Meet Arizona State's MBA Class Of 2022

The exterior of the W. P. Carey School of Business

NEARLY EVERY METRIC UP

By the numbers, the Class of 2022 tops its predecessors in nearly every measure except for the one that matters: number of students. This year’s class features 61 students, down from 72 last year and 90 in 2018. That said, the number of applications to W. P. Carey jumped from 439 to 528, a 20% improvement. In addition, the acceptance rate dropped from 31% to 22%. In other words, the class reduction is a strategic decision on the school’s part to boost the quality of the class as a whole.

Another example of this upgrade? Average GMAT climbed from 681 to 685 over the past year, with average undergraduate GPA inching up .01 of a point to 3.57, topping public powers like Virginia Darden and Texas McCombs along the way. The most impressive number? 46% — as in the percentage of women in the Class of 2022, up 15 points from the year before. While many business schools have seen their percentage of international students fall by 10%-20% this cycle, W. P. Carey raised it from 32% to 36%.

As undergraduates, 40% of the class majored in Business, with Engineers comprising another 20%. Combined, Liberal Arts and Humanities account for 25% of the class. In terms of professional experience, Business Services, Technology, and Finance each make up 15% of the class. Marketing and Healthcare hold 12% and 10% of the seats, respectively. The class also includes students who last worked in Aerospace and Defense, Education, Transportation, Charitable Organizations, and Real Estate.

W. P. Carey classroom (Pre-COVID)

AN INTERVIEW WITH REBECCA MALLEN-CHURCHILL

What can MBAs expect in the coming year at W. P. Carey? Why is the program lauded as a coaching culture? What makes the Phoenix metro such a great place to live and work? In August, P&Q reached out to Rebecca Mallen-Churchill, director of graduate student recruitment at W. P. Carey to answer these questions and others. Here are her thoughts on the state of the MBA program.

P&Q: What are the most exciting new developments in your program?

RMC: “We are pleased to officially announce that W. P. Carey Dean Amy Hillman will be taking on the role of faculty director for the Full-time MBA program. This type of unprecedented student access to our senior leadership speaks to W. P. Carey’s commitment to its reputation as a place where “Business is personal.” Students will benefit from the ability to collaborate directly with Dean Hillman to ensure that any innovations and changes we can make to our program are implemented in real-time. “

Rebecca Mallen-Churchill

P&Q: What are the two most unique or differentiating features of your full-time program? How do they enrich the MBA experience?

RMC: “If I had to narrow it down to two, it would be our interdisciplinary curriculum and our Executive Connections program.

ASU has been named the No. 1 most innovative university in the U.S. for five consecutive years, and our curriculum allows students to grow and develop in a cross-discipline culture. The required applied learning labs pair our Full-time MBA students with graduate students across ASU. They work on projects with students in engineering, education, bio-design, public programs — the possibilities are endless. This interdisciplinary approach more accurately reflects many of the roles our students will join post-MBA; not everyone will work exclusively with other MBAs, so our curriculum prepares students for the real world.

Additionally, our unique Executive Connections program pairs students with a senior executive. These mentors coach and develop our students as they navigate new career opportunities. In addition to the student’s assigned mentor, they have access to network across the entire program, broadening their connections by over 40 senior leaders.”

P&Q: How has COVID-19 impacted your business school?

RMC: “Everyone around the world has had to adapt quickly to this mainly virtual world we now live in. Because ASU has nearly 20 years of experience operating in the online space, this was not a difficult move for us. Throughout the spring semester, we hosted our Preview Days and Admitted Student Weekend through Zoom. If anything, this environment has provided more of a sneak peek into our programs that we have ever been able to provide. Prospective students can easily sit in on a class, meet with our recruitment team, and have coffee with an alum of the program. Business is personal at W. P. Carey, and even though we can’t meet with students face to face, we are all still here to help. We’ve also seen this as a wonderful opportunity to engage with our alumni group more than ever before. They have participated in our admitted student events and our recruitment events around the world just by logging onto their computer. In what has been an incredibly difficult time for everyone around the world, there is no place I would rather be than at an institution known for its innovation.”

P&Q: W. P. Carey is known as a “feedback culture.” Talk to us about how this is incorporated into programming like coursework and extracurricular activities?

RMC: “By offering small class sizes, we have the luxury of crafting the perfect program. We meticulously select students whose skills, background, and abilities complement each other and the program. The entire idea of feedback is instrumental to the success of an individual, a team, or an organization. This starts at a micro-level with 360-degree peer evaluations that incoming students complete to gain an understanding of their starting point. Throughout the program, they take part in development from their career coaches, Executive Mentors, faculty, and one another. On a macro level, our administration also relies heavily on the feedback of students with Dean Hillman hosting town halls to get feedback from the students on the curriculum, resources, and more.”

W. P. Carey Classroom (Pre-COVID)

P&Q: Phoenix is often not talked about as a great destination for MBAs. What makes the region an excellent place for students to gain experience and interact with top organizations? How does W. P. Carey tap into these opportunities?

RMC: “Phoenix is the fifth-largest city in the United States and for many years has become known for offering a low-cost option for businesses to move their operations. It also boasts 300 days of sunshine a year. Phoenix has become home to several Fortune 500 companies, as well as a new destination for tech startups that cannot afford Silicon Valley prices. Our students have the opportunity to engage with employers like Intel and Honeywell, which have large operations in the Phoenix area or take advantage of our robust on-campus recruitment that connects them to opportunities around the country. The Tempe campus is just a 15-minute trip to Sky Harbor International Airport, which is only a 45-minute flight to Los Angeles, a 90-minute flight to the Bay Area, and Seattle is accessible in just under three hours. Our students appreciate this accessibility while enjoying the cost of living, which is a fraction of the cost of the aforementioned cities.”

The location was also a plus for Casey Spink. “Tempe is what really sold me,” he admits. “My girlfriend and I came down for the Innings Festival in February and fell in love with the city. The beautiful modern campus is set right on a lake, and the innovative energy that surrounds the campus is palpable. Everywhere you look, there’s new growth, and the numbers back up that observation naming ASU as one of the fastest-growing universities in America. Altogether, that makes for an exciting place to jump back into academia, and a great springboard into the business world post-graduation.”

Go to Page 3 for in-depth profiles of class members.