Michigan Ross Dean and School Leaders Participate in Poets&Quants Centre Court MBA Festival
Sharon F. Matusik, Edward J. Frey Dean of Business, spoke virtually to prospective Full-Time MBA students during this week’s Poets&Quants CentreCourt MBA Festival. The event focused on the industry trends of business education.
Dean Matusik articulated to John A. Byrne, Poets&Quants founder and editor-in-chief, that a Michigan Ross education stands out because it emphasizes action, impact, and community.
Action
Dean Matusik discussed that students learn by working through real-world situations with faculty guidance. The Michigan Ross Multidisciplinary Action Projects match groups of students with sponsor companies around the globe. Students work collaboratively and communicate with each other as they tackle complex business challenges.
Dean Matusik also pointed out that action is taking place in her office. Michigan Ross leadership actively seeks teaching innovations. That includes new classes and programs, like the Master of Business Analytics degree, that cater to marketplace demands. In the online arena, Michigan Ross continues to be the first mover in technology development with its Extended Reality Digital Education Studio.
Impact
Dean Matusik shared that her talks with Michigan Ross students indicate that they want their future business decisions to positively impact the world, not just their organization’s bottom line. Through Multidisciplinary Action Projects, students must consider how an economic-based decision may have critical social or sustainability implications. Michigan Ross students are fortunate to share the University of Michigan campus with students from 110 other academic programs that rank among the top 10 in their own fields. Integrating with the Ford School of Public Policy, Michigan Law, the School for Environment and Sustainability, and more is a distinct luxury that many students capitalize upon.
Community
Michigan Ross students are entrenched in the university physically and socially, Dean Matusik explained. The classrooms are in the heart of campus, walking distance to dozens of campus buildings, as well as Ann Arbor’s vibrant downtown. Among the 645,000+ U-M alumni around the world, more than 55,000 are Ross alumni. Those alumni are extremely engaged, which Dean Matusik learned firsthand as she flew around the world to meet with alumni during her first year as dean.
Additionally, Dean Matusik expressed how greatly valuable the Full-Time MBA Program is to students who can be on campus. She encouraged all prospective students to visit Ann Arbor so they can see and feel for themselves what Michigan Ross offers. Students are immersed in the program’s content every day. Additionally, they get to interact with their peers and faculty to create an in-depth experience. Meanwhile, the additional MBA offerings allow students a great deal of flexibility in their lives to work towards a Michigan Ross degree on their own schedules.
Heather Byrne, managing director of the Career Development Office, also participated in a separate roundtable discussion during the CentreCourt MBA Festival.
Byrne stated that the Michigan Ross Career Development Office begins helping MBA students as soon as they are admitted. Students work on their resumes with Michigan Ross staff so they are ready when they reach Ann Arbor. Throughout their time on campus, they are trained to be adaptable, resilient, and possess good foundational job-searching skills.
Michigan Ross faculty are always examining the classes they teach. It’s important that students are taught the most relevant skills for their industry. Some of those required skills now include how to manage a hybrid workforce and foster an inclusive workplace.
Michigan Ross students are assigned to working groups for each course where they are exposed to a variety of professional and socioeconomic backgrounds. Diversity, equity and inclusion are an important part of the culture, curriculum, and university as a whole. Overall, Michigan Ross provides a supportive environment that drives leadership growth for all students.
Michigan Ross admission directors participated in the CentreCourt panel where they reviewed the MBA application process and experiences that have been evolving during the pandemic.
