Our recently announced redesign of the Oregon Executive MBA (OEMBA) program in Portland is just one testament to our commitment to re-envisioning how we serve the needs of business. After twenty-five years, the Lundquist College of Business's shared arrangement with Portland State University (PSU) and Oregon State University (OSU) for offering the Oregon Executive MBA is coming to an end. Beginning in 2013, we unilaterally will offer a brand new, restructured program aimed at better serving the senior executive market in the Northwest and further differentiating the Lundquist College of Business in the market place.
This development was prompted by a strategic review we conducted with our PSU and OSU counterparts in January, which surfaced significant differences in strategic direction and commitments for the three institutions. The solution: to continue our cooperative arrangement for the next two academic years to provide continuity to students currently enrolling and allow for the implementation of a new model. All three institutions are amenable to this resolution, which is testimony to the quality of the cooperative working relationship. We've had a beneficial and productive relationship with PSU and OSU, and look forward to other engagement opportunities in the Portland marketplace.
The new executive education model we have in mind is quite different from the conventional MBA. It will be designed to appeal to the full-MBA degree market as well as a growing segment seeking just-in-time executive and leadership skills. To achieve this, we will "deconstruct" the MBA curriculum into a number of "certificates" (quantitative skills, strategic thinking, leadership development, and so forth), each of which constitutes a professional "credential" on its own and which collectively qualify for an MBA degree. This model positions us as just-in-time partners with business for senior leadership development while, at the same time, serving the executive MBA market.
This model will take two or three years to fully implement, giving us time to create a stellar faculty roster, to forge relationships with universities and companies abroad to support the global content of the program, and to fully engage as partners with businesses in the Northwest and beyond. As a first step, a search for a new assistant dean for Portland/executive director of the Oregon Business Institute (the home of the OEMBA) has already been initiated.
Details are still to be worked through, including plans for expanding our presence in Portland in additional ways. We are just beginning, and I look forward to continuing to share with you our goals (in Portland and for the college in general) within a broader context of business's and business education's role in society.
Your comments and questions are always welcome.
Cordially,
Cornelis A. "Kees" de Kluyver
Dean and James and Shirley Rippey Distinguished Professor
I close this update with a message about the recent events in Japan. On behalf of the Lundquist College of Business, our thoughts go out to everyone affected by the earthquake, tsunamis, and nuclear catastrophes in Japan. Since the news broke, the UO International Affairs staff has been monitoring the situation and communicating with UO students in the country, UO exchange partners, alumni, and our sister institutions in the Association of Pacific Rim Universities. The UO Japanese Student Organization, many members of whom are business students, has also launched an earthquake relief fundraising effort. Our hearts and prayers go out to our friends in Japan.