Grand Rapids, Michigan (May 19, 2010) - Aquinas College is hosting an event to launch its new Master of Sustainable Business (MSB) degree - the first program of its kind to be offered in the upper Midwest that will build upon the undergraduate sustainable business program already offered by the liberal arts college.

The event will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 25, at the Aquinas College Wege Student Center Cafe, 1607 Robinson Road, SE, Grand Rapids. The event will feature lunch, details about the new MSB program, and information about scholarship opportunities.

“With the launch of this new program, prospective students and employers will become natural-system thinkers who can respond and influence change in local and global conditions, positively affecting people, profit and the planet,” said Matthew Tueth, Ph.D., Steelcase Professor of Sustainable Business and chairman of the Sustainable Business Department. “We recognize the strategic benefit that sustainable business delivers to commerce inside our communities and we’re pleased to offer an even deeper educational opportunity in the sustainable business movement.”

Aquinas College, already a leader in sustainable business (SB) education, has built the new graduate program upon the regional and national success of its undergraduate program in sustainable business. The MSB degree will be comprised of six conventional business courses, currently offered in the College's Master of Management program, along with six sustainable business courses. Graduate students in the MSB program will complete 12 courses (36 credit hours) over a typical 18-24 month period. Courses in the MSB program will be offered in eight-week segments, beginning this fall.

For graduates of the Master of Management (MM) program, the College is currently reviewing which credits will be applicable to meeting requirements for the Master of Sustainable Business degree.

“A Master of Sustainable Business degree will allow students and employers to benefit by obtaining skills, knowledge and the understanding needed to not only restore environmental integrity and build healthy communities, but also maximize profitability within the work sector,” said Deborah M. Steketee, Ph.D., associate professor of sustainable business and executive director for the Center for Sustainability at Aquinas.