College of Business Administration

The vision of the college is to be recognized as a leading College of Business Administration within a Catholic university through its commitment to learning, values and research. The college currently has over 54 full-time and 35 part-time faculty members, who serve over 1,310 undergraduate and 333 graduate students. The underlying theme for the College of Business Administration is the development of ethical leaders for a diverse, technologically-driven, global economy. Given this vision, the College has incorporated external outreach into many of its four departments (Accounting, Finance and Computer Information Systems, Management and Marketing and Business Law) and six centers (Asian Business, Accounting Ethics, Entrepreneurship, Ethics and Business, Executive Leadership and Small Business Development). In addition to undergraduate departments and centers, the College of Business Administration also has a nationally ranked M.B.A. program and Executive M.B.A. program, which facilitate participation in charitable activities for both current students and alumni.

CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP

The Center for Entrepreneurship focuses on engendering entrepreneurial awareness and spirit at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The center has a global outlook toward entrepreneurialism, and in recent years it has been active in development in such locations as Russia, Germany, Singapore, China and Ireland. The center also provides a number of unique and special programs for students, and the community, such as the Entrepreneurship Society, the Entrepreneurial Fellows Program. The Center also holds a special awards ceremony to recognize ‘Social Entrepreneurs,’ who exhibit initiative in the areas of philanthropy and social justice as both business owners and members of the general community. Students are active doing entrepreneurship internships during the year. These internships are usually about 300 hours each. In 2005-2006 the Center had nine internships totaling about 2700 hours of service.

This program invests about $125,000 in total funding and a total of approximately 2700 service hours per year.

SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER

Since 1972, the College of Business Administration has been a leader in providing guidance for small business development. In January 2006, with the help of a generous grant from the Small Business Administration, the Small Business Development Center was launched with the purpose of providing education on the topic of small business development, and expertise to small business owners in the south L.A. region. SBDC endeavors include workshops, conferences and courses for the general public on topics covering the start-up and running of new and existing small businesses.

CENTER FOR ACCOUNTING ETHICS, GOVERNANCE AND PUBLIC INTEREST

The mission of the center is to encourage the ethical behavior of accounting professionals and organizational managers and to promote the accounting profession’s responsibility to serve the public interest. Through the Distinguished Speakers Series, publications and corporate partnerships, the Center educates both students and the general public about issues facing accounting ethics and governance within business, and the future for professionals working within this field.

The Center for Accounting Ethics, Governance, and the Public Interest had its first speaker in the new Distinguished Speaker Series in November 2006. Ms. Cynthia Cooper, best known for her role in uncovering the $11 billion fraud at WorldCom, was the first to visit LMU as part of the series. Ms. Cooper gave an inspirational and informative presentation titled, “WorldCom Warnings: What Went Wrong and Corporate Governance Lessons Learned,” to an overflow crowd of more than 500 students, faculty, alumni and members of the business community. Ms. Cooper also was presented the first Accounting in the Public Interest Award by the center. The award was given in recognition of Ms. Cooper’s “ethical leadership, professionalism, and distinguished service in the public interest.” Annually, the center spends $50,000 on the Distinguished Speakers Series which is open to local businesses and the community.

CENTER FOR ETHICS AND BUSINESS

The Center for Ethics and Business encourages the discussion of ethical issues in business by offering practical activities that allow participants to take on an active role. The primary event for the center is the Business Ethics Fortnight, a national intercollegiate presentation competition. Many teams also participate in "L.A.'s Weirdest Biathlon," a combination of the intercollegiate presentation and the annual LMU Run for the Bay, which raises money for Heal the Bay, a local environmental organization. The center also works with the Southern California Business Ethics Roundtable and the Ethics Officer Association to find ways to assist area corporate ethics officers with the practical challenges of administering corporate ethics programs.

The Business Ethics Fortnight is an annual cost of $75,000. On average, 2,000 hours of volunteer hours are contributed to make this program a success.

CENTER FOR ASIAN BUSINESS

The Center for Asian Business (CAB) was established in 1995 to promote understanding between Asians and Americans through executive education programs, and most recently, through faculty research grants and student scholarships. The CAB offers summer study scholarships for undergraduates to promote a deeper understanding of Asian business and culture, and holds symposiums, seminars and conferences for public and private organizations independently or in collaboration with a network of affiliated institutions in Asia and the United States.

CAB contributes approximately 250-300 service hours annually.

THE CENTER FOR SPIRITUALITY AND VALUES IN BUSINESS

The Center for Spirituality and Values in Business is active providing workshop retreats on workplace spirituality to 80 individuals annually and an open speaker series to the public which cost $5,000. The center is active at the Daughters of Mary and Joseph Retreat Center, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.

Notable Professors

KIM WILLIS, Ph.D.- HELPING THE HOMELESS GET A NEW START

Kim Willis, Ph.D., is active working with Chrysalis to provide job placement to the homeless living in L.A. County. Prior to placing their clients into the job market, the program prepares them by teaching them computer, customer service, maintenance and other life-long skills (handling conflicts and stress, managing budgets, interpersonal skills).

Chrysalis primarily thrives on the generous donation of individuals and organizations. On any given day in L.A. County, there are approximately 88,000 thousand plus homeless people living somewhere in the city. Chrysalis has three locations (Santa Monica, Downtown Los Angeles, and Pacoima) and places approximately 1,900 to 2,500 people per year in jobs. The program has limited staff, primarily social workers, who rely heavily on the volunteer staff to teach the classes. These classes help prepare people to be reintegrated into society after having been homeless for sometime.

Willis volunteers on a weekly basis as one of the teachers or coaches, depending on the need of the program at that particular time. She has also proposed and designed a model for collaboration with Chrysalis leveraging LMU’s Center for Executive Learning expertise in program design and curriculum development to put together future programs for Chrysalis. These programs may help sustain Chrysalis’ clients after they have been placed in jobs. The goal is to continue to support these people so they don’t “fall off the wagon” after they leave Chrysalis.

Each class has 5 to 10 people, depending on the week. The location downtown Los Angeles is the largest and has served up to 1,000 people per year. The Center of Executive Learning supports its staff in volunteering by allowing Willis to work a half-day at Chrysalis each week.

Willis believes her work at Chrysalis fits in with LMU’s mission and purpose in regards to its own community. Furthermore, the programs and services at Chrysalis focus on education – helping people to get back on their feet using their intellect. “When I first got involved with Chrysalis, I only thought to contribute to that end by offering my teaching experience and ability in curriculum design and development. Gradually, I began to see more opportunities for collaborating with Chrysalis to augment what they do by helping people, once homeless, find purpose in their work as opposed to just finding jobs.”