Wharton ranked No. 1 in magazine

For the sixth consecutive time, Business Week magazine has ranked the Wharton School's graduate division the best business school in America. The biennial rankings -- which were announced yesterday and will be published in the magazine's October 2 issue -- placed Wharton first in the nation among the 82 business schools it surveyed worldwide. And although the top spot is familiar territory for Wharton's graduate school, this is the first No. 1 ranking it has received under the leadership of Dean Patrick Harker, who took over for Thomas Gerrity in 1999. "It's always nice to be acknowledged as a leader," Harker said. "It reflects the hard work, dedication and teamwork on the part of our community of faculty, students, alumni and staff." And Harker has plenty to be proud of. This is the second time in under a month that a Wharton division has been honored with a first-place rank. U.S. News & World Report placed Wharton's undergraduate school atop its rankings just two weeks ago. "Now that we have No. 1s in both the MBA and the undergraduate division, we should be especially proud," Wharton Finance Professor Jeremy Siegel said. "I'm very thrilled." Siegel said he was especially excited with Wharton's consistency in the Business Week rankings year after year. "I'm surprised after six consecutive years that we're still No. 1," he said, noting that some publications might be inclined to change their rankings simply for the sake of variety. "It means we're a strong No. 1." Jennifer Merritt, the editor in charge of Business Week's rankings, agrees that Wharton is clearly the top school. "The recruiters continued to rank [Wharton] the best there is," she said. "They were strong in everything." Merritt also emphasized the importance of Wharton's reputation in the business world as a key to its continually strong performance. Corporate recruiters, she said, rely very heavily on the prestige of the Wharton name. "Just saying the Wharton name opens the door," she said. Jon Lemelman, a second-year graduate student at Wharton, said the ranking will boost Wharton's future student body. "It increases the applicant pool from around the world and allows Wharton to be more selective," he said. "It's phenomenal." Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer Eric Dash contributed to this article.

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