Dr. Robin Sronce, Dean SAU College of Business (CoB)
Dr. Sronce, SAU's relatively new Dean of Business (second year) visited the Honors Seminar classes today. She came to SAU from Drury University in Springfield, MO. She called herself an organizational theorist and said her doctoral degree from Southern Illinois University was in organizational theory with a minor in sociology. She previously worked at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and is a Packer's fan.
She came to SAU, partially at least, because of the enthusiasm she perceived among students, faculty, and staff. She said she's still undecided about whether the climate is better here than in Green Bay. But, she added, they are completely opposite.
Business, she explained, applies theories to the world for profit (most of the time) and most business people do work for the good of society despite how Hollywood often portrays it practitioners. She claimed that most follow the rules and that they are "capitalists not pirates."
She urged honors students to come visit the Blanchard Business Building and to enjoy its now working fountain (while that lasts ;-) She showed them the CoB's vision and mission statements and said that those are where all plans must begin. She went on to cover some of the CoB's student programs: ENACTUS and PBL and also showed pictures of a recent student visit to a shale extraction operation in nearby Haynesville, LA. There, she stated all had to wear hard hats and fire-resistant coveralls. Interestingly, she added, the home office of that company employs four times as many accountants as engineers. Other trips are planned soon including one to Little Rock to visit banks and insurance companies. She pointed out that internships are very helpful to students' education and urged all in the audience to seek those out.
Dr. Kardas asked her to describe a typical day as dean. She said she was akin to being the CEO of the unit and listed many of her responsibilities including meeting with faculty, scheduling classes, dealing with accreditation, many meetings, and fund raising. Currently, there is a Dean for Day contest underway in the CoB; the winner gets to be dean and Dr. Sronce will take the winner's place in classes.
Dr. Sronce urged the seminar classes to consider taking a minor in business. She also invited them to the ongoing Backpack to Briefcase program where they could learn interview skills among other things. She revealed a new program under development in International Business that will require students to spend some time overseas and to acquire some language skills. She also mentioned the CoB's Career Closet which is a large collection of clothing suitable for interviews and presentations. She concluded by saying she strongly supported the Honors College and hopes that many of her audience will consider majoring, minoring, or just taking courses in the CoB.
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