Entrepreneur Magazine has named the Stephen M. Ross School of Business as one of the 16 best schools in the nation for MBA students to pursue a sustainable business degree.
The publication based its rankings on The Princeton Review's survey of administrators at 325 graduate schools of business in 2009-2010 and of students attending the schools. Administrators were surveyed on their school's academics, curricula, campus policies and student services related to sustainability, social responsibility and the environment. Students were polled on how well they felt their MBA programs were educating them for careers in "green business" fields.
“For more than 15 years, we have served as a leading source of research, education and leadership development for sustainable enterprise,” said Thomas Lyon, director of the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at U-M. “This recognition is a great acknowledgement of U-M’s cutting-edge efforts to prepare the next generation of leaders to create the socially and environmentally sustainable economies of the future.”
Developed in 1996 through a partnership between the School of Natural Resources and Environment and Ross School of Business, the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise was acknowledged by entrepreneur.com for its green curriculum. The three-year dual degree program – MBA/MS -- includes course offerings that fuse business with environment, including Sustainable Development, Competitive Environmental Strategy, and Sustainable Manufacturing. The program had a record enrollment of more than 120 students this past academic year.
U-M offers nearly 400 sustainability-related courses and programs across multiple academic disciplines in its 19 schools and colleges. The Ross School of Business is helping lead U-M’s commitment to sustainability across the academic, research and operational areas of the university. From student involvement and influential professors to course offerings and building operations, the Ross School of Business is facilitating opportunities to make an impact in sustainable teaching, learning and living. Examples include:
- A LEED Silver certified building that reduces water usage by 55 percent and is 25 percent more energy-efficient than standard construction as a result of U-M’s adoption of more rigorous energy requirements in construction practices.
- Student involvement and work in the nation’s largest and most active chapter of Net Impact, a club created to integrate sustainability and social responsibility into the curriculum and community of business schools around the country.
- Access to notable academic luminaries including Professors: Andy Hoffman, Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise, who is a leader in the field and noted for his books regarding carbon emissions and climate change as it relates to businesses; Gautam Kaul, the John C. and Sally S. Morley Professor of finance who was recognized by his students for launching a sustainable finance class; and Thomas P. Lyon, Dow Professor of Sustainable Science, Technology and Commerce, whose work focuses on corporate environmental information disclosure, renewable energy policy, and voluntary programs for environmental improvement.
For more information on sustainable business programs and practices at the Ross School of Business, visit: http://www.bus.umich.edu/.
Entrepreneur magazine is a monthly publication that covers news and stories related to entrepreneurialism, small business management and business opportunities.