The Palumbo-Donahue School of Business is internationally recognized for distinctive and innovative education in sustainability and supply chain management. We created a dynamic approach to business education, adapting our curricula to exceed emerging trends while equipping students with the leadership skills necessary to succeed. Our programs are world class and offer students opportunities to tackle important business challenges that few programs anywhere can match. We congratulate our faculty and industry partners who have supported the development, growth and promotion of these programs.
25th Anniversary—Supply Chain Management Program
Our School of Business established a Supply Chain Management (SCM) Program in 1991. Fast forward 25 years, the School has garnered national recognition and continues to lead the way with a cutting-edge program and deep ties to corporate partners. Our hands-on curriculum cuts across disciplinary boundaries and imparts the “practical wisdom” students need to add sustainable value to any company’s supply chain.
The SCM program has never been stronger. Our students won first prize in a prestigious national competition. Students—and their future employers—also benefit from the comprehensive scope of SCM content and best practices provided by passionate faculty who bring strong academic and professional experiences to a program based on a foundation of ethics, collaboration, globalization, technology and sustainability. And looking ahead, we will be building a new Center for Excellence in Supply Chain Management that will take our program to new heights.
MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS of the SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT (SCM) PROGRAM
- Listed among the top 25 SCM programs in the nation
Camcode named the School of Business in its list of Top 25 programs. Duquesne was one of the few private schools included on the list.
- Captured first-place prize in prestigious team competition
A Duquesne team of students walked away with the top spot in Michigan State University’s sixth annual Donald J. Bowersox Undergraduate Supply Chain Challenge. The team competed against large public schools and other private universities, including Ohio State University, West Virginia University, Arkansas State, Michigan State University, University of Dayton, and Miami University, Ohio. The winning team, advised by Dr. John Mawhinney, assistant professor and director of the Supply Chain Management Program, included Julie L. Wetzel, David J. Eich and Joshua Lang.
- Established a SCM Health Care track
The program’s goal is to contribute to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the health care supply chain, bringing to the health care industry significant cost-reducing and service-improving benefits that have been realized in top-notch supply chain management systems in the non-health care sectors.
- Celebrated 10 years of Supply Chain Connection
The success of the SCM program and its students can be attributed to three things: engagement, innovation and impact. Each year, students have the opportunity to engage with more than 25 corporations and 60-75 of their corporate representatives at the Supply Chain Connection, a networking event hosted by the Duquesne Supply Chain Council.
- Achieved APICS gold status
The Duquesne Student Chapter of APICS, the premier professional association for supply chain management, achieved gold status for 2013-2015 and platinum status for 2016.
- Continued growth in enrollment and internship opportunities
Enrollment has increased from 19 undergraduate students to nearly 240. About 80 percent of SCM juniors participate in internships and most graduates secure full-time positions within four months of graduation.
- Recognized for prestigious student scholarship
Duquesne student Matthew Christiansen received the R. Gene Richter 2015 Scholarship. The scholarship is presented annually to the top supply management students from around the United States. This is the fifth time a Duquesne student achieved this national honor in the past eight years.
- Impacted faculty research with the Harry W. Witt Faculty Fellowship
The Harry W. Witt Faculty Fellowship is open to faculty from any discipline and provides salary augmentation, research support and curriculum development funding. The inaugural holder of the Witt Fellowship is Dr. Matthew Drake, an associate professor of supply chain management and a Duquesne alumnus.
“For years, I have wanted a career in the luxury fashion industry. Thanks in large part to my education from Duquesne, I am now realizing that goal. My employer was immensely impressed with my educational background, specifically the supply chain management courses. She said that she had never seen such a comprehensive curriculum that encompassed so many aspects of the supply chain in-depth,” says Matthew Felix, B’16, Assistant Buyer, Neiman Marcus Group, Dallas, Texas.
10th Anniversary—MBA Sustainable Business Practices
Sustainability is intrinsic to Duquesne University’s mission—a charge that encompasses what our Spiritan sponsors call the “integrity of creation,” a profound respect for God’s gift of the world. One of the many ways that Duquesne advances this mission is through its academic programs. Duquesne’s full-time, one-year MBA Sustainable Business Practices (MBA-SBP) degree emphasizes the integrated management of financial, social, environmental and informational resources within the decision-making process. In addition, students develop leadership skills through consulting projects, ethical decision-making, global study trips and capstone practicums.
Introduced in 2007, this program consistently ranks as one of the best in the world. Our MBA-SBP has jumped seven spots on a list of the world’s best MBA programs for future leaders. Corporate Knights, a quarterly international publication focused on social, economic and ecological benefits and costs, released its 2016 Better World MBA ranking, listing the Palumbo-Donahue School of Business as No. 3 among MBA programs worldwide and No. 2 among U.S. schools.
This amazing accomplishment is a testament to our faculty’s creative efforts to integrate sustainability principles across the curriculum as well as their impact as thought leaders addressing issues at the intersection of business and society. Moreover, our plans to create a comprehensive Institute for Sustainable Business Innovation underscores our desire to take things to the proverbial next level.
MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS of the MBA SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES (MBA-SBP)
- Ranked #3 in the world!
Corporate Knights, a quarterly international publication focused on social, economic and ecological benefits and costs, ranked our MBA-SBP #3 among 2016 MBA programs worldwide and #2 among U.S. schools for best equipping graduates to change the world for the better.
- Impacted faculty research related to sustainability
Thanks to the Eugene Beard Faculty Resource Fund in Sustainability, Dr. Robert Sroufe, Murrin Chair of Global Competitiveness, was able to seize a significant opportunity to develop his scholarship and teaching in support of sustainable business practices. From January through July 2016, Dr. Sroufe was a visiting researcher at the Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH) in Karlskrona, Sweden. A well-known scholar in sustainability, Dr. Sroufe was honored as an Aspen Institute Faculty Pioneer Award Finalist, MBA Roundtable Innovator Award Finalist, received a Decision Sciences Institute Instruction Innovation Award, and is a recipient of Duquesne University’s Creative Teaching Award.
- Impacted student research related to sustainability
Thanks to the Eugene P. Beard MBA Sustainability Research Fellowships, two incoming MBA-SBP students each receive $20,000, along with an opportunity to work on groundbreaking research and publication projects related to the management of financial, social, environmental and informational resources.
- Completed over 125 sustainability projects for organizations
Our faculty has established partnerships with numerous multinational corporations, regional leaders, entrepreneurs and not-for-profit organizations resulting in significant sustainability project experiences for our students and high visibility for our program. Since its launch in 2007, the program has completed well over 125 projects. Clients have included Alcoa, Bayer, PPG Industries, PNC Bank, Carnegie Museums, Green Building Alliance, Highmark, Phipps Conservatory, UPMC and many others.
- Placed second in inaugural world competition in Davos, Switzerland
A Duquesne team had the opportunity of a lifetime at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Alison Etheridge, Laura Monahan, Jana DiSanti and Stephen Sumpter won second place in the “Business for a Better World” MBA case competition.
- Gained an edge with MBA international case competitions
Competing against over 1,000 students from 25 schools at the Aspen Institute’s Business & Society MBA Case Competition, our students took 2nd place in 2014 and 3rd place in 2013 at the international finals. Duquesne was the only school to advance to the world finals for two consecutive years.
- Learned about best practices through studying abroad
Our global study course explores the factors that drive social, environmental and economic practices in foreign countries through field work, classes and dialogue with corporate, academic and governmental partners abroad. In recent years, students have traveled to Asia, South America, Central America, the Nordic countries, Central Europe and Central America.
- Achieved gold status Net Impact
Duquesne’s Net Impact Chapter was awarded the 2016 gold standing. These standings, based on the chapter’s performance this past academic year, represent the most outstanding chapters in the Net Impact network. Just 38% of over 300 Net Impact chapters worldwide achieved gold standing.
- Ranked a top 10 graduate program for environmental sustainability
The MBA-SBP was selected by Certified B-Corporation (bcorporation.net)—one of the most widely read websites on ethical, sustainable and profitable business, with more than 450,000 unique monthly readers—as one of the Top 10 Graduate Programs for Environmental Sustainability. Net Impact also ranks us among the world’s top 10 environmental sustainability graduate business progra
- Selected by the MBA Roundtable as an innovation finalist
The MBA-SBP was selected as an international finalist for a 2015 Innovation Award from the MBA Roundtable, a global group of 160 business schools collaborating to advance curricular innovation in MBA education.
- Earned student-learning assessment award
The MBA-SBP was recognized by Duquesne University for its Collaborative Assurance of Learning Model for Curriculum Integration.
- Assessed energy use of Rockwell Hall
We are using Rockwell Hall and the development of an energy management system for integrated curriculum, data analytics and decision analysis modeling. Student learning about this building has the potential to be applied to 4M buildings of the same size and age in the U.S.
“As a software engineer, the knowledge I gained in the MBA Sustainable Business program allows me to communicate more effectively with management as well as other engineers and business analysts,”says Rudy Molero, MBA’12, Software Engineer Randstad Technologies.
