The University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business has demonstrated significant leadership in integrating social, environmental and ethical issues into its MBA program, according to the Aspen Institute’s 2011–12 edition of Beyond Grey Pinstripes, a biennial survey and alternative ranking of business schools.
Daniels ranked No. 15 on a list of the top-100 business schools, moving up from No. 20 in the 2009–10 ranking.
While many MBA rankings exist, Pinstripes looks beyond reputation and test scores to measure how well schools prepare students for environmental, social and ethical complexities of modern-day business.
“At Daniels, we believe there is a greater purpose to business and that it can — and must — be a driving force behind positive change,” says Daniels Dean Christine Riordan. “Daniels provides our students with an extraordinary educational experience that is transforming the face of business around the world — from village banks in Cambodia, to big banks on Wall Street, and from the Peace House for AIDS orphans in Tanzania to students building a net zero impact home in Denver. The Aspen Institute recognizes that the big issues facing organizations today require unparalleled excellence in the educational institutions responsible for the next generation of global business leaders.”
This year, 149 business schools from 22 countries participated in a year-long effort to map the landscape of teaching and research on issues pertaining to business and society. The rankings rated schools on areas such as relevant coursework, student exposure, business impact and faculty research.
“In all scoring categories used to determine the ranking, business schools have raised the bar,” says Judith Samuelson, executive director of the Aspen Institute Business and Society Program, which conducted Beyond Grey Pinstripes. “There are more courses with content on social, ethical, and environmental issues, more courses about the role of business as a positive agent for change, more exposure of students to this content, and more research published by faculty on relevant topics.”
This year’s survey marked the first opportunity since the global economic downturn to comprehensively measure the extent to which MBA programs have altered the content of their courses, and whether faculty are pursuing research that questioned assumptions about the role of business in society.
For more information, visit www.daniels.du.edu.