JBU Gets Money, More MBA Students
by October 19, 2009 12:00 am 65 views
The coffers aren’t the only things growing at John Brown University in Siloam Springs.
School president Charles Pollard announced last week JBU has raised about 75 percent of its $100 million goal per its “Keeping Faith” capital campaign. Pollard said $62 million already has been donated, with another $14 million pledged.
Professor of business Joe Walenciak said the school’s MBA program also continues to blossom. About 135 students currently are enrolled in the program, which is JBU’s largest graduate program and utilizes facilities in Rogers and Fort Smith.
About 40 of those students are pursuing an MBA via a newly available online study option, Walenciak said. The online option was introduced in August, and continues an expansion of the program that’s been surprising even to Walenciak.
“We knew the MBA was a marketable degree … but I think some of the direction it’s gone, I wouldn’t have envisioned,” he said.
Walenciak said the international business emphasis has become the most popular and fastest-growing choice among MBA students. Students enrolled in the program have traveled to Guatemala and Northern Ireland, and Walenciak said a trip to China is in the works.
“The focus has shifted from the community to the world,” he said.