The College of Business Administration joins several Marquette colleges celebrating anniversaries this school year as it shares a flourish of events and pivotal moments during its centennial.
In 1910, the college was founded as the College of Economics and Journalism at Marquette, one of the first 15 business schools in the United States. However, in 1917, the college separated from journalism and became the Johnston College of Economics, and six years later it coined the name College of Business Administration.
The consistently implemented programs note the progression of the college and improvements that have been made over the last 100 years, said Dean Linda Salchenberger.
“In the fall of 2009, we introduced a Graduate Certificate to educate budding entrepreneurs,” Salchenberger said in an e-mail. “In fall 2010, we offered our Executive MBA in a blended learning format in response to the increasing time and travel demands faced by our students.”
Keeping up with the growing need of business leaders and demand of students is a consistent challenge, but Eileen Ennis, instructor in the department of management, believes they have met the demands.
“With the development of special programs in Global and Economic Studies, Entrepreneurship, Real Estate and more in the past decade, we were able to meet the needs of the business society and students,” Ellis said.
Salchenberger said these programs “have distinguished us in the marketplace as areas of excellence.”
A recent report by U.S. News & World Report analyzed more than 12,000 graduate programs across the nation and ranked Marquette’s part-time MBA program 41st and the executive MBA program 14th.
On May 14, Marquette will host the grand celebration of the centennial for alumni, supporters and the greater business community. In addition to the grand celebration, a student picnic will be held in early May.
“The faculty is excited for the centennial, but this is more a time for us to be proud of what we do and the positive results we have on the students and their successful careers,” said Joseph Terrian, associate dean of the college.
Specifically, Terrian said he is proud of Marquette’s Applied Investment Management Program, which allows selected students in the department of finance to gain portfolio management experience — including with part of the university’s endowment fund — during their senior year. William Heard, a 2005 alumnus, implemented the program in 2009.
“It is a great mentor program that is unique to our college and university,” Terrian said.
Amy Schiavo, a freshman in the College of Business Administration, said although she’s a major in marketing, she sees the benefits of AIM.
“It is a really great and unique program that makes Marquette stand out from other business schools,” Schiavo said.
Schiavo added that the networking availability the college offers and the strong alumni support also played a role in her final decision on Marquette and her overall admiration of the college.
The centennial celebration events include the EMBA/MBA alumni reunion this past July, the men’s basketball reception and game this Saturday, and the 9th Annual Business Plan Competition Poster Session with a banquet and awards in April.
The centennial milestone marks a year of celebration, but it is important for the college not to rest on its laurels and to continue improving, Ennis said.
“More importantly, it marks the affirmation of the future,” Ennis said. “It is telling us that what we are doing is working, and we’re here to stay.”