Sixty alumni, some from as far afield as Sri Lanka, joined Professor John Finch, Head of the Business School, Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, University Principal and Vice-Chancellor, and friends of the MBA present and past, at a gala dinner to celebrate 40 years of the Glasgow MBA recently, writes Claire Smith, ASBS.

The evening provided opportunities for attendees to network and reunite with old friends and talk about their fond memories of Glasgow, the University and share their experiences with current MBA students and friends.

A silent auction, raffle and fundraising events raised £6,685 towards the MBA Travel Scholarship fund. This scholarship has been set up to enhance MBA students’ experience in developing a high quality dissertation.

The Gilbert Scott building, home of the Business School, was made into a celebratory cake to mark the occasion. Baked and decorated by Lauren Docherty, Catering Assistant in the University’s hospitality services with help from colleagues Scott Girvan and Aileen McInnes, it took 64 eggs, 4000g of flour, sugar and butter and 28 hours to complete. Lauren said, “It’s the biggest cake I’ve baked so far - I needed to make something that would wow!”

Professor Muscatelli welcomed everyone and said how fantastic it was to see so many supporters and alumni at the event, and spoke fondly of his time teaching on the MBA programme. He looked forward to the next 40 years of the programme, and our plans for the future of the Adam Smith Business School including its role at the very heart of the innovation district on the new campus.

The gala dinner was one of a series of events throughout 2017 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the MBA programme. The celebrations reflected the achievement and excellence of the Business School over the past four decades. They included a panel event in April to celebrate leadership and influence where previous programme directors, academics, current students, friends of the MBA and alumni, including a few from the first cohort 40 years ago, came together to celebrate the occasion in the Kelvin Gallery.

MBA 40th celebration cake

First published: 11 September 2017

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