MIU alumnus Christopher Smith graduated from the University of Massachusetts’ MFA program in ceramics this August and is currently working for ceramic artist Chris Gustin in South Dartmouth, MA.

MIU graduate Christopher Smith

A native of Massachusetts, Christopher enjoyed making art as a child, but after graduating from high school he put aside his dream of becoming an artist. Nine years later he saw a Facebook ad for MIU, attended a Visitors Weekend, and enrolled within a month.

With fellow MIU art students

Christopher had been interested in meditation and had tried a few techniques, but it wasn’t until he learned the Transcendental Meditation^® technique that he found what he was looking for. “It was such an automatic process, very profound, immediate, and enjoyable,” he said.

Exploring the Sonoran Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona

He decided to major in Maharishi Vedic Science^SM, and spending time at MIU rekindled his love of art. He completed a second major in the BFA program and graduated in 2016.

“Having consciousness as the basis of education is important,” he said. “I have always been a good student, and I always enjoyed learning, but I never really enjoyed school. Seeing the difference at MIU made me hopeful and I was willing to try it. I really loved it.”

Christopher’s sculptures at his MFA exhibit

At the University of Massachusetts Christopher volunteered as the president of the ceramics club. As a result of his work in the club, he received a scholarship to conduct field research in the canyons of New Mexico, Nevada, and Arizona, as well as historic sites like Chaco Canyon National Park. His research inspired some of the sculptures he created for his graduate thesis, which center around man-made and natural structures and how the timelessness of these structures creates a feeling of transcendence, permanence, and impermanence.

In the future Christopher would like to regularly visit art residencies and exchange ideas and techniques with fellow artists all over the country.

Ten doctoral students from the College of Business Administration participated in the 80th Annual Conference of the Academy of Management in August. This was the Academy’s first virtual experience, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Academy of Management (AOM) is the preeminent professional association for management and organization scholars, with a membership of 20,000 professors and PhD students from over 120 countries.

PhD student Ayesha Sengupta

MIU professors have been attending and presenting at the conference for years. Since the live event was cancelled, scholarships from the Wege Foundation enabled ten PhD students to register for the conference in addition to the faculty participants.

Professor Sabita Sawhney

“I had the chance to attend the New Doctoral Student Consortium for 3 days,” said PhD student Ayesha Sengupta. “The participation in the sessions was quite large and the topics addressed were very relevant to any doctoral student. The focus included addressing the dilemmas and concerns while conducting research, the challenges while seeking and establishing a career in academia, how to plan your years during the doctoral program, the challenges in publication, and so on. The discussions were not generic, but instead very structured and precise. It gave me a deep insight into my own goals and plan for my doctoral degree and what my next steps can be afterwards.”

According to Professor Sabita Sawhney, director of the PhD program, the students successfully networked with fellow students around the world, received guidance from faculty at other universities, and realized that their experiences and challenges are shared by other PhD students. They also felt on par with students from other universities and were comfortable interacting with professors.

PhD student Nakita Bruno

“The AOM Conference was an inspiring and educational experience,” said PhD student Nakita Bruno. “It revealed to me the wider role that the field of academia has on society and how individual scholars with their varied interests together are making an impact in many facets of the human experience. I appreciated having the opportunity to connect with and learn from respected leaders in my field.”

PhD student Kennedy Kamfwa

“I learned a lot about becoming a research methodologist, publishing requirements, and managing academic collaborations,” said PhD student Kennedy Kamfwa. “The insights gained will help in crafting a research paper to launch a Consciousness-Based university for thousands of students in Africa.”

The students who participated in the conference can take advantage of their one-year membership to access the sessions they weren’t able to attend and continue networking with other members.

Ariunbulag Tur-Amgalan

MIU’s MBA teams performed exceptionally well again in the international Capsim Capstone business simulation. One team finished in the 99th percentile, competing with 1071 master’s-degree level teams worldwide. Team members included Munkhtamir Doljinsuren (Mongolia), Ariunbulag Tur-Amgalan (Mongolia), and Abraham Asfaw (Ethiopia).

Ariunbulag Tur-Amgalan

Abraham Asfaw, who worked as a university lecturer prior to coming to MIU, said of the simulation: “My Capstone experience has taught me how to make decisions around the management of a company’s resources, finance, human resources, production, automation, and marketing within the constraints of time and leading a company as a team.”

Abraham Asfaw

Since the beginning of the Capsim business simulations in 2010, MIU’s MBA student teams have consistently performed well in this challenging executive decision-making process modeling an eight-year period. In each competition, MIU has placed at least one team in the top 10th percentile.

Professor Andrew Bargerstock

“The Capstone simulation is a platform of real world business which requires us to comprehend the knowledge we have acquired. It is also a holistic way to evaluate a business with not only conventional financial performance evaluation, but other essential metrics of performance, including total quality management and human resources,” said Ariunbulag Tur-Amgalan, who worked as chief financial officer of the second largest privately owned electricity distribution company in Mongolia and chose MIU because of the financial assistance it provides to international students.

Professor Andrew Bargerstock said, “We are also pleased to acknowledge the high level of performance from two other teams: Addis Adugna, Alazar Wodajo, and Amanuel Wendemagenge at 90th percentile, and Gereltsetseg Zorigtbaatar, Gunjmaa Mijiddorj, and Teshome Fetene at 80th percentile. We feel that the Capstone simulation results demonstrate the readiness of our students for job markets now and speak well of their potential later for executive leadership positions.”