All is not well in the land of milk and curry, but conditions are improving. Plagued by the disease of dirty business, India's health system was weighed down by fraudulent bids for supplies. Conan Albrecht, a professor of information systems at Brigham Young University, accepted the challenge to find a cure.

It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, and many college students wonder how they'll survive in an increasingly competitive job market. But this summer, hundreds of students at Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Management equipped themselves with skills to get ahead by interning for some of the biggest names in business.

Brigham Young University information systems students reeled in eight awards this spring with their problem-solving strategies and technological expertise at the National Collegiate Conference for the Association for Information Technology Professionals in Oklahoma City.

Brigham Young University's business and law schools are among the top 50 in the United States, reports U.S. News & World Report in its "America's Best Graduate Schools" issue, on sale Monday, April 26. Other BYU graduate programs and specialties rank in the top 100 in their categories.

The Marriott School of Management honored Kevin D. Stocks with its highest faculty distinction, the Outstanding Faculty Award, at the annual Marriott School Awards Night on April 3. Along with Stocks, 15 other individuals were recognized at the banquet for their contributions to the school.

A new program at Brigham Young University is giving graduate students the chance to become board members of nonprofits in Utah Valley.

A group of Marriott School students took top marks during a national information systems competition held by the Association of Information Technology Professionals in Memphis, Tenn. “This competition allows students to measure themselves against some of the best in the nation,” says Rayman Meservy, associate professor of information systems and one of the team’s advisers.

Brigham Young University Information systems assistant professor Paul Lowry and three of his former Ph.D. Prep students won the 2008 Rudolph J. Joenk, Jr. Award for best paper in IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, a scholarly journal published by the Professional Communication Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Brigham Young University Academic Vice President John Tanner announced the appointment of Gary C. Cornia as the new dean of the Marriott School of Management. Cornia, the Stewart Grow Professor of Public Management, has been serving as director of the school’s George Romney Institute of Public Management since 2004.

A Marriott School of Management alumnus and three faculty members will be presented with the prestigious John B. Thurston Award at the Institute of Internal Auditors International Conference July 8-11 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, for their article about how to protect wireless networks from hackers. The award is given annually for the best article appearing in Internal Auditor, published by the Institute of Internal Auditors, a leading authority on international auditing.

BYU information systems students stole the show with their technology and problem-solving abilities during competition at the Association of Information Technology Professionals National Collegiate Conference, held this spring in Detroit. Faced with competition from more than sixty other schools, some with twenty or more entrants, the six BYU students left with eight competition awards—more than any other school.

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.

Competing against a record number of contestants, a team of three MISM students won the winter 2007 Omniture Web Analytics Competition hosted by the Rollins Center for eBusiness. Jimmy Zimmerman from Sandy, Utah; Ben Robison from Lehi, Utah; and Benjamin Swanson from Stow, New York — all graduating this April — were members of the winning Webtacular team. The judges awarded them first place and $5,000 for their extensive research, strong presentation and valuable business recommendations.

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.

An increase in the stock market's overall performance, like the one that took place in October, can turn inexperienced investors into trade-happy amateurs, according to Brigham Young University business professors in a study published in The Review of Financial Studies. "When investors start off in the market, they tend to trade pretty conservatively," said Steven Thorley, the H. Taylor Peery professor of finance at BYU's Marriott School of Management. "In periods where the overall stock market performs well, they see a good return on their portfolio and figure they are good at picking stocks, so they start to trade more frequently."

The Wall Street Journal ranked Brigham Young University’s Master of Business Administration Program third among regional schools in the paper’s 2006 report of top business programs, up from sixth in 2005. The Marriott School was listed second as the best place to hire MBAs with high ethical standards.

Brigham Young University doesn’t offer a PhD in accounting or information systems, but not because professors are afraid their students will replace them at the front of the class — in fact, they’re hoping some may do just that. Marriott School of Management accounting and information systems professors developed a unique, hands-on doctoral preparation program to coach select students on what to expect from rigorous PhD schools.

It is not everyday students hear from someone whose life surpassed their dreams. Dell CEO Kevin Rollins spoke to Marriott School graduates encouraging them to dream big and live even bigger at Friday’s convocation. Rollins, the keynote speaker, told students that in addition to dreaming big they should work hard, give back and maintain balance.

At the Association of Information Technology Professionals National Collegiate Conference, all four competing BYU information systems teams earned top awards for their computer programming and problem solving skills. The March 30 to April 1 competition, held in Dallas, was the largest in AITP history with more than 500 students participating in 13 categories.

More than $100,000 in cash and business services are up for grabs Friday as judges pick the most promising new enterprises at Brigham Young University’s Business Plan Competition. The final event, where one of three final teams will walk away with the grand prize valued at $50,000, will take place at 2 p.m. in room 140 of BYU’s Joseph Smith Building.