The Institute’s director, Dr. Michael Rappa, has been named to the Analytics Curriculum Advisory Group of the AACSB, the prestigious accrediting body of business schools worldwide. The new advisory group is tasked with providing guidance in developing services to help accelerate the creation and enhance the quality of analytics degree programs in business schools. There are over 80 such graduate programs in the U.S. alone—in and outside of business schools—and many more around the globe.
Dr. Rappa proposed and led the pioneering effort to create of the country’s first full-fledged graduate degree in analytics in 2006, the Master of Science in Analytics (MSA). Now in its ninth year, the MSA is renowned for producing highly sought-after analytics professionals. “It’s gratifying to see how far analytics education has come in such a short time,” said Dr. Rappa, commenting on formation of the AACSB Advisory Group. “Analytics is firmly established as an important new branch of higher education calibrated to address the skyrocketing talent demands of employers in the digital economy.”
Joining Dr. Rappa on the AACSB Advisory Group is a distinguished international panel of faculty, including:
- Dr. Kristof Coussement, School of Management, Institut d’Économie Scientifique et de Gestion (IÉSEG)
- Dr. Paul Cronan, Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas
- Dr. David Douglas, Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas
- Dr. Geoffrey Tso, College of Business, City University of Hong Kong
- Dr. Michael Goul, W. P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University
- Dr. Jussi Keppo, NUS Business School, National University of Singapore
- Dr. Michael MacDonnell, Quinn School of Business, University College Dublin
- Dr. Tobias Preis, Warwick Business School, The University of Warwick
- Dr. Vallabh Sambamurthy, Eli Broad College of Business, Michigan State University
AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business is a global, nonprofit membership organization of educational institutions, businesses, and other entities devoted to the advancement of management education. Established in 1916, AACSB International provides its members with a variety of products and services to assist them with the continuous improvement of their business programs and schools.