The Consortium Gets A 22nd Member: Stanford Graduate School Of Business

Stanford GSB is the latest elite B-school to join The Consortium, becoming its 22nd member school

The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management is getting bigger — a reflection of the growing size of their mission, and the desirability of greater diversity in graduate business education.

The national nonprofit organization focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion in graduate business education and U.S. business announced Wednesday (February 16) the addition of a new member school — and it’s a big one. Stanford Graduate School of Business becomes the second M7 school and 22nd member overall in The Consortium, which was founded more than 50 years ago at three U.S. schools and which has grown by three new members in just the last four years.

“As an institution, we want to help shape a future where individuals have the same opportunity to thrive regardless of their background,” says Jonathan Levin, Stanford GSB’s dean. “We believe in attracting and supporting outstanding students from diverse backgrounds to enhance the learning environment at the GSB, and ultimately, to contribute principled and purposeful leadership to organizations around the world. We are excited to support and collaborate with The Consortium in the advancement of these goals.”

STANFORD JOINS COLUMBIA AS CONSORTIUM’S 2 M7 SCHOOLS

Peter Aranda III, executive director and CEO of The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management

The Consortium’s mission since 1966 has been the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion in graduate business education and American business. The nonprofit works with top-ranked MBA programs around the country to increase the ranks of under-represented minorities in business education and corporate leadership, recruiting qualified U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents for graduate business education. Most candidates recruited by The Consortium receive full-tuition, merit-based fellowships to the MBA programs they attend.

With the addition of Stanford Graduate School of Business, The Consortium’s members include some of the top B-schools in the world: Columbia Business School, UC-Berkeley Haas School of Business, Yale School of Management, the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, UCLA Anderson School of Management, Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business, the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business, the University of Washington Foster School of Business, Emory University Goizueta Business School, Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School, and Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business — as well as the original three member schools, Washington University in St. Louis Olin Business School, Indiana University Kelley School of Business, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Business School.

Last year, Poets&Quants reported on The Consortium’s drive to increase the population of Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students in top MBA programs to 30% by the year 2030 through its “30 by 30 Initiative.” It’s a steep climb: When the organization announced its plan, the average U.S. minority enrollment at its other member schools’ most recent student intake was below 20%. In Stanford’s most recent MBA class, 48% of U.S. students were students of color; most — 23% — were of Asian descent.

The racial makeup of U.S. students in Stanford GSB’s MBA Class of 2023

CONSORTIUM MEMBERSHIP HAS NEARLY DOUBLED SINCE 2003

A lot of work needs to be done by the end of the decade to achieve The Consortium’s 30 By 30 goal, CEO Peter Aranda III told P&Q in 2021. But he’s positive it can be achieved. During his tenure, the organization has seen marked growth, with membership growing to 22 schools from 12 and revenue tripling from $14 million to nearly $50 million annually. The organization’s incoming classes have nearly tripled in size and corporate sponsorships have grown as well, with more than 90 Fortune 500 companies supporting the organization’s mission.

“For 45 years, we kind of went along just growing as best we could, but without really an end goal in sight,” says Aranda, who joined the Consortium in 2003. “And I’m always that person that says, ‘A good nonprofit is supposed to put itself out of business.’ We’re supposed to deliver the mission, right? And so if we actually deliver the mission, what does that look like? And that means to me that representation in business school and beyond should look a lot like the population demographics in the United States.

“And so I know that 30% falls short of the African-American, Latinx, and the Native-American figures when you add them up, but 30% is a whole bunch closer than where we were when I started, when it was back at 10%. So I think it’s a good objective, and I’m delighted that the schools are on board. And I’m delighted that the population seems to be responding to us and applying in great numbers.”

STANFORD ‘WILL BE A PASSIONATE, DEDICATED & ENTHUSIASTIC PARTNER’

Now, with Stanford on board, the Consortium has two M7 schools (after adding Columbia Business School as its 21st member in 2021) that are among the most publicly supportive of greater MBA diversity — and the most transparent in the details they publish about their programs. Not only is Stanford one of the most selective business schools in the world, it also is one of the mot highly ranked, including a No. 1 in P&Q‘s most recent ranking.

“We are excited to welcome Stanford Graduate School of Business to our list of top-ranking member schools that are dedicated to advancing opportunities for underrepresented minorities in graduate business education and leadership,” Aranda says. “It is clear that Stanford GSB will be a passionate, dedicated and enthusiastic partner in the ultimate fulfillment of our mission. Likewise, we are confident that the partnership with The Consortium will positively enhance Stanford GSB’s diversity profile. We look forward to working with Dean Jonathan Levin and his team.”

The Consortium’s Board of Trustees approved Stanford’s membership on February 8; it will be effective beginning July 1. The GSB will begin recruiting its first class in August of 2022.

DON’T MISS THE CONSORTIUM, BORN IN A TURBULENT TIME, MARKS 50 YEARS and 

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