Dean Dhillon is putting programs in place today with a focus on the future.

Faculty who make up his Dean's Advisory Council for a continuous exchange of ideas. He also dras on the expertise of alumni who serve on the School of Management's four alumni advisory committees for generating ideas and assistance in implementing them.

You could say Dhillon takes an integrated approach to leadership: That is, he uses all the resources, ideas and expertise at his disposal, from every discipline available, in his pursuit to provide students with the highest quality education possible, to make SOM a premier business school.

And that's exactly what he wants SOM graduates to be able to do. "We can teach tools: finance, leadership, organizational behavior, marketing," said Dhillon, who also cited these as the areas in which SOM excels. "But to solve problems, you have to be able to bring all these tools to bear." In order to be competitive in the job market and to thrive in the real world after graduation, students need experience in applying critical thinking skills. That's why an integrated curriculum is so widely considered to be the direction of the future for business schools. And that's why Dhillon is so committed to it.

Together, SOM's dean, faculty and alumni are bringing great ideas to fruition. Key programs include:

Corporate case competitions. SOM's first-year MBA students compete in two annual corporate case competitions, one sponsored by IBM and the other by New York State Electric and Gas.

In preparation for these competitions, students form teams and work together to research and write their recommendations, then decide on the best strategy for presenting them. Next, they practice, tape, review, critique and revise their presentations. "It's very intensive," said Dhillon. "We look at everything: content, style, speech in delivery, dress. And we work on the polish aspect."

The winning teams present to the faculty who make up the Dean's Advisory Council. "Last year, everyone was so impressed, we decided to have them present to the alumni boards," said Dhillon. Students' presentations to a joint meeting of all the alumni boards last April were a resounding success. As Dhillon put it, "I can tell alumni all about how great our students are, but it's entirely different when they get to see the students in action for themselves."

For the first time this year, undergraduates will also have an opportunity to participate in a corporate case challenge as part of a strategy class.

Experiential learning. Students have to be exposed to the real world, said Dhillon, who places a high value on internships. So do employers. Whether an internship is paid or unpaid, "it's a tremendous asset, in this market, for students to intern," Dhillon said. "They'll be the first to get jobs."

Moreover, internships can sometimes segue into a job. To illustrate, Dhillon told a story of one student who offered to work for free at Goldman Sachs over winter break: "They were so happy with him and his work, they made it a paid position within one week," he said.

Many internships are already available for SOM students, and Dhillon is networking both with local firms and with alumni who work for firms in New York City to create more. One such alumnus is David Zaslav '82, president of NBC Cable for the New York City area, who helped to establish four new summer internships at NBC. "He hopes to expand it to 20 if this is successful," said Dhillon.

Financial engineering. SOM and the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science have created a new engineering/business 4-1 joint degree program, effective this fall, in which students have the opportunity to complete a BS and an MBA in five years. "There is tremendous interest in taking part in this program," said Dhillon.

A feature of the new undergraduate financial engineering program is oriented to investment, and focuses on quantitative skills: more advanced math, stochastic calculus, one programming language and econometrics training. "Investment banks look for this," said Dhillon. "And we're one of the first business schools to introduce this at the undergraduate level." Mark A. Zurack '78, a consultant at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in Manhattan, played a key role in creating this new curricular focus.

An entrepreneurship program. Brainchild of private equity investor Barry Goodman '79, principal and executive vice president of Millburn Ridgefield Corp., which also funded it, this program incubates new businesses. Student applicants require junior or higher standing, but otherwise, anybody is eligible, said Dhillon, even people who are not SOM students -- including community members.

What is required to get into the program is a two-page proposal detailing an idea for a new business. "The best 20 ideas get in," said Dhillon. From there, the focus of the class is to work with these entrepreneurs to develop a business plan. Program participants deliver judged presentations at the end, and the winner receives a $5,000 prize, which he or she is required to use for the business. "Our goal is to take that prize to $50,000," said Dhillon.

Executive education and training programs. SOM provides a two-year executive MBA program for Corning, Universal, Lockheed Martin, IBM and other upstate New York companies. In spite of the high level of local layoffs these companies have experienced, Dhillon said he still expects modest growth for this program. "We graduated 26 students from this program in 2002," he said. "More than 30 students are enrolled in this year's incoming class."

Drawing on ideas generated both by faculty and alumni, and in spite of the lean economy, Dhillon is facilitating the implementation of these new programs as well as expanding existing programs that embody SOM's commitment to creating an integrated curriculum.