TT: Speaking of global exposure, would you say that there is an ideal level of international representation in business schools? For example, is 20 percent too little, or 50 percent too much?
Olian: We don’t have a quota or threshold. We tend to think that around a third is a good number. Diversity on many dimensions is critical in comprising a class.
TT: As one of the few female deans of a top business school, do you think the business environment is likely to become friendlier or more hostile for female business leaders in the near future?
Olian: As a woman, I wish we were further along. What I want for women is for them to be given the opportunity to choose. Some women choose to pursue an MBA, others to focus on their families. For some, it’s not an easy a choice because they don’t have many options, or they’re in companies that are not as welcoming of the sort of family choices women in general want. That’s why women have not done as well in business careers as they have in the legal or medical profession.
I think that maintaining a balance as a woman with a serious career is a very tough goal. That said, I think we are seeing some progress in California. Two business women [former eBay chief executive officer Meg Whitman and former chairman and chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard Carly Fiorina] are running for the highest offices in the state — governor and senator. There are more women in every walk of life who are progressing slowly with hope. But women still have to confront structural issues that are more extreme than for men.
TT: UCLA and UC Berkeley are the only two public schools that have consistently ranked among the top MBAs in the world. As a public school, what does UCLA’s Anderson offer that private schools cannot bring to the table?
Olian: The financial model is, unfortunately, more private than public. We increasingly have to be more self-sufficient in terms of funding. So student tuition is pretty high. We also have a variety of programs that help us with funding. In terms of competition for the best students and faculty, there’s no difference in what we look for. UCLA Anderson is now only 18 percent publicly-funded. We are increasingly funding ourselves through our own revenue streams and private giving.
TT: Would you say that it has become more challenging to secure funding?
Olian: Necessity is the mother of invention. We are currently exploring different funding models for our own enterprise within the public university system. Donations or private giving during the financial crisis declined because people felt a lot less confident about their own financial wealth. However, I think people are really coming back because they believe in the goal of higher education because it transforms lives, and ultimately, economies as well. We are all moving towards a knowledge economy. Education is the single most important factor in lifting people out of poverty.
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