Today is the first day of the academic year. The campus is humming with the energy of new students and the optimism inherent in every new beginning! It’s a great time to take stock of where we are today and look to the future.
Reflecting on the past, I found myself thinking about what would not have happened had the Center not been founded. Here is my top 3 list:
Scheller College would not be ranked #1 nationally and # 6th globally in Corporate Knights’ 2015 Better World MBA rankings, from among 121 programs including the 100 listed in the Financial Times (FT) 2015 Global MBA Ranking. This superb ranking reflects our continued focus on growing the opportunities for MBA students at Scheller while simultaneously investing in faculty research and industry impact. Many thanks to our brilliant faculty, staff and students who make Scheller such a unique environment!
Georgia Tech would not have chosen sustainability as the cornerstone of its 2016-2025 Quality Enhancement Plan. The Center for Serve-Learn-Sustain (CSLS) began operating as an official unit of Georgia Tech on January 2016, and will work with all six colleges to develop opportunities for students to engage in curricular and experiential learning opportunities focused on the theme “creating sustainable communities.” I’m very proud of the fact that this ambitious initiative makes Georgia Tech the first technologically-focused research university to be guided by this question: “What is our role in creating sustainable communities?”
Georgia Tech would not be involved with the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability, the Global Reporting Initiative, the Ellen McArthur Foundation, or any number of other industry partnerships that connect our sustainable business faculty talent to practice, and amplify the impact of their scholarship. We have a great foundation of partnerships and are excited to deepen them further!
As we look forward, I’m very excited about launching our 2016-2020 Strategic Plan and welcoming Managing Director Michael Oxman, who will be instrumental in its successful implementation. I invite you to read our strategic plan and to find out more about Professor Oxman. Happy AY 2016-17 to all!
Beril Toktay is a Professor of Operations Management and the Faculty Director of the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business, at the Scheller College of Business.