It’s rare to discuss branding in the context of a university, or of a business school. After all, we don’t have customers or products. We don’t try to gain market share by rolling out periodic marketing campaigns. And yet, in one important way our efforts are inextricably linked to the process that companies go through when trying to build a brand. We have a strategy in place to ensure that NYU Stern signifies and embodies certain values and attributes in the minds of all our stakeholders – students, faculty, staff, colleagues, and our counterparts in the private sector. Beyond that, we strive to communicate our values consistently and frequently to our different constituencies.

What are the components of the NYU Stern brand? A spirit of rigorous interdisciplinary inquiry; an openness to the city that is our home, and to the global context in which we live and work; a commitment to excellence in teaching; and the ambition to grow, expand, and deepen our knowledge base through research.

The Stern brand has been built over a century of sustained effort. We have deep roots in finance and accounting. But over the decades, as we have grown, and as our human and financial resources have grown, we have expanded our horizons. Today, we are proud to offer strong programs in a range of disciplines: from economics to marketing, from management to information systems.

We strive constantly to invigorate Stern by recruiting new faculty, by bringing a broad range of guest scholars and executives to share their experiences with us, and by finding new ways to connect and re-connect with members of our far-flung community. This September, we are welcoming 11 new junior faculty to campus. We are also delighted that Steve Florio, the former president and chief executive officer of Condé Nast Publications, is coming to teach at NYU Stern this fall. Our long-running CEO Series and the popular Author Lecture Series both continue, with the appearance of business leaders such as Larry Bossidy and Robert Rubin, respectively. And in October, our Global Alumni Conference in Paris will feature presentations on topics ranging from the future of the European Union to the global luxury market.

SternBusiness is an integral part of these efforts to explore, raise questions, and establish connections in New York – and beyond. And this issue proves that members of our community have significant intellectual contributions to make on the important subject of branding. I hope you enjoy it.

Thomas F. CooleyDean