Last modified: Friday, October 11, 2002
IU's Kelley School of Business again in Business Week's top 20
Indiana University's Kelley School of Business continues to be recognized for having one of the finest master of business administration degree programs in the country, as reflected in 2002 rankings released by the magazine Business Week late Thursday (Oct. 10).
The Kelley School's MBA program remained steady in 20th place, the same position it held when the business magazine last ranked programs in 2000.
"We are always gratified to be within the highest echelon of graduate business schools," said Dan Dalton, dean of the Kelley School of Business. "We are particularly pleased because we remain competitive with the highest-profiled private schools in the world."
James Wimbush, MBA programs chair and a professor of management, added, "We worked very hard since the last rankings to enhance our MBA program, and in light of the tough job market, I am extremely pleased that we are able to be consistently ranked among the top 20 business schools."
During an online chat that the publication held to announce the rankings, praise was given to the Kelley School's administration for being responsive to student needs.
Ashvin Lad, president of the MBA student body at IU, agreed with the magazine's assessment and observed, "With a number of the top public business schools falling in rank this year, it speaks well that Kelley remained in the top 20. It also illustrates the unique positive relationship among Kelley School faculty, administration and students."
Substantial changes were made to the school's MBA curriculum over the last two years to allow for more technical training and electives in the first year. This change has enabled first-year students to be better prepared for internships.
"For many of our students, good performance on internships resulted in full-time employment with the same company after graduation," Wimbush said.
The Leadership Development Institute has become a mandatory leadership assessment tool for all first-year MBAs. The students undergo several exercises to determine their strengths and weaknesses on several dimensions that are critical for successful leadership. About half of second-year MBAs are trained to do the assessments. The program has successfully helped students to improve upon critical leadership skills.
Kelley was one of three business programs in Indiana to be recognized by Business Week. Purdue University's Krannert School of Business was 26th in the survey and the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business entered the top 30 as 29th.
In addition, there were several other Midwest business schools in the top 20, which helps Kelley's recruiting efforts, said Dick McCracken, director of graduate career services. "We are pleased that we remain on the preferred route of recruiters because of our close proximity to other top 20 business schools," he said.
Business Week editors also took note of the future impact of the new Graduate and Executive Education Center, which will be dedicated on Nov. 22. The new building features numerous technological advancements both inside and outside the classroom and improved facilities for job recruiters, research centers and executive education programs.
The Business Week ranking is just one of several recent kudos for the school. Last month, the Wall Street Journal recognized the school's high reputation among corporate recruiters with a major jump to No. 14 ranking. U.S. News & World Report also recognized the school's undergraduate program with a No. 10 ranking.
More information about Business Week's rankings of MBA programs is available on the publication's Web site at https://www.businessweek.com/bschools/.
