The Best Online MBA for Veterans and other MBA News Snippets

W. P. Carey School of Business tops online MBA rankings for veterans 

As the US celebrated Memorial Day on May 26, a new set of rankings focused on the best online programs for military veterans – including the online MBA – was released by U.S. News & World Report.

Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business came out top in the online MBA category for veterans or active military personnel who wish to further their education in a flexible format.

“We’re honored to be ranked No. 1 in providing a stellar online graduate business education for our veterans,” said the school’s dean, Amy Hillman, in a press release for the W. P. Carey School of Business adding that the online MBA program features the same faculty as its face-to-face MBA degree.

The W. P. Carey School of Business, which also placed first for the master’s in engineering category, features among the top 20 business schools in The QS Distance/Online MBA Ranking 2014.

Michael Bloomberg Speaks at Harvard University

Harvard followed up Sheryl Sandberg’s appearance at 2014’s Class Day with Michael Bloomberg delivering Harvard University’s commencement speech on May 29.

The founder and majority owner of Bloomberg L.P., Michael Bloomberg (pictured, right) is a Harvard Business School alumnus who only recently finished serving three consecutive terms (2002-2013) as the Mayor of New York City. Watch the speech in full, here.

Michael Bloomberg’s speech included an appeal to respect the importance of tolerance for other people’s ideas and the freedom to express an opinion – values he considers fundamental in a democratic society.

Michael Bloomberg was also one of eight people to receive honorary degrees at Harvard’s commencement this year, in the form of a Doctor of Laws. Other recipients included the writer, Isabel Allende (Doctor of Letters) – cousin of former Chilean president, Salvador Allende, and soul singer, Aretha Franklin (Doctor of Arts), who sang the US National Anthem at the event.

Harvard Business School’s 901 MBA graduates had their own diploma ceremony following the University-wide event, at which the school’s dean, Nitin Nohria, urged them to reflect on how ‘the three T’s’ of truth, trust and thankfulness could help them in their leadership careers.

Hewlett-Packard CFO at Berkeley MBA Commencement

Cathie Lesjak, chief financial officer (CFO) at Hewlett-Packard, spoke at the Berkeley MBA commencement held at the Haas School of Business on May 23. 

Lesjak, a Berkeley MBA alumna, spoke of her 24 years of experience at Hewlett Packard, where she had held various financial leadership roles before becoming the company’s CFO in 2007.

“You owe it to yourself to work in an organization you love,” Cathie Lesjak told Berkeley MBA graduates. Watch Lesjak’s speech in full here.

IBM adds to its big data partnerships

IBM’s pledge to meet the shortfall in analytics and big data skills through business school partnerships continues unabated.

Already, over 1,000 institutions have joined up with IBM on matters of curricula and big data and analytics-focused technology, and IBM has now announced 28 more link-ups. 

Among the US business schools announced in IBM’s latest round are the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business and Babson College’s F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business. You can read more about the MBA job opportunities presented by big data here.

Michael Bloomberg image source.