December 16, 2014
MARSHALL NEWS MESSENGER (12/16/14) - The Fred Hale School of Business at East Texas Baptist University will be graduating its first ever class of MBAs in entrepreneurial leadership at fall commencement exercises at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 20 in Baker Auditorium of the Ornelas Spiritual Life Center.
The new program began last fall, and it is something that Dr. Scott Ray, dean of the school of business, is personally excited about.
"This is the brand-new masters of business administration that we are offering," Ray said, "and there was an MBA offered several years ago, but it stopped. When I came in about three years ago, I thought we should start the entrepreneurial leadership."
The entrepreneurial leadership program offers students, Ray said, "the opportunity to get more hands-on experience on how to manage a business at a more executive level."
Students in the program are of a variety of ages and background.
"With this program, they are either working with a company or prepared to open a new store or department, and we teach them how everything ties together , i.e. marketing, finances, etc ... how it all plays together as a whole," he said.
Mentors from the community are assigned to each student.
"The mentors are from the local community in Marshall - we have businessmen and women who either started their own business or working with a company. Each student has a new mentor every semester," Ray said.
Students visit their mentors regularly.
"That expands their network, exposure and gives them a chance to see how to manage people and handling businesses," he said.
More than a dozen started the class, and around six will be graduating. For this year's program, Ray said that "we have 10 students in it."
The program is very much hands-on.
"We do classes face to face, and have some things online, but for the majority, the students are in the classroom with other students, their professors and establishing relationships with their mentors," he said.
The entrepreneurial leadership degree allows students to do more than just "learn theories... they are obtaining more knowledge by the activities than they just get out of a book," Ray said.
For more information about the program, visit the school website at www.etbu.edu or call 903.923.2147 or email Scott Ray at sray@etbu.edu.
(Used by permission www.marshallnewsmessenger.com. Story by Rebecca Holland, Education Reporter)