Grove City College is launching a new School of Business designed to prepare current and future students for success, service, and ethical leadership in the marketplace.
The School of Business offers 15 majors in Accounting and Finance, Management and Marketing, Entrepreneurship, and the College’s distinctive, free market, pro-capitalism Department of Economics, along with advanced Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Science in Business Analytics programs and more than 20 minors.
“Our students pursue careers working in every type of organization in every sector of the economy. They work on Wall Street, Main Street, rural country villages, and everywhere in between,” Dean Michelle McFeaters ’88, ’02 said.
“Grove City College’s vision and mission includes developing leaders by equipping them to pursue their unique callings to work redemptively and for the common good in the marketplace. A closer and more intentional focus on this important work is incredibly timely, and it will pay long-term dividends for our students,” she said.
Programs in Accounting, Finance, Entrepreneurship, Management, Marketing, International Business, Business Analysis, Business Statistics, Human Resource Management, and Economics will prepare students to face the challenges of careers in an ever-more complex world with the knowledge, experience, and vision to become effective and ethical leaders in Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, reputable organizations, or even their own startups, McFeaters said.
In addition to disciplinary accreditation through the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), highly accomplished faculty mentors, multiple interdisciplinary opportunities, and diverse internship experiences, students can connect with the award-winning Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation at Grove City College, which provides a unique experiential component through programming, competition, and events designed to prepare students for success in any field.
From the College’s founding, business education has been a staple of the curriculum. Many alumni have made their mark on in the business world and projected Grove City College’s influence in the marketplace.
They include towering 20th century figures such as J. Howard Pew, class of 1900, who built Sun Oil into an industry behemoth and used his vast wealth to support countless philanthropic endeavors, and J. Paul Sticht, class of 1939, a legendary chief executive who led TWA, Campbells Soup, Federated Department Stores, and RJR and, over the course of his career, helped create the international corporation, and others who are transforming the marketplace today, like Edward D. Breen ’78, chairman and CEO of DuPont and one of the leading strategic thinkers and ethical leaders in the corporate world. Breen, who earned a degree in Business and Economics, also serves as chair of the College’s Board of Trustees.
“Now more than ever, the business world needs people who are as wise as they are knowledgeable. The School of Business at Grove City College gives students a holistic, integrated understanding of their vocations, the hard and soft skills to learn, work, and succeed, and the moral foundation to serve and lead ethically,” Breen said. “Establishing the School of Business is part of the College’s long-term strategy to create innovative programs and academic structures to attract and better serve students in a rapidly changing higher education marketplace.”
The new school’s administrative structure will allow the College to pursue additional partnerships with business and industry, strengthen the curriculum, and develop new undergraduate majors and graduate programs, McFeaters noted.
The School of Business ensures a cohesive academic program that provides students with a quality educational experience around a common professional core and carries weight with institutional accreditors and future employers, Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Peter Frank ’95 said.
“This moment has been a long time coming,” Frank said. “The School of Business will allow the College to pursue our mission and vision more vibrantly and more fully in service of our current and future students – and it strengthens Grove City College’s position as a leader in Christian higher education.”
The School of Business will be Grove City College’s fourth major-specific school. The academic departments it includes were previously part of The Calderwood School of Arts and Letters, which is home to education, music, humanities, liberal arts, and social sciences majors. The College’s STEM programs fall under The Hopeman School of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics. Nursing majors are part of The Charles Jr. & Betty Johnson School of Nursing.
Establishing a School of Business is one of the goals laid out in Grove City College’s strategic plan, which calls for optimizing academic structures and reviewing and reimagining the curriculum in areas where the college’s strengths and resources meet market needs.