State of the College - 2009
January 28, 2010
While there is no question that 2009 was a difficult year in many ways for all of us, it was also a year of achievement for many individuals, groups and programs in the North Carolina State University College of Management. I commend our faculty, staff and students for their dedication and hard work.
This report presents a cross-section of activity within the college – from student initiative in the area of corporate and social responsibility to our faculty’s dedicated advancement of the art and science of innovation … and their commitment to growing the body of knowledge in all our disciplines. By no means complete, I hope the stories in this State of the College report will give you a sense of the depth and range of activity that goes on within the walls of Nelson Hall, and some of the outcomes as well. Following are several items I want to highlight. I hope you can take a few moments to read the rest of the stories.
- We held our first Leadership and Innovation Showcase in April 2009, an opportunity for students to be recognized for the significant work they do in our practicum classes and special projects for our partner companies. About 30 student projects were judged and awards presented to five winning teams. At this event, we also announced the recipient of our 2009 Person of the Year award – James W. Owens, chairman and CEO of Caterpillar and an alumnus of the college.
- Our faculty research productivity has grown significantly over the past several years, and for the first time, our research expenditures topped $1 million in 2009. The college was recognized by the university for having the fastest growth in research expenditures across campus.
- The Center for Innovation Management Studies, based in the college, celebrated its 25th anniversary with a special focus on the art and science of innovation. Our Supply Chain Resource Cooperative marked its 10th anniversary as it celebrated being ranked among the top 20 supply chain management programs in the country.
- We became the first business school in North Carolina to join the SAP University Alliance, providing our students hands-on learning with this enterprise resource planning system that is used by companies worldwide. On the international front, we became the ninth academic partner in the International Partnership of Business Schools, a step that is part of our ongoing efforts to increase international opportunities for our students.
- We have made changes to our undergraduate entrepreneurship curriculum, providing students a strong background in business fundamentals while they pursue entrepreneurship studies within our bachelor’s and our minor in business administration. We also established a graduate certificate in entrepreneurship and technology commercialization as part of the curriculum developed by our Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization program. In our Graduate Economics Program, offered jointly with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, we created a new concentration in financial economics.
Looking ahead, we will continue to build relationships with international partners to provide our students meaningful opportunities to study and experience business in the global marketplace. We also are continuing to strengthen our curriculum through ongoing review and updates to our course offerings and program options. At the same time, our faculty continues to develop new areas of research within their disciplines, working collaboratively with research partners in academia and industry, locally and globally.
Regards,
Ira R. Weiss, Dean