Campus-wide celebrations for faculty, administration, staff and students. Special celebrations for the business faculty, administration and staff at the home of the provost. Full page announcements in the "Wall Street Journal," "New York Times," "Chronicle of Higher Education," and more. Radio spots. Press releases. Formal announcements to the business community, business advisory council members, state and local government officials. Annual trustee dinner dance at the Waldorf-Astoria, with focus on the business school’s AACSB accreditation achievement. AACSB accredited school logo on Web pages, school stationery, brochures, advertisements.

These are but some of the many creative ways the latest group of AACSB newly accredited schools are spreading the news about their recently announced accreditation achievements. The feedback they’ve been getting from corporations, government officials and others is a positive and welcomed response.

It was at its November 1999 meeting that the AACSB Board of Directors revealed that Iona College, Samford University and the University of Southern Maine had achieved accreditation of their bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in business administration. The University of South Carolina at Spartanburg garnered accreditation of its bachelor’s degree program in business administration. The action brings the total number of accredited schools to 374.

"Earning accreditation from AACSB is a feather in any institution’s hat," said John M. Burt, business dean at the University of Southern Maine. "Achieving that honor has been particularly sweet for the School of Business. For us, it was the jubilant climax to a nine-year adventure into the swirling seas of self-examination and evaluation." Burt said the reaction from the southern Maine’s community could not have been more noteworthy in its breadth and support.

"This is one of the most important things to have happened for Maine; this is a landmark achievement," said Valerie Landry, commissioner, Maine Department of Labor, on news of the University of Southern Maine’s accreditation. William Ryan, chairman, president and CEO of Peoples Heritage Financial Group, one of Maine’s largest financial institutions, said, "The USM School of Business achieving accreditation is a great step and fits right into our community, helping the community at large. (The school) ... will be able to bring in more and better students; employers will think more of hiring their graduates, and the school’s faculty will be consulted more rather than our looking to Boston or New York for that kind of assistance."

"In a testament to our peer review team’s comments that the School of Business is to be commended on being, among other points, ‘state-wide visible, and mission-linked,’ members of the southern Maine business community took out a full page ad in Maine’s largest newspaper, proclaiming their pride in our school’s accreditation achievement," said Burt.

"Although accreditation may have been long overdue for Samford," said business dean Carl Bellas, "all of us are pleased that we were the ones who made it happen. It has proved to be a unifying process and everyone who made it possible ¾ faculty, staff, students and alumni ¾ takes pride in our recognition."

Iona College, in New Rochelle, N.Y., operates in one of the most competitive, accredited markets anywhere, said Nicholas J. Beutell, dean of Iona’s Hagan School of Business. "Accreditation is frequently mentioned by prospective and current students as something they seek from the business school in which they are interested," he said. "Iona College now has earned the distinction of responding to questions, ‘Yes, we are AACSB accredited.’"

The Hagan Executive Team, which is comprised of deans, department chairs and faculty directors, already has held a retreat to discuss "our life as a newly accredited school," said Beutell. "The input is part of our next strategic plan," he said. "Topics of discussion included faculty development, instructional technology, curricula, continuous improvement processes, domestic and global partnerships, capitalizing on our momentum, and more. Our timeline includes completion of our interim report and our reaffirmation of accreditation."

William R. Word, dean of the School of Business Administration and Economics at the University of South Carolina, Spartanburg, said the school’s accreditation success will help in providing enhanced private support for programs. "In fact, the chair of our Executive Advisory Council already has made a significant gift to support international trips for students and faculty," he said.