Webster each year. Having not been able to find a suitable textbook for his course on emerging markets, he wrote his own materials, which he then developed into a book that was co-authored with a colleague and published by The Economist in 2004 as Emerging Markets: Lessons for Business Success and the Outlook for Different Markets. Rita Pollozhani, BA ‘06 * is working in insurance and international business at Erste Bank dealing primarily with projects in the subsidiary of SVersicherung. One year after her graduation, she is executive project manager for strategic planning and system architecture. Her main passion and longterm goal is still teaching at university level and be-
moved to Hong Kong in 2004 when Christoph was transferred with AT&S to head up sales and marketing for Asia Pacific. Susan is currently working with the Economist Group in Business Development for the Economist Intelligence Unit. They both love it in Hong Kong and plan on staying as long as possible. Susan states “our son Miguel (9) is already learning Mandarin and our daughter Sofia (2) enjoys the good weather and the beach around the house.”
Herta Boakye-Yiadom, MA ‘06 works for Transworld Radio, a global Christian radio network that uses radio to help various individuals and groups all over the world, e.g. women, children, HIV positive people . Trans World Radio broadcasts to more than 40 countries in Africa in more than 65 languages and dialects. Valerie Bode, BA ‘99
completed his Magister in Political Sciences at the University of Vienna in May 2007.
Bettina Geckler, MBA ‘93
works as event manager for the Vienna Konzerthaus, one of the largest and most artistically progressive institutions in international musical life.
Georg Habauer, MBA ‘05
moved to Geneva after completing her BA in Vienna where she obtained her Masters Degree in International Relations. From there she completed several internships with major international organizations in the area of Natural Hazard Risk Management (UN/ISDR) in Geneva, UNESCO in Paris, Organization of American States in Washington DC and IIASA in Laxenburg. She is currently working for the Stability Pact as an executive assistant to the cabinet of the special coordinator Erhard Busek in 2 Fall/2007
is employed by the Austrian Research Centers GmbH as authorized officer and as head of the strategic division. Kristina Hall Hahsler, BA ‘02 * and her husband Michael are happy to announce the arrival of Maximilian Maverick Craig Hahsler. He was born on September 14, 2006 in Vienna and is a little brother to proud Sebastian. The family is moving to Dallas, Texas in July for a year as Kristina has the opportunity to work in her fathers company to learn first hand about investing. Michael (who taught classes at Webster in the Computer Science Department) will be taking paternity leave for the year. Kristina states, “We are looking forward to the challenge but will miss many things about Vienna”. Vladimir Ivkovic, BA ‘99 * will leave his job as research assistant at the Institute for Anthropological Research in Zagreb as he has been accepted to the Doctor of Philosophy in Kinesiology program at the University of Houston. There, he will be working in the Laboratory for Integrated Physiology on
top row from left to right: * Sebastian and Maximilian Hahsler * Vladimir Ivkovic, BA ‘99 * Theresa Franziska Kalb * Dag Kralji, BA ‘91 bottom row from left to right: * Rita Pollozhani, BA ‘06 * Valentina Prohaska, BA ‘07 * Bryan Weigle, MA ‘03
who is extremely proud. Wilfried states “Theresa enjoys excellent health and a joyous temperament.” Wilfried and Sandra are looking forward to their wedding September 29, 2007.
Vedrana Knezevic, BA ‘05
works as project manager for linguistic checks worldwide for :Nomen est omen, a naming consulting company in Croatia. The company managed, successfully, to rename the Toyota car model Corolla to Auris which was a big step for the Toyota car industry. Corolla was the most selling car model worldwide. :Nomen est omen has also given names to many world known companies and brands, e.g. Arcelor (a world leading steal company), Vivendi, Armani Mania, Exult (Naomi Campbell). Dag Kralj, BA ‘91 * completed his MBA ‘99 at Harvard Business School
finance, build, operate and maintain the motorway M5 in Hungary. M5 connects Budapest, the capital city of Hungary with the south-eastern regions of the country, the cities of Kecskmét, Szeged, and finally Röszke at the Serbian border.
Santiago S. Medrana, MBA ‘87 is country manager for the Lufthansa German Airlines in Doha, Qatar. Gernot Mittendorfer, MBA ‘96
became CEO of Ceská sporitelna in July 2007. Ceská sporitelna is a traditional Czech savings institution and a member of Erste Bank, a powerful Central European financial group with almost 16 millions clients. His move to the head of the team this summer was the biggest move of his career. He took over from Jack Stack, the star of the Czech banking industry, and has now 10,000 employees working under him. The last few years
and global practice dealer for government roundtables at the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Nenad’s career at EIU started in 1993 as a Webster undergraduate intern writing business reports, after which he was immediately hired full-time and went on in rapid succession to become an analyst and business associate, director of research and advisory, and director, business advisory and conferences. In his new job he is responsible for EIU’s business advisory business and conferences in the EMEA region, and at the global level he manages EIU’s government roundtable business and speaks at the CEO level to clients at their headquarters, wherever they may be. Nenad finished an MA in finance and international business at Webster in 1995, and he now teaches two courses in international business for
ing in a classroom. She is based in Vienna and wouldn't want to live anywhere else in the world. Rita particularly enjoys attending Webster Alumni events and gatherings. Valentina Prohaska BA ‘07 * will be starting a new job as a research consultant for Ray & Berndson in charge of projects in Central and Eastern Europe. This is a full time position where Valentina will be able to utilize her extensive language skills. She will be juggling her full time work including travel with her two children.
Martin Reichard, BA ‘98
works for the Austrian Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs in the European Law Unit. His first book The EU-NATO Relationship: A Legal And Political Perspective was published in December 2006. It shows how the relationship continues to develop at a time of sigcontinued on page 3
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Alumni
thy of his company's legacy and demonstrated the skills necessary to guarantee a promising future for his firm. The three minute advert Swarovski Bathroom made by Kludi will be aired worldwide at tradeshows and fairs, as well as at the flagship-stores of the premium fittings-manufacturer Kludi, who are based in Germany. At the very latest with the completion of this advert, the transition between the generations at ffpproductions.com has thus been smoothly accomplished.
Michael Shamma, MBA ‘04
write-up
nificant change for both organizations. Post 9/11, NATO embarked on a fundamental transformation, recasting itself as an organization with global strategic reach and interest, focused less on Europe than ever before. At the same time, the EU is also becoming a more global political actor. Consequently, there is growing evidence that over time the EU will take the primary place in providing military security in Europe. This volume combines political and legal methods to provide a comprehensive analysis of the current and likely future relationship between the EU and NATO. The work will be of interest to all those interested in the development of these two major organizations and international security more generally, whether from a political or legal perspective, or both.
Philipp Schwinger, BA ‘03
Celebrating the Gold Chapter
May was a busy month in the Alumni Office with the visit from St Louis staff members Matt Andrew, Interim Vice President for Development and Alumni Programs, Jennifer Jezek-Taussig, Director of Alumni Programs and International Development and Susan Ross, Director of European Development and Alumni Programs from Geneva. This was a reason to celebrate so at rather short notice a get-together was organized at Die Halle in Museumsquartier in Vienna. On a hot and humid evening we were joined by over 20 alumni enjoying cold “erdbeerbowle” and cheeseburgers, eager to meet our St Louis guests. It was here that we announced that the Vienna Chapter, due to the involvement of our alumni and the hard work of Verena Karlsson, Stefano Cantini and Angelica Vuzem - de la Rosa, has been awarded the Gold level status. Gold Level, what does this mean? Webster University has a campus network of over 90 locations in the United States, a campus in Bermuda and six campuses in Europe and Asia. This means that you are a member of an association with over 125,000 alumni located around the world. The Gold level recognizes two years of commitment including a fundraising component to benefit the University (Library Drive). Of the 24 Alumni Chapters only 4 (Kansas City, African-American Alumni, Space Coast and Vienna) are currently recognized with the “Gold” status. This is really something to be proud of, Webster Vienna alumni. This status upgrade will mean that we will get additional financial and organizational support from the Alumni Office in St Louis. We all had a lovely evening with an interesting mixture of alumni from the 80’s right through to brand new alumni from the graduating class of 2007. So come and meet up with alumni old and new at our next meeting on October 10, 2007 at 7:00 pm at the Urania Café and Bar.
was named Sales and Marketing Manager for Mondi Packaging in Casablanca, Morocco.
Irena Vukman, BA ‘04
is the managing director of ffpproductions.com, one of the most successful production companies in Austria. With their film Dazzling Daydream Swarovski Bathroom made by Kludi the company won the State Prize for the best industrial film 2007. The youngest television producer in Austria has good reason to be proud: he and his company have just received the State Prize for the fourth time running but it is the first one since Philipp has been here. Together with 'Corporate Communication Advertising' of D. Swarovski & Co., Philipp created a film wor-
is private client loan advisor for the SOCIETE GENERALE – SPLITSKA BANKA d.d., a member of Société Générale Group. The bank is a strong financial institution holding a 8% share of the Croatian banking market. Bryan Weigle, MA ‘03 * moved from Vienna to Dublin where he completed another degree at Trinity College. From Dublin to Washington, DC he started working as program associate, climate and air (International) for the organization Environmental Defense (check out the website: www.environmentaldefense.org). His work centers around international climate negotiations, for example, Kyoto Protocol and Global Warming. Bryan travels a lot for his job which he really enjoys.
Top row left to right: Anna Ganovszky, Verena Karlsson, Angelica Vuzem-de la Rosa and Stefano Cantini; Die Halle Group Shot; Bottom row left to right: Jennifer Jezek-Taussig, Matt Andrew, Anna Ganovszky, Goolnosh Sahabi and Stefka Christodulova; Stefano Cantini, Rita Pollozhani and Valentina Prohaska.
April 27, 2007
Alumni walk in Empresses footsteps
The Vienna Chapter of the Alumni Association celebrated its 2nd anniversary and invited the alumni to a very special evening event, a guided tour through the Hofmobiliendepot, the unique Imperial Furniture Collection. The museum was open exclusively for us! 15 alumni attended, one of whom even traveled all the way from Leiden. Marc Steenberger MBA ‘03, a Webster graduate from the Leiden campus, spent his weekend in Vienna and joined the group for the evening. Originally founded by Empress Maria Theresia for the storage of the Habsburg furniture, the Imperial Furniture Collection has become the largest collection of furniture and furnishings in the world. The museum guide gave us interesting insights into vari-
ous epochs of imperial living, showing us fascinating pieces of furniture, furnishings and even whole apartments connected to individual members of the imperial family. We finished off the evening with a nice dinner and a lot of interesting conversations in the restaurant Levante, a Turkish restaurant, around the corner. Fall/2007 3
Alumni
March 30, 2007
write-up
Friendships revisited in Croatia
More than 150 Webster Vienna alumni are Croatian. About 90 of them moved back to their home country after graduating from Webster. This is a good reason for the University and the Alumni Association to travel to Zagreb once a year to meet our Croatian alumni and to promote Webster among high school students. Jacqueline Koshy-Oppel, our admission officer, organized an Open Information Evening to inform interested students about studying at Webster. She had strong support from two Webster alumni, Vedrana Knezevic, BA ‘05 who works as project manager for Linguistic checks worldwide at :Nomen est omen and Vladimir Ivkovic, BA ‘99 who is a research assistant at the Institute for Anthropological Research in Zagreb. They participated in a Q&A session for potential students and answered all their questions patiently. After the Open Information Evening the fun part started – the annual alumni dinner. Vedrana Perkovic Hadl, BA ‘97, our Croatian alumni coordinator, once again organized a wonderful dinner at our favorite restaurant Kvatric. More than 20 alumni attended. The evening was filled with lots of stories, memories, laughter and friendship.
May 19, 2007
Alumni Cocktail 2007
The Alumni Cocktail proved again to be the biggest reunion of Webster Vienna alumni. More than 150 guests, alumni, graduates, friends and parents, Webster staff and faculty members attended this year’s Alumni Cocktail on May 19, 2007 at the Hilton Hotel Stadtpark. Among the guests were alumni who graduated in 1982 and alumni who graduated in 2007. Almost all graduating years were represented showing Webster’s long history here in Vienna. Dr. Arthur Hirsh, Director of Webster University Vienna together with Stefano Cantini, MA ‘94 Vienna Chapter Alumni President, welcomed all guests and especially the Alumni class of 2007. Stefano also introduced Angelica Vuzem-de la Rosa, BA ‘85, as the new Vice President of the Vienna Chapter. It was a wonderful evening where old friends were able to mingle with new alumni before guests danced the night away at the Graduation Ball, also held at the Hilton.
Events
coming up
Join us for another Alumni Get-Together: Come and meet up with alumni old and new at our next Get-Together, October 10, 2007 at 7:00 pm.
Urania Café and Bar 1010 Vienna, Uraniastrasse 1 Please RSVP by October 7, 2007 to: alumni@webster.ac.at
Visit the Der Mann Bakery: Please mark your calendars for Wednesday, November 21, 2007 at 7:00 pm. We will have a personal guided tour in the Der Brotway hosted by the owner of Austria's most modern bakery, Senator KommR. Kurt Mann. Following the tour drinks and canapés will be served. Reservations will be required due to limited number of space available. Due to security measures only the people listed will be able to join. Please RSVP by November 14, 2007 to alumni@webster.ac.at
Kurt Mann Bäckerei und Konditorei Perfektastrasse 100, 1230 Wien For further information please check their website www.dermann.at
4 Fall/2007
Academic Honors and Awards 2007
Faculty Awards The Excellence in Teaching Award The Teacher of the Year Award Dr. Dorothy Kopel Dr. Anthony Löwstedt Schön Nobel Awards for Academic Excellence Bachelor of Arts (BA) Master of Arts (MA) Master of Business Administration (MBA) Thesis Award Ecaterina Vadimovna Gusarova Marie-Luise Wild Toma Sutik Albert Bauchinger
World-Wide Academic
Graduation 2007
Alumni in focus
Stefano Cantini, MA ‘94 received the Bronwyn K. Mitterecker Memorial Alumni Award for his efforts and achievements as president of the Vienna Chapter of the Alumni Association. Bronwyn, who many of you still remember vividly, worked at Webster for ten years and was a big part of the Webster Vienna story until she passed away two years ago. Her husband Wolfgang has donated the funds to support this award, which recognizes one Vienna alumni for outstanding contributions to the community through professional or voluntary service. Stefano was being recognized with the Bronwyn K. Mitterecker Alumni Award 2007 for his volunteer work in the formation and organization of the official Webster Vienna alumni chapter. He has spent countless hours of his own time making the Vienna alumni chapter a reality by attending international alumni meetings, organizing alumni events here in Vienna, and reaching out to alums to bring them back in contact with Webster. Not only did Stefano Cantini receive an alumni award, he also presented the Undergraduate Student Leadership Award of the Webster Alumni Association to Anca Floria Lucian. In his speech he referred to Anca’s multi-faceted talents, dedication and kind personality. Anca is an exceptional student who has contributed immensely to the work of the Vienna Student Council. She started working for the Student Council in 2004 and become President in 2005. During this time her involvement helped to strengthen it as a whole and lead to greater student involvement in on and off campus activities. As an active participant in Open Information Evenings, Webster Works Worldwide and representing Webster on panel discussions and our accreditation visits Anca was also highly involved in the organization of our 25th Anniversary of Webster Vienna evening. She organized the Webster Ball many times and has even performed lovely ballroom dances at this event.
continued from page 1
Honors and Awards Summa Cum Laude – with greatest distinction Magna Cum Laude – with great distinction Cum Laude – with distinction Austrian Nationalbank Merit Award Antonia von Perfall Marco Gregurek, Ivana Veznikova Ecaterina Vadimovna Gusarova Herbert Rack
Departmental Honors: College of Arts and Sciences Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences Catharina Leopoldine Ablasser, Josef Gelernter, Marko Gregurek, Nevine Kuzbari-Debs, Jelena Pavlinic, Milica Pejic, Joseph Anthony Sullivan, Ivana Veznikova Department of History, Politics and International Relations Ludwig Nicolas Duran, Antonia von Perfall
School of Business and Technology Department of Business Octavian Cosma, Matija Dautovic, Adam Marek Jankowski, Bojan Jovev, Daniela Stavrovska Department of Management Anna Bolweska, Marko Gregurek, Anna Lazareva, Berislav Pokupec Department of Mathematics and Computer Science Ecaterina Vadimovna Gusarova
School of Communications Department of Communications and Journalism Karla Bavoljak, Endri Fuga, Ruta Kurselyte, Elodie Marie Lamblin
Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts Department of Art Michael Badolato
WEMBA Academic Award
Lucia Kunikova
Webster University Alumni Association Awards: Bronwyn K. Mitterecker Memorial Award Stefano Cantini, MA `94
Undergraduate Student Leadership Award Anca Floria Lucian
Fall/2007 5
Webster Library Needs You! The Vienna Alumni Chapter of Webster University would like to invite you to participate in the Alumni Book Drive for the Webster Vienna Library to improve its resources. Your contribution can make a difference! Our goal is to collect books for the library, including textbooks and additional research books in the areas of management, psychology, art, media communications, international relations, computer science, English, math, philosophy, general liberal arts or general requirements. The library staff & the department heads have created a wish list through Amazon.de, where there are currently 100 titles listed. There are books priced as low as 6 Euros, so everyone can participate! How can you contribute? Visit our online Webster Vienna Library Wish List and choose the books you'd like to contribute. It's quick and easy! If you visit Amazon.de, please click on Wishlist (Wunschzettel) and type in Webster Vienna. Our wish list will be shown. You can then buy one or more books with your credit card. They will be shipped directly to Webster Vienna. If you would like to support the Book Drive with a cash donation, you can do so by transmitting the amount to Account No.: 310031-02045, Erste Bank der Österreichischen Sparkassen AG, BLZ 20111, BIC GIBAATWW, IBAN AT432011131003102045. If you have too many books at home and would like to donate them to the library, you can simply leave them on campus with Verena Karlsson in office 226, e-mail her at karlsson@webster.ac.at, or send them to her at Webster University, Berchtoldgasse 1, 1220 Vienna. No matter which way you choose to support our book drive, your contribution will be recognized by mentioning your name in the book(s) you donate to the library and in the next AlumNews. Thank you in advance for your generous support and consideration! Stefano Cantini, MA '94 Chapter President Angelica Vuzem de la Rosa, BA ‘85, Chapter Vice-President
In Brief
Fall I Art Exhibition Opening The next exhibition in the Webster Gallery will feature work by Maja Vukoje, a highly successful painter from Vienna's Gallery Martin Janda. Ms. Vukoje held a solo exhibition at the Secession last year. Currently her work is on display in the Gustav Mahler-Saal of the Vienna State Opera. Thomas K Lang Gallery Opening Reception Webster University, 3rd Floor September 18, 7:00 pm also develop customized seminars and even entire curricula to address specific client needs. We would therefore appreciate it if you could recommend our services to your Human Resource professionals. We would be happy to personally meet with them to discuss their training needs and objectives. Please note: There are still spaces available for this Fall seminar (dates to be announced soon): Controlling & Finance for Non-Finance Managers For further information about this or other PDC seminars and events please contact: Christian E. Newman, MSe Business & Management Department Head, Director Professional Development Center Tel: +43 1 269 92 93/28 Cell: +43 664 358 30 06 e-mail 1: newman@webster.ac.at e-mail 2: pdc@webster.ac.at Internet: pdc.webster.ac.at/index.htm the program can be done in any location, and takes approximately 4 years to complete. The program focuses on the management of organizational change plus new and existing technologies for business innovation. Participants draw on their own experience to produce a cutting-edge thesis on current business and management issues, often based on their own company's current and anticipated needs. The DBA program is open to managers from all functions and industries. Applicants should have at least three years of relevant management experience, along with an MBA or Master's degree in business or management. For more details, please visit: www.webster-grenoble.ch or see our brochure, www.webster-grenoble.ch, or contact: Anne Standley Webster University Geneva, Switzerland +41 22 959 8016 standley@webster.ch Watch Webster Students Webcast Check out the Webster University Vienna Webcast Project, a class offered at the media department of Webster Vienna. Students can develop and create programs for public presentation via the internet based on their ideas and interests. Students with different levels of experience in media production produce audio or video programs to express what moves them and what they enjoy sharing with a worldwide community. On this site they are featuring the latest programs released and also offer links to older programs. www.webster.ac.at/webcast Audio and Video Webcasts/Podcasts produced for Webster University Vienna by Dr. Anthony Löwstedt and Holger Lang, MA.
Distinguish yourself with a PDC Seminar The opportunity to enjoy a Webster course does not end with graduation. For over ten years Webster's Professional Development Center (PDC) has offered top notch executive training services to international businesses and organizations in Austria and beyond. While this is an extremely concentrated market by any measure, the PDC holds a unique position. For starters, the PDC can draw resources from a global network of over 100 Webster campuses. If we do not have a resident expert in a specific topic locally, there are very good chances we do at one of our other campuses. Our trainers are a unique group of instructors that bring the "Webster approach" to the seminar room, i.e. a solid academic foundation that never loses sight of the practical application. All of our instructors have a multi-cultural background, making them the perfect choice for any international company or organization. Working closely with the university, the PDC not only is able to offer the entire portfolio of Webster courses in notfor-credit, streamlined seminars but it can
Interested in a Doctorate of Business Administration? Webster Vienna is happy to announce the launching of a part-time Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) program with Webster University and Grenoble Ecole de Management (ranked 15 of Europe's top 50 business schools by the Financial Times). The program is designed for middle and senior managers who would like the credential to teach at a business school or want to address an issue faced by their company whilst deepening their expertise in a particular area. The program is non-residential. Apart from four 4-day workshops in research methods held at Webster University Geneva and in Grenoble-France, the work for
food for thought
Webster Vienna Alumni Survey
In May 2007 five students Nazanin Alipour-Jeddi, Dejan Dimitrovski, Jacqueline Koshy-Oppel, Mahsa Sohrabi and Hermina Ulahel-Hametner; completed the Webster Vienna Alumni Association Survey as part of a marketing research project under the watchful eyes of faculty member Dr. Klaus Ebster, MBA. This study was commissioned to determine how we in the Alumni Office can better serve you and thus strengthen the Webster alumni community. This study was conducted using a questionnaire via an online survey targeting current up to date alumni e-mail addresses. Interestingly almost half of the respondents were currently living in Vienna and had graduated after 2001. The results displayed that our alumni
are most likely to visit the Alumni Cocktail, guest lectures and informal gatherings. You are not interested in sporting events but indicated that career networking should be an important part of our strategy. There is a strong interest in benefits which is something that we need to work on. The majority of respondents found out about us via e-mail and on Graduation day which highlights the importance of getting out information about the alumni association to current students before they graduate. You are happy with the amount and style of communication but work on our website is needed, a point that was taken and will be a new project for fall. This survey has provided a good amount of “Food for Thought” as we enter a new academic year. It showed that we need to keep on organizing interesting get-togethers and work more closely with the Academic team regarding information about up-coming guest lectures. We also need to be more active on campus and thus identify with the current students before they graduate therefore ensuring more active alumni as they complete their studies. As an incentive to complete the survey three alumni association polo shirts were up for grabs and names were randomly selected by the computer. Congratulations go to Wilfried Kalb, BA ‘88, Arnisa Buda, BA ‘05 and Ankica Fiolic, BA ‘99. Thank you to all of our alumni who contributed to the survey and thus assisting us to better serve the community. If you have any suggestions or comments as to how we in the alumni office can better serve our community or you would like to view the results please don’t hesitate to contact me at alumni@webster.ac.at Anna Ganovszky Alumni & Student Affairs Coordinator.
6 Fall/2007