Dezsö J. Horváth, dean of York’s Schulich School of Business, has been lauded by the prestigious Academy of International Business (AIB).
Left: Dezsö J. Horváth
In an announcement on Jan. 15, AIB said Horváth was named 2004 Dean of the Year, the first time that a Canadian has been a recipient of the award. It will be presented at the AIB annual meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, scheduled for July 10-13.
Now serving his fourth five-year term, Horvath is one of the longest-serving deans at any business school in North America.
In making the announcement, Donald Lessard, dean of the AIB Fellows and a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said, "Since becoming dean in 1988, Dezsö Horváth has played a significant role in transforming Schulich into a truly global business school, with pioneering International MBA and BBA programs and an Executive MBA program offered jointly with the Kellogg School of Business.
"He has also undertaken numerous international initiatives in Eastern Europe, Russia and Asia, and has established a number of endowed chairs with an international focus – three in international business and two others with explicit global mandates."
John Hunkin, Chair of the Dean’s Advisory Council at the Schulich School of Business and president and CEO of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, said, "Dezsö Horváth has succeeded in transforming Schulich into a globally oriented centre of management learning as well as a pioneer in the development of international business programs. He is most deserving of this international honour." Hunkin is a Schulich alumnus (MBA '69).
Here are some of the achievements and milestones in international business education at the Schulich School of Business under Dean Horváth’s leadership:
- International faculty, students and alumni – Schulich’s student body and faculty are among the most cosmopolitan of any business school in the world. According to the 2003 Financial Times MBA survey, Schulich has the highest percentage of international students among North American schools (68 per cent). The School also has more than 30 alumni chapters around the world that provide linkages to 17,000 alumni working in 71 countries.
- Internationalization of the curriculum and research – Horváth was instrumental in establishing Canada’s first International MBA (IMBA) Program at Schulich in 1989, which became the catalyst for the subsequent internationalization of the School. In 2000, the School inaugurated an International BBA program for undergraduate students modelled after the IMBA program. Horváth has also established a number of endowed research chairs with an international focus, including three in International Business.
- International alliances and partnerships – As a result of Horváth’s proactive leadership, Schulich today has one of the most extensive international networks of corporate and academic partners of any business school in the world. The School has established strategic student/faculty exchange partnerships on every continent with close to 70 leading business schools in over 40 countries. Horváth was a driving force behind the creation of the Joint Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA (EMBA) program, North America’s first cross-border executive MBA degree, and he has personally championed numerous international initiatives in Eastern Europe, Russia and Asia.
About AIB
Established in 1959, the Academy of International Business is the world’s leading association of scholars in the field of international business, with approximately 3,000 members in 65 countries around the world. The AIB Dean of the Year Award is given in recognition of "outstanding leadership in various aspects of internationalization, including programs, research and curriculum development, and outreach."