Inside Iowa State
April 18, 1997
Campaign will help students get experience
by Michelle Johnson
The College of Business has a new
program to get students out of its
classrooms.
Beyond Business Classrooms is a program aimed at giving students real work experience in a professional setting before they graduate. The program will be developed with funds raised through Campaign Destiny, ISU's five-year capital campaign.
"One of the key goals of our strategic plan is to link theory with practice," said Benjamin Allen, College of Business dean. "This program is one example of how we are making that connection."
The program puts student teams to work solving a variety of business problems in private industry, non-profit organizations, and public agencies.
For example, one team is developing marketing plans to help the Iowa State Center attract more students to some of its events. The team is learning how to manage a budget; conduct a market analysis; create, present and implement a marketing plan; and develop an advertising campaign. Students from the College of Design are doing the artwork for the advertisements.
Faculty serve as advisers and mentors in the program, which also enables them to network and gain valuable insight into what is happening in industry, according to Allen.
The college also is seeking $3 million for further development of the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship and the construction of a new business laboratory. Both facilities will provide a setting, other than the classroom, for ISU students, faculty and the public to develop their entrepreneurial interests, Allen said.
The Pappajohn Center was funded last fall through a $1 million Campaign Destiny gift from Des Moines businessman and entrepreneur John Pappajohn and his wife Mary. The center is designed to help entrepreneurs, technologists and ISU faculty and students develop ideas and technologies into new businesses or expand existing companies.
Other Campaign Destiny goals for the College of Business include raising $2.5 million for two professorships and an endowed chair. Allen said he hopes the positions will attract nationally known faculty to provide leadership in key areas of the college.
Allen hopes to devote $500,000 raised through Campaign Destiny to endowing the Executive-in-Residence program, established by the college in spring 1996. The program brings top senior-level business executives to campus to interact with students, faculty, staff and administrators; share professional experiences; give overviews of their industries; and provide an external perspective on the college's programs.
"This program has been quite successful," Allen said. "It has proven to be an effective vehicle through which we can evaluate and build on our college programs and curricula, as well as keep our students and faculty in touch with industry trends."
Campaign funds also will be used to fund faculty development activities, provide undergraduate scholarships and equip classrooms with new technology.
"The addition of media and computer technology to our classrooms will enhance the learning and teaching environment for both students and faculty," Allen said. "We need to better prepare them for 21st century technology."
Campaign funds also will help to establish a new student lounge in Carver Hall, complete with computer hook-ups and TVs so students keep up with business news.
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