Season 7 of the Eccles Business Buzz Podcast is just around the corner, and we are so excited to welcome you back. I'm your host, Frances Johnson. Join me this season for an introduction to the new Dean of the David Eccles School of Business and a series of conversations with the Kempsey Gardner Policy Institute's informed decision-makers of the year.

We'll hear about how renewable energy and free bicycles are contributing to Utah's economic recovery and vitality, why accessible medical and mental health care is more important than ever, and how building community can help end poverty. We'll also explore one of the hottest business topics out there: AI.

The first episode of Season 7 drops on September 19th with new episodes coming every other Thursday. I know you won't want to miss a single one, so make sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and invite a friend or fellow alum to listen with you too.

We can't wait for you to join us again!

Eccles Business Buzz is a production of the David Eccles School of Business and is produced by University FM.

While waiting for the newest season launching this fall, we have something special planned for your listening enjoyment. Get ready to revisit some of your favorite Eccles Business Buzz episodes with our timeless reruns.

In one of these standout episodes, we delve into the ongoing debate about the value of a bachelor's degree. Despite the rise in scrutiny of bachelor’s degrees, research shows that having access to college is a key indicator of future economic and financial success as well as physical and emotional well-being.

Studies show that people with bachelor's degrees have 57% more job opportunities than people with high school diplomas, and 60% of workers with bachelor’s degrees reported being highly satisfied at work, while only 38% of workers without college degrees reported being highly satisfied.

If a degree can play such a pivotal role in someone’s overall future success, how can access to college be expanded so that students can not just get in but thrive while they’re in school and graduate? Tara Hardison, assistant dean for undergraduate programs at the David Eccles School of Business, works on that question every day.

In this episode from Season 6, she joins host Frances Johnson to chat about the real-world impacts a college degree can have on someone’s life, the ways Eccles is helping first-generation and low-income students, and why that support doesn’t end after students have been handed a degree.

Eccles Business Buzz is a production of the David Eccles School of Business and is produced by University fm.

• First Ascent Scholars Program
• Opportunity Scholars Program
• Tara Hardison | David Eccles School of Business

While waiting for the newest season launching this fall, we have something special planned for your listening enjoyment. Get ready to revisit some of your favorite Eccles Business Buzz episodes with our timeless reruns.

In this episode from Season 5, we will talk about some solutions, and how the Eccles School is working to prepare women – and all students – for a more successful and equitable workplace experience.

With us in this episode is Katie Abby, Special Advisor to the President of the University of Utah and Assistant Dean of Business Career Success and Corporate Outreach at the David Eccles School of Business. An experienced staffing executive, Katie graduated from the U in 1984 and, in 1990, co-founded VISTA Staffing Solutions, where she served as COO and then President.

She transferred her skills as an entrepreneur to build a professional placement firm at the Eccles School and is now scaling this program to other colleges on the University of Utah campus. Katie sits down with host Frances Johnson and chats about building confidence, becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable, practicing empathy in the workplace, and what millennials and boomers can learn from each other.

Eccles Business Buzz is a production of the David Eccles School of Business and is produced by University fm.

• Katie Abby | Eccles School of Business Bio
• Katie Abby | LinkedIn
• VISTA Staffing Solutions

While waiting for the newest season launching this fall, we have something special planned for your listening enjoyment. Get ready to revisit some of your favorite Eccles Business Buzz episodes with our timeless reruns.

In this episode from Season 4, Simone Lawrence, manager of the IMPACT program at the David Eccles School of Business, discusses impact and inclusion. IMPACT is a partnership between the Eccles School and Historically Black Colleges and Universities to bring these students to the U for the summer. The goal of the program is to expose participants to new experiences and show them the difference they can make in places they didn’t expect.

Simone joins host Frances Johnson to talk about having a real opportunity to make a difference during her internship with PluralSight, her hopes for the IMPACT program as Manager, navigating Utah as a person of color, and working with companies to implement meaningful DEI initiatives.

Eccles Business Buzz is a production of the David Eccles School of Business and is produced by University fm.

• IMPACT Program
• PluralSight
• Summer Bridge Program at the U
• Lantern House

While waiting for the newest season launching this fall, we have something special planned for your listening enjoyment. Get ready to revisit some of your favorite Eccles Business Buzz episodes with our timeless reruns.

In this episode from Season 3, we'll be talking not just about curiosity but also about how pursuing our curiosity can help prepare us to make a positive and lasting impact on the people and the communities around us.

That’s just what Sadie Bowler has been doing. As a sophomore at the David Eccles School of Business and a resident at Lassonde Studios, Sadie is also running SadieB Personal Care, a personal care brand with a goal to empower Gen Z girls and change the health and beauty industry.

She chats with Frances about creating a beauty brand that speaks to Gen Z girls like her, having an in-house mental health expert on her staff, SadieB’s partnership with Girls Up United Nations Foundation, and how she is growing her business at Lassonde.

Eccles Business Buzz is a production of the David Eccles School of Business and is produced by University fm.

• Sadie Bowler | LinkedIn
• SadieB Personal Care’s Website

While waiting for the newest season launching this fall, we have something special planned for your listening enjoyment. Get ready to revisit some of your favorite Eccles Business Buzz episodes with our timeless reruns.

In this episode from season 2, we have Jolly Karungi, a graduate of the David Eccles School of Business and Eccles student of the year in 2020.

During her time at the Eccles school, she participated in the Business Scholars and First Ascent programs in addition to a variety of other student organizations on campus. She graduated with a major in Information Systems.

Jolly was born in the Republic of Congo and lived in a refugee camp in Uganda for several years before coming to Utah.

She shares the struggles she had to endure living in different environments and the difficulties navigating systems without knowing how to speak the language. However, her passion for learning and adapting together with perseverance helped her overcome the challenges.

Jolly also tells her plans after graduation, her future goals, and what excites her the most in going back home where her family is.

Eccles Business Buzz is a production of the David Eccles School of Business and is produced by University fm.

• LinkedIn
• Business Scholars Program
• First Ascent Scholars Program
• Cotopaxi Foundation

While waiting for the newest season launching this fall, we have something special planned for your listening enjoyment. Get ready to revisit some of your favorite Eccles Business Buzz episodes with our timeless reruns.

In this episode from season 2, we have the honor of chatting with Gail Miller, President and Immediate Past Chair of the Larry H. Miller Company. Gail also oversees the Larry H.Miller Education Foundation and the Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation.

Gail shares with us details about her upbringing and what it was like to grow up in a large family where money was often tight. Listen as she tells us how she persevered through the challenges in her life - from being the supporter of her family to being a wife and mother and ultimately stepping to a new role of becoming the owner of a large company.

We can all resonate with the biggest obstacle in Gail's life - fear. It's the reason she wrote her book, Courage to Be You: Inspiring Lessons from An Unexpected Journey. It's compelling how she overcame fear through faith and perseverance.

We also hear why Gail got involved with the university community and what inspired her to get connected to higher education. She also has some pretty good advice for women who want to transition from being stay-at-home mothers to the workplace once again. Finally, we get to know the future of Larry H. Miller Group of Companies and what Gail hopes her legacy will be.

Eccles Business Buzz is a production of the David Eccles School of Business and is produced by University fm.

• Larry H. Miller Group of Companies
• Courage to Be You: Inspiring Lessons from An Unexpected Journey