A Matter of Degree
By Clark, Steve
Southern University had a tough time birthing its MBA program, though now that it’s here students have embraced the program, in its second year and about to graduate its first batch of students.
It’s been a tough row to hoe, admits Donald Andrews, dean of Southern’s College of Business and a professor of economics, who worked long and hard with Ashe Yigletu, assistant business dean and the MBA program’s director, to get it off the ground.
“It’s been more or less a labor of love I guess you’d say, because you have to be dedicated to do this,” Andrews says. “I don’t think we could have been paid enough in terms of the hours we’ve put in.”
He says a major obstacle was convincing the state Board of Regents that an MBA program at Southern wouldn’tduplicate what LSU was already doing. To meet that criteria, Southern built its MBA on three high-demand niche areas: international business (in response to the march of globalization), e-business/supply chain management and entrepreneurship. Southern is now the only historically black college in Louisiana with an MBA program, which is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.
“I think as a result of the increased population in the Baton Rouge community, also because of the reduction in number of business firms as a result of Katrina, that this program came about at the right time,” Andrews says. “I think there’s a market here for a new player in the MBA graduate business program.”
Yigletu says the regents’ caution was understandable.
“The Board of Regents is absolutely right to say a program should not be created just for the sake of creating a program, because once you started producing students, the students need placement,” he says.
Ultimately, the regents came to realize what Yigletu knew: “There is a demand. There is a market,” Yigletu says. Now the objective is to produce entrepreneurs and business leaders for mid- to upper- management positions with corporations. Yigletu says the program is valuable in part because it will relieve Louisiana’s shortage of human capital – not that every student participating feels obliged to stick around.
Kimberly Barnett, soon to be a member of program’s first graduating class and studying supply chain management, says she wouldn’t mind staying in Louisiana but also isn’t opposed to relocating.
“I want to be marketable when I get out to work, either for the federal government or a Fortune 500 company,” she says.
Which may well mean moving out of state, though Barnett, who’s working full time for the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security while earning her MBA, admits she feels an obligation to return some day even if she does get ajob out of state.
“When you go on and you get higher education, I do think it’s your duty to go away, learn something, then bring it back to your own community and implement changes,” she says.
Suresh Sonti, who says the MBA program came along at just the right moment as he was looking to switch from a master’s in public administration, would like to work in Baton Rouge at least for a while after graduation. He’s not opposed to going elsewhere if the right offer comes along. Sonti’s concentration is in e-business, and he’s studying for a job in accounting.
Vera Whitehead, who works in real estate and owns a cleaning business, says she’s “always open to a better offer.” A native of the Czech Republic, she says the MBA has been a good fit for her. Whitehead credits business school faculty for making extra time to help her scale the language barrier.
“The faculty is always available to all students,” she says. “I already see that the program’s helping me in my businesses, and I want to grow”
Demond Lee, who’s hoping for a job in human resources, says he’s definitely open to relocating to another city or state. He says he wasn’t sure what to do with himself after earning his bachelor’s degree in business and marketing – until he found out about the MBA program.
“The global economy is changing, so they’re definitely looking for young people to get into the business field,” he says. “With an MBA, I just feel I’ll be more marketable.”
Lee notes that at the recent National Black MBA Conference in Orlando, Fla., the HR reps from companies doing conducting interviews all had the same questions: Were you willing to relocate?
“If you were not willing to relocate, you really didn’t have a good chance,” he says. “That’s why I definitely feel like we’re all open to moving to other places.”
Yigletu says the program has been embraced far more enthusiastically than anyone thought it would. He knew it was important, though Yigletu’s view was confirmed by the response from students.
“When we started the program, our project was to admit the first year 20 or 22 students,” he says. “That was the plan. But what happened was 75 students applied, and we admitted 46. Then this year, the second year, again we thought we’ll take 25 or 26. About 57 applied and we admitted 40. We have been really growing at a galloping pace.”
While it’s encouraging, Yigletu says, higher enrollment demands more resources – more faculty, technologies, etc. It’s a costly undertaking, he concedes. MBA faculty are hard to find and expensive to hire, and the program tends to be technology-intensive. He credits Southern’s administration and the Board of Regents for their support, but says unfortunately current state funding alone isn’t enough and Yigletu would like to see more.
A five-year strategic plan has been drafted to make Southern’s MBA offering among the best in the country, Yigletu says. Also, a board of advisors was formed – made up of representatives from GM, Boeing and other corporations – to help fund the program and promote it by helping with graduate placements, internships and the like.
“They really want to see that our program is a premier program,” Yigletu says. “With additional funding support from the state and from our external funding, I think this program will be very successful and exemplary in this state.”
Copyright Greater Baton Rouge Business Report Nov 20, 2007
(c) 2007 Greater Baton Rouge Business Report, The. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.