Wharton Global Conversations Tour Los Angeles: Part 2
This video is the second half of highlights from the Los Angeles stop on the Wharton Global Conversations Tour. It features Wharton Dean Geoffrey Garrett speaking with Bobby Turner W84, principal and CEO of Turner Impact Capital LLC.
In this edition, Turner and Garrett discuss the ongoing review of the Wharton undergraduate program and what changes are in store for the future. While Wharton MBA graduates leave school for a diverse array of jobs in tech, finance and other fields, undergraduate classes are still dominated by the traditional finance and consulting positions. Garrett attributes this to a variety of factors, including risk aversion and peer pressure, and believes that Wharton can do a better job of providing more options for its undergraduate class.
The first problem that is presented is the strictness of the existing curriculum. By allowing students more flexibility with what classes they want to take, particularly within their liberal arts requirement, students will be able to better explore their passions and find a career within the field that their business acumen can be applied. Wharton's Dean also wants to provide opportunities for leadership coaching as in the MBA program, as well as a structured program to allow students to spend a semester at the Wharton San Francisco campus.
Ultimately, Wharton undergraduates should enter the workforce with all the skills they will need for the entire length of the career, regardless of what industry that takes them to. Garrett summarizes this as such: “I also want all employers to know that when you hire a Wharton undergraduate, on day one they can do the job, but in five years’ time, they can be the job, reinvent the job.”