‘Bridging’ a Path From Business to a Career in Academia

Tampa, Fla., USA (February 19, 2019)—Seasoned business professionals possess the valuable insights and real-world experience students need to understand today’s dynamic business environment. For academia, the challenge is often how to effectively bridge this expertise to the classroom. In response, AACSB International (AACSB) is pleased to announce the graduates of its most recent AACSB Bridge Program.

Developed in 2006 as a way to prepare industry experts for a career in academia, the AACSB Bridge Program is an intensive five-day workshop that gives business executives an inside look into the business school classroom. With guidance from instruction experts, executives explore teaching techniques, course planning, simulations, and more.

The most recent AACSB Bridge Program, hosted by the Satish & Yasmin Gupta College of Business at the University of Dallas, graduated professionals with significant experience from a variety of fields, including accounting, aerospace, economic development, energy, finance and financial services, healthcare, insurance, management consulting, and real estate.

Here are the January 2019 Bridge Program graduates:

Thomas Bain, Casey Bell, Sam Briggs, Darwin Brown, Thomas Brown, Tracy Donahue, Rima Ghannoum, Michael Jones, Rodney Koch, Julian Ortiz, Taurus Smith, Chris Wooldridge, and Michael Wu

“Rapid changes in technology require continuous refinement of the competencies, skills, and abilities required of employees, and with this, business schools must be able to ensure the relevancy of their curriculum offerings,” said Tom R. Robinson, president and chief executive officer of AACSB International. “The insights that working executives bring are important connection points to this relevancy, and the AACSB Bridge Program provides industry experts with the tools needed to apply their knowledge and make a powerful impact in the classroom.”

To be eligible for the program, applicants must be actively participating in their field of interest, have five to seven years of extensive industry experience, and have a master’s degree or its equivalent. Individuals are carefully selected to ensure they can successfully enter the classroom and meet the requirements for an instructional practitioner at an AACSB-accredited institution.

Since its inception, almost 500 executives worldwide have successfully completed the program—from small business owners and entrepreneurs to individuals from corporations including Booz Allen Hamilton, Ernst & Young, ExxonMobile Corporation, KPMG, Lockheed Martin, Marathon Petroleum, NBC Universal, PwC, TruGreen, TIAA, and Time Warner Inc. Many of these executives now serve as valued faculty members at business schools throughout the world.

For more information on the recent graduates, please visit the AACSB Bridge Program area of AACSB’s website.

About AACSB International

As the world’s largest business education alliance, AACSB International (AACSB) connects educators, students, and business to achieve a common goal: to create the next generation of great leaders. Synonymous with the highest standards of excellence since 1916, AACSB provides quality assurance, business education intelligence, and professional development services to almost 1,700 member organizations and over 800 accredited business schools worldwide. AACSB’s mission is to foster engagement, accelerate innovation, and amplify impact in business education. The global organization has offices located in Tampa, Florida, USA; Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and Singapore. For more information, visit aacsb.edu.