The HBS Club of Atlanta is partnering with Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia on a new mentorship program that matches local MBA professionals from eight prestigious schools with a select number of full-time students, along with several non-traditional students from the college’s adult education program.

The inaugural program, launched in late September, matched 25 Morris Brown undergraduates with 25 Atlanta-area MBA alumni for monthly one-to-one virtual mentoring sessions that run for the entire academic year.

“Our mentors are providing the students with exposure to new career and industry possibilities, guidance with networking and career searches, and insights about specific industries,” says the club’s copresident, Susan Charnaux (MBA 2006).

Established in 1881, Morris Brown College is one of five historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Atlanta area, but the only college in Georgia founded solely by African-American patronage. The school lost its accreditation in 2004, but has worked diligently since then to recover it, and accreditation was restored in April 2021.

Morris Brown College students now have opportunity for mentoring by HBS MBAs in Atlanta

Morris Brown College students now have opportunity for mentoring by HBS MBAs in Atlanta

“Morris Brown was at an inflection point in its history, and now they’ve come back,” says

Terry Comer (MBA 2006), who attended the school and graduated in 2003. “This was the first college in Georgia founded by former slaves, and has a strong connection to the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. Its mission is to be ‘a haven for all souls.’ It takes students who are diamonds in the rough and really nurtures them through their education. The HBS Club of Atlanta wanted to be involved in this story of a phoenix rising from the ashes.”

Comer co-leads the program with past club president Tom Mallory (MBA 1990), whose idea for the mentorship program grew out of a similar program he created and ran for 10 years at his kids’ high school.

“It was a business club that evolved into a mentoring program,” says Mallory. “I wanted to do something a little different, and specifically help underserved people in our community.”

Mallory started looking at colleges in the area and talking with HBS alumni about his idea, when someone suggested Morris Brown. “When I read about their extraordinary comeback, I thought maybe we could help in their progress,” he says.

When Mallory asked alumni in the club for help, he discovered Comer was a Morris Brown grad who knew the current president, Dr. Kevin James, very well. The three had a meeting last winter, and the mentorship program was born. The college manages student selection and registration, Mallory manages the mentoring process, and Comer serves as the liaison between the college and the program. Both Mallory and Comer are mentors as well.

“I ran an initial orientation for the students to help demystify Harvard,” says Comer. “I told them their ‘mentors are ordinary folks who have done some extraordinary things in their careers, and now they are here to help you launch your career.’”

Students in the program face significant challenges—including several who are homeless and getting support through the Covenant House of Georgia for their education. Others are adults who are juggling jobs and families, as well as the challenges of the pandemic.

Of the 25 mentors, 18 are HBS alumni. The remaining mentors are Atlanta-based MBAs from Columbia, Cornell, Emory, Georgia, Georgia State, London, and Michigan. Among them, five are former HBS club presidents, three are current and former HBS club board members, three are current and former HBS club officers, and six are also HBCU alumni. All of the mentors hold senior leadership positions within their organizations, including 10 who are presidents of their companies. In addition, three mentors are past scholars of the Club’s Social Enterprise Initiative, which sends local nonprofit leaders to Executive Education programs at HBS.

With just a few sessions under their belts, Mallory says the feedback from both students and mentors has been very positive, and plans are underway to continue and, ultimately, expand the program “for hopefully many years to come.”

Charnaux adds that when Morris Brown lost its accreditation, it also lost vital connections to Atlanta-area industries and employers for its alumni.

“This is about helping to prepare students to successfully enter the workforce,” she says. “The mentoring program is helping to rebuild Morris Brown’s connections in the business community. The HBS Club of Atlanta’s goal to help engage and build the business community in Atlanta and tap into this great pipeline of diverse talent is a big part of that.”

Comer says he’s excited to support Morris Brown’s resurgence with this partnership, “particularly given how instrumental the college was in my personal development as a business leader. This program has tremendous potential.”

The HBS Club of Shanghai recently held its 14th Annual Entrepreneurship Forum, bringing alumni together to explore the latest topics in business and investing. The three-day event was cosponsored by the Harvard Center Shanghai, the Harvard Club of Shanghai, and the Tao Shing Pee Education Foundation (TSPEF), and featured an online forum with two HBS faculty members, an in-person conference of panel discussions, and a formal evening celebration called the Crimson Ball.

“The annual Entrepreneurship Forum has been the Shanghai club’s signature event,” says club president Yanyan Gong (MBA 2004). “With the Harvard Center Shanghai's incredible support, it has become a tradition for HBS alumni in China to gather once a year in Shanghai and discuss business and investment in a conference format. This year, we added a formal evening event, which turned out to be a blast.”

Gong and Nancy Dai (GMP 29) executive director of the Harvard Center Shanghai, welcomed 186 alumni and guests to the virtual forum on November 19, before introducing four keynote speakers: Forest L. Reinhardt, the John D. Black Professor of Business Administration at HBS and faculty chair of the Asia-Pacific Research Center; Willy C. Shih, the Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Management Practice in Business Administration at HBS; Lihong Qin, cofounder and president of NIO; and Paul Yang (MBA 1996), partner and CEO of KKR Greater China. Each speaker shared insights into their respective industries, and attendees were able to join in each discussion virtually. Gong and Dai were joined by club vice president Ted Lin (MBA 2005) and club member Mia Zhao (MBA 2021) in serving as moderators for each discussion.

The second event, held in-person on November 20 at the Harvard Center Shanghai, was a conference featuring three panel discussions with HBS founders, entrepreneurs, and investors. Four guests and a moderator in each panel discussed one of the three topics: Living Healthy, Redefining “Made in China,” and Why Startups Fail. According to Dai, 150 people attended, and enjoyed networking over breakfast and lunch.

The forum came to a festive end on December 4, with 160 people attending a gala dinner party, which Gong says was “a social gathering to celebrate entrepreneurship and friendship” and a chance for alumni from across China to be together.

“We named it the Crimson Ball and required attendees to wear something crimson as a reminiscence of the good old days at HBS,” says Gong. “It was the first grand black-tie event since the pandemic. We all dressed up and enjoyed a sit-down dinner with fellow schoolmates. Other highlights from the evening included live music by a string orchestra, a product ‘fashion show,’ and a few games with prizes.”

Overall, Dai and Gong say the Entrepreneurship Forum was an overwhelming success, in terms of participation—a record high—and in its organization and execution.

“Our core team of 11 club officers and three staff members from the Harvard Center Shanghai contributed significantly in different ways to the success of these events,” says Gong. “And we also had 13 alumni sponsors, and many alumni volunteers serving as hosts, moderators and speakers.”

Post a Comment