At an Institute best known for its engineering and science programs, the quality of the Lally School of Management and Technology is gaining wider recognition on campus and across the nation. Although still in the shadow of the School of Engineering, the school that sits down the hill at the end of campus is making a name for itself. Gone forever are the days where this school will be looked upon as second-rate and its curriculum regarded as lightweight.
In his congratulatory letter to Rensselaer on the renewal of its accreditation, Larry E. Penley, chair of the Board of the Accreditation Council of the International Association for Management Education, congratulated Rensselaer’s Lally School of Management & Technology on its "recognition as a program of national prominence with highly effective teachers and researchers, with a technological orientation."
More and more students are touched by the Lally School’s programs, based on Admissions’ report of the number of applicants that have been accepted for the upcoming year. In drawing potential students the management school has worked closely with admissions in marketing the technological innovation found within the program.
"Lots of recruiters are looking to the analytical skills not found in a typical business administration program. While most business schools grant a bachelors of arts we grant a bachelors of management science degree and that is a big difference."
"The Lally school’s emphasis on entrepreneurial and new business ventures shows employers that our students are learning to become calculated risk takers," said Jeanne Jenkins, director of enrollment planning.
Like many programs at RPI, the school draws heavily on the use of cutting edge technology and non-traditional methods. One of the areas in which this distinctive mix defines the Lally School is found in the school’s entrepreneurial program.
In her recent town meeting, Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson spoke on defining a Rensselaer education in the 21st century. As part of this plan, she mentioned possibly including an entrepreneurship requirement for all majors.
The entrepreneurial program is widely recognized as one of the best in the nation. The Lally School placed sixth nationally in Success Magazine’s entrepreneurship ranking. The program was also featured in a US News & World Report’s annual graduate school ranking edition.
RPI Trustee Mike Herman believes the Institute should leverage its strength in entrepreneurship into other programs and schools. "Rensselaer is particularly well-poised to lead the way in graduating technologically gifted young men and women who are extremely savvy entrepreneurs," says Herman.
In order to make this vision a reality, the Herman Family Foundation has invested $1 million to restructure the Institute’s curriculum towards entrepreneurship. All first-year students will be exposed to the practice, principles, and many opportunities found at RPI. The capstone project will be redesigned so that entrepreneurial problem solving is included as a significant component. Faculty members will also be trained to incorporate entrepreneurship into their curriculum.
Students at RPI’s Troy campus often forget the Institute’s Hartford, Conn. facility. The Hartford campus has played a major role in the success of the Lally School, and as it becomes more integrated with the Troy campus it will play an even greater role.
Over 2000 graduate students are pursuing advanced degrees at the Hartford campus. The site draws on a forty-five year tradition of being the first and largest MBA program in Connecticut. In addition, it is home to three "Centers of Excellence": the Center for Lean Business Management, the Center for Global Business Studies, and the Center for Distributed Education and Interactive.
"Our faculty are experienced educators, and many have business experience in the very industries from which we draw our students," said Dr. Andrew Lemnios, vice president of the Hartford school.
The Hartford campus draws 95 percent of its students from the halls of corporate America, and 80 percent work in technological fields. As such, the programs at Hartford have adapted to meet the needs of this demographic.
"When compared students at Wharton and other large business schools our students have more work experience—on average 10-15 years—and are more involved with technology," said Dr. David L. Rainey, interim chair of the Hartford branch of the management school. The main focus of the Lally School in Hartford falls into three areas: business integration, innovation, and product development. The defining characteristic of the Hartford program is the combination of academic expertise and business experience, according to Rainey.
For the upcoming semester the Hartford program plans to increase its enrollment by offering an Executive MBA program for Technology Executives while the Troy campus is offering an Executive MBA program for CEOs.
Peter Schroth, professor of International Finance, Financial Markets, and Financial Institutions, and recent winner of the Recognition of Excellence award from the American Corporate Council Association and former lawyer and banking executive, is a representative of faculty who come to the school with strong working experiences.
"Most of the faculty here have, in addition to academic credentials and real experience in business. At the same time, most of our students are working professionals. This thread of practical experience is particularly important for our older and more senior students," Schroth said. "The students are all graduate students, who all come in with significant work experience. Also, my colleagues are like that. They have a real background in academia and in practice."
Schroth is "quite excited" about the future, he says. "This is a terrific program, and we are making it better by combining practical and academic expertise."
"We are a close knit group and we work together a lot and that is a good feeling," Schroth said. "There are some larger business schools that are enormous, and it is hard to get to know your colleagues. And that is not our problem here."
Showing off their expertise in technological management, members of the Rensselaer Radical Innovation Research Project Team wrote a book, Radical Innovation: How Mature Companies Can Outsmart Upstarts. Six Lally School professors completed three years of research into how 10 large corporations produced radically new products. One of the greatest obstacles to radical innovation, stated co-author Richard Leifer, is the "unnatural act" of creating and maintaining an entrepreneurial spirit in a large organization that survives by incrementalism.
"The business model these days is more than ‘build a better mousetrap,’" says Mark Rice ’71, director of the Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship. "Firms need to build a different mousetrap. If they don’t do it, a competitor will—and will drive them out of the market."
The authors of the book advocate creating an infrastructure that is responsive to innovation, and keeping workers happy. "Dedicated, visionary leaders are critical to the radical innovation process," says Rice, "but so too are the innovators and entrepreneurs who roll up their sleeves and fight the tough battles in the trenches."
According to another co-author, Chris McDermott, new research is moving into the management of competency and outsourcing in the context of technology.
Currently, Professor McDermott coordinates first-year courses in the MBA program. "We teach the stages of the product development process to students from product idea and business plan to the technology management phase," he said.
Like many professors and students from the Lally School, McDermott, an electrical engineering major, worked many years in industry and hails from a very untraditional background. He said that what drew him—and what draws many—to RPI is the Institute’s unique combination of management and technology innovation.
"What makes the Lally School different, especially at the master’s level, is the students’ interest and background in management technology and product innovation. I came from UNC’s traditional management program. Here I can teach students who have a technological background similar to mine, but may not know the ins and outs of running a technologically-based business."
The Lally School is also seeing many changes in its administrative structure. Long-time professor and current co-director of the Center for Technological Entrepreneurship Jack Wilson recently resigned. Dean of the Lally School Joe Ecker will also be stepping down, ending his five-year term.
"I very much enjoyed my term as dean. I am also looking forward to returning to my teaching position in calculus for entering freshmen in management as the Edward P. Hamilton Distinguished Professor," Ecker said.
The new dean search is currently underway and four candidates visited the campus. The final decision will be made by President Jackson and Provost Bud Peterson.
