MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN
Are you at a place in your life where you are open to possibilities that will shape your life in ways that you could never predict?
Brad Robertson and Julie Huffaker enrolled in the full-time MBA + program several years ago, both with gifted intelligence and driven to make their mark on the world, but unsure what types of businesses or positions would best fulfill their respective passions. They didn’t know each other or have any idea how their lives would be changed and linked in a few short years. During the program they were exposed to many business executives and companies from the region. Their paths crossed when Brad and Julie took an innovative seminar on improvisation offered in the graduate program from Gary Hirsch, a local performer and artist. They discovered each other and a common passion. Their future started to unfold. After graduating, Brad and Julie joined Gary to form On Your Feet, a wildly successful consulting company that uses improvisational techniques in engagements with companies including Intel, Starbucks, General Electric, and FedEx. Their firm includes associates in Spain and the UK, and their clients span the globe. Eyes opened to new ways of thinking and alternative careers, relationships created, and a new business was born.
Bring together students who want to make a difference in the world, programs that reflect the values of the Pacific Northwest, faculty who are known throughout the world, and pervasive connections between the curriculum and the business community, and you get hundreds of stories like the one above each year. At PSU, we know that the viability of businesses in the region and beyond depends on our ability to produce talented leaders. We have worked very hard to develop and deliver graduate programs that all have the core disciplines you expect, but also have features that differentiate them from all other programs. Our commitment to developing emotional intelligence through "360-degree" reviews and dedicated coaching in the MBA + is producing graduates with uncanny self-awareness. Our commitment to sustainability is demonstrated by the MBA + being ranked 15th of all domestic MBA programs and #1 in the Pacific Northwest by Beyond Grey Pinstripes. Our commitment to the Pacific Rim is evident in the Master of International Management (MIM), a program that requires learning Chinese or Japanese, that includes a three-week study tour to Asia, and that integrates global business throughout the curriculum. Finally, our commitment to producing leaders with a holistic perspective on finance is apparent in the Master of Science in Financial Analysis (MSFA), a program that integrates accounting and finance at a very high, and yet very applicable, level.
If you aspire to make a difference in the world by becoming a leader, and you are willing to become vulnerable enough to experience real change and personal growth, we would be delighted to talk to you about getting a graduate business degree at Portland State University.
Scott Dawson
Dean and Vergil Miller Professor
