The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in graduate business education and American business, recently expanded to 25 member schools. The Consortium partners with top-ranked MBA programs across the U.S. to increase the representation of underrepresented minorities in business education and corporate leadership. Following the addition of Duke Fuqua earlier this year, Chicago Booth was subsequently selected to become its 25th member school.
A Long History at Fuqua
In its announcement of the nomination of Duke Fuqua, the Consortium cited the school’s long history of working to make business education accessible. For example, for more than 40 years, dozens of alumni have participated in the Duke MBA Workshop each year to mentor potential MBA candidates, many from traditionally underrepresented groups in business. Fuqua will begin recruiting its first Consortium class in August of 2024.
“A commitment to all forms of diversity is in our DNA at Fuqua, so a partnership with The Consortium aligns with our values,” said Bill Boulding, dean of Duke Fuqua. “Fuqua’s curriculum is built to develop leaders who can harness the strengths of diverse perspectives to truly innovate in working toward a common goal—and the diversity of our students’ backgrounds is key to making sure they learn from each other, in addition to our world-class faculty.”
Breaking Barriers at Chicago Booth
The newest member of the Consortium, Chicago Booth, was the first business school to establish a minority scholarship program and an office dedicated to supporting underrepresented student populations. In 1970, Chicago Booth MBA students founded the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA). Dean Madhav V. Rajan has also spearheaded its Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan along with relevant research, initiatives, resources, and partnerships to make diversity and inclusion a top priority. The school will begin recruiting its first Consortium class in August of 2024.
In the announcement regarding Booth’s addition to the Consortium, Rajan noted, “As a member school, Booth hopes to enhance our efforts to increase the diversity of our student body and support the aspirations of our students so they can become successful leaders in business and government. We look forward to partnering with The Consortium and fellow member schools to support our shared mission.”
Consortium Members
Since its inception in 1966, the Consortium has secured more than $663 million to support its goals. The Consortium’s member schools include University of California, Berkeley; University of California, Los Angeles; Carnegie Mellon University; Columbia University; Cornell University; Dartmouth College; Emory University; Georgetown University; Indiana University–Bloomington; University of Michigan–Ann Arbor; New York University; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Northwestern University; Rice University; University of Rochester; University of Southern California; Stanford University; The University of Texas at Austin; University of Virginia; University of Washington; Washington University in St. Louis; University of Wisconsin–Madison; and Yale University.
The Consortium offers qualified MBA applicants – African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans – a common application to member schools’ MBA programs. The application deadlines are October 15 and January 5.
