April 8, 1996
Contact: Lew Harris (615) 322-2706

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Vanderbilt University and the University of Florida will offer a new International Executive Master's of Business Administration degree program to begin in January 1997 and to be based in Miami.

Graduates of the program created by this unique partnership will receive Vanderbilt's MBA degree and Florida's Certificate in Latin American Business. The program is expected to attract students from throughout the Caribbean Basin, Central and South America as well as North Americans interested in doing business in Latin America.

"We wanted to leverage our long-standing international expertise and build an overseas presence," said Dean Martin S. Geisel of Vanderbilt's Owen Graduate School of Management. "Latin America was the natural target for our expansion. Our MBA program students and faculty have made a number of trips to study Latin American business issues on-site. In fact, an entire class recently visited Santiago, Chile."

Vanderbilt sought a partner to help provide the full teaching complement necessary, Geisel said.

"The University of Florida's Graduate School of Business and Center for Latin American Studies are top notch, and renowned for their expertise in Latin America," Geisel said.

"This program is a natural extension of the University of Florida's interest in Latin American business," added Dean John Kraft of Florida's Graduate School of Business.

The International Executive MBA program is designed so that students within flying range of Miami can attend without interrupting their employment and career progression. Classes will meet once a month, Thursday through Sunday, to minimize the number of trips required and yet ensure plenty of contact time with faculty and classmates. Florida has been successful with a similarly structured on-campus Executive MBA program.

The curriculum will feature 12 courses taught by experienced senior faculty from the two schools. "IEMBA instructors will have extensive international experience," Geisel said. "Most will have lived and taught abroad and all will be veteran teachers of the international aspects of their fields."

In addition to foundation courses in economics and statistics, students will study the Latin American business environment, international law, capital markets and international finance and global marketing strategy. The program is lock-step, meaning all students will take the same courses at the same time.

"Experience tells us that Executive MBA students learn a lot from each other and we expect that to be even more the case in the IEMBA program," Geisel said. "Prospective students from Central and South America said they want to do business in North America and, of course, vice versa. A lot of useful learning and understanding will come from the rich and intense interaction with classmates during the meetings in Miami and on the field trips."

Between the monthly class meetings, students will maintain regular contact with each other and faculty via Internet, phone and fax connections. The program will incorporate two field trips, one to a North American destination and another to South America, as part of the regular class meeting schedule.

"Field trips will be tightly organized to accomplish teaching objectives," Kraft said. "It has been clear from the outset that travel would be to both continents."

"Students will also visit the Vanderbilt campus at least once during the program," Geisel said. "One possibility would be to take a comprehensive look at the logistics and manufacturing challenges facing one of the major auto manufacturers in the Nashville area."

A series of public presentations to discuss program details are scheduled this month in Miami, San Juan, Bogota, Caracas and Mexico City.