Smith School Joins Global Business School Network

College Park, Md. – Aug. 17, 2009 — The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business today announced it was named the newest member of the Global Business School Network (GBSN), joining more than 30 other world-leading business schools that make up the international nonprofit organization’s membership. The schools in the network are dedicated to building business leaders in developing economies and share resources and thought leadership to accomplish this mission.

“A commitment to globalization, combined with a strong focus on social value creation, is the centerpiece of our strategy and vision,” said G. “Anand” Anandalingam, dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business. “The Global Business School Network’s mission to educate the next generation of mangers in developing countries makes us perfect partners in our mutual quest to use business education to make the world a better place.”

Guy Pfeffermann, CEO of GBSN, shared, “We are proud to welcome the Robert H. Smith School of Business to our network and look forward to active collaborations given our close proximity.”

As part of GBSN, the Smith School will work to share knowledge and help build programs at business schools in emerging markets — either one-on-one or in teams made up of faculty from several member schools. The goal is to establish strong business schools in emerging markets that provide a robust pool of business leaders to local, regional and multinational organizations in those markets.

The Smith School is active internationally on many levels with the goal of educating men and women to become agents of positive change in the world by exposing them to new business practices, different cultures and new ways of thinking. Understanding the global economy and its transformations is a big part of the Smith experience, where students have the opportunity to travel throughout the world to learn about business in 10-day MBA global study courses and undergraduate trips. Recent programs have included trips to Dubai, Brazil, Hong Kong, Beijing, Tunisia, Europe and India.

This fall, the Smith School will launch the Center for Social Value Creation. The center gives students hands-on learning opportunities to apply business principles to global social and environmental challenges. It sponsors Global Field Projects, including a partnership with the University of Maryland’s Engineers Without Borders chapter that has business students developing sustainable business plans for water and electricity distribution in rural Africa. The center also supports faculty research is areas such as global development alliances and lending practices in developing economies.

The Smith School also is home to the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), one of 31 such centers at business schools funded by a U.S. Department of Education grant.