Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business is 4th in the U.S. and 10th globally in the 2017 Better World MBA rankings.
For 15 years, Corporate Knights ("The Magazine for Clean Capitalism") has ranked MBA programs against key educational attributes that prepare graduates for engagement and leadership in environmental, economic, and social dimensions of sustainability applicable to a range of careers in business, civil society, and government. These rankings take into consideration three key institutional components: business courses, institutes and centers, and faculty research, all of which must focus primarily on the study of sustainable business.
At Scheller, the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business serves as the hub for student, faculty, and practitioner engagement in sustainability. Michael Oxman, Managing Director of the Center, notes, "Scheller College wants to differentiate itself by developing principled business leaders who demonstrate commitment to sustainability. This year's Better World ranking reinforces that we've been successful. " He continued, "We facilitate sharing of knowledge and best practices on which current and future leaders can leverage to integrate sustainability into their organizations." He highlighted the "Business, Environment, and Society" speaker series as well as the Sustainable Business Consulting Practicum as prime examples of channels for students to engage in both the theory and practice of sustainability with faculty, practitioners, and companies, on real-world issues and challenges.
Beril Toktay, Faculty Director of the Center, said she is proud of the collective contribution of centers, faculty, and students. "The ranking reflects in part the sustainability thought leadership by the faculty of Scheller College," she said. The 16 faculty members who are affiliated with the Center represent research areas ranging from marketing and finance to operations management. The Center continually implements new ways to support the College's innovative faculty. "For instance," she explained, "we recently created communications packages, with options ranging from media training to the publication of research briefs, that can help faculty develop their roles as thought leaders within the field of sustainable business."
Scheller College of Business Dean Maryam Alavi said, "At the Scheller College of Business, we believe that innovation is key to a sustainable future. We are enthusiastic about our MBA immersive track and concentration that focus on sustainability, as well as by our partnerships with leading corporations and new ventures alike." Partners to date include Bank of America, the City of Atlanta, the Coca-Cola Company, Grubbly Farms, The Home Depot, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Rubicon Global, and SunTrust Bank.
Other Centers that contributed to the Corporate Knights ranking include the Center of International Business Education and Research (CIBER), a national resource center of excellence in international business; the Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship (ILE), an interdisciplinary institute that encourages social entrepreneurship; the Cecil B. Day Program for Business Ethics that engages in skill development for ethical decision making; and the Center for Serve-Learn-Sustain, an undergraduate education initiative focused on creating sustainable communities. Collectively, these programs provide Scheller College students with unparalleled breadth and depth of curricular and co-curricular opportunities in environmental sustainability, ethics, corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, and values-based leadership.