Thomas O’Halloran ’77, partner and portfolio manager at financial management firm Lord, Abbett & Co., was a guest on the Fox Business program After the Bell, talking about the companies he views as tomorrow’s growth leaders.

Watch the latest video at video.foxbusiness.com

O’Halloran’s daughter Charlotte is a member of the Class of 2013.

Given the onslaught of graphics, digital photography, videos and busy websites that most people consume and often produce these days, it might make sense to incorporate design into schools’ curricula. Jon Freach, a professor at the Austin Center for Design, argues that teaching design to students in K-12 along with science and the humanities could help people become more comfortable making things.

Gerald Chertavian '87

Gerald Chertavian—a member of the Bowdoin Class of 1987 and a current trustee of the College—has been mentoring young people for most of his adult life. Today, his Boston-based company, Year Up, provides a one-year, intensive training program for urban young adults, all aimed at building opportunity. As he tells The New York Times, it’s “a matter of social justice.”

In a Friday morning speech to members of the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, Karen Mills—the Administrator of the Small Business Adminisration and wife of Bowdoin President Barry Mills—said the SBA is working to open access to new and different lenders for America’s small businesses.

The College is among the top ten largest taxpayers in Brunswick and is the 22nd-largest private employer in the state. These are among the economic impact indicators newly updated on the Treasurer’s website.

The compilation also includes the fact that Bowdoin purchased $16.3 million dollars worth of goods and services from Maine vendors, including $2.79 million from Brunswick vendors, and that Bowdoin students provided 38,248 volunteer hours to Maine organizations (of which 7,389 hours were spent tutoring local students).

Photo by Jon Cole.

Over L.L. Bean’s 100-year history, the Maine Hunting Shoe has become a larger-than-life symbol of the famous outdoor outfitter.

To celebrate the company’s centennial in 2012, L.L. Bean has matched that scale with the Bean Boot Mobile, which a passing motorist recently spotted tromping down Interstate 295.

While it often seems like everything we purchase these days is made overseas, a recent study found that “U.S. manufacturers provide about 75% of the products that Americans consume.” With the right planning the study concludes, “that number could soar to 95% within a few years…conversely, if the sector remains neglected, that output could fall by half.”

From Harleys to chop sticks (yes, chop sticks), here’s a list of ten popular products that are still “Made in the USA.”

Have you investigated whether your 401(k) offers international options? According to a study by the Employee Benefits Research Institute, we tend to let 401(k) plans languish. But The Wall Street Journal suggests that 2012 may be the year to make a change with tips to take full advantage of your plan.

Ken Chenault '73

American Express CEO Ken Chenault ’73 is among Advertising Age magazine’s list of the country’s top 10 forward-thinking executives. Chenault is said to be “particularly adept at understanding” that his particular brand, while making nothing, is built on something “far more elusive and hard to define.” Read the article.

From the category of learning from the mistakes of others comes advice from Sydney Finkelstein, Dartmouth’s Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business.

His book Why Smart Executives Fail yields what he calls the Seven Habits of Spectacularly Unsuccessful Executives.

Image: U.S. Mint

As part of its America the Beautiful Quarters Program, the U.S. Mint will feature Bass Harbor Lighthouse in Maine’s Acadia National Park on a new coin to be released this summer.

OK, you’re just catching your breath from the holidays, but planning ahead for next year’s season of giving may be a gift you give yourself.

USA Today shares tips for budgeting, buying ahead and knowing when during the year to get the best deals.

Some of the biggest names in business are also those of the philanthropists best poised to make a difference in the coming year.

From the third-generation Buffett to the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, see how the charitable giving torch is being passed and how these 10 donors may light the way to a brighter future.

Learn how Bowdoin students are making a difference with help from the Joseph McKeen Center for the Common Good.

Blogger Susan Stephenson ’02 is wearing the same dress every day for 30 days in January, changing the style of that one dress each day with various accessories, as a “charitable publicity stunt.” The dress was donated by L.L. Bean Signature, and all of the accessories are donated from local companies, fashion students, and artists, whose work Susan will showcase, blogging and vlogging about the project throughout the month. Susan’s aim is to help women in the difficult economy to look their best as they enter or re-enter the work force, and she will donate all of the featured fashion to Dress for Success Southern Maine, a Portland non-profit that helps women get back into the workplace.

It’s a new year; in fact, 2012 is your year. Leadership consultant Ritch Eich, former chief of communication and public affairs at both Blue Shield of California and later at Stanford University Medical Center, shares a list of what he calls “10 stepping stones” along the path toward excelling at what you do.

Jim Witherall, author the new biography, L.L. Bean:  The Man and His Company, speaks with MPBN News and Public Affairs Director Keith Shortall ’82 about the book as the iconic company prepares to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding.

Leon A. Gorman ’56 became president of L.L. Bean in 1967 after his grandfather Leon Leonwood Bean died. In the interview, Witherall praises Gorman, who now serves as chairman of the board, saying,”If it wasn’t for Leon Gorman, there probably wouldn’t be an LL Bean today.” Listen to the segment.