Rady School Sets Sights on Future in Wake
of Earning AACSB International Business Accreditation

Melinda Battenberg | August 22, 2011

The Rady School of Management at UC San Diego has earned initial accreditation from AACSB International - Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Founded in 2003, the Rady School is the only new business school created at a U.S. News & World Report top 10 ranked public research university during the past 30 years, and is one of the youngest in the nation ever to achieve this AACSB recognition.

The Rady School joins an elite group of institutions that have achieved business accreditation from AACSB International. To achieve initial accreditation, an institution’s business program must undergo a meticulous internal review and evaluation process.  Less than 5 percent of business schools worldwide have merited AACSB International accreditation, which is regarded as the hallmark of excellence in management education and can take years to achieve.

“I congratulate Dean Sullivan and the faculty, staff and students at the Rady School,” said UC San Diego Chancellor Marye Anne Fox. “This accreditation speaks volumes about the quality of academic programs, and the amazing people—pioneers, trailblazers and innovators—who have shaped the history and future of the school, and contributed to its tremendous success.”

Added Rady School founding Dean Robert S. Sullivan, “The Rady School has met the rigorous standards established by AACSB International and earned our place among the world’s most prestigious business schools. Earning AACSB International initial accreditation as a young school is an incredible testament to the exceptional quality of our faculty and our academic programs. It is also a testimony to the extraordinary generosity of the San Diego community and the school’s benefactors.”

The founding of the Rady School was the culmination of a partnership between UC San Diego and the business community aimed at providing the region’s thriving science and technology industries with a continuous source of leaders with innovative management skills and an understanding of the discovery to market process. The majority of funding for the Rady School came from a naming gift from philanthropists Ernest and Evelyn Rady. Additional gifts were provided by Betty and J. Robert Beyster, Tanya and Charles Brandes, Roberta and Malin Burnham, Pauline and Stanley Foster, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Carol and William Stensrud and other donors. Ernest Rady is also a major contributor to San Diego’s innovative Rady Children’s Hospital.

“My family and I are very proud to be associated with the miraculous creation of this school and the outstanding job that Dean Sullivan and his associates have accomplished,” said Ernest Rady.

Receiving news of the Rady School’s accreditation, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders commented, “Since its inception, the Rady School has had a positive impact on economic growth in San Diego by educating leaders who transform innovative ideas into companies, creating jobs for San Diegans.”

Dean Sullivan explained that AACSB International accreditation will help contribute to the growth of business leaders in San Diego.

“Our core curriculum coupled with the unique discovery to market hands-on experience required of our students has made the Rady School attractive to leaders in growth industries,” said Sullivan. “Accreditation allows us to recruit the best and brightest students and faculty to continue to provide San Diego with the most innovative business leaders.”

The first MBA students arrived at the Rady School in the fall of 2004 and, as Rady alumni, have already had an important influence on developing new companies and organizations that are critically important to the future.

Alumnus Martin Sabarsky (’06) is president and chief executive officer of Cellana Inc.  Headquartered in San Diego, Cellana uses algae to produce biofuels, personal care products, renewable chemicals and aquaculture and livestock feeds while reducing industrial emissions of carbon dioxide. Sabarsky credits his experience at the Rady School and its innovative culture with providing him the skills and knowledge necessary to lead an innovative company in an emerging industry.

Alumna Beth Anne Baber (’09) attended the Rady School while working as a researcher at the Salk Institute. Dr. Baber observed the funding challenges facing pediatric cancer researchers while seeking treatment for her son, Conor.  Motivated to combine her scientific expertise and personal experience, she established The Nicholas Conor Institute for Pediatric Cancer Research (TNCI), an organization that facilitates the translation of laboratory results into effective treatments for childhood cancers. Baber recognized to effectively lead TNCI, she needed strong business skills. Being familiar with the Rady School’s reputation for educating science and technology business leaders, she enrolled in the MBA program.  The business skills Baber acquired at the Rady School have helped TNCI thrive.

In the future, the Rady School aspires to expand its academic programs and continue to provide an education that contributes to the growth of new businesses and economic prosperity. This aspiration is already being realized by current Rady School student Dan Norton and team members from the UC San Diego Medical Center and the Sanford Burnham Institute, founders of NeuroMap LLC. On the frontier of personalized medicine, NeuroMap is developing an innovative stem cell-based technology that will accurately predict a patient's therapeutic response to antidepressants, helping doctors customize therapies. The company recently won first place in the $100,000 UC San Diego Entrepreneur Challenge.

“Being at the Rady School allows me to develop my ability to identify and develop incredible opportunities,” Norton said. “The opportunity to collaborate with talented people from other institutions and organizations is an invaluable experience for me.”

Partnering with UC San Diego Health Sciences, the Rady School has developed a health sciences focused MBA curriculum that supports the educational and professional development needs of leaders in the rapidly changing health care sector. The curriculum focuses on the application of innovative technologies to the delivery of health care and the translation of new scientific and medical research to commercial viability.

"AACSB International initial accreditation clearly adds immense value to a Rady School of Management degree," said Sullivan. "It is a value not only for current students, alumni and future graduates, but also for UC San Diego and our community. "The Rady School was founded by business leaders as an investment in San Diego's future. We are committed to fulfilling their vision and as with all good investments the Rady School will grow over time. Accreditation is an incredible milestone, but it is just the beginning for the Rady School of Management."