Why Whitman?
Five reasons why the Whitman School is a top competitor among business schools:
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1. Whitman’s Global Outreach
The Whitman School prepares graduates to think strategically in a global economy providing multiple opportunities for experiential learning in the international marketplace.
Whitman offers six different courses in international business at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Students may also take electives from other colleges at SU including 55 international undergraduate courses and 37 international graduate courses.
The Kiebach Center for International Business provides Whitman students with opportunities to understand the global economy through student study exchanges and cross-country internships. The Kiebach Center also encourages students to formulate their own ideas about how to enter the world of international business by pairing them with local small business owners engaged in international trade.
Whitman students are given the opportunity to study abroad all over the world through SU Abroad, the university’s renowned study abroad program. The program includes overseas centers in Beijing, Florence, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, Santiago, and Strasbourg along with 20 additional participating countries. One-third of Whitman MBA students regularly participate in internships around the world, and Whitman undergraduate students often spend one semester of their junior year studying abroad.
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2. Student Global and Local Initiatives
Whitman students have various opportunities to make a difference in local and global communities through Whitman’s 13 student clubs and organizations.
SIFE Team Guatemala In fall 2007, members of Whitman's Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) organization showed their dedication to community service and helping those in need through taking on a project in Panahajel, Guatemala, underwritten by Unilever. Working with Mayan Hands, a fair trade organization, the SIFE team held workshops to teach women how to make jewelry from local beads and milagros that would be attractive to American college consumers. The jewelry, along with other products from Fair Trade organizations in Guatemala, is now on sale at the SU Bookstore in the Schine Student Center. An estimated $10,000 from jewelry sales is targeted to be returned to the women to help improve their lives and support their families.
Beta Alpha Psi VITA Tax Initiative Every tax season students in the Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Group provide guidance to their fellow colleagues at SU and the surrounding Syracuse community on completing non-complicated IRS short forms. The program sponsored by the business fraternity gives students the opportunity to help out the community and become IRS certified.
Entrepreneurship and Empowerment in the New South Africa Whitman students work with emerging entrepreneurs in South Africa through the Entrepreneurship and Empowerment in the New South Africa program. This program connects students to entrepreneurs who have overcome limited education and severe resource constraints and developed entrepreneurial start-ups. Students enter this excellent learning environment for a good cause - to share their knowledge of entrepreneurship, including finance and business registration, to the emerging entrepreneurs.
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3. Innovative Class Structure/Experiential Learning
The Whitman School couples innovative technology with experiential learning to give students opportunities to think strategically in a real world environment.
MAR 600 Brand Management
The Brand Management course offered to MBA and MS students uniquely uses the computer simulated game, Markstrat. The game places students in a virtual world where they must compete in groups against each other to develop new products and successfully market those products in the virtual environment. Students apply brand management strategies and collaborate with executives in the Syracuse area on how to better market their product.
Mar 455 Marketing Communications
In spring 2006, undergraduate students enrolled in the Marketing Communications course in the Whitman School helped to develop a marketing plan for a product manufactured by a local entrepreneur. The collaboration was a great success with the product selling out on QVC and is growing in popularity in international markets.
EEE 457 Strategic and Entrepreneurial Management
The senior capstone course in entrepreneurship emphasizes teamwork, with students collectively developing a proposal for a new venture based on an entirely new business concept. Students must pull together all of their knowledge from their Whitman education to create a creative and innovative business plan which they put to the test at the end of the spring semester for cash prizes in the annual Capstone Business Plan Competition.
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4. Eco-friendly, student-centered facility
The 160,000-square-foot home for the Whitman School was completed in January 2005. Every design decision for this new home was made with a focus on students and creating an environment that promotes a culture of collegiality and a high-tech, world-class learning experience.
A “Green” Building
The Whitman School of Management building has many sustainable, environmentally-conscious features, including:
- Erosion control plans to reduce impact on water and air quality
- Restored landscape areas with new trees to reduce impact of rainwater runoff
- Special roofing to reduce thermal gradient difference between developed and undeveloped areas
- Dedicated areas for recycling
- Some building materials made with recycled content
- Maximized use of daylight for lighting and heat
- Under-floor ventilation to increase air circulation
Student Focused
“They thought about students when they designed the building–every resource a student needs to study, learn, and excel is right here: computer clusters, flat panel displays, lounging areas, the latest training software. You can see the school really cares about providing us with what we need to prepare for careers in business.” – Mlungisi Mabele ’06 BS ’09 MBA, supply chain management
- 22 classrooms
- 200-seat auditorium
- 20 team meeting rooms each for graduate and undergraduate students
- three-story, 4000-square-foot Grand Hall
- undergraduate and graduate computer clusters
- 74 faculty offices
- a faculty research center
- an investment research center
- an incubator for entrepreneurial start-ups
- a 100-seat cafe
- a special-events room with outdoor terrace
To read more about the building and take an online tour click here.
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5. Caring for the Community
Community service is a requirement for Whitman undergraduates and is highly encouraged at the graduate and PhD level. Recent community-oriented projects and programs in which Whitman students have played an active role are:
South Side Innovation Center (SSIC)
Sponsored by the Whitman School’s Department of Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises, the SSIC opened in 2006 with the mission to spark entrepreneurial growth in Syracuse’s economically challenged South Side. Since then the facility has encouraged the development of 22 new businesses and assisted in 28 business turnarounds, bringing companies that were destined for failure back into profitability. This facility gives Whitman students the chance to work with aspiring entrepreneurs to develop skills in entrepreneurial start-ups.
ExportNY and CNYIBA International Business Forums
The Kiebach Center for International Business Studies at the Whitman School extends an invitation to local businesses in the area several times throughout the year to attend the ExportNY programs. These programs, along with international business forums, educate business executives on how to take their companies into the international marketplace. Students work with local businesses through the program to help them develop a better understanding of the global economy.
Ballentine Investment Institute
The Ballentine Investment Institute reaches out to the community each year by inviting students from Syracuse's Nottingham High School to attend an information session on the basics of investing in stocks. The students are able to meet and collaborate with members of the Whitman Investment Club, who teach them the importance of stock ownership and different approaches to investment decision-making. The students also gain advice on how to begin their own investment club.
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