The Schulich School of Business at York University was yesterday ranked No. 1 in the world in a global ranking of the top 100 MBA programs that are preparing future leaders for the environmental, social and ethical complexities of modern-day business. It is the first time a Canadian business school has ever ranked first in a global survey of management education.
The Beyond Grey Pinstripes ranking, conducted every two years by the Washington, DC-based Aspen Institute, rates the top 100 MBA programs in the world that are equipping future business leaders with a comprehensive and integrated understanding of social and environmental issues impacting business – everything from increased consumer activism and climate change to corporate social responsibility.
Schulich placed first overall, ahead of the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, the Yale School of Management, the Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Haas School of Business at the University of California Berkeley and the Columbia Business School in the world’s top 10. A full description of the ranking, its methodology and individual MBA program ratings is available online at the Beyond Grey Pinstripes Web site.
“The Beyond Grey Pinstripes ranking measures how well business schools are preparing students for this new reality, and Schulich is proud to be rated number one in the world when it comes to 
graduating managers who have the tools necessary to lead in the new world of business,” said Dezsö Horváth (right), dean of the Schulich School of Business. “Schulich began laying the groundwork for research and teaching in the areas of business ethics and sustainability back in the early 1990s when few other business schools were doing so. [Today’s] No. 1 ranking is recognition of close to two decades of research, innovation and curriculum development at our school.”
Canadian schools did exceptionally well in the ranking: Canada outperformed all other countries in the world on a per capita basis in terms of the total number of business schools that made the ranking. In addition to Schulich, a total of six other Canadian schools made the top 100 ranking – three of which finished in the top 50. The Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University was ranked 31st overall; the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University was ranked 34th; the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia was ranked 49th; the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary was ranked 51st; the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario was ranked 53rd; and the Dalhousie School of Business Administration was ranked 80th.
Some 149 business schools from 24 countries took part in the ranking. Business schools were rated in four equally weighted categories:
- Student Opportunity, which measures the number of MBA courses offered that contain social and environmental content;
- Student Exposure, which measures the percentage of MBA course time dedicated to social and environmental issues;
- Course Content, which measures the extent to which courses illustrate the value of integrating social and environmental considerations into business decisions;
- Faculty Research, which measures the number of relevant articles published in leading management journals.
Right: The Seymour Schulich Building on York University’s Keele campus is home to the No. 1-ranked Schulich School of Business
“The global corporate landscape has changed more in the last year than ever before. And what has changed most of all is the nature of expectations and demands placed on corporations. The narrow shareholder model is being replaced by a much broader stakeholder model – one that considers the implications of strategic decisions on all of a company’s stakeholder groups,” said Horváth. “The watershed events of the past year are making it imperative for companies to deal seriously with the triple bottom line of social, environmental and economic issues.”
"Scholars are questioning whether the established models of business are broken,” said Rich Leimsider, director of the Aspen Institute’s Center for Business Education. “The schools in the Beyond Grey Pinstripes ranking are thoughtfully pursuing new approaches. They are preparing students who take a more holistic view of business success, one that measures financial results as well as social and environmental impacts.”
The Aspen Institute Center for Business Education equips business leaders for the 21st century with the vision and knowledge to integrate corporate profitability and social value. It helps business educators incorporate issues of social and environmental stewardship into teaching and research by offering targeted resources, networks and a platform to share cutting-edge practice among peers.