Bethel Administrators Travel to China

Three Bethel University administrators traveled to China this spring to begin establishing relationships with Chinese universities and to promote the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. David Clark, Bethel University provost; Dick Crombie, vice president and dean of the College of Adult & Professional Studies and Graduate School (CAPS/GS); and Duncan McCampbell, MBA program director, held meetings with administrators at five universities in four provinces in China.

The goal of each meeting was to begin formalizing a professional relationship between Bethel and each school in regard to the MBA program. “The objective of the trip was to explain who we are and why we were there—to begin talks about possible partnerships with their schools as an unapologetically Christian institution, a school that is about relationship with God, not religion,” says Crombie. “Connections such as these can stretch our understanding of global matters and develop relationships where we interact with those from around the world. This trip was an important step in that direction.”

Clark believes it is important for MBA learners and all of Bethel to interact with students from around the world to expand their worldview and give them a better understanding of global business. “Understanding the cultural diversity of our world and gaining skills to work well in diverse cultures, while retaining a solid sense of who we are as Christ-followers, are critical to the challenge of being world-changers,” Clark says. For business students, especially those pursuing the new global MBA concentration, direct engagement with the world's largest nation is one very important strategy for meeting these critical educational goals. Working with Chinese students will enrich the value of a Bethel education for students here.”

During the trip, McCampbell also interviewed several highly qualified MBA learners and accepted five students. Some will attend the Global Language Institute for six months first to learn commercial English, while others are ready to enroll right away. At least two students from China will begin in the fall.

Representatives from Bethel hope to return to China in the fall to continue discussions.