If you blink, you might miss it. The MBA program at Duquesne University’s Palumbo-Donahue School of Business was just ranked 13th in the world for “Better World MBA” according to Corporate Knights’ 2018 Better World MBA survey. Potentially more impressive is the subset of U.S. institutions on this list (See graphic below-- DU is #5 in a very tight ranking). Corporate Knights bills itself as the world’s magazine for clean capitalism.
The categories in this survey are serious so any institution dipping their toe in the water of global sustainability need not apply. The ranking is made up of 5 major criteria:
· Institutes and centers (10%)—this sums the numbers of institutes and centers doing sustainable development research at each business school.
· Curriculum (30%) measures the proportion of a school’s mandatory courses in the full-time MBA programs that integrate relevant sustainability themes.
· Research (50%)—this sums the number of peer-reviewed publications in academic journals with sustainable development tops and the number of citations per faculty member.
· Gender Diversity (5%)
· Racial Diversity (5%)
Once again, Pittsburgh is playing significantly above its weight. Major areas of focus like ultra-low energy for the built environment, social equity and sustainability-inspired innovation all result from collaboration between Pittsburgh’s powerhouses of leadership—political, academic, global corporations, foundations, and non-profits.
By breaking down historic boundaries, Pittsburgh has positioned itself a leader in Global Sustainability which has captured the attention of the United Nations. There is a strong belief that even the U.N. itself may soon be naming Pittsburgh one of the next Centers of Excellence as part of the U.N. Global Sustainable Development Goals.
Duquesne University’s Sustainability MBA program (sMBA) should be lauded and supported by Pittsburgh’s political and business leaders and should be given significant resources to continue to advance their research and practices into real-world sustainability knowledge and innovation. This is just one more reason to believe that Pittsburgh’s leadership on the global stage of sustainability is here to stay.
