If you think the academy is light-years away from the “real world,” you must abandon those notions when walking into the office of Berkwood Farmer, dean of the Raj Soin College of Business at Wright State University.
Farmer’s office is attached to a large conference room with a big oval table, and he sits comfortably in a dark blue suit, leaning back in his chair when talking about his organization’s big picture and alternately leaning forward when talking about specific programs that excite him. In the low tones of a deep, Virginia-influenced accent, he confidently describes his approach to managing his College as expertly as would any other business executive in the region.
Farmer, who has a Ph.D. in economics, took his post as dean a decade ago and works to cultivate a mutually productive and profitable relationship between the College and the local business community.
“We’re here, we’re active, and we want to make this place better,” Farmer said.
The College has numerous programs that are designed to help both local businesses and Wright State’s business students.
For instance, students in one master’s degree program — who are also full-time employees at local companies and organizations — have helped their companies identify ways to save millions of dollars each year in supply chain costs, said Dwight Smith-Daniels, chair of the department of information systems and operations management.
A three-student team identified ways the U.S. Air Force could save $50 million each year for each line of aircraft it manufactures, Smith-Daniels said. The students, who graduated this spring, saw that the Air Force stores aircraft parts at each of its manufacturing facilities and argued that storing certain materials at centralized locations and shipping them to branches as needed would be logistically more effective. The change would allow for better planning and fewer parts to be stored, saving the Air Force money.
Another student who works for The Kroger Co. in Cincinnati saw ways to save the company between $5 million to $10 million each year. By improving how workers can identify existing inventory for foods with limited shelf lives, such as meats, dairy and fruits and vegetables, the company could better predict its current and future needs for certain products.
These students graduated from the one-year, low-residency master’s degree program in logistics and supply chain management, which accepts about 100 students per year.
The final projects by students in this program on average identify $5 million in annual savings for their companies, while those by students in the master’s of information systems program on average identify $1 million in annual savings, Smith-Daniels said.
The business college’s involvement with local businesses extends beyond the information systems and operations management department. The College also houses the Center of Innovative Management, run by faculty and graduate students, which works with area businesses to take their products to market. The six-year-old center has worked with Beavercreek-based Cornerstone Research Group to market a product as well as with Kettering-based National Composite Center to help them develop a business plan.
The College’s accounting department also has engaged with local government. Students in the master’s of accountancy program have provided audit services to Huber Heights City Schools, allowing students to gain on-the-ground experience.
“I don’t know of any business school where students work more with businesses,” Farmer said of the College.
Wright State also is the lead center for this region’s Small Business Development Centers — encompassing a nine-county area — and is working with 700 to 800 business to help launch start- ups or grow existing operations, said Earl Gregorich, director.
The Wright State Small Business Development Center works with Seepex Inc., the Enon-based industrial pump maker that recently gained $7.8 million in low interest loans from Ohio’s Development Financing Advisory Council. The company is looking to build a 40,000-square-foot building adjacent to its current 38,000-square-foot facility.
The Wright State SBDC advised Seepex about pitching itself to lenders and structuring its marketing approaches, Gregorich said.
The SBDC helps forge connections between local businesses and students. In the 10-week spring quarter, 22 companies worked with 80 to 100 graduate and undergraduate students to develop marketing and other plans for the companies and to provide the students with real-world experience.
“The students get to practice what they’ve learned in class,” Farmer said. “When they get ready to graduate, the business knows more about what they can do. … It’s a way to demonstrate how good they are before the business so they can be hired later.”
Erik Collins, economic development manager for Montgomery County, said that Wright State’s business college has helped attract companies to the region. The school is part of BusinessFirst! For a Greater Dayton Region, a regional business retention and expansion program for which Collins serves as manager.
In this capacity, officials at the College meet with prospective businesses, such as Payless ShoeSource, to discuss the strengths of the region. Once Payless chose to locate in Brookville, Wright State’s supply chain management team talked with executives there about opportunities to make the company’s supply chain more efficient, Collins said.
“Dr. Hopkins (Wright State University president), Berkwood Farmer and the staff have been vocal about being really partners in the business community, and I think they’ve really lived up to that billing,” Collins said.
Facing down budget cuts In the last two years, Farmer has had to give up $1.5 million of his College’s annual budget.
To deal with the 3.5 percent blow to the budget, which has left him to work with $16 million annually, the business school dean has had to cut some course offerings and increase class sizes.
As he faces state budget cuts forcing him to run a tighter ship, Farmer is implementing new programs designed to attract additional students. He also continues to make productive and profitable connections between the business school and the local business community to market its brand, which is highly respected in the education community.
The College has continued to maintain its prestigious business accreditation by AACSB International — The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.
The college’s accounting program also maintained its specialized accreditation after demonstrating it continues to satisfy standards specific to the discipline and profession of accounting.
Only 620 schools of business, or fewer than 5 percent worldwide, have earned the distinction in management education.
“This is the most stringent accreditation a business school could receive, from the highest accrediting body in the country,” Farmer said.
Of the 1,680 institutions that provide business programs in the U.S., fewer than 30 percent — 481 programs — hold business accreditation from the AACSB.
Only 10 percent of schools in the nation have achieved both business and accounting accreditation.
“Most big firms won’t recruit from a program that isn’t AACSB-accredited,” said James Greenspan, accounting department chairman. “Maintaining our accreditation is a tribute to the success of the students and faculty in the accounting program, and our students will continue to have that recruitment competitive edge.”
To maintain accreditation a business program must undergo an internal review every five years. The program must demonstrate it meets 21 quality standards relating to faculty qualification, strategic management of resources, interactions of faculty and students, as well as a commitment to continuous improvement and achievement of learning goals in degree programs. Specialized accounting accreditation requires meeting an additional 15 standards specific to the field.
Other programs to help attract new students include weekend master’s of business administration courses at its main campus, as well as its Celina and Mason campuses. The master’s degree programs in information systems and logistics and supply chain management also are new additions.
In fall 2012, the college will roll out an executive MBA program that will bring in 30 to 50 Chinese students with at least 3-5 years of business experience.
Yvonne Teems-Stephens is a freelance writer for the Dayton Business Journal. E-mail dayton@bizjournals.com. Call (937) 528-4400.
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