A Message from the President
The 33 young men who comprised the inaugural class of students at St. Ambrose in the fall of 1882 had two courses of study to pursue along with their Catholic education.
One of these was a classical curriculum, a five-year course of study that included many of the foundational liberal arts our students study today.
The other was a commercial curriculum, built around business-related subject matter of the day-math, letter-writing, geography, bookkeeping, commercial law, reading, spelling and, even, penmanship.
Business education always has been a primary curricular focus at St. Ambrose. And as business needs and practices changed dramatically over the ensuing 136 years, business education at St. Ambrose evolved as well.
Today, our College of Business offers undergraduate degrees in eight major fields of study, as well as four graduate degree programs-the H.L. McLaughlin Master of Business Administration, a Master of Accounting, a Master of Organizational Leadership and a Doctor of Business Administration
The MBA was our first graduate degree, and, like all of our business programs, it has evolved through the years to meet the demands of an increasingly fast-paced, digital world. This year, we offer a fully online MBA degree to accommodate working students who need to set their own learning schedule.
This year will bring other significant changes within the College of Business, starting with a new dean with a fresh perspective. Maritza Espina, PhD, formerly a dean and professor at the Universidad del Este-Ana G. Mendez University System in her native Puerto Rico, will add to our COB's continuing responsiveness to a more global business outlook.
Sister Joan
Our DBA, meanwhile, is a model for lifelong business learning-and a highly regarded model, at that.
This past spring, the St. Ambrose DBA earned a Top 10 ranking among doctoral business programs across the country from CollegeChoice.net. That's a list that starts with Harvard, and we're proud to say we belong.
This year will bring other significant changes within the College of Business, starting with a new dean with a fresh perspective. Maritza Espina, PhD, formerly a dean and professor at the Universidad del Este-Ana G. Mendez University System in her native Puerto Rico, will add to our COB's continuing responsiveness to a more global business outlook.
Also this fall, three undergraduate degree programs-applied management studies, business administration and business administration-accounting-will join the MBA among the first six St. Ambrose programs offered fully online.
Finally, as you read further in this magazine, you will learn that the College of Business this year is building courses and assignments around the concept of Business for the Greater Good, focusing more intentionally on principles we have long promoted across our curricula.
Good business is good for us all, and St. Ambrose and our business faculty will continue to prepare graduates who are ready to lead, innovate and enrich lives-on the job as well as off.
Sister Joan Lescinski, CSJ, PhD
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