38 UB School of Management MBAs earn LeaderCORE certification

By Kevin Manne

BUFFALO, N.Y. —  The University at Buffalo School of Management awarded LeaderCORE™ certification to 38 MBA students in a ceremony on April 19 on UB’s North Campus. 

This is the 13th group to complete LeaderCORE, an exclusive leadership development program that spans the entire two years of the UB MBA experience. More than 500 UB MBA students have earned LeaderCORE certification since the program was established in 2012.

A winner of the MBA Roundtable Innovator Award, LeaderCORE gives students the opportunity to study and navigate real-world business situations while developing a set of clearly identified leadership competencies. 

This year’s graduates are: Kashif Ansari, Peter Bouris, Steve Brady, Eric Cornell, Emily Diep, Alisa Franasiak, Kevin Gardener, Brennan Gorman, William Gorman, Samantha Green, Pranay Karnatak, Akshay Koltewar, Srikrithi Krishnan, Daniel Kurowski, Fouad Laajine, Patrick Lageraaen, Danielle Lehman, Hsiang Heng Ma, Ryan Martin, Mark McCarthy, Benjamin Michalowski, Zainul Patrawala, Kevin Quinn, Eric Raine, Elizabeth Ramirez, Angelene Roberts, Rachel Romanowski, Sophie Schindler, Kovid Shrivastava, Pankaj Singh, Shashwat Singh, Ahbar Syyed, Matthew Taboni, Sumanth Thummala, Jawad Tung, Dylan Urban, Frances Uwechue and Zachary Zelazo.

“LeaderCORE is more relevant and timely than ever, given the dynamic business environment of the past four years,” says Marla Kameny, faculty director of the program and clinical assistant professor of organization and human resources in the UB School of Management. “The program helps students develop the soft skills employers seek — and goes beyond by requiring the students to self-reflect, which creates opportunities for them to grow and build on their strengths.”

LeaderCORE bridges the gap between academic learning and the workplace, focusing on core competencies — such as teamwork, problem solving, adaptability and integrity — considered vital by the business community for effective performance and successful leadership. The program is integrated into every aspect of coursework, career and professional development opportunities, internships and more. 

In their first semester, LeaderCORE students begin their journey with deep self-reflection and personal assessment during which they identify the competencies they wish to strengthen. Each student then creates an individual development plan based on current competencies and career aspirations.

One of the most differentiating features of LeaderCORE is the students’ engagement with a professional coach during their second semester. Through this process, students look back at their development so far, and establish a plan to further develop their leadership skills as they finish their degree and embark on their careers.  

The last step to certification is the certification defense, where candidates are required to present and defend their learning portfolios and provide examples of how they have successfully put their newly developed competencies, at all levels (fundamental, advanced, exemplary), into practice. Each candidate is interviewed by a pair of trained assessors, one from within the school and the other an experienced business executive, who determine the final certification.

External assessors have praised LeaderCORE as a great differentiator for both the school as an institution and for each of the participants. Program graduates receive a micro-credential — a digital badge that houses information validating their newly acquired skills that can be shared on social media, digital résumés and e-portfolios. 

“The program continues to be highly sought out and praised by both employers and students, and employers are consistently impressed with how prepared LeaderCORE graduates are when they enter the workplace,” says Kameny.