News Releases

Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas School of Business and its home, Lawrence, Kan., recently earned top spots in two national rankings.

The city of Lawrence ranked overall No. 43 on the Forbes Magazine 100 Best Small Places for Business and Careers, including No. 1 ranking in the education subcategory.

In another recent review, the School of Business ranked No. 20 in the country for its supply chain management program according to Gartner, Inc., the world's leading information technology research and advisory company.

Forbes calculated its "small places" rankings by using 12 different metrics relating to job growth, costs of business and living, income growth, educational attainment and projected economic growth. It also looks at ranked colleges in the area based on its own annual college rankings.

"The city is known for a thriving music and art scene," Forbes notes. "Downtown Lawrence, in particular Massachusetts Street, has a lively atmosphere and is filled with restaurants, bars, galleries, shops and music venues."

According to the list, more than 50 percent of Lawrence residents hold undergraduate degrees and almost 23 percent earned graduate degrees.

For the supply chain program rankings, Gartner, Inc. asked more than 400 supply chain practitioners and academics to rate U.S. supply chain education providers on industry value, program size and program scope.

Respondents were asked to assess how well familiar providers meet the changing needs of supply chain professionals and how efficiently research and innovations reach the student population. Gartner also factored in information provided by the schools regarding enrollment numbers, programs and faculty size.

The ranking was released in June at Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference 2011 in Scottsdale, Ariz., where leading supply chain executives collaborated on the future of supply chain management and learned the latest technologies and services in the industry.

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