By Tim Newton

The Krannert Executive Forum gives undergraduate students an insight into what it takes to be successful

Rick Cosier is a big fan of the Krannert Executive Forum. "I'm not aware of any other program like it in the country," says Cosier, the Krannert dean and Leeds Professor of Management. "I don't know where else students will get the opportunity each week to hear an accomplished group of speakers talk about their careers and offer advice."

The forum, which was started in 1973, is an academic course that features top-level executives as guest lecturers. The one-hour undergraduate class typically enrolls about 120 students each semester, mostly seniors, from management and other schools. Master's students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend as space permits.

"I just wish I had been able to take a course like this when I was an undergraduate," Cosier says.

Course evolution

The Krannert Executive Forum was the brainchild of former Krannert professor J. Fred McLimore. In the early 1970s, McLimore decided to overhaul Practices & Philosophies of American Business, which he called a "dull conventional management course." McLimore was alarmed by what he considered to be "gross misunderstandings about business" from many of his students, and he hoped that successful executives could help deliver important management lessons.

Using contacts culled from 15 years of industrial experience prior to his academic career, McLimore invited a series of businesspeople into the classroom. The revised class, which started in 1973, became known as Executives in the Classroom.

Students in the course were assigned a Peter Drucker textbook, and were required to write business critiques for each lecturer. In addition, attendance at classes, and accompanying breakfasts and lunches, was mandatory. Students also had a midterm and final exam based upon speaker presentations. (Today, there are no textbooks or exams, but students must write five critiques per semester, and attendance is taken at each lecture.)

McLimore was able to assemble an impressive list of speakers. The lineup during the '70s included the presidents of United Airlines, Raytheon, Dow Chemical, Alcoa, and Procter & Gamble, among other well-known companies. McLimore also coaxed politicians to speak, including Senator Richard Lugar, and media moguls, including Gannett President and Chief Executive Officer Allen H. Neuharth and Business Week Editor-in-Chief Lewis Young.

Some executives foretold the future better than others. The president of an oil company correctly predicted that American motorists soon would be paying $1 a gallon for gasoline. On the flip side, an automotive executive told a room full of students that he was opposed to the concept of placing airbags in cars. He said they were "too expensive" and expressed concern about liability for malfunctioning airbags. (He did, however, favor the idea of automatic seat- and shoulder-belt systems.)

McLimore also introduced the Executive in Residence Program, in which VIPs came to campus for a two-week period, presenting undergraduate and graduate seminars, visiting classes, and interacting with students, faculty, and staff.

New name

Prof. Keith Smith, finance, became the Krannert dean in 1979. When McLimore left Purdue in 1981, Smith took over the Executives in the Classroom class. The course name changed to the Krannert Executive Forum in fall 1981.

Smith says the classes added great value to the Krannert School, in addition to the opportunities they afforded students. "When I came here, the school did not have a fund raiser," Smith says. "The Krannert Executive Forum had tremendous development benefits because it gave us access to top executives from Fortune 500 companies."

The forum served as a backdrop for an academic article in the Review of Business about the process of ascending within an organization. Smith and Roy Savoian, professor and dean of the business school at Lynchburg College (which has a scaled-down version of the Krannert Executive Forum), surveyed forum participants about the attributes needed to make it to the top. Execs listed the top three characteristics for the "climb" to the top as leadership ability, management ability, and receptivity to ideas. The most cited characteristics for the successful "climber" were integrity, interpersonal skills, and communication skills.

In addition to supplying info for scholarly research, the Krannert Executive Forum also gained national media recognition. Industry Week featured it in a 1976 article, and a Wall Street Journal story in 1982 explained somewhat tongue-in-cheek that not all of the student feedback through the critiques was positive. One student commented that an executive "was about as laid-back as a person could be and still be conscious." Another questioned the business practices of a speaker with the forthright declaration, "I smell rotten fish in the tank."

The occasional criticism failed to dampen participation and enthusiasm. Richard Teerlink, the chief executive officer and president of Harley-Davidson, was happy to bring a motorcycle into the Krannert Drawing Room and pose for pictures to help promote his 1991 appearance.

The Krannert Executive Forum has continued, with occasional tweaking and adjustments, through the tenures of deans Ron Frank, Dennis Weidenaar, and Rick Cosier. It celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2003.

"Recently, we've emphasized diversity among speakers and careers," Cosier says. "We believe it's still important to have Fortune 100 companies represented, but our students also should hear from executives of small and non-profit companies. In response to student demand, we also invite at least one recently graduated person each semester who can address issues surrounding looking for and landing that first job."

Busy schedule

Executives are kept busy during their visits. Most arrive on campus by Thursday evening, when Cosier and various faculty or staff members take them to dinner. Friday morning, the speakers have an 8:30 breakfast with some forum students, and then attend scheduled meetings with faculty, staff, and student groups. The class presentation is held from 11:30-12:20. After class, speakers have lunch with more students before being "dismissed" around 1:15.

Forum topics range from leadership to integrity to work/life balance. Kevin Sullivan, vice president of communications for NBC Sports, spoke to students about the importance of corporate communications.

"I went into it thinking I was giving something back, but as it turned out, I was the one who benefited," says Sullivan, a 1980 Krannert graduate. "In fact, I was inspired. Being back on campus was completely invigorating. The students asked terrific questions, the time with Krannert faculty and staff was enjoyable, and overall it was a memorable experience."

Sullivan's 2001 return to campus reflected the inherent risk of scheduling out-of-town speakers. He was originally slated to speak Sept. 15, but was unable to travel out of New York because of the terrorist attacks in his city. The forum class for that week was cancelled because of a campus memorial, and Sullivan's schedule allowed him to participate in the rescheduled date at the end of the semester. (Ironically, the scheduled speaker for Sept. 22 also was unable to travel from New York. Men's basketball coach Gene Keady graciously filled in at the last moment.)

Melissa Evens, manager of speakers and events, coordinates forum details, including speaker travel. A teaching assistant grades papers and keeps track of attendance, and student "escorts" accompany the speakers as they move from one appointment to the next.

Anna Kozlowska, an August 2003 graduate from the School of Liberal Arts, served for two years as a Krannert Executive Forum escort. "It's an amazing opportunity, different than the one students in the class get," Kozlowska says. "By talking to the executives one-on-one in an informal social setting, we get a chance to understand their business better and an opportunity to find out how they got to where they are today."

Cosier says that link between present and future business leaders is important. "The Krannert Executive Forum is an excellent vehicle for improved understanding between the executive suite and the academic classroom," he says. "It gives our students a perspective they won't find in other courses."

For more information about the Krannert Executive Forum, visit the Krannert Web site at www.krannert.purdue.edu/events/exec_forum/ or contact Melissa Evens at mevens@krannert.purdue.edu.

Click on the images below to enlarge:

Former Krannert professor J. Fred McLimore (left) listens as Coca-Cola vice president Charles Holmes talks to students in the "Executives in the Classroom" series, the precursor to the Krannert Executive Forum.	Indiana Senator Richard Lugar appeared in the "Executives in the Classroom" series in the mid-1970s. His departure to Indianapolis afterward was delayed by a major snowstorm.	Richard Teerlink, president and chief executive officer of Harley-Davidson, drew a full house of students, media, and local residents for his 1991 speech. He distributed T-shirts to student escorts, who were happy to pose for a shot in the Krannert Drawing Room.	Vicky Bailey (BSIM '74) was president of PSI Energy when she appeared in the Krannert Executive Forum in 2000.