From humble beginnings in the era of rockets
and rock and roll, the College of Business and
Economics is thriving in the era of economic
globalization.

Fifty years ago, in 1951, life was very different in the U.S.A. The average annual income of Americans was $3,515. The typical home sold for $16,000. A stamp to mail in the mortgage payment was three cents. A new Ford sedan cost $1,800, and the gas to run it was 20 cents a gallon.

Computers existed, but they were big and expensive. The first commercial computer, sold to the U.S. Census Bureau by the Eckert and Mauchly Computer Co. of Philadelphia in 1951, stood eight feet high, seven and a half feet wide, and 14 and a half feet long. Called the UNIVAC 1, it cost about $1 million. It contained far less computing power than a Palm Pilot of today.

Politics was rough and tumble then, just as now, but the stakes were a lot higher. Harry Truman was in the White House, and 1951 was the year he fired General Douglas MacArthur in a dispute over strategy against Communist China in the Korean War.

Into this world, the WVU College of Commerce was born by order of the state higher education board on November 10, 1951. Known as the College of Business and Economics since 1971, the college is celebrating 50 years of quality education and leadership this fall.

The College of Commerce
The roots of business education in American universities extend to the late 19th century. A business program existed at WVU as far back as 1895. Under the guidance of D.M. Willis, the Department of Economics and Business Administration was part of the College of Arts and Sciences. Housed in Woodburn Hall, it was the first commercial school connected with a state university in the country.

Armstrong Hall was brand-new when the department left Arts and Sciences in 1951 and moved there, enrolling students for the first semester of the 1952-53 academic year. The College of Commerce had only two departments: economics and business. Many faculty offices were in the Zebely House, razed years ago, which stood behind the WVU president's home, Purinton House, on University Avenue.

In 1954, the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business accredited the college, and its first class of 106 students graduated.

Raymond W. Coleman was the first dean of the college. "He was a very formal individual, impeccably groomed and dressed," recalled Professor of Accounting Robert Maust, whom Coleman hired in 1960. "He was considered somewhat stern," Maust said.

In 1961, preparing to leave his post, Coleman wrote a summary of his nine-year tenure and the college's first decade. In it he wrote: "Neither students nor instructors can accurately determine what specific information may be needed ten, twenty, or forty years from now. The constant changes and the growing complexities in business justify breadth rather than a high degree of specialization in collegiate business education."

Coleman's words were prophetic, said Jay Coats, the college's interim dean. "When the first dean wrote those words, he could not have, in his wildest dreams, conceived of the Internet and the information systems that have radically altered how business is transacted in our world today," Coats said. "And he was correct in saying that a broad education focusing on fundamentals and principles would serve our students best.

"Today we teach our students to use technology and the latest business software and how to give presentations with software enhancements. But our emphasis is on critical thinking, solid communication skills, and practical experiences such as internships, where students can put their knowledge to use in real business situations."

Indeed, in the 1950s and '60s, fundamental principles in business were evolving. In accounting, for example, standards were in flux. "That's not to say we didn't do debits and credits. We did. But the standard principles of accounting were not specific. They were general," recalled Maust, who is the director of the Division of Accounting.

He enjoys showing his students the publications on accounting standards on his bookshelf, demonstrating how many more standards exist today. "Accounting bulletins issued from 1938 to 1959 take approximately three-quarters of an inch. Similar publications from the period 1959 to 1973 take approximately two inches. The Statements of Financial Accounting Standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board during the period 1973 to the present take approximately 22 inches of space," he said.

The general principles of the 1950s have become very specific as legal challenges have forced court judgements, and this growing body of knowledge has meant that student textbooks are becoming larger, too. "It's not a matter of rationalizing your way through an issue anymore," Maust said. "Now, accounting is very specific and complex."

Serving Students and the State
In the 1970s, student protests swept college campuses, including WVU, as the war in Vietnam polarized the nation. At the time Richard Nixon resigned as president in 1974, in West Virginia the tax system was being discussed. A Charleston Gazette-Mail headline read, "Wholesalers Would Pay More, Value Added Report Reveals," citing a study by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the WVU College of Business and Economics.

The college's service and outreach have centered around the bureau, which predates the college. Formed in 1948, the bureau's general purpose was, Raymond Coleman wrote to Arts and Sciences Dean W.P. Shortridge at the time, "to provide a central research organization which will deal with the problems of business, commerce, and finance in West Virginia."

Since then, the bureau's economists have scrutinized and analyzed West Virginia's economy and the economies of all the state's regions. They have examined economic development opportunities in key sectors such as chemicals, wood products, and energy.

The bureau also has published reports on race tracks and gambling resorts in the state, and the effects of international greenhouse gas agreements on the state's economy. It initiated the first studies on tourism and its economic implications for West Virginia. Its current work includes a study of the economic aspects of mountaintop mining and valley fills and another on heritage tourism.

"The bureau has for years provided a wealth of information on myriad economic topics for businesses and state policymakers," said Tom Witt, who became its director in 1985. "In addition, in 1990 we started long- and short-term economic outlook forecasts for the state and regions, which have proved to be invaluable for all sorts of planning purposes."

In addition to publishing reports on paper, the bureau produces an e-mail update and provides electronic reports via CD-ROM and in other formats, including a free state economic database on its web site at www.be.wvu.edu/serve/bureau.

Bringing the World to West Virginia
In November 1988, George Herbert Walker Bush of Maine defeated Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts as Republicans swept 40 states in the presidential election. In Morgantown, construction of a four-story Business and Economics Building was underway next to Woodburn Circle on the site of old Mountaineer Field. The new building opened in May 1990.

The global marketplace was becoming a major economic force in the 1990s. The world grew smaller as the Cold War ended and free trade agreements were signed. Acknowledging the enormous influence of worldwide business ownership and the importance of international trade, the College of Business and Economics, especially since the mid-1990s, developed an international emphasis. In recent semesters, B&E students have studied in Germany, Italy, Cuba, and China.

Perhaps the college's strongest and earliest international tie is its relationship with China. Established in 1994, the Center for Chinese Business provides three important benefits. Every year the center welcomes up to 50 Chinese executives to take classes and meet with students. In August 2001, 20 Chinese students arrived to begin an international MBA program lasting 10 and a half months. Interaction is important, said Director William Riley, because "exposure to another culture adds a new dimension to everyone's education, which is increasingly important in today's global business atmosphere."

WVU students also visit China to see its emerging market economy at work. "The center helps expose our students and faculty to China and its markets, business practices, and opportunities," Riley said.

Additionally, the center provides a valuable service to West Virginia companies wanting to do business in China. Riley and others conduct workshops, join company officials on trips to China, introduce them to potential customers, and help find joint-venture partners. Since 1994, the center's faculty have made more than 20 visits to China.

All of these benefits stem from relationships the center has built with high- level Chinese business and government leaders over the years. "Establishing a network of officials who are incredibly loyal to WVU and B&E has been the most significant accomplishment of the center," Riley said. "Through this network we can accomplish almost anything we want to do. It has taken years to develop and it's very strong."

Each year, William Trumbull, director of the Division of Economics and Finance, leads an undergraduate comparative economics group to Cuba along with Professor John Super of the WVU History Department. "Cuba today is arguably the most fascinating place on Earth," Trumbull said. "Certainly the economics is, as Cuba desperately hangs on to socialism while trying to be a player in an otherwise capitalist world.

"In the Cuba course, students hear me tell them the facts and concepts, they read about them in their texts, and then they go to Cuba and see all these things with their own eyes. They live it for a short time; they talk to people who live it all the time, from the professors who give us our lectures at the University of Havana to the people they meet on the streets. It is an amazing learning experience."

B&E students also get an international education in Italy. The college is a member of a consortium of American universities offering graduate and undergraduate business courses in Paderno del Grappa. The classes, taught in English by faculty from American universities, typically have an international focus. The undergraduate program offers some core non-business courses as well.

"A study-abroad experience is valuable because students witness firsthand the global economy and learn many cross-cultural business lessons," said Cliff Hawley, the economics professor who leads the trip. "The Italy program is a terrific opportunity for them because of the rapid changes in Europe that are being driven by the European Union and the January 2002 introduction of the euro as the national currency for a dozen countries.

"More importantly though, when you go abroad, at first you are a stranger in a strange land. It takes a lot of effort, flexibility, and energy to adapt to your new circumstances. I find that a study-abroad experience often produces in the student a tremendous amount of self-confidence in his or her ability to be successful in life and in a career."

Last spring, 23 graduate students traveled to Fulda, Germany. "The Fulda experience was designed to be an immersion into another culture, not a mere tour-guide experience," said Dietrich Schaupp, a professor of management and industrial relations who led the trip with Hawley. "The students had excellent preparation in the culture, history, and economic and business practices of the host country. Once the students touched German soil, however, it was a German experience."

High-Tech Learning
As the world and the world of business have changed during the past 50 years, so has the College of Business and Economics. Besides updating its curriculum to reflect evolving business and economic principles and adjusting to the global marketplace, the college has developed new areas of academic focus, said Coats.

"We are mirroring changes in business with the introduction of curricula in information systems, organizational policy and strategy, and entrepreneurship," he said. "As with all education, what we teach is a moving target, and staying up-to-date in our curricula is critical to the success of our students."

Perhaps one of the fastest-moving targets has been technology. In the early 1990s, Dean Cy Logar hired the college's first coordinator of information systems and technology. Since then, technology has become part of the culture. Students have access to wireless laptop computers and well-equipped technology resource rooms in several locations.

Perhaps the most extensive use of technology, however, is in the Executive MBA Program. Several B&E classrooms are equipped with broadband Internet connections, allowing instructors to interact in real time with students in four West Virginia locations and one in Pennsylvania.

On its 50th Anniversary, the WVU College of Business and Economics is reaffirming its core values and purpose in order to build a firm foundation for the next 50 years, which Coats believes will be as interesting as the past 50.

"I think the students we graduate today are more capable and knowledgeable than at any time in our history," he said. "And they need to be, because the world of business and economics is complex. But it's always interesting. I may be biased in saying this, but I think it's a fascinating world. These are the forces that drive change in our society and that bring forth new ideas and innovations.

"At B&E, it's part of our culture to value new ideas and new knowledge and to encourage our students, the future entrepreneurs and leaders of society and global businesses, to improve the world in which they live."

From the B&E Scrapbook
Earl "Duke" Ebert '74, '79 MBA, works as a senior financial management analyst at WVU. He recalls the time a streaker visited a B&E class in Armstrong Hall in the fall of 1972.

Ebert was taking Professor Fred Wright's general insurance course."You have to have a picture of Fred Wright to appreciate this story," Ebert said. "It's so unforgettable because he was such a formal professor. He had complete control of the class of about 200 students. He knew his topic extremely well, and didn't even use notes.

"One day, as he was lecturing, the back door opened and a guy with no clothes on ran into the room. This was during the time when the Daily Athenaeum was announcing that there would be streakers in front of the Mountainlair at such-and-such time.

"You could have heard a pin drop as this guy ran down the stairs and out the side door. The whole thing must have taken only five seconds-but to pick Fred Wright's class, of all classes! I suspect it was a marketing major.

"Anyway, Fred's jaw dropped, he closed his book, and walked out of the class. I think he was dumbfounded. That was all of general insurance on that particular day."
Add your memories to the B&E 50th Anniversary Scrapbook at www.be.wvu.edu/50th.

1951 October 15. The first episode of I Love Lucy airs on CBS at 9 p.m.

1956 Joe McVicker of Cincinnati sees new uses for a non-toxic substance used for cleaning wallpaper and begins manufacturing it as Play Doh.

1962 October 28. President John F. Kennedy faces down Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in a conflict over nuclear missile bases in Cuba.

1965 According to the Nielsen ratings, Bonanza is America's favorite television program.

1969 July 20. American Astronaut Neil Armstrong of Ohio is the first man to walk on the moon.

1975 Foresighted computer nerds Bill Gates and Paul Allen found Microsoft.

1981 IBM introduces the PC, the first commercially viable desktop computer.

1984 Employees buy the Weirton Division of National Steel, making it the nation's largest employee-owned company.

1990 October 3. Germany becomes a united and sovereign state for the first time since 1945.

1994 The White House launches its web site, www.whitehouse.gov .

1999 The Blair Witch Project becomes the most profitable movie of all time, grossing more than $125 million. Cost to make: $30,000.

2001 September 11. Terrorists crash two hijacked passenger airliners into the World Trade Center towers in New York, killing thousands of people working inside.


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