Message From the Dean — January 2020


January 27, 2020

Dear GWSB Community,

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday break.

I had the pleasure of launching the spring semester with a joint GW Law/GWSB alumni reception at the GW vs. George Mason University basketball game. It was great to get together with alumni from both schools and GW Law Dean Christopher Bracey. Best of all, the Colonials won the game 73-67!

Now that we’re back on campus, I wanted to provide a few news updates that show the GWSB S.P.I.R.I.T. (putting Students first; working to improve students’ Placement outcomes; International in people, programs, and practice; reputation for Research; educational Innovation; and, achieving our mission Together) is stronger than ever!

GWSB Climbs In Rankings

The new year saw a continuation of GWSB’s upward trend in significant rankings, with our MBA program moving up 10 spots to #36 among U.S. schools and 20 spots to #70 worldwide in the Financial Times (FT) top 100 MBA rankings, earning the publication’s "highest riser" designation for 2020. GWSB also earned top marks from the FT for International Business (#2) and Corporate Social Responsibility (#9), longtime areas of strength for GWSB and our MBA program.

Our online graduate programs also advanced in the U.S. News and World Report rankings to #22 for the online MBA program (up from # 40 last year) and to #29 for other online graduate programs (up from #45 in 2019). We will continue to invest and innovate in our programs to provide the highest quality academic offerings in a flexible, accessible format that meets the needs and preferences of our diverse student body globally.

George Talks Business Is Back, Live and Online!

We leverage our Washington, D.C. location and extensive network of worldwide contacts to bring compelling guests to the GWSB community through this interview series each semester. The George Talks Business (GTB) series exemplifies both our commitment to innovation and enhancing the student experience by providing access to thought leaders from the business, government and nonprofit sectors.

We started off the season this month with an outstanding guest lineup: distinguished alumnus His Excellency George Cristian Maior, LL.M. ’92, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Romania to the United States; Mauricio Ortiz, president of Latin American Operations at Boston Scientific Corporation; and Andre Chen, MBA’93, Global CEO at Denham - Trendy International Group, who will host a Lunar New Year celebration directly following his GTB session.

Please join us for the next GTB event on campus or online. You can also view the complete GTB schedule and video archive on the GTB web page.

Expanding Our Global Network

We continue to advance our goal of being a truly international institution by going out into the world and bringing the world to GWSB. Earlier this month, GWSB signed a formal agreement to partner with the Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM), a prominent French university, as a participant in GEM’s transcontinental program. Under the terms of the accord, GWSB and GEM will jointly offer a semester-long program for a minimum of 20 students with coursework from both institutions, including classes taught by visiting GEM faculty.

GWSB joins a number of well-known universities around the globe as a host for the program. The transcontinental program is available to GEM’s Master in Management (Grande Ecole Program) students, who may elect to study at one of GEM’s international partners — which now includes a geopolitics track at GWSB. We will host the first cohort of 20+ GEM students and two visiting faculty in spring 2021.

Strengthening Ties to the Tech Community

In the areas of innovation and research, GW continues to strengthen its ties to the regional tech industry. GW President Thomas LeBlanc, Dean John Lach from the School of Engineering and Applied Science, Dean Christopher Deering from the College of Professional Studies and GW’s Virginia Science and Technology Campus, and I had the honor of attending a recent Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) breakfast meeting.

In my remarks at the NVTC event, I talked about GW’s support for a high level of interdisciplinary cooperation in business and STEM education, which reflects the “real world” relationship between business and technology.

GWSB and the local tech industry have much to offer one another. For example, closer ties with the tech community can help us ensure we are providing our students with an education that is attuned to today’s business environment (putting students’ interests first!), while our innovative, customizable graduate certificate programs offer a perfect solution for working professionals looking to upskill or re-skill for their careers. We are committed to continued engagement and cooperation to make the most of this mutually beneficial relationship.

* * *

It’s going to be a great semester. Let’s keep the S.P.I.R.I.T. strong and work together — faculty, staff, students and alumni — to make this new decade the best ever for GWSB.

All the best,

image - Dean Anuj Mehrotra signature

Anuj Mehrotra, Ph.D.

Dean