07/11/12 mb/ks
HAYS,
Kan. -- Dr. Edward H. Hammond, president of Fort Hays State University, has announced
that the college that houses the Department of Economics, Finance, and
Accounting, the Department of Informatics, and the Department of Management and
Marketing has been renamed the "College of Business and Entrepreneurship."
The
college was previously named the "College of Business and Leadership."
The Kansas Board of Regents approved the name change at its monthly meeting in
June.
The
president explained why the name change was needed. "The Department of
Leadership Studies was moved from the business college in 2008 to the College
of Arts and Sciences," he said. "Therefore, 'leadership' as a program
was no longer relevant to the name of this academic unit. The term 'leadership'
in the title caused confusion among students, international partners, and even
faculty and staff on campus. While important as a business concept, leadership has
less relevance to the name of this college."
He
continued: "State governmental leaders have asked Fort Hays State
University to focus on entrepreneurship. Regional economic development leaders
have asked FHSU to assist with entrepreneurship in the region and have asked FHSU
to partner with them. We believe that the economic future of western Kansas and
of Kansas as a whole depends on entrepreneurship."
He
noted that FHSU had very important existing initiatives in entrepreneurship.
"Both the Kansas Small Development Center and Network Kansas are part of
Fort Hays State University," he said. "These entities support
entrepreneurs and existing businesses across Kansas. The FHSU SBDC, which is
part of our university, was recently named the outstanding Small Business
Development Center in Kansas."
President
Hammond said FHSU needed a distinctive identity for its college of business,
and the change was a perfect fit because the university had established a
reputation across the globe for being entrepreneurial. "This is part of
who we are and what we are known for," he emphasized.
Dr.
Mark Bannister, dean of the college, said, "Many of our students are
interested in owning their own businesses or being part of a start-up businesses.
Entrepreneurship is an area of study and expertise that can be shared with
students across the institution regardless of major. Students in the sciences,
agriculture, health care and even the humanities can benefit from the
fundamentals of entrepreneurship, in addition to students in our college. It is
a natural that this college take the lead in providing entrepreneurship
education."
Bannister
said that in the short-term the college would update its minor in
entrepreneurship, develop certificates and non-credit efforts in entrepreneurship
for non-majors, and would develop an emphasis in entrepreneurship for Bachelor
of Business Administration students that would tie in with multiple majors in
the college.
"In
the longer term, the college will thread entrepreneurship throughout the business
administration and informatics program cores," Bannister said. "For
nearly 15 years, the media and technology students in the informatics program,
formerly the Department of Information Networking and Telecommunications,
regularly created business plans as part of their degree work. Multiple
students have actually started businesses based on these plans." He cited Tech
Junkies and Wasinger Technology as two examples.
"We
have external organizations that are interested in partnering with FHSU for
exciting activities, such as start-up weekends, business plan competitions, scholarships
for students and business incubation," he said. "Some state leaders
have discussed the idea of FHSU creating a high school honors program similar
to the Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science that focuses on
entrepreneurship. We can take only so many steps at a time, but these may be
part of the college’s future."
President
Hammond concluded the announcement of
the name change by stating, "Finally, the name of the college is in
alignment with the university’s tagline -- Forward thinking. World ready. The
College of Business and Entrepreneurship, in both name and purpose, now
exemplifies one of the five key principles -- innovation that drives solutions
-- that serve as the foundation for the FHSU's new mission and strategic
direction."