School of Business and Management Launched at UWI

The Department of Management Studies and the Mona School of Business at the University of the West Indies have merged to become the Mona School of Business and Management (MSBM).

The single business school was officially launched on September 24, during a ceremony held at the Sir Alister McIntyre building at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus.

In his comments, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Professor Evan Dugan, noted that the merger will result in numerous benefits to the university.

"It will give us the critical mass and the economies of scale and scope to be able to more effectively address our goals of research, to provide useful insights for problems in the society and to contribute to the extension of knowledge," he explained.

The Dean pointed out that the merger will provide benefits to all stakeholders, whether they are students, alumni or members of the business community.

"What this will do is to allow us, as a single business school, to apply for Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation from the largest and most prestigious business and management accrediting body in the world," Professor Dugan said.

"We have checked with many of our affiliates in the United States who have had extensive dealings with the AACSB and we were told that we are in close range of acquiring accreditation from this prestigious institution in very short order," he added.

Meanwhile, Principal and Pro Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, Professor Gordon Shirley, said the merger of the two schools will create "something that is far more effective and dynamic in the development of managers."

"We have created a business school that is positioned to be globally competitive, one that will attract students and faculty of the highest calibre. The merged entity has brought us in line with models of the international business schools that offer both scale and quantity in all ranges of undergraduate, post graduate and executive education, and is therefore a step in the right direction of the University," Professor Shirley argued.

For his part, Minister of Education, Rev. the Hon. Ronald Thwaites, congratulated the University for merging the two institutions, and urged the school to play a part in the reform of the public service.

"So far what is happening is that the public service is being asked to reform itself and sometimes we are not our best lawyers and doctors and therefore maybe we would benefit greatly from the continued insight and recommendation of the MSBM," Rev. Thwaites said.

The Mona School of Business and Management is the only business school of its size and quality within the region, offering programmes at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

The new entity will produce a critical mass of scholars to significantly strengthen research capability in business and management and facilitate cutting-edge innovations to address the priorities of the nation and the wider Caribbean region.