Pitt Business

College of Business Administration

On July 21, 1993, the University's Board of Trustees reestablished the College of Business Administration (CBA) after the University phased out the undergraduate business school in 1960 to focus on graduate education and research. Today, CBA awards the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree with majors in accounting, finance, marketing, and general management and its academic programs are consistently ranked among the nation's best undergraduate business programs by U.S. News & World Report. Whether a student plans on a corporate career or is headed toward small business, public service, international affairs, or law, CBA provides a strong foundation for future success.

To give to Pitt's College of Business Administration, please visit the online giving catalog.

Impacting Students:
The James B. Tafel Endowed Internship Fund

When Anne Sullivan was deciding which college she wanted to attend, she sought an urban campus with a strong business school close to her hometown of Rochester, N.Y. The University of Pittsburgh met all three of her criteria. Sullivan just finished her freshman year in the Pitt College of Business Administration (CBA), and she is already in the middle of her first internship at the National Kidney Foundation of Upstate New York. She was overjoyed to land her first internship, but quickly realized that it would be a financial burden since she would be required to work, unpaid, six hours a day.

Anne Sullivan

This resourceful young woman knew that there must be a way to secure support for her efforts. After all, the internship offered a chance to develop strong skills and simultaneously serve a great cause. She was subsequently delighted to learn that a Pitt alumnus had created an endowment to support students facing her situation. So she applied for and was awarded support from the James B. Tafel Endowed Internship Fund. The endowment supports awards to CBA students who participate in significant, professional business internships that provide little or no compensation. This fund was made possible by a generous gift from James B. Tafel, a 1950 Pitt business graduate and retired chair and chief executive officer of Dun & Bradstreet Technical Publishing Company. Tafel’s generosity has propelled Sullivan - a self-described go-getter - well on her way to discovering her personal path to success.

In her internship, Sullivan develops public relations materials for the foundation, writes news releases, and designs marketing materials like flyers and postcards. She is grateful to be learning many valuable lessons in her job, such as graphic design. “I am not sure what area of marketing I want to pursue, so right now I want to try as many different things as possible to see what my likes and dislikes are,” Sullivan explained. In the future, she hopes to have an internship at a for-profit organization so that she can compare her experiences in the nonprofit world to the corporate world. Also, she plans to supplement her degree with a Certificate in International Business, and hopes to study in Italy as part of that experience.

The support of alumni and friends of CBA and the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business cannot be overstated; gifts like the Tafel internship fund are absolutely crucial to the school’s mission of preparing students to create business value and support society
through thought leadership and practice.

Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business

In 1960, the University established its Graduate School of Business and began offering the nation's first one-year Master of Business Administration program. In 1987, the school was dedicated and renamed The Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business due to the generosity of entrepreneur Joseph M. Katz.

The school is now recognized as a local, national, and global leader in education and research. It delivers a high quality business education that stresses experience-based learning, globalization, entrepreneurship, collaboration, and value chain and supply chain management to ensure students' success in a competitive, global marketplace.

To support the Katz Graduate School of Business, please visit the online giving catalog.

Donor Profile: Gary Glausser

Gary Glausser

Gary Glausser, an alumnus of the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, is a founding partner and the chief financial officer of Birchmere Ventures, a Pittsburgh-based venture capital firm. The firm invests in early stage technology and life science companies in the mid-Atlantic region. Glausser, a Pittsburgh native, earned the Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree at Katz in 1995. He recently made a generous donation to the Dean’s Excellence Fund for Katz/CBA and has agreed to visit classes and events to mentor students about entrepreneurship, careers in venture capital, and staying in this region. “I have benefitted so much from the University and my MBA has enhanced my career, so this is a way for me to give back in a small way and remain engaged in the University.”

Glausser has developed a relationship with Dean John Delaney and offers suggestions on how to best prepare students for a career in the world of venture capital. He also praises Katz/CBA for making great strides in experience-based learning. “I feel that the school is doing an excellent job of engaging students” by taking business education beyond classrooms and textbooks and integrating experiential learning opportunities throughout the curriculum Glausser explains. With the assistance and mentorship of top business leaders like Glausser, graduates of Katz and CBA graduates will be prepared to step out of the classroom and into today’s business world.

Glausser has worked in the areas of financial management, investing, and lending for more than 25 years. After spending many years investing in later-stage companies, Glausser began to focus his attention on technology and life science startups. When reviewing business plans for investment opportunities, Glausser looks for promising young companies that have strong management teams and offer “game-changing technology.” For example, Pittsburgh-based Precision Therapeutics, Inc. has a product on the market that will help oncologists treat cancer patients on an individual basis and optimize patient therapy based on personalized medicine. Another Pittsburgh-based company, Renal Solutions, Inc., has developed a kidney dialysis machine utilizing a sorbent-based technology that enables patients to self administer dialysis in the home. The company was recently acquired by Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. (NYSE: FMS), the world’s largest provider of kidney dialysis machines and services, for $200 million. Glausser believes that life science technology is growing in this region and will continue to prosper over the next several years; “It’s a great time to be in Pittsburgh,” he says.

In addition to an MBA, he received a BS from John Carroll University and is a Certified Public Accountant. He began his career as a consultant at PriceWaterhouse, where he authored a book entitled Buying and Selling a Business, a guide for executives of emerging companies. Glausser has served in leadership roles in many area organizations, including the Pittsburgh Venture Capital Association, 3 Rivers Venture Fair, Pittsburgh Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth, Pittsburgh Chapter of Financial Executives International, St. Clair Hospital, and Regional Development Funding Corporation.

Contact Us

Jennifer Mailey

Executive Director of Development
Office: 2807 Wesley W. Posvar Hall
Phone: 412-624-2022
E-mail: jamailey@katz.pitt.edu

Rachel Kizielewicz

Charitable Relationship Manager
Office: 2801 Wesley W. Posvar Hall
Phone: 412-648-1617
E-mail: rkizielewicz@katz.pitt.edu