Archive: Business & Technology

Aurora, New York—Wells College is pleased to announce the addition of a major in Business to the College's program offerings. The major will provide students with the knowledge to build and manage successful businesses, engage them in the development of local and global communities, and encourage exemplary individual and corporate moral and ethical behavior. Having received approval from the New York State Department of Education, the College will begin to offer the major immediately.

"This is an addition to the curriculum that Wells has been looking at for a long time," said President Jonathan Gibralter. "We have the professors and we have the facilities to support a really robust major and create a meaningful program that helps prepare students for graduation. And from my point of view, this is just the beginning. We'll continue to see what works for our students and what potential students are interested in, and keep refining the way that we approach the major and the opportunities outside the classroom for business students to learn and to thrive."

Required coursework within the major will ground business students' educations in basics such as finance, management, branding, marketing, human resources and legal matters; while the College's liberal arts focus provides an understanding of statistics, economics, ethics, sustainability, and the psychology of organizations. Business education at Wells will take advantage of the expertise of faculty professionals as students develop their presentation skills, learn to apply technology to their projects, work with others to reach a goal, and mindfully manage both people and finances.

"It's important to recognize that not only is this a program that many students are looking for in a college, but that from our perspective as educators, we want to see students going into the world of business with the type of well-rounded, critically-engaged education that Wells offers," said Provost and Dean of the College Cindy Speaker. "We put a lot of importance on students learning to approach the world after graduation in ethically responsible and thoughtful ways. The skills students develop through a liberal arts and sciences approach are as important to the future of business as they are to the sciences, humanities, and the arts."

Wells implemented a minor in the field two years ago, and faculty recently approved the major as the College's second Bachelor of Science program. The program takes advantage of many strengths already present and available to students, including the student-run café The Grind, Wells' 4+1 MBA program with Clarkson University and in-development program with Lehigh University, and relationships with local Cayuga County businesses and organizations.

Founded in 2011 and endowed by Honorary Trustees Susan Wray Sullivan '51 and the late Pike H. Sullivan, the Sullivan Center for Business and Entrepreneurship will continue to support all things related to the program. "As a matter of fact, we already have a great selection of courses and extracurricular opportunities for students to draw from," said Sullivan Center Director Kevin Miles. "From guest speakers and authors to the popular Personal Financial Management course to the annual Be your Own Boss business idea competition—which we've been expanding every year—students from all majors are welcome to add business education or experience to their degrees."

"We're excited to be able to make Wells a top choice for ever more students," added Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Susan Sloan. "We talk with students from all backgrounds who want to study business and who want to come to Wells. This opens us up to have more conversations with prospective students and show them that we have the programs that they're most excited about. We've always known that Wells is just the right place for just the right people—adding this major makes that even more true."

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