The top dogs of today's business world are more likely to have sharpened their teeth at the University of Wisconsin than the Wharton School, -according to a recent New York Times article.
The Nov. 27 story -- which reported on economic diversity in the boardroom -- listed 13 undergraduate schools that have produced many of the nation's top CEOs.
Penn did not make the list.
The University of Wisconsin and Harvard University tied for first place, with 13 alumni each serving as chief executive of a company on the S&P; 500 index, which tracks America's largest companies.
Administrators say Penn's absence from the list will not affect the school's reputation because most Wharton students go on to work for companies that would not be considered.
"I think that [becoming a] CEO is one thing, but there's certainly a lot of other aspects of business," Wharton undergraduate Vice Dean Barbara Kahn said. "Our students tend to go [into] a more concentrated set of jobs than the [S&P;] 500 reflects."
Kahn added that most students do not come to Penn for the sole purpose of becoming a CEO.
"There's just so many other indicators of success and impact in business," she said.
Many companies on the S&P; 500 list are oriented toward consumer goods, industrial materials, health care and energy -- fields in which Wharton graduates are not as likely to become CEOs, Kahn said.
Wharton students are often more interested in finance, consulting or starting their own ventures, Associate Director of Career Services Barbara Hewitt said.
Students interested in launching new companies may also take jobs in consulting or finance to gain experience, she added.
Wharton graduates "can work for a few years, get a lot of really great experiences and perhaps get some capital," Hewitt said. Many then move on to entrepreneurial roles.
Most of the CEOs named on the New York Times list, however, manage consumer goods companies rather than financial services.
From 2002 to 2005, the overwhelming majority of Wharton graduates took jobs in finance or consulting or have launched their own ventures.
Higher starting salaries and locations on both coasts are two major draws for Wharton students, Kahn said. This may explain the absence of Penn alumni from the list.
Morris Cohen, professor of Manufacturing and Logistics, agreed that the number of CEOs who are Wharton alumni does not determine the quality of the school because graduates can influence the business world from all positions.
"So what?" Cohen said in response to Penn's absence from the list. "Most people don't become CEOs, and if most people have productive careers, if [graduates reach] middle management, that would be a useful contribution."
"When [students] decide to go to Wharton over someplace else, I don't think that they're doing so just to [have] the chance of becoming a CEO," he added.
Where's Wharton? - Penn did not make the top 13 schools that produce S&P; 500 CEOs - Harvard and the University of Wisconsin were the top schools, with 13 S&P; 500 CEOs each - Princeton, Yale and Cornell were the only other Ivy League schools to make the list - The number of Ivy League graduates who serve as CEOs of S&P; 500 companies has declined in the past 15 years
