An informal reception Feb. 6 kicked off the College of Business’ renewed effort to create an even stronger connection between its MBA students, faculty and alumni.

For some alumni, the event marked their first visit to Austin Hall, and the evening started with a building tour from Director of Operations Malcolm Lemay. Lemay explained the aspirational design of the building, in which undergraduate classrooms and meeting spaces are on the first two floors, master’s programs are on the third floor and the Ph.D. program is on the fourth floor, with the top two floors also hosting faculty offices.

Alumni were particularly impressed with Abacus, the suspended sculpture that highlights key dates in the history of the College of Business.

A reception in the MBA atrium followed the tour and about 45 students, MBA faculty and alumni were in attendance, including Steve Gomo, an Oregon State alumnus and former CFO of NetApp. Gomo addressed topics including maximizing the college experience, goals for the first 90 days at a new company, how to find opportunities to live and work abroad and key trends in the technology industry.

MBA students enjoyed the opportunity to network with alumni in various fields, including representatives from Hewlett-Packard, Lucidyne, Oregon State University and Oregon Freeze Dry. In addition, several entrepreneurs shared their experiences with students.

Class of 2013 alumnus Adam Welch traveled from his home state of Utah to visit with his classmates and other members of the Oregon State MBA family. Faculty including Tom Dowling, Byron Marshall and David Baldridge also took advantage of a great opportunity to reconnect with students from previous years. Alumni from as far back as 1997 and as recent as last summer participated.

“One of the most important components of an MBA is the alumni network,” MBA Program Director Brian Precious said. “A strong alumni network facilitates recruiting top students, mentoring current students and placing our graduates at the world’s best companies. It also creates a sense of belonging for all who share the bond of being a part of the Oregon State MBA family. The event last week is the first in a renewed effort to create even stronger connections between Oregon State MBA students, faculty and alumni.”