Our Plan

Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management

OUR PLAN

Our goal for Owen is simple: to be recognized as the school that is known for producing great business minds and ideas that change how business is done.

Getting there requires a deliberate plan.

THIS IS OURS.

We are committed to being the business school of choice for students, for faculty, for recruiters, for alumni.

We will use our portfolio of market-focused programs to differentiate and bring distinction to the school and facilitate greater selectivity in our degree programs.

We will create a culture and support system to attract top students, provide an intelligence-rich learning environment, and entice employers to hire our graduates (with particular emphasis on areas where unique resources exist).

We will provide a research environment for faculty that fosters the creation and dissemination of knowledge.

HOW?

WE WILL ATTRACT THE BRIGHTEST MINDS. By making the value of a Vanderbilt business degree evident.

By providing ample resources that empower our students to succeed.

By continuing to provide the best student experience possible.

It will take: Increased funding for scholarships.

Continued innovation in our curriculum — experiential learning, global education, responsiveness to industry change.

A classroom experience that incorporates leading-edge research and theory.

Enhanced student-faculty connections.

WE WILL CONNECT WITH INDUSTRY. By forging new and stronger relationships with employers and focusing on the recruiter experience.

By keeping businesses and alumni involved in our work.

By being strategically involved in influential professional and academic associations.

It will take: Conferences and events that showcase the school — programs, faculty and quality of students.

Stronger relationships with MBA recruiters — structured internship programs, virtual recruiting solutions, relations in international markets.

Programs and opportunities that connect alumni with the school.

WE WILL CREATE KNOWLEDGE. By empowering faculty to do what they do best.

By fueling faculty research that influences business.

By fostering opportunities for sharing our ideas.

It will take: Increased support and resources to do meaningful research.

Focused conferences that shift perception.

Hiring scholars that will enhance our academic reputation.

WE WILL SET THE STAGE. By investing in critical improvements to facilities.

By building a new home that fosters our mission and nurtures our unique culture.

By supplying resources and technology that keep pace with today’s business world.

It will take: Architectural conceptual drawings and a feasibility study.

Funds to build.

WE WILL KEEP SCORE. Vanderbilt’s programs are consistently ranked in the top 10 percent of accredited business schools, both in the United States and around the world. Within this elite group, we will reach even higher.

By continuing our advances in student quality as measured by experience and attributes, GMAT and selectivity ratios.

By expanding the number of recruiting relationships, resulting in abundant jobs and competitive salaries for our students.

By showcasing faculty research and impact and, in doing so, strengthening our academic reputation.

The Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management MBA program climbed eight slots to #28 in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings.

• Owen ranks #19 among private U.S. graduate business schools and is one of seven programs in the top 30 to focus only on graduate management education. (The others are Stanford, Harvard, Tuck, Columbia, Yale and Duke.)

• Owen is only one of six schools of similar size (total MBA enrollment in the 200–400 range) to make it into the top 30.

• Owen is one of only two schools to climb into the U.S. News top 30 this year.

For full information on rankings for both the MBA and Executive MBA programs, visit the “Facts & Stats” page at owen.vanderbilt.edu.

WE WILL TELL OUR STORY. One of the most critical steps in bringing our plan to life is crafting a powerful story. One that sets us apart from other schools. One that turns our collaborative community and culture into compelling benefits for prospective students and for those who employ them.

One that is authentic to Owen today and true to where we want to be in the future.

Here is what our story might sound like.

We are not cutthroat. Some see this as a sign of weakness.

We see it as our defining strength.

It’s true we’re small. We like it that way. It means we work efficiently, dig deeper and adapt to change faster than most.

Because the old way of doing things is boring. Broken.

So we work together to shape today’s most inventive business thinkers. For the new economy. The non-zero-sum game. The one we all win. The one the world is still figuring out.

We’re the B-school built for the persistent. The defiant. The genuine. The professional who knows he or she hasn’t heard it all before — and uses that humility to grow. To learn. To change.

That’s called wisdom.

And a word from the wise: Take note of Vanderbilt.

We’re rewriting the rules of business. Together.

VANDERBILT BUSINESS. REWRITE THE RULES. bit.ly/rewritetherules

AS ALWAYS, WE’RE DOING THIS TOGETHER. It’s going to take the entire Owen community to move us forward. Because where we go and what we become is up to us — all of us: alumni, students, faculty and friends.

Join us in telling our story more boldly than ever before.

Join us in putting our powerful plan into action.

Join us in rewriting the rules.