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FOR RELEASE: March 6, 2008

ISM Public Relations
Jean McHale
800/888-6276, extension 3143
jmchale@ism.ws		 ISM Logo
University of San Diego
Liz Harman
619/260-4682
harman@sandiego.edu		 University of San Diego Logo


First ISM Approved Master's Degree Program is Underway

Supply management professionals embark on USD's high-touch, high-tech program.

(TEMPE, Ariz.) March 6, 2008 — Supply management professionals from across the country have begun a Web-based master's degree program offered by the University of San Diego and approved by Institute for Supply Management™ (ISM). Starting in February 2008, the ISM Approved Master of Science in Supply Chain Management (MS-SCM) is available to supply management professionals currently working in the field. The program is offered online and requires 26 months for completion. Online interactions enable professionals to study from anywhere in the world and are supplemented with face-to-face sessions conducted three times a year at the University of San Diego campus.

"This is the first graduate-level education program to receive ISM approval," says ISM CEO Paul Novak, C.P.M. "ISM's mission to lead supply management drives us to partner with enterprises and organizations that have similar goals of helping supply management professionals build lifelong personal and professional networks."

USD's collaboration with ISM, announced last fall, has propelled the MS-SCM program into high gear. "The impact of ISM approval on our specialized master's degree was immediately evident," says Simon Croom, Ph.D., executive director of USD's Supply Chain Management Institute. "Many candidates who inquired, applied and enrolled in our February cohort expressed a high regard for the added credibility ISM approval brings to their learning experience."

The 36-unit program is delivered in two phases. Students who complete Phase I of the program will achieve a Graduate Certificate in Supply Chain Management (GC-SCM). Students have the option of completing Phase I only or matriculating into Phase II to complete the MS-SCM.

The target enrollment date for the next cohort is May 16, 2008, with the program starting July 16, 2008. Enrollment requirements for the MS-SCM can be found on the University of San Diego School of Business Administration Web site at www.sandiego.edu/msscm.

Institute for Supply Management
As the first and largest supply management institute in the world, the mission of Institute for Supply Management™ (ISM) is to lead supply management. By executing and extending its mission through education, research, standards of excellence, influence building and information dissemination — including the renowned monthly ISM Report On Business® — ISM continues to extend the global impact of supply management. ISM is proud to recognize professional excellence in supply management with awards such as the ISM R. Gene Richter Awards for Leadership and Innovation in Supply Management and the J. Shipman Gold Medal Award. ISM's membership base includes more than 40,000 supply management professionals in 75 countries. Supply management professionals are responsible for trillions of dollars in the purchases of products and services annually. ISM is a member of the International Federation of Purchasing and Supply Management (IFPSM).

University of San Diego
The Supply Chain Management Institute is committed to helping organizations achieve world-class supply chain performance by focusing on the development of strategies and techniques in integrated supply, operations, logistics, and strategic account management. The Institute concentrates on three areas: world-class education, collaborative relationships and applied research. The School of Business Administration is committed to developing socially responsible leaders and improving global business practice through innovative, personalized education and applied research.

The University of San Diego is a Catholic institution of higher learning chartered in 1949; the school enrolls approximately 7,500 students and is known for its commitment to teaching, the liberal arts, the formation of values and community service. The inauguration of the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies brings the University's total number of schools and colleges to six. Other academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences and the schools of Business Administration, Education, Law and Nursing and Health Sciences.