AACSB Pulse

How can business education evolve to reflect new societal expectations and redefine its true purpose?
 
Host Eileen McAuliffe, AACSB's executive vice president, chief thought leadership officer, and managing director of EMEA, holds a live, thought-provoking session at the AACSB Deans Conference in Toronto with Andrew J. Hoffman, Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business. The two discuss how today’s business schools have strayed from their original purpose and explore ways they might find their way back to meaning and relevance for a changed world. They examine the following three big questions:
How has the role of business schools changed in society, and where have you seen good examples of schools rejuvenating their curricula to align the power of business with its current role?
How do you see the student-faculty dynamic evolving amid rising program costs and a growing consumerism mindset, and what can business school leaders do to better support that change?
What role do business school deans play in driving the kind of transformation needed to better serve stakeholders and society in general?
To view a full transcript of the episode, visit https://www.aacsb.edu/insights/podcasts/2025/aacsb-pulse-a-new-vision-for-business-schools.

From executive education to AI innovation, explore the financial models redefining business schools.
Host Eileen McAuliffe, AACSB's executive vice president, chief thought leadership officer, and managing director of EMEA, discusses innovation in business school financing with Serguei Netessine, senior vice dean for innovation and global initiatives and a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. She asks three big questions:
What are the limitations of the traditional business school model in adapting to major global shifts, such as changing demographics, a volatile economy, and geopolitical uncertainties?
How can deeper engagement with industry and external partners help business schools diversify revenue streams, without compromising their academic mission?
What is the potential for AI to reshape how business schools create and deliver value to students, employers, and society?
View the full episode transcript at https://www.aacsb.edu/insights/podcasts/2025/aacsb-pulse-financing-the-future-of-business-schools.

What if business schools were evaluated not by rankings but by how students and faculty perceived their impact on society?
Host Eileen McAuliffe, AACSB's executive vice president, chief thought leadership officer, and managing director of EMEA, asks Katrin Muff, president and co-creator of the Positive Impact Rating, three pressing questions related to the impact of business schools on society:
What inspired the creation of the Positive Impact Rating, and how did you and your collaborators shape its methodology to reflect values beyond traditional rankings? 
Who takes part in PIR, and how can business schools use their PIR results to accelerate institutional change
How might schools leverage the PIR framework to better identify or refine their societal impact focus?
View the full episode transcript at https://www.aacsb.edu/insights/podcasts/2025/aacsb-pulse-positive-business-school-impact.

In this inaugural episode of AACSB Pulse, host Eileen McAuliffe, who is AACSB's executive vice president, chief thought leadership officer, and managing director of EMEA, talks with Sherif Kamel, dean of the Onsi Sawiris School of Business at the American University in Cairo, as well as chair of AACSB's 2024-25 board of directors. Eileen and Sherif discuss three pressing questions related to business schools as leaders today:
How have geopolitical shifts impacted the strategic priorities of business schools?
What role does collaboration play in ensuring a culture of continuous innovation in business schools today, and how is AACSB supporting such collaboration?
How effectively are business schools today leveraging emerging technologies—from data analytics, to AI, to immersive learning—in their curricula, research, and operations, and where do they have opportunities for improvement?
Tune in to learn more! 
View the full episode transcript at https://www.aacsb.edu/insights/podcasts/2025/aacsb-pulse-business-schools-as-leaders.