From The Dean - Summer 2012
One of the distinct benefits of being Dean is the opportunity to meet with alumni across Canada and around the globe to discuss the exciting initiatives at QSB. Our alumni are very proud of their School and eager to inquire about favourite professors, Queen’s traditions, and the Goodes Hall expansion. From time to time, such as at a recent Business Club event in Vancouver, I am asked why the School is growing, and how this growth will affect things like class size, camaraderie, and the quality of the Queen’s experience. It’s a great question.
Business education, like business itself, has become increasingly global. In order to compete, growth is not a “nice to do,” it’s a “must do.” Some commentators suggest that in the future the business school universe will comprise a handful of global business schools, with the rest left behind to compete regionally. In order to remain competitive, Queen’s School of Business must be a globally relevant business school.
To compete internationally, business schools must be highly innovative—this has always been a strength of Queen’s School of Business. But being globally competitive also requires scale, and this is where we have lagged. This does not mean we strive to be the largest. We are already a comprehensive, competitive school that competes on the global stage, and we must continue to expand our world view. Strategic, measured growth increases our footprint, international network and global relevance.
Our strategy is clear: Be among the most innovative and dominate in the delivery of our programs. We are pursuing this in three ways: first, in addition to our flagship degree programs, we are delivering a suite of professional and direct-entry Masters programs; second, we recruit top students and faculty from around the world; and third, we strive to be the best in the world with the programs we offer.
So, let’s get back to the question I heard in Vancouver. Can we grow in size without jeopardizing quality? The answer is yes, and casting our gaze south of the border to another high quality, innovative and spirited school called Harvard provides a helpful comparison. Last year, Harvard had an acceptance rate of 12 percent, admitting a class of 905 MBA students. This year, the Queen’s Commerce program received a record 5,300 applications, and we admitted a class of 450—that’s an 8.5 percent acceptance rate. Both the class size and acceptance rates are important, and I hope this allays any concerns about growth and quality.
Queen’s School of Business continues to build upon its outstanding legacy of quality and innovation and is well positioned to continue establishing itself as a globally relevant business school long into the future. Thank you for your continued support—it has been critical to our success.
David M. Saunders, PhD
Dean, Queen’s School of Business
dsaunders@business.queensu.ca