The program was started in 1996 on a very small scale. It was a joint idea between a colleague and I to recognize our top marketing majors and give them a leg up in connecting with the business community for career positions, internships and special projects.

In the very beginning, special projects were an important part of this program - actually more so than networking, and we had some very fine projects that were done by students for different companies. One that I remember in particular was with Day Timer. It was a site location study to find out where Day Timer should be locating their distribution centers. Three of our really outstanding marketing students worked on it. When they went to deliver the study, the company was holding a board meeting and the company president said to the students, “we want you to come in and present your findings to the board of directors.” The students did make the presentation and the company doubled their fee.

Another student did a study for Helpmates, which is one of our corporate partners. This study resulted in a comprehensive marketing plan to start a new business. Helpmates ended up implementing the plan.

Not so much mentoring. It's really networking -giving our top marketing majors opportunities to develop relationships with our corporate partners in the business community. At the first breakfast meeting, we had more corporate partners than we had students. As it evolved, we got more partners, and the students realized that this program gave them a very personalized way to access companies to explore opportunities in a true networking environment and in ways that they cannot get elsewhere.

The students come to biannual breakfast meetings in March and October where the corporate partners present their current opportunities. Following those presentations, students meet with the partner representatives and discuss career opportunities, part-time employment and internships, and exchange resumes and business cards.

It's very formal - not in any way like a career fair. Students are required to wear business attire and the corporate partners appreciate this because they feel it makes the meetings much more professional. The primary benefit to the partners is that they meet the top marketing majors, the very best students in our department.

It will be held 7-9:30 a.m. tomorrow (March 14). At the last breakfast, there were 20 of our 24 partners represented and in excess of 60 students. So from our humble beginnings, we have ballooned to filling a room with almost 100 people twice a year at the Fullerton Marriott.

This program has been enormously successful in encouraging, rewarding and showcasing our best marketing majors.

The meeting venue is comparable to that of attending a professional meeting like that of the American Marketing Association.

The corporate partners truly appreciate the professionalism of this program. Seven of the corporate partners/directors have been with the program from its inception. Several have commented that they have gone to other universities, like USC and UC Riverside, and have not had the success in finding potential candidates as they have with the Honors Networking Program. All of the corporate partners feel that this program should serve as a model because of the added value it provides.

Students must have at least a 3.0 grade-point-average - or if they are just short of that, at least recommendations from two marketing faculty members to even be invited. The biannual breakfast meetings are by invitation only.

Before they can attend, the students have to go through an orientation meeting with either Neil Granitz, who is co-director of the program, or myself. At this orientation, we explain the program, define and discuss networking, tell them what is required of them - business attire and resumes - and how the process works. And that they can participate every semester until they graduate, as long as they maintain their high grades. So as they meet the corporate partners, relationships develop and it's through these relationships that they get interviews that may lead to job offers.

There are a balance of companies from various industries that take part in the Honors Networking Program. Participating companies include Minolta Business Solutions, Target, Macy's, Helpmates, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Hunter Barth, Kent H. Landsberg, Donahue Schriber, Bank of America, PepsiCo, Walgreens, Mervyn's, Hershey Foods, ADP, Celtic Leasing, Wallace, Compass International and the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau.

Companies are invited to attend the program as corporate guests the first time. Then they can join the program as a corporate partner. There is an annual fee that they pay to help support the cost of the program.

In addition, several corporate partners also sponsor scholarships for the HNP students. Target, Enterprise, Celtic Leasing, ADP, Walgreens and Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau have all been very generous in funding annual scholarships for our students.

Many of the partners have volunteered to participate with some of our marketing classes by providing guest speakers and sponsoring field trips.

Yes, indeed. I also have remained close to several former students. One, Julie Greiner, is now executive vice president for Bloomingdale's in New York. She's participated in various ways with the university and was an honoree at Vision & Visionaries. It's all interconnected.

I believe the corporate partners enjoy coming to our breakfasts because they can network with other executives. I've also had students who qualified for the Honors Networking Program, attended the breakfasts, gotten their career offer, gone to work for one of the companies, and in a few years, have come back and represented that company in the Honors Networking Program.

The program is very symbiotic. It benefits the students, the corporate partners, the Marketing Department, the College of Business and Economics, and the university.