Meet Duke Fuqua’s MBA Class Of 2024

OPEN, HONEST, AND IMPACTFUL

The Impactful Stewardship principle also resonated with the Class of 2024. Think of it as a life-long call to action, to empower everyone around them to serve the greater social good. This principle “resonated” with Annie Forrest, who plans to use her MBA To move into the social impact space. “Social impact felt woven into the DNA of the Fuqua program, not just an add-on or after-thought, which continuously drew me to the school throughout the application and final decision-making process. Fuqua has a clear expectation for all its students to be impact-oriented, whether it’s a formal part of their career or not.”

At Fuqua, students also rally around the Loyalty Community principle, where students live as a “family” who “has your back when you need it most.” Uncompromising Integrity demands that students act transparently, always with the community’s best interests at heart. At the same time, the Authentic Engagement principle welcomes students to be their true selves – and embrace their peers for who they are too. The final Paired Principle, Collective Diversity, reminds students to be open and listen because differences often lead to discovery.

“[Collective Diversity] demands that I should never reject any opinion different from mine and always try to see it from other’s perspectives,” explains Ruoxi Shi. “Many cultural aspects I take for granted in China might be easily misunderstood by someone from another culture and I must be sensitive about the same and be ready to bridge the gap with open communication. The world is globally connected now, and only by collaborating effectively we can make any progress.”

FRIDAY NIGHT HIGHLIGHT

Along with its Paired Principles, Duke Fuqua also boasts a pair of legendary traditions. The first is known as Fuqua Friday. In a nutshell, it is a time for the Fuqua family – students, faculty, families, and alumni – to come together and re-connect over dinner and drinks. Held in the Winter Garden, Fuqua Friday celebrates a week well done, often punctuated by lively events like auctions or cooking competitions. Even more, the weekly gathering isn’t limited to the full-time cohort, as executive and master’s students join in to create additional opportunities to build relationships (and network).

”This is the time you get to meet people beyond your clubs, sections, and C-lead team and form meaningful connections,” writes Keerthana Rao Balusu. “Of course, free food and drinks are always a bonus. It’s a happy hour – literally and figuratively.”

Another popular tradition is Fuqua Vision. Held quarterly – and right after Fuqua Friday – Fuqua Vision is a sketch comedy show in the spirit of Saturday Night Live. The skits are a chance for Team Fuqua to kick back, relax, and laugh at themselves – and the occasional follies of being an MBA student.

“It’s a blast to gather as a community in Geneen (our largest auditorium) and sit back and laugh before going into final assignments and projects mode,” writes Helen Elizabeth Old, a 2022 graduate. “These shows reflect Fuquans’ willingness to feel comfortable reflecting and poking fun at ourselves.”

A CLASS PROFILE

This year’s full-time MBA class features 399 students. On average, they bring a 718 average GMAT to Durham, with scores ranging from 680-760 in the mid-80% range. The former represents a 5-point bump over the previous class (and a 16-point jump over the Class of 2022). At the same time, 35% of the class took the GRE, averaging a 318. As undergraduates, the Class of 2024 collectively averaged a 3.46 GPA. As a whole, just 20.5% of applicants were accepted into the class, making Fuqua one of the most selective programs in the United States.

In terms of demographics, the class again achieved near gender parity. 48% of the class consists of women, tying it with the previous class. Underrepresented minorities account for a quarter of the class, while international students represent a 39% share. Overall, the class hails from 55 countries, with nearly a third bringing partners to Durham.

Academically, class members graduated from 261 undergraduate institutions, with 18% already holding advanced degrees. The largest segment of the class – 33% – majored in Engineering and Natural Science fields. Another 28% studied Business and Accounting, with Liberal Arts (22%) and Economics (18%) representing large shares of the class. In their professional careers, the largest segment last worked in Financial Services (18%). Consulting and Technology professionals also represent 14% and 11% of the class. The remainder includes students who worked in Healthcare, Government, Nonprofit and Education, Consumer Goods, Energy, and Media. Another 9% of the class served in the military.

PAY AND SPIRITS UP

The Class of 2024 has certainly walked into a prime spot. 2022 grads witnessed their base pay climb by $20,000 over the previous class. Not surprisingly, Fuqua alumni are giving their alma mater high marks. In a 2022 alumni survey conducted by The Princeton Review, they gave Fuqua top 10 marks in 5 categories: Campus Environment, Classroom Experience, Administration, Family-Friendliness, and Faculty. In addition, Fuqua alumni ranked the school’s Management and Consulting programming among the world’s best. They weren’t alone in highlighting Fuqua’s strengths. Among deans and MBA directors surveyed by U.S. News in 2022, Fuqua posted Top 10 scores in Marketing, Management, and Analytics. According to new data from The Financial Times, which measured the prestige and breadth of faculty publishing, Fuqua also ranks among the ten-best schools for business research.

Entrepreneurship is another area where Fuqua is thriving. In the 2022 Poets&Quants Entrepreneurship ranking, rising from 14th to 12th. Notably, over a third of Fuqua electives now focus on entrepreneurship and innovation, with 87% of Fuqua students ultimately taking one of these electives. On top of that, the Fuqua campus is just 20 minutes from Research Triangle Park (RTP), the United States’ largest global innovation center. Home to 50,000 professionals, RTP houses nearly 300 companies, including R&D centers for organizations like GlaxoSmithKline, Cisco, and IBM. That doesn’t count the city of Durham itself. Considered a more affordable version of Raleigh, Durham is known as “The City of Medicine” for its wide range of medical centers, private practices, and digital health startups. Not surprisingly, Healthcare is considered one of Fuqua’s signature programs

“Seeking a career in the technology sector with an interest in digital health, the Health Sector Management (HSM) certificate was a huge draw,” writes Brandon Yip. “Having worked as a Registered Nurse in a Cardiac Surgical ICU and having developed a deep understanding of the patient journey and clinician pain points, I knew HSM would provide me a comprehensive understanding of all of the intricate parts within the healthcare industry. Having talked with alumni who have pursued the certificate and now experienced HSM Bootcamp myself, I’ve come to recognize the collective power of diversity that is drawn to the HSM program.”

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE SENIOR ASSOCIATE DEAN

In September, Fuqua completed the process of making its curriculum entirely STEM designated. That’s one topic touched upon by Russ Morgan, senior associate dean for full-time programs at the Fuqua School of Business. From favorite student haunts to unforgettable experiences, here are Morgan’s thoughts on what makes the Fuqua MBA such a life-changing time.

P&Q: What are the two most exciting developments at your program in the past year and how will they enrich the MBA experience for current and future MBAs?

RM: “Our faculty continue to evolve our curriculum and courses to make sure we are remaining relevant to the skills our graduates need in the rapidly evolving world of business today.

As such, we’ve continued to tweak curriculum to focus on leading and managing technological advances and understanding and applying data insights. While we have classes that go in-depth on some of these topics, I’m proud that we’ve really made science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) part of our core and elective classes across all areas. In recognition of that approach, our entire Daytime MBA program recently received STEM OPT designation, versus designation through a specific concentration or track—although some students also pursue the track for deeper learning. We believe the STEM designation of our entire program demonstrates to recruiters that our graduates possess in-demand skills and will also have positive visa implications for our international students seeking to work in the U.S. after graduation.

We are also offering a new concentration this year in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Fuqua has long been known for deeply valuing diverse perspectives and for developing graduates who can bring very different people together to work toward a common goal. This concentration will allow our students to go deeper into areas like creating more equitable hiring and retention polices and we are thrilled by the difference we know our graduates will be able to make in business through these learnings.  Rick Larrick, our associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion recently explained more about the concentration and how it will work in this blog.”

P&Q: If you were giving a campus tour, what is the first place you’d take an MBA applicant? Why is that so important to the MBA experience?

RM: “I always like to take people to the Fox Center—you can really feel the energy of Fuqua when it’s busy. The Fox Center is the heart of our building where students, faculty and staff mingle over meals or meetings. On Fridays, it’s where we all gather for Fuqua Friday to celebrate the end of the week with food and drink and enjoy being together. It’s the combination of people you see in the Fox Center that’s really rewarding. You can drop into a conversation in which a student might be talking about a startup idea with a professor, or join a robust debate about interest rates, or meet a student’s partner or family. It’s really where our community gathers –and it’s our community that makes Fuqua such an extraordinary place.”

P&Q: What is the most innovative thing you have introduced into the MBA program in recent years? How has it been a game changer for your program?

RM: “It’s hard to pick just one – but I would say we recognized early the changing role of the expectations of business in society. We started observing trends early like CEOs speaking out on societal issues. We had one of the first professors to study the impact of CEO activism, Ronnie Chatterji, who started a course examining the intersection of business and politics. We’ve always believed in using business as force for good – so it was natural for us to lead in making sure we were developing leaders who could deliver on the public’s desire to improve the world through business. It’s been exciting to see the ripple effect of not only our graduates’ impact – but how we’ve been able to impact industry directly through efforts like The Dialogue Project, which is housed at Fuqua and aims to reduce polarization through business. This connection to industry also benefits our students who are now hearing directly from business leaders on issues like when and how they decide to speak out publicly.”

P&Q: What have MBAs told you is the most memorable, signature experience they’ve had in your program? Why did it resonate so much with them?

RM: “Our alumni and students continually tell me how important their learning team was to their time at Fuqua. We spend significant time on the front-end of to the program assembling and engaging diverse learning teams. We are looking at diversity across a variety of measures including nationality, ethnicity, gender, function and industry. We believe it is essential that teams be as diverse as possible to ensure our students are truly learning from each other. Time-and-time again, people tell me their team experience, from completing assignments, to engaging in our signature outdoor leadership experience, having informal dinners together, or helping each other prepare for recruiting has helped them feel they belong, changed their worldview, and given them perspective they never would have had otherwise.”

Next Page: In-depth profiles of 12 members of the Class of 2024

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