One year has passed since Dr. Sidney E. Harris took over at the helm as dean of the College of Business Administration. Many exciting initiatives were undertaken during the past year, and much more is planned for the next several years. Strategic planning has played a crucial part in the College's success, and will continue to do so. We thought our readers would appreciate reading excerpts from the dean's address to new faculty in late August regarding highlights of the College's strategic plan.

This afternoon I'd like to discuss our mission for the College and share with you some key strategies for helping us to achieve our mission. As you know, the College enjoys a strong reputation as having one of the best business schools in the country for working professionals. We're currently ranked as having the fourth best part-time MBA program in the country by U S. News &World Report, and several of our departments have been recognized nationally as well.

Although we are strong and are moving from strength to strength, we can be stronger still and must be to compete in the 21st century. The College's core strategy is to continue to build on the strength of its graduate programs, while maintaining strong and distinctive offerings at the undergraduate level. We enjoy a location that is distinctive among business schools, and we are committed to taking full advantage of our proximity to multinational corporations, entrepreneurial enterprises, and federal, state and city agencies, as well as not-for-profit agencies.

If we remain true to our mission of preparing students for the practice of management with the knowledge and skills needed to remain effective in a global, culturally diverse and technologically advanced world, I believe our work together will produce the results that we want: a college whose reputation shines brightly for all to see.

Building Resources

Let me proceed to some key elements of our efforts in the next several years that will involve resource building, from both private and state resources.

As we all know, funds are critical to conducting important high-impact, leading-edge research, recruiting top-notch faculty and students, establishing eminent scholar positions, expanding the number of professorships, and providing our faculty, staff and students with the best technology available to do their jobs. I want you to know that I work closely with our development officer and the department chairs to seek out potential donors to meet our goals as we help them meet theirs by providing highly educated students prepared for the challenges of tomorrows work environment.

Last year we had a banner year, raising $1.6 million in private gifts, which does not reflect additional income from the College's various roundtables and our state support. We expect that figure will steadily increase.

Strengthening Centers for Research

With additional resources, we can strengthen our existing Centers for research and create new ones that meet practical business and academic needs. Our Economic Forecasting Center is perhaps the most well-known research center. Dr. Donald Ratajczak, the Center's director, is consistently recognized by national media as being among the most accurate forecasters in the nation.

We are committed to strengthening our support and funding for other research centers in the College and to building centers of the same national reputation. As many of you may know, this past year we launched the Center for Digital Commerce to provide guidance and expertise for established companies, as well as start-ups, in the explosive area of electronic commerce. Our Center is the only "think tank" of its kind for E-commerce in the United States located on a college campus and is expected to be a major resource for the state in attracting and retaining industry.

The College also has launched a Center for Entrepreneurship, which will focus on the lifelong learning needs of student entrepreneurs, practitioners and entrepreneurial organizations. Here, again, we are capitalizing on one of the strategic strengths of this area. Atlanta was recently named the third-best city in the nation for entrepreneurs to start a business and succeed. We feel that our new Center will feed this growing hunger in Atlanta for budding entrepreneurs.

Additionally, our Center for Executive Education will play a key role in building a brand name for the College as well as providing relevant knowledge and management skills for the area's business executives and managers. Our Center currently is providing training for top employers such as United Parcel Service, Siemens, Nations Bank and AmSouth. When area companies seek expertise and guidance on management:skills, increasingly they will think of Georgia State University and the College of Business Administration.

International Outlook

Another opportunity for us to build distinction is through our emphasis on international programs and partnerships. It's important that our students understand that the world they are entering is indeed global and complex, with many challenges and opportunities that lie outside of our borders.

In that regard, we are strengthening our international component throughout the curriculum. The Executive MBA program recently added a one-week visit to South America for first-year students to experience the changing business climate in that increasingly important part of the world. During the second year, they will continue to meet with industry and government representatives in Asia.

The College also has joined the elite group of business schools and colleges around the country that offer a Master of International Business (MIB) degree. The program is the first of its kind in the state and one of about out 70 in the nation. Students in the program are required to be able to speak a foreign language.

These initiatives are just a few of the many that will be implemented over the next several years as part of the College's core strategy. If we focus on building our resource base, while maintaining the quality of our teaching, research and curriculum, we will be well prepared for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in the next century. With your help and the help of other faculty and staff in the College, as well as the assistance of our corporate partners, alumni and friends, we can continue to provide the best education for working professionals and build a College of distinction.

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