U.S. News Ranks Supply Chain Management Specialty 15th in Nation

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The U.S. News & World Report's “2011 America’s Best Colleges” guide has rated the supply chain management and logistics specialty in the Walton College in a tie for 15th place among all public graduate business schools and in a tie for 23rd place among all universities.

“We are very excited this year to be ranked among public institutions in the U.S. News & World Report’s rankings of supply chain management and logistics programs,” said Tom Jensen, Wal-Mart Lecturer in Retailing and chair of the Walton College department of marketing and logistics. “It is a great honor and recognition for our faculty who have developed the programs and taught the students — and to our students who have performed in the classroom and on the job. Our academic programs have grown in both quantity and quality over the past few years.”

Jim Crowell, director of the Walton College Supply Chain Management Research Center, said: “This move up is great news for us as the center has played a role in achieving that ranking. The research center connects us with transportation and logistics organizations in some of the nation’s largest corporations. Its board of directors is comprised of 52 key logistics executives from 29 national and international companies. This support enables us to greatly enhance the quality of our undergraduate and graduate programs in transportation and logistics.”

Jensen added: “Our Supply Chain Management Research Center has also been a big asset in our growth. The center’s board of directors has helped us build improved educational programs for our students and better prepare them for tomorrow’s job market. These relationships have also created research opportunities for our business faculty that in turn benefit the member companies.”

The Supply Chain Management Research Center has co-sponsored International Graduate Logistics Case competitions for the past five years, which has enabled Walton College faculty and students to connect with logistics academics from around the world.

Other top-rated universities with supply chain management and logistics specialties include: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan); Michigan State University (Broad); Arizona State University (Carey); Pennsylvania State University (Smeal); Ohio State University (Fisher); University of Michigan (Ross); Purdue University (Krannert); University of Tennessee; and Georgia Institute of Technology.