The University at Buffalo was founded in 1846 as a private institution, then known as University of Buffalo (UB). U.S. President Millard Fillmore served as the university's first president, a position he held even while serving his term at the White House. The School of Business Administration, subsequently renamed the School of Management, was established in 1923. UB was authorized to grant the B.S. degree in 1923, the MBA in 1931, and the Ph.D. in 1949. In 1930, the School of Management received full accreditation by the prestigious AACSB International-The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

In 1962, the University of Buffalo became the University at Buffalo, when UB was incorporated into the State University of New York (SUNY) system. This acquisition was championed by then-governor Nelson Rockefeller, with the intent of making UB one of four major university centers in the state. UB has since earned recognition as SUNY's most comprehensive and prestigious university.

In 1994, the School of Management launched an Executive MBA program for top managers, which has attracted the brightest management talent from the area's leading companies. In 1997, the school's part-time MBA program was transformed into the Professional MBA program, creating a more convenient and streamlined part-time evening program for working professionals.

The School of Management's innovative MBA programming is evident internationally, as well. In 1984, the school established the first U.S. MBA program in China, which was supported by the Chinese Ministry of Education and the U.S. Department of Commerce. U.S. President Ronald Reagan announced creation of the program during a diplomatic trip to China that year; news of the announcement made headlines all over the world. The school's China MBA program, headquartered at the Dalian University of Technology, graduated more than 200 students before ending in 1988 in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square incident.

In 1998, the School of Management made a historic return to China, collaborating with Renmin University of Beijing to launch China's first Executive MBA program. Praised by BusinessWeek as "a pioneer in the Asian market for management education," the School of Management has operated an Executive MBA program at the Singapore Institute of Management since 1994. In 2000, the School of Management was selected by Motorola, one of the world's largest companies, to offer an Executive MBA program at Motorola University in Beijing. Today the School of Management is the most famous business school in Asia.

John M. Thomas has served as dean of the School of Management since 2002. He has championed several initiatives in entrepreneurship and the commercialization of technology, including the Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition, held in partnership with the UB Office of Science Technology Transfer and Economic Outreach, and the development of an MBA concentration in biotechnology management. A member of the faculty since 1968, and a professor in the School of Management, he previously served as associate dean for International Programs. Thomas has been credited with making the University at Buffalo a leader in international management education. A graduate of Yale University, he holds a doctorate from the Sloan School of Management at M.I.T. and a law degree from the UB School of Law.

The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek and Forbes magazine have ranked the University at Buffalo School of Management as one of the world's best business schools, according to recent survey results. The ratings measure the quality and value of the UB School of Management's MBA program and are based on customer-satisfaction surveys of MBA students, MBA alumni and corporate recruiters worldwide.