UAlbany MBA Program Garners Top-10 Ranking from Princeton Review

School of Business ninth in nation in offering greatest opportunities for women

 

ALBANY, N.Y. (December 22, 2008) -- The University at Albany Master's in Business Administration degree ranks ninth in offering the "Greatest Opportunity for Women," according to the Princeton Review's 2009 Best 296 Business Schools.

The Princeton Review's "Greatest Opportunity for Women" category is based on the percent of students who are female, the percent of faculty who are female, and a student-based assessment of resources for female students. The ranking gages the support structure for female students at the school, whether the business school offers coursework for women entrepreneurs, and whether case study materials for classes proportionately reflect women in business.

"This is a tribute to our outstanding faculty, department chairs, and staff, who offer an excellent program and a strongly supportive environment for female MBA students," said School of Business Dean Donald Siegel.

UAlbany's MBA course counts 60 percent female students in its full time, evening and weekend MBA programs. The School's professional staff is 47 percent female, including the 40 percent of department chairs who are women.

"Although both business and IT fields have traditionally been dominated by men, we have had success in attracting and keeping female students in the ITM concentration." said InduShobha Chengalur-Smith, chair of the School's Information Technology Management Department. "I attribute this to the supportive atmosphere within the department as well as the fact that the faculty think of them as business students first."

"As women enter the business and accounting professions in increasing numbers role models play an important part in support and retention," said Ingrid Fisher, chair of the Department of Accounting and Law. "Our University, School and department are poised to embrace new leadership wherever true quality emerges and our female role models are at the forefront of this process." Fisher was the first woman to successfully complete the tenure process in the department, as well as its' first female chair.

"I tell my students, especially minorities, that I am living testimony that everyone should aspire toward some goals and if they believe that they can achieve them, they will,"  said Rita Biswas, assistant professor of finance "The road may not be easy but one has to be determined and remain undeterred."

The School is currently engaged in a capital campaign to support a new state-of-the-art academic and research facility. The University received $54 million in support from the 2008-09 New York State budget. Additionally, UAlbany received a commitment for $525,000 from University at Albany alumni at Deloitte and the Deloitte Foundation to establish the Deloitte Foundation Endowment and the Accounting Chair Deloitte Foundation Opportunity Fund. The endowment will support faculty research, and establish and maintain state-of-the-art teaching facilities within the school�s new building. The Opportunity Fund will enable the Accounting Department chair to support faculty research, student participation in symposiums and competitions, and other opportunities to enhance their academic experience.

The Deloitte commitment is the largest gift to date in support of the new School of Business building, which will feature technologically advanced classrooms and meeting spaces, wireless internet access, breakout rooms for team projects, space for student and career services, student reception areas, and more graduate assistant work space. The building is expected to be completed by 2013.

The University at Albany School of Business is engaged in exceptional undergraduate, graduate and executive programs; pioneering research; and the ethical and globally oriented pursuit of business opportunity. The School is renowned for innovative contributions to the business and accounting professions through discovery, communication and the application of new knowledge. Eighty-five percent of School of Business undergraduates are employed fulltime by three months of graduation and another 12 percent go on to graduate school. For the fulltime MBA program, about 97 percent are placed in fulltime positions within three months of graduation. The University placed three undergraduates at Goldman Sachs in the summer of 2008.

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Educationally and culturally, the University at Albany-SUNY puts "The World Within Reach" for its 18,000 students. An internationally recognized research university with 58 undergraduate majors and 128 graduate degree programs, UAlbany is a leader among all New York State colleges and universities in such diverse fields as public policy, nanotechnology and criminal justice. With a curriculum enhanced by 300 study-abroad opportunities, UAlbany launches great careers. For more information about this globally ranked University, visit www.albany.edu. For UAlbany's extensive roster of faculty experts, visit www.albany.edu/news/experts.shtml.