Chicago's Culture of Challenge

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Chicago's Culture of Challenge

From BW online

Dean Ted Snyder talks about how the B-school gets MBAs "comfortable saying to someone you see some weakness"

When Ted Snyder joined the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business in 2001, it was in need of an attitude overhaul, according to former students. Stuck in its image of a B-school with a fantastic academic reputation, but lacking a sense of community in its culture, Snyder set about creating a GSB community without sacrificing academic rigor. BusinessWeek B-Schools Editor Jennifer Merritt recently spoke with Snyder about the delicate balance this effort entails. Following are edited excerpts:

Q: Chicago grads often talk about the school's culture of challenge -- the idea that students and professors challenge each other's thinking, always asking for more information, more about why they might think something, both in class and outside of class. How -- and why -- do you foster this sort of challenging culture? A: What's great about Chicago is that we have just one value system, and it does focus on challenge. You have got to be ready and comfortable in making a provisionally best answer yet better. You have to engage others. There are going to be days when our students are going to face high-stakes decisions in their jobs. And we want them to be prepared. There aren't enough cases and formulas out there to cover everything, so the students have to get to the point where they know how to think. We favor disciplined-based thinking, but the most important thing is that challenge -- being comfortable saying to someone you see some weakness. Or asking them, "How did you get to that answer?" It serves [grads] well when facing situations with big consequences. I really credit the faculty for making it work.

Q: It seems like this could be a little off-putting if someone goes overboard. How do you keep it constructive and professional? A: It can be off-putting if you are in a situation where everyone is into group-think, to be the person who is challenging. But we set the expectation that you can do this in a professional way. And you have to realize that it is good for you and for the other person to engage. You are not attacking the person, you are attacking that provisionally best answer. If people get into that routine, that's where the professional development comes from. Professional communication is one of the five expectations I set when students arrive. The others are that they represent the school well in all of you relationships, that you set your aspirations high, that you respect each other, and that you take control of your life, your career, and your life's work. Of course, I also tell them what they can expect from the school -- and we ask them to expect a lot.

Q: Speaking of expectations -- tuition is up yet again at most schools -- we're talking about up to $39,000 per year for tuition alone. [Chicago's tuition is $34,400.] Do you worry that the MBA is pricing itself out of the market for some of the kinds of people you actually want here? A: We've increased our scholarship budget by more than 10% each year since I got here. There's no doubt in my mind that these high tuition rates are closing the door on highly qualified applicants. We don't get students from Poland, for example, or plenty of other countries. It calls into question whether U.S. B-schools are really international. I keep expecting the rates to moderate, but it hasn't happened.

Q: Well, what does that do for student expectations -- paying $80,000, plus books, plus living expenses, and giving up salary for two years? A: I think the rising tuition is going to spark much more of a shakeout among the very good B-schools. Most of the 1980s and 1990s, it was a rising tide that lifted all of management education. Now, at these tuition rates you better have a world-class faculty, you better be able to deliver strong ROI [return on investment]. Otherwise, you are not going to have a credible value proposition. Schools that pull that off will continue to attract great students that will pay these amounts to get those returns. Not everybody is going to be able to pull that off. Competition is heating up [between schools], and the stakes are high.