Improving on a Trend : Black Colleges Seek to Refine Business Programs

More and more students attending traditionally black colleges and universities are receiving undergraduate business degrees, a trend that bodes well for increasing the numbers of African-Americans in business.

But while black colleges are proud of their business programs, they continue to strive for increased involvement from corporate America and improvements in their teaching of such topics as entrepreneurship and international business.

Such issues were on the minds of nearly everyone attending a weeklong seminar this week at UCLA designed to improve business instruction at black colleges. The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Summer Institute, sponsored by the North American division of Japanese auto maker Nissan, brought 25 faculty members from across the nation to hear lectures and engage in group discussions.

This year’s focus was on international business and included executives from such companies and groups as Motorola Inc. and the California State World Trade Commission, as well as international business faculty members from UCLA, USC and other universities. Each discussed the elements of a strong international business curriculum.

Professors at the institute found the focus on international business essential. Romie Tribble Jr. said the lectures gave him guidance for reintroducing an international finance course for students at Spelman College in Atlanta.

Rosetta Reed said she is pushing hard for a stronger international affairs curriculum at Talladega College in Alabama. The school already plans a study-abroad program and is trying to “internationalize” its curriculum, said Reed, director of the college’s international affairs office.

Entrepreneurship training is also a critical need, several professors said.

“One of the major problems African-Americans have in this country is the lack of economic empowerment,” said Charlie Mahone Jr., associate professor of international business at Howard University in Washington.

Increasing the numbers of business degrees is a good step toward such empowerment, many faculty members said. A not yet released Educational Testing Service survey shows that more than 62,000 students received business degrees at black colleges in 1992, up from 50,000 in 1989.

More black students are seeking business degrees because such professions as accounting, finance, marketing and economics can provide financial security, said Vivian Carpenter, director of academic programs and associate professor of accounting at the Business School at Florida A&M; University in Tallahassee.

“Most black students see business as the key to economic development,” she said. “If you’re going to look for a job in corporate America, they’re going to look for a business degree.”

Carpenter said many students get internships at Florida A&M;, where three to five corporations recruit each week.

“We teach our students business culture and understanding of corporate values and norms that is critical to the success of an individual in the firm,” Carpenter said.

Still, more work is needed to involve major corporations at black colleges, faculty members said. Several new programs have bolstered that effort.

For instance, Spelman College has made headway into developing a relationship with Wall Street. In the last academic year, nine students were recruited by Wall Street firms for permanent jobs, Tribble said, and Morgan, Stanley & Co., a leading investment banking firm, plans to provide guest lecturers.