擺脫頹勢的良機？

????卡布雷拉的繼任者拉里?彭利堅稱，鑒于這所商學院在依然不斷增長的全球管理教育市場上面臨的種種挑戰(zhàn)，這項合作絕對有必要。過去17年間，雷鳥學院全日制MBA項目的注冊人數(shù)累計下降了75%。彭利把學生人數(shù)的下降歸因于商業(yè)教育市場的變遷。

????“我認為，由于機會成本，學生們不會像過去那樣選擇為期兩年的MBA項目，”他說?！八兴搅⒃盒５膶W費都上漲了。所以，這種需求的變化要求商學院必須與時俱進?！?/p>

????為了應(yīng)對這個不斷變化的市場，桂冠教育公司將提供1,300萬美元，用以幫助雷鳥創(chuàng)建新的在線和本科課程，同時協(xié)助它進行全球擴張。彭利表示，雷鳥打算在巴黎、馬德里、圣地亞哥、圣保羅和亞洲啟用新校園。

????與桂冠結(jié)盟也將幫助雷鳥擺脫一場愈演愈烈的債務(wù)危機。2009年和2010年，當美國經(jīng)濟危機最嚴重的時候，雷鳥的年度預算其實還有盈余。但彭利隨即指出，由于私營教育機構(gòu)依賴學費和各種捐款，它的財務(wù)狀況具有很強的波動性，雷鳥的年度預算已經(jīng)無法繼續(xù)實現(xiàn)盈余了。相反，這所商學院已累積了2,450萬美元的債務(wù)，單2012財年的赤字就高達400萬美元。

????他聲稱，與桂冠合作還可以帶來其他財務(wù)收益。首先，這項價值5,200萬美元的售后回租協(xié)議將幫助雷鳥商學院自建校以來首次擺脫債務(wù)。其次，這次結(jié)盟還可以讓雷鳥重新回到運營大有盈余的好日子（運營盈余有望達到1億美元）。最后一點是，雷鳥將投資3,000萬美元對校園進行改造升級。

????但許多校友并不買賬。擁有近100名活躍成員的上海校友會于5月下旬義憤填膺地發(fā)來了一封抗議信。他們聲稱，雷鳥寧可考慮關(guān)閉，“以保持這一品牌的完整性和聲譽，”也不應(yīng)該尋求與桂冠合作。

????彭利說，這封信讓他非常傷心。他說：“我認為，與桂冠結(jié)盟可以讓雷鳥煥發(fā)出新的活力。在我看來，對于許多學生來說，這一點比什么都重要?！保ㄘ敻恢形木W(wǎng)）

????譯者：任文科

An opportunity to switch gears?

????Penley, who succeeded Cabrera as dean, maintains that the partnership is absolutely necessary due to all the challenges the university is facing in what is still a growing market for global business education. Over the past 17 years, Thunderbird has experienced a 75% decrease in enrollment for its full-time MBA program. Penley attributes the drop to a shift in the business education market.

????"I think because of opportunity costs, students are no longer choosing two-year MBA programs like they did in the past," he said. "And the price of tuition has gone up at all private schools. So schools must shift with that shift in demand."

????To address this changing market, Laureate will provide $13 million to help Thunderbird create new online and undergraduate programs, while also expanding its global footprint. Penley said Thunderbird is looking to launch campuses in Paris, Madrid, Santiago, Sao Paulo, and Asia.

????The alliance with Laureate will also pull Thunderbird out of an accumulating debt crisis. At the height of the economic implosion in 2009 and 2010, Thunderbird was running annual budget surpluses, but Penley said that due to the fluctuating financial nature of a private institution that relies on tuition, gifts, and grants, Thunderbird is no longer running a surplus. Instead, the school has racked up $24.5 million in debt and was $4 million in the red in fiscal 2012.

????The partnership with Laureate, he argues, will include other financial benefits as well. First, a sale-leaseback for $52 million will pull the school out of debt for the first time in Thunderbird's history. Secondly, the alliance could take Thunderbird back to the days of operating solidly in the black with the potential to produce $100 million in operating surplus. Finally, adds Penley, $30 million will be invested in campus upgrades.

????But many alumni are unconvinced. The school's Shanghai alumni group, with nearly 100 active members, shot off a protest letter to the school in late May, suggesting that Thunderbird should even consider shutting itself down to "preserve the integrity and reputation of the brand" rather than team up with Laureate.

????Penley says he was genuinely saddened by the letter. "Thunderbird is, I think, given a new vitality by virtue of this alliance. And I think that's going to be important to a lot of students," he says.