Brigham Young University's Romney Institute of Public Management honored Thomas R. Hardy, city manager of Bountiful, Utah, with its 2007 Administrator of the Year award at a banquet given in his honor.

"Tom has distinguished himself as an outstanding city manager as well as a great example for the young professionals he has helped develop," says Rex L. Facer, assistant professor of public management. "He's known as a straight shooter who truly has the public interest at heart and always pushes for the community's best interests."

Upon receiving the award at the 29 March dinner, Hardy said he felt honored to be included on the list of award recipients. He spoke to faculty and students about the need to develop characteristics like competence, integrity, and faith to succeed in the workplace.

"If most of you are like I was when I graduated, you have one overriding concern at this point—getting a real job," said Hardy, who earned his MPA from BYU in 1973. "But what you do in that job, what you learn, and how you perform are more important than what your job title is or where you go."

Hardy, who has spent the last twenty-seven years as city manager of Bountiful, Utah, also encouraged listeners to develop problem-solving and people skills. "Your ability to relate to people, and to get them to relate to you, may be the difference between succeeding and failing on many of the complex issues of today," he said.

The Romney Institute has presented the Administrator of the Year Award annually since 1972. Institute faculty members nominate and select an outstanding man or woman who has achieved distinction after many years in public sector management.


The Marriott School recently reached an agreement allowing students to participate in a foreign exchange program with the Institúto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM). "ITESM is always looking for academic programs and universities that can offer the international competition we look for," says Jesús Aguilar Gonzalez, public relations coordinator for the ITESM international programs office. "BYU is recognized as one of the ten best universities for accounting and finance; these are the important things we look for to ensure our students receive an excellent education."

The university, located in Monterrey, Mexico, has worked to become one of the premier international business education schools in the country and now adds BYU to its list of international affiliates. Currently, ITESM hopes to send its first students to Provo in fall 2007.

"Academic preparation with an international focus is an advantage that businesses look for in new recruits," Gonzalez says. "Therein lies the importance of learning business on an international level—it offers to the student a different vision of how to do business and at the same time look for new alternatives that permit national development."


BusinessWeek magazine ranked Brigham Young University's undergraduate management program eighth overall and second among recruiters in the most comprehensive ranking of U.S. undergraduate business programs to date. The school was also ranked first in return-on-tuition for private colleges. The magazine cited the program's ethics-based education and high-caliber recruiters as strengths.

The University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School ranked No. 1, followed by No. 2 University of Virginia, No. 3 UC–Berkeley, No. 4 Emory, No. 5 Michigan–Ann Arbor, No. 6 MIT, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 8 BYU, No. 9 NYU, and No. 10 Cornell.

"We're grateful that our faculty is so committed to the success of our students," says Joan Young, director of the BYU undergraduate management program. "But our secret weapon is the great students that come to BYU—they're mature, bright, and eager to work hard."

Only 123 colleges met BusinessWeek's stringent criteria to be considered for the undergraduate business rankings. Colleges were ranked according to five weighted sets of data: a survey of nearly eighty thousand students, a survey of 466 corporate recruiters, median starting salaries for graduates, the number of graduates admitted to thirty-five top MBA programs, and an academic quality measure that consists of SAT/ACT test scores for business majors, full-time faculty-student ratios in the business program, average class size in core business classes, the percentage of business majors with internships, and the number of hours students spend preparing for class each week.

BYU's Marriott School was included as one of the top five hardest working colleges where students spend an average of more than eighteen hours per week on class work.

Published by the Marriott School at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. Copyright 2012 by Brigham Young University. All rights reserved. All communications should be sent to Marriott Alumni Magazine, 490 Tanner Building, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602. Email: marriottmag@byu.edu. Telephone: (801) 422-5083. Fax: (801) 422-0501. The views expressed are those of the various authors and not necessarily the Marriott School. Change your mailing address here.