Priorities:Menlo College Faculty Project
Contents
Project Name: Creation of a Sustainable International Management Concentration
Project by Faculty Innovation Fellows Candidate Bruce Paton
Why is this project important to you, your department, & your Fellows?
Students and applicants have expressed interest in sustainability, but have had limited course offerings. I am the faculty director for International Management and have seen that the most challenging and exciting opportunities for students lie at the intersection between international business and the changing expectations of governments, consumers, communities and other stakeholders around sustainability and social justice. This program would allow me to use both my formal expertise and my focus on design thinking and related approaches to problem solving to address this set of opportunities.
Description
Menlo college has had an International Management Concentration or option within the Management major for at least 10 years. I am hoping to transform that concentration into a new major tentatively titled Sustainable International Management. The proposed new program recognizes both growing student interest in sustainability, and my own expertise and interest in the area. I became the International Management person by default about 4 years ago when the two main faculty left Menlo. I am planning to submit a proposal in the next few weeks for consideration during the Spring semester. The proposal would change one or two required courses, and would ideally add a new course focused on climate change and business opportunity. The premise of the new major is summarized in web-page language I got approved last year, when we did a minor revision to the curriculum. The program description reads as follows: Competing in a global economy requires new skills and new perspectives. Businesses across the globe face pressures from customers, social and environmental organizations, governments, and communities to meet new expectations. At the same time, they face unprecedented pressure to stay competitive in a global marketplace. The International Management Concentration helps students develop skills to identify and act upon new competitive opportunities resulting from these pressures. They learn skills to compete effectively in a world in which success comes from anticipating and meeting constantly changing expectations. I plan to add language that talks specifically about sustainability as a key element of business innovation.
Stakeholders served
- Students with interest in international management.
- Students with interest in sustainability (including both environment and social justice).
- Employers seeking skilled and talented new recruits.
Key Milestones
- December 2020: Proposal submitted to Curriculum Committee and approved.
- March 2021: Course proposal for climate change course submitted to Curriculum Committee and approved. First students adopting new concentration requirements.
- June 2021: Students begin first internships related to new concentration.
- September 2021: Climate Change course launches, new concentration officially available to students.
- December 2021: First graduates from concentration “soft launch”.
- March 2022: Faculty search launched for new faculty member.
An Innovation Portfolio
Artifacts will include:
- Curriculum proposal
- Syllabi for 3 courses (2 existing, 1 new proposal)
- 1-2 examples of student presentations
- Web content from Menlo College site
Related links
