The magazine for alumni and friends of the UB School of Management
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Autumn.2013Final_layout 8/1/13 12:47 PM Page 13 The school also established a doctoral program with a specialization in business in 1949 and admitted its first two doctoral candidates in 1950. C. Perry Bliss, professor emeritus of marketing, received the school's first PhD degree in 1953. Other indicators of the school's growth were the 1955 endowment of the Melvin H. Baker Professorship in American Enterprise and the 1956 endowment of the M&T Professorship in Finance. Times they are a-changin' The 1960s brought more change to the school and the university. In 1962, the University of Buffalo became the State University of New York at Buffalo, when UB was incorporated into the State University of New York (SUNY) system. The acquisition was championed by then-governor Nelson Rockefeller, with the intent of making UB one of four major university centers in the state. UB has since earned recognition as SUNY's most comprehensive and prestigious university. A full-time MBA program was initiated in 1963 and, on January 1, 1969, the School of Business Administration was officially renamed the School of Management. Richard Brandenburg, who served as dean from 1968 to 1976, explained the name change in a letter to alumni: "It has become increasingly clear that management concepts and tools first used in the business context also are useful in understanding and managing other types of organizations. The growing importance that public service agencies, health centers, government departments and educational institutions play in ensuring the desired quality of society has led to great demands and opportunities for diversified faculty teaching, research and consulting," he wrote, noting that changing the school's name was a logical step "to give formal recognition to these broader interests and responsibilities." The school established an internship program in 1971 that allowed students to earn academic credit while undergoing onsite training at area firms and agencies. The program went on to become one of the largest in the country. In 1977, under Dean Joseph Alutto, the school launched a Center for Management Development to initiate and coordinate continuing education programs for practicing managers. Alutto also established a Corporate Advisory Board in 1978. The big '80s The next decade was a time of considerable growth and expansion for the School of Management. A major grant in 1982 from the Jacobs family brought endowed chairs in finance and human resource management. And, as the school evolved, its sphere of influence widened far beyond the local community. In 1984, the school established the first U.S. MBA program in China, with support from the Chinese Ministry of Education and the U.S. Department of Commerce. President Ronald Reagan announced creation of the program during a diplomatic trip to China that year; news of the announcement made headlines all over the world. Henry Kissinger gave the keynote address to the first graduating class in 1986 at the ceremonies held in Buffalo. Headquartered at the Dalian University of Technology, the program graduated 200 students before being phased out in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. The last Dalian class graduated in 1991. Thanks to a $1 million gift, the Jacobs Management Center on UB's North Campus in Amherst was officially opened in 1985 and replaced Crosby Hall on the South Campus as the School of Management's home. The building honors the late Louis Jacobs and his wife, the late Genevieve Bibby Jacobs, and their three sons, Jeremy M. Jacobs, the late Lawrence D. Jacobs and Max Jacobs. In an innovative approach to serving the needs of the business community, the school established the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership in 1987 and has been assisting area entrepreneurs ever since (see sidebar on page 17). Not so serious business (1990): Members of the School of Management Precision Briefcase Marching Drill Team practice their routine for the Buffalo St. Patrick's Day Parade. Sporting the "modified IBM look" with white shirts, red ties, blue jackets, blue jeans, sneakers and sunglasses, the 18- to 25-member team of undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and alumni swung their briefcases down Delaware Avenue to the tunes "Taking Care of Business" and "Working for a Living." The China MBA program's first graduation ceremony, 1986 Autumn 2013 Buffalo Business 13