Silicon Valley / UCSC School of Management

I’m honored to have been appointed to serve as an Executive Advisor for the University of California’s proposed Graduate School of Management to be located in Silicon Valley. The planned opening date for the School of Management is Fall 2011. The Regents of the University of California have designated UC Santa Cruz to serve Silicon Valley. In partnership with the NASA Ames Research Park, the Chancellor has seized this opportunity to create the Valley’s contribution to fulfill its potential as the research and educational center for our 21st century knowledge economy. Founded on the premise of preparing today’s technology leaders for executive operational management, the School will reflect, mine and offer to educate the world via the exceptional visionary leaders and educators of our unique region. It will create a new organizational design for education AND research -- developed in the century of globalization, virtual teams and great innovation in IT, Clean Technology, Healthcare Technology and Biotechnology.

When we talk of UCSC playing this role we are positioning the Graduate School of Management to teach about the management of networks, as the School itself becomes the hub of a network, extending through the entire University of California ecosystem. In turn, the School will also be the access point through which Silicon Valley may reach and be reached by the research faculty throughout the University of California system. UC’s global partners from Europe, from India, China and other countries will be attracted through the School, mirroring the globalization of the Valley itself.

In tough economic times and in the shadow of three great graduate schools of business (UC Berkeley, Stanford and Santa Clara), it is reasonable to ask: Why is the University of California, Santa Cruz, planning to open its doors to MBA students in 2011? The short answer is that a need exists, proximity has power, and UC Santa Cruz has attributes that will make its school of management distinctive.

• The Need. We believe that mainstream management education has fallen behind the curve with respect to Silicon Valley. The demands on managers in our region can best be met by a new breed of MBA. These people will be leading flat, global, fast-moving enterprises that are comprised of cross-cultural creative teams and depend upon innovation to survive.
• The Power of Proximity. With its campus at Moffett Field/Mountain View, the new management school’s closeness to the people, organizations, and technologies of Silicon Valley will shape and energize the school. We will draw students, adjunct faculty, and guest speakers from companies in our region and from around the world. We will develop business professionals who will lead Silicon Valley’ technical innovation into our next generation of global leadership.
• UCSC. The University of California, Santa Cruz is the right school for a 21st-century graduate management program. The Graduate School of Management will build upon the foundation established by UCSC’s Baskin School of Engineering. Having just celebrated its 10th anniversary, the Baskin School is renowned for its academic leadership in biotechnology/information technology/nanotechnology; bioengineering; information and communication infrastructure; mathematical and statistical modeling; software and services engineering; and system design. With an established presence at the NASA/Ames Research Center, it is the right foundation upon which we may build and innovate.

Please stay tuned to learn updates about this exciting project.