WHAT: Official Signing: Educational alliance of the Association of Graphic Communications (AGC), founded in 1865 and the industry’s leading association within the NY/NJ/CT metropolitan area, and Fairleigh Dickinson University, the largest private university in New Jersey, serving 11,281 students from 72 countries. The signing launches an Executive MBA with a concentration in Graphic Communications Management program, the first and only one of its kind in the nation. The 21-month program, designed for high-potential senior and mid-level managers, will serve professionals in the field of graphic communications. WHEN: Thursday, November 4, 2004 - 9:00 a.m. WHERE: Madison Square Garden, Theater Lobby, New York, NY (Enter MSG at main entrance point off Seventh Avenue bet. W. 31st and W. 32nd Streets.) BACKGROUND: The Executive MBA Program, part of the Silberman College of Business, was established in 1974 as the first program of its kind in the metropolitan New York/New Jersey area. Nearly 2000 graduates of the program hold positions of leadership at top firms locally, nationally and around the world. With its AACSB accreditation—which fewer than one-third of all U.S. business schools hold—it assures students of a quality-driven and responsive education. The NY/NJ/CT metropolitan area’s $18 billion graphic communications industry represents companies and individuals in the fields of printing, prepress, design, corporate communications, publishing, advertising, trade binding/finishing and related service providers. Its interests are represented by the Association of Graphic Communications (AGC), the regional affiliate of the national Printing Industries of America/Graphic Association Technical Foundation. With an outstanding faculty, FDU’s Executive MBA program enjoys a state-of-the-art facility at Dolce Hamilton Park Conference Center in Florham Park, New Jersey. “We are very excited to introduce this cutting-edge program and extremely proud to partner with the prestigious Association of Graphic Communications,” said Fairleigh Dickinson University President J. Michael Adams. "Through this unique alliance, students will gain insight into the most innovative and significant developments within this critical field.” “AGC shares President Adams’ enthusiasm about this innovative educational initiative,” noted AGC President & CEO, Susan Greenwood. “This is not a program of passive learning. The experiences managers bring to the program—as well as their peers from wide-ranging disciplines and backgrounds—will actively shape what happens in the classroom.” “Participants will typically bring five to ten years of professional experience to the classroom—as well as high expectations for first-rate scholarship and access to the best business practices today,” continued Ms. Greenwood. “Working together with the Silberman EMBA faculty, students will enter into a partnership in which discussion, analysis, research and debate will lead to practical solutions and real change. They will become central players on a cohesive learning team rooted in a sense of camaraderie and personal growth.” “By interacting with peers from cross-functional backgrounds, EMBA degree candidates within the field of graphic communications will consider business issues from a variety of perspectives—social, political, economic and cultural,” added President Adams. “A firmer grasp of business operations beyond their immediate area of specialization will assuredly occur, allowing them to achieve top personal and professional growth in a fiercely competitive global economy as a result.”