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Simmons School of Management Makes Top Global List for Educating Students in Corporate Social Responsibility

Aspen Institute Cites Simmons Leadership for Attention to Social, Environmental Issues

BOSTON (October 22, 2007) — The Simmons School of Management in Boston is one of the top 100 business schools in the world in the integration of social and environmental issues into its MBA program, according to the Aspen Institute's 2007-2008 edition of  "Beyond Grey Pinstripes," a biennial survey and alternative ranking of business schools.  The Simmons School of Management was ranked 32 on the Institute's Global Top 100 Schools.

The Aspen Institute's ranking of business schools around the world highlights those schools that the Institute feels best prepare their students—through innovative course offerings and research on social and business issues—to help successful businesses be a force for positive social and environmental change.

"This is an area that I believe will define business strategy and performance globally in the next decade," said Deborah Merrill-Sands, dean of the Simmons School of Management. "I could not be more proud to have our MBA program included in the 'Top 100' global list. Integrating attention to social and environmental issues, and the role of business in addressing these issues, is integral to our school's mission and strategy."

The Aspen Institute Center for Business Education, a program of The Aspen Institute Business and Society Program, compiled "Beyond Grey Pinstripes" to look at how well social and environmental issues are incorporated into the training of future business leaders. To view the complete ranking of the "Global 100" business schools, click here.

For the 2007 survey, more than 40 thousand pages of data were collected from 71 institutions in the U.S. that have in-person, full-time MBA programs, and from 40 international schools representing 18 countries.

In addition to being recognized in the rankings, the Simmons School of Management will be featured on the website, and in the Aspen Institute's upcoming "Alternative Guide to MBA Programs."

The Simmons School of Management also recently received top national rankings from its current students in how well the school incorporates and embodies corporate social responsibility.  In the 2007 "Net Impact Student Guide to Graduate Business Programs," SOM students' impressions placed the school among the top three business schools in the nation in areas such as corporate social responsibility, social enterprise, and preparing students for ethical and socially responsible leadership.

The Simmons School of Management is the only business school in the world designed specifically for women. Its mission is to educate women for power and principled leadership.

The Aspen Institute Center for Business Education seeks to create business leaders who are equipped with the vision and knowledge necessary to integrate corporate profitability with social value. It offers programs that provide business educators with the resources they need to incorporate issues of social and environmental stewardship into their teaching, research and curriculum development.