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

Key New Programs for Students

Several new initiatives pertaining to the undergraduate curriculum are addressed within the CIBER proposal. These efforts are timely for several reasons: 1) the College has a large undergraduate program (2500 junior and senior business majors); 2) its international business major is consistently popular (but has not had a major revision in many years); and 3) new pressures to reach non-traditional business or OSU students have been placed upon the college.

A major initiative by the college to offer a general business major throughout the state via OSU’s four regional campuses is currently underway, and the CIBER will seek to internationalize all 13 courses contained within that major. A business minor for non-business students is being offered for the first time on the main OSU campus, and the CIBER will work with program instructors to add international content to the five courses contained within that program. A major revision of the international business major, to potentially include a required international experience, is also proposed.

At the graduate level, a revision of the Ph.D. IB program is also in store, as this long-standing program seeks to create sustained advantage through better links with strong college Ph.D. offerings in strategy, organizational behavior, and human resources. Executive MBA students will benefit from the CIBER through support of their efforts in a required international course and field study experience. Ph.D. students from throughout the nation will continue to be encouraged to participate in the CIBER-supported Internationalizing Doctoral Education in Business (IDEB) program. This program, offered through the sponsorship of nearly a dozen CIBER institutions, has gained great momentum since its first offering at Columbia in 1999. It will be offered for the fourth time at OSU in August 2002. Fisher College Ph.D. students from all disciplines will be encouraged to apply for new research and travel grants.

Continued emphasis will be placed on the CIBER’s goal to provide substantive, high quality study abroad experiences for any Fisher College undergraduate or MBA student who wants one, and new support in this area will be offered to non-business students at OSU in the area of international studies.

New Offerings for College, OSU, and Regional Faculty:

At the faculty level, several new programs are planned. A highly anticipated faculty study abroad experience is being planned. The study tour will seek to take at least 12 Fisher College faculty each summer to a region of the world visited previously by MBA students in the EMFS course, in order to make the most of knowledge gained through that experience. Faculty will also benefit from an expanded “Trade-a-prof” program that will seek to infuse area studies content into the business curriculum and offer business content in world regional courses. The shared expertise among faculty members will make this a dynamic program within the CIBER and for the university as a whole. Increased research support for business faculty within the college is also planned, and new volumes of research are on track. Faculty conferences or symposia (including major ones in years two and four) related to the international acquisitions and alliances theme will also be supported by the CIBER, and will further contribute to the global expertise of this important college resource.

Programs for non-business faculty and teachers are also planned, and include a Global Institute summer program for K-12 professionals. This program, implemented in partnership with the Ohio Department of Education and faculty in OSU’s College of Education, will feature an on-line set of materials on international business developed with CIBER support. A key program developed by the OSU CIBER and supported by five others is a summer faculty development program targeted to foreign language faculty and professionals. The aim of this program is to provide greater understanding of business pedagogy and teaching methodologies, so that faculty experiences larger numbers of MBA and professional students in their classes feel more comfortable.

Programs for regional and national faculty, both business and non-business, are also on the schedule. As one example, an increased need for understanding relating to the tragic attack on the U.S. of September 11 has resulted in a CIBER partnership with the OSU Middle Eastern Studies Center. This fine center has long-offered a high quality summer series of programs for teachers. CIBER assistance will allow for fuller and broader marketing of these excellent programs and for the addition of business content where appropriate. Continued CIBER involvement is planned for a series of national FDIB programs, including one offered on its own campus and others sponsored by Texas A&M, the University of Memphis, Michigan State, and the Mid-America CIBER Consortium (MACC).

An important new initiative will provide CIBER resources to smaller colleges and universities in the OSU region seeking to internationalize their offerings. Several schools are expected to accept the CIBER’s invitation to join the Mid-Ohio Faculty Network (MOFN). MOFN members will meet twice each year at OSU to share success stories related to the implementation of global programs on their campuses. These programs will be funded in part by the OSU CIBER, with grants given on a rotating basis among member institutions. The selection of proposed programs will weigh heavily on their ability to be replicated by other MOFN members. Similarly, MOFN members will be encouraged to attend other CIBER activities taking place on the OSU campus, including conferences and seminars created in partnership with the Mershon Center.

Reaching the Local, Regional, and National Business Communities

CIBER initiatives in this area will not be overlooked, as four regional or national conferences are planned for the coming years, focusing on different aspects of international acquisitions and alliances. Professors Jeff Reuer, Mona Makhija, and Oded Shenkar have all committed their support to the CIBER in this effort. Partnerships with international service providers for programs like the statewide extension of TARGET and the offering of on-site foreign language tutorials will be leveraged. Working paper series and a new EMFS case book will be marketed to the business community, and increased participation from this population in various curricular initiatives mentioned above should not be under-estimated. Programs like the Fisher Council on Global Trade and Technology that are marketed directly to business professionals will continue, and new emphasis will be placed on ways to extend these programs’ popularity. A new effort for business professionals modeled on the MBA EMFS course is being planned, and will feature intensive consultation projects for executives who seek a short-term international experience. Collaborations with OSU’s Mershon Center and with the well-known Conference Board are also on the agenda.