June/July 2009
AACSB Strengthens its Presence and Services in Asia
The Asia region is a significant force in the global economy and home to 42 percent of the world’s business schools. Over the past several years, AACSB has made strides in the
region with a growing number of schools taking advantage of AACSB’s programs, services, and accreditation.
Today, AACSB has 111 members in Asia with 20 of those members holding its accreditation.
In 2008, the AACSB Board of Directors determined that in order for the organization to continue to accomplish its mission—to advance quality management
education worldwide—it must play a more prominent role in the region. Two recent events have taken place to further advance AACSB’s efforts
in Asia.
On June 4, AACSB officially celebrated the grand-opening of its first regional headquarters. Located in Singapore, the regional location will
allow AACSB to better serve its growing Asian membership, provide additional professional development venues for management educators in the region,
and enhance its ability to provide resources to Asian schools seeking accreditation. The new headquarters is led by Eileen Peacock, long-time AACSB
volunteer and prior dean and professor of accounting for the Charlton College of Business at the University of Massachusetts—Dartmouth.
AACSB chose Singapore as the home for its regional headquarters due to the country’s multi-cultural learning environment, central location, and growth in global
educational excellence. AACSB will join more than 76 multi-national organizations that currently operate on the nation’s grounds.
Ninety people attended the opening celebration which was held on the 69th floor of the Swissotel The Stamford. The group represented 50 organizations from 14
countries. During the ceremony, Dr. Swan Gin Beh, managing director of the Singapore Economic Development Board delivered a welcome message.
“We are
pleased that Singapore will be serving as AACSB’s base for accreditation and thought leadership throughout Asia. Given its commitment to advancing the
highest quality in management education, it will be a wonderful addition to Singapore's Global Schoolhouse initiative.”
The Singapore celebration was followed by a one-week media tour to key markets in Asia. AACSB representatives John J. Fernandes, president and CEO,
Jerry E. Trapnell, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer, and Eileen Peacock, vice president Asia, traveled to Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong,
and Beijing to discuss AACSB's role in Asia. They met with more than 20 journalists and garnered considerable media coverage in these major cities. For samples of the
media coverage, visit: www.aacsb.edu/media/asiamediatour.asp.
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New Asia Regional Headquarters Opens in Singapore
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World Class Practices in Management Education Conference in Shanghai
In addition to the opening of the regional headquarters, the World Class Practices in Management Education Conference, which
was graciously hosted by Fudan University, brought over 100 management educators and business professionals
from over 70 organizations in 16 countries together to discuss a variety of topics related to the industry. The event began with a macro-level prospective of the region by Robert
A. Buckle, the pro vice-chancellor and dean of commerce at
Victoria University of Wellington and prior chair of the Economic Committee of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). The day continued with an
insightful plenary entitled, “What We Need
from B-Schools: The Corporate Perspective.” This session, moderated by Xiong Lu, dean of
Fudan University, included perspectives from Jesse J. Wu, company group
chairman for Johnson & Johnson Consumer Group and Vincent H.S. Lo, founder and chairman of Shui On Group.
Attendees also heard from Rolf D. Cremer, dean, China Europe International Business Schoool (CEIBS); Victoria S. Licuanan, dean, Asian Institute of Management; Japhet Law, professor and former
dean, Chinese University of Hong Kong;
Leonard Cheng, dean of business and management at
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Business School;
and Yingyi Qian, dean of the
School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University;
as well as a variety of other
prominate presenters. The World Class Practices in Management Education Conference was the beginning of an active year of professional development events planned in the region.
Next year, AACSB will hold seven events in Asia.
