The Scott College of Business now consists of the department of accounting, finance, insurance and risk management; the department of management, information systems, and business education; and the department of marketing and operations.
A reorganized Scott College of Business at Indiana State University is well-positioned to provide some of the best top quality educational opportunities in the state, ISU officials said in announcing the restructuring.
The academic departments have been revamped to better reflect the opportunities available to students. The college now consists of the department of accounting, finance, insurance and risk management; the department of management, information systems, and business education; and the department of marketing and operations. They replace the college's former analytical and organizational departments.
"Students will be served by three smaller departments, each with faculty and staff providing services," said Nancy Merritt, dean of the Scott College of Business. "The departments also allow for greater interactions among a smaller set of faculty members and more focused attention to goals of a smaller set of programs, and to potential for new programs."
Faculty members started investigating the possibility of restructuring the college's departments in 2009, Merritt said. When the college previously had two departments, each one had about 30 faculty members representing multiple business fields, she explained.
"So when you have that many faculty members coming and going and representing those different fields of business, it becomes a challenge for the department chair to be able to accomplish some of the things that individual could be able to do as a leader," she added.
The names of the former departments also made it difficult to identify the programs offered in each department, Merritt said. ISU officials agreed to additional prominence for the program of distinction in financial services by combining the accounting, finance and insurance and risk management programs.
Marketing and operations also appear to have strong potential as partners in new programming, Merritt said. All three departments have new opportunities for faculty members to formulate curriculum changes, she said.
The departmental restructuring took effect at the beginning of this semester.
"This restructure will ensure that the Scott College of Business remains at the forefront of providing the best educational opportunities that are available," said Jack Maynard, ISU's provost and vice president for academic affairs. "It is of the utmost importance that we properly prepare our students to excel in the ever-changing and increasingly competitive and global business environment, and this is a step to make certain that we continue to reach that goal."
The change in departments isn't the only work happening in the Scott College of Business. The federal building in downtown Terre Haute will undergo a multi-million dollar renovation before it becomes the college's new home.
Though some departmental adjustments are still ongoing, the transition has gone well, Merritt said.
"Faculty members are meeting more than they have been," she added, "which to me is a good thing if they're communicating with each other in new and different ways."
Photo: http://isuphoto.smugmug.com/Other/marketing/Virtual-Tour-COB/38798125721154002710/540487684_6a2cW-L.jpg
A class in the Scott College of Business
Photo: http://isuphoto.smugmug.com/Other/marketing/Virtual-Tour-COB/2587409212008merrittnancy-7-of/540472860_BrZVS-L.jpg
Nancy Merritt, dean of the Scott College of Business at Indiana State University
Contact: Nancy Merritt, dean, Scott College of Business, Indiana State University, 812-237-2000 or nancy.merritt@indstate.edu.
Writer: Austin Arceo, assistant director of media relations, Office of Communications and Marketing, Indiana State University, 812-237-3790 or austin.arceo-negrich@indstate.edu.
