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Dean's Update...
The 2018-19 school year has come to an end, and what an exciting year it has been for the College of Business at Mississippi State University!
The College of Business celebrated two special anniversaries this past year for its Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree– the 60th anniversary of its on-campus program and the 20th anniversary of its online program. The College of Business’ Online MBA program remains one of the best in the country at No. 26 in U.S. News’ Best Online MBA Program rankings. This marks the fourth consecutive year MSU’s Online MBA program has ranked in the top 30 nationally. The Online MBA program continues to offer flexibility for graduate students between time spent with career endeavors and MSU classwork.
An MBA can provide a well-rounded educational background for any student, regardless of their major. Because of this, the College of Business implemented the MBA Venture Pathway (MVP) last fall. MVP is an exclusive, invitation-only program offering exceptional incoming freshmen pursuing majors outside the College of Business a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in a hands-on education that provides an accelerated path to a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree. The purpose of MVP is to provide motivated, high-achieving students with the knowledge needed to successfully land a business venture by taking a designated business class one evening per week through the Center for Entrepreneurship & Research (CEO).
This spring, the College of Business launched the Turner A. Wingo Maker Studio and MSU Retail Product Accelerator (Idea Shop) in downtown Starkville. The Maker Studio provides a comprehensive assortment of design workstations, 3D printers, electronics workbenches and advanced woodworking tools not commonly available, to help people build anything imaginable. Membership is available to the general public, and various workshops are regularly hosted for newcomers to the “maker movement.”
The front of the Idea Shop is a fully operational retail store, featuring products sourced from student and faculty entrepreneurs, in addition to other local community startups.
Once again, we experienced record enrollments this past year, with more than 3,000 College of Business students. These students learn and are mentored by 80 distinguished faculty across the College, which includes endowed professors and chair holders, all housed in the Seal Family Business Complex at McCool Hall.
Mississippi State is currently in its sixth year of Infinite Impact, the University’s capital campaign, which is less than $1 million away from reaching its $1 billion goal. The College of Business is one of MSU’s largest academic units, and because of this our College is pivotal to the success of the capital campaign. Any contribution through 2020, regardless of the designation, will count toward our campaign goal.
As always, it is our alumni and friends that make MSU a great place to work. We would love to see you if you are in town, and please let us hear about your achievements!
Thank you for your continued support of the College of Business, and Hail State!