Black MBAs celebrate 32nd anniversary; innovative group seeks larger role

FOR 32 years now, the National Black MBA Association has consistently brought together Black businessmen and women, entrepreneurs and students from all across the country for networking and the to earn intellectual and economic wealth.

With roughly 6,000 members and 39 chapters nationwide and a sister organization in the United Kingdom, the organization is making its mark in the forefront of the business world. Membership is open to those with a master's degree in business administration (MBA) or other advanced degrees, as well as business professionals, entrepreneurs and MBA students. Annual dues range from $60 for students to $125 for full or associate membership.

"First and foremost, we believe that the organization is about changing the course of the future for our constituents," says Antoinette Malveaux, who has been president and CEO for the Chicago-based organization for the past 12 years. "The organization then, as it still does, provides significant opportunities for young African-American MBAs, opportunities for them to get involved and give back."

Founded at the University of Chicago in 1970 during a two-day conference of African-American MBA students, faculty advisors and businessmen, the group wanted to explore avenues for professional advancement and economic empowerment among Black MBAs. The group's mission, "to lead in the creation of economic and intellectual wealth for the Black community," is accomplished in a number of ways, particularly through the work of the local chapters. Atlanta has the largest chapter, with more than 750 members.

The non-profit association experienced a tremendous surge since it moved from a strictly volunteer organization to opening a national headquarters in Chicago in 1988. The number of members has increased 300 percent since 1980, with the biggest membership surge coming from 1995 to 1996. That year, membership increased 23 percent--from 3,267 members to 4,012 members. By the end of 1974 there were 88 members nationally.

Programming includes an annual conference and exposition that attracts thousands of African-American business professionals and roughly 300 corporations and business schools seeking to make contact with potential employees and students.

Another important focus, organization leaders say, is African-American youths. The group has awarded more than $4 million in scholarships and has seen much success with its Leaders of Tomorrow program, which mentors and nurtures minority high school students for possible careers in business. The organization is feeding the very pipeline from which its members come, "building the next generation of leaders," says Alvin Brown, recently elected board chairman of the National Black MBA Association, who served as a top-level advisor to former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore.

"My theme has been, `Leave no mind behind,'" says Brown, who now works as a real estate consultant for developers in Jacksonville, Fla. "Some of the best and brightest individuals are trapped in public housing. The issue becomes, how do we reach them?"

At the college level, the association provides recruitment opportunities for business schools looking to attract top Black students.

Another program, JUMPSTART, is a career transitioning program designed to help those who are in the process of changing jobs or just entering the job market.

The NBMBAA Employment Network is a referral network that links potential job candidates with the organization's corporate partners through job matching services for members year-round and for registrants at the annual conference and exposition. In the last decade or so, the organization's corporate partner base has more than tripled, from 150 corporations to 500 corporations.

"We provide cost-efficient, cost-effective access to talent," says Malveaux, who earned her MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business.

Malveaux believes the organization should focus not just on corporations, but on the Black community as well. Friends and colleagues told her she was taking a huge risk in leaving the banking world to take over as president and CEO of a non-profit company. She says she didn't understand where the risk was, because she had always been taught to give back to the community. As a female in such a prominent leadership role, she is in a position to teach by example. She wants MBAs to know that working for a community organization or non-profit group is a worthwhile endeavor.

"Our MBAs need to look at the value they can bring to a community as a career," says Malveaux. "You may not make a lot of money, but the value and rewards of giving far outweigh any other rewards ... We all have to do our part."

Both Malveaux and Brown say that the National Black MBA Association faces many challenges in the next few years. One challenge is financial. Shortly after the September 11 attacks, the staff was cut by a third and salaries were frozen. Because the group is not funded through an endowment, it may take another financial hit. Malveaux wants to see the organization and its chapters endowed.