Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management is honoring the late Sheri Joy Bischoff, professor of organizational behavior, with a new scholarship to assist MBA candidates studying organizational behavior and human resources. Bischoff’s family, friends, former students and colleagues made contributions totaling more than $40,000 to create an endowed scholarship in her name.

The Wall Street Journal ranked Brigham Young University’s Master of Business Administration Program first in the nation among regional schools in the paper’s 2007 report of top business programs, up from third in 2006 and sixth in 2005. The Marriott School was also ranked No. 2 among the best schools for hiring graduates with strong ethical standards behind Dartmouth College.

Two Brigham Young University business professors explored how companies can effectively enter attractive markets dominated by entrenched rivals in a recent issue of the Harvard Business Review. For example, how could Red Bull, the soft drink that arrived in the United States in the late 1990s, capture market share that belonged to industry giants Coca-Cola and Pepsi? Although most similar market-grabbing attempts fail, David J. Bryce and Jeffrey H. Dyer identified the three strategies most commonly used by those tiny Davids who methodically slay - or at least wound - seemingly insurmountable Goliaths.

Forbes magazine ranks Brigham Young University’s MBA program 18th in return on investment in its biennial survey of two-year business programs, as reported in the magazine’s Sept. 3 issue. “We’ve always been a strong value,” says Ned C. Hill, dean of BYU’s Marriott School of Management. “That’s because we not only attract well-prepared and talented students but also receive tremendous support from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Experience paid dividends at the Rice University Business Plan Competition in Houston, where a seasoned team from Brigham Young University won third place and took home $9,500 in prize money. Adam Robertson from Santa Rosa, Calif., a recent graduate from BYU’s Marriott School of Management, and Tim Wessman, a junior from Idaho Falls, Idaho, majoring in manufacturing engineering, won $7,500 for placing third overall and an additional $2,000 for writing the best executive summary.

The planned addition to the N. Eldon Tanner Building is officially underway after ground was broken on the campus of Brigham Young University April 25. The groundbreaking ceremony was conducted by President Cecil O. Samuelson, with Elder W. Rolfe Kerr of the Seventy and Commissioner of Church Education, presiding over activities.

Financial investing, modeling and analysis have paid early dividends for four second-year MBA finance students who were awarded the 2007 Stoddard Prize.

When BYU junior J.T. Davis was fourteen years old and first read a book about Warren Buffett, he never imagined that one day he’d be riding in the front seat of Buffett’s Cadillac DTS. But on March 30 Davis had just that opportunity. As one of 70 BYU participants, Davis, an investment student from Plano, Texas, attended a Q&A session and lunched with the famed “Oracle of Omaha,” an opportunity Buffett has extended to 35 universities during the 2006-2007 school year.

Hosted by the Marriott School’s William G. Dyer Institute for Leading Organizational Change, the organizational behavior/human resources faculty group and Department of Organizational Leadership and Strategy presented Alison Davis-Blake, dean of the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, with its 2007 Distinguished Alumni award.

A team of students from Brigham Young University took third place and won $2,000 at the international finals of the tenth annual Venture Capital Investment Competition, held April 12-14 at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. Originally a wild-card entry into the tournament, BYU finished behind MIT and the University of Virginia, becoming the second wild-card team ever to place in the tournament’s top three.

The Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University announced nine MBA candidates, including two international students, as its 2007 Hawes Scholars. The honor, which carries a cash award of $10,000, is the highest distinction given to MBA students at the school.

Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management honored Steven R. Thorley with its 2007 Outstanding Faculty Award, the highest faculty distinction given by the school. The award was presented at a banquet March 21 where the school also recognized 11 other individuals who have made significant contributions.

Calle, a company that wants to be a premier brand for street soccer players, was named winner of the 2007 Business Plan Competition and accepted a $52,500 award of cash and in-kind services. Since the competition’s submission process began in November, Calle worked to stand out from almost 140 idea pitches, 43 original business plans, eight semi-finalists and finally three final teams that presented their business plans March 30.

One might not expect an American Catholic priest living in the slums of Bangkok and BYU students to have much in common. But Father Joe Maier, founder of the Human Development Foundation, and seven students enrolled in the Marriott School field studies program found common ground as they worked together to better the lives of Thai children.

BYU’s Marriott School of Management now holds the “Best in Accountancy” title, according to the 2007 Financial Times global ranking of business schools. Financial Times reports the top 10 schools in various categories in addition to its annual rankings of the top 100 MBA programs. This year, Marriott School alumni placed BYU first in the accounting category.

The Marriott School MBA Marketing Association teamed up with national representatives from Wal-Mart, Inc. for an evening of humanitarian service and business networking. “Both BYU students and Wal-Mart want to give back to the community,” says Greg Chandler, national director of reputation marketing for Wal-Mart. “Service is core to both institutions’ purposes.” Wal-Mart donated energy-efficient light bulbs to The Center for Women and Children in Crisis in Provo as part of the night of service.

A team of five MBA students from the Marriott School of Management won first place in the wild card round of the Venture Capital Investment Competition, held Jan. 19 at Santa Clara University in California. “It was an intense two-day competition, and we didn’t sleep much,” says Dan Hemmert, a second-year MBA student from Orem, Utah, and a member of the team. “Everybody helped out, though.

A Brigham Young University graduate student and alumnus both earned kudos for their top-scoring performances on the Certified Internal Auditor exam administered by the Institute of Internal Auditors. Eric Hatch, a graduate student in accounting at BYU’s Marriott School, earned the William S. Smith Student Highest Achievement Award for his top score on the exam given last May.

Cougar Capital, a student-run investment fund at BYU’s Marriott School, saw its first investment significantly outperform projections when the company’s stock closed on its opening day at 57 percent above its initial public offering. Riverbed Technologies, the company in which Cougar Capital invested, specializes in the production of Steelhead appliances, which address latency and bandwidth problems that computer network applications often experience.

Brigham Young University students Tim Wessman and Adam Robertson took second place in the recent Fortune Small Business Student Showdown in New York City with their surveying company, Precision Surveying Solutions. The competition admitted 38 student entrepreneur teams from universities across the country who presented their unique business ideas to a nine-judge panel.