October 29, 2009
November Update from Dr. Alexander
As Massey students and alums, we hope you're having a highly productive and successful fall as, believe it or not, the Thanksgiving Holiday season is already on the horizon. If you've been keeping up with Belmont news of late, you already know that the University recently announced the addition of a School of Law that will open its doors in less than two years. This follows close on the heels of a new School of Pharmacy which was just launched last year and which already has enrolled close to 150 students next door.
In short, the graduate landscape here at Belmont is rapidly changing. While some b-schools might consider this a potential threat, quite to the contrary, our approach in The Massey School has been to view this as an exciting opportunity. Consider the potential cooperative possibilities down the road as we welcome a far more diverse and rapidly expanding group of graduate professional programs to this campus--not to mention the opportunities for a business school to partner with other professional schools--a landscape that could ultimately add numerous new possibilities for our graduate business students who may be interested in further specializing their Massey degree programs while here at Belmont. And while the proverbial drawing board is only now being pulled out of the closet, we are excited about what lies ahead for our future students and how we may able to prepare them for a whole new variety of careers in the coming years.
For any of you alumni out there who have thoughts on what you would like to see The Massey School consider in the way of future programming or even in improving the quality of the current programs we already offer, I would love to hear from you.
In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed for the BusinessWeek Magazine special edition on graduate business schools that appears later this month. As most of you are aware, we are already in uncharted territory by making it to the point of being considered for this year's Top 30 part-time MBA program national rankings (roughly 100 or so are included in the final evaluation phase, so we're in pretty good company just to reach that stage). However, we are keeping our fingers crossed to make the final cut.
Finally, those of you who are Nashville residents, keep your eyes open for our new billboard campaign set to launch later this month. The current theme will celebrate the very unique international study-abroad options offered through Massey. Let us know what you think when you see it!
September 30, 2009
October Update
We are looking forward to an outstanding event tonight as we congratulate Massey Alumna Nancy Leach on being selected as our 2009 Distinguished Graduate. Nancy is the president, CEO, and owner of Facility Planners, Inc. here in Nashville and a Massey MBA graduate, Class of '92. I look forward to seeing many of you there!
As usual, The Massey School is a busy place this time of year. We are continuing to fine-tune the intricacies of working with two MBA cohorts now for the first time ever. Our Accelerated MBA class of 14 students is off to a great start, while we now have 140 Professional MBA students currently registered in classes. We did find out last month that our total Masters of Accountancy (MACC) enrollment of 80 qualifies us as the largest MACC program in the State of Tennessee--1 student larger than UT-Knoxville's program. We continue, however, to look for outstanding new students for each of our programs, so if you have any individuals in mind you think would be strong prospects, please shoot me an email at joe.alexander@belmont.edu, and I'll contact them.
To continue reading the October Update,...
Dr. Mark Schenkel is in high gear preparing a group of 18 MBA and MACC students for the next international study-abroad trip--this time, to Copenhagen, Denmark. This will be our first such trip to that part of Europe, and in addition to our general business visits and cultural activities, we have managed to add in somewhat of an entrepreneurial flavor to this particular trip destination.
Our next trips will be in March 2010, as we will have two separate student/faculty groups in Amsterdam, Netherlands and Seoul, South Korea. Later next year, different study groups will be headed to Istanbul, Turkey, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, while our Accelerated MBA students are headed in May to Stellenbosch University (Johannesburg, South Africa).
We are currently about half-way through the fall 10-week classes. Those of you who have been away from Massey for a while can probably still relate to what the students are experiencing at this point in their semesters. Please do stop by and see us when you get an opportunity, and keep our Massey Passport program in mind as you consider ways to continue your individual life-long learning plans. I know of no other graduate school in the country that offers its alumni an opportunity to continue taking classes for free like we do once you have graduated. Email Melissa (melissa.mitchell@belmont.edu) if you are interested in more information!
P.S. We are anxiously awaiting the upcoming issues of BusinessWeek later this month where they will release their rankings list of the top part-time MBA programs in the U.S. While BW historically ranks only the Top 30 programs (which is an outstanding list!), we were excited earlier this year to make the initial cut for consideration on this top list for the first time in Massey's history. Our thinking at this point is that we've made significant progress just to reach that milestone--if we actually make this year's list of first-tier programs, all the better.
August 27, 2009
Numbers Through Networking...
For those of you who also keep up with Belmont University news, you may have already heard that we are enjoying record enrollment numbers, with an official university-wide figure of 5,397 students enrolled for the Fall 2009 term. Massey is certainly pulling its share, as we are currently enjoying our largest graduate business enrollments since pre-Y2K., with a current student headcount of 227.
As we continue to observe in our review of which marketing tools are most effective in student recruiting, while advertising helps in building general reputation and program awareness, ultimately it's our students and alumni who make the real difference when it comes to "selling Massey" to prospects. It's one more reason you see us doing so much these days in the area of utilizing social networking tools such as LInkedIn and Wetpaint to strengthen the Massey networking footprint. These contemporary technology tools end up helping us recruit future generations of Massey students while simultaneously helping our alumni enhance their own professional careers.
Below is a partial list of current networking tools and events either already deployed or in the development process as of this month:
*End of Semester Social Events for Students
*Massey Golf Network for Students, Alumni, Faculty, and Board Members
*Information Sessions for Prospective Students (networking with panel of students and alumni)
*LinkedIn Massey Community (current membership of +450)
*Massey Milers Running Group for Students and Alumni
*Massey Student Wetpaint Community (current membership of +150)
*Massey Alumni Wetpaint Community (developmental stage; to be launched this fall)
*Massey Mixers for Alumni, Students and Recruiters/Employers
*Massey Power Luncheons with C-Level Executives for Students
*Massey Networking Luncheons for Alumni & Students
*Networking Breakfasts for Alumni & Students (e.g., City Club events)
*Strictly Business Blog (Faculty, Students and Alumni)
*Volunteer Networking Events (e.g., Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House, etc.)
So, if you're looking for any opportunity to expand or strengthen your own professional network, we certainly are doing our best to provide a wide variety of opportunities to assist you. And from experience, we know that when we improve your individual networks, we also end up improving our own network as a School. Please let us know if you have additional ideas on how we can improve your networking effectiveness!
July 31, 2009
Numbers for Fall
Greetings, and I hope each of you is doing well and enjoying some wonderful weather in Nashville (for those of you still local). We've had another productive summer here at The Massey School, but the term is quickly winding down, with fall fast approaching. As one group of students returns from a study abroad experience in June (see photo to left), another group is packing to head out in less than 2 weeks.
Summer classes conclude this week, and our August hooding ceremony (17 graduates) is set for Thursday, August 13 at 6:30 p.m. Here's a short bulleted list of some of the "numbers" we're currently tracking:
- 56 new MBA/MACC students to date have been admitted to the graduate school for the fall term;
- 36 students (our largest group ever) will complete the Summer Accounting Institute this Wednesday;
- 30 (or less) is the ranking we're hoping to achieve in BusinessWeek's part-time MBA rankings due out this fall;
To continue reading...
- 26 students depart August 15 for a study-abroad trip to Dublin/London with Dr. Susan Taylor;
- 16 alumni "audited" the new Business Mediation class taught last spring (the next opportunity is this fall);
- 14 students are scheduled to begin our inaugural Accelerated MBA (full-time) program this fall;
- 6 students just completed the Know Europe study abroad experience through Normandy Business School;
- 4 MBA students will become our first recipients of the new Massey Scholars Award ($10K scholarship);
- 2 separate new student orientations are scheduled for later this month in order to accomodate enrollment growth; and
- 1 MBA student (announced at hooding) just earned our highest score ever on the ETS MBA Major Field Test exit exam.
June 29, 2009
Massey July Update
The word? Enrollment. It seems these days in the Massey Graduate School Office, each day consists of following up with or interviewing new student prospects for what are now three distinct graduate programs we offer. When you graduate almost 75% of your student population in just a year and a half, you spend a lot more of your time then recruiting and admitting a brand new group of professionals each enrollment cycle.
This year, in addition to our Professional MBA and MACC programs, most of you are aware that we have also added a new Accelerated MBA program for those individuals with high academic potential but without the requisite professional experience necessary for admission into our PMBA program. To date, I am very pleased with the quality of this new group of students. In addition to some of our recent Belmont COBA graduates who are enrolling in this new program, we are drawing interest from a number of international students as well. Yesterday, I interviewed an applicant from Canada, and we are even working with one individual from Turkey. This should prove to be a talented and yet very diverse cohort of students who will add a whole new dimension to our graduate programs.
A little farther down in this edition of the eLeader, you will read about our current group of Summer Accounting Institute (SAI) students. We expect that with the size of this year's class entering the MACC program in the fall, we should be the largest MACC program in the State of Tennessee--a first for The Massey School.
Another group of Massey students is currently preparing for the next study-abroad experience. Dr. Susan Taylor is leading 25 individuals next month on a trip with a primary focus on Ireland, yet with a brief set of activities in London as well.
And finally, if you haven't already done so, be sure to sign up for our Belmont University Massey Graduate School of Business at LinkedIn.com. Our group has arleady grown to 321 alumni and students, with new individuals adding each week. Our goal is to reach 500 by the end of this calendar year, and we are currently on pace to exceed that number. LinkedIn groups are a great tool for expanding your professional network as well as keeping up with current job opportunities.
I hope are having a wonderful and yet productive summer. I look forward to seeing you soon at one of our upcoming networking or power luncheon events. Joe
March 27, 2009
Evidence of Progress...
We are off to an outstanding start to 2009, with some visible progress in a number of key areas where we have focused our energies to date. Thanks for all that many of you are doing to promote Massey to your colleagues! In spite of the challenging economic conditions, our enrollments are actually headed in a very positive direction. Both MBA and MACC application numbers are up at this point for summer and fall. Now for some news on various initiatives (see below):
First, you will note in a separate story below that Belmont COBA's undergraduate business program made the BusinessWeek Top 100 National Rankings list for the second straight year (and actually improved over last year). The Massey School was informed last week that our petition for being evaluated in the 2009 Rankings of Part-Time MBA programs has been approved--a big hurdle in that many programs do not clear. Obviously, we have a ways to go, and the competition is fierce (only 30 such top-ranked programs make it on the final list), but we are one step closer to realizing this goal.
Second, we have finalized what we believe is an outstanding group of International Study Abroad (MGT 6350) destinations for 2010. Over the course of the year, faculty-led student groups will visit Amsterdam, Buenos Aries, Istanbul, and Seoul, not to mention the additional "Know Europe" option that includes visits to The Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Spain during the month of June. As you'll note in other eLeader news stories, our recent trips to Chile and to India turned out to be outstanding learning experiences as well.
Third, our new MBA program has been officially approved by university administration, and we are now busy finalizing the details to begin our applications process for the new cohort. The new program, now officially titled the "Accelerated MBA" program, will be...
...offered in a full-time evening format, with students beginning the program in August and graduating 12 months later. The inaugural class of 25 Accelerated MBA students will be admitted with less than two years of full-time business work experience, and they will take their business core courses as a separate cohort. Electives will be taken with other graduate students, and there will also be a required internship/work experience component built in. More details on this innovative but rigorous program will be posted within the next week on the Massey website.
And finally, based to a large extent on alumni and student feedback, we are preparing to launch what we believe will be some wonderful improvements to our electronic communications system. We are nearing completion on some significant improvements to our School website and are also launching new but separate social networking groups for students and alums. As most of you are aware, we have already created a Massey Linked-In group that has now grown to over 250 members (to join, simply go to www.linkedin.com and request membership in "Belmont University Massey Graduate School of Business").
The two new groups, however, will be fed through an on-line tool called "Wetpaint," which is designed within more of a wiki environment. Both current students and alums will be able to join their respective Wetpaint group, with varying abilities to read and contribute information for sharing with other group members. We are currently piloting both groups and should have ready to unveil by next month.
March 02, 2009
Message from the Associate Dean
Well, it's official! This past week, Massey faculty granted formal approval to the creation of a second MBA program that will be targeted to individuals who do not have the business experience required for admission into our existing part-time evening program for working professionals. The new program, scheduled to launch this fall, will be offered in a full-time format and is designed to be completed in 12 months, provided entering students either have an undergraduate business degree or have previously completed all business course prerequisites.
We continue to get frequent requests from prospective students regarding the availability of an MBA program designed specifically for professionals who are just beginning their business careers. This new program will allow us to serve that market segment where in the past we have been forced to instead send interested students to programs offered by our peers.
Tentatively titled as the "Early Advantage MBA" or EAMBA, the new program will maintain a business core curriculum identical to that of the existing part-time evening program, better known as our Professional MBA (PMBA). However, EAMBA students will take their business core courses together as a cohort in classes that are separate from students in the PMBA program. The EAMBA program will also retain those characteristics that have made Massey's existing PMBA program distinct from most of its peers, including a required international study-abroad trip course and a strong focus on business ethics and entrepreneurial practice. Students in the new program will complete a required work experience/internship component as part of their required curriculum.
Scheduled for launch in Fall 2009 (August), the new EAMBA program will be capped in enrollment, with a maximum of 30 students admitted for the first year. Massey faculty, staff, and administrators are working quickly to build this new cohort program in time for its scheduled launch. For more information, prospects are encouraged to contact the Massey Graduate School Office at (615) 460-6480 or email masseyadmissions@mail.belmont.edu.
January 28, 2009
2009-A Year for Networking and Professional Growth
Everyone is back and in high gear as Spring 2009 students are already beginning their third week of classes. Massey applications were up by more than 50% over last spring, and we were delighted to welcome 36 new students to classes this past month--an entering class almost twice as large as last year's.
True to form, we are finding that although the challenging economy is certainly tough on businesses, there are many individuals who find this to be an excellent time to return to school to continue their education. We will be doing a lot of work throughout the rest of this year in order to continue replacing what turned out to be a record sized graduating class of 107 for 2008. Given that current students and alumni have long been our best recruiting weapons, we obviously appreciate your support of our recruiting efforts!
As you read through this first edition of the eLeader for 2009, I hope you will take notice of at least one emerging
theme. Both our Massey Alumni Board and our Massey Graduate Council have worked incredibly hard.to develop a strong slate of networking and professional development opportunities for students and alumni. We hope to have a large number of you take advantage of these events to build your professional networks and continue getting to know your colleagues and classmates. We view this as one of the best things we can do outside of the classroom to add value to your degrees. Whether you're a golfer, a runner, or just enjoy getting together with colleagues for lunch or after work, we want you to have ample opportunities for networking. And of course we will also continue to offer our traditional slate of outstanding speakers and continuing education events.
We hope to see all of you at one or more of these events in the coming weeks and months!
P.S. We now have 228 of you who have already joined our LinkedIn group (Belmont University Massey Graduate School of Business). Our goal is to exceed 500 by the end of this year. If you haven't yet joined, we look forward to welcoming you to our group in the near future.
December 03, 2008
Merry Christmas and a Blessed 2009
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from everyone here in The Massey School! We are just wrapping up another busy but very productive semester here in our MBA and MACC programs. Twenty-three of our graduating MBA students just sat for their nationally standardized exit exams this past Saturday, and they plan to be joined by 14 of their MACC colleagues on Thursday, December 18th for a hooding ceremony that will symbolize their graduation from the School. This should bring the total number of lifetime Massey grads to 1,386, with more than 1,000 of those continuing as residents right here in the Nashville area. We had a very strong entering class for 2008, with applications up significantly over the previous year. However, we are always looking for talented graduate prospects, so please let us know if would like us to follow up with any of your friends or colleagues who are considering a graduate business or accounting program.
Over the past year, we have completed international study abroad trips to Brazil, China, Spain, and the Czech Republic (see related story below), and we continue as one of only a handful of MBA programs in the U.S. to require this type of experience for our students. In fact, we are the only MACC program anywhere that maintains this international experience requirement. We continue to believe it's a critical facet of delivering a world-class business/accounting curriculum.
I'd like to take one more opportunity to remind those of you who have not already done so to join 186 of your colleagues who have already opted in to the Massey Group on LinkedIn (titled "Belmont University Massey Graduate School of Business). This is a great networking tool for staying connected to those with whom you attended the program, as well as an opportunity to identify new contacts for adding to your professional network. Our goal is to grow this group to over 500 in number during 2009.
From all of the faculty and staff here in Massey, we wish you and your families a very merry Christmas and God's richest blessings as you begin 2009! Please come back and visit us as you have opportunity, and let us know how we can assist as you advance through your careers.
October 08, 2008
Massey School a Princeton Review "Best"
Well, thanks to all of you, we did it again! As of yesterday, we were notified that The Massey School has once again made the Princeton Review's list of "Best Business Schools." This makes the fourth straight year that Belmont's Massey School has made this distinguished national list of outstanding graduate business programs, which is based on a survey of 19,000 U.S. students, in addition to information provided by administrators.
In comparisons with the 2008 rankings project, Massey achieved a slight improvement in its academic experience rating, but was able to make a dramatic one-year improvement in its admissions selectivity rating. Students surveyed praised the School's preparation capabilities in accounting and entrepreneurial studies as well as the impressive backgrounds and approachability of Massey professors.
Princeton Review's "Best 296 Business Schools: 2009 Edition" hit newsstands on October 7th.
September 04, 2008
Welcome Back for Fall 2008
Well, it was a busy and productive summer here in The Massey School. Applications to the MBA program for this fall were up 25% over the previous year, and as a result, we welcomed a group of 50 talented professionals to our new student orientation for MBAs and MACCs on August 22nd and 23rd in the Massey Boardroom.
In addition, we also welcomed two new graduate faculty to our ranks, with Dr. Charles "Chuck" Wainright joining us as an associate professor of healthcare management (most recently from the University of Western Kentucky) and Dr. Seyhun "Sean" Yoo as an assistant professor of finance (previously at San Diego State University/Imperial Valley). Each of this individuals will gradually be rotated into our graduate teaching ranks and allow us even greater flexibility in course offerings for students in the coming years.
There continues to be a lot of excitement on campus as we all gear up for the upcoming presidential debates between McCain and Obama here on the Belmont Campus. The recent announcement of Tom Brokaw as the scheduled moderator is also a nice boost for the event and should help bring even greater national attention on our campus. And as the two campaigns continue to heat up, many of our faculty are finding some wonderful opportunities to discuss business concepts within the context of this highly-charged political environment.
In short, it's great to have all of our faculty and students back for the fall term. For administrators, summer is a wonderful opportunity to be "productive" with a somewhat lighter meeting load and a much smaller undergraduate population on campus. We certainly interviewed a large number of program applicants this summer in a one-on-one basis. But the transition to fall is definitely a welcomed one, and the energy that our faculty and students bring back to the classroom as a combined group is unmatched. We are certainly glad to have so many of our Massey community back on campus!
July 02, 2008
Summer Update from Associate Dean Joe Alexander
After spending the last three weeks studying the Japanese education systems in Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Kyoto Kyushu, it is good to be back to home sweet home here in Nashville. And as you'll note in the picture to the left, evidence of Mr. Massey's business success is alive and well, even in Asia. The trip was a tremendous learning experience for me personally and one that I hope will lead to future study abroad opportunities for Massey graduate students as we examine trip possibilities for 2010 and beyond.
We are currently in the stretch run for admitting new candidates to The Massey School for the Fall 2008 term. It's too early to tell what the final numbers will be, but we are currently running well ahead of Fall 2007 on total applications and admits at this point. It's also been interesting from my vantage point to observe an increase in the number of applicants who are coming from out-of-state--an indicator that the Massey reputation and the Nashville job market are continuing to move in a positive direction.
I'll have more details to report next month, but we are set to welcome two new full-time faculty to the graduate program this fall. Our new finance faculty member will allow us to strengthen our graduate offerings in that area, and our new hire in healthcare management will bolster that concentration/track as well.
And finally, it was very tough to lose Cynthia Painter to East Tennessee this past spring as she recently completed a family move that direction, but we appear to be nearing a final hiring decision on a new development officer for the College of Business Administration. Four finalists were interviewed earlier this past month, and my understanding is that we hope to have a permanent replacement on board as we begin the fall semester. As soon as that decision is made, we will set a meeting between that individual and our alumni board to get acquainted and continue efforts to strengthen The Massey School.
February 28, 2008
Message from Associate Dean Joe Alexander
Well, it's certainly been a banner week here in Belmont's College of Business Administration. Our colleagues in the undergraduate business program were notified yesterday by BusinessWeek magazine that Belmont is now a Top 100 national business program. The scoring for this ranking was a very comprehensive analysis that combined nine distinct measures of b-school quality. Some 80,000 students and 600 employers nationwide were also surveyed for their input into the rankings.
Belmont ranked at No. 89 just behind the University of Arkansas (No. 88) and just ahead of Louisiana State University (No. 90). The only other in-state program to make the Top 100 list was the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, which finished at No. 93. Wharton once again topped the list at No. 1. This is Belmont's first year to be recognized in the rankings. Later this year, the Massey School will have an opportunity for its part-time MBA program to undergo a similar analysis of its status on a national basis. Our average GMAT score of 573 for the entering Spring 2008 class is definitely a statistic that will help us in that analysis. The undergraduate BusinessWeek article is schedule to hit newstands this coming Monday. Click here for the rankings analysis.
Earlier today, a group of our MBA and MACC students left for Spain with Dr. Jeff Overby as our first international study abroad trip for Spring 2008. A separate group will be headed to China in May with Dr. Howard Cochran, while Dean Raines is set to lead a group to Brazil in early fall,
followed by my own trip with students to the Czech Republic (Prague) in early November. We remain committed to incorporating this international experience into each of our graduate programs well into the future.
If you've not yet had a chance to visit our new blog, Strictly Business, I encourage you to do so and take a look at the contributions of several of our faculty and students. I've already learned a lot from their mini-articles on contemporary business practices.
On a personal note, let me just add how much I am enjoying my first year of work with students and colleagues in The Massey School. I've also enjoyed meeting so many of you at the various networking luncheons and speaker events over the last few months. Finally, I'd like to extend my own personal invitation to any of you who can join us for the Habitat for Humanity local build later this month (at least enough ladder volunteers who like heights so that I can work from low altitude). Thanks for all you do to continue building the reputation of our graduate business programs here locally and abroad. We are making progress.
January 09, 2008
Happy New Year Everyone
A Message from Massey School Associate Dean Joe Alexander:
We closed out 2007 with our second largest graduating class (38 MBA and MACC graduates) in the history of The Massey School. It's now time to move forward for 2008, and we are off to an excellent beginning with an outstanding group of entering new students in the MACC and the MBA programs. The average GMAT score for this entering class exceeded 550, an indication that the program is continuing to attract quality in addition to quantity.
Early this coming month (February 7-8), we will be hosting Dr. David Spong (standing to the left of President Bush at the Baldrige Awards Ceremony in 2004) as our visiting executive-in-residence. Dr. Spong is best known for having led two separate divisions of Boeing, Inc. to the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA). He also currently serves as chair of the board of directors for the MBNQA Foundation and is a well-known international speaker on a range of topics related to performance excellence. We will be hosting David at a reception for graduate students while he is on campus, and he will also be presenting to a variety of different Belmont audiences while here. I hope you will take advantage of the opportunity to meet him during his visit.
Best wishes for a productive and successful semester as we start 2008 off right!
November 05, 2007
Program Update from the Associate Dean
Well, so far so good, as they say. We have had an excellent fall semester to date as we recently concluded the first 10-week session of classes.
As most of you have heard by now, we were recently notified that The Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business has once again been named to The Princeton Review's Best Business Schools edition for 2008, giving the program three straight years of being included in this prestigious list. In particular, students surveyed gave high marks to the program for the quality of its accounting and entrepreneurship programs.
Our new faculty are now firmly in place, and having retained our previous group of faculty intact, we are very pleased with the depth and breadth of programs we are now able to deliver. As a result, our graduate curriculum committee is in the process of reviewing two proposals for new concentrations/tracks that we anticipate adding for 2008...
In addition to our current MBA specializations offered (accounting, finance, general business, healthcare business, and music business), we are preparing to add separate study options in entrepreneurship and marketing. Each of these areas is a commonly requested study option in our prospective student information sessions, and with the addition of our recent faculty, we should be in a position to offer excellent coursework in each. In terms of accounting curriculum, faculty are in the midst of evaluating the potential for additional coursework in accounting systems and security.
Please check back in the near future as we continue adding new courses. As alums, I want to remind you of the opportunity to sit in these classes (on a space available basis) for free as you continue to update your skills. contact Melissa Mitchell for more information on auditing classes.
September 03, 2007
Welcome from Dean Alexander
I am delighted to be here on campus as The Massey School's new associate dean, and I continue to be impressed with the quality of graduate programs that so many here have helped to build over the last two decades. As I interviewed MBA student applicants over the summer, it was encouraging to hear first-hand how the outstanding reputation of the Massey program within the local business community is what led these potential students to a decision that Belmont's Massey program was indeed the right vehicle to carry them to that next professional level.
Our program's reputation began with the legendary status of our namesake, Jack C. Massey, and has been nurtured and strengthened through the efforts of a highly-talented and dedicated faculty and staff who are committed to carrying out the unique mission we have as a graduate business program with a Christian foundation. And our new faculty hires that you will read about elsewhere in this issue offer further evidence that our program is continuing to move in the right direction. In short, excellence attracts excellence.
We entered the fall semester by welcoming to campus a talented group of incoming graduate students. This fall's entering MBA class boasts averages of seven-plus years of work experience and a 550 mean GMAT score. The entering MACC class averages almost six years of work experience and a mean GMAT score of 600. Furthermore, we are now essentially tied with the University of Tennessee-Knoxville for having the largest MACC program in the State of Tennessee. Our combined MBA and MACC student populations comprise the largest group of graduate students we have enrolled in at least five years.
We are off to a great start for the new academic year, and I look forward to meeting as many of you as are able to attend when we celebrate the renovation of the 3rd Floor Study Area on October 1st from 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. In the meantime, as you think of ideas for how we can continue improving the program, please call (460-6480) or send us an e-mail (alexanderjf@mail.belmont.edu) with that information. As always, we appreciate your continued support!