School of Business - James Bearden
This interview describes the School of Business . This and other articles may be found in the University Archives.
Citation for this article is: "School of Business, One of Finest in the Country," ECU Report, Volume 15, No. 1, January 1983.
Toward the end of the year, Dr. James Bearden announced his resignation as dean of the School of Business to assume the role as director of the BB&T Center for Management Development. He will remain as dean until a successor is chosen. Soon after the preceding announcement, Dr. John M. Howell appointed Bearden to an additional assignment of assistant to the chancellor for public service programs. "He will be working with me very closely to coordinate the programs of our public service agencies," said Chancellor Howell.
Since you have been with the School of Business since its formation, would you tell our readers about the beginnings of this important facet of the University?
Education for business dates back to 1936 when a department of commerce was formed at ECTC. It went through the developmental stages of being a department of commerce to a department of business education, then to a department of business and then in 1960 we became the School of Business.Dr. E.R. Browning was the first dean and I became dean in 1968.I can't over emphasize his contribution.His imprint is here and it is a good imprint. He laid the foundation when it was a very difficult task as we were changing from a teaching program to a professional business and management program.
Was there a master plan in those early years?
Our goal in the beginning was to become an accredited school. This consisted of decisions such as what type of curriculum would be put in place, the type of faculty we would employ, these were primary considerations. In just seven years we became accredited and that put us in a very significant position in higher education in North Carolina, because the only other school with accreditation in business was UNC-Chapel Hill. This was the situation during the sixties and most of the seventies.
Why was accreditation the central part of the plan during those early years?
If a school has accreditation, it indicates a certain endorsement that is of interest to the public -- that public includes prospectie students and their parents as well as prospective employers. It is difficult to achieve and maintain accreditation since the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) requirew high quality of curriculum, faculty, admissions standards, library and classroom facilities as well as administrative support.
How frequently do you undergo this examination?
Every five years we are subject ot examination and every 10 years a revisitation is made. When you consider there are over 1,200 institutions in the United States offering programs and degrees in business and management and of that number only 231 have accreditation, you begin to see how we are in a very select group. Only 182 institutions have accreditation for both masters and undergraduate programs, and since we are in that group, it further substantiates our special standing.
Are you able to follow the careers of the graduates coming out of your graduate and undergraduate programs?
The area we can refer to best, of course, is eastern North Carolina, and I am not overstating the issue to say it would be difficult to go into a major business in this region and not find our graduates in key places. We also have a great deal of success placing our graduates nationally too. Many of our people are in the high echelons in finance and banking and other industries. Even though it was not until this year that we had a separate accounting degree, we have a long history of our accounting students going into the big eight accounting firms.
Has the present economic climate affected the job opportunities for business graduates?
There is no doubt about it that the existing situation has made it more difficult for our graduates, but basically they are finding positions to match up with what they have been trained to do.They may have to deal with a short-term variation, but they will have a vantage point when the economic climate improves.
Are there any trends you foresee for schools of business, and especially ECU's School of Business?
Higher education for business is an extremely popular area of concentration nationally andwe reflect that on this campus. Back in the fifties maybe nine to ten percent of all baccalaureate degrees awarded in the country were business degrees.Now we account for about 17 percent of the total. So you see, the demand is there.In North Carolina 15 of the 16 public universities offer programs in business and management. In fact, North Carolina should be proud of the fact that four of its universities are accredited in both graduate and undergraduate levels. This high demand for business degree causes some anxiety on the part of people who recruit faculty to staff these schools. Presently there are not many institutions granting doctorates and at this time only one in North Carolina.If another school is selected institute doctoral programs in business, I believe ECU should be the one.
Another trend for all schools of business has been the increasing number of women seeking degrees which probably reflects the business opportunities available to women. Ten years ago women accounted for five to six percent of the business school enrollment, and now it is closer to 35 or 40 percent.
How does ECU meet the demand for business degrees?
We begin with our admission policy. As you know, a 2.5 grade point average is required for entry at the junior year.To some extent this requirement determines the number we admit. Then we have been able to add faculty as resources permit.As far as curriculum is concerned, that is just about as we envisioned it back in the sixties.There are five academic departments: accounting, decision sciences, finance, management and marketing.Any changes now will be fine tuning the programs offered by these departments, especially with the impact of computers.
What about future growth of the school?
Most of our major growth will be in the full development of our auxiliary agencies of which there are three:The Branch Banking & Trust (BB&T) Center for Management Development, the Bureau of Business Research, and the Center for Economic Education. As to physical growth, when the University gets the new classroom building, we are destined to have space there and that will give us a more productive setting.
Since you are the director of the BB&T Center for Management Development, would you explain what this agency will do?
The Center is designed on the premise that there is a great deal of information generated which must be delivered to the mangerial constituency. The Center can be the vehicle to relate new knowledge, new information, and to give practicing professionals the opportunity to resort, reorient, and invigorate their performance in the managerial world.
Is there a design in place to facilitate this?
First of all, I must point out that the Center is not completely new.We have had seminars in the past for executive management. The recently announced grant from BB&T will permit us to undertake a continuing program of offerings to management types, and this grant will give the broad support that is available and indeed necessary in good times and bad. We plan to have our major executive level development program annually which would bring top managers from organizations throughout the Center's region to campus for maybe three to four weeks. They would receive a broad range of information as well as specifics like the use of micro computers in the workplace.We also hope to run several seminars a year of a shorter duration and perhaps some two-day or one-day seminars.
Does this mean the faculty will have extra work loads?
Of course our faculty and those top experts we bring from throughout the United States would be compensated for their work with the Center since that would be outside their regular unit of responsibility. I might add that our faculty is very excited about participation in the Center for it gives them an opportunity to relate to the practical world of management and also provides opportunities to use the participants for furthering their research.
It appears that the objectives of the Center are very closely aligned to the "service to the region" objectives Dr. Howell frequently expounds.
Yes, this service to the management constituency will make a major contribution to that objective and it provides a wonderful interaction, as the executives grow from the experience and the University grows with the exposure and contacts we get from participants. I have been at ECU during four administrations.I was hired when Dr. Messick was president and then teaching was the main emphasis here. Under Dr. Jenkins the business school was able to lay the foundation for its future growth. Dr. Brewer encouraged shoring up the accomplishments which were already in place witha particular emphasis on research.Now Dr. Howell views the University as extending the teaching and research beyond the campus and the Center is going to do exactly that. Each of these administrators have been very good for the School of Business; however it is the current phase of university/region interaction which seems to offer the most opportunity for the School of Business.
Fortunately your association with the School of Business will continue through the Center, but would you like to comment on your years as dean?
My association with East Carolina which is approximately 25 years, is a source of pride and satisfaction, and this is due to many components. We have had great students, we have a faculty that is talented and diverse and fully cooperative with the heavy demands on their time, and we have had administrations which have all made a contribution to the School of Business. By virtue of my role with ASACSB accrediting activities, I have the opportunity to travel around the country, and I'm proud to say the reputation of higher education in North Carolina is very respected. I would like to think our School of Business has something to do with that.
