San Francisco, CA "“ January 17, 2007 "“ As prestigious B-schools everywhere update their MBA curriculum to respond to today’s educational focus on socially and environmentally responsible business practices, one Bay Area college has been quietly gaining momentum for its innovative MBA program. Since 2003, San Francisco-based Presidio School of Management has offered an MBA in Sustainable Management that integrates environmental, ethical and socially responsible concerns into every course. Recently, the San Francisco Business Times listed Presidio School of Management as the 12th largest MBA program by enrollment numbers in the greater Bay Area. Last year, Presidio was named 15th on the MBA list.

The reason is clear, according to Dr. Ron Nahser, Presidio School of Management provost since 2004. "People are more aware than ever about the importance of creating and managing socially, environmentally and financially sustainable businesses and organizations. Through the project-oriented curriculum and practical experience offered through the Presidio MBA program, our students are helping companies solve real-time challenges while they're learning how to think like sustainable managers "“ and be the next generation of business leaders."

Presidio ranked on the list among prominent Bay Area universities, including number one University of California, Berkeley/Haas School of Business, Santa Clara University, Stanford University and California State University/East Bay, among others. Each year, Presidio has consistently increased its student population, from a first class of 20 MBAs in 2003 to total enrollment in January 2007 of more than 160 students.

Currently, Presidio is participating in the Beyond Grey Pinstripes study, created by the World Resources Institute and Aspen Institute, to help determine how well business schools are integrating sustainability into curriculum. Beyond Grey Pinstripes is a biennial survey and ranking of business schools to spotlight innovative full-time MBA programs that are integrating issues of social and environmental stewardship into curricula and research.

The Presidio MBA program includes 16 core classes ranging from integrative bottom-line accounting to the human dimension of leadership, from sustainable marketing practices to ecological economics "“ all leading to the culminating Capstone course in which students develop a venture plan. Presidio’s MBA curriculum emphasizes project-oriented learning where a student team works with a company or nonprofit in, for example, creating a marketing plan, developing a stakeholder analysis or performing an economic analysis of an industrial sector. Full-time and part-time options are available, and students commute from across the country and internationally to attend monthly academic intensives combined with an interactive distance-learning component in between the face-to-face sessions.

For more information about Presidio School of Management, call 415.561.6555 or visit www.presidioMBA.org.

Presidio School of Management

Presidio School of Management, in San Francisco, California, offers an innovative MBA program in Sustainable Management that integrates environmental, ethical and socially responsible concerns into every course. Since 2003, Presidio has grown to include 15 faculty members and more than 200 MBA students, and now has graduated two classes. The Presidio MBA program focuses on project-oriented learning where students earn practical experience helping businesses solve real-time challenges. Presidio School of Management is an affiliate of Alliant International University, accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). For more information call 415.561.6555, or visit www.presidioMBA.org.

Presidio Graduate School

Presidio Graduate School

Founded in 2002, Presidio Graduate School (PGS) is a values-driven graduate school offering MBA, MPA, and Dual MBA/MPA degree programs and Professional Certificates in Sustainable Solutions. All courses in the first of its kind curriculum integrate social justice, environmental responsibility, and systems thinking.

A world-class faculty academy of full and part-time scholar-practitioners possess subject matter expertise across the full spectrum of sustainability disciplines. With over 1900 business and public administration alumni at the forefront of the field, PGS is a global hub for sustainability innovation and regenerative impact, helping forge a new definition of the common good at the intersection of for-profit and for-benefit. Learn more about PGS programs, people, and impact at presidio.edu.

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