From the Dean

College of Business Administration website

Welcome!

The College of Business Administration is dedicated to building self-aware leaders with character. Leadership is the application of knowledge to inspire and influence and accomplish an objective.  Knowledge is both curriculum based and non-curriculum based; our curriculum has four levels of learning where we teach our students to analyze, decide, integrate and lead.  To solve complex dynamic problems we need to have the quantitative analysis skills to analyze problems and provide data-driven solutions.  Those data-driven solutions need to be steeped in critical thinking to provide decisions that are thoughtful and consider all stakeholders.  Integration is critical.  How decisions become integrated into the fabric of the organization and communicated to all members of the team determines whether the decision is adopted and implemented.  The final step is building individuals to lead with humility, fairness and a sense of humor.

“Leadership begins with self-leadership, and self-leadership begins with knowing oneself.”  (Chris Lowney, Heroic Leadership, 2003, Chicago: Loyola Press, 2003, p.98.) While the curriculum-based learning provides a conceptual understanding of multifaceted issues, business leaders must be self-aware to lead; self-awareness is cultivated in the many non-curriculum-based student opportunities.  To become self-aware it is critically important to seek out opportunities that take you out of your role as a student:  be a volunteer to build compassion; spend time abroad to get world perspective; engage a mentor to recognize another’s point of view; enter a case competition to understand team dynamics; among many, many others.  Self-aware, experience-based problem solvers require us all to understand how we as individuals impact a decision and how that decision impacts others.

Character is the combination of qualities that distinguishes one individual from another.  A Jesuit-based business education is distinctive in how we convey the intellectual and moral qualities of honesty, courage and integrity.  Business decisions must not be solely based in the financial viability of an investment – informed decision-makers provide solutions that are socially just and environmentally sustainable as well. 

Again, I welcome you to the College of Business Administration and challenge you to take advantage of the many curriculum-based and non-curriculum-based opportunities to become self-aware leaders with character.  I look forward to learning with you! 

Mark J. Eppli, Ph.D.
Interim Keyes Dean of Business Administration and
Bell Chair in Real Estate

College Mission Statement

The College of Business Administration is dedicated to creating research with relevance and impact, providing innovative applied learning experiences and serving as a valued resource for business and society. Through our Jesuit tradition of scholarship, service and care for the individual, we develop ethical and socially responsible global leaders who are ready to compete in a complex and dynamic business environment. With a focus on applied learning, we create a strong community of researchers and teachers, learners, alumni, business partners and supporters who advance the practice of business through innovation.

Undergraduate Program Description

Professional undergraduate business education at Marquette University provides students with an educational foundation that prepares them to be socially responsible global leaders. This requires a focus on preparing individuals for responsibility in all aspects of their lives in an era of constant change. It implies that we will strive to graduate men and women who not only will become highly competent professionals, but whose careers will be built on integrity and the highest values of professional and personal conduct.

The College of Business Administration stresses three elements of business education: perspectives, knowledge and skills. The first is grounded in the liberal arts traditions of Marquette University and builds on the Core of Common Studies taken by all of our students. It is built on the premise that an effective business leader will develop a deep understanding of the religious, cultural, social, political, economic, international, scientific and technical environments in which individuals and organizations exist. This helps our students develop their own internalized value systems and prepares them to apply these values broadly throughout their lives. It also enables them to place business decisions in a larger context, developing an understanding of the potential impact of business actions more broadly on society. We believe that a liberal education is a necessary part of a professional education, and our curriculum is structured on this premise.

The College of Business Administration builds on the foundational educational experience provided by University Core of Common Studies. It does this through a college curriculum that amplifies and deepens the knowledge, skills and values imparted to students in the nine knowledge areas of the Common Core, and by offering students the opportunity to develop specialized knowledge and skills in a variety of undergraduate majors and minors. The College of Business Administration extends the student’s core experiences and focuses on further learning in pursuit of a specialized degree.

The second element focuses on knowledge of businesses and how they work. Initially, this portion of the curriculum focuses on college curriculum business knowledge required of all College of Business Administration graduates. This provides the foundation for a career as a global business leader. It provides each student with an introduction to the various functions generic to an organization such as marketing and finance and operations and supply chain management. It also stresses development of a clear understanding of the dynamics of the firm and the economy, the basic managerial and organizational concepts necessary to function in an organization, the interaction between a firm and its environment and an overall view of strategy and policy making within an organization. Building on this core, the curriculum provides the students an opportunity to specialize in a specific business area, such as accounting, information technology, human resources or international business. This prepares graduates for entry-level business positions — the start of their business careers.

Third, the curriculum stresses skills building, helping students develop their personal potential and allowing them to grow professionally as their careers progress. The building of skills in areas such as communication, quantitative analysis, team building, leadership, ethical reasoning, critical thinking and global and cultural awareness is an integral part of the curriculum throughout a student’s program of study. The development of these skills prepares graduates to continue to grow and develop in a rapidly changing work environment.