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Simmons College School of Management Earns Prestigious International Accreditation

BOSTON (April 27, 2009) — Simmons College School of Management (SOM) has received accreditation from the prestigious Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International. With this accreditation, the SOM joins an elite group of institutions: less than 30% of business schools in the U.S. and less than 5% worldwide have earned and retained this distinguished hallmark of excellence in management education.

"I could not be more proud of the school for achieving this significant milestone," said School of Management Dean Deborah Merrill-Sands, who received a certificate of recognition during the recent AACSB International Conference and Annual Meeting in Orlando, Fla. "This external imprimatur of excellence strengthens our brand and enhances our mission as the nation's first management school designed specifically to educate women for power and principled leadership."

The AACSB accreditation certifies the excellence of both the undergraduate management and the MBA programs at Simmons, and is in addition to the New England Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation already held by the college. During its site visit, the AACSB review team noted 12 best practices by the SOM and cited Simmons's exemplary process for assessing student outcomes.

"We were overwhelmed with the high quality exhibited by the faculty and students at Simmons, and were impressed with how the mission was lived every day throughout the curriculum and practice," said Dr. Lynne Richardson, dean of the Mississippi State University School of Business and chair of the AACSB Peer Review Team.

AACSB is the longest-serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees in business and accounting.

The Simmons College School of Management is the nation's first business school designed specifically for women. The Center for Gender in Organizations is the research arm of the SOM and works to reform organizational effectiveness by strengthening gender equity in the workplace.