Analytics has crucially changed how businesses operate and make decisions, affecting every discipline from accounting to risk management. Our strategic plan prioritizes our efforts to expand and enhance analytics instruction across all academic programs at the Terry College so our graduates can contribute immediately to the data-driven decisions that drive organizations.
Business analytics is a well-established strength at Terry. Our Master of Marketing Research program was the nation’s first such program and has been an industry leader in data-centric learning since its inception. At the graduate level, we have a thriving MS in Business Analytics program, our Master of Accountancy was one of the first graduate accounting programs to integrate analytics into its curriculum, and our Full-Time MBA offers a robust concentration in analytics. Now every undergraduate major at Terry includes an optional area of emphasis in business analytics as a signal to employers of our students’ foundational skills. Our efforts have earned notice — Terry is ranked 13th in analytics among public business schools in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings.
I’m thrilled to announce a major new entity that will lead our comprehensive efforts in analytics: the M. Douglas and V. Kay Ivester Institute for Business Analytics and Insights. Named for Doug Ivester (BBA ’69) and his wife, Kay, the institute will not only augment analytics instruction at Terry, but also provide key resources for empirical research and be a hub for the college to disseminate analytics expertise to our stakeholders. Much like the Institute for Leadership Advancement has strategically connected leadership development to organizations and communities, the Ivester Institute will do the same for analytics.
And we are moving forward with other fresh initiatives. A new Master of Professional Accountancy program, an online graduate degree for working professionals, received approval and is scheduled to begin in Fall 2025. The MPAcc will be taught by our highly regarded Tull School of Accounting faculty and appeals to individuals with at least two years of related work experience who want to pursue professional licensure or advance in an accounting career. We’re also launching the Georgia Bulldog Angel Network under the auspices of the UGA Entrepreneurship Program. This initiative will bring together startup founders (UGA alumni, faculty, students and friends) to present or pitch to potential advisors and early-stage capital investors at the Terry Executive Education Center in Atlanta.
Our integration of the latest and biggest ideas affecting business education continues apace. It’s also reflected in this issue of Terry magazine. Three young alumni on Wall Street detail a week in the life working in the world’s financial capital, and Aaron Luque (MBA ’16) explains the origins of EnviroSpark, an industry-leading company that’s installing electric vehicle charging stations across North America. I hope you enjoy their stories.
Sincerely,
Benjamin C. Ayers, Dean
Earl Davis Chair in Taxation
busdean@uga.edu