Vasco Bridges
President

PRESIDENT'S WELCOME

The Black Business Students Association of the Stephen M. Ross School of Business (BBSA) is tight-knit community of current business school students dedicated to the recruitment of Black business students and the professional and academic development of its membership. Through professional mentorship, academic counseling, community development and other key programs, we aim to foster new and lasting connections amongst our members, and look to support all members of our greater BBSA family with the tools necessary to succeed at Ross and beyond.

This website is more than just an online home of the BBSA or a depository for information about our students. Hopefully this site can be used as a gateway into life at Ross through our current members and alumni and for everyone including corporate sponsors and prospective students. On this site you can learn more about the organization , our events, and our members who are all leaders throughout the Ross community and beyond.

In line with our goals, the BBSA takes a very active role in the recruitment of future Ross Students. Paramount among these initiatives is the UpClose diversity preview event, where each fall a group of students are invited to the Ross campus to gain a closer look at Michigan.

The BBSA is also proud to co-sponsor events with a variety of clubs around the University of Michigan Campus. Our partnerships with other cultural organizations, professional organizations and campus-wide graduate organizations allow us to be an active member of the Ross community and one of the strongest student organizations on campus, and we have been recognized with several campus-wide awards in our recent history.

The BBSA signature event for each year is the annual Alfred L. Edwards Conference (ALE). Now in its 34rd year, this conference allows current students to connect with key Alumni, Faculty and corporate sponsors. This years' theme is : Leading the Way: Staying Competitive in a Changing Global Economy. In 2007 the BBSA conference was named after Dr. Edwards, who before passing away in January 2007, had a 40 year career as a professor and was very instrumental in establishing long lasting diversity measures at Michigan such as the schools link with the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management.

In the BBSA, we often use the word 'family' to describe the bond we all share, and through our mission we continuously hope to strengthen the bonds of our existing family and while adding new members to the fold. So on behalf of the leadership team of the BBSA, I welcome you to our website, and welcome you to our family.

Vasco Bridges
President, 2009-2010
BBSA