The Spirit of Collaboration
Interdisciplinary opportunities abound at the CBPA
By Michelle Rubin
 When sophomore Paul Butler came to Drake Univeristy, he was focused on science. Soon after he decided to major in biochemistry, molecular and cell biology. However, Butler realized that some additional skills would help.
"It doesn't matter what you're going into, some degree of knowledge about business will help," Butler said. "You always have a business aspect with everything you do career-wise, so I just decided to add some business classes to my education."
Butler had set his sights on going to medical school, but when he talked to doctors in the field, they all said they regretted not taking more business classes in college.
So Butler walked into then-Assistant Dean Mary Edrington's office to talk about his taking on a business major in addition to his science major.
"When I proposed the idea, she was really enthused about what I wanted to do. She was honest, tough, and did say, ‘I can tell you right now it's not gong to be easy.' So we sat down and came up with the best plan for me."
Now Butler also is majoring in business management, and though the lack of overlapping course requirements means a bulging courseload each semester and summer, he's looking forward to the benefits that his unique education will give him when he becomes a doctor.
"I know it will be very influential when it comes to my career," Butler said of the double major.
It's that kind of interdisciplinary cooperation that the CBPA has nurtured, both formally and informally, from joint degrees to individual collaboration.
According to Associate Dean Patrick Heaston, that interdisciplinary spirit has developed naturally. "We've never had a coordinated plan to do this, but we have developed an environment to foster interdisciplinary study for both CBPA students and those students outside the college."
At the graduate level, the CBPA offers joint degrees that combine the MBA and MPA programs with law and pharmacy programs. In the undergraduate program, a number of arts and sciences students take advantage of the business minor to gain a business foundation. Specific concentrations within the College allow for interdisciplinary approaches and attract students from outside the college who don't necessarily want a business degree. For instance, psychology and sociology majors might be exposed to business classes as part of the new human resources concentration, which comes out of the psychology department.
There are also many instances of collaboration among departments in the College, which Heaston notes is less common at other business schools. For example, the CBPA has offered joint degree programs in accounting and every other discipline except economics since 1998, and nearly two-thirds of accounting students are joint majors. "Many of them don't plan to be accountants, but rather want to be able to market themselves as marketing, management or finance majors with a heavy background in accounting,"Heaston said. "That will make them much more marketable. They will simply understand budgeting and cost information much better than the typical college graduate who has only had six credit hours of accounting."
Heaston adds that these types of programs create a more broadly educated business student. And through this collaborative spirit, Heaston says that the CBPA is ahead of many other business schools with respect to such programs. Early on the faculty saw the inherent collaborative nature of the coursework - that business practices and principles are applicable in many careers outside traditional business realm.
He adds that the physical structure of Aliber Hall, where the CBPA is housed, isn't sectioned off into departments, which enhances the collaborative spirit. All of the faculty offices are grouped together on one floor, with seniority rather than department affiliation dictating room assignment.
"It sounds strange, but when our offices are intermingled rather than in suites, we see faculty from different departments every day. And we're small enough that everybody knows everybody else. And in an informal way, that engenders interdisciplinary discussions."
The recent appointment of CBPA Dean Charles Edwards, who also is the dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, may lead to collaborative programs involving the SJMC. Heaston noted that while there are no specific plans in development, an example might be a concentration within the MBA program that would appeal to advertising and public relations professionals.
Heaston notes that the CBPA marketing department has always had interaction with the SJMC, as advertising and public relations majors take marketing courses in the CBPA and marketing majors take some courses in the SJMC.
"Because of that continuing relationship and now that the two schools share the same dean, that will probably lead to some additional collaboration," Heaston says. "We would be remiss if we didn't explore possibility for more."
Another possibility Heaston listed was a concentration in entrepreneurship that would be open to students across campus. "A lot of students express a desire to someday own their own businesses," he said, "and that's not just in the college of business. Students in journalism and arts and science are interested in becoming entrepreneurs, but they think of a business degree as overkill."
As interdisciplinary opportunities increase on campus, more students like Paul Butler get the chance to add business skills to their Drake education, making them more marketable and well-rounded.
"At Drake, I've learned the importance of diversifying my career aspirations,"Butler said. "My advisors and other professors loved the idea of adding a business management major and were very supportive. Drake's faculty members encourage students to look into other areas to broaden their field of knowledge."
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