Milligan College officially announces new MBA program

By Greg Miller
STAR STAFF
gmiller@starhq.com

   Milligan College officials on Wednesday officially announced the school's new MBA program.
   "Our executive MBA program is a response to what we believe is a great national need in the area of business and commerce," said Milligan President Donald Jeanes. "We believe that Milligan needs to lead out in that area."
   Jeanes said the business world needs leaders to make decisions with integrity and high Christian values. Those who are called upon to leadership positions in the world of business and commerce, he said, have a great responsibility, especially in light of all the negative things that have happened in the last few years.
   Jeanes noted that Milligan College's vision is to change lives and shape culture through a commitment to Christian leadership.
   "We hope that all of our undergraduate and graduate programs support that vision, and we're confident that our new executive MBA program will help us to further refine and fulfill that vision as we prepare men and women for leadership," he said.
   Dr. Bill Greer, Professor of Economics and Business at Milligan College, said today's world calls for a new kind of corporate leadership, the kind of leadership where ethics and values are not relegated to the margins, but instead are front and center, a part of each and every decision.
   "Milligan College has a stated commitment to produce graduates who stand upon the principles of Christian leadership. Milligan has, throughout her history, sought to produce graduates who seek to have a positive influence upon their workplace and upon those with whom they work," he said.
   Greer stated that Milligan's business faculty have responded to the school's renewed focus upon Christian leadership by developing the new MBA degree program that goes beyond the typical study of economics, finance, accounting, and management issues.
   "We have constructed a program that seeks to honor God by placing at its very core an emphasis upon Christian values, ethics and morally-based decision making," he said.
   The 18-month-program is designed to meet the needs of working professionals. The model is considered a blended program of campus residency, independent study and distance-based education.
   Hopefully, those who attend the program will improve their technical skills while being taught to think critically about their role as a positive influence upon the workplace.
   Dave McCain, Corporate Vice President of UBS PaineWebber, and a member of Milligan's business advisory panel, said students should "study and learn to the glory of God, which is, indeed a higher calling."
   McCain said the world does not need another crop of graduates who are experts in their specific academic discipline, but who are devoid of a basic ethical and moral standard that can best be taught from a Christian worldview.
   "I'm personally in support of an educational model that teaches MBA level courses from a Christian worldview, emphasizing our higher calling in Christ."
   Dr. Mark Matson, the college's Academic Dean, says the MBA has been developed with the high standards that are typical of the school's academic curriculum.
   "The nature of the program certainly fits well with our effort to reach and prepare potential leaders for all areas of society," he said.
   The four-semester program is scheduled to begin next July. Classes will meet one weekend per month at Milligan. The rest of the coursework may be completed online.
   Milligan has been considering the new program since 1994, according to Jeanes. "The past two years, we have worked extremely hard to make this program a reality," he said.
   The schools' faculty and board of directors gave final approval to the program last month.