By Michael Worrell
Staff Writer
The Business Department has introduced three new majors designed to make Bryan students more competitive in the workforce.
The three degrees are in Business Management, Economics and Finance, and Marketing. Unlike the department’s flagship Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, which has each of these as options, these are separate programs.
The three programs are Bachelor of Arts majors designed to work with other majors so that students can add to their skill set. For people whose primary focus is not business, the new majors allow them to get a business background that can support them in their career, said Dr. William Lay, professor of business.
Interim Academic Vice President Dr. Kevin Clauson, who was both part of the committee building the major and the approval process, said, “the three new majors draw from the Business Administration major, but they are not technically business majors. Each stands alone as a specialized area of business.”
Economics and Finance is more philosophical than either Marketing or Management, which are more specifically business-oriented, he said.
“The new majors allow students more flexibility in choosing a major,” said Dr. Adina Scruggs, associate professor of business.
A double major in history and marketing would help a museum curator. The B.A.s are more flexible than the B.S. with more electives, so they could be combined with another major or several minors easily, she continued.
No new classes have been added and no new faculty have been hired to handle the new majors. The Business Department has been able to use the same raw ingredients to offer new products, offering students more options with the same resources, she said.
The new majors, born out of a brainstorming session with Dr. Bradford Sample, former vice president of academics, has been three years in development.
“They will make our graduates more competitive in a difficult job market,” said Lay.
