© Nathan Mandell Kellogg administrators play key roles in delivering on the school's brand promise. Seated left to right: Megan Byrne Krueger, Michele Rogers and Fran Langewisch; standing: Julie Cisek Jones, Beth Flye and Roxanne Hori.

Why Kellogg is the school for women seeking their MBA

By Matt Golosinski

With so many choices out there, why should women seeking a business degree consider Kellogg?

Megan Byrne Krueger, assistant dean and director of student affairs, The Managers' Program: Kellogg provides a rigorous but safe place for women to test their skills, and we offer many leadership opportunities. Today, flexibility is important for all MBA students. For women, striking a work-life harmony can be particularly important, which is why the Kellogg School's full-time, part-time and executive options are so appealing to women looking for a program that meets their particular needs.

Beth Flye, director of admissions and financial aid: The culture here is a huge selling point. This is a very welcoming environment. There's good diversity here, and I think women are drawn to that. We are larger than some of the other programs out there, so we have a critical mass of female students, and our Women's Business Associations are ambitious and highly successful in the value they deliver.

Julie Cisek Jones, assistant dean and director of the Executive MBA program: Many women find our team settings very comfortable. This dynamic gives them the network they need to be successful. Our recent EMBA focus groups have shown that female students were nervous coming into the program, but incredibly fulfilled once they got here. They couldn't say enough about the support and individual attention they received; about how the program accommodated their particular needs. They learn this is a family oriented environment.

What are we doing to attract more women to Kellogg?

Beth Flye: The Kellogg School is the best place for a woman to get her MBA, and there's no one better than our alumni to tell that story. We are conducting information sessions targeted at women and adjusting our messaging to reach a younger group, to educate them about the value of the Kellogg MBA and to demonstrate that an MBA offers the greatest career flexibility. We are also in a partnership with the Forté Foundation, a nonprofit resource for women in business, and we are providing more funding for women: We now have three Kellogg Forté Scholarships, each offering $15,000 per year.

Julie Cisek Jones: Academic excellence is our best strength, but another major selling point is the three different EMBA calendars to choose from. People choose less and less on geography and more on what they need to support their work-life juggle. The Alumni Women's Leadership group is an extremely active group of talented women interested in talking to others who have the same challenges and who are looking to gather information that makes them smarter, faster and stronger as they continue their careers.

How can our alumni help Kellogg achieve its diverse recruiting goals?

Beth Flye: As Dean Jain has said, educating people about the value proposition of the MBA is important, and we count on our alumni to actively promote that value among the high-caliber people they work with. Our alumni best represent the success of the Kellogg experience - for women and men.