As we begin the Fall 2015 academic semester, let me take this opportunity to extend a warm welcome back (and simply a big welcome to some) to our students, their parents, prospective students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the Byrd Business School Advisory Board. Our mission at the Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business is to produce successful, principled leaders with a global perspective. We are a school rich in diversity and small in size; our community is one of cohesiveness and collegiality. Our faculty is accessible and approachable, and they share a commitment to respond to individual student needs, one individual at a time. We are embarking on what I believe will be an impressive next few years of growth for our students and academic programs.
Ours will be a world of mainstream business education punctuated by strategic forays into niche areas. Hence, our MBA program will soon include an executive program in healthcare leadership. Entrepreneurship will play a large role in our curriculum, as we expand into social entrepreneurship. The Byrd School remains one of only a handful of schools that award undergraduate degrees in sport management, and we are strengthening our offerings in business analytics.
Our forays into niche areas beyond mainstream majors and concentrations reflect our efforts at keeping our curricula and programs relevant to the employment marketplace. At the end of the day, the value of a business degree is best gauged by the quality of our graduates’ placements. We plan to fine-tune the quality of our education to remain relevant to the demands that our ever-changing economy places on our students and graduates. This cannot be a one-time exercise, but a virtuous cycle of growth that is aided by the students, the faculty, the dean, the Business School Advisory Board, our alumni, the university, our accrediting bodies, and of course our community – both locally and globally.
Internships and mentoring is another area of focus for us this year and going forward. Today’s successful intern is tomorrow’s successful employee; and each one is a future successful alumnus. Internships enable both students and their employers to gauge each other in an early and low-pressure setting, leading to more successful jobs and careers. Mentorships help prepare you to meet the challenges of life, and they provide a resource to help your growth and development beyond the classroom.
To that end, I strongly encourage you, our students, to connect with your faculty advisors/mentors to explore options that may be available to help you realize your career and personal goals.
My faculty, staff and I are always open to hearing new ideas from you. Please do visit us on campus; and on the Web. We are dedicated to the notion that every student is unique, with individual needs and aspirations. We are here to help achieve your success story. At the Byrd School of Business, success stories start here.