Outgoing Alumni Board President Reflects on Tenure

The first time Craig Schmidt, ’03 BSB, walked into the Carlson School building, he felt like he had made it.

“I remember getting this ‘shock and awe’ feeling that I was attending this gem of a university and this gem of a school,” he recalls. “It’s one of the most elite business schools in the country, and I couldn’t believe I was here.”

Since that moment, Schmidt has been one of the school’s biggest advocates. After serving as the Alumni Board president for the past three years, Schmidt’s term ended in July.

Throughout his tenure, the board and the school went through major changes—the board grew to 30 members, supported the school in navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, helped launch the annual MBA Reunion event, established a Give to the Max Day match program for the board, and began a new subcommittee on diversity, equity, and inclusion, among many others.

“I think we were able to accomplish a lot of important things and leave the Carlson School in a great spot going forward,” he says.

Serving as Alumni Board president was one example in a long line of ways Schmidt has given back to the school since he arrived at the Carlson School as a transfer student from the University of Minnesota Morris.

“My dad was a Gopher and was the first one in my family to attend college; I was the second,” he says. “I knew I wanted to study business and the Carlson School was always high on my list because of the family legacy.”

He landed a job at Deloitte after graduation. From the coursework to the career services, he says he felt the Carlson School set him up to succeed in his career.

“It’s imperative that all Carlson School graduates take a step back and realize how fortunate we all are,” he says. “Not only were we accepted into the U, but we were selected into the Carlson School from thousands of other students that apply. We should be grateful and thankful for all of that. So it was important for me to give back to help the school maintain its status as one of the best public business schools in the country.”

Schmidt began giving back immediately. He started as a mentor, joined the GOLD (Gophers of the Last Decade) Board, then the Alumni Board.

“I thought it would be tremendous to find bigger ways to give back and make a bigger impact,” he explains. “I thought I owed it to the school because of the success I’ve had in my career. It all has roots back to the Carlson School.”

Now working as the head of global regulatory reporting at Citibank, Schmidt has also used his financial resources to support the Carlson School’s Dean’s Excellence Fund, which is used to address the highest priorities and pressing needs to bolster the school’s core strengths.

Though he’s stepping away from the Alumni Board, Schmidt plans to continue to find ways to be a cheerleader for the Carlson School in any way possible.

“Having the Carlson School on your résumé, that’s forever,” he says. “I take great pride in the school and being a Gopher. It was important for me to pay it forward however I can for future generations.”