CSUB School Of Business And Public Administration Achieves Status as One Of the Top 20% Of Schools in Business and Public Administration in the World

The School of Business and Public Administration at California State University, Bakersfield has been reaccredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB). The recent action by the AACSB's board of directors reaccrediting CSUB's undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business administration puts CSUB's School of Business and Public Administration in the top 20 percent of all business programs in the world.

Th e official announcement was made Thursday (Sept. 12) by Henry Lowenstein, dean of CSUB's School of Business and Public Administration, to attendees at this year's annual John Brock Award Dinner.

There are 427 accredited members out of some 2,000 business schools worldwide. Of the accredited members 393 are in the United States.

In announcing its decision AACSB's board of directors issued six special commendations to CSUB:

Praise for the recently completed Business Development Center.
The impressive support of the local business community.
The school's newly launched programs in certified financial planning, e-business and sports management.
Recruitment of high quality faculty.
Increased faculty scholarship.
Maintenance of high graduate standards in the face of stiff competition.

"We are delighted in achieving this important milestone, a product of the team effort of our faculty, university administration and most importantly the Bakersfield business and government community," Lowenstein said. "It is a great honor for our school and assurance to the citizens of Greater Bakersfield of the world-class business education available to present and future students."

CSUB President Tom‡s Arciniega said, "University presidents all recognize AACSB as one of the toughest accreditation's to achieve in higher education. CSUB's success in this prestigious award is a testament to the leadership and determination of the school's Dean, Dr. Henry Lowenstein, and the professionalism of the school's faculty and staff. CSUB is proud of their efforts."

To achieve AACSB International accreditation, business programs must satisfy a wide variety of rigorous standards relating to curriculum, faculty resources, admissions, degree requirements, library and computer facilities, financial resources and intellectual climate all linked to the university mission.

During the accreditation process, CSUB's School of Business and Public Administration was visited and evaluated by business school deans from across the country, applying AACSB International standards widely recognized and adopted by the educational and business communities. AACSB International, headquartered in St. Louis, is the premier accrediting agency and service organization for business schools, a not-for-profit organization consisting of more than 900 educational organizations and corporations worldwide, devoted to promoting and improvement in higher education in business administration and management.

CSUB's School of Business and Public Administration is one of the few in the CSU system with three accreditations.

In July, the school received reaccreditation of its public administration program from the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA), the Washington, D.C.-based national accrediting agency for programs in public administration. CSUB is one of only 147 accredited public administration programs in America. CSUB's newly reorganized public administration program met rigorous NASPAA standards and review by a site team of public administration directors and practitioners.

In addition, the school's finance program is accredited by the Certified Financial Planning Board of Standards.

Information on CSUB's School of Business and Public Administration is available at www.csub.edu/BPA/ or by calling (661) 664-2157

CONTACT: Mike Stepanovich, 661/664-2456, mstepanovich@csub.edu