Thunderbird School of Global Management

Thunderbird School of Global Management

Former name	American Institute for Foreign Trade
Type	Public business school
Established	8 April 1946 (1946-04-08)
Parent institution	Arizona State University
Dean	Sanjeev Khagram
Location	Phoenix , Arizona , United States
Campus	Urban
Colors	Thunderbird Blue, Gold and Grey
Website	thunderbird.asu.edu

Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University is the world’s premier institution for global leadership, management, and business education for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and is much more than a school. Thunderbird is also a global network of leaders, managers, entrepreneurs, and intrapreneurs across the private and public sectors who advance the School’s vision of inclusive and sustainable prosperity worldwide.

Thunderbird has trained global leaders and managers for over 75 years. Originally known as the American Institute for Foreign Trade, Thunderbird was chartered on April 8, 1946, at a World War II airbase in Glendale, Arizona called Thunderbird Field, where pilots from around the world came for training during wartime. General Barton Kyle Yount obtained the airfield with the express purpose of developing a school for professionals focused exclusively on international trade and global affairs. The guiding principle established at Thunderbird’s founding is best summarized in a phrase coined by original faculty member Dr. William Lytle Schurz, “Borders frequented by trade seldom need soldiers.

Thunderbird became the world’s first-ever higher education institution to focus exclusively on international leadership by concentrating its curriculum on global management and business skills, international political economy and regional business environments, languages and cross-cultural communications. The School has often been called a “mini-United Nations” because of its diverse and inclusive global student body. Thunderbird is now known worldwide for its vast and engaged alumni network of more than 50,000 graduates in nearly 150 nations around the globe. Thunderbird has more than 170 alumni chapters that meet regularly in 70 countries.

In 2015, Thunderbird became a unit of the Arizona State University public enterprise, combining Thunderbird’s multi-decade heritage of developing global leaders with ASU’s expansive resources. The School relocated to ASU’s vibrant Downtown Phoenix (Arizona, USA) campus in 2018. The move brought the world’s No. 1 ranked Master’s in Management (WSJ/THE) under the umbrella of the nation’s No. 1 ranked school for innovation (U.S. News & World Report).

In the first-ever rankings of their kind, Thunderbird was recently named No. 1 in the world in international trade by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), the premier global higher education analyst organization. Scoring 100 out of 100 points, this top ranking places Thunderbird ahead of Harvard, MIT and Stanford, domestically, and Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, internationally. In partnership with the Hinrich Foundation, QS selected Thunderbird’s Master of Global Management degree program as the “world’s best international trade programme,” in its 2023 QS International Trade Rankings.

Ushering in the Thunderbird 4.0 era, is the newly opened F. Francis & Dionne Najafi Thunderbird Global Headquarters building, spanning 110,000 square feet over five floors on ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus. The building is designed to bring the world’s leading technology directly to the hands of Thunderbird students and faculty. The facility enables students to connect with the world and experience what they seek to learn and study in real time.

Thunderbird’s global footprint has also grown over the years as well, with operations now in Geneva, Dubai, Tokyo, Seoul, Nairobi, Jakarta and nearly 15 others, Thunderbird’s Center of Excellence regional offices ensure that the School is now the world’s first truly “global multinational business school,” committed to training the next generation of global leaders.

As the world continues innovating, and technology changes the way individuals and communities live and work, Thunderbird is developing nimble, ethical, global leaders who can seize the opportunities offered by the Fourth Industrial Revolution to create sustainable prosperity worldwide.

History

Thunderbird 1.0: 1946 to 1969

Originally known as the American Institute for Foreign Trade, Thunderbird was chartered on April 8, 1946, at a World War II air base in Glendale, Arizona, called Thunderbird Field, where pilots from around the world came for training during wartime. Three retiring Army Air Force officers, including General Barton Kyle Yount, re-outfitted the airbase to serve the purpose of promoting education, prosperity, and peace and developed an undergraduate school for professionals focused exclusively on international trade and global affairs. The guiding principle established at Thunderbird’s founding is best summarized in a phrase coined by original faculty member Dr. William Lytle Schurz, “Borders frequented by trade seldom need soldiers.” Many of the first-generation T-birds were U.S. military and veterans who later took up leadership roles in the European Recovery Program, known as the Marshall Plan.

For the next seven decades, students from around the world flocked to the suburban campus, walking past contemporary buildings, the multilingual greetings of the Thunderbird Welcome Wall, and award-winning renovations of some of the base’s historic landmarks. From 1946 to 1969, Thunderbird became a truly global institution that brought the world to the desert and nurtured a Global Mindset, leadership skills, and social responsibilities that empowered students to become leaders in their organizations and communities.

Thunderbird 2.0: 1970 to 1994

In 1970, Thunderbird underwent a momentous transformation by converting into a graduate school, wherein it introduced the Master of International Management degree. Thunderbird created history by becoming the first professional management school worldwide that required knowledge of a second language at the time of admission. The School has often been called a “mini-United Nations” because of its diverse and inclusive global student body.

Thunderbird also became the world’s first higher education institution to focus exclusively on international leadership by concentrating its curriculum on a Tripartite approach that included global leadership, management, and business; international political economy and regional business environments; and languages and cross-cultural communications.

Thunderbird enjoyed steady growth, and with that came a sense of identity in the world of international education. By 1976, Thunderbird had graduated over 10,000 students working in over 100 countries. The School was determined to build its strength and reputation throughout the United States and continue to build its presence across the world. On the frontier of movement, Thunderbird hoped to provide the kind of education necessary for an ever-changing international climate.

During this time, Thunderbird traditions created a unique culture that remains strong today. The Pub at Thunderbird became a campus fixture for students, alumni, and the greater community; the Thunderbird Classic Balloon Race was an annual highlight; opening ceremonies kicked off each school year; and the Parade of Flags became a cherished display of Thunderbird culture during special events – and every convocation ceremony today.

By the close of the 1980’s, Thunderbird was rising as a major player in the corporate and academic arenas.

Thunderbird 3.0: 1994 to 2017

In 1994, at the end of the Cold War, Thunderbird began to engage more globally. It established a regional Center of Excellence (COE) in Moscow, which focused on developing business skills. This center was the first non-Russian COE for business skills development in what became the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Russia. Over the past three decades, Thunderbird trained over 600,000 non-degree-seeking individuals. It had also launched COEs in Geneva, Switzerland, expanding overseas, and increasing foreign student enrollment. Thunderbird’s expanding network of Centers of Excellence provides a global presence that sets it apart by facilitating academic offerings in major commercial centers worldwide, connecting and engaging its worldwide alumni network while supporting international recruiting.

The Master of International Management degree for Latin America (later called the Global MBA) leaped into prominence, and executive education soared. In 2010, a new online Global MBA leveraged the successful Global MBA and took further advantage of technology.

In 2015, Thunderbird School of Global Management became a unit of the Arizona State University enterprise, the No. 1 ranked most innovative university in the U.S., bringing with it nearly 75 years of excellence in global leadership and management education as well as international accolades for executive education.

Thunderbird 4.0: 2018 to beyond

In 2018, Thunderbird welcomed Dr. Sanjeev Khagram as its new Director General and Dean, and soon after, the School was awarded and ranked the No. 1 Master of Global Management program in the world (2019, WSJ/THE) under the umbrella of the national No. 1 ranked school of innovation (U.S. News & World Report).

Thunderbird’s rich tradition as a premier global institution is stronger than ever today as part of ASU. Thunderbird remains home to a world-renowned faculty of instructors who carry on the traditions that have placed it among the top-ranked global business education institutions and earned the School the perennial support of loyal alumni.

Thunderbird is now known worldwide for its vast and engaged alumni network of more than 50,000 graduates in nearly 150 nations around the globe. Thunderbird has more than 170 alumni chapters that meet regularly in 70 countries.

Thunderbird’s global footprint has also grown over the years, with operations now in Geneva, Dubai, Tokyo, Seoul, Nairobi, Jakarta, and nearly 15 others, Thunderbird’s regional Centers of Excellence ensure that the School is now the world’s first truly “global multinational business school,” committed to training the next generation of global leaders.

In October 2019, Thunderbird held a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate its future 110,000-square-foot new global headquarters in ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus. Two and a half years later, and construction throughout a pandemic, Thunderbird’s $70 million new state-of-the-art global headquarters welcomed the first group of students in the fall of 2021. And in April 2022, Thunderbird officially celebrated the grand opening during its 75th Anniversary Global Reunion, attracting nearly 3,000 alumni and students from countries all over the world.

During the event, Thunderbird unveiled the official name of the building as the F. Francis & Dionne Najafi Global Headquarters, which is named after Thunderbird alumni F. Francis ’77 and Dionne Najafi ’06 in recognition of their generous $25 million donation in support of global education. The Global Headquarters proves to be a physical manifestation of the School’s strategy to be the most global and digital leadership and management school in the world.

In the first-ever rankings of their kind, Thunderbird was named No. 1 in the world in international trade by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), the premier global higher education analyst organization, in 2023.  Ahead of 199 other institutions and scoring 100 out of 100 points, this top ranking places Thunderbird ahead of Harvard, MIT and Stanford, domestically, and Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, internationally.

Celebrating and honoring our historic past, Thunderbird is better positioned than ever to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and propel forward into the Thunderbird Academy of Intergalactic Leadership, inspired to create more opportunities for students, industry, humanity, and beyond, and advance inclusive and sustainable prosperity worldwide.  

Thunderbird School of Global Management

The school derives its name from Thunderbird Field No. 1, a decommissioned World War II-era US Army Air Forces base which served as its campus for more than 70 years.

The American Institute for Foreign Trade was founded by Lt. Gen. Barton Kyle Yount, a US Army Air Forces (AAF) officer who purchased the former Thunderbird Field from the War Assets Administration for one dollar, subject to the condition that the property be used for educational purposes for a minimum of 10 years. This led to short-lived controversy as journalists questioned the propriety of the transaction. As head of the Army Air Training Command, Yount had been recruited to the project by two AAF colonels, Finley Peter Dunne, Jr. and W. Stouder Thompson, who considered that the United States was (in Dunne's words) "notoriously short of personnel trained for foreign trade." Yount agreed that "the young men who were going to foreign countries to represent American business were, in many cases, entirely untrained and unfit to represent their firms and their government."^[1] The school was chartered as a nonprofit Arizona corporation on April 8, 1946. Over the next six months, Yount and Dunne (Thompson having departed the project) prepared the Glendale location, arranged financing, remodeled the physical plant (which included several airplane hangars and a control tower), and recruited faculty and students. Students were required to be "at least twenty years of age who, through study in college or the armed forces, have completed at least two years above high school, or the equivalent thereof."^[2] This last provision was interpreted to allow military or work experience to substitute for formal university study.

Classes officially began on October 1, 1946, with 285 students and 18 faculty members. (Early catalogs give these figures as 296 and 22, respectively.) 98% of the students attended on the G.I. Bill (provision was also made for the "instruction of wives"). The first certificates were awarded June 14, 1947. The program mixed business courses with instruction in Spanish or Portuguese languages and Latin American culture, for a "tripartite curriculum" consisting of international commerce, languages, and area studies. Course offerings soon expanded to include French language and Western European and "Far Eastern" area studies. In 1951, Thunderbird began granting the Bachelor of Foreign Trade to students who already possessed undergraduate degrees, or at least three years of coursework, while the others continued to be awarded certificates.^[3] Thunderbird thus became one of the first tertiary institutions to offer international business degrees.

A Master of Foreign Trade degree began to be offered in 1952, and required four semesters of study, in contrast to two semesters for the bachelors. (This replaced an earlier system which distinguished between Course I and Course II of the bachelor's degree, the latter being more specialized and requiring one or two additional semesters.) Over the following decades, the master's degree—renamed the Master of International Management (MIM) – came to dominate, while the undergraduate program was phased out (bachelors degrees ceased to be awarded by 1975). The school accordingly changed its name to the "Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management" (in 1967), and then to the "American Graduate School of International Management" (in 1973).^[1] The American Management Association entered into some sort of relationship with the school, while the North Central Association granted Thunderbird regional accreditation in 1969 and 1974. Accreditation by the American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business proved more elusive (and would not be granted until 1994), since Thunderbird did not then award the MBA degree, and indeed emphasized the "difference of degree" in its marketing materials.

In 1953, the school logo (which had been affixed to several repurposed aircraft hangars) allegedly inspired the name of the U.S. Air Force demonstration flight team, the Thunderbirds.^[4]

The first foreign students enrolled in 1958, and their proportion steadily increased until 9-11, reaching some 60% of the student body.

In 1965, the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded the school the President's "E" Certificate for Export Service (later upgraded to an "E-star" ranking). A small flag signifying this flew in front of the school for decades.^[4]

Under the presidency of Arthur L. Peterson (served 1966-69), Thunderbird received regional accreditation; the size of the student body doubled (to 503 in 1967); and several significant building projects were undertaken, including a library. A pilot, Peterson was known for landing his plane on Thunderbird field.^[5][4]

William Voris (served 1971–1989) established overseas study programs in several foreign countries, including cooperative agreements with the Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM) and the Beijing Institute of Foreign Trade (1980).^[4] He also organized the school's first executive education programs.^[4]

The Thunderbird Hot Air Balloon Classic was first held in 1975, on the Thunderbird campus itself (which had been designed as an airfield). The event became an annual festival featuring student-run food-booths and the like. It was moved off-campus in 1989 and canceled after 2006.^[4]

Enrollments steadily rose to a peak of about 1,600 in 1992.^[6] Meanwhile Thunderbird's endowment also grew, reaching US$1 million in 1982, and $20 million in the late 1990s. At the same time, Thunderbird began to experience competition from other American (and ultimately, foreign) business schools as international business increasingly became a mainstream subject. Thunderbird's relative poverty, and lack of affiliation with a full-fledged university, proved significant disadvantages, even as interest in business education skyrocketed during the Reagan administration. After 1992 Thunderbird's enrollment began to decline, dropping below 600 in 2003, and necessitating faculty and staff cuts in 2001 and 2004. This trend was exacerbated by the September 11 attacks, which led to stricter visa rules for foreign students;^[7] by the decline in the popularity of MBA study during the dot-com bubble; and by the Great Recession.

In 2001, Thunderbird began to offer an MBA in International Management, replacing the previously offered Master of International Management (MIM) degree.^[8] In 2004, the school changed its name to "Thunderbird, the Garvin School of International Management" following a $60 million pledge by alumnus Sam Garvin and his wife Rita (only part of which was ultimately donated).^[9] The same year, the school hired Ángel Cabrera to serve as president.^[10] Cabrera oversaw the school's 2006 adoption of a Professional Oath of Honor.^[11][12][13]

In 2007, the school again changed its name to "Thunderbird School of Global Management."^[14][15]

Laureate controversy

In 2012, Larry Penley became president of Thunderbird,^[16] and was forced to make further faculty and staff reductions.^[17] The following year, the school announced a planned partnership with Laureate Education, Inc.^[18] As part of the planned partnership, Thunderbird would remain a nonprofit organization, exempt from income tax as a 501(c)(3),^[18][19] but would establish a joint educational service company with Laureate, a for-profit company. This joint company would launch an undergraduate program and expand online programs.^[19][20] The planned partnership would allow Thunderbird to host events at Laureate campuses worldwide and establish Thunderbird campuses abroad.^{[18][21][22][23]} According to the agreement, although Laureate would be given three seats on Thunderbird's board,^[18][19] Thunderbird would retain its academic independence and degree-granting powers.^[19][21][23] Thunderbird would continue to operate from its Glendale campus, but would sell its campus to Laureate in a leaseback agreement, and use the money from the sale to pay off its debts.^[18][19][23] (Thunderbird alumni would have the option to purchase the campus from Laureate within two years, or the school could repurchase the campus at the end of the twenty-year lease agreement.)^[18] Also, Laureate and Thunderbird had planned to invest $20 million and $10 million respectively in campus improvements.^[18][23]

A number of Thunderbird alumni, and several board members, opposed the proposed partnership on the grounds that it would harm the school's reputation,^[19][20][21] and circulated a petition in protest.^[18][19][20] The Thunderbird Independent Alumni Association (not to be confused with the school-managed Thunderbird Alumni Network) was formed in the midst of the controversy.^[19] There were board resignations.^[21][24]

Although the proposal was approved by Thunderbird's board in June 2013, it was ultimately rejected by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Thunderbird's's regional accreditor.^[19][21][23] Since Thunderbird was then in an advanced state of financial exigency, attention naturally focused on acquisition by ASU, which expressed willingness to proceed.

As part of Arizona State University (2014-present)

Negotiations with ASU president Michael M. Crow concluded within months, with the new plan winning swift approval from both boards as well as the Higher Learning Commission. Under the plan, finalized in December 2014, ASU assumed Thunderbird's debts of $22 million, and received $20 million from Thunderbird's operating fund to stabilize its finances. ASU also acquired Thunderbird's Glendale campus (then estimated to be worth $20 million).^[25]

In 2015, ASU appointed Allen J. Morrison as CEO and Director General of Thunderbird.^[26] Since ASU already had an MBA program (the W. P. Carey School of Business, it was decided to phase out the Thunderbird MBA in favor of a Master of Global Management, a one-year program similar to the school's former Master of International Management degree (offered prior to 2001). Also, an undergraduate program not offered since 1975 was recreated.

In 2018, ASU appointed Sanjeev Khagram as director general and dean of Thunderbird.^[27]

In October 2019, ASU and Thunderbird held a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the start of construction on Thunderbird's new global headquarters facility,adjacent to ASU's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law on the Downtown Phoenix campus. The first classes in the new building were held in the fall semester of 2021, when Thunderbird celebrated its 75th anniversary.

Name changes

• 1946–1968: The American Institute for Foreign Trade (AIFT)
• 1968–1973: Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management (TGSIM)
• 1973–1997: The American Graduate School of International Management (AGSIM)
• 1997–2004: Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management
• 2004–2007: Thunderbird, the Garvin School of International Management
• 2007-current: Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University

Thunderbird presidents and directors general

Thunderbird presidents:

• Barton Kyle Yount (1947–49)
• William Lytle Schurz (1949-52[?])
• Ed Juliber (1952–53)
• Carl Sauer (1953–66)
• Arthur L. Peterson (1966–69)
• Robert F. Delaney (1970–71)
• William Voris (1971–89)
• Roy A. Herberger (1989–2004)
• Ángel Cabrera (2004–2012)
• Barbara Barrett, (Apr - Nov 2012)
• Larry E. Penley (2012-2015)

Directors General (under ASU):

• Allen J. Morrison (2015-2018)
• Sanjeev Khagram (2018–present)

Academics

Thunderbird's degrees have historically included the Bachelor of Foreign Trade (1951-1975), the Master of Foreign Trade / Master of International Management (1952-2001), an MBA in Global Management (2001-2016), and executive education programs. Since its acquisition by ASU, Thunderbird has revived the undergraduate program (the Bachelor of Global Management; its students are called "Underbirds"), phased out the MBA (which the Carey School already offered), and introduced the Master of Global Management, a non-MBA graduate degree with a number of formal concentrations. Degrees currently offered include:

Undergraduate degrees:

• Bachelor of Global Management
• Bachelor of Science in International Trade (with a quantitative focus)
• Online Bachelor of Global Management
• Online Bachelor of Science in International Trade

Two tracks are offered: one consisting of international business, language, and culture; and another which omits language (including all online programs).

Graduate degrees:

• Accelerated Masters (allowing Thunderbird undergraduates to complete a masters in one further year)
• Master of Global Management (flagship degree)
• Master of Leadership and Management
• Master of Leadership and Management (specialization in Financial Integrity)
• Master of Arts in Global Affairs and Management: Creative Industries
• Executive Master of Global Management
• Executive Master of Global Management: Space Leadership, Business, and Policy
• Executive Master of Arts in Global Affairs and Management
• Doctor of Professional Practice in Global Leadership and Management

Other executive education and lifelong learning options are offered as well.

Francis and Dionne Najafi 100 Million Learners Global Initiative

This initiative aims to offer online, global education from these world-class accredited institutions in 40 different languages to learners across the globe, at absolutely no cost to the learner. Women and young women will account for 70% of the 100 million learners that the program will reach worldwide.

The Global Initiative will further advance Thunderbird’s mission to empower and influence global leaders and managers who maximize the benefits of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to advance equitable and sustainable prosperity worldwide.

The Global Initiative offers three pathways to learners depending on their current education levels:

1) Foundational program: Content for learners with any level of education.

2) Intermediate program: Content at the high school or undergraduate education level.

3) Advanced courses: Content at the graduate education level.

Rankings

Business School International Rankings
U.S. MBA Ranking
Bloomberg (2024)	NR
U.S. News & World Report (2024)	88
Global MBA Ranking
Financial Times (2024)	Not in top 100

Forbes ranked Thunderbird as the 54th best business school in the U.S. in 2011,^[28] and a 2012 report released by Bloomberg Business week ranked Thunderbird as the top international business program.^[29] Thunderbird was also ranked as the 5th most diverse school out of 82 schools surveyed, based on student responses about students' country of origin, gender and ethnicity.^[30] In 2013, The Financial Times ranked Thunderbird's executive education program ninth overall based on corporate client feedback to The Financial Times.^[31] Also in 2013, The Economist released ratings for online programs and gave Thunderbird a rating of "good", which was one step down from the publication's top rating of "excellent".^[32] In its 2014 rankings, published in 2013, U.S. News & World Report ranked Thunderbird as the best international business school in their annual rankings, marking the eighteenth consecutive year the school was named top international business program.^[29] In U.S. News & World Report's 2015 rankings, published in 2014, Thunderbird was ranked 85th for best business school, and second in the overall rankings for international business school.^[33][34]

According to a 2019 Times Higher Education/Wall Street Journal report, Thunderbird is currently ranked number 1 in the world in Masters in Management programs for its specialized Masters in Global Management (MGM) degree.^[35]

In 2022, Thunderbird School of Global Management was ranked No. 1 in the world for international trade by the QS International Trade Rankings, scoring 100/100 points and ranking ahead of Cambridge, Harvard, and Stanford.

Campuses

The original Thunderbird campus was located on the former World War II airfield Thunderbird Field No. 1. Located in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix, the airfield was built in 1941 and was used to train pilots.^[37][38] The school has utilized the existing buildings on the airfield and many of the school's classrooms are located in the airfield's former barracks.^[37] Arizona Christian University is the new owner and occupant of Thunderbird's former campus in Glendale.

The airfield's air traffic control tower is still present on campus. Beginning in 2007, the tower underwent a restoration project at the urging of three Thunderbird students who raised $2.5 million for the project. The school was awarded the Ruth Bryne Historic Preservation Award by the city of Glendale for the renovation. The tower was occupied by the campus store, student lounges and a pub until the school relocated to Phoenix.^[38] Thunderbird's new building will feature a rooftop pub designed in the spirit of the iconic original.

In 2011, one of the then-70-year-old airplane hangars on campus was removed. The building, named the Thunderbird Activity Center by the school, had been used for special events and exams, but was determined to no longer meet safety standards following an inspection of the campus.^[38]

Thunderbird also has satellite Centers for Excellence in Dubai, UAE; Geneva, Switzerland; Jakarta, Indonesia, Tokyo, Japan, and nearly 15 others.^[39] The school currently has 15 worldwide campuses and has plans to open several new satellite Centers for Excellence (hub offices) in the next few years with a goal to have a global network of 20 satellite hubs by the year 2025. The hubs will support professional English education, recruiting, alumni and community engagement, and executive education.

Other buildings on the original campus included the International Business Information Centre (IBIC), which was Thunderbird's library, and a dining hall for students. The school's campus also featured a Welcome Wall, which was built in 1992, and displayed greetings in different languages.^[11]

On December 12, 2017 ASU announced that Thunderbird's historical campus will be closed and the school will be moved to a facility in downtown Phoenix. As part of the move, the City of Phoenix agreed to invest $13.5M in the new building, a record investment for Thunderbird.^[40] ASU and Thunderbird are covering the remaining cost of nearly $70 million facility using funds from fundraising, including the old Glendale campus and another parcel in nearby Scottsdale.

The old campus in Glendale has since become Arizona Christian University.

In October 2019, Thunderbird held a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate its future 110,000-square-foot new global headquarters in ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus. Two and a half years later, and construction throughout a pandemic, Thunderbird’s new state-of-the-art global headquarters welcomed the first group of students in the fall of 2021. And in April 2022, Thunderbird officially celebrated the grand opening during its 75th Anniversary Global Reunion, attracting nearly 3,000 alumni and students from countries all over the world.

Students

Students, alumni and faculty are often referred to as Thunderbirds or T-birds. Undergraduates call themselves "Underbirds." Students in the Executive Master of Global Management: Space Leadership, Business, and Policy degree are known as “Spacebirds.”Students run a school newspaper named Das Tor. For over 50 years, all graduates have been required to take a minimum of 4 semesters of foreign language or demonstrate equivalent proficiency. Other student activities include Thunderbird's several sports clubs. One of the longest lasting is the Thunderbird Rugby Football Club, founded in 1976. The club regularly hosts a tournament, the Thunderbird Rugby Invitational, with other business schools from around the U.S.

Notable alumni

• Walid Chammah, former chairman of Morgan Stanley;
• Joaquin Duato, CEO of Johnson & Johnson.
• Bob Dudley, retired CEO of BP;
• David Hu, IIG cofounder sentenced to jail for running a Ponzi scheme
• Ramon Laguarta, currently the CEO of PepsiCo,
• Luis Alberto Moreno, former Ambassador of Colombia to the United States and former president of the Inter-American Development Bank.
• Don Novello, comedian best known for his character Father Guido Sarducci
• Sven Ombudstvedt, CEO of Norske Skog (Japan Campus of Foreign Universities)
• Michael Slobodchikoff, Professor, Author, and Media Analyst.
• Mark Smucker, CEO of The J.M. Smucker Company
• Revathi Advaithi, CEO of Flex
• Lee Abbamonte, the youngest American to visit all 193 United Nations member states, graduated in 2010.

See also

• List of United States graduate business school rankings
• List of business schools in the United States