Message from the Dean                                                                                   Fall 2007
Dear Friends,

I am pleased to share with you some of the significant accomplishments achieved this fall at the Villanova School of Business, which are underscored by our recent BusinessWeek rankings. I hope that you enjoy reading the information in this update, and I thank you for your interest in VSB. I invite you to contact me with your questions and comments at any time.

James M. Danko
The Helen and William O’Toole Dean
Breaking News From BusinessWeek Celebrating the Clay Center at VSB

VSB Executive MBA Program Ranked #25 in the World by BusinessWeek

VSB Part-Time MBA Program Ranked #11 in the Nation by BusinessWeek

The VSB Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA are now ranked among the top programs in the world and in the nation by BusinessWeek magazine in its rankings published November 1, 2007. This unprecedented level of recognition speaks to the exceptional accomplishments of VSB faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

Of more than 300 executive MBA programs in the world, the VSB Executive MBA is one of only 25 programs that made the grade in this ranking. In the company of schools including Chicago, Kellogg, Columbia, London Business School, and INSEAD, VSB received special recognition for its innovative curriculum and its accessible faculty. Among all US programs, VSB ranks #18.

Alumni polled for the ranking gave VSB a grade of "A+" for its curriculum and "A+" for its quality of program support.

The VSB Part-Time MBA ranks #11 in the nation and #3 among Mid-Atlantic programs. There are nearly 350 part-time MBA programs in the US. VSB—with its accelerated format, small class sizes, and high completion rates—has earned the #1 spot in the nation in the rankings category of Academic Quality.

Students polled for the ranking gave the caliber of their classmates an “A” grade. The program also received special recognition as an excellent value for career switchers.

 

Click here to learn more about the Villanova School of Business in the rankings.
 
VSB Honors Dean Emeritus Alvin A. Clay with New Student Services Center

VSB Dean Emeritus Alvin A. Clay, along with his family, friends, colleagues, former students, and Villanova community members will gather to celebrate the opening of the new Clay Center at VSB on November 12. The new center, led by Associate Dean Melinda German, will provide undergraduate business students with program services to support their academic, personal, and professional growth. Click here to learn more about the Clay Center at VSB.

 

Organizational Innovation at VSB
VSB faculty members have creatively reorganized their traditional departments into new Academic Areas, and have created new experimental departments, called "Strategic Initiative Groups." The purpose of these new changes is to improve the educational quality of VSB even further by supporting academic creativity and cross-functional research and teaching.

Academic Areas have been restructured and assigned faculty chairpeople as follows:

-Accounting & Information Systems: Professor Daniel O’Mara
-Economics & Statistics: Professor Wen Mao
-Marketing & Business Law: Professor Greg Bonner
-Finance: Professor David Shaffer
-Management & Operations: Professor Kevin Clark

Strategic Initiative Groups have been established and assigned directors as follows:

-Business Innovation: Professor Louis Padulo
-Financial Services: Professor Tim Monahan
-Analytics: Professor Matthew Liberatore
-Corporate Social Responsibility: Professor Raymond Taylor
New Master of Science in Church Management Degree

VSB is pleased to announce its new Master of Science in Church Management degree
This new degree is designed to meet the needs of a national student body of Church leaders and managers, including parish business managers, managers of diocesan and religious order departments, and those engaged in managing Church-related social service ministries. It is led by VSB Economics Professor Charles Zech, a widely-recognized national expert on Catholic Church management and finances and Director of the VSB Center for the Study of Church Management. All courses are holistic and integrated, and have been specifically designed for church managers. The MS in Church Management—along with its sponsoring entity, the Center—has been established at VSB to improve the Church’s ability to attract, train, motivate, develop, and retain its most talented people. Graduates may expect to have gained the following core competencies.

Planning: strategy formation and implementation, technology/data, and the legal environment
Controlling: financial literacy, budgeting, transparency, financial statements
Organizing: human resources, organizational structure and behavior, advisory board utilization
Leading: group dynamics, ecclesiological perspectives, and alignment between the faith community work and values

Click here to learn more about this new degree program.
New VSB Center for Global Leadership
VSB is pleased to announce its new Center for Global Leadership at VSB
The center—directed by Jonathan Doh, Herbert G. Rammrath Endowed Chair in International Business—will support VSB’s goal of becoming an internationally recognized premier business school with a strong commitment to globalization and responsible global leadership.

The center will advance the principles of ethical and responsible global leadership for the betterment of business and society. Specifically, CGL will:

• contribute to the development of the unique international strategy of VSB, emphasizing integrated international business studies and responsible global leadership;
• serve as a source of new ideas and innovations for VSB’s international curricular and extracurricular initiatives and programs to advance international business and responsible global leadership;
• act as a catalyst for faculty research and innovation in international business and responsible global leadership;
• attract global leaders to become part of the VSB and Villanova communities; and
• reach out to, and work with, the university community and other public, private, and nonprofit organizations on international programs and initiatives.
  


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