College of Business dean named to board of AASCB International, management education and accrediting association

University of St. Thomas College of Business Dean Christopher Puto has been elected to the board of directors to the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB International), the management education and accrediting association.  

Puto, whose three-year term begins July 1, will become one of only four deans of non-AACSB-accredited business schools serving on the board, a stipulation of the organization’s bylaws.

Although St. Thomas, which is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, isn’t expected to file an accreditation plan with AACSB International until later this year, Puto has close familiarity with the association from service on its Accrediting Committee during his four-year tenure as dean of Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. Since coming to St. Thomas in 2002, Puto has regularly attended AACSB International’s annual conferences and deans’ meetings and wrote an article on innovative MBA curricula using computer-generated business simulations for the organization’s BizEd Magazine.

Puto was one of eight appointed Feb. 3 to join the 24-member advisory board, which convenes three times a year to oversee strategies affecting the organization’s nearly 500 accredited institutions in 24 countries.

“I’m honored to be a part of such a prestigious group of professionals. I think that AACSB’s allowance of deans from nonaccredited member schools on its board of directors is important because it acknowledges that effective, innovative educational practices evolve from many sources, including from hard working, but less established schools, ” Puto said. “In some important areas, such as entrepreneurship, these schools are already contributing to the future of business education.”

AACSB’s accreditation process is known for its rigor and regarded as business education’s “gold standard.” The process is unique in that it is mission oriented and emphasizes measurable learning outcomes. Schools seeking adoption into AACSB, for instance, must articulate a “clear and compelling” mission and prove value not only in what professors teach, but what students learn.  

“This appointment is very important, since the board is instrumental in providing accreditation and advocacy help to 9,000 business schools throughout the world," said Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Business School Dean Richard Sorensen, who serves as chair-elect of AACSB International’s board of directors and has worked and served on committees with Puto in the past. "Dean Puto brings an especially nice mix of professional experiences to the role. Not only is his work leading both an [AASCB-] accredited and nonaccredited school valuable, but his time in the corporate world is a real asset as well."