China and International Efforts
An important part of the strategic direction of the Bill and Vieve Gore School of Business is enhancing our global presence, and increasing the global networks of influence on behalf of our students, alumni, and the entire Westminster College community. As part of that we have been enjoying wonderful opportunities traveling with our students to all corners of the world for many years now. During the last couple of years, we have been developing a special emphasis on our relationships in China. Dr. Chris Tong, Director of our Center for China America Business Studies, has led groups of our MBA students to China every year for more than 7 years now and has provided leadership and energy to the development of our relationships there.
During this time we have spent considerable amounts of energy on our relationships with Donghua University in Shanghai and Nankai University in Tianjin, which is a port city just to the Southeast of Beijing. We have been actively developing student and faculty exchange programs, and now we have two formal degree programs with these universities: a Westminster MBA degree offered at Donghua University, and a Dual BA in Economics with Nankai University.
The MBA offered at Donghua is unique. It blends our efforts in mentored learning through the use of projects along with additional elements that are uniquely Chinese. We are working with the faculty at Donghua to provide a truly global experience on behalf of our students there. Our faculty here in Salt Lake City provide the mentoring and coaching to their faculty and also engage with their students during live sessions there on the Donghua campus. We are excited about these opportunities and look forward to developing graduate certificate programs from Donghua that we will offer to our students in Salt Lake City as well.
The Bachelor of Arts in Economics dual degree program is another important addition to our global reach on behalf of our students. In this program, Westminster students are given the opportunity to spend two years in China, studying economics at one of the top economics programs in China. In this program, Chinese students come to Westminster the last two years of baccalaureate study, whereas Westminster students go to China during their sophomore and Junior years, returning to Westminster for their senior year. We believe this program will enrich the lives of students and make so many things possible in their lives. Our true hope is that we will be developing the leaders of tomorrow who are able to navigate this complex, and important economic relationship between these nations.
In addition to China, we are pursuing graduate certificate opportunities for our MBA students with a number of universities worldwide. These universities are located in China, France, Brazil, Czech Republic, Australia, and more. Our hope is that as our students complete an MBA at Westminster, that they will take the opportunity to add on a global business certificate earned at the foreign partner location as part of their program of study, thus enhancing language and global business understanding in very direct ways. Of additional importance, these certificates will become an important part of our student’s professional resume, thus setting our students apart with a true global distinction.
For more information on these new programs, please contact Stephanie Moyle at 801.832.2602 or smoyle@westminstercollege.edu.
