University of Evansville

UE Receives $15 Million to Develop Institute for Global Enterprise in Indiana

The University of Evansville has received a $15 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to enable the University to enhance its educational goals through development of an Institute for Global Enterprise in Indiana. The Institute will enable the University to integrate the liberal arts with its business and professional programs through development of experiential education initiatives. To find out more about the UE goals of this program or for additional information e-mail businessadmin@evansville.edu

UE President Stephen G. Jennings made the announcement December 3, 2003, during a news conference at the university.

Through programming enrichment, the Institute will ensure that UE students graduate with an integrated understanding of the global culture of greater interconnectedness and interdependence in which the world now operates, he noted. It will also serve as an important vehicle to engage the business community in preparing for a bright future in a global economy.

"The Institute will accentuate UE's strengths in international studies, global faculty relationships and study abroad programs," said UE President Stephen G. Jennings. UE's British Campus Harlaxton College, which has been serving a study-abroad facet of the University for more than 30 years, will be a good base for students to explore global internships and other opportunities abroad, Jennings noted. "UE will also be looking to the regional business community for collaboration opportunities in which our students can learn experientially. We want to prepare today’s students to be tomorrow’s professionally and culturally astute workforce," Jennings added.

Jennings continued, "The Endowment's vision in making this gift will benefit not only UE and Indiana, but the region and nation as well, allowing businesses to draw upon the international expertise of faculty engaged through the Institute and hire graduates trained as global citizens. We are grateful for this opportunity to transform the way we teach our students – tomorrow’s workforce – and be a driving force behind economic change in this area."

"We believe the opportunities that lie ahead for Evansville students may take them virtually and literally to the far-reaching corners of the earth," said Sara B. Cobb, Endowment vice president for education. "We expect that through this Institute – and promising collaborations among it, the university, its Harlaxton College in Grantham, England, and many of the global companies in southwest Indiana – the University of Evansville students will have opportunities to gain new global perspectives, knowledge and experience that will carry them well into their working lives. We also hope that the Institute and the relationships it fosters will be a catalyst for spurring future growth and prosperity in the region."

An increasingly global economy drives the need for the changes in how business education is delivered, said Robert Clark, dean of the UE School of Business Administration. "It has affected a radical level of change. Instead of an expanding domestic market, the U.S. competes in an expanding world economy. If institutions of higher education are to truly prepare students, they must create learning opportunities that allow students to actively participate in their learning. The grant encourages this through support for student internships, consultancy projects, and business entrepreneurship immersion programs that support their academic programs. World citizens must be developed so that they may function professionally and culturally in our global society."

Because the economic vitality of any region depends on its capability to use its workforce to innovate and adapt current models to what is needed for economic change – "the Institute for Global Enterprise in Indiana will instill this global view in University of Evansville students, as well as share the entrepreneurial vision with the business community – becoming a catalyst to transform southern Indiana into a hub of global business, by providing the necessary research, education, training and networking," Clark added. College of Engineering and Computer Sciences Dean Philip Gerhart noted that, "The grant will allow us to explore linkages between engineering and business, especially in how they impact the international business arena and our regional manufacturing operations."

• A New Experiential Model for Business Education
  The new model of business education, through the Institute for Global Enterprise in Indiana, will have at its center an experiential business model that incorporates globalization. Faculty, students and the business community will work together to engage students. Clark suggested that this type of learning environment might include activities such as having student teams start "real" businesses, creating student consulting teams to work with area businesses on development activities, using real world corporations as cases, creating a new technology-enhanced learning environment for students that integrates technology across the curriculum and involving students in problem-based learning projects. Robert Koch II, president and CEO of Koch Enterprises Inc. and community leader said, "The needs of local industry have changed from basic-skilled production workers to a more highly-trained workforce that is able to thrive in different cultures. We need workers in every area of our international operations who can function socially and culturally as well as professionally whether in China or in Hungary. The support from Lilly Endowment will enable the University to fulfill this vital educational function."
• Faculty Development
  Faculty will receive additional training to enhance current knowledge in order to better prepare them to teach theory and application as a simultaneous exercise, and to be resources for the business community. Vice President of Academic Affairs, Stuart Dorsey notes that faculty excellence is critical to the University's academic mission and grant funding will provide strong support for these initiatives.
• Collaboration with the College of Arts and Sciences, Engineering and Computer Science, and Education and Health Science
  The UE School of Business Administration (SOBA) will be a strong academic partner with the other educational units at UE. In order to fully integrate the liberal arts and sciences, a committee of University faculty will work with the University's Center for Teaching Excellence to determine how to integrate knowledge gained in these areas across the curriculum. Recognizing the significance of the gift to the University’s future, Arts and Science Dean Jean Beckman said, "This grant will strengthen student learning about international perspectives, equipping them to become active community leaders, involved in their communities."
• Executive Education and a Professional Master of Business Administration Program
  Business leaders cite the continued development of the workforce as a critical element to competitiveness in the global economy. This grant provides funding to conduct a feasibility study on the economic and educational value of developing a professional MBA program. This grant will give the University the power to become a nationally recognized undergraduate model business program with a reputation for its global emphasis and integrated theory and application, as well as its collaborative business partnerships and strong graduate placements, Clark said. The University also plans to double current student enrollment in SOBA to 500 students by 2008, as well as increase the number of faculty.

The grant's funding provisions include:

• Approximately $10 million to support ongoing operational costs during the five years. Funding will include support for student academic scholarships and international internship stipends; additional faculty and Institute development and staffing; integration of the liberal arts and professional programming; enhancing links to Harlaxton College; research funding for visiting fellows; educational travel; library materials and resources, development of an executives-in-residence program, enhancements for the engineering management program, business community outreach and an international speaker’s forum.
• The additional $5 million in support will provide resources for the development of the University's physical facilities and technology systems to provide students with world class facilities. This will include the development of a video conferencing center. Noting the impact of the grant on the entire University community, Education and Health Sciences Dean Lynn Penland said, "We are excited about the opportunities that video conferencing will give us to allow students from many disciplines to benefit from enriching programs that would otherwise be inaccessible to our home or Harlaxton College campuses."

John Barner, vice president for Institutional Advancement at UE, said the $15 million grant will truly be transformational for not only UE, but also the region. "What a vote of confidence this grant from the Endowment is," Barner said. "It will definitely have a substantial impact on this university and will change the future for students at UE."