Participants and Agenda
Business is one of the most popular areas of study for undergraduate college students. Twenty-one percent of bachelor’s degrees awarded in the academic year 2000-01 were in the field of business/management. This percentage has remained relatively constant in recent years; since 1989, 19-24% of all bachelor’s degrees conferred have been business degrees. (1)
Although some liberal arts colleges eschew the idea of including business or any other pre-professional programs in their curricula, stating instead that a traditional liberal arts focus will develop the skills necessary for success in any career or profession, business programs can be found at many liberal arts colleges. In fact, at some of these schools, the business major is the most popular undergraduate major. Furthermore, many liberal arts graduates go on to seek employment in business, regardless of their majors.
Despite this popularity, business courses are often treated as separate entities on liberal arts campuses and are not integrated well with the rest of the curriculum. Arts and Sciences faculty tend to dismiss programs with such obvious practical aims. Moreover, business programs at liberal arts colleges were often created with little or no input from successful businesspeople, so their value outside the academy is uncertain.
These observations raise two main questions for us: What is the best way to prepare undergraduate students for careers in business? and How can liberal arts colleges better integrate business programs on their campuses? We will address these issues as we explore the connections and divides between liberal arts education and business at this conference.
This two day retreat will bring together leaders from business, government, and not-for-profit organizations to design a model undergraduate program that blends the benefits of liberal arts education with strong preparation for a career in business. In order to do this, we will discuss the skills necessary for success in the workplace, liberal arts colleges’ preparation of students entering the workforce, and the types of business programs employers find valuable. Consistent with our emphasis on assessment, participants will also develop methods to evaluate the model program’s effectiveness. The Center of Inquiry will use the findings from this retreat to help liberal arts colleges from across the country create, strengthen, and evaluate their business and career services programs.
Digest of Educational Statistics, 2002, Table 252, National Center for Education Statistics.
| Participants | Title | Institution |
| John Elliott | Director of the Center for Business Preparation | Hanover College |
| Ted Grossnickle '73 | Chairman/CEO | Johnson Grossnickle & Assoc. |
| Joseph Hale, Jr. | Vice President and Chief Communications Officer | Cinergy Corporation |
| Robyne Hart | Associate Director & Assistant Professor of CBP | Hanover College |
| David Kieffer | Partner | Mercer Human Resource Consulting |
| Robert Klee '79 | Director of Human Resources | Eli Lilly |
| Jeff Koeze | President | Koeze Company |
| Tom McKenna | Deputy Chief of Staff | Office of the Governor |
| James Merten | Vice-Chairman of the Board | City Securities Corporation |
| Kelly Pfledderer '96 | CEO and President | Apparatus |
| Dick Ray | Operations Manager (ret.) | Alcoa Tennessee |
| Gloria Smith | Human Resources Director | Keithley Instruments, Inc. |
| Andy Wilkinson '83 | Vice President and Actuary | One America |
| Fred Wilson '69 | CEO | Saks Fifth Avenue |
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Sunday, November 14th | |
| 2.00 - 2.15 | Welcome and Introductions, Trippet 325 |
| 2.15 - 3.15 |
Session One: Valuable Skills for Business and the Liberal Arts
How do recent college graduates in the workplace differ from the ideal college graduate just described? What skills/qualities are missing or insufficient? Provide specific, concrete examples when possible. |
| 3.15 - 3.30 | Break |
| 3.30 - 4.30 | Session One continued |
| 4.30 - 4.45 | Break |
| 4.45 - 6.15 | Session Two: Developing a Blended Liberal Arts and Business Program Break into two groups and create model business programs (one business major and one non-major program) for liberal arts colleges that will provide students with the ideal skills/qualities identified in Session One and address the shortcomings discussed. Each group will develop one program. Programs should include:
Experiences should include:
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| 6.30 - 7.00 | Reception |
| 7.00- 8.00 | Dinner |
| 8.00- 9.00 | Present and discuss the model programs. (1/2 hour for each group) |
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| 7.30 - 8.30 | Breakfast, Trippet Hall Dining Room |
| 8.30 - 9.00 | Check Out |
| 9.15 - 10.15 | Session Three: Evaluation Methods and Next Steps Additional thoughts regarding yesterday's conversations. Develop evaluation methods for the model programs created in Session Two.
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| 10.15 - 10.30 | Coffee Break |
| 10.30 - 11.15 | Next Steps- What else should the Center of Inquiry do to explore and strengthen the ties between liberal arts and business? What other ways can we address the connection between liberal arts education and life after college? |
| 11.15 - 12.00 | Campus Tour |
| 12.00 - 1.30 | Lunch |