Untitled Document

AS-biz-educators-conf

Wed Apr 6 04:00:01 2005 Pacific Time

Management Educators Focus on Ethics, Globalization, Corporate Governance at San Francisco Conference April 21-23

TAMPA, Fla., April 6 (AScribe Newswire) -- The hot button issues of ethics, globalization, and corporate governance will be among many topics headlining the world's largest gathering of business management educators April 21-23 in San Francisco. The occasion will be the International Conference and Annual Meeting of AACSB International--The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, a Tampa, Fla.-based association that accredits approximately 500 business schools around the world and has a membership base representing 71 countries.

As many as 1,300 business school deans, administrators, professors and other business educators are expected to attend the three-day conference at the San Francisco Marriott, which will feature keynote addresses by Edward B. Rust Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of State Farm Insurance Companies and Thomas Schoewe, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Rust will speak on "Global Ethics, Challenges, and Responsibility," mindful that news of the demise of Enron, the Martha Stewart stock scandal, and other corporate ethics issues are very much in the news. He will cover the social responsibility that goes with running a global business.

Schoewe, who joined Wal-Mart in 1999 after 13 years at Black & Decker, will speak on "A Global Workforce: The Role of China and Other Developing Nations." He will cover the outlook for global business as nations such as China impact world trade.

Two other key speakers are Tom Campbell, former California Congressman and former dean of the University of California's Haas School of Business; and James H. Blanchard, chief executive officer of Synovus Financial Corp., who is the 2005 International Honoree of Beta Gamma Sigma, the St. Louis-based honor society serving the business programs accredited by AACSB International. Speaking on the subject "Measuring Success: What's Really Important," Blanchard throws out the traditional barometers, and provides his own benchmark, complete with informative stories of individuals whose success was gauged not by the accumulation of wealth but by their meaningful contribution to society.

The teaching of corporate governance, which emphasizes proper accountability, honesty, and openness in the conduct of business, will be covered by John J. Fernandes, president and chief executive officer of AACSB International; Jane Mutchler, director of the School of Accountancy, Georgia State University; and Scott Reed, partner, KPMG's Audit Committee Institute. A presentation titled "Corporate Governance: Essentials for the Future Manager," will review an AACSB International study that reveals less than 4 percent of bachelor's degree programs and 6 percent of MBA programs requiring a corporate governance course, but the number of schools offering it as an elective is expanding rapidly as global businesses and investors demand better corporate governance education.

The business school program rankings and the challenges they present to b-school administrators will be addressed in a session titled "Rankings: A Dean's Survival Kit," presented by Andrew J. Policano, dean of the Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Irvine.

Also to be discussed at the conference will be topics such as business school curricula, accreditation, the Bologna Accord, the value of management education, strategic management of business schools, and trends in MBA programs, and a new AACSB International initiative, "Peace Through Commerce."

ABOUT AACSB INTERNATIONAL

AACSB International was founded in 1916 by a consortium of 17 business schools, including Tuck Business School at Dartmouth College, the very first graduate school of business established in 1900; Harvard University (Harvard Business School), the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School) and Northwest University (Kellogg School of Management). AACSB International is the premier accrediting agency for bachelor's degree, master's degree, and doctoral degree programs in business administration and accounting. The association also is the business education community's professional development organization, conducting a wide array of conference and seminar programs at various locations around the world.

MEDIA REQUESTS, CREDENTIALS

AACSB International invites members of the professional working media to cover the Plenary Speaker sessions or other portions of the conference. For information and credentials for the conference, contact: John Polis, manager of public relations, 813-769-6516 (office), 813-451-6566 (cell), johnp@aacsb.edu (email).

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CONFERENCE MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

WHAT: International Conference/Annual Meeting of AACSB International

WHEN: April 21-23, 2005

WHERE: San Francisco Marriott

WHO: Schedule of selected speakers follows below.

FRIDAY, APRIL 22

-- 8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Edward B. Rust Jr., State Farm Insurance Companies, "Global Ethics, Challenges, and Responsibility"