Ross School of Business - History

History

The school was founded in 1924.

Some highlights from its recent history:

B. Joseph White became dean in 1990, and began a transformation of the School's character and image. He led a major MBA curriculum overhaul, which aimed to intensify the development of students' professional and practical skills, teamwork, leadership, and overall ability to turn knowledge and ideas into action. The signature innovation, called MAP (Multidisciplinary Action Project), puts students into "live cases" inside companies for seven weeks. MAP's "action learning" or "experiential learning" approach was the first curriculum innovation in management education since the introduction of the case method in the 1940s. It is still a hallmark of Michigan's MBA program. Other initiatives, such as research on how to supplement the GMAT with a test of "practical intelligence," helped cement the school's reputation for innovations that produce business leaders who are not only smart, but highly effective. . White's approach built on a historical strength of the School, which was known for producing hard-working, practically-oriented graduates. In addition, White added a focus on corporate citizenship to the MBAs' training, and moved aggressively to globalize the School. Most notably, he founded the William Davidson Institute to position Michigan as a leader on economies transitioning from communism to free markets.

Following White's changes, Michigan was ranked "most innovative" in Business Week's surveys of corporate executives and was recognized for turning out can-do graduates. In 1996, Michigan was ranked second in Business Week's prestigious business school rankings, the highest ranking the School has achieved, which the magazine attributed to the School's growing reputation for innovation . As a corporate hunting ground, Michigan attracted a broader set of recruiters beyond the auto manufacturers and packaged goods companies who had been its core customers.

Under White, several of the School's hallmark programs and centers were created, including The Erb Institute for Sustainable Global Enterprise, The Joel D. Tauber Institute for Global Operations, The Zell-Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurship, the Wolverine Venture Fund, and the William Davidson Institute.

Robert J. Dolan, who was named dean in 2001, oversaw a dramatic re-building and facilities modernization initiative and worked to build the School's identity and reputation in the management education marketplace. Under Dolan, the School received one of the two-largest donations ever made to a business school. In the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program, Dolan pressed the School's distinction for turning out leaders with a practical, can-do orientation. This leveraged and accelerated a re-definition of the School's curriculum and image made by his predecessor. Dolan also made profound changes to the School's image through his ambitious rebuilding of the dated facilities he inherited, creating a showcase property, the Stephen M. Ross School of Business designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox. On Dolan's watch, the school earned the #1 ranking in the Wall Street Journal's 2006 and 2004 list of MBA programs (which are based on feedback from employers on which MBA program's students they would be most likely to rehire), #8 in The Economist, #5 in the BusinessWeek, and #11 in the U.S. News & World Report rankings in 2006 (the latter three publications' rankings are based on a variety of criteria including reputation among academics, etc.). The school's BBA program is widely regarded as one of the best in the United States, having ranked within the top three of U.S. News & World Report rankings every year since the ranking's inception. In 1980, the BBA program was ranked #2 in the US by Parade Magazine. In 2005, the school introduced a 3-year version of the previously 2-year undergraduate program; the latter has since been phased out and candidates now apply as seniors in high school or during their freshman year at university, then commence their business studies in the sophomore year of college.

During the Dolan administration, the school transformed itself further. In 2004, it was named for alumnus Stephen M. Ross who donated $100 million to the school. At the time of the donation, this was the largest gift ever to an U.S. business school, and the largest ever to the University of Michigan. The Ross gift funded a campus overhaul. The school demolished 180,000 square feet (16,000 m²) of existing building space, and has renovated or added 270,000 square feet (25,000 m²).

On February 14, 2011, it was announced that Alison Davis-Blake would become the new Dean of the Ross School of Business, succeeding Robert J. Dolan.