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Corporate Social Responsibility
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10.30.2007 - 08:20pm ET
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BusinessWeek Names Bainbridge Graduate Institute One of the Top Design and Innovation Schools in the World
MBA Program Lauded for “Designing Sustainable Leadership.”
(CSRwire) BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, WA - October 30, 2007 - Bainbridge Graduate Institute
(BGI) is one of only a handful of business schools chosen by BusinessWeek
for its international list of Best Design Schools - schools emphasizing
creativity, innovation and design as a strategic advantage.
"It might seem strange to see us ranked as a 'top design school,' by a
business magazine," admits Pinchot, "But the days of thinking about design
in narrow terms are over. Design-strategies emphasizing creativity and
innovation are being used to solve complex business problems, create
opportunities and to catalyze new products and increase productivity. Our
growing concerns with sustainability are not going to be solved by Dilbert
working alone in a cubicle, but by cross-functional teams who are
encouraged to be inquisitive and to think up new ideas."
According to BusinessWeek, the list "highlights the growing role [the
schools] play in supplying creative managers to corporate and nonprofit
organizations." Top schools were initially chosen by a BusinessWeek panel
of innovation consultants, academics and corporate executives based upon
programs "they respect" and "graduates they hire." BusinessWeek then
conducted interviews with professors, students and alumni to winnow the
winners down to 60. The list includes programs in business, engineering,
and design.
"This ranking gives us recognition for inspiring our students to think out
of the box and for teaching the skills to make sustainability happen. And
it gives our graduates recognition for living the solutions," says Gifford
Pinchot, President of BGI.
The schools selected for the list have "Programs that enabled students to
engage with the real world through sponsored projects and internships;
that were tuned in to contemporary business issues, such as
sustainability; and those whose graduates have proven themselves to be
creative designers, strategists, and leaders." The global list includes
Carnegie Mellon, Harvard, MIT, and Stanford as well as schools from
Brazil, China, England, Italy, Japan, Sweden Taiwan and other
countries.
BusinessWeek's full list of top schools can be seen here:
http://bwnt.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/talenthunt/index.asp?chan=innovation_special+report+--+d-schools_special+report+--+d-schools.
BusinessWeek’s profile of BGI alum, David Smith can be seen
here:
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/oct2007/id2007104_718797.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_innovation+%2Bamp%3B+design.
BusinessWeek’s full article can be seen here:
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/oct2007/id2007104_575219.htm?chan=innovation_special+report+--+d-schools_special+report+--+d-schools.
BusinessWeek's methodology can be seen here:
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/oct2007/id2007101_960501.htm?chan=innovation_special+report+--+d-schools_special+report+--+d-schools.
About Bainbridge Graduate Institute
BGI was born five years ago when Co-Founder and President, Gifford
Pinchot, a renowned business consultant, realized that the nation's
graduate business schools were churning out one-dimensional MBA graduates
with solid short-term profit-maximization skills, but lacking a deep
understanding of how to integrate social and environmental issues into
business decisions.
"As business leaders become more dominant in shaping our society and as
business has increasing impact on climate and planetary life support
systems, it is deeply important that business leaders take a broader view
of their responsibilities," Pinchot says.
The Institute's pioneering MBA in Sustainable Business prepares a diverse
group of leaders to build enterprises that are economically successful,
socially responsible and environmentally sustainable. The innovative
curriculum preserves the rigor of a traditional MBA program, while
infusing sustainability-including both environmental and social
responsibility-throughout every course.
Enrollments in BGI's programs have increased more than twelve-fold from 14
students in 2002 to over 175 in the fall of 2007. The MBA in Sustainable
Business is a hybrid program combining 4-day weekend, once per month,
residentials with long distance web-based learning. Most BGI students work
full time. MBA classes are held at Islandwood on Bainbridge Island,
Washington, just outside of Seattle. BGI's certificate classes in
Sustainable Business and in Entrepreneurship & Intrapreneurship are held
weeknights in downtown Seattle and on weekends at Islandwood,
respectively. The programs attract students from across the US and
Canada.
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