Consortium, founded here, adds 20th school to roster

We’re excited to extend our work in diversity, equity, and inclusion through membership in The Consortium.

—Dean James Jiambalvo

The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, founded in 1966 at Washington University’s Olin Business School, has been a national leader in promoting diversity and inclusion in business education and corporate leadership. When the organization launched under the leadership of Olin professor Sterling H. Schoen, it began with just three schools—WashU, Indiana University-Bloomington, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Now, the organization has announced it will add a 20th university to its membership ranks effective July 1, 2018: The University of Washington’s Michael G. Foster School of Business.

The highly ranked Seattle-based university officially joins The Consortium at the start of the organization’s new fiscal year following approval on Dec. 4, 2017, by The Consortium’s board of trustees and the signing of the university’s membership agreement on May 3, 2018. The Consortium works with top-ranked MBA programs around the country to increase the ranks of underrepresented minorities in business education and corporate leadership.

“It’s been clear from the start that Foster would be a strong, enthusiastic and energetic partner in furthering our mission,” said Peter J. Aranda III, The Consortium’s executive director and CEO. “We’re eager to begin working with Dean James Jiambalvo and the rest of his team.”

Since 2005, Jiambalvo has led the Foster School of Business, which has embraced diversity and inclusion as a hallmark of its work, weaving that commitment into its academic programs, the student experience and its community relationships through formal programming, student clubs and activities, scholarships, and internships.

“We’re excited to extend our work in diversity, equity, and inclusion through membership in The Consortium,” said Jiambalvo. “Our membership provides an opportunity to live values fundamental to the Foster School and the University of Washington, namely that commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion in America’s classrooms and boardrooms make for resilient thinkers who have the power to lead and inspire the world toward better outcomes for all.”

UW is the second university to gain membership in The Consortium in the past year. Rice University officially joined on July 1, 2017, and will participate in its first Orientation Program & Career Forum—an annual conference for new MBA students and Consortium constituents—in June 2018.

Read the full announcement on The Consortium’s website and see the full list of Consortium member schools