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WASHINGTON, D.C. — America’s Community Bankers and Fairfield University announced today that they have launched the first Executive MBA program in the country geared specifically to community bankers.

Some 20 graduates of ACB’s National School of Banking are enrolled in the first class of the new Executive MBA program at Fairfield University, which begins July 28.

"This new partnership combines the education program of the National School of Banking, with its emphasis on banking and finance, with the broad business knowledge of our School of Business, leading to state-of-the-art management skills for banking executives," said Dr. Walter Ryba, dean of the university’s School of Business.

Gloria Pritchard-Becker, executive director of the National School, said ACB has a long history of providing its members with quality educational programs, including the flagship National School. "The Executive MBA, geared specifically to community bankers, is the next logical step in rounding out the banking curriculum." The program, she explained, offers non-traditional scheduling and Internet exchanges of projects and assignments that recognize the needs of today’s professionals.

"This is a unique example of mutual respect between the business and academic world, each recognizing that the other has much to contribute to the development of our future banking leaders," Pritchard-Becker added.

ACB has had a partnership with Fairfield University for more than 20 years, opening a conference center on the campus in 1979 for banking education programs and the National School. The center was sold to the university two years ago and has been converted to space for Fairfield’s fully accredited School of Business.