Marshall Goldsmith School of Management:
A New Home for a New Kind of
Business School

The Marshall Goldsmith School of Management (MGSM) is re-inventing the way future business leaders are taught. Named for world-renowned executive coach Marshall Goldsmith (a San Diego resident), MGSM focuses on "the human side of enterprise.” Students in MGSM concentrate on developing skills and knowledge that really matter in the business world: how to create and lead effective organizations, how to work with people across cultures and international borders, how to motivate others and lead innovation. Dr, Goldsmith and a group of internationally known "thought leaders" work alongside MGSM faculty and students to create a unique learning environment that provides insight into the issues that executives deal with every day.

MGSM’s Founding Dean, Dr. Jim Goodrich, is a widely respected educator and business consultant, and he
exemplifies the spirit of this new school. Before joining MGSM last spring, Dr. Goodrich was the Dean of the Atkinson School of Management at Willamette University in Oregon. He has held senior positions at Pepperdine University and the University of the Pacific. With a doctorate from UCLA, Goodrich has been a consultant to global firms in several countries, including IBM, Coca Cola and the Red Cross.

Our vision calls for a new home for MGSM, a facility that will be built to encourage and support interaction between students and the world of business. Our plans also call for the creation of an International Executive Conference Center, the first of its kind in San Diego, designed as a forum for exchanging knowledge and experience through the interaction of students, faculty and executives.

The Conference Center will also support Alliant’s other professional programs—in psychology and mental health, education and other fields, all of which train professionals to improve the lives of people. The Center will be a home for innovation, education and information not just for Alliant, but for the entire San Diego area.

A project this ambitious will take time, but we can’t wait. As we lay plans for the design of the Goldsmith School's permanent home, we are also refurbishing a temporary home for MGSM in the Walter Library. By doing this, we create a win/win scenario for all Alliant students.

We have already begun a $2.5 million renovation of Walter Library, the centerpiece of Alliant’s Scripps Ranch Campus. This project will convert the second floor of the Library to a spacious, flexible learning environment with new technology, new meeting areas and space to bring executives into greater contact with students and faculty. After the Conference Center is built, these renovations will serve other Alliant programs with modern, state-of-the-art facilities.

Donors to the library renovation project will be recognized as contributors to the new Conference Center.