The Fuqua School of Business claimed eighth place in BusinessWeek's biannual "Best B-Schools of 2008" issue, a one-place improvement since it was last ranked by the magazine in 2006.
The school has risen from an 11th place ranking in 2004, and Elizabeth Hogan, Fuqua's assistant dean for marketing and communications, said she sees even more room for improvement.
"I won't be happy till we're rated No. 1 in every dimension," she said. "We always want them to be better, but we won't change what we do to make them better."
Duke bested all other schools below the Mason-Dixon Line, but the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business topped the list for the second time in a row.
BusinessWeek formulates its rankings by surveying the most recent graduating class and MBA recruiters-which each count for 45 percent of a school's rating-and evaluating the intellectual capital of the institution, which counts for 10 percent of the rank.
Hogan said she doubts Fuqua's October announcement of its plans to open five outposts abroad impacted the BusinessWeek rankings, noting that students and MBA recruiters were surveyed over the summer. But she added that the school's global vision could give it a boost in the future rankings.
"Certainly we feel that the school's global strategy is a good investment, but it's probably too early for any ranking to reflect that strategy," Hogan said.
Although many details for the Cross-Continent MBA program's sites are still being finalized, Hogan said she does not think the University's improved rank will enhance its position in negotiations with potential partners.
"I don't think it will have any bearing on any conversations," she said. "Duke University is a very good institution on dimensions that are not really ranked."
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