HU Business School is a Finalist in the Executive Leadership Council Case Competition

Hampton, VA - Hampton University is the first Historically Black College and University and youngest team ever to reach the final round of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC) Business Case Competition Finals that will be held Thurs., April 26 at the Shell Oil Company in Houston. MBA students from 39 schools nationwide were invited to participate and three finalist teams were selected from 23 cases.

The ELC and Shell sponsor the competition that examines consumer and retail issues effecting use of the Shell gas credit card.

The other finalist teams are from Emory University and the University of Pennsylvania. HU team members include Mallorie D. Chapman, Leon Chisolm, Shakora Luckett and Shayna Marie Thompson, all who received their bachelors in business administration from Hampton University and Eric L. Johnson III, who received his bachelors in finance from Virginia Tech in 2006. They are all pursuing their MBA at Hampton University. The average age of the HU team is 22 years old, making them the youngest team to reach the final round.

“We have worked long and hard to lift the HU School of Business to national prominence,” said Dr. Sid Credle, dean of the HU School of Business.   “Being in the finals of the ELC invitational case competition leaves no doubt that we are one of the best business schools in the nation. In the past year, the school placed first in the National Urban League’s competition, second in the National Black MBA case competition, and reached the finals in the PriceWaterhouseCoopers Extreme Accounting case competition, all of which is testimony to the excellent faculty, the outstanding students and the relevance of the business curriculum at HU.”

Teams will present their case analyses before ELC members, Shell and United Airlines executives. Winners will be awarded first, second and third place awards of $20,000, $10,000 and $5,000, respectively.

The ELC was founded in 1986 and is the nation's premier leadership organization of the most senior African-American corporate executives in Fortune 500 companies. Its mission is to develop the pipeline of African- American senior corporate leaders.

# HU #

Hampton University, a dynamic, progressive institution of higher education, is a privately-endowed, non-profit, non-sectarian, co-education, historically black university. It is located in southeastern Virginia and boasts one of the loveliest campuses in the nation, with a picturesque waterfront and historic buildings and landmarks. Comprised of seven schools, a Graduate College and a College of Continuing Education, Hampton University is among the leaders in higher education.