School of Management named a top regional institution

UB's School of Management is proving once again to be a good investment, as faculty and students make up one of the world's top business schools.

Climbing three spots from its rank of 13 in 2005, the school has been ranked in The Wall Street Journal as number 10 out of 51 top regional business schools in North America. This is the sixth consecutive year UB's management school has been recognized.

Administrators and professors alike agreed the accolade was well deserved.

Dr. Arun Jain, professor and director of the Center for Relationship Marketing, said that a combination of quality leadership, instructors and students are responsible for the school's excellence.

"The best professors and other faculty with the right experience have been recruited, and the right types of students have been admitted," Jain said. "Because we are no Harvard or Stanford, the students work harder and better than their competitors."

Many feel the greatest appeal of the UB school of Management is the hands on business training students receive, as well as access to assistance programs such as PACE, LEAP and REALM.

"(The school) is like a wonderful restaurant that no one knew about," Jain said. "Now recruiters are coming and they say, 'wow, what a great menu,' and more people want to come here."

The Wall Street Journal comprises three annual lists of the top regional, national and international schools. Noted regional schools are usually smaller with MBA programs of 500 students or less that have high recruiting within their geographic region. Nationally ranked schools draw recruiters from across the country, and internationally ranked schools draw recruits from at least four foreign countries.

"Corporate recruiters routinely tell us that our graduates are a valuable investment because of the impact they make in the workplace," said John M. Thomas, Dean of the School of Management, in a press release. "This ranking is a glowing affirmation of their message."

Students are also taking pride in the school's rank, and said that the national recognition will help them in their future careers.

"It was very exciting to hear that the UB School of Management was ranked top 10," said Marie Gersitz, a second year marketing student and the president of the Graduate Management Association. "I feel very lucky that I was able to gain admission into the program and that when I graduate, my degree is just going to be worth so much more."

Senior finance and international business major Vanessa D'Souza feels that the school has done an excellent job in making students available to business in the Buffalo area, and that this rank will further her networking possibilities.

At its current standing, the School of Management is reaping the benefits of its reputation, according to officials. They say that the recognition has given the school incentive to improve further.

"Alumni do well in all functional areas of business and have no problem being hired after graduation," Jain said. "It's not uncommon for them to receive two or three promotions in one year. But a higher rank means even better job placements and promotion opportunities."