Recently in Education Category

In early February, my Development colleagues and I attended an event at a private home in Palm Springs.  The program included remarks by President Benson, Chancellor Distefano and me.  The keynote speaker was Leslie Leinwand of CU Boulder's Colorado Initiative in Molecular Biotechnology (CIMB).  When introducing me, the chancellor mentioned that the Boulder Campus "needs a strong Business School," a remark that pleased all of our alumni at the event.  

In my remarks, I emphasized the need for collaboration with other academic units including CIMB.  Collaboration has always been part of our culture.  We currently offer dual MBA degrees with Law, Anthropology, Computer Science, Environmental Studies, Fine Arts, Germanic and Slavic Languages, Telecommunications and Theater.  Entrepreneurship certificates in collaboration with the College of Engineering and the School of Music are also in place and we are in the process of establishing a partnership with the School of Journalism.

The Colorado Initiative in Molecular Biotechnology represents a very exciting opportunity for collaboration.  CU's commitment to this initiative is largely responsible for attracting Nobel Laureate Prof. Tom Cech back to the Boulder Campus.  The CIMB vision is to formulate a new model "for discovery, development, and commercialization of therapies to address world-wide health issues."  As such, the "Leeds School of Business will be a critical partner in the CIMB program by helping to build new programs for entrepreneurs that are prepared to lead in the global, competitive, and complex bioscience industry".  Our goal is to establish programs that would include courses such as UC Berkeley's "Entrepreneurship in Biotechnology", which are designed for both those who would like to commercialize research outcomes (i.e., the entrepreneurs) and those who may someday work in startup companies in the biotechnology or medical device space.  The collaboration is powerful because "not only will science students be welcome, but business students who are learning how to transfer technologies into the marketplace will be an essential part of the new education paradigm".

The most compelling argument for the CIMB/Leeds partnership is best stated by Damian Hine and John Kapeleris in Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Biotechnology, An International Perspective: Concepts, Theories and Cases: "biotechnology is at a crossroads; to date the science has been solid, yet commercial success remains elusive, and that it will be ... commercial success ... which will dictate the long term viability of this crucial industry." The Leeds school is proud and excited to work with our partners in CIMB to help bring the commercial possibilities of biotechnology to fruition.

To that end and in the larger realm of collaboration, I ask my readers: In what other partnerships would you like to see Leeds school involvement?

Sports-related business is an ever growing source of employment and new-venture opportunities for university graduates.  Here in our backyard, Denver is the home to five major sports teams: Broncos football, Rockies baseball, Avalanche hockey, Nuggets basketball and Rapids soccer. Jobs in the sports industry range from those within a professional sports team to sports facilities, apparel, management, marketing, media and broadcasting. Preparing students for jobs and opportunities in the sports and recreation industry is a natural fit for a specialized program within a business school.  

To that end, we are in the final stages of the approval process to offer a two-month intensive Business of Sports Certificate.  The program is a "business boot camp" for students interested in pursuing careers in the sports and recreation industry. It would combine core business training in management, marketing, finance, operations and accounting with specific topics that relate to the sports industry, such as union negotiations, venue utilization, revenue management and attendance, promotions and licensing, and information technology and ticketing.  

Classes are structured so in the morning, students will learn basic business concepts which will be integrated with industry specific sports' topics: the Economics of Sports, Sports Marketing, Sports Management and Leadership.  In the afternoon, students will be working in groups on experiential, researched-based projects. Each group will be assigned a specific project designed by one of our contributing partners: Alem Inter-national Management, CU Athletics, Denver Broncos, Kroenke Sports Enterprises (Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids & Denver Nuggets), Metro Denver Sports Commission, Phoenix Mercury, USA Rugby and Vail Resorts Management. Throughout the two months, students will have opportunities to work with industry experts in these professional companies and organizations.

There are great examples of successful programs in sports management, such as those offered by NYU's Master's of Science in Sports Business, a Graduate Certificate in Sports Business, and a Bachelors of Science in Sports Management. Our program is intensive and is offered to both business and non-business undergraduate students, distinguishing it from the NYU programs, and offering us a diverse pool of students.
 
The certificate curriculum is the culmination of more than two years of planning that involved Leeds faculty, University of Colorado Athletics and partners from the sports industry.  We are very excited about the opportunity to offer this new program and believe that will be of great benefit to those who choose to enroll.
 
For more information, please contact our Interim Director of Executive Education Robin.Miglarese@Colorado.edu.