Americans are investing more in college than ever before. According to the Federal Reserve, Americans collectively owe roughly $1.5 trillion in student loans, and millennials are on track to be the most educated generation to date.
Students hope that a college education will give them the skills they need to excel. Executive search firm Kittleman & Associates analyzed the resumes of every CEO of a Fortune 500 company to determine which colleges produce the most industry leaders.
The data reflects the private college or public university system that each Fortune 500 CEO attended for their undergraduate degree. Kittleman's research, which was conducted in August 2018, provides a snapshot of the schools producing a robust number of industry leaders. The list does not account for subsequent executive departures.
CNBC Make It gathered information about each institution from U.S. News & World Report. Information about public university systems is from the flagship schools of each.
"We know that many universities are providing an exceptional education, but are there institutions that have a track record of developing strong leaders? Looking at this data, it's clear that there are some universities that have the right 'secret sauce' in helping mold successful executives," Cory King, President and CEO of Kittleman & Associates, tells CNBC Make It.
Here are the 30 schools that graduated the most current CEOs of Fortune 500 companies:
Union College
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 3
School type: Private
Total enrollment: 2,267
Tuition and fees (2018-2019): $55,290
University of Alabama
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 3
School type: Public
Total enrollment: > 38,563
In-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $10,780
Out-of-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $29,230
University of Nebraska
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 3
School type: Public
Total enrollment: > 26,079
In-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $9,242
Out-of-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $25,038
Boston College
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 4
School type: Private
Total enrollment: 13,996
Tuition and fees (2018-2019): $55,464
Dartmouth College
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 4
School type: Private
Total enrollment: 6,509
Tuition and fees (2018-2019): $55,035
Iowa State University
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 4
School type: Public
Total enrollment: 35,993
In-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $9,002
Out-of-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $23,392
New York University
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 4
School type: Private
Total enrollment: 51,123
Tuition and fees (2018-2019): $51,828
University of Miami
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 4
School type: Private
Total enrollment: 17,003
Tuition and fees (2018-2019): $50,226
United States Military Academy
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 4
School type: Public
Total enrollment: 4,491
Tuition and fees (2018-2019): N/A
University of North Carolina
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 4
School type: Public
Total enrollment: > 29,911
In-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $8,986
Out-of-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $35,169
University of Notre Dame
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 4
School type: Private
Total enrollment: 12,467
Tuition and fees (2018-2019): $53,391
University of Utah
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 4
School type: Public
Total enrollment: > 32,760
In-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $9,222
Out-of-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $29,215
State University of New York, SUNY
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 5
School type: Public
Total enrollment: > 9,516
In-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $8,210
Out-of-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $17,990
Lehigh University
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 5
School type: Private
Total enrollment: 7,017
Tuition and fees (2018-2019): $52,930
Michigan State University
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 5
School type: Public
Total enrollment: 50,019
In-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $14,460
Out-of-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $39,750
Princeton University
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 5
School type: Private
Total enrollment: 8,273
Tuition and fees (2018-2019): $47,140
University of Texas
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 5
School type: Public
Total enrollment: > 51,525
In-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $10,606
Out-of-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $37,480
Bucknell University
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 5
School type: Private
Total enrollment: 3,678
Tuition and fees (2018-2019): $56,092
University of Illinois
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 5
School type: Public
Total enrollment: > 48,216
In-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $15,998
Out-of-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $32,568
Yale University
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 5
School type: Private
Total enrollment: 12,974
Tuition and fees (2018-2019): $53,430
Purdue University
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 6
School type: Public
Total enrollment: > 41,573
In-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $10,002
Out-of-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $28,804
University of California
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 6
School type: Public
Total enrollment: > 41,910
In-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $14,240
Out-of-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $43,232
University of Pennsylvania
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 6
School type: Private
Total enrollment: 21,907
Tuition and fees (2018-2019): $55,584
Texas A&M University
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 6
School type: Public
Total enrollment: > 67,580
In-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $10,968
Out-of-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $36,636
Stanford University
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 7
School type: Private
Total enrollment: 17,178
Tuition and fees (2018-2019): $51,354
University of Michigan
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 8
School type: Public
Total enrollment: > 46,002
In-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $15,262
Out-of-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $49,350
Cornell University
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 10
School type: Private
Total enrollment: 23,016
Tuition and fees (2018-2019): $55,188
Harvard University
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 12
School type: Private
Total enrollment: 20,604
Tuition and fees (2018-2019): $50,420
University of Wisconsin
Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 14
School type: Public
Total enrollment: > 43,820
In-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $10,555
Out-of-state tuition and fees (2018-2019): $36,805
According to Kittleman, the University of Wisconsin is the top CEO-producer, with 14 alumni who are current Fortune 500 CEOs. The split between public and private universities is roughly even, and 12.4 percent of CEOs attended Big Ten schools. Large schools, like those in the Big Ten Conference, are at a statistical advantage when it comes to this ranking, simply because of the sheer size of their alumni base.
Researchers from the Strada Institute for the Future of Work and labor market analytics firm Emsi recently analyzed over 36 million resumes and found that liberal arts graduates have significant advantages in the labor market of tomorrow. Specifically, they found that the skills traditionally associated with liberal arts programs — such as critical thinking, communication and creativity — are among the most in-demand by employers, and that graduates of liberal arts institutions show the fastest wage growth in their 30s and 40s.
"We were most intrigued by the smaller institutions," says King, "like Union College, Bucknell University and Lehigh University, perhaps evidence that a foundation in liberal arts and research is important to developing strong leaders."
Additionally, prestigious Ivy League schools like Harvard and flagship state schools like the University of Michigan are difficult to get into and have high standards for the students who are admitted, which means that they may be educating students who were already destined for greatness.
"There is no single factor that makes someone a great executive," says King. "It's a combination of education and experience of course, but it's also measured by traits such as humility, integrity, emotional intelligence, empathy, judgement, to name a few. Understanding which institutions are building both the industry expertise as well as these leadership traits is helpful to us in identifying and understanding the motivations of great leaders."
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