Y. student named to top 25 MBA list

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Sep 23, 2004 by Tad Walch Deseret Morning News

PROVO -- The National Black MBA Association recently selected a Brigham Young University MBA candidate as one of the nation's top 25 minority MBA students.

The association last week named Jamila Cutliff, a second-year student at BYU's Marriott School of Management, a 2004 Coca-Cola Scholar during a major minority networking conference in Houston. The 25 winners -- selected from among 175 minority students who applied in April -- were judged on criteria such as leadership and community commitment.

Cutliff, 27, of Saginaw, Mich., received a stipend with the award.

The process included writing an essay, submitting recommendations and interviews.

"I think the greatest part of the award is the fact that BYU got recognition for being supportive of African-Ameri- cans," Cutliff said. "Last year at the same conference, I ran into a lot of people who didn't even know BYU allowed African-American students. So BYU has some work to do there."

Cutliff is one of six black MBA students at BYU's Marriott School, where 6 percent of students are minorities and 15 percent are female. That lack of diversity is one of the chief complaints of corporate recruiters, who otherwise give BYU outstanding marks.

The business school is trying to increase minority representation every year to better reflect the larger population of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said Louise Illes, director of the BYU Office of Service Learning and Diversity. The church sponsors BYU.

The outreach program offers scholarships to attract more female and minority students and faculty members.

Cutliff, who earned an engineering degree at Cornell University, worked as a recruiter for Proctor and Gamble before enrolling at BYU. She completed a supply chain strategy internship at PepsiCo this summer.

"Jamila is an example for many of our students who see what she's accomplished," Illes said. "She's already had several offers for employment and will be one of our well-placed MBA students because of her tenacity, skills and background. She's absolutely amazing. She's got so much dynamism and charisma."

E-mail: twalch@desnews.com