In 1961 a gallon of gas cost thirty cents, JFK was president, and Barbie was first introduced to Ken. And in the basement of the Jesse Knight Building something groundbreaking was happening: the BYU MBA was born.
What originated with fifteen students and a handful of professors has grown into a topflight program, with more than 6,500 alumni worldwide and a No. 1 ranking in the regional schools category by the Wall Street Journal.
Celebrating the program’s golden anniversary couldn’t come at a better time. The popular program is garnering the attention of recruiters and the national media.
“We are fortunate to have an ever-increasing number of students who were accepted to other prestigious MBA programs but choose to be a part of BYU,” says Craig Merrill, MBA program director. “They come here because of the unique emphasis we place on faith being relevant to top-quality professional training.”
Past and Present BYU MBA Directors
| 1961–1963 | Quinn G. McKay |
| 1963–1965 | Sterling D. Sessions |
| 1965–1976 | Robert H. Daines |
| 1976–1979 | Martin Wistisen |
| 1979–1983 | Stephen Nadauld |
| 1983–1984 | Burke Jackson (interim) |
| 1984–1990 | William Giauque |
| 1990–1992 | Darral (Pete) Clarke |
| 1992–1998 | Gary McKinnon |
| 1998–2002 | Henry Eyring |
| 2002–2008 | James Stice |
| 2008–2011 | Craig Merrill |
Then and Now
Gordon Peterson was one of fifteen students who embarked on the inaugural MBA program—one that would grow to include more than three hundred students each year and become one of BYU’s most-recognized graduate programs.
When Peterson, now retired, returned to campus last fall, he sat in on a modern version of his MBA classes. Laptops replaced pencils and papers, PowerPoint slides enhanced the lecture, and instead of meeting in the basement of the JKB, the students were seated in a tiered classroom in the Tanner Building Addition.
Peterson, whose MBA helped him land a position at IBM after graduation, noted that despite five decades, the classroom dynamics and format were remarkably similar.
“We also had a great faculty, and case study methodology was very big in 1961,” says Peterson, who remembers a visit from J.W. Marriott to one of his MBA classes.
That’s not to say the program hasn’t shifted and refined its focus over the years. Bill Sawaya, who recently retired as assistant director of the MBA program, recalls a faculty meeting more than thirty years ago with Merrill J. Bateman, then dean of the business school.
“He told us that the BYU MBA needed to be different. He said people had a lot of options to learn about business principles, but we needed to offer leadership values that are espoused by the LDS Church and graduate students of high character,” Sawaya says. “I believe we’ve been able to achieve Dean Bateman’s goal because the students demonstrate a willingness to take the higher ground.”
The focus on ethics was one aspect that drew Adam Cuppett, who donned his MBA graduation robes last April. But another draw was BYU’s high professor-student interaction—something that seemed to be lacking at other institutions. “I wanted a more personal experience when it came to working with faculty,” says Cuppett, who also served as president of the MBA Student Association. “I didn’t want to simply be a student with a number stamped on my head at orientation. I wanted to be an active participant, and BYU offered that experience better than the other programs I considered.”
Kate Kirkham, a retired professor who spent almost three decades involved with BYU’s MBA, says she’s proud to be associated with the program. “The principles that guide the program invite each person involved to give his or her best so it continues to give greater benefit to those who will next be associated with it,” she says. “For almost everyone, it is a wonderful collaborative cycle of scholarship, study, skills, and service.”
Evolution
Sawaya, who estimates he’s taught half of the MBAs who’ve come through the program, says he noticed two significant turning points in the program’s history: an increase in required work experience and a higher minimum GMAT score. “Those two requirements gave us better quality students,” he says.
In addition to those screening measures, the learning environment, Sawaya says, has become more hands-on with the introduction of team and classroom projects and field studies. “We’re trying to teach students a framework to make managerial decisions—not just have them memorize information,” he says.
In a traditional classroom, Sawaya continues, there is hardly enough time for students to get the feedback they need from teachers. “But in teams they receive quality feedback, and they also learn how to give feedback to others,” he adds.
Kirkham, who also served as one of the program’s associate directors, points out that the collaborative environment is emphasized to help students learn how to participate in a diverse group—not just to share the workload.
“They are learning how to develop the abilities of their team members,” she says. “These strategies and individual leadership proficiencies enable a team’s performance, and the students benefit from the range of team member experiences and skills.”
Branching Out
To make the MBA program available to even more people, a part-time, two-year program for executives was created in 1986. At any given time there are about 130 students enrolled in the Provo evening program or the newer every-other-weekend Salt Lake City program.
“We work very hard to keep the executive program parallel to the daytime program in terms of curriculum, but it is tailored to people who have pushed their careers to a point at which they are looking to expand their training,” says Merrill, who notes that the average work experience for an EMBA student is twelve years.
Another way word is getting out about the quality of MBA students is through the school’s recruiting efforts. MBA placement is led by Dick Smith and Shawna Gygi, who have developed some inventive strategies, particularly to get through the last few unusually rough placement years.
“There’s been a considerable amount of effort spent on student preparation: helping them determine their focus, building their networks, and developing their personal brands,” Gygi says. “Informational interviews and corporate trips also help build connections and dispel myths among recruiters that BYU grads want to work only in Utah.”
Each first-year student is assigned to a “Sherpa,” a second-year MBA who closely guides and mentors him or her in the hunt for that all-important internship.
The results of these combined efforts have been impressive, with job placement for the class of 2011 at 90 percent and average starting salaries at $92,000.
B-school ranking organizations, such as BusinessWeek, U.S. News, and Forbes, have also taken notice. BYU’s MBA program was recently listed No. 15 by Forbes.
The unique aspects of the program—from the emphasis on ethics and leadership to the collaborative environment and faculty interaction—keep producing quality grads. A BYU MBA was certainly key to helping Cuppett land a senior cost engineer position at Intel Inc. “My experience was invaluable to finding the right job. The push to get out of your comfort zone and network really helps you develop,” he says. “My degree has already proven helpful as I’ve implemented skills I learned from the MBA program in my new corporate environment.”
Excerpt From the 1961–1962 BYU yearbook about the new MBA program:
In the first year of its MBA program the college found that students from all over the nation were applying to be enrolled in this special managerial training program. An outstanding feature sponsored by the college was the executive lecture series held every Wednesday in 184 of the Knight Building. From the modern data processing computers in the basement to the up-to-date office machinery on the second floor, the College of Business stood ready to train the student in machine manipulation. Modern laboratories and business texts were on hand for the students in business to use. The case study method used for instructional purposes gave the students insight into practical aspects of business involving personal interactions with other students.
Inaugural class members: Gary Bailey, Harold Bateman, Sylvan Butler, Jim Crawley, George Dibble, W. Keith Garrett, Bill McKinney, J. Doug Mitchell, Gordon Peterson, Brent Pratley, F. Laurel Pulsipher, Stan Quackenbush, Bill Staffanson, Paul Tripp, Rudy Zander.
Original faculty: Stephen R. Covey, Parley M. Pratt, Robert J. Smith, Eldred Johnson, Philip B. Daniels, Robert H. Daines, Quinn G. McKay, Edward L. Christensen, Howard Nielsen, Glen Nelson, Garth Magnum, Charles Bradford, Sterling Sessions, Clinton Oaks, Bill Lambert, Brent Eagar.
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Article written by Emily Smurthwaite
