Ivey Business School Looks to Extend Global Reach: MBA News

The University of Western Ontario (UWO)’s Ivey Business School is looking to increase its global reach through international partnerships and joint program offerings, according to the school’s dean.

“I would say in the next year to 18 months we are likely to be announcing several partnerships and joint programs. That is a way for us to extend our [global] reach,” Ivey Business School’s Robert (Bob) Kennedy told The Globe and Mail. Kennedy is now just over a year into his tenure as dean, having joined Ivey from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business in October 2013.

Recently rated second in Canada by a global pool of recruiters and academics, Ivey Business School already boasts a campus in Hong Kong, through which it operates executive education, but new ways of improving the school’s global reach could see it cement further ties with the emerging economies of Asia, as well as with institutions in Europe.

As well as the boost to a school’s international reputation that comes with forging links abroad, it is, of course, also an opportunity to widen the potential audience for its programs.

But, in terms of attracting top international students and faculty, maximizing a school’s global reach is often helped by the ongoing financial support found in its endowment. Here, Ivey Business School’s dean admitted that it’s tough to compete with the endowment levels enjoyed by the top business schools in the US.

Case in point, at Michigan Ross School of Business – where Kennedy spent a decade at the helm of one of the school’s research institutes before joining Ivey – the endowment is US$376 million compared to Ivey Business School’s US$86 million, according to The Globe and Mail.

Ivey dean can draw from wealth of global experience at the Ross School    

However, Kennedy’s experience at Michigan Ross' William Davidson Institute (WDI) – which has a focus on business and policy issues pertaining to emerging markets – could be invaluable to Ivey Business School’s search for opportunities to extend its global reach into these areas.

Ivey’s dean was also director of Michigan Ross' international engagement initiative, which currently allows MBA students to take courses at 14 partner schools around the world, and taught classes on international business during his time with the school.

Aside from looking at ways to enhance the school’s reputation worldwide, Kennedy also has new entrepreneurship programs in mind, as well as a startup incubator.