College of Business unveils ‘Ideas with Impact’ series to showcase faculty engagement
By Bill Studenc
The Western Carolina University College of Business is rolling out a new effort that is designed to give members of the university community and external partners insight into the impact that faculty members are having outside the classroom.
Titled “Ideas with Impact,” the initiative is intended to illustrate how research and other scholarly activities of the college’s faculty are helping address issues facing not only the region, but beyond, said A.J. Grube, dean of the College of Business.
The college recently launched a new website, IdeasWithImpact.wcu.edu, to highlight some of that faculty work.
“It is no secret that the College of Business is well-regarded for providing high-quality, student-focused education at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The college has a long-standing reputation for preparing students to be ‘business ready’ as they walk across the commencement stage and into the workforce,” said Grube.
“Less familiar is the work that College of Business faculty members are doing across the disciplines to engage with our local community, the larger Western North Carolina region, the entire state and, yes, even the nation and the world,” she said. “We are trying to change that by drawing attention to the impact of faculty research, faculty scholarship and faculty engagement.”
WCU College of Business faculty members have conducted research, written articles for scholarly journals and edited books on topics including improving the so-called ‘soft skills’ coveted by contemporary employers, improving project management and performance, the impact of school choice on student mental health, the role of mandatory laws in international arbitration, social media and the hospitality industry, the use of artificial intelligence to prepare for job interviews, and the need for expansion of agricultural mediation programs to assist farmers in conflict resolution.
“I encourage our internal and external constituents to check out our website to learn more about the work of faculty across the College of Business above and beyond their important duties of teaching the next generation of business professionals,” Grube said.
