Kellogg World Alumni Magazine Winter 2005Kellogg School of Management
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  Dean Dipak C. Jain
 
   
From the Dean

Dear Kellogg School Alumni and Friends,

"History is the essence of innumerable biographies," wrote Thomas Carlyle, expressing a sentiment that also applies to our school's own journey over the last century. Truly, so many individuals have lent their talents and enthusiasm to help build the modern Kellogg School of Management, which began life in 1908 as the School of Commerce at Northwestern University. To celebrate them all - each student and every professor or staff member, every friend who has ever contributed to our academic strengths - obviously would prove impossible.

But as we approach our centennial in 2008, we will indeed be sharing some of this rich institutional narrative with you and telling the stories of some of the people who have figured prominently in advancing Kellogg. For instance, beginning on page 16 in this edition of Kellogg World, we take you behind the scenes for insights into two important moments in the school's life.

As we do, remember that your history and ours intermingle.

One of the chief values of looking back is that doing so allows us move forward more assuredly, having benefited from our collective experiences. We have accomplished great things together, and we must remain working together to enhance what we have created. In this way, Kellogg grows increasingly vibrant, and our scholars, alumni and friends can continue leveraging their knowledge for the betterment of the larger community.

Fortunately, we have an excellent foundation upon which to build.

Over the last three decades, three mutually reinforcing initiatives have been key to the Kellogg School's success: our student-centric culture, our Executive Education program and our research-based faculty. As the school's modern architect, Dean Emeritus Donald Jacobs has proven central to bringing these strategies forward with astonishing results.

Our student-centric culture gave rise to the teamwork platform at Kellogg - a major development in our ability to anticipate future market changes. Through our Executive Education curriculum, we impressed executives with the quality of the Kellogg offerings, and hence with the quality of our full-time MBA graduates, creating an immediate customer for those grads. The quality of teaching in all our programs was a direct result of our investments in research-based thought leadership. By hiring scholars who applied academic rigor to business challenges, Kellogg became known for creating valuable frameworks for problem solving.

These three dimensions will continue serving as our strengths, but we must build upon them to remain ahead of our peers.

Teamwork will keep differentiating us, particularly in terms of engaging alumni and friends worldwide so that we all can help shape the school's future. We look to our graduates to support Kellogg financially, as well as in a variety of meaningful ways that strengthen the school's base. We enjoy a tremendously talented alumni network whose generosity will play a critical role in supporting the initiatives Kellogg is undertaking around the world.

Indeed, we are focusing our efforts globally. We continue to establish Global Knowledge Centers in key strategic regions. I envision unified Kellogg School programs that allow our students to approach business education from an international perspective and through a curriculum that is interchangeable, regardless of whether students are conducting business in Chicago or Hyderabad.

Importantly, such global learning connects to our professors and how they will continue as engines for thought leadership at Kellogg. We intend for our faculty publications and case studies to serve as sources of critical information to CEOs. Regardless of industry, the crucial topics discussed in boardrooms should be associated with the Kellogg classroom and professors, and, by extension, with our students and alumni.

Looking back over the development of Kellogg into a management leader, we see much that fills us with satisfaction. Our innovative spirit, however, compels us to look forward and never be content with yesterday's successes. Like Henry Ford, we know that the only history that truly matters is "the history we made today."

We invite each of you to join us in this journey forward, adding your names to chapters in the Kellogg School story that we are still writing.

Warmest personal regards,

Dipak C. Jain
Dipak C. Jain
Dean

©2002 Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University