"Rank" Rankings

The Businessweek rankings came out last week, and the Duke MBA (day-time) program dropped two slots to number 11 from number 9 last year. Dean Breeden immediately fired off an email to all students reassuring them that changes are in place and things will get better. It is interesting to me to see how much rankings play in the business school community. In a speech to the WEMBAs last month, Dean Breeden spent a great deal of time listing where Fuqua ranks in finance, marketing, accounting, etc. I remember when I was in grad school at Emory University, the school administration would regularly publish a news release whenever US News & World Report came out with college rankings and say how they don't believe in school rankings, etc., that they don't truly reflect what the school has to offer and the ranking system is flawed. Besides, universities are places for higher learning, and character development, and all that jazz, not just what some two-bit college administrator at some other institution thinks about you. I don't know...perhaps that thinking has changed among colleges too and everyone is more rank-conscious now. Of course, the business world is very different from the academic world, and being a business school, it is all about being the best so as to attract the best and the brightest students, faculty and staff. And I can't say I don't care - that's why I decided to invest my tuition dollars in Fuqua as opposed to some other school under the assumption that the quality name would "add more value." Brand Fuqua reigns...