Dear Advisory Board, Close Friends, Faculty, Staff, and Students:
Soon, U.S. News and World Report will publish its new MBA program rankings. Once again, we've risen to new heights: from #29 last year to #22 this year, our highest rank ever! We are tied with Emory University, Indiana University, and Washington University in St. Louis--schools that have appeared in numerous top 10 and top 20 rankings over many years.
I believe our MBA program is rising more rapidly than the MBA world has seen since Duke's and Yale's dramatic ascents decades ago. In addition to today's good news, we jumped two tiers in the Business Week rankings earlier this year, into the top tier.
Our ascent in U.S. News and World Report reflects our graduates' very impressive job placement, our rapidly rising standards of admission and student excellence, and a fast-growing reputation among academic peers which is grounded in the excellence of our faculty.
Everyone getting this note has played a substantial role in this achievement: our superb faculty, our devoted and excellent staff, our fine and truly unique MBA students and community, Dean Blum and her team that built so many of the great things on which our climb now continues, our alumni and friends whose support is always inspiring, and the unflagging help we have received from the President and Provost. My heartfelt thanks to all of you for everything we are achieving together.
While this of course is wonderful news, our challenges truly have never been greater. Since Duke and Yale rose to the top-20 decades ago, several other b-schools have aimed at that lofty company, and none has consistently maintained its nod into that group over a sustained period. The competition into the top tier is truly daunting, and the early entrants have very substantial strategic advantages. Jockeying among MBA programs is often called an arms race, and for good reason.
On top of the critical challenge of continuing our MBA program's sustained ascent, we also must continue our hard work in enhancing our undergraduate and doctoral programs, in hiring and retaining star faculty, in ensuring staff levels that support our growth, and in retaining gifted staff who have played absolutely critical roles in all we've accomplished.
These challenges are going call on our very best efforts. Both our budget and our endowment are small in comparison to all of our competitors at this level, and for this reason I will continue to focus as much of my time and energy as possible on the generation of new resources for the College. These will be essential to our ongoing work.
Here's the one thing I know: nothing but continued forward momentum is an option. We must and we will find a way to make that continuing progress a reality. And I can't emphasize your role enough. We're going to need the very best that every one of us can give if the College is to succeed in its ambitious goals. But the College will succeed.
A very big GO JACKETS!! And many, many thanks for all you've contributed to these remarkable results.
Steve Steve Salbu
Dean and Stephen P. Zelnak, Jr. Chair
College of Management
Georgia Institute of Technology |