Where We Are 
Pamplin Welcomes New Executive MBA Students
Pamplin welcomed its newest executive MBA students during orientation exercises in Blacksburg this month.
Known as the Shenandoah Cohort, the students represented the eighth class of students for the program, based at Virginia Tech’s Northern Virginia Center in metro Washington, D.C. Charles Jacobina, the program’s executive director, has given each cohort a distinctive moniker associated with the region. “Inaugural,” “Capital,” “Potomac,” “Washingtonian,” “Virginian,” “Commonwealth,” and “Chesapeake” were the preceding cohorts.
Shenandoah Cohort’s 25 executives include 11 students with a master’s degree, professional certification, or graduate course completion, and four students from outside the Washington metro area (Roanoke, Virginia Beach, Maryland, and St Augustine, Fla.). Employers represented include AOL, the Department of Defense, Freddie Mac, Marriott, ePlus, and Case Remodeling.
During their four days on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, the students got to know one another, learned more about their program, and participated in team-building and leadership activities. Leading the team-building exercise, Management Associate Professor Wanda Smith asked the student teams to use Lego blocks to build a robot and programming to activate its sensors and movements. Management Professor Steve Markham gave a presentation on leadership.
Launched in 2003, the executive MBA program currently enrolls 65 students in cohorts of about two dozen students each. Students are recruited for cohorts that begin each September and February. Classes are held at the Northern Virginia Center every other weekend over an 18-month period.
“The program is designed for busy, experienced professionals with or without business degrees,” said Jacobina. Its broad curriculum, he said, seeks to provide an understanding of the major elements of business, examines the ethical and global implications of management, and prepares managers for making decisions in a rapidly changing world. “Our program is designed to enhance the executive skills and personal confidence required for career advancement and promote networking opportunities.”
The executive MBA program has established educational partnerships with Booz Allen Hamilton and L3 Communications Titan Group, both of which provide financial support for employees seeking advanced business degrees. The arrangements give the Pamplin College “preferred provider” status for executive MBA programs while the firms’ employees receive a tuition discount from the college.
Middle row: Haroon Hussain (project engineer, JCS Engineering), Sameer Gore (owner, Simlix), Amyn Jan (engineering project manager, U.S. Government), Chris Lannan (senior sales manager, Marriott), Danny Rogers (senior consultant, Booz Allen Hamilton), Tonya Vincent (Captain and HR commander, Arlington Police Department), Anna Reynolds (director of finance and inventory accounting, Parts Depot), Sasi Tumuluri (consultant, L3 Communications), Timothy Hanlon (associate, Booz Allen Hamilton), Misty Lawson (associate, Booz Allen Hamilton), Sandeep Mohan