UO's MBA program rated ninth worldwide on sustainability list

EUGENE, Ore. -- (Sept. 24, 2013) – The University of Oregon's Lundquist College of Business is second in the U.S. and ninth worldwide in a new ranking of the "Top 30 Global Green MBA schools" by the Canadian business magazine Corporate Knights.

On the magazine's list of the top 10 small MBA programs – those with fewer than 100 graduates per year – the UO was ranked third worldwide and second in the U.S.

"We are pleased to be recognized for our role in advancing sustainable business throughout the world," said Rebecca Monro, assistant dean for the UO's MBA program. “The Oregon MBA’s sustainable business track integrates coursework and hands-on learning through a variety of methods, including student-managed consulting projects for leading businesses.

"For over three decades, the Lundquist College of Business has been preparing students to go out and make a difference implementing green business practices across organizations of all sizes," Monro said. "We think this is what sets our program apart."

A list of 250 top-rated business schools in the world were invited to take part in the Corporate Knights survey, which includes data from September 2012 to August 2013. The magazine then ranked the MBA programs of schools that chose to participate, based on how each integrates sustainability into its curriculum. For instance, schools were rewarded for encouraging graduates to do work in the nonprofit sector and for promoting sustainability through various activities and initiatives.

The Lundquist program was specifically cited for its Center for Sustainable Business Practices; the Avamere Professor of Practice (Michael Crooke, former CEO of Patagonia), who focuses on integrating sustainability into advanced business strategy; and the overall "rich sustainability curriculum and activities" of the UO.

This is the first year of the Corporate Knights sustainable MBA survey, whose authors acknowledged their intent to fill a gap left by last spring's suspension of the biennial "Beyond Grey Pinstripes" ranking of MBA programs by the Aspen Institute. The Beyond Grey Pinstripes list began in 1999 as a means of rating MBA programs based on their social, ethical and environmental content.

Corporate Knights is a Toronto-based media, research and financial information company. Its award-winning magazine covers business and society.

About the University of Oregon

The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.

MEDIA CONTACT: Joe Mosley, UO media relations, 541-346-3606, jmosley@uoregon.edu

Note: The University of Oregon is equipped with an on-campus television studio with a point-of-origin Vyvx connection, which provides broadcast-quality video to networks worldwide via fiber optic network. In addition, there is video access to satellite uplink, and audio access to an ISDN codec for broadcast-quality radio interviews.