In today’s fast-paced and competitive world, a hard-earned business degree is crucial to success. Hofstra University’s Frank G. Zarb School of Business recognizes this hard work of students and disciplines and prepares them in becoming tomorrow’s top-level corporate leaders. Located just twenty-five miles from the New York City, the business capital of the world, the Zarb School of Business offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs in disciplines such as accounting, management, entrepreneurship, finance, international business, marketing, and business analytics, including an online MBA program that is ranked ninth in the United States. The location near Manhattan aids the students in accessing internships and networking opportunities with global giants such as Deloitte, GEICO, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Young & Rubicam, Barclays, and Citigroup. Hallmarks of the Zarb School of Business are innovative global programs, entrepreneurship, innovative facilities, and distinguished faculty, dedicated to sharing their top-level executive experience and scholarly expertise.
About the President
Stuart Rabinowitz serves as the President of Hofstra University. He holds the Andrew M. Boas and Mark L. Claster distinguished Professor of Law. He is serving as the eighth President of the University since 2001. Serving as the Dean for Hofstra University School of Law from September 1989 to June 2001, he has held positions with several important government and community organizations, including the Judicial Advisory Council of the State of New York Unified Court System, County of Nassau. He also serves as a Director of Long Island Association, Inc. and Member of the board of directors at Accelerate Long Island, Inc.
Revamped State-of-the-Art Infrastructure
The school offers an extraordinary dual-degree program in association with one of the leading finance universities in China that consists of a six-week summer internship with global corporations in northern China. This dual bachelor’s degree program culminates with students earning a business degree from Hofstra University and an economics degree from Dongbei University of Finance and Economics in Dalian, China.
This year, the Zarb School opened an excellent new building equipped with a behavioral science research lab, a startup business incubator, Center for Entrepreneurship, and various areas for student independent and collaborative study. This modern facility complements the school’s existing business school building, housing a sophisticated academic trading room with thirty-four Bloomberg terminals with which students can get hands-on trading and analysis experience, with access to the same real-time data used by financial professionals. This is an opportunity offered by only a handful of business schools in the United States.
Keeping keen eyes on the industry, the school observes that today’s employers are seeking more and more positions to fill in with business majors grounded in meaningful “real-world” experience. To occupy the same, the Zarb School offers a co-op program, which places qualified MBA students in a paid position with a company in a field associated to their degree. Besides providing students with valuable career preparation, co-op positions lead to permanent, full-time employment within the same organization. The co-op program has collaborations with significant national and international organizations across many industries, comprising Black Knight Financial Services, PwC, National Grid, The Madison Square Garden Company, Northwestern Mutual, Nature’s Bounty, and FreshDirect.
An Executive-in-Residence program allows industry experts to maintain offices on campus for student mentoring and career development, and an Executive Speaker Series invites corporate leaders to campus for keynote addresses regarding advances and forthcoming developments in their respective fields, offering a valuable perspective on global business.
Esteemed Wall of Fame
The Zarb school is among only 10 percent of business schools that are dually accredited in business and accounting by AACSB International, a global business education network and association. U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review rank it as one of the best business school in the United States, and CEO Magazine and the QS World University rankings have recognized its graduate programs. The online MBA program is highly ranked by leading industry publications (#9 by Poets & Quants, #16 by The Princeton Review and #58 by U.S. News & World Report). Moreover, the Bloomberg Businessweek also has recognized the school for learning, networking, and entrepreneurship, indicating that the school’s curriculum emphasizes innovation, problem-solving, and strategic thinking, and provides many opportunities to connect with successful alumni.
Campus Life at Zarb Business School
On the campus, students take part in a variety of experimental learning programs such as the student-managed investment fund, where qualified students manage an investment pool of real money. For students, such experiences that emphasize entrepreneurship, hands-on learning, and international perspective are critical to their success in the global marketplace. The school also offers over forty vibrant student organizations, which win national competitions or provide a range of services to the community, including tax preparation assistance, marketing consulting, and computer coding lessons for schoolchildren. In recent years, graduate and undergraduate students have traveled all over the world to learn about business practices and ways of life in countries such as South Africa, India, Japan, and Israel.
Financial Aid for Students
The Office of Student Financial Services is committed to helping students understand and pursue all scholarship and financial aid options available and put together the best package. Hofstra University awarded more than $113 million in scholarships to undergraduate students for the 2018-2019 year.
Exciting Career Opportunities
Graduates of the Zarb School of Business are well prepared for the international marketplace. Around ninety percent of all bachelor degree recipients and ninety-one percent of master’s degree recipients in the 2016-2017 graduating class reported being employed, in graduate school, or both. They have secured jobs at places such as Apple, Deutsche Bank, KPMG, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Beijing Capital Co., Ltd., Deloitte & Touche LLP, HSBC Bank, CBS, HBO, UBS Financial Services, and JPMorgan Chase.
In addition to Hofstra’s Career Center, the Zarb School’s Graduate Business Services is dedicated exclusively to helping business students succeed, with career coaching and development seminars, alumni networking receptions, on-campus recruiting events, and corporate visits.
Successful Alumni
Julio Portalatin, BBA in Management, ’81
President and Chief Executive Officer of Mercer
Julio Portalatin became President and CEO of Mercer, a global consulting leader in talent, health, retirement, and investments, in January 2012. Before joining Mercer, he was president and CEO of Chartis Growth Economies, a division of American International Group (AIG). In 2000, the AIG board of directors to the position of the vice president elected Portalatin and in 2007 to senior vice president. Before joining AIG in 1993, Julio Portalatin spent twelve years with Allstate Insurance Company in various executive product underwriting, distribution, and marketing positions.
Julio supports several nonprofit charitable organizations, covering the American Cancer Society, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Homefront of New Jersey. In 2004, he traveled to Thailand after the Tsunami to provide much-needed aid to orphaned children. In addition, he has taken part in Covenant House’s CEO SleepOut, to help raise awareness and funds for homeless youth. He also supports female entrepreneurs in Uganda through micro-financing. He serves as a member of the Hofstra University Board of Trustees.
Steve Bartels, BBA in Marketing, ’85
Former Chief Executive Officer of The Island Def Jam Music Group; co-founder of the music label 12Tone Music
Steve Bartels was the driving force behind some of the most successful records of the last three decades before stepping down as chief executive officer of The Island Def Jam Music Group in January 2018. Before that, he had served as Island Def Jam’s president and chief operating officer. Spanning a career of over thirty years in the entertainment industry, he has worked to develop and promote such diverse talent as Mariah Carey, Outkast, Janet Jackson, Notorious B.I.G., Amy Grant, Jennifer Lopez, The Killers, Pink, Rihanna, Kanye West and many more.
From Steve’s start as a nightclub DJ through his rise in the music industry, his passion for music has remained his inspiration. He has worked alongside industry veterans Herb Alpert, Jerry Moss, Clive Davis, L.A. Reid, and Barry Weiss through his tenure at A&M Records, Arista Records, and The Island Def Jam Music Group. Steve Bartels is the recipient of a 2010 MTV Video Music Award and the 2008 MTV Teen Choice “Choice Music Man.” He is a graduate of Hofstra University and the University of California, Los Angeles.
