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April 2012 Graduate Business Education in Adventist Colleges and Universities: History and Challenges Annetta M. Gibson Andrews University, [email protected]

Robert Firth Andrews University

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Recommended Citation Gibson, Annetta M. and Firth, Robert, "Graduate Business Education in Adventist Colleges and Universities: History and Challenges" (2012). School of Business Administration Faculty Publications. Paper 1. http://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/sba-pubs/1

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Business Administration at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in School of Business Administration Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GraduaTe BuSIneSS eduCaTIon In advenTIST ColleGeS and unIverSITIeS: H ISTORYAND C HALLENGES raduate business educa- Single and Double Entry, Commercial ulty, especially academically trained tion is in high demand Calculations and the Philosophy of teachers with terminal degrees. At the everywhere, including the Morals of Business (1866) as one of the same time, a new business accrediting Seventh-day Adventist college textbooks. The Second Annual body, the AACSB (Association to Ad- Church. Since 1990, 34 Catalogue included bookkeeping as a vance Collegiate Schools of Business) GMaster’s programs in business have separate course.2 By 1879, the college developed standards for business cur- been started at various Adventist col- had a Commercial Department, which riculum, library holdings, faculty quali- leges and universities; 14 of these pro- continued when the school moved in fications, and faculty research. Depart- grams were initiated between 2005 and 1901 to Berrien Springs, Michigan. ments of business became schools and 2010. How did graduate business edu- Other Adventist colleges that opened colleges of business and gained signifi- cation get its start within the denomi- between 1880 and the early 1900s also cant academic respectability within nation? What is its story? had commercial departments. The typ- their academic communities. Doctoral Sometimes the confluence of timing ical curriculum included courses in the programs in all business specialties and vision gives a particular institu - history of business, bookkeeping, busi- quickly developed at the major univer- tion or a person the opportunity to ness law, office machines, and various sities across the , and to “mother” growth in a particular area, secretarial subjects.3 some extent in Europe. which subsequently supports the Because the late 1800s and early Adventist schools struggled to keep church’s institutions in a unique way. 1900s were the era of the “self-made” up with the rapid changes in the busi- Such is the case with graduate business businessman, commercial departments ness field. In the early 1950s, the church education in Adventist higher educa- did not possess significant academic had only about 30 to 40 business teach- tion. Interestingly, its roots, like the stature at most colleges and universi- ers—all white males.7 The business fac- roots of the medical work of the ties, public or private. While Ph.D. de- ulty of the typical North American Ad- church, were established in Battle grees existed in some disciplines, they ventist college throughout the 1950s and Creek, Michigan. Battle Creek Sanitar- were not available in business. The into the mid-1960s consisted of one or ium became the “mother” of a large courses offered by commercial depart- two men. If a woman was hired, she gen- number of Adventist hospitals and ments were seen as too practical to be erally taught only secretarial courses like medical institutions, with its graduates part of a standard university curricu- typing and shorthand. leaving Michigan to serve around the lum, but they were considered essential By the late 1950s, the male business world.1 Similarly, Battle Creek College, in an Adventist college because of the faculty members usually had earned the church’s first institution of higher need to train church employees. Master’s degrees. Dr. Robert Firth, chair learning, which eventually became Em- The years after World War II of the business department at Union manuel Missionary College and then brought major changes to colleges and College (Lincoln, Nebraska) from 1952- Andrews University, was the educa- universities across the United States, as 1964, described his resources as: “two tional “mother” whose offspring estab- thousands of men took advantage of faculty, a small office in the basement, a lished undergraduate business educa- U.S. Government funding for advanced phone, a typewriter, a shared reader, and tion, and ultimately graduate-level education as they sought to reintegrate $500 a year for books and magazines for training, around the world. into U.S. society after the war.4 Enroll- the library.”8 Firth taught six classes a se- ment in all colleges and universities mester and took graduate work toward The Beginning across the U.S., Adventist schools in- his doctorate in management at the Uni- The First Annual Catalogue (1875) cluded, increased dramatically—in versity of Nebraska in his “spare time.” for Battle Creek College did not list some cases doubling almost overnight.5 He completed his Ph.D. in management specific courses but did include May- Business curriculum offerings ex- in 1960—the first doctorate in manage- hew’s Practical Book-keeping Embracing panded and became more specialized ment in the denomination. At that in response to the enrollment expan- sion. 6 Along with specialization came an increased demand for business fac-

BY ANN GIBSON AND ROBERT FIRTH http://jae.adventist.org The Journal of Adventist Education • April/May 2012 41 Page 40: Secretarial science student in the 1970s. Above: Early Adventist college business departments often focused their curriculum on secretarial skills—shown above is the Emmanuel Missionary College (now Andrews University) Stenographic Department, 1911-1912. time, seven Adventists, worldwide, had fied personnel with graduate degrees in the undergraduate business program at business-related Ph.D.’s, most of them varied fields to serve its growing educa- Andrews, create an M.B.A. curriculum, in economics or accounting, but none tional institutions around the world. Ac- and find the necessary faculty for the in management (e.g., Economics: cordingly, the Seventh-day Adventist graduate program—all in one year— Ralph Koorenny at La Sierra College Theological Seminary was transferred was a difficult one. Given the scarcity [Riverside, California] and Charles from Washington, D.C., to the campus of church members with doctorates, Stokes at Atlantic of Emmanuel Missionary College in Firth described the experience as one [South Lancaster, ]; Ac- Berrien Springs, Michigan. The move of “searching for faculty” everywhere counting: Robert Boyd at Pacific Union made it possible to create Andrews Uni- possible.11 College [Angwin, California]).9 Wayne versity, with initial graduate programs in The Andrews M.B.A. program VanderVere, who taught at Southern teacher education, school administra- opened in the summer of 1965 with Missionary College in Collegedale, tion, and ministerial education. Firth and Wayne VandeVere (borrowed Tennessee (now Southern Adventist In 1964, Robert Firth was asked to from Southern Missionary College for University), and is probably the best- join the Andrews University faculty for the summer) teaching the classes to the known Adventist accounting teacher, the specific purpose of developing a 10 students enrolled in the program. received his Ph.D. from Michigan State graduate program in business to help Five years later (1970), the business fac- University in 1967. VandeVere was the upgrade business personnel in church ulty at Andrews consisted of a total of first Seventh-day Adventist to hold institutions. Although the church ini- five faculty (all Caucasian men), three both a Ph.D. in accounting and the tially focused on developing graduate of them doctorally qualified in busi- CPA certificate.10 programs in the United States, these ness. By the time Firth retired from An- early moves would be repeated around drews University’s School of Business The Need for Business Graduate the world and in every division. The Administration (SBA) in 1993, it had Education graduate programs in other territories, 21 business and computer science fac- By the early 1960s, the Adventist but especially those specializing in busi- ulty, 15 of whom had doctorates, three Church recognized the need for quali- ness, would model their graduate pro- of whom were women, and two of grams after the ones at Andrews. whom were minorities. Dr. Firth’s assignment to strengthen

42 The Journal of Adventist Education • April/May 2012 http://jae.adventist.org Firth served as chair of the Business at colleges and universities around the within church-related colleges and uni- Department at Andrews from 1964-1978 world. For example, the university’s versities did not begin until the 1990s. and remained a member of the business M.B.A. business alumni have taught or As Figure 1 indicates, over the past 20 faculty until his retirement. Between are currently teaching at 20 colleges and years there has been an explosion of 1978 and 1993, he developed the An- universities.13 At the present time, three graduate degrees in business offered at drews University Press and made many division treasurers are graduates of the the denomination’s colleges and uni- overseas trips as part of the institution’s Andrews M.B.A. program, as well as the versities, starting with an M.B.A. with a affiliations program. His work with affil- General Conference treasurer and un- health-care emphasis at the Adventist iations during the 1980s and early 1990s dertreasurer. Numerous union and con- International Institute of Advanced helped Adventist colleges around the ference treasurers, General Conference Studies (Philippines) in 1990, an world to build and improve their busi- auditors, and hospital and school ad- M.B.A. at River Plate Adventist Univer- ness programs through consultation and ministrators are also alumni of the An- sity (Argentina) in 1991, and at Monte- in some cases, by arranging scholarships drews business program. morelos University (Mexico) in 1993. to Andrews University that provided ad- Although the second Master’s pro- The challenges of rapid growth are dis- vanced business education for business gram in business in Adventist educa- cussed later in this article. faculty at affiliated campuses. tional system was started at La Sierra The influence of the School of Busi- Today, most of those colleges are University (then a campus of Loma ness at Andrews University has contin- highly acclaimed universities offering Linda University) in 1982, the real ued through its sponsorship, since their own degrees that are fully recog- growth in graduate business education 1997, of the biennial summer confer- nized by their local governments. Some of them, such as and in Nigeria and Figure 1 respectively, have surpassed the Starting Dates for Adventist Business Master’s Programs Worldwide14 mother school, Andrews University, in the size of their business enrollments.12 1990-1995 1996-2000 2001-2005 2006-2010 The impact of the first graduate Six programs Nine programs Five programs Fourteen programs business program at Andrews Univer- sity and the foundation laid by the ini- tial faculty under the direction of Figure 2 Robert Firth cannot be overempha- Summary of Adventist College and University Business Programs, in 201116 sized. When starting graduate business education at Andrews University in Division Number of Schools Offering Identified 1964, Firth studied the AACSB stan- Four-year Business Programs Business Faculty* dards and requirements and followed (Undergraduate or Graduate)* their recommendations for a “common body of knowledge” as a basis for re- East-Central 5 31 quiring courses for undergraduate ma- Euro-Africa None Identified N/A jors and the graduate program. As a re- Euro-Asia 2 19 sult, the curriculum he developed has become a worldwide model that has Inter-America 9 63 helped to maintain a standard of excel- North America 11 75 lence in business education within the Northern Asia-Pacific 2 14 Adventist educational system. Many of the original purposes of the South America 8 156 Andrews M.B.A. program have been ful- South Pacific 3 21 filled as numerous Adventist institu- Southern Africa-Indian Ocean 3 19 tions (educational, medical, publishing houses, food factories, and conference, Southern Asia 3 21 union, and division offices) have been Southern Asia-Pacific 11 131 staffed by its graduates. While the Trans-Europe 1 None Identified alumni records at Andrews University are incomplete, it is known that its West-Central Africa 3 79 M.B.A. graduates from the first 25 years Total 61 641 went on to serve the church at all levels In some cases, it was impossible to identify whether a business program existed at a college/university or how many of direct church administration (confer- faculty were in the area of business because the breakdown by discipline was not available in either the Seventh-day ence, union, and division), as well as to Adventist Yearbook or in General Conference statistics. As a result, these numbers are probably understated. replicate the Andrews business program

http://jae.adventist.org The Journal of Adventist Education • April/May 2012 43 Above: Robert Firth (1964-1993) and Dale Twomley (1978-1983) both served as chairs of the Department of Business Administration at Andrews University. Twomley was named the first dean of the School of Business Administration when it was formed in 1980. Right: Malcolm Russell, longtime economics professor at Andrews University (1979-2002), chats with students in front of Chan Shun Hall, current home of the School of Business Administration.

ence for Adventist business faculty The Picture Today Adventist Yearbook, was 641—a huge worldwide. These conferences provide In 2010, 62 Adventist colleges and increase over the 30 to 40 business fac- a venue for presenting research papers, universities offered four-year business ulty in denominational schools in the encouraging research collaboration and programs and/or graduate work in busi- 1950s. The student population at the conversation about issues of mutual ness.15 Eleven of these colleges/universi- Adventist colleges/universities with concern, and opportunities for profes- ties are in the North American Division these departments/ schools has contin- sional growth for business education (NAD); five of which offer a Master of ued to increase over the years as well. faculty throughout the denomination’s Business Administration degree. Outside Schools with enrollment greater than higher education system. The increas- the NAD, numerous Adventist colleges/ 3,000 students (2009 figures—the latest ing numbers of business education fac- universities offer graduate work in available) are in West Africa (Babcock ulty attending this conference from business, in addition to related under- and Valley View universities), the outside of North America indicates graduate programs. Two church univer- Philippines (Adventist University of the that it is fulfilling a worldwide need for sities in the Philippines offer a Ph.D. in Philippines), Korea (Sahmyook Univer- a collegial and professional forum for business (Adventist International Insti- sity), South America (Brazil Adventist Adventist business educators. tute of Advanced Studies and the Ad- and Peruvian Union universities), the ventist University of the Philippines). Caribbean (Northern Caribbean Uni- In 2011, the current number of versity and University of the Southern identified business faculty at these schools, as included in the Seventh-day

44 The Journal of Adventist Education • April/May 2012 http://jae.adventist.org Caribbean), and the United States (An- School of Business at Andrews Univer- As a result, some colleges and universi- drews University). Many business pro- sity, from time to time, receives calls for ties find themselves offering more pro- grams in East Africa, Central Africa, help from around the world, asking for grams or majors within the business de- Argentina, Inter-America, Indonesia, books or teaching helps for someone partment than they can support with and the United States are approaching who “had a bookkeeping class in high sufficient qualified business faculty. enrollments of 3,000. school” whom the caller wants to teach a Business accreditation bodies have long college accounting class “because no one questioned the viability of a program or Current Challenges else is available.” While one can certainly major built primarily on one individual. Wh at blessings God has given and understand the immediate pressure to Whether or not the Adventist col- what growth the Seventh-day Adventist find a teacher for a class that is about to lege/university seeks business accredita- business programs have achieved since start, hiring poorly qualified teachers tion, it is unwise to create a curriculum Battle Creek College started its Com- does not strengthen a school’s educa- based on the strength of a single faculty mercial Department in 1879 and even tional program in the long run. member, as that does not provide differ- since the 1950s! We have much for 3. Academic quality of the programs ent perspectives on the subject taught which to praise God. However, with offered. There is increasing pressure and may jeopardize the program if that growth comes both new problems and from the tertiary institutions’ various professor leaves the school. Institutions challenges that are familiar to those constituencies to offer a wide variety of should analyze their programs and build who entered graduate business educa- business specialties. Within the United on areas of strength, while at the same tion in the 1960s. Specifically, the chal- States, the pressure to increase under- time considering the needs of and op- lenges are as follows: graduate offerings and/or Master’s pro- portunities available to their students. 1. Insufficient numbers of Adventist grams often occurs because of declining 4. The demand for graduate busi- faculty. All colleges and universities or static enrollment at the institutional ness programs. The above issues have must search for business faculty. But level (even if the business school’s en- produced increasing pressure in Ad- the challenge is magnified when a col- rollment is stable or growing). Outside ventist colleges/universities worldwide lege or university desires to recruit of the United States, where business pro- to offer graduate business programs, ir- business faculty members who are also grams already have large enrollments, respective of their readiness to do so. committed Seventh-day Adventists. the pressure to increase offerings may The call is often heard for the church to One reason for the shortage of business result from local competition or the ex- “grow its own” to accommodate in- faculty is that graduates have many op- pertise of one or more faculty members. creasing business enrollments and to tions within the business field other than teaching. Thus, despite the fact that Adventist schools graduate high numbers of business students every year, few of them go into teaching and even fewer of those work in Adventist schools. As a result of the faculty short- age, many institutions contract their business classes to local business people or educators at local colleges and uni- versities. These individuals may or may not be Seventh-day Adventists. 2. Academic quality of faculty in business. Closely tied to the shortage of faculty to staff Adventist business schools is the lack of discipline-specific training in business for the faculty who teach business courses. Outside of the United States, business is often the largest major on campus, a fact that only increases the need for appropriately ed- ucated faculty to staff all the subject- area classes that must be taught to an ever-increasing number of students. At times, the only solution seems to be to find someone (anyone!) who is willing to teach a business class, irrespective of his or her academic background. The

http://jae.adventist.org The Journal of Adventist Education • April/May 2012 45 Slimen Saliba, dean of the Andrews University School of Business Administration (1984-1993), displays the model of Chan Shun Hall, the new home for the school that was built in 1989. Inset: The building today. address the growing shortage of aca- outside of North America, for sufficient from the General Conference to begin demically trained business faculty. business-qualified Adventist faculty, ide- its candidacy once certain conditions While “growing its own” is an excellent ally with doctoral degrees, and for qual- are met. The church has a responsibil- strategic goal, doing so at the expense ity academic programs that will equip ity to adequately support these pro- of quality academic programs may business persons in the 21st century. If grams to ensure that they are not just produce unfortunate and unintended we do not have well-trained Adventist viable, but excellent, in order to attract consequences. Conversely, careful plan- teachers for the growing business student top-quality Adventist students. ning can lead to strong programs that population within our institutions, the Alternatively, the church might con- positively influence multiple constit - options are to (1) employ non-Adventist sider establishing doctoral programs in uencies far into the future. teachers for what is, in many cases, the business at the General Conference- As Adventist schools worldwide seek largest department on campus, or (2) sponsored graduate schools that al- to inaugurate or grow business pro- limit business enrollment until Adventist ready exist in the various divisions. grams, they should keep in mind that faculty can be found/trained. Given that While this would likely be an undesir- standard qualifications for undergrad- many schools see a business program as able choice for those schools already uate courses require the faculty to have a source of financial support for the hosting or planning to host business Master’s level degrees, with department school as a whole, it is likely that schools doctoral programs, it could help the heads having doctoral degrees. To teach will hire non-Adventist faculty for the church to pool its already-stretched re- courses at the Master’s degree level, fac- church’s business programs. This choice sources in locations that are currently ulty must either hold doctoral degrees will make it more difficult to train young GC supported, but geographically close in their specialty or be recognized ex- people for business within the church’s to the student’s home country. An al- perts in their fields. Offering a Ph.D. educational philosophy. ternative would be for several divisions requires that the university be able to Several possibilities exist for meet- with members who speak the same lan- support the research required for this ing these challenges: guage to collaborate on offering busi- terminal degree, including extensive As noted above, two Adventist insti- ness doctoral programs. faculty and library resources.17 tutions in the Philippines have devel- Another approach that could be pro- As a church, we must immediately oped doctoral programs in business ductive: If the school lacks sufficient re- address the growing demand, especially and one more, Montemorelos Univer- sity in Mexico, has received approval

46 The Journal of Adventist Education • April/May 2012 http://jae.adventist.org sources to offer a doctoral degree in We have trained many graduates to Second Annual Catalogue of the Officers and Stu- business, it might consider partnering work for the church and serve as loyal dents of the Battle Creek College, 1876, pp. 17, 25; with its already-established school of ed- laypersons. But the task is not yet com- Fifth Annual Catalogue of the Officers and Stu- dents of the Battle Creek College, 1879, p. 5. ucation. For example, when the business plete. Despite the challenges, we must 3. Robert E. Firth, “A Century of Change and department lacks the faculty or library move forward with vision, courage, Growth: Andrews University School of Business.” resources to introduce a Ph.D. program and confidence that the God who has Unpublished manuscript, 1992; and research by in business (given the business require- brought us this far will certainly be with Earl Beaty. ment for dissertations and extensive re- us as we move into the future. i 4. Herman E. Krooss and Peter F. Drucker, “How We Got Here: Fifty Years of Structural search in specialized areas), the business Change in the Business System and the Business faculty might collaborate with the pro- School, 1918-1968.” In Preparing Tomorrow’s Busi- fessors in the school of education to cre- This article has been peer reviewed. ness Leaders Today, Peter F. Drucker, ed. (Engle- ate a doctorate in business education, wood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1969), pp. 1-23. thus combining the strengths of two fac- 5. Firth, “A Century of Change and Growth,” op cit. ulties. Such a degree would be specifi- Ann Gibson, 6. Krooss and Drucker, “How We Got Here,” cally designed to meet the need for Ph.D., is a Professor op cit. teachers of business education within of Accounting and 7. Firth, “A Century of Change and Growth,” the church. the Hasso Endowed op cit. The church might also consider set- Chair of Business 8. Robert E. Firth, Presentation Notes (un- published) for the School of Business Adminis- ting aside funding at the division level Ethics at Andrews tration Adventist Business Teachers’ Conference: to sponsor select business faculty to University in “Innovation in Business Education” held at An- Adventist or public universities for Berrien Springs, drews University, June 17-19, 2010. doctoral study. This has been done in Michigan. Her teaching areas include fi- 9. Ibid. the past, with admittedly mixed results. nancial accounting, auditing, and busi- 10. Evie VandeVere, wife of Wayne Vande- Vere, Interview with Ann Gibson (notes on file), Those who have been sponsored often ness ethics. She has published in the 2010. do not return to the institution once Journal of Business Ethics, Issues in Ac- 11. Firth, Presentation Notes, 2010, op cit. they receive their terminal degree. counting Education, and the Journal of 12. Institutional Statistics for Educational In- However, many of the business faculty Applied Christian Leadership, and fre- stitutions (2009). General Conference of Seventh- presently serving in our colleges and quently makes presentations related to day Adventist Office of Archives, Statistics, and Re- search, Website: http://www.ast.gc.Adventist.org. universities around the world gained her professional disciplines in various Accessed June 13, 2011. the opportunity for additional educa- venues at the request of the General Con- 13. Locations include the following: United tion through church sponsorship. The ference Treasury and the General Con- States: Andrews University, , church should not entirely reject this ference Auditing Service. , , Oak- option, even if the return on its invest- Robert Firth, wood University, Southern Adventist University, Southwestern Adventist University, Walla Walla ment proves to be less than desired. Ph.D., is Professor of University, Washington Adventist University; In the late 1950s, the church moved Management, Emer - Canada: Canadian University College; Africa: to address the shortage of educationally itus, at Andrews Helderberg College, ; England: qualified workers by creating a univer- University. During Newbold College; India: Spicer Memorial College; sity to upgrade personnel across all his professional ca- Caribbean: Northern Caribbean University, Uni- versity of the Southern Caribbean; Australia: church institutions in the disciplines of reer, which was pri- Avondale College; Far East: Asia-Pacific Interna- education, administration, business, and marily focused on tional University (Thailand) and its predecessor, theology. As a result of that vision and teaching and administration, he also au- Mission College, as well as at one of the schools commitment, today one can go to al- thored/co-authored five books, including that merged to form APIU, Southeast Asia Union most every Seventh-day Adventist or- Cases in Denominational Administra- College (Singapore); Philippines: Adventist Inter- national Institute of Advanced Studies. Informa- ganization and institution around the tion, which was used in college classes for tion compiled in 2011. world and meet a graduate from An- a number of years after its publication in 14. General Conference Department of Edu- drews University. The General Confer- 1978. Following his retirement in 1993, he cation, International Board of Education Min- ence should make a similar commitment moved to Georgia where he and his wife utes; based on a review of minutes provided by today to train the necessary teachers, presently reside. Linda Torske, GC Department of Education, Feb- ruary 17, 2011. business managers, and accountants for 15. Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagers - its organizations and institutions. This town, Md.: Review and Herald Publ. Assn., 2011). would require vision and funding, but NOTES AND REFERENCES 16. Institutional Statistics for Educational Insti- the demand and need already exist. 1. Jane Allen Quevedo, A Thousand Miracles tutions (2009), General Conference Office of Every Day (Brushton, N.Y.: Teach Services, Inc., We have come far in our journey Archives, Statistics, and Research, Website (http:// 2003). www. ast. gc.Adventist.org). Accessed June 13, 2011. from a Commercial Department at Bat- 2. First Annual Catalogue of the Officers and 17. Refer to Association to Advance Colle- tle Creek College to graduate education Students of the Battle Creek College, 1875, p. 27; giate Schools of Business accreditation standards in business at numerous Adventist col- (http://www.aacsb.edu) for information on ex- leges and universities around the world. pected faculty qualifications in colleges and uni- versities. http://jae.adventist.org The Journal of Adventist Education • April/May 2012 47