“Many of the issues pointed out in the magazine article are ones we recognized and have been working on for some time. The mission of our new $122 million integrated campus, as well as our planned dedicated GSB residence facility, is precisely to create a state-of-the-art environment that promotes a cohesive GSB community. The new integrated campus will also solve our space crunch by adding at least 60 percent more space for our students than we have in our current four campus buildings. We are confident that, in the long run, we have those issues solved, ” said Dean Robert S. Hamada.

The school also has taken a number of steps to implement more immediate solutions, according to Deputy Dean Mark Zmijewski. The administration has collected input from first- and second-year students during five open forums, as well as in meetings with specific student groups, including the Business Student Association, the Student-Faculty Committee, LEAD facilitators, Chicago Women in Business, and the African American M.B.A. Association.

These meetings generated a list of 59 suggestions to improve the student experience in the short run. The top ideas: provide more space for casual interaction, aggressively market the GSB, enhance the school’s prestige and reputation, increase inter-action between first- and second-year students, provide more parking, eliminate classes during the week when recruiting and midterms intersect, reduce average class size, increase student-alumni interactions, and provide more nonacademic interaction with faculty.

Last fall, committees composed of students, faculty, and staff were formed to address these suggestions; those committees are expected to formulate specific action plans this year. After surveying the student body on the action plans, Zmijewski said, implementation will begin.

Additional initiatives under consideration include expansion of LEAD and career services programming to enhance team building, community, and first-year career services; the school also is working with the university to determine if additional parking or building space might be available.

While the fall in rankings was disappointing, the October 2, 2000, Business Week article highlighted several strengths and improvements at Chicago GSB. Corporate recruiters gave GSB graduates straight A’s for analysis and teamwork; they deemed the career services office “most improved” and “most effective. ”

“The survey clearly recognizes that student career prospects after graduating from the GSB are excellent, ” Hamada wrote in a memo to staff and students.