Businessweek Says We're No. 1

Having lived in Minnesota for 20 years I understand that our culture is not one in which we like to brag about ourselves. However, I simply cannot contain my excitement over seeing the Carlson School listed by Bloomberg Businessweek as the top school in the country for 2011 MBA job placement. I only wish this national recognition for something that we have always done well - preparing our students for the workplace - would have delved into why we are so successful.

Our Graduate Business Career Center, led by Michelle Chevalier, and the UBCC directed by Morgan Kinross-Wright are exceptional at both engaging prospective employers and preparing students to enter the working world. The flurry of activity you see when walking by their offices in Hanson Hall on any given day is truly astonishing.

While many of our students do go into traditional MBA jobs in finance and consulting in firms like Deloitte and McKinsey, the Carlson School and its career centers are connected to an amazing and diverse corporate community. Innovative Fortune 500 firms such as General Mills, Medtronic, 3M, and Target (just to name a few) all make us a school of choice.

Why do so many of these leading companies turn to the Carlson School for talent? It's simple. Our students are prepared. The hands-on experience our students receive working on real projects for real companies in our Enterprises is unlike anything offered by another school. The Enterprise Directors Jerry Caruso, Dave Hopkins, Phil Miller, Toby Nord, and Jeanette Parr are to be commended for the work they do in bringing academic learning to life for their students and for the results they and the students have delivered for so many leading corporations.

Finally, being at a research university creates a culture of critical thinking. Our world-class faculty members equip our students with the ability to analyze problems, question assumptions, and find solutions. This manifests itself not only in our placement data but also in how well our students do in prestigious case competitions such as the Ross School's Global Operation Conference case competition and the Elite 8 Brand Management Case Competition.

I have long been proud of our comprehensive approach to preparing students for careers in business and couldn't be more pleased that others are becoming aware of our efforts.