New courses enhance the UB School of Management EMBA experience

By Kevin Manne

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Graduates of the University at Buffalo School of Management’s Executive MBA program will now be even better equipped for success, thanks to a revised program curriculum.

New half-credit classes in management communications and mergers and acquisitions have replaced a full-credit microeconomics course in the program. The changes were made based on a strategic review of top EMBA programs, industry trends and alumni surveys.

“We’re responding to changes in the marketplace, just as we have done since the program began in 1994,” says Courtney J. Walsh, assistant dean for executive education at the UB School of Management. “Since then our alumni have consistently told us that the program provides the knowledge and experiences they need to continue to be successful.”

Walsh says the program’s class schedule and forward-thinking program design will continue to attract successful professionals from the U.S. and southern Ontario.

The 2013 and 2014 EMBA classes had a preview of the new curriculum through a series of free, opt-in seminars. Richard Stauffer, vice president of supply chain and operations at Sherex Fastening Solutions in Tonawanda, earned his EMBA in 2013 and attended both seminars.

“Even as executives and junior executives, many of us hadn’t gone through any formal communication training,” he says. “The communications class forced us to change the way we present material—to use PowerPoint as a sales tool rather than just reading documents off of it.”

In addition, Stauffer says the course in mergers and acquisitions provided an opportunity to put skills learned in the classroom to work.

“We always talk about buying companies, but the mergers and acquisitions course took you through the whole process,” he says. “From identifying and evaluating the company, to purchasing and getting it to a place where it’s viable for you.”

The UB Executive MBA program develops leaders who can initiate change and drive business strategy within their organizations. Participants receive one-on-one training through a leadership assessment center and executive coaching program.

EMBA classes are held all day Friday and Saturday every third weekend (with some exceptions for holidays), and participants can complete the program in 20 months.

Program cost includes tuition, fees, books and materials, tutoring for quantitative courses and the land fees of international residency. For more information, visit mgt.buffalo.edu/emba.

The UB School of Management is recognized for its emphasis on real-world learning, community and economic impact, and the global perspective of its faculty, students and alumni. The school also has been ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek, the Financial Times, Forbes and U.S. News and World Report for the quality of its programs and the return on investment it provides its graduates. For more information about the UB School of Management, visit mgt.buffalo.edu.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system that is its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB’s more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.