Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) last week reclaimed the number one spot in the Aspen Institute’s biennial Beyond Grey Pinstripes rankings, an alternative ranking that compares business schools according to how well they teach MBA students to look at the social, environmental and ethical impacts of business decisions. This year’s rankings were released on September 21st.
“In all scoring categories used to determine the ranking, business schools have raised the bar,” Judith Samuelson, executive director of the Aspen Institute Business and Society Program, which conducted Beyond Grey Pinstripes, said in a statement. She noted that there are more courses than ever before featuring content on social, ethical and environmental issues, more courses about the role of business as a positive agent for change and more research published by faculty on relevant topics.
Stanford GSB slipped to fourth place in the last Beyond Grey Pinstripes ranking in 2009, having held the top spot in 2005 and 2007. But the Palo Alto school rose to the top again this year as a result of having numerous course offerings with social and environmental content, additional courses that explicitly address the role of mainstream business in improving social and environmental conditions and an environment in which faculty feel free to explore social and environmental topics in their research.
The top 10 schools in this year’s ranking were as follow:
1. Stanford Graduate School of Business
2. York University, Schulich School of Business (Canada)
3. IE University (Spain)
4. Notre Dame, Mendoza College of Business
5. Yale School of Management
6. Northwestern, Kellogg School of Management
7. University of Michigan, Ross School of Business
8. Cornell University, Johnson Graduate School of Management
9. University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler Business School
10. UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business
In a press release announcing the rankings, Samuelson noted that the 2011 survey represented the first opportunity since the global economic downturn to measure whether and how MBA programs have changed their course content as a result. “In the wake of the financial crisis we’re seeing an increased willingness to address these issues,” she said. “That willingness is coming from a variety of factors, including student demand, faculty readiness and a desire on the part of business schools to clarify what exactly they’re doing to prepare business leaders to serve the needs of society, such as job creation and energy conservation.”
To be considered as part of the rankings, business schools were asked to submit detailed course descriptions and faculty research abstracts, as well as information about extracurricular activities, institutes and centers, joint degrees and specializations. For the 2011-2012 Beyond Grey Pinstripes rankings, 149 schools from 22 countries submitted data. The Aspen Institute project team spent seven months analyzing the data to arrive at the rankings.
For the complete 2011 Beyond Grey Pinstripes rankings, click here.
Read the full article: Stanford Graduate School of Business Tops Aspen Institute’s Beyond Grey Pinstripes Ranking