UA Walton College Ranked in Top 25 Public Undergraduate Business Schools

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas has jumped three places to a tie for 25th place among the nation's top public undergraduate business schools, according to U.S. News & World Report 2005 "America's Best Colleges."

In the same report, the University of Arkansas moved into the top tier of public and private institutions nationwide, jumping seven places in the rankings. Adding to the good news, the College of Engineering was ranked for the first time.

In the 2001 U.S. News rankings, the Walton College made a dramatic rise up from a tie for 48th place to a tie for 36th place in the top public undergraduate business schools. In the 2002 rankings, it moved back to 40th, but in the 2003 rankings, it made another dramatic leap to a tie for 28th place. The college remained at 28th place in the 2004 rankings, but moved into the top 50 public and private business schools.

"We are thrilled with the success we've had in making this kind of progress. Six years ago, the Walton College set as its goal to be among the top 25 public undergraduate business schools in the nation," said Dean Doyle Z. Williams. "At the time, we weren't on anyone's chart."

In addition, the U.S. News 2005 rankings have moved the college from a tie for 46th place among both public and private undergraduate business schools to a tie for 41st place.

Williams said: "This recognition reflects the efforts of many - starting with the faculty of the Walton College whose teaching, research and national leadership roles are increasingly recognized. The staff whose yeomen's efforts day in and day out contribute so much should be acknowledged as well. This recognition also reflects the growing quality of the student body and their achievements in national competitions."

Williams said: "We prize teamwork in the Walton College. Reaching this goal is a tribute to the leadership team of the Walton College - the directors of our research centers and the department chairs. I especially want to acknowledge the work of Associate Dean Bill Curington and Assistant Dean David Hyatt."

Williams recognized the contributions of the alumni, advisory boards, donors and friends of the Walton College for playing a key role in the college's success. He also acknowledged that the college's strong support from the business community has played an important part of its research and teaching programs.

The rankings were determined through a U.S. News survey, which each year asks business school deans and senior faculty to rate the 480 public and private undergraduate business programs accredited by the AACSB International - the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

UA Chancellor John White said: ""The Walton College's distinction adds further luster to this moment and serves as a fine example of how focused our deans, faculty and staff members, students and alumni are on making the university one of the best in the country. "

The Walton College was tied for 25th place this year with the following public undergraduate business schools: Florida State University, University of Colorado - Boulder, University of South Carolina - Columbia, and University of Tennessee.

The top six ranked undergraduate public and private business schools were the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan), University of California - Berkeley (Haas), University of Michigan, New York University, and Carnegie Mellon University.

The Walton College is tied for third place among the rated Southeastern Conference schools behind the University of Florida (Warrington) and University of Georgia (Terry).

"Being ranked 25th certainly validates the steps that we began - with the $50 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation in 1998 - to position the Walton College among the nation's most reputable and competitive business schools," Williams added.

As one of those steps, in the fall of 2003, the Walton College launched a new undergraduate core business curriculum, which aligns courses with the processes used by real businesses. The new program has been five years in the making and has garnered considerable national attention as innovative and timely for today's business environment.

In April 2003, the College announced that the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation will provide $8 million to construct Willard J. Walker Hall at the Sam M. Walton College of Business to house its Graduate School of Business and several research centers. The building will be named for the late Willard Walker, in honor of his success in retail management and contribution to the creation and development of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

"The Walton College's vision to be a nationally competitive business school is not longer just a vision; this ranking confirms it is a reality," Williams said.