Dr. Alican Kavas
Winston-Salem State University’s School of Business and Economics (SBE) has recently been awarded a two-year $171,875 U.S. Department of Education grant to enhance international business education programs and expand the capacity of the business community to engage in international economic activities.
Dr. Suresh Gopalan
Dr. Alican Kavas, project director and professor of Marketing and Dr. Suresh Gopalan, project co-director and associate professor of Management in the SBE’s Department of Management and Marketing were the authors of the grant proposal that was funded through the U.S. Department of Education’s Business and International Education (BIE) Program. They were awarded $171,875 over the next two years $86,952 for 2009-2010 and $84,923 for 2010-2011 to implement their proposed ideas for the grant.
Dr. Jessica Bailey
“In the twenty-first century, all business is international business,” said Dr. Jessica Bailey, dean of WSSU’s School Business and Economics. ”Even if the consumers are local, the manufacturers, competitors, and supply chains are global. That is why this grant is so beneficial to our students, our faculty, and the local business community.”
The project will focus on three areas: faculty development, curriculum-student development, and community outreach. In the area of faculty development, the proposal would enhance selected faculty members’ ability to teach international business effectively by providing them with first-hand experiences through participation in short-term study-abroad programs in countries critical to North Carolina’s international trade, like China, India, and Mexico. The program will provide for attending domestically or internationally organized international conferences and seminars; instructional resources that will assist in the development of new electives or the increase of the international content of their courses; and encouragement of faculty-student collaborative research in international business topics.
In the area of curriculum-student development, a two-phased program is proposed to augment the SBE curriculum. Phase one will create an “Introduction to International Business” course in the curriculum. All business majors will be required to enroll in this course. Additionally, an International Business lecture series will be created as a section in all Business Freshman Seminar courses. Phase two of the project involves offering an International Business (IB) track housed in the Management and Marketing Department but offered to students across the business school. This IB track will also be an excellent venue for area community college students who want to continue their education in international business at the university level. In addition opportunities to study abroad will be enhanced by the provision of scholarships to undergraduate business students. Both the Office of International Programs at WSSU and the BIE grant will help strengthen students’ skills in international business.
The outreach component of the proposal will establish an International Business Forum that will be hosted twice a year by the SBE, with cooperation from the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce; it will facilitate discussions among emerging and veteran exporters. These forums/seminars in International Trade Issues featuring scholars, experts and executives will be organized based on the needs of the local business community. These activities will be open to faculty, students, and the business community.
“It is strongly believed that the activities and programs planned and implemented under this project will significantly enhance the International Business skills and expertise of the students and faculty as well as the business community in the Winston-Salem area,” said Dr. Kavas.
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