<p>I recently found out that Jimmy Lovine and Dr. Dre donated $70 million to launch some audio/visual/engineering/entrepreneurship major at USC. While that sounds very interesting and innovative, and I thoroughly respect USC for trying to cater to students who are interested in these type of programs, USC's core schools tend to be slipping. </p>
<p>Back in 2006 or so, USC Marshall was still in contention as one of the best business schools of California. Its ranking among MBA programs continually hovered around 15-20. Now, its ranking is near 25-30 falling way behind other schools that were considered peers. I hope that USC would put more focus into its core programs such as Marshall because it impacts the brand a bit more. Anyone agree?</p>
<p>Major donors may have certain goals in mind when they give millions to a university. My guess is a philanthropist at this level may not be interested in giving funds in a direction other than the one he/she has chosen.</p>
<p>SC is enhancing the academic status of the university by:</p>
<ol>
<li> Moving forward on the Campaign for USC to improve endowment, faculty, campus buildings and addition of University Village.</li>
<li> Adding star quality faculty and young high achieving faculty at a rapid rate. (See my posts about faculty additions). It is difficult to keep the list current.</li>
<li> Capital expenditures on new Marshall building, state of the art Annenberg complex, social science/engineering complex, swimming facility remodel, sand volleyball facility, addition of new interactive addition to SCA and establishment of new department of dance and dance complex. The student health center is now open.</li>
<li> Donations to the various libraries of rare books and personal collections from noted entertainers, writers and studio executives.</li>
<li> Adding more alumni groups around the world which help support the university.</li>
<li> Enhancing the medical school with premier faculty, research groups added, new buildings and medical campus beautification.</li>
<li> Addition of World Bachelor of Business program.</li>
<li> Establishing the SC campus as the site of the Book Festival</li>
<li> Exposure of the premier art schools by the presentation of the Piatigorsky International Cello Festival at SC and the Colburn School.
<ol>
<li> More publicity concerning the valuable research findings in the medical, pharmacy and engineering schools.</li>
</ol></li>
</ol>
<p>The Marshall School has raised rankings in the undergraduate specialties, added noted faculty, is building an estimated $50 million dollar facility, enhanced global programs,
enlarged applicant pool, students are recipients of major awards and the Marshall Global Conference continues to be sold out. The new World Bachelor of Business program has attracted international attention. My opinion is the university is not neglecting the business school.</p>
<p>As many of us have said, USC has done a fantastic job with its undergraduate programs. Now it needs to focus on its research, graduate and professional programs.</p>
<p>While they have may done a good job at the undergrad level, the MBA level has slipped quite a bit. As I mentioned, Marshall used to be ranked in 15-20, but now it’s around 25-30 while other schools have pulled ahead. I personally know many MBA applicants who aren’t even considering Marshall at all based on what has happened in recent years.</p>
<p>I completely agree about the business school and particularly with the MBA program. Now that the UCs have decided to price their MBA, JD, and MD programs at essentially the same cost as Stanford and USC, that means that people who previously would’ve defaulted (in state) to a UC will now seriously look at USC and Stanford. Unfortunately, Marshall has been backsliding for the last few years and I can’t begin to understand why. Yes, the World Bachelor’s of Business is nice but I haven’t seen Marshall in the U.S. News top 10 undergrad business programs for a few years now, and that’s supposed to be a major strength of the university. And, like blbk said, the MBA program was usually ranked 15-20 and now it’s 25-30. Makes no sense, especially for a major university in a major world-class city. USC should be doing a LOT better here, as both NYU’s law and business programs are top 5, while the university as a whole is 10 or so slots behind USC int he U.S. News undergrad rankings.</p>
<p>Beyond that, I disagree with your characterization of the music program. USC’s music school is generally top 5 and the arts schools taken together are another core strength of the university, but they cater to different set of students.</p>
<p>It seems like the USC brand is more than the business school…</p>
<p>The university has risen significantly through the overall college rankings in recent years, especially within the past decade or so, with Time magazine naming USC “College of the Year” in 2000. I have personally spoken with many alumni who are happy about the improvements to the school, since it increases the value of their degrees, and who have also said that they would not have a very good chance at getting into the school as it stands today.</p>
<p>USC seems to be attracting more and more talented faculty across the board, gaining research funding, and getting more “better” students than ever before (due to scholarship programs, the school’s improving reputation, switching to the Common App, etc.). These all seem to synergistically interact and improve the school, at least as measured by ranking services like the U.S. News & World Report.</p>
<p>Marshall is a great business school, and should remain one in the near future (regardless of the ranking). USC is the largest private school in Los Angeles, so the network is very strong in that city and many businesses there have been founded by Marshall alumni. If I were interested in business and looking at living and working in Southern California, I would almost certainly go to Marshall. How much does the ranking matter if the Southern California connections are so impressive (and you likely want to work there after graduation)?</p>