Dean's Message

On behalf of Simon Schools administration, faculty, students and staff, welcome to our Web site. Whether you are a prospective student, an alumnus looking to utilize our powerful online alumni community, a corporate partner seeking qualified candidates, interns, or information from our faculty’s cutting edge research, I trust you’ll find this site interesting, informative and easy to use.

Simon is an exciting place to study and grow. It is a place where thinkers become leaders, a place where the thirst for knowledge fuels our desire for distinction. We are committed to educating business leaders who are analytical and creative thinkers, as well as effective team players.

To support our efforts, the Simon programs offer several outstanding features, including:

• World-Class Faculty. We have a renowned faculty widely considered to be one of the finest in the world. They have founded and continue to edit over eight academic journals, including the highly regarded Journal of Financial Economics, the Journal of Monetary Economics and the Journal of Accounting and Economics. Simon faculty are also actively involved in advising and interacting with the business community as well as government and regulatory bodies. They serve on boards of major corporations, financial institutions, law firms and government agencies such as the S.E.C.
• A New Curriculum, F.A.Ct. Simon has launched a new curriculum that focuses on analyzing complex business problems and developing innovative solutions to those challenges. Beginning in the 2005-2006 school year, the Simon School full-time M.B.A. curriculum was augmented to focus on students’ ability to Frame, Analyze and Communicate (F.A.Ct.) when solving unstructured business problems. In the spring of 2006, we held the first annual school-wide case competition for all first-year students in the M.B.A. program. This competition allowed students to tackle real-world problems by identifying the main issues, generating and analyzing potential solutions and presenting recommendations to a panel of alumni and friends of the School.
• Student Selectivity. We attract the best and brightest students from around the world. In addition to taking into account G.M.A.T. scores, undergraduate education and G.P.A., we also interview candidates to gauge their interpersonal skills and leadership potential.
• Teamwork. We emphasize group work, allowing each student to benefit from the quality and diverse cultural and business backgrounds of their classmates. We also foster a strong partnership between students, faculty and staff in the learning enterprise.
• Lifetime Preparation. We offer a cross-functional curriculum grounded in economics. This provides an integrated approach to thinking about management problems and a better understanding of the interactive nature of business decisions. In addition to honing analytic skills, we teach effective writing skills and persuasive oral presentation techniques that ensure success throughout our students’ careers.

As you explore our Web site, you’ll soon come to understand why we say Simon is the place where thinkers become leaders.

Mark Zupan
Dean