The history of Alliance MBS
Founded in 1965, we are one of the UK’s first business schools and celebrated our 50th anniversary in 2015.
We became the largest business and management school in the UK in 2004 when we merged with The Victoria University of Manchester's School of Accounting and Finance, UMIST's School of Management and the Programme in Research in Science and Technology.
In 2015, the School celebrated its landmark 50th anniversary which included a host of celebrations.
Our timeline
2023
On 1 August 2023, Professor Ken McPhail became Head of Alliance Manchester Business School. He succeeds Professor Fiona Devine CBE who becomes Vice President and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. Professor McPhail was previously Deputy Head of School and Director of Research and prior to joining AMBS was Vice President for Social Responsibility for the Faculty of Humanities. He has worked in Australia and Scotland previously.
2019
The School’s new campus building was officially opened by Lord David Alliance of Manchester CBE on 11 June 2019. The region’s business leaders joined Lord Alliance, senior academics and students to celebrate at the event which included a discussion between Andy Haldane, The Bank of England’s Chief Economist and Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Manchester.
2018
An £85m renovation of the Alliance MBS building opens, as part of The University of Manchester's £1bn campus masterplan. The new building will feature a full interior and exterior refurbishment, providing first class teaching, learning and office spaces.
2017
As part of the building project, a brand new Executive Education Centre and hotel will be completed in late 2017. The two-story Centre will adjoin the new Alliance MBS building and provide a new home for our corporate leadership and management programmes. A four-star Crowne Plaza® hotel and Staybridge Suites® will complement the new buildings, providing first class accommodation for School and University visitors alike.
2016
The independent review of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) was published by Lord Stern.
2015
MBS 50th anniversary and renamed Alliance Manchester Business School. In September 2015 the School was renamed Alliance Manchester Business School, or Alliance MBS, in recognition of Lord Alliance's generous £15 million donation and his long-standing relationship with the University and the Business School. Prior to the combined University's Foundation in 2004, Lord Alliance was a generous supporter of the School of Management at UMIST. Other previous giving priorities at the University have included the Law School, cultural assets, and international research partnerships across Life Sciences and Medical and Human Sciences.
The University of Manchester
2013
Fiona Devine, OBE, becomes Head of School.
She was previously Head of Sociology (2004-07) and Head of the School of Social Sciences (2009-13). She joined the University of Manchester in 1994 and was promoted to Professor in 2001. Prior to joining Manchester, she worked at the University of Liverpool, the Policy Studies Institute and the (then) Department of Employment HQ in London. She studied Sociology and Government as an undergraduate degree at the University of Essex where she also completed an MA and PhD. She was awarded an OBE for Services to Social Sciences in 2010 and elected to the Academy of Social Sciences in 2011.
The University of Manchester
2008
Eddie Davies, OBE, CBE becomes Chair of the MBS Advisory Board
The University of Manchester
2007
Mike Luger becomes Director and Dean of MBS. Professor Michael Luger became Director and Dean of the School in 2007.
The University of Manchester
2004
This merger created the 'new' University of Manchester, and the UK's largest business and management school.
The University of Manchester
1996
MBS website launched
The Victoria University of Manchester
1995
Manchester School of Management develops the UK’s first joint degree and professional qualification
The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology
1994
Manchester Federal School of Business and Management established, a precursor to the 2004 merger.
Manchester Federal School of Business & Management
1990
Manchester School of Management develops joint MSc with School of Accounting & Finance
The Victoria University of Manchester
1987
Discussions begin over close links between MBS, UMIST and Manchester School of Accounting & Finance
The Victoria University of Manchester
1985
IBM chooses MBS to develop innovative approaches in management teaching
The Victoria University of Manchester
1984
Sir Cary Cooper became Head of UMIST’s Department of Management Sciences
The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology
1977
Programme in Research in Science and Technology began
The Victoria University of Manchester
1971
MBS moves to its present location, MBS West
The Victoria University of Manchester
1970
Department of Management Sciences becomes UMIST’s largest undergraduate department
The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology
1968
School of Accounting & Finance established
The Victoria University of Manchester
1967
Manchester Method of learning developed by the School's 'founding fathers'
The Victoria University of Manchester
1965
First cohort begins BSc in Management Sciences
The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology
1965
Manchester Business School opened, led by Grigor McLelland
The Victoria University of Manchester
1965
DIA renamed Department of Management Sciences (later to become Manchester School of Management).
The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology
1963
Franks report published. In post-war Britain, the political and economic elite increasingly recognised the need to professionally develop managers and research the emerging fields of business and management.
1956
Health Services Management Unit established by Professor Teddy Chester
The Victoria University of Manchester
1918
Department of Industrial Administration established
The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology
1851
Victoria University of Manchester (VUoM) founded
From 1892 the Technical School was funded by the Manchester Corporation, partly from national taxes, and it came to be known as the Manchester Municipal Technical School. Modelled on German technical high schools, a huge new building, now called the Sackville Street Building, was opened in 1902. After World War I the Technical School was renamed the Manchester Municipal College of Technology.
1824
University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) founded as the Manchester Mechanics Institute
The independent review of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) was published by Lord Stern.
The REF requires UK universities that conduct research to submit their top research papers, demonstrating the impact of their work. The results are then used to inform the allocation of government funding to universities for research.
The review’s recommendations included: counting all research active staff in the REF, but varying the number of pieces they might submit; widening the notion of research impact to include influence on public engagement, culture and teaching; and introducing a new assessment to foster greater cohesiveness between academics, and reward collaboration on interdisciplinary activities.
MBS 50th anniversary
MBS 50th anniversary and renamed Alliance Manchester Business School. In September 2015 the School was renamed Alliance Manchester Business School, or Alliance MBS, in recognition of Lord Alliance's generous £15 million donation and his long-standing relationship with the University and the Business School. Prior to the combined University's Foundation in 2004, Lord Alliance was a generous supporter of the School of Management at UMIST. Other previous giving priorities at the University have included the Law School, cultural assets, and international research partnerships across Life Sciences and Medical and Human Sciences.
Fiona Devine, OBE, becomes Head of School.
She was previously Head of Sociology (2204-07) and Head of the School of Social Sciences (2009-13). She joined the University of Manchester in 1994 and was promoted to Professor in 2001. Prior to joining Manchester, she worked at the University of Liverpool, the Policy Studies Institute and the (then) Department of Employment HQ in London. She studied Sociology and Government as an undergraduate degree at the University of Essex where she also completed an MA and PhD. She was awarded an OBE for Services to Social Sciences in 2010 and elected to the Academy of Social Sciences in 2011.
Mike Luger becomes Director and Dean of MBS.
Professor Michael Luger became Director and Dean of the School in 2007. Prior to this, he was Professor of Public Policy, Business and Planning at the University of North Caroline at Chapel Hill, with appointments on the Entrepreneurship Faculty of Kenan-Flagler Business School and in the College of Arts and Sciences. Professor Luger taught on the Economics Faculties at Duke University and the University of Maryland. He has been a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar (New Zealand), a Reynolds Fellow, and a USIA Fellow (Bulgaria). Professor Luger received his AB (architecture and planning) and MPA from Princeton University, and his MCP (planning) and Ph.D. (economics) from the University of California, Berkeley.
University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) founded as the Manchester Mechanics Institute
From 1892 the Technical School was funded by the Manchester Corporation, partly from national taxes, and it came to be known as the Manchester Municipal Technical School. Modelled on German technical high schools, a huge new building, now called the Sackville Street Building, was opened in 1902. After World War I the Technical School was renamed the Manchester Municipal College of Technology.
Victoria University of Manchester (VUoM) founded
From 1892 the Technical School was funded by the Manchester Corporation, partly from national taxes, and it came to be known as the Manchester Municipal Technical School. Modelled on German technical high schools, a huge new building, now called the Sackville Street Building, was opened in 1902. After World War I the Technical School was renamed the Manchester Municipal College of Technology.
Manchester Business School opened, led by Grigor McLelland
From 1892 the Technical School was funded by the Manchester Corporation, partly from national taxes, and it came to be known as the Manchester Municipal Technical School. Modelled on German technical high schools, a huge new building, now called the Sackville Street Building, was opened in 1902. After World War I the Technical School was renamed the Manchester Municipal College of Technology.
Franks report published. In post-war Britain, the political and economic elite increasingly recognised the need to professionally develop managers and research the emerging fields of business and management.
Discussions about establishing US-style business schools in the UK intensified in the early 1960s and the government briefed Lord Franks to investigate. Published in 1963, the Franks report recommended that two business schools should be set up in Manchester and London, in association with existing universities.
"There is a gap in Britain today which must be filled without delay. More and better education and training for managers, and potential managers, on the lines of what already exists is admittedly urgent, but by itself is not enough. One or more Schools of Business are needed."
Manchester Federal School of Business and Management established, precursor to the 2004 merger
From 1892 the Technical School was funded by the Manchester Corporation, partly from national taxes, and it came to be known as the Manchester Municipal Technical School. Modelled on German technical high schools, a huge new building, now called the Sackville Street Building, was opened in 1902. After World War I the Technical School was renamed the Manchester Municipal College of Technology.
Professor Sir Roland Smith became the Joe Hyman Professor of Marketing at UMIST in the 1960s and was Chancellor from 1996-2002. He was also Chairman of House of Fraser (1981-1986), British Aerospace (1987-1991) and Manchester United FC (1991-2002).
Manchester School of Management staff receive news of their excellence in teaching award (top left: John Arnold, Mike Smith, Rod Coombs, Ivan Robertson, Derek Torrington, Dale Littler. Front row: Helen Speke, John Goodman and June Hall).
Professor Sir Cary Cooper is a former Head of the Manchester School of Management and former Pro Vice-Chancellor of UMIST. He was a professor of organisational psychology and an expert on workplace
Professor Enid Mumford joined MBS in 1966, investigating the impact of computer-based systems on people and organisations. She also directed the MBA for a number of years and was made a Fellow of the British Computer Society.
Joan Higgins was professor of health policy at MBS from 1992, and served as director of the Manchester Centre for Healthcare Management from 1998-2004.
Professor Teddy Chester founded the Health Services Management Unit at The University of Manchester in 1956. He remained as director until his retirement in the mid-1970s.
Professor Reg Revans became the first professor of industrial management at The University of Manchester in 1955. He pioneered Action Learning – taking action to solve a real problem and learning from the results.
Professor Stafford Beer was a world leader in the development of operational research. He is widely acknowledged as the founder of management cybernetics, which he defined as "the science of effective organisation".