Inspire, Spring 1998

A News Publication for Cedarville College Alumni Preparing Students for the Marketplace T he Cedarville College Department of Business . Administration has a single mission: Equipping students to have a significant professional and personal impactfor Christ in the marketplace. Since its beginning in the early 1960s,the department has focused on integrating Christian principles with organizational practices and on developing effective professional skills. Our diversified faculty team, most with significant business experience,share a deep commitment to these goals. Thus,a premium has always been placed on recruiting and retaining teachers who care passionately about creatively developing excellence in both the competence and the character of students. Forward thinking has been a strength ofthe department. Recent innovations include a thorough revision ofthe business communication technology major,the hiring ofseveral new faculty(80 percent ofthe full-time faculty either have or are in the process ofobtaining doctoral degrees), development ofnew courses in computer information systems,and the initiation ofa junior-level professional development seminar series focusing onjob-seeking skills. In spring 1995,the department became a charter member ofSigma Beta Delta,a national business honorary society. Currently,58 students and 15 faculty have been inducted into the Cedarville chapter. Over the years,the department has sought to challenge business students with a broad program ofstudy and extracurricular activities. The desired outcome is that the students might become effective, values-driven,Christ-centered professionals in a variety oforganizational settings. The department seeks to develop in its students a biblical world-and-life view throughout all four years ofthe business program.In their freshman year,business students take business prologue,a course designed to help students wrestle with business ethics from a Christian perspective. Sophomores take the foundational business courses(accounting,economics, statistics, business law,and computer information systems),all of which are integrated with biblical principles and perspectives.Thejunior level core courses in marketing, management,and finance address the integration of business and Bible. The senior year's schedule includes business seminar, which focuses on social responsibility issues ranging from environmental concerns to sexual harassment. The course challenges students to examine non-Christian perspectives they SPRING 1998 will encounter in the workplace,as well as to develop a strong foundation for positive and proactive Christian witness in business. What is the result ofthis concerted effort by the business department? In a 1997 survey of business alumni who graduated between 1986 and 1996,alumni endorsed the value of a business degree from Cedarville College. Alumni overwhelmingly saw themselves as excellently prepared to integrate the truths of Scripture with the obstacles and opportunities they faced in their day-to-day work.In fact, integration was identified as the number one strength ofthe department.