Business Week Ranks Robert H. Smith School of Business 22nd Nationwide

College Park, MD - October 9, 1998 - The Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park, is ranked 22nd nationwide, according to the 1998 Business Week magazine survey. The magazine released the results yesterday evening. This marks the first time the Smith School of Business has earned a place among Business Week's prestigious top-25 schools.

"Being ranked in the top 25 by our customers is a thrilling event," said Howard Frank, dean of the Smith School of Business. "It represents a milestone for the school in our goal to ascend to the very top of the business schools in the nation. Everyone in the school is to be congratulated. We look forward to strengthening our position among the nation's top schools in the years to come."

Business Week conducts its survey of the nation's top business schools every two years. The survey focuses specifically on MBA programs. The magazine bases its results on the responses of graduating students and the companies that hire them, thereby measuring customer satisfaction. "We think B-Schools have two customers: the graduates, who trade their suits for backpacks; and recruiters, who seek out the best and brightest from among the business schools' ranks," according to the magazine's news release about the survey.

For its 1998 survey, Business Week sent extensive questionnaires to more than 9,500 graduating MBAs at 61 schools and to 350 companies that actively recruit. Its response rate for the MBA graduates was 63 percent, and for recruiters, 74 percent.

The Robert H. Smith School of Business continues to enhance its MBA curriculum by introducing innovative academic and experiential programs. This fall, the school introduced five new MBA concentrations: business telecommunications, electronic commerce, financial engineering, global business and knowledge management, and logistics and supply chain management. These concentrations, integrated with the school's strong core disciplines, will help to ensure that graduates are prepared to compete successfully in the Information Economy.

In January 1999, the Smith School of Business will bring its nationally ranked MBA program to downtown Baltimore for evening students. The school already offers its evening program at Shady Grove in Montgomery County.

In addition, the school is expected to introduce a revised MBA core curriculum to further strengthen its academic offerings. A committee is currently working to develop recommendations for the new core.

About the Robert H. Smith School of Business

The Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research for the digital economy. The school offers cross-functional study options in its six academic departments, which include accounting and information assurance; decision and information technologies; finance; logistics, business, and public policy; management and organization; and marketing. More information about the Robert H. Smith School of Business can be found at http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu.