Tuck Today

Tuck at 100

By Dean Paul Danos

In preparing my observations on Tuck's centennial, I was struck by the paradoxical quality of our school's distinguishing characteristics. Tuck was the nation's first graduate school of business-yet we remain the smallest of the top 10 business schools. Ours is an internationally recognized center of excellence-yet we exist in one of the country's most idyllic locations, geographically apart from the centers of industry where our graduates and faculty have risen to positions of prominence and influence. While we are known for our focus on the MBA program and excellence in teaching, our faculty conduct groundbreaking research and publish widely and frequently.

Despite these seeming contradictions, Tuck remains an institution with a clear sense of itself, a solid commitment to the principles that make our school extraordinary, and a clear vision for the future. In the foreword to Professor Wayne Broehl's book Tuck & Tucker: The Origin of the Graduate Business School, I described the school's original values, which were espoused by Dartmouth president William Jewett Tucker and Edward Tuck and which continue to inform our vision to the present day:

The needed education ... must be an immersion in business thinking, where students learn from leading scholars and from each other; it must be broad-based; and it must have a global perspective, with inputs from diverse cultures.

Using those words as a point of departure, I would like to share a few of the strategies that Tuck is currently implementing to ensure its leadership in the next century.

Managed Growth

In a letter sent to Tuck alumni during August, I outlined our plans to expand the size of the entering class from 185 to no more than 240 over the next three to five years. In an age of rapid growth and fierce competition within the business education industry, undertaking this initiative in a measured and methodical fashion will assist us in our efforts to satisfy a number of key objectives for our school.

• We will remain committed to the fulltime residential MBA program as Tuck's core product.
• We will remain focused on providing superlative business education programs on a human scale.
• We will continue to balance our emphasis on personal attention, with aggressive efforts to enhance our level of technological innovation and our partnerships with affiliated institutions and industry.
• We will remain small and nimble, exerting an influence on our industry and the business world that is disproportionate to Tuck's size.
• We will increase our faculty from 40 to 50, who will be drawn from the top ranks of thought leadership in business education.
• We will fashion the most exciting and relevant MBA curriculum in the world.

As part of this effort, numerous stakeholders within the Tuck community have been working to establish a blueprint for Tuck's gradual growth. This evaluation, which has involved Tuck faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as industry-leading consultants, has given us the opportunity to scrutinize the very essence of the school and to identify areas in which improvements in our curriculum, operations, facilities, and admissions are warranted. We continue to conduct a thorough examination of our programs and policies, and our strategies for faculty recruitment and retention, so that we can do an even better job of preparing managers to face the challenges of business leadership in the 21st century.

Competitive Leverage

I've alluded to the fierce competition that currently characterizes our industry. Success in our second century is contingent upon our ability to both respond to and distinguish ourselves from other schools.

In my conversations with colleagues throughout the country, one of the most frequently recurring themes I hear is the temptation to maximize growth at the expense of focus. Constrained by constant bottom-line pressures, many schools have sought to enlarge their operations through a proliferation of degree offerings. While part-time programs and other diversified revenue sources have allowed these schools to achieve certain economies of scale, many have inadvertently diluted the learning experience for their students in the process.

In this regard, Tuck's location and legacy provide an unexpected advantage. Given our unique setting, and our commitment to maintaining a personalized learning environment, it makes sense that we have never aspired to become as large as possible. Through our unwavering focus on the full-time MBA program, the quality of life that we offer, and the value of the education we provide, we continue to deliver a unique experience that benefits students during their careers at Tuck and beyond. We will continue to honor this commitment for as long as we remain in existence.

Superlative Faculty

Perhaps our best strategy for sustaining leadership during Tuck's second century lies in maintaining equal emphasis on excellent teaching and distinguished scholarship. The renowned scholars we have attracted and retained are known both for their love of teaching and their ability to enliven classroom instruction by conducting and applying leading-edge research. This emphasis on fostering thought leadership and great teaching must remain at the forefront of all that we do, so that we can maintain the vitality of our school's greatest asset.

Our commitment to scholarship is mirrored in part by the research centers we have recently established for the study of corporate governance, private equity, and emerging economies. These three centers of excellence enable our faculty to conduct outstanding research, while giving our students first-hand access to well-known business leaders.

An Innovative Curriculum

As we look back on our first 100 years, we can take justifiable pride in the fact that Tuck pioneered the MBA by inventing the concept of the graduate business degree. We were also the first business school to differentiate itself by emphasizing teamwork and by incorporating field-based projects into our curriculum. Our second century will begin with the introduction of an exciting new curriculum that will further distinguish Tuck by providing students with a greater degree of choice, access to unparalleled technological offerings, and more opportunities to develop their entrepreneurial skills. The new curriculum will also give students greater exposure to the industries in which they will pursue careers and to seasoned industry experts working in those fields.

A Treasured Legacy

I've tried to present a centennial perspective on Tuck that looks forward. And I believe it's equally important to reflect on-and celebrate-the characteristics that have made our school unique and successful and that provide the foundation for a promising future. Tuck's graduates continue to command salaries at the very tops of their fields. Our alumni/ae networks remain strong and vital, as reflected by their extraordinary levels of support, which are among the nation's highest. Our faculty continue to garner awards and recognition from their peers; our admissions process remains highly selective and competitive.

The initiatives we have undertaken to effect managed growth, sustain competitive advantage, and support our faculty help to ensure that Tuck will continue to produce many of the nation's most successful managers and to provide them with an educational experience that earns their lifelong loyalty. As our centennial celebration continues in the coming months, I look forward to telling you more about our thoughts on the future of Tuck, listening to your perspectives on our proposed course, and joining you in honoring a truly extraordinary institution.