Philanthropist Fred M. Kirby II, past president of the F.M. Kirby Foundation and a longtime supporter of Wake Forest, has died. Kirby, who lived in New Vernon, N.J., died Feb. 8 at the age of 91.

A team of four Schools of Business students took first place in the national round of the KPMG International Case Competition on Feb. 4 in New York, earning the honor to represent the United States in a global competition April 6-8 in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Schools of Business will kick off the 21st Annual Marketing Summit on Feb. 3, a three-day, student-run event featuring a case study competition between eight MBA teams and six undergraduate teams for $103,000 in prizes. Marilyn Carlson Nelson will deliver the keynote address.

The following Wake Forest University students have been named to the university’s Dean’s List for the 2010 fall semester. Students who achieve a 3.4 and no grade below a C were named to the list. Download (.xls) Press Contacts: Eaton, Brett Executive Director, News and Communications eatonbd@wfu.edu 336.758.5237

The MBA program ranks 41st in the nation, up six spots from 2010, according to the Financial Times of London. Worldwide, the ranking climbed to 78th, and for employment at three months post-graduation, it ranked seventh, tied with Stanford and above Harvard.

A team of Schools of Business undergraduate students will advance to the national level of KPMG’s International Case Study Competition after winning the regional competition Jan. 21 in Atlanta. The students will travel to New York to compete against six other teams on Feb. 4th.

Bloomberg BusinessWeek released a new ranking, “The Best US MBA Programs by Specialty,” which is based on surveys of corporate recruiters. Wake Forest’s full-time MBA program ranked among the Top 25 in the nation in 10 of 11 specialty areas.

It was back to school for 28 golf course superintendents recently. As students of the Syngenta Business Institute, they received instruction from leaders of Wake Forest’s master’s of business administration program. The innovative business development program was created specifically for them in conjunction with Wake Forest.

According to research on branding and consumer behavior, today’s bargains may mean fewer choices and reduced quality tomorrow. Associate Professor of Business Sheri Bridges says good marketing does not rely on sales.

School of Law Professor Mark Hall, who is one of the nation’s leading scholars in health-care law and policy, was quoted about the health-care reform law this week in the New York Times, Washington Post and other national sources.