Walton College Hosts Business Leadership Academy

Photo by Ryan Versey

Students from the 2015 Business Leadership Academy at the University of Arkansas attend the Emerging Trends in Retail conference.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Sam M. Walton College of Business welcomed 27 incoming University of Arkansas freshmen to the 2015 Business Leadership Academy on June 7-11.

Students from Arkansas, Texas, Tennessee, Missouri, Oklahoma and Illinois participated in the summer residential program that highlights retail career choices and opportunities that exist within all majors in Walton College. The program is sponsored by the Center for Retailing Excellence and the Walton College Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

Led by academy counselors – Walton students Daedrian Gore, KaLene Simpson, Kaylee McCarthy, Chassidy Hurst, and Claude Ruboneka – the freshmen attended a kickoff cookout where they met with corporate mentors, Walton staff members and other guests.

Students toured corporate offices of Coca-Cola, Walmart and Sam’s Club as they prepared for team case-study competition presentations. The students also completed business etiquette training with the Arkansas Alumni Association and StrengthsQuest training with the Office of Strength Based Initiatives.

The weeklong event concluded with students attending freshman orientation at Walton College, presenting their business case studies and attending the Center for Retailing Excellence’s Emerging Trends in Retailing conference, where Doug McMillon, Walmart’s chief executive officer, served as keynote speaker.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.