Ten years from now, when people think of the country’s top globally focused business schools, Bruce Magid expects the Brandeis International Business School to be on the short list of elite institutions. Since his appointment as dean of IBS last year, the Martin and Ahuva Gross Professor of Financial Markets and Institutions has been busy “friend-raising” -- his term for reaching out to supporters, business leaders, recruiters, alumni, and students -- in an effort to help reach his ambitious goal. His work seems to be paying off: Last year IBS was accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The school also jumped 27 places, to No. 60, in The Economist’s latest rankings of the world’s top MBA programs (IBS was 31st among U.S. schools). Magid recently sat down with Campaign Connections to discuss the school’s special niche, his role at IBS, and a new initiative designed to strengthen the MBA program.

Q: What distinguishes the Brandeis International Business School from other business schools with a global focus?

A: Since its founding a little more than a decade ago, the curriculum, teaching, and research at the Brandeis International Business School has focused on the globalization of business and its many ramifications for corporations and the communities in which they operate. Other schools add a course, a faculty member, or a program and say, “We’re global!” At IBS, every faculty member, every student, and every course is chosen with the global theme in mind. Global is in our DNA.

Also, like Brandeis University itself, IBS values the personal interaction between faculty, staff, and students. I met for lunch with a group of Fulbright Scholarship students from South America and said, “OK, let’s introduce ourselves. Mi nombre es Bruce Magid, y vivi y trabaje en Venezuela (My name is Bruce Magid, and I am from Venezuela).” Students come here for our personal touch. IBS is not a degree factory.

Q: Who is the “typical” IBS student?

A: The beauty of IBS is that there is no “prototype” student. Two-thirds of our students come from overseas, which differentiates IBS from other schools. Our students have a wide array of backgrounds and aspirations – from working on Wall Street to leading a nonprofit or NGO (non-government organization) to founding a business in their home country that works as a tool to improve the lives of people. It’s amazing how quickly students from diverse countries and cultures bond and begin to communicate and collaborate in a collegial team environment.

Q: How does IBS prepare its students to be responsible, ethical business leaders?

A: We want our students to be thoroughly competent professionals, but also to be conscientious global citizens committed to community service. At IBS, students not only acquire the skills to be successful in business, but come away with the understanding that you have an obligation to society.

Q: As dean, what do you see as your function?

A: Traditionally, deans serve as in-house administrators. Instead, I try to be out and involved with the community, establishing relationships with the donors who support our students and the companies that hire our students, and introducing myself to our alumni and students. I want to meet with as many friends of Brandeis and the Brandeis International Business School as I can. When recruiters come to campus, I meet with them. One said to me, “I have never had a dean take the time to have lunch with me.” I want to understand what skills companies are looking for to ensure that we adequately prepare our students and best match companies and students.

Q: How will the new Perlmutter Institute for Global Business Leadership enhance the educational experience for IBS students?

A: Thanks to a generous gift from Louis ’56 and Barbara Perlmutter that established the Institute, MBA students will receive a world-class education in global business leadership. While other schools teach about leadership within a business, global business leadership is much more. To understand today’s business world, leaders need an understanding of the global environment – social, political, cultural, and regulatory. Leading a global team comprised of people from all over the world requires a special set of skills that can only be acquired through a combination of academic rigor and practical experience.