Airline fees aren't disappearing anytime soon, but the most ridiculous of them may be headed for the emergency exits. By "ridiculous" I mean United Airlines' $50 processing fee for tickets refunded to passengers after unplanned events such as jury duty, illness or death. Or Delta Air Lines' $25 fee for booking a ticket by phone."Some of these fees were irrationally punitive," says George Hoffer, a transportation economist at the University of Richmond. "They were neither cost- nor demand-based."They've been quietly eliminated in the last few weeks, and more could follow. But don't get your hopes too high. Airlines and fees will continue to be synonymous for a while, unless the government gets involved.
Campus Announcements
Adjunct faculty of the School of Professional and Continuing Studies were among Richmond educators recently awarded Course Transformation Grants through the University’s Program for Enhancing Teaching Effectiveness (PETE).
In late April, the Robert H. Smith School of Business hosted the Smith Entrepreneurship Research Conference (SERC), an annual conference designed to highlight important entrepreneurship-focused research papers. The invitation-only conference, which is attended by prominent researchers and rising stars, helps researchers determine best practices in linking researchers’ findings to practitioners’ goals. SERC discussions are focused on relevant social, economic and organizational issues in the entrepreneurship field.
This year, the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship’s academic director, Brent Goldfarb, facilitated an engaging panel on the role of accelerators in venture creation. An associate professor in Smith’s management and organization department, Goldfarb moderated The Growth and Efficacy of Accelerators, which drilled down on whether an accelerator impacts the success of startups.
Question: My daughter is expecting a baby around Thanksgiving, and I need to buy a ticket from Los Angeles to New York's JFK. Her due date is Nov. 19 (Thanksgiving is Nov. 26), and I would like to buy a one-way refundable ticket in case she delivers earlier or later than the 19th. Any suggestions on how to get the best ticket for such a special occasion during one of the most traveled holiday times?
Betty Menachem, Long Beach
From credit cards and loans to equity and angel investors, small business owners have a number of options to consider when it comes to company funding. But despite the overall number of viable money sources, small business owners typically have a tough time coming up with the capital they need. That’s due to a combination of the long odds facing start-ups and the cautious post-recession lending landscape.
In 2011, I had an idea: Why not start a Dean’s Book Club for faculty? I thought that starting a book club here at the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business in Virginia could be a way to stimulate ideas among our faculty for curricular and pedagogical change. That same year, the book Rethinking Undergraduate Business Education: Liberal Learning for the Profession was published, stimulating much discussion among business educators. It seemed an important book for our faculty to read, particularly to encourage us to think more about how we integrate liberal arts and business education.
Three students pursuing graduate degrees in education through the School of Professional & Continuing Studies recently presented research findings at the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium annual conference held at the Thomas R. Fulghum Conference Center in Chesterfield.
Leadership styles among CEOs are becoming increasingly divergent. A new breed of high-profile, fast-talking, even brash business leaders seems to be eclipsing generations of the traditional buttoned-down breed of C-suite denizens who made and executed decisions in an understated way.
And they don’t come any more brazen than the business CEO who could become America’s next “CEO,” Donald Trump.