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Thunderbird School of Global Management is a private business school in the United States, and the first and oldest graduate school specializing in international management and global business.[1][citation needed] Its main campus is situated in Glendale, Arizona, but it also has operations in Geneva, Switzerland with the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies; in Russia; in Beijing, China with Peking University; and in Mexico with the Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM). Thunderbird has had different official names throughout its history, including the original American Institute for Foreign Trade, American Graduate School of International Management, and Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management during the nineties, and the more recent Garvin School of International Management in 2004 in recognition of alumnus Sam Garvin and his wife Rita who had pledged $60 million to the School. Since its founding, however, the School has consistently been known as Thunderbird, the name of the Glendale air base where its campus was established. In 2007 the school finally adopted Thunderbird as the official name of Thunderbird School of Global Management. An alumnus or current student of Thunderbird is sometimes referred to as a "T-bird". Thunderbird has over 38,000 alumni and 150 alumni chapters in 141 countries throughout the world.[2] T-Bird alumni have a long-standing tradition, called First Tuesday, whereby on the first Tuesday of every month, in major cities across the globe, alumni gather for informal socializing and networking opportunities. Thunderbird has officially changed its address to 1 Global Place. The change reflects Thunderbird’s history as the world’s first and oldest graduate management school focused exclusively on global business.[3]
[edit] HistoryThe school was founded in 1946 by retired U.S. Army Air Forces Lieutenant General Barton Kyle Yount (1884-1949) on a former military airbase, Thunderbird Field. The property was valued at US$407,000. However, a law enacted after the war enabled someone to purchase government property at a discount if the property was going to be used for educational purposes. The founders successfully applied for a 100% discount, so the property was essentially free. The only condition was that it had to remain as an educational institution for ten years, which it has done for 63 years. Yount became Thunderbird's first president when the school was chartered on April 8, 1946; it was founded as a nonprofit corporation known as the American Institute for Foreign Trade. Classes began on October 1, 1946, and the school saw its first graduating class on June 14, 1947. To this day, Thunderbird honors the best graduating student of the graduating class with the prestigious Barton Yount award[4]. Growth and expansion have also included the addition of various new buildings on campus in Glendale, and additional facilities overseas, including, at one point, a campus in France, and facilities in Japan, China and Russia. The school also teaches students through partnership programs in Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Taiwan. In August 2004, Angel Cabrera, formerly dean of IE Business School in Madrid, Spain, became the first foreign-born president of the School, succeeding Roy A. Herberger Jr. In April 2006 the school celebrated its 60th Anniversary and announced a new mission, vision and beliefs:
Currently a student led initiative on campus is underway to restore the Thunderbird Tower. The Tower, originally erected in 1939, has been closed since 2006. It is currently being restored and will utilize the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system. [5] [edit] ProgramsThunderbird offers a number of graduate programs in international management for individuals from around the world at different stages in their careers. The MBA in Global Management is the full-time MBA offered to experienced professionals. The Global MBA On-Demand is a distance learning MBA program for working professionals that combines residential modules and technology-mediated courses. The Executive MBA in Global Management is a modular MBA for experienced managers offered currently in Glendale. Thunderbird plans to launch a Part-Time Evening Program in Glendale in 2009. The Master of Science in Global Management is offered to college graduates without prior work experience. The Master of Arts in Global Affairs and Management is oriented towards management of public, international and social organizations. Thunderbird offers a Post-MBA Masters in Global Management for recent MBA graduates to gain a more global perspective and the knowledge and soft skills to succeed as a global business leader. Thunderbird also offers a Masters of Global Management as a dual degree with a number of partner schools around the world. Thunderbird also offers the Master of Arts in Global Affairs and Management and Master of Science in Global Management. These degrees combines coursework in international relations and global business.[6] [edit] Notable alumni
/DocumentReader.aspx?Item=5_886883588</ref>[broken citation] [edit] RankingsThunderbird has been ranked by US News & World Report as the #1 school in International Management for 14 consecutive years[9]. The 2005 Business Week rankings place Thunderbird in the Top 50 Full-time MBA program (fifth consecutive time) and in the Top 10 for "Best & Brightest", Global Scope.[10][citation needed] Thunderbird was ranked #1 for Academic Excellence in International Business in the United States (as judged by U.S. recruiters), #1 Regionally, and #5 for top International Schools overall in Europe and North America (as judged by global recruiters) by Wall Street Journal in 2007.[11] In 2008, Thunderbird was ranked #1 among schools for international business by The Financial Times, based on alumni recommendations.[12] [edit] Barton Yount Award Winners
[edit] Board of Trustees
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 33°37′20″N 112°10′56″W / 33.62222°N 112.18222°W | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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