Report From the Executive Director

ACBSP update



Winter 2014

Report From the Executive Director ACBSP celebrates its 25th Anniversary during this 2013-14 membership year. Approximately 140 individuals attended that first meeting at the Kansas City Airport Hilton in April 1988. By the end of the 1989-90 membership year ACBSP had 441 members. While growth continued for a number of years, there were also years of membership decline. All of this and more is documented in a book currently being written on the history of ACBSP. A review of history is also a time to look back to other anniversaries. In this column, I share a brief history of 10 years of progress in developing and growing services to our members at three different points in our history. This year we can celebrate 10 years of initiatives and benefits launched in the 2003-04 membership year. The theme of the campaign at that time was “Discover ACBSP,” based on the belief that ACBSP members needed to discover all that was being offered and prospective members needed to make their own new discoveries. It was launched at a time when membership had declined in eight of the nine previous years. These initiatives included: • Creation of individual membership that extended membership to everyone on campus involved in the delivery of business education; • Launch of a newsletter, Business Education Week, offering a one-page summary released most Fridays summarizing what is being reported in the area of business education each week; • Creation of a new website to archive presentations at each Annual Conference and an online membership directory; • Elimination of traditional and alternative criteria and the adoption of one set of criteria aligned more closely with the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program to meet the requirements for ACBSP accreditation. and; • First ever membership and cooperative agreements with several business school associations throughout the globe, including Latin America and Europe. A series of new benefits were added during the 2009-10 membership year. The campaign theme at that time was somewhat muted, but often referred to as “Better Than Ever.” • Most significant was the launch at the end of this membership year of a rebranding initiative that included a change in our name from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Business to the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs. • Tied to the rebranding was the development and launch of a new logo with design assistance from our longstanding friends, Marriott. • At the beginning of this membership year in June 2009, we launched our first new region since the regions were created in the mid-1990’s — the Latin America Council of Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP Region 9). • Near the end of the membership year, the creation of a second new region was endorsed, the South Asia Council of Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP Region 10). Final action occurred the next year. • A new educational offering was created — the ACBSP Seminar Series — a two-day event providing content that could only be offered in a seminar format. Most seminar locations and dates were tied to and are still part of regional meetings. • We also added the Leadership Institute. For the first time ever, we had specific educational content for the head of the business unit in their role as dean, department chair, or similar title.

Report From the Executive Director...continued on pg. 14.

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Doug Viehland

“I never forget that we achieved what was achieved because of the support and involvement of our global membership and volunteer leaders working with a dedicated staff. Use this time in our history to think about what can be achieved during the next 10 years.” —Douglas Viehland ACBSP Executive Director

ACBSP update



Winter 2014

Report of the Executive Director....continued from page 3.

• Our first ever capital campaign “Developing Global Business Leaders” concluded, securing funds for new services and the purchase of an office condo. • Purchase of an office condo and a change of address resulted in ACBSP no longer paying rent, but instead providing mortgage payments to invest in an asset. • The bylaws were changed to allow corporate members to serve on ACBSP Committees. • In June 2010, ACBSP published our first peer-reviewed journal, the ACBSP Annual Edition. The 25th Anniversary is a time to again pause and launch new events and initiatives in support of membership and growth. I and others have attached these initiatives to the theme, “Celebrating 25 Years,” which is the theme of our entire 2013-14 membership year. These include: • Opening a third office in Latin America, in addition to office locations in Overland Park, Kansas, and Brussels, Belgium; • Launch of a new website that is more graphically appealing, provides for creation of communities, includes a searchable database, and portals for students and employers to meet their needs, in addition to our longstanding use of the website to meet the needs of our members. • Creation of an new scholarly journal, Transnational Journal for Business, with a Managing Editor, replacing the previous journal, ACBSP Annual Edition; • Launch of an International Conference each November to complement the ACBSP Annual Conference, held each June; • Development of a series of initiatives to serve and grow the membership from community colleges and other associate degree schools, including hiring a staff person devoted exclusively to serve this group, which has been an important part of the ACBSP membership since 1988; • Plans are now underway to purchase an existing vacant condo space adjacent to our current space, allowing for build-out and future expansion of our office space, ensuring we will continue to meet the needs of a growing staff and membership; • Creation of two new staff positions — one to enhance awareness of ACBSP through social media outlets, and a chief operating officer to serve in a new executive management position, and; • A new online accreditation portal for schools in candidacy and accredited members, currently in beta testing, ready for implementation in 2014-15. There are other events along the way that were not part of these initiative years that can be noted: • Creation of the “Best of the Regions” around 2006 to support our work with the regions, and the Annual Conference leading to the creation in 2012 of the “International Best of Regions Excellence Award.” • Launch of a system-wide membership and accreditation structure in 2007 as we found new pathways for certain members to achieve accreditation on terms acceptable to them and ACBSP; • A steady stream of agreements following our first two to create collaborations with other business school associations including Russia, India, Africa, and Central East Europe; • Creation of a separate accounting accreditation in 2007; • Development of our first agreement with a government, Mongolia, creating several new ways to deliver membership and accreditation services; and • Paying off the mortgage of our existing office space in 2012. These initiatives have led to dramatic growth in staff and membership. As of January 2014, ACBSP now has 1,225 campus members in 58 countries and more than 10,100 individual members. We have grown from one office in Overland Park to three global offices. Our staff has grown from 4.5 FTE to 12.5 FTE during this time. One other achievement members may overlook is that during these 10 years, there was one increase in dues, a $100 annual increase in 2011-12. I never forget that we achieved what was achieved because of the support and involvement of our global membership and volunteer leaders working with a dedicated staff. Use this time in our history to think about what can be achieved during the next 10 years. Make your plans to be a part of this success. Thank you for reading.

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