Authorized under Title VI, part b of the Higher Education Act

Established in 1989, Memphis CIBER is the only CIBER located in the Lower Mississippi Delta region—an area encompassing most of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana and parts of Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee. Characterized by serious limitations on human and economic resources and a provincial mindset wary of change, the Delta region contains some of the poorest counties in the United States.

most successful and enduring programs targeting faculty and businesses:

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  Faculty Development in International Business (FDIB);
  
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  Faculty Study Abroad in Europe (FSA);
  
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  Business Workshop for Foreign Language Faculty (FLW);
  
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  On-site foreign language instruction for business firms; and
  
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  Business conferences and seminars.
  

CIBER programs are built collaboratively, leveraging resources with a broad spectrum of business and academic entities. This structure has enabled Memphis CIBER programs to achieve significant impact during its eleven-year tenure both in terms of University of Memphis internationalization efforts and regional and national reach.

Outreach to faculty in the form of international and interdisciplinary training and research support has had tremendous impact in terms of curricular content, student exposure to international business courses and topics, and the advancement of competitiveness-related research. Memphis CIBER-hosted Faculty Development in International Business workshops have reached 353 faculty from 183 institutions. Three hundred forty-six (346) faculty from 187 institutions have participated in Business Language for the Foreign Language Professional workshops. And, Memphis’ Faculty Study Abroad Program to Europe has attracted over 271faculty from 80-plus institutions. These numbers increase at least three-fold when co-sponsored activities are added to the mix and include over 40 faculty from the University of Memphis sent to programs in Mexico, South America, and Europe. Long after this CIBER is gone, faculty participants, their home institutions, and their students will continue to benefit from this international exposure and concomitant curricular changes. (See Appendix 1 for letters attesting to program benefit.)

Programs that impact faculty have a direct impact on students and the institutions at which they serve/attend. Memphis CIBER has also creatively developed programs linking faculty across disciplines, and institutions around the globe to train tomorrow’s globally competent business leaders.

Memphis CIBER institutional impact is not limited to its home institution. Seventeen (17) institutions have received assistance through consultations designed to assess international programs and activities, provide suggestions for future directions for international programs, and assist with Title VI federal grant applications. Letters delineating the benefits of these consultations are included in Appendix 1.

Aside from the indirect impact from programs described above that develop students and faculty from which business can draw leaders and expertise, Memphis CIBER has had a direct impact on current business leaders through its custom training programs, business discussion forums, and international conferences. Memphis CIBER has conducted twenty-two (22) major business conferences or seminars reaching 1,817 attendees; developed and delivered custom executive training on international culture and business to over 100 business executives; and hosted seventeen (17) visiting business delegations introducing 124 foreign executives to U.S. business persons. Importantly, Memphis CIBER has provided over 11,000 person hours of custom language instruction to more than 700 business participants in 50 companies.

A VISION FOR THE FUTURE

Spread throughout the proposal in appropriate and multiple mandatory activity areas, planned technology-oriented initiatives will utilize the capabilities of the new, FedEx Emerging Technology Institute. This $23 million state-of-the-art teaching, research, and learning facility is scheduled for completion in the Fall of 2003 and will provide high levels of interaction among students and faculty through sophisticated technology allowing real-time interface with instructors, geographically diverse student teams, and business executives. Integrating the proposed five technology-oriented activities into existing or augmented programs will provide a solid technology base for our global agenda.

The significant lack of resources that plagues the Lower Mississippi Delta makes it difficult for many educational institutions to develop the international aspects of their business programs. This is especially true for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) located in small towns and rural areas throughout the Southeastern United States. Many of these institutions have developed strong basic business education programs and offer one or more elective courses in international business, economics, and/or marketing. Some even require that undergraduate business students take an international course. Despite a strong tradition of international exchange, development, and research programs at many HBCUs, few of these institutions count international business among their curricula offerings. In fact, the vast majority of the 250,000 students reportedly enrolled in black business schools (Business Week, June 8, 2001, pages 136-137) will graduate with little or no exposure to international business.

During the 2002-2006 grant cycle, Memphis CIBER will target HBCU faculty for an outreach initiative. In conjunction with six other CIBERs and the Institute for International Public Policy, Memphis CIBER will implement a three-step program designed to internationalize business education on the campuses of the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). First, HBCU faculty will participate in a 3-1/2-day faculty development program that will provide interdisciplinary international business and area studies pedagogical training. Second, participating CIBERs will act as on-going resources to assist HBCUs with internationalizing their curricula, developing University-business partnerships, promoting international business research, and developing international institutional partnerships for faculty and student study abroad and exchange. Third, a joint faculty and business study abroad will cap project activities and provide experiential learning opportunities for faculty and regional business.
3) Building a regional educational and training pipeline for international business (7 new activities)

Challenged by the lack of resources in its primary and secondary schools, the Lower Mississippi Delta focuses few resources on international studies until the post-secondary level of education. Consequently many students are unaware of international business as a career alternative until they are too far along in their studies to complete requisite language and area studies. In addition, there is a dearth of executive learning opportunities for regional business leaders interested in gaining international skills. Clearly, early and sustained intervention, combined with effective executive outreach, is necessary to increase the region’s internationally competent labor pool.

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  Language and International Awareness for Young Children (grades K –3);
  
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  Global Connections: Teachers Implementing International Cultural Awareness (3-6);
  
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  Language, Culture, and Area Studies (9-12);
  
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  Undergraduate International Business curriculum development with study abroad and internship opportunities;
  
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  Foreign language requirement for under-graduate International Business majors;
  
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  Development of a Ph.D. minor in international business; and
  
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  Non-credit, continuing executive education series focusing on international skills and international business best practices.
  

In addition to the major new initiatives cited above, CIBER will implement three (3) additional business outreach strategies and one (1) new academic outreach program; significantly enhance eight (8) existing programs; and continue to support twenty-one (21) highly successful activities. All initiatives are detailed in the program narrative. Highlights include:

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  Continue to infuse increasing degrees of international content at all levels of business education at the University of Memphis;
  
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  Develop a concentration in Global Logistics for International MBA students; and
  
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  Develop linkages for study and internship opportunities with ASEAN nations.
  

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  Add International Accounting, E-Commerce, and Cross-Cultural Management Workshops to FDIB program.
  
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  Utilize new technology resources to intensify the use of technology-based pedagogical tools in business education;
  
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  Incorporate specific technology-based workshops on cultural simulations for business language professionals and add Japanese and Chinese language tracks to Workshops for business language professionals;
  
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  Enhance research and teaching opportunities abroad for faculty;
  
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  Expand Faculty Study Abroad programs to India and Central/Eastern Europe; and
  
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  Host a President’s Forum on the Internationalization of the University.
  

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  Support International Strategy Roundtable for regional business executives;
  
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  Develop executive business and study missions abroad;
  
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  Deliver training in less commonly taught foreign languages to the regional business community using new technology assets;
  
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  Enhance custom business training to include a module on understanding the World of Islam and a seminar on international franchising.
  

As indicated above, Memphis CIBER has achieved an impressive track record of developing, implementing, and continually refining a high quality set of core programs and has solid plans to continue its efforts to internationalize the Delta region and enhance overall US competitiveness. Leveraging community and university assets and resources, and collaborating within the CIBER network, Memphis CIBER has efficiently and effectively maneuvered to affect substantive progress in all Title VI mandated activity areas. Existing programs, combined with the new, proposed initiatives place Memphis CIBER solidly on the road towards pre-eminence as a national and regional resource for international business education and research.