CWU Featured At 'Association To Advance Colligiate Schools Of Business' Meeting

June 27, 2005

Contact: Robert Lowery (509-963-1487/fax 509-963-2301/e-mail:loweryr@cwu.edu)

ELLENSBURG, Wash. - An advisory board of practitioners represents a potential strategic asset for an academic program. In Central Washington University's College of Business (COB), its advisory board serves as a bridge between the COB and the business world.

These business professionals assist the college in many ways and link it to current developments in a variety of organizations across the regional economy.

"Our advisory board provides an important perspective on developments in business and provides us with useful feedback about advancing the work of the college of business," said Dr. Roy Savoian, COB dean. "Clearly, it is a key strategic asset to our students, faculty and staff."

Savoian and Dr. Linda-Clark-Santos, COB advisory board chairperson, made a presentation, titled "Building Purpose and Building Community," at a March seminar in Denver of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the International Association for Management Education.

Savoian explained how to build an effective advisory board through recruitment of strong leadership and effective, diverse membership from executives in major companies and industries.

"The board can achieve its purpose through involvement in major initiatives such as fundraising, providing input on curricular changes and assisting with the accreditation process," Savoian noted.

Clark-Santos, the senior vice president for talent and organizational capability at Washington Mutual, pointed out the importance of a building a sense of community within the volunteer board through a variety of professional and social activities and meetings, networking opportunities and programs like a speakers' bureau.

AACSB is the primary accrediting agency for university-level business programs. The seminar was designed to assist business school administrators with creating and maintaining business advisory councils as strategic assets of the business school.