Abstract
The University of Washington is among the very oldest universities found on the United States’ West Coast. It was officially opened on November 4, 1861 and is the largest university located on the Northwestern part of the US. It was initially referred to as ‘Territorial University of Washington’ and is currently a public research institution1. It is made up of three campuses, namely; Bothell, Tacoma and Seattle. Of these, the one at Seattle is the largest. The university is divided into one hundred and forty different departments which are all well organized in terms of schools and colleges. One of these is the Michael G. Foster School of Business.
Introduction
Michael G. Foster School of Business was founded in the year 1917 and is located on the US West Coast2. The specific location is somewhere behind the Haas School of Business. It was renamed ‘The Michael G. Foster School of Business’ in the year 2007 after Michael Foster who was an entrepreneur and also undertook his studies at the University of Washington. He died in the year 2003 aged sixty six years. This change of name made the school to be the third among those named after certain people. Michael Foster was recognized in this manner because of the contributions the Foster Foundation had offered to the institution over the years. Both of Michael Foster’s parents also studied at the University of Washington.
The business school at University of Washington offers a rich selection of both graduate and executive courses. This include: a full-time and part-time MBA program, Executive MBA, Technology Management MBA, research-based Doctoral Program and Global EMBA3. The school enrolls just about 2,750 undergraduate and graduate students annually, and more than 1,000 professionals take part in its executive learning seminars and lifelong education programs4. The Michael G. Foster School of Business is renowned for its innovative alumni and the development of exceptional leaders.
History of the School since inception
The school currently has an eighty five year old history. Twelve different deans have served in the school and it is currently under the hands of James Jiambalvo. It is documented that this school is the second oldest institution providing management education on that part of the country. Its location in the West Coast, and most specifically in Seattle, is advantageous to it as this is a region globally centered in IT and entrepreneurial activities5. Seattle houses the headquarters of Amazon, Starbucks, Boeing and Microsoft. Currently, the university campus at Seattle occupies about seven hundred and three acres of land with buildings that include Balmer Hall, Executive Education Centre, Mackenzie Hall named after Professor Mackenzie who chaired the accounting department between 1949 and 1955, Lewis Hall, and Simon Hall which was constructed in 1986 and was funded by John E. Simon6.
The school has changed its name three times since it was started. At inception in 1917, it was called ‘The University of Washington school of Commerce and Finance’. In 1988, it was renamed ‘The University of Washington Olin school of Business’ after a successful entrepreneur, John M. Olin, in recognition of his continued financial contribution to the school7. It was finally given its current name ‘The University of Washington Michael G. Foster School of Business’ after Michael G. Foster on the 7th of September 2007.
This school has managed to attain a high level of reputation in the United States and ranks among the best so far. It is among the four schools of business in the US nation to earn the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS). In addition to this, the school was also accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The institution thus offers undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees and also a PhD Program. Its facilities are modern and adequate for student needs. The school has a multimedia computer laboratory for graduate students, computer facilities and also a NASDAQ Trading Room together with a specially-designed e-business lab8. In 2006 the school began executive management program at Brookings Institute9.
In the year 2008, the school started a mission to incorporate state-of-the-art facilities in carrying out its activities thus increasing the doors to opportunities among the student fraternity. One such facility is the Paccar Hall which was planned to be a convergence place for various forums. It has been modernized to include tele-conferencing facilities and web-connected digital screens. The local community in Seattle is also made up of large numbers of University of Washington alumni that continue to provide support to the growing school of business.
The school has had many achievements over the years. In 2004 and 2006 the school won the International Venture Capital Investment Competition, a prestigious international award10. It was also ranked seventh among all the public institutions in U.S.A in 2006. In 2008, the school doctorate students won a national competition called xTREME Faculty (xFAC) that had been sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers and in 2010, its Executive MBA program was ranked second in the world by the Wall Street Journal11.
Bibliography
Academy of Management. Leadership University Sponsors. 2008. http://annualmeeting.aomonline.org/2008/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=144&Itemid=131&limit=1&limitstart=1 (accessed May 3, 2011).
Berelson, Bernard. Graduate education in the United States. illustrated. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009.
Cohen, Arthur M, and Carrie B Kisker. The Shaping of American Higher Education: Emergence and Growth of the Contemporary System. illustrated. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2009.
Etulain, Richard W. Western lives: a biographical history of the American West. illustrated. Chicago: UNM Press, 2004.
Harvard University, Graduate School of Business Administration. Business history review. Massachusetts: Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, 2007.
Johnston, Norman. University of Washington. revised. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2010.
Meany, Edmond Stephen. A history of the University of Washington. 1990.
Princeton Review. Complete Book of Colleges, 2005. Princeton Review, 2004.
stateuniversity.com. University of Washington Business School. 2011. http://www.stateuniversity.com/universities/WA/University_of_Washington/University-of-Washington-Business-School.html (accessed May 3, 2011).
The Economist. University of Washington—Michael G Foster School of Business. 2010. http://www.economist.com/whichmba/2010/university-of-washington-michael-foster-school-of-business (accessed May 3, 2011).
Thelin, John R. A history of American higher education. illustrated. Maryland: John Hopkins University Press, 2004.
