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planned partnership
Q What’s in it for Laureate?
A
Thunderbird will be the gold standard for business
education within the Laureate network, and it will
be a center of excellence for international business
education. As Thunderbird grows and improves,
Laureate will benefi t through its affi liation with Thunderbird
and through its ownership interest in the joint venture.
Q
A
Will Laureate try to influence Thunderbird’s
academic standards?
No. Laureate understands the importance of Thunderbird’s
mission and supports its independence.
Thunderbird’s academic standards have allowed it to
achieve a level of prominence and rankings which should
be preserved.
Q What will Thunderbird look like in five years?
A
Thunderbird will have an expanded best-in-class
faculty and improved rankings. Enrollment will climb
from about 1,000 degree-seeking students to more than
3,000. Thunderbird will maintain its base in Arizona.
Meanwhile, students will be able to transfer for internships
and global experiences at potential campuses in France,
Spain, Chile, Brazil and at a yet-to-be named location
in Asia.
Q Why these locations?
A
Laureate has proposed locations on four continents
that align with the highest-caliber schools within the
Laureate network of 67 institutions. By offering instruction
on four continents, Thunderbird will enrich the student experience
and create more contact with potential employers.
Q
How will the planned partnership affect the
quality for full-time students who study abroad
at one of the new campuses?
A
Study abroad modules will work much like they
do now in China, Peru and the Czech Republic —
except that Thunderbird will no longer need to lease
temporary classrooms.
Q
A
Is the planned partnership connected to Thunderbird’s
new MBA curriculum (details on page 8)?
No. The process to modernize the MBA curriculum
started more than two years ago, long before
Thunderbird and Laureate started exploring their planned
partnership. It began as a means to address changes in
students’ educational desires and changes in employers’
needs from graduates.
Q
A
How will the planned partnership benefit
Thunderbird alumni?
The planned partnership will build a strong future
for Thunderbird, which will increase the clout of
a Thunderbird degree. Alumni also will benefi t as the
Thunderbird network expands. Finally, the infusion of
cash will allow Thunderbird to improve its alumni outreach,
providing greater support to its chapters around the
world. Other benefi ts will include lifetime career management
services. Laureate executives have made it clear
that they support the expansion of alumni staff, including
a senior person, and the recent change that made
alumni relations distinct from advancement.
Q
A
Will graduates of other institutions in the Laureate
network be able to call themselves T-birds?
No. Only Thunderbird graduates will have that
distinction.
FILE PHOTO
thunderbird magazine 7