Brandeis International Business School

Dear Brandeis International Business School Community,

The Spring 2024 semester is off to an excellent start and students, faculty and staff are excited to be back on campus. In January, a select group of students traveled to India as part of the Hassenfeld Immersion Program and the seventh annual DeisHacks hackathon for social good witnessed record student turnout. More recently, in early February the Asper Center for Global Entrepreneurship hosted the second annual Asper Pitch Summit, a workshop and prize competition where student teams pitched their startup ideas to an expert panel of judges.

Our students are intelligent, hardworking and committed to business leadership as a force for global good. Hailing from 46 countries and five continents, we are so fortunate for the diverse backgrounds and viewpoints they share every day.

It is impossible to reflect on our school’s success without also recognizing the immeasurable contributions of Peter Petri, the Carl Shapiro Professor of International Finance, founding director of the Lemberg Program and founding dean of the International Business School. After 50 years of teaching at Brandeis, Peter is officially retiring at the end of the semester. Joining Peter in retirement this spring is Gary Jefferson, the Carl Marks Professor of International Trade and Finance. To honor these two distinguished faculty members, the Asia-Pacific Center for Economics and Business is hosting an in-person conference on April 5 titled, “Trade, Innovation and China.” All International Business School students, alumni and friends are invited to attend.

Also in April, the Asper Center will host the second annual Asper Student Startup Prizes. This fun startup pitch competition, which is open to all Brandeis students, will take place on April 11. The event will also honor Mark Ain, the founder and former CEO and board executive chairman of Kronos (now UKG). Ain is the recipient of the 2024 Asper Award for Global Entrepreneurship, which is given annually to a person who best exemplifies the International Business School’s values of entrepreneurial spirit and independent thinking.

Ain is among a generous group of alumni, friends and board members whose recent philanthropy is playing a transformative role in supporting the International Business School’s mission to educate the next generation of principled, data-driven and effective business leaders. Ain donated $2.75 million to establish an endowed faculty chair, the Ain Family Professor of the Practice in Entrepreneurship, and support new summer startup programming at the school. Board of Advisors Co-Chair Len Asper ’86, P’24 pledged $5 million to support both the Asper Center and establish the endowed President’s Strategic Vision Fund at Brandeis University. And Catherine Mann, a visiting professor of the practice and former holder of the Barbara and Richard M. Rosenberg Professor of Global Finance chair, donated $1.5 million to establish the Catherine L. Mann International Business School Endowed Scholarship. Our continued success at the International Business School would not be possible without the generosity of our alumni, friends and board, who give back in so many ways.

Finally, I will share more good news from our team at the Career Strategies and Engagement Center. Our alumni continue to find career success after graduating from the International Business School. According to the latest statistics, 92 percent of jobseekers from the Class of 2023 have accepted employment or started their own business, in a tough market for many top business schools. Starting U.S. salaries and bonuses reported by recent graduates have also increased by 32 percent since 2018.

I wish you a successful spring and hope to see you on campus soon. Thank you for all that you do in support of Brandeis International Business School.

Sincerely,Kathryn Graddy
Dean, Brandeis International Business School
Fred and Rita Richman Distinguished Professor in Economics