In my first posted message as Dean, I stressed that the excellence of the Kania School of Management rests on our firm commitment to practicing the Jesuit ideal of Cura Personalis or educating the whole person, on continuing to develop innovative programs and curricula that emphasize values, and on our commitment to engage our students with the global marketplace.  In that message, I also spoke about moving forward on a number of exciting projects to support and further enhance these commitments.  I spoke about plans to sharpen the already strong focus on critical thinking, ethics and social responsibility in the curriculum.  I also hoped to enhance our cutting-edge technology resources in many ways, including the construction of a stock trading and financial research laboratory in Brennan Hall.  Additionally, I pledged that we would develop relationships with certain international universities, especially in China, into full fledged exchange partnerships to support the globalization of our programs.

After some five years of great activity and hard work by students, faculty, and Scranton alumni, it is a pleasure to note, with great gratitude, that significant progress has been made on a long list of goals and objectives, including those listed above, that were outlined for the Kania School at the time.  We have an exciting and functional trading floor, the Alperin Financial Center, on the main floor of Brennan Hall, that you would enjoy visiting.  We have established a faculty and student exchange partnership with the Capital University of Economics and Business in Beijing, China, and with IQS, in Barcelona, Spain.  We have also strengthened our curriculum by integrating ethics and responsibility topics at every level.  Our MBA program, for example, is now nearly unique in requiring the completion of a case on ethics and responsibility as a requirement for admission and a three-credit course on the same topics as the cornerstone and entry point to the program.

Additional achievements by the Kania team, too long to list here, have contributed to the great national recognition garnered by the school over the last few years.  Over that period, the Kania School has been listed among the Best Business Schools by Princeton Review five years in a row, and in 2008, Entrepreneur Magazine ranked the MBA program among the top 15 nationally in general management.  Regularly US News and World Report also names the Kania School specifically among its list of best graduate business schools.  Again, my sincere thanks to our students, faculty and staff, and especially our alumni supporters whose contributions are moving us to the forefront of master’s level business schools in the world.

Looking to the future, I see ever greater prospects for the Kania School.  We will continue to pursue a student-centered excellence with a stronger commitment to Jesuit ideals, innovative and global curricula and programs, and cutting-edge technological skills.  We will also provide greater opportunities to students for service learning in the Jesuit tradition.  In the next few years, for example, we will grow the recently established Kania School Women’s Business Center, a learning laboratory which will challenge out students to apply concepts learned in the classroom to help women and other budding entrepreneurs grow viable businesses.

Our vision to be a top-tier master’s level business school that attracts students from across the globe and transforms them into responsible business leaders is alive and thriving.

We welcome you to apply to the University of Scranton as a business student.  We also welcome our distinguished alumni and other supporters to join the Kania School in its exciting quest to be one of the very best places to study business and grow as men and women for others.

Sincerely,

Michael O. Mensah, PhD
Dean and Professor of Accounting