Bringing Tuck’s Culture To Vanderbilt

Owen Dean James Bradford is stepping down from his job

Owen Dean James Bradford is stepping down from his job

He noted that Owen’s endowment is similar to Tuck’s, roughly $270 million. “So there are resources there and a lot of potential,” he adds. “And I have the time to make change.”

The announcement of Johnson’s appointment was made yesterday (April 22) by Vanderbilt whose Owen school is currently ranked 23rd in the U.S. by Poets&Quants. Johnson succeeds James W. Bradford Jr. who said in December that he would be stepping down from the job after eight years.

A TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW

Bradford will be a tough act to follow. The school jumped an incredible 12 places in Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s 2012 ranking to 25th from 37th two years ago. BusinessWeek, which largely ranks MBA programs on the basis of graduate and corporate recruiter satisfaction, reported significant improvement on both those measures for Owen. On the magazine’s corporate recruiter survey, the school jumped a dozen places to rank 31st from 43rd two years ago. On BW’s graduate satisfaction survey, Owen showed a six-place gain to finish 24th from 30rd two years ago.

To improve the school’s standing, Bradford reduced MBA enrollment, beefed up scholarship aid and went about significantly improving the quality of its students. Besides increasing the average GMAT scores of enrolled MBA students, the acceptance rate for its full-time MBA program fell to 29% in 2011 from 36% in 2010 (the acceptance rate for the class that entered in the fall of 2012, however, was back up to 37%.)

Johnson seems up for the job.  “Among an extraordinary group of candidates, Eric stood out,” said Guthrie, head of the search committee that selected Johnson. “His hiring is a coup for Vanderbilt and a testament to the strength, vitality and reputation of the Owen School, the university and Nashville.”

DON’T MISS: POETS&QUANTS’ TOP 50 NON-U.S. MBA PROGRAMS OF 2012 or ALPHABETICAL LIST OF THE WORLD’S TOP  BUSINESS SCHOOLS

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