Purdue News

October 16, 1992 Purdue Will Set Up New Center In International Business WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. – Purdue University's Krannert School of Management has received $175,000 for the first year of a three-year grant from the the U.S. Department of Education to establish the Center for International Business Education and Research. Purdue is one of six universities that received grants to establish such centers. "The dramatic increase in international trade and financial flows that we've experienced in the past decade demands that we have a global perspective," Dennis Weidenaar, dean of the Krannert school, said. "The new center will enhance and accelerate the significant international and research thrusts already under way in the Krannert school and Purdue. We are particularly pleased that we will be working closely with other schools on the campus to achieve the goals of this important global effort." Marie Thursby, professor of economics, will be director of the new center, which also will involve faculty and programs in the School of Liberal Arts, School of Agriculture and Schools of Engineering. Thursby said the purpose of the center is to expand the international expertise of students, faculty and the Indiana business community as well as the nation at large. "This grant will provide support for new teaching and research programs for university students and managers on all aspects of international business," Thursby said. "These will include business language and culture courses, as well as research related to international competitiveness of Indiana businesses." A unique feature of the Purdue center, she added, will be programs emphasizing the technological basis of international competition. "This builds on the strengths of our faculty, but also it addresses the critical need to educate managers who understand the importance of improving our ability to quickly and efficiently bring to market new products and processes," she said. Christiane E. Keck, head of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures in the School of Liberal Arts, will serve as director of the center's cultural and foreign language activities. "Preparing students for successful careers in the global marketplace in the 21st century demands solid preparation and thorough study of a foreign language and its cultural setting," Keck, also professor of German, said. "Only through a better understanding of others will tomorrow's leaders recapture our competitive edge. Funding for this new center will allow us to enhance our German for Business and Technology Program and broaden our offerings from among the other 11 foreign languages taught at Purdue, such as Spanish, French and Japanese." David Caputo, dean of the School of Liberal Arts, said, "This cooperative program will benefit all the schools involved, but more important, undergraduates will be better educated to compete in the new global economy of the 21st century. The School of Liberal Arts is delighted to be part of this initiative." The grant will provide for implementation of new courses including an international business ethics course, short courses in foreign languages and cultures, and multi-disciplinary seminars. Plans also call for expansion of current international student-internship programs, introduction of a master'sdegree option in international studies, and development of business seminars to help Indiana food manufacturers enter foreign markets. Other features of the new center include a visiting scholar program, faculty research and development grants, and teacher-training workshops that will lead to publication of an instructional manual to be distributed to secondary-school teachers nationwide. In addition to Purdue, the other universities that received grants to establish centers for international business education and research are Indiana University, Georgetown University, University of Illinois, University of Chicago and Duke University. With the six new centers, there are 23 nationwide. "We are pleased to be among those chosen," Thursby said. "The center will boost Purdue's already strong reputation of being a world-class university." The $175,000 from the U.S. Department of Education will finance 69 percent of the total firstyear cost of the project, while the remaining 31 percent, or $79,996, will come from nongovernmental sources. Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu