Message From The Dean

With the technology-driven global economy as a major focus of our
curriculum, it is  appropriate for this issue to feature not only our
successful initiatives with the technologies of online learning but also
the recognition our faculty is gaining on a worldwide basis.

A story on our global research prominence highlights the work of three
School of Management (SOM) faculty members - Professors Mike W. Peng, Livia
Mark—czy and Jane Salk - who have published works that are among the most
cited papers on business issues of Central and Eastern Europe. The
forthcoming relocation to the SOM of the highly respected Asia Pacific
Journal of Management, of which Dr. Peng serves as editor, adds to our
prominence in the international management field.

The work of these three scholars exemplifies the quality of the research
the SOM faculty is  producing. That work is climbing ever higher in the
research productivity rankings. Our faculty is now 32nd worldwide in
research productivity, according to Financial Times, the London-based 
international business newspaper. We are 33rd in the nation in the UTD Top
100 Business School Research Rankings, which look at publications in the
top 24 peer-reviewed academic journals spanning all areas of business over
the last five years. More importantly, according to the last two years'
worth of data in the UTD Top 100, The School of Management ranks 26th
nationwide,  indicating a rapid ascension into the category of elite
business faculties.

Another story reports on a new named professorship in international
strategy - made possible by a generous gift from Dallas World Salute -
that will allow us to hire an additional senior scholar with this
specialty, strengthening our faculty even more in the area of
international business. Our hiring activities this spring will result in
similar strengthening of our operations management, information systems,
micro-economics and finance faculties.

While our faculty as a whole continues to gain prominence, individual SOM
faculty members are receiving worldwide recognition  for landmark
achievements in their fields. Last fall, the University of South Australia
named an institute in honor of Professor Frank M. Bass and bestowed an
honorary doctorate on him for his contributions to the field of marketing
science.  Also last fall, Professor Stan Liebowitz was invited to deliver
a keynote address on the topic of intellectual property and innovation at
a worldwide conference in Malaysia. This spring, friends and colleagues of
Professor Suresh Sethi will gather from around the world to honor his
prolific contributions to the field of operations management at an SOM
conference at which Nobel laureate Harry M. Markowitz is the keynote
speaker.

Not only our faculty but also our academic programs are receiving wide
recognition for their excellence. In Financial Times' latest rankings of
Executive MBA programs, UTD's EMBA Program is 46th in the world and 25th
in the United States. U.S. News & World Report  lists our Cohort MBA
Program 54th nationwide and 25th at public colleges and universities in
the United States. Also in the 2006  U.S. News & World Report rankings,
our Management Information Systems Program is 24th in the nation, tied
with Harvard University,  and 16th among public colleges and universities.

In addition, the public of this region is giving an enthusiastic reception
to the activities of our centers and institutes, which are drawing wide
participation and attendance. The inaugural event of our Foreign Trade
Institute, highlighted in this issue, drew broad interest from state and
regional transportation and trade officials. The Leadership Center at
UTD's two Wachovia Excellence in Leadership Speakers Series events -
addresses by retired four-star General Tommy Franks and business
consultant and author Jim Collins - attracted some of the largest
audiences of any event in the university's history.

Such support and recognition from every level - local, regional, national
and global - indicate that we are rapidly achieving our goal of becoming
one of the leading public business schools in the United States. We
welcome the support and input of our alumni and friends as we continue in
our endeavors to meet this goal.

Best wishes, Hasan Pirkul

Visit our site on the worldwide Web http://som.utdallas.edu