Duke University's Fuqua School of Business announced their plan to establish a network of campuses around the world to conduct research and deliver programs. The network will connect Duke's research and teaching activities in these key economic enters: New Delhi, India; St. Petersburg, Russia; Dubai, UAE; London, UK; and Shanghai, China.

With the simultaneous launch of our new international locations, Fuqua will be the first truly global business school, shaped and driven by the fundamental issues of our time, said Fuqua Dean Blair Sheppard. The depth of our activities in each location ensures we will become truly embedded in each region. By engaging with these regions through education and research, we will be able to examine the world's opportunities and problems, explore interdependencies between regions, create solutions to address world issues, and prepare practitioners to be change agents and informed leaders.

Fuqua's new global plans call for a significant presence in each location rather than the casual affiliations that define the international programs of most U.S. business schools, Sheppard said. Each of Fuqua's regional campuses will support all Duke MBA programs, including the Executive MBA programs. Each also will include a Duke Corporate Education site or partnership, open enrollment executive education, at least two research centers and Fuqua faculty, as well as service learning activities tied to local needs. Duke's commitment to civic engagement will extend to these new initiatives.

The leading activity in Fuqua's global expansion will be The Duke MBA - Cross Continent program, which begins in August 2009. This program will be held in each of the five regions before closing at the Duke campus in Durham, N.C.

Sheppard cited Fuqua's collaborations with and connection to other schools within the university as key to enabling students and faculty to examine commercial problems through the lens of disciplines adjacent to business.

Bringing to bear the resources of a great university puts us in a unique position to address problems across cultures and economies, Sheppard said. Each of our regional engagements will include activities utilizing Fuqua's relationships with the School of Law, the Sanford Institute, the Nicholas School of the Environment, the School of Medicine, the Pratt School of Engineering and the Duke Global Health Institute.

Robert McDonald, chief operating officer of Procter & Gamble and a member of the Fuqua Board of Visitors, called Fuqua's new global model a major step forward for business schools and the corporate sector.

Fuqua is fundamentally changing business education to make it more relevant to the 21st century, McDonald said. Strong partnerships with the most important firms in the world will ensure Fuqua develops globally effective leaders with the skills and innovative thinking needed in business today. Involving the business communities of the world's economic and cultural hubs will bring together learners, corporations, government entities and other organizations to address pressing global concerns.

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