Lauder Institute Celebrates 20th Anniversary MBA/MA Program Teaches International Business Skills
When Leonard and Ronald Lauder noticed a void in the international business world in the 1980s, they decided to do something about it.
The Lauder brothers believed that there was an immediate need to train American business managers in the languages and cultures of the countries in which they conduct business — teaching them not only the tools to do business internationally, but also the cultural skills to interact with worldwide business leaders.
Thanks to a $10 million dollar gift from the Lauder family, the Joseph H. Lauder Institute of Management and International Studies graduated its first class in 1985. Since then, approximately 100 students a year have studied at the Institute, providing an alumni network 1000+ strong.
Worldwide Alumni Network
Today, the Lauder Institute exists as a joint-degree program between the Wharton School and the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. Lauder students concurrently earn a Wharton MBA and an MA in International Studies.
The program begins on campus with intensive study of regional culture and history, as well as international management strategy. It continues with a two-month in-country immersion program in the language that the student is studying. Over 24 months, students hone their language skills while developing a broad foundation in international business and a focused understanding of the region in which they concentrate.
When Lauder graduates walk out the door, they generally do not leave their Lauder identity behind. In fact, four alumni currently serve on the Lauder Institute Board of Governors: Tom Bendheim, WG ’90; Janifer Burns, WG ’86; Shiv Khemka, WG’90; and David Trachtenberg, WG ’88.
“Because of my Lauder education,” explains Trachtenberg, “I approach business opportunities wherever I am with a global mindset. When I worked at MCI, I was able to think about a domestically oriented business in a global way – and so I was able to parlay my Lauder expertise with global business into a billion-dollar business.”
Global Influence
With over fifty percent of its alumni working outside the US — as well as international students who have returned home — Lauder graduates cover the globe. While the institute was “originally conceived primarily for American students,” explains Marcy Bevan, the program’s director of external affairs, it is now “approximately one-third international students,” adding to the global diversity it provides.
Recent alumna Sarah (Ingmanson) McLellan, WG ’04, credits Lauder with helping her land her “dream job” as part of the global valuation team at Morgan Stanley. “My Lauder degree signaled to the job market that I am serious about Japan,” McLellan explains.
Carla Rosen-Vacher, WG ’88, is similarly achieving international influence. She currently works as a commercial specialist at the American Embassy in Luxembourg. According to Rosen-Vacher, this is a “model Lauder position,” as she “counsels U.S. companies in business matters within the context of a foreign country and culture” and speaks French and German daily.
Current students also engage actively with global issues. Each year, Lauder sponsors a Student Initiated Learning (SIL) course that includes a study trip designed to expose students to a less studied part of the world.
This year, students chose Africa, visiting Senegal and South Africa in order, in the words of Garron Hansen, WG’06, to “get a broad perspective of what’s happening on the continent…and see how countries with different culture, colonizers, and histories were coping.”
No matter how far Lauder students travel, they know they will be part of a lifelong community here at home. As Hansen puts it, “What I value most about Lauder, and about Wharton, is the Lauder community. At the end of the day, I feel like Lauder is my home.”
