THE EVOLUTION OF GEM

In 1997, a group of top-ranked international business schools came together to develop a new educational program for executives to address the impact of information and communication technology and, in particular, the Internet. The scope of this program includes organizations, markets, the economy, and policy and law, all taught from a global perspective. Three years in the making, the Global eCommerce Master's (GEM) degree program made ready for its inaugural class in the fall of 2000.

The launch of the GEM class brought more than 170 students from around the world to embark on this new educational experience. As one of the founding members of the GEM consortium, Georgia State's Robinson College of Business welcomed 30 GEM students to Atlanta, all of whom were pursuing an executive MBA degree in e-commerce through classes held on weekends at the new North Metro (Alpharetta) Center.

The GEM program begins each fall semester and takes 15 months to complete. The second GEM class will begin courses this fall, with the inaugural class looking forward to graduation in late November Class size at each university averages 30 students, all experienced professionals with the motivation to succeed in the global digital economy.

In light of GEM's development and evolution, consortium members have recently made a slight change in its name. Now known as Global eManagement (retaining the GEM acronym), the re-branding effort better reflects the program's orientation.

The program's success is contagious, and the continued growth of the GEM program reflects its success. Recently, four colleges joined the six founding GEM universities, which are Athens University of Technology and Business, Athens, Greece; Copenhagen Business School, Copenhagen, Denmark; Erasmus University Executive Education (EED), the Netherlands; Georgia State University, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, Bergen, Norway; and University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany The newest GEM members include ESADE, Barcelona, Spain; EGADE business school at Monterrey Tech (ITESM), Monterrey Mexico; University of Denver's Daniel School of Business, Denver, Colorado; and Reykjavik University's School of Business, Iceland. The number may continue to grow in light of the interest expressed by other business schools around the world to join the consortium in 2002. For complete details on GEM, visit www.gem.eci.gsu.edu.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY OF HEALTH CARE

Studying the outcomes of health care and how it is delivered and managed is critical to understanding what is good and bad about its current state. For that reason, the Robinson College of Business has established a research center to do just that. The Center for Health Services Research will assess the delivery and practice of health care services.

"Once we are able to analyze best practices, then we can serve as a resource for helping improve the delivery and management of health care locally, regionally, nationally and internationally," said the centers director, Robert Curry, a visiting professor of health administration.

Eleven faculty from the Institute of Health Administration, the RCB and other colleges at Georgia State will conduct the center's research. Researchers will collaborate with external health care organizations and will concentrate on five key areas in health care: integrated health systems management, information technology, quality and value measurement, medical group practice management and program evaluation. For more information, visit the center's web site at www.chsronline.org.

SAVVY STUDENTS, SAVVY CONSUMERS

Clark Howard, Atlanta's consumer advocate, provides advice through print, radio and television. He is also the author of several books including his latest, Get Clark Smart: the Ultimate Guide for the Savvy Consumer. In November, Howard visited a risk management and insurance class at the Robinson College of Business (RCB), facilitating a discussion on what kinds of insurance are valuable and why. The session was filmed for a television segment on different types of insurance. Howard chose the Georgia State class when he realized that most of the research he and his staff were gathering for the special stemmed from the RCB's Department of Risk Management and Insurance. Howard also valued student perspectives and the opportunity to feature a school in downtown Atlanta. In addition to airing in Atlanta, Howard's radio program is syndicated and heard throughout the nation.