While the sights and sounds of Goizueta may change with the seasons, its mission and community are steadfast. Together, they turn out a rare breed of business leader. As a result of a long-held mission, the school has become known for the leader it creates—a person of integrity, one who works under the mantle of social responsibility and high standards, one who embodies the values of the late Roberto C. Goizueta himself.
A vision in motion
Goizueta’s community is many things: an intellectual
community of faculty, students, and alumni; a vibrant professional community
based in Atlanta and connected to the international business world; and
a network of alliances with world-class business schools across the globe.
This community is signature Goizueta, one students enjoy while on campus
and benefit from throughout their careers.
Though Goizueta is a contender for world-class status, the school still
lacks some necessary qualifications before it can rank among the very
best. Global business education is competitive. To be a leader, Goizueta
must have the finest faculty, programs, and facilities for learning.
"Now is the time for bold steps," says Dean Thomas Robertson.
This month Robertson introduced the Leadership Alliance, a three-year,
$50-million fund-raising initiative with the potential to move Goizueta
into the upper echelons of business education and leadership.
The goals of Robertson’s strategic initiative are few but targeted:
to create and disseminate valuable new knowledge for global managers;
to be ranked consistently within the top ten international business schools;
to be an acknowledged source for principled, entrepreneurial business
leaders worldwide; and to create economic value for students, alumni,
corporate partners, and their enterprises.
"This alliance will build a complete school, one that incorporates
research and consulting, as well as bachelor’s, master’s, and
doctoral programs," says John W. Spiegel ’65MBA, chief
financial officer of SunTrust Bank and chair of the initiative.
Director of Development Fred Thibodeau agrees and emphasizes that
the Leadership Alliance is investing in the future of Goizueta for the
benefit of all its constituents. "The alliance is inherently about
people, not about places and things. It is about creating value and intellectual
capital," he says. "It will enhance Goizueta degrees in ways
that no one thought possible."
One-half of the Leadership Alliance funds will enrich intellectual capital
and create new value for Goizueta’s constituents, while the other
half will provide space for the school’s expansion. With the momentum
the school has already built, the Leadership Alliance can move Goizueta
to the top of business education.