Message from the Dean

Picture of M. B. Khan

Welcome to the website of the College of Business Administration at California State University, Long Beach. By browsing these pages, you will find that the CBA is comprised of great people, great programs, and great results.

The CBA is one of 570 business schools world-wide that are accredited by the prestigious Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International. AACSB standards involve the academic and professional qualifications of our faculty and the achievement of learning goals for our graduate and undergraduate students. Significantly, the CBA received reaccreditation from AACSB in April 2009. This is a testimony to the hard work and dedication of our faculty and staff and shows the CBA-wide commitment to excellence in education.

Since 2005, 27 new tenure-track faculty members have joined the CBA, and in Fall 2009, 3 more new faculty members will arrive in Accounting, Human Resources Management, and Strategy. Our faculty is the foundation of our quest for excellence. Our faculty members teach our students and undertake research that continuously re-invigorates their knowledge. Additionally, they engage in a variety of service activities that maintain a vibrant college life and connect the CBA with the university and the greater Long Beach community.

Scholarly and research activities help faculty members stay at the leading edge of their fields and help them develop as academics and teachers. We have increased the number of faculty members who receive support for their research efforts, including our new faculty who receive summer assistance to establish their scholarship and ultimately to achieve tenure. This support is essential for recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty for the CBA.

For the academic year 2008-2009, the University awarded 1,325 Bachelor of Science degrees in Business Administration and 128 Master of Business Administration degrees. The CBA also serves students by providing outstanding opportunities for learning, growth, and development outside the classroom. Our centers of excellence, the Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership and Student Center for Professional Development, engage students in pre-professional activities that extend beyond the academic requirements of their degrees. Through ethics seminars, mentoring relationships, and service to the community, participating students develop substantial real-world experience. The Student Managed Investment Fund provides Finance students with hands-on experience (with real money!) and significantly augments their professional skills, while our Honors Program challenges our best undergraduate students to engage in original research. The Associated Business Students Organizations Council, comprised of eleven student clubs, helps our students become strong future business leaders through professional events and workshops. The Department of Marketing faculty members are on the cutting edge, developing ways to expand student learning into the virtual world through Second Life.

In March, a team of three students, calling themselves Team Inertia, won the University-wide Innovation Challenge, sponsored by Society for Innovation & Entrepreneurship student club, by creating shoes from discarded plastic grocery bags. The shoes are intended to provide extremely low-cost products for poverty-stricken people around the world. In April, we sent four teams (two undergraduate and two MBA) to San Diego for the culmination of the 45th International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition. The teams brought back three 1st Place Top Performance trophies.

The Current Environment

The 2009-2010 California state budget was passed in July and included a cut to the CSU of $584 million, and this resulted in a cut to CSULB of $44 million. Faculty, staff, and administrators are on a two-day per month furlough that cuts pay by about 10 percent for the year, and this provides about half of our budget “solution.” In the CBA, we cut some sections and increased class sizes where we could; in addition we have cut faculty travel and graduate assistantships, for example. Surprisingly, life in the college is relatively normal as every member of the CBA family does his or her best to cope with a difficult economic environment.

While CSU fees rank among the lowest in the nation, we continually strive to be at the forefront in terms of educational quality. Even with the fee increases announced in May and July (30 percent in total), CSULB is still an outstanding value. While students are working more hours than ever to afford their education, privately funded scholarships and awards can make a measurable difference in their lives. This support allows students to work less, study more, and participate in professional development programs, campus life, and community service--opportunities that contribute to a better prepared California workforce. We are working hard to provide as many scholarship opportunities for our students as possible.

Coping with a dire state budget situation will not derail our efforts for student success, and we will do everything possible to offer classes that students need to graduate. We compete for faculty with universities across the nation and the world, and faculty salaries, by far the largest item in our CBA budget, are increasing every year. Nevertheless, as we move forward and build on the accomplishments of previous years, it will be challenging to maintain our momentum in the face of these budget cuts. One way to close the gap between the total cost of our programs and our state funding is to secure gifts and endowments that will provide resources for investment in faculty, and I will be focusing my efforts to reach out to our alumni and friends on this part of our strategic efforts.

Our Future

The CBA has an excellent, committed faculty and thousands of students who desire to learn and develop skills that will lead them to successful careers in business.

From the efforts of our faculty, to the diligence of our students, to our connections beyond the campus, the College of Business Administration has much about which to be proud. Over the coming academic year, a faculty task force is working hard to refresh and enhance our MBA program, with a new curriculum that reflects the needs of the current dynamic, global business environment. Another group of faculty is working to create a Supply Chain Management option that will also reflect the configuration of the global market place. Over the longer term, I hope to continue recruiting and retaining the best faculty, expand our online learning technologies, strengthen our global and local programs, and increase opportunities for internships and studying abroad. I will also continue to engage in development and fund-raising activities that will endow our college with the resources necessary to assure our financial health.

I invite you to connect with us as we prepare future business leaders for California, the nation and the world. My vision is that by working together, the CBA will be recognized as the top business school in the CSU. Our guiding principles will be to engage, execute and excel, and with these values, I am sure that we can overcome whatever challenges come our way.

Michael E. Solt
Dean, College of Business Administration
Director, Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership

Download: Resume of Michael Solt (*.pdf)

Message from the Dean

The Current Environment

Our Future

Resources

Departments & Programs