The Charles F. Dolan School of Business (or the Dolan School of Business) is a nationally recognized graduate and undergraduate business school and one of the professional schools of Fairfield University located in Fairfield, Connecticut. The school offers fully accredited graduate and undergraduate programs, according to the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The school is named after Charles F. Dolan, H'04, founder of HBO, Chairman of Cablevision Systems Corporation and Fairfield University trustee, in recognition of his $25 million donation in 2000. The Dolan School of Business is committed to the Jesuit tradition of educating the "whole" person to be a socially responsible professional, who is prepared to serve others.
History
The Dolan School of Business finds its roots in the Department of Business established in 1947 within the College of Arts and Sciences at Fairfield University. The undergraduate programs received accreditation from the AACSB in 1977. In 1978, the stand-alone Dolan School of Business was founded after the undergraduate programs of the Department of Business were separated from the College of Arts and Sciences and the school began offering a graduate degree program, a Master of Science in Financial Management. The degree was later renamed the Master of Science in Finance (MSF). In 1984, the school introduced its second graduate degree program, the Master of Business Administration (MBA) with concentrations in Accounting, Finance, Human Resource Management, Information Systems and Operations Management, International Business, Marketing, and Taxation.
In 1990, Kevin Conlisk '66 established the Father John Conlisk Irish Scholarship which awards a full-ride every year to an MBA or MSF candidate from the Republic of Ireland to foster cultural exchange and international relations. In 1997, the school received full accreditation for its graduate and undergraduate programs from AACSB International.
In 2000, the school was renamed the Charles F. Dolan School of Business in recognition of a $25 million gift from Charles F. Dolan, founder of Cablevision Systems Corporation and HBO, and former trustee of the university. The same year, the school moved to a separate on-campus facility containing about 70,000 square feet, including an amphitheater that seats 150, 64 offices, 11 classrooms, and workrooms for student projects. The building had been constructed in 1979 as the Center for Financial Studies in a partnership between Fairfield University and the National Association of Mutual Savings Banks. In 2005, the school formed the Dolan Advisory Council led by John O'Neill '71 (former Senior Partner at Ernst & Young) and consisting of 17 business executives charged with advising and assisting the Dean in the advancement of the Dolan School of Business. In 2006, the school introduced a Master of Science in Accounting (MSA) degree, a full-time one-year program designed to prepare individuals for a career in accounting and to fulfill the 150-credit hour requirement in most states to take the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination.
In 2012, the school established its Entrepreneur In Residence Program designed to bring entrepreneurs to the school for a one-year term to share their experiences starting a business. In 2013, the school, in partnership with the Economic Development Department of the Town of Fairfield and Kleban Properties, established the Fairfield Accelerator and Mentor Enterprise (FAME), a business incubator for local entrepreneurs located in downtown Fairfield. Initial FAME entrepreneurs include SoccerGrlProbs, LLC, a company started by three Fairfield University alumnae which took first place in the for-profit track of the 2014 Next Play Venture Pitch Tournament, a national competition for student-led business plans that aim to make the sports industry more sustainable.
In 2015, the school introduced a Master of Business Analytics (MSBA) degree, a full-time one-year program designed to prepare individuals for careers in business intelligence and quantitative analytics.
Rankings and ratings
- Overall
- Ranked #33 college in the U.S. and #1 in Connecticut where students earn the highest salaries by Business Insider.
- Ranked #43 undergraduate business program in the U.S. and #1 in Connecticut by Bloomberg Businessweek.
- Programs
- Accounting program ranked #7 in the U.S. and #1 in Connecticut for accounting professionals according to LinkedIn.
- Graduate Accounting program ranked #15 in the U.S. and #1 in Connecticut by Accounting Degree Review.
- Graduate Accounting program ranked #14 in the U.S. and #1 in Connecticut by U.S. News & World Report.
- Graduate Finance program ranked #15 in the U.S. and #1 in Connecticut by U.S. News & World Report.
- Graduate Marketing program ranked #19 in the U.S. and #1 in Connecticut by U.S. News & World Report.
- Undergraduate Finance program ranked #24 in the U.S. and #1 in Connecticut by U.S. News & World Report.
- Undergraduate Marketing program ranked #20 in the U.S. and #1 in Connecticut by U.S. News & World Report.
Academic programs
Experiential Learning
BEST classroom
The Business Education Simulation & Trading (BEST) classroom provides Dolan School of Business undergraduate and graduate business students the opportunity of working on a financial markets trading floor. The 2,300-square-foot (210Â m2) BEST classroom provides students with the experience of dealing with real-world financial market trading situations ranging from case studies and contact with other companies to discussion of economic and business events.
The BEST classroom is equipped with a stock ticker and a data wall displaying real time quotes and 34 workstations loaded with financial software including: RITC (Rotman Interactive Trader) for market trading simulations; Bloomberg Professional with business and economic news and data; Research Insight including Compustat and Global Vantage containing financial information on every publicly trading company in the world; and Center for Research in Security Prices with stock returns for all U.S. companies.
Fairfield Investment Group
The Fairfield Investment Group received an investment of $100,000 from an anonymous private investor in 2010. With about 20 students researching stocks and making investment decision, the group is an opportunity for them to strengthen trading and analysis skills, prepare for future jobs, and connect with students and alumni.
The club is run by students â€" most from the Dolan School of Business â€" and has a management team that includes a chief executive officer, a position held by a senior finance major. The student club assigns members to research companies using Bloomberg terminals, which provide business and economic news and data. Students then work in teams deciding which stocks to invest in or divest from. They submit reports and recommendations to fellow student members serving as portfolio managers and executive leaders, who vote on whether they should buy, sell, or hold.
Fairfield StartUp
Fairfield StartUp is a yearly program of events designed to assist young entrepreneurs in the creation of their own businesses. The program connects these students with mentors and Fairfield alumni who are already established in the worlds of business, finance and engineering to guide them through the ups and downs of creating a business and pitching it to potential investors. The program culminates each year at the StartUp Showcase, where students negotiate live with investors for seed money to start their businesses.
Community engagement
Center for Microfinance
The Center for Microfinance works to help develop self-sustaining business operations in developing countries. In keeping with the Jesuit mission of Fairfield University, Dr. Winston Tellis and Dr. Michael Tucker co-founded the Center in 2001 where they have helped develop self-sustaining businesses in poor rural areas of Haiti and Nicaragua. The center was honored for its work for Haiti's poor by FONKOZE USA (F/USA) which supports Fonkoze (Fondasyon Kole Zepol), Haiti's only alternative bank for the poor. F/USA is one of five non-profit organizations approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to solicit U.S. investments for foreign organizations.
Universidad Centroamericana Partnership
CMAC is participating in a signed partnership between Fairfield University and the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA), in Managua, Nicaragua. UCA sponsors the largest microfinance institution in Nicaragua, Fondo de Desarrollo Local (FDL). Through that organization Dolan School of Business students spent part of the 2005 winter break working at the FDL's León branch office.
Dolan Lecture Series
The Dolan Lecture Series is an annual endowed lecture series featuring business executives. Past speakers include:
- 2001: Jack Welch - then chairman & CEO of General Electric with Geoffrey Colvin, editorial director at Fortune magazine, moderating
- 2002: C. Michael Armstrong - then chairman & CEO of AT&T, with Charlie Rose moderating
- 2003: Alan C. "Ace" Greenberg - chairman of the Executive Committee of Bear Stearns
- 2004: Karen Katen - president, Pfizer Global Pharmaceuticals, executive vice president, Pfizer
- 2004: Anne Mulcahy - president & CEO of Xerox
- 2005: Jeffrey R. Immelt - chairman & CEO of General Electric
- 2007: Peter Lynch - vice chairman of Fidelity Investments
- 2007: Abby Joseph Cohen - chief U.S. investment strategist of Goldman Sachs
- 2008: Sanford I. Weill - chairman emeritus Citigroup, Inc.
- 2009: E. Gerald Corrigan '63 - chairman, Goldman Sachs Bank USA; former president & CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
- 2011: Brian Moynihan - president & CEO of Bank of America
- 2012: Howard Marks - chairman of Oaktree Capital Management
- 2014: Ken Langone - co-founder of Home Depot
- 2015: Bill McDermott - CEO of SAP SE
- 2015: Dinesh Paliwal - chairman, president & CEO of Harman International Industries
- 2016: Kathleen Murphy '84 - president of Fidelity Investments
People
Endowed faculty
- Lucy Katz, J.D., Robert C. Wright Professor of Business Law, Ethics, and Dispute Resolution
- Gregory Koutmos, Gerald M. Levin Professor of Finance
- Winston Tellis, Stephen and Camille Schramm Professor of Business
Notable alumni
Notable graduates of the Dolan School of Business include:
- Michael G. Archbold, CEO, GNC
- Logan Beirne, CEO, Matterhorne Transactions; 2014 William E. Colby Award winner
- Joseph Berardino, managing director, Alvarez & Marsal; former CEO, Arthur Andersen
- Adam Braz, technical director, Montreal Impact
- Carlos M. Cardoso, former president & CEO, Kennametal
- David H. Chafey, Jr., former president, Banco Popular
- Joseph DiMenna, founder & managing director, Zweig-DiMenna Associates
- Jorge Figueredo, executive vice president, McKesson Corporation
- John L. Flannery, chairman & CEO, General Electric (GE)
- Joseph D. Macchia, founder & former CEO, GAINSCO
- Shawn Matthews, CEO, Cantor Fitzgerald
- Sean McNamara, co-founder, Intrade, Quadriserv and Pivit
- Christopher McCormick, former president & CEO, L.L.Bean
- Rick Pych, president, Spurs Sports & Entertainment
- Larry Rafferty, founder & CEO, Rafferty Capital Markets
- Mark Reed, president, St. Joseph's University
- Joseph D. Sargent, former CEO, Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
- Phil Singleton, author and founding CEO of Kansas City Web Design
- Rob Stevenson, executive vice president, Universal Republic Records
- Justin Thompson, founder, act Sports Group
References
External links
- Dolan School of Business website
- Fairfield Accelerator and Mentoring Enterprise (FAME) website
- Fairfield StartUp website