Jones School to Launch Program to Develop Young Business Leaders

Jones School to Launch Program to Develop Young Business Leaders

RICE NEWS STAFF

Nov. 12, 1998

Business Bound, a new program aimed at college juniors and recent graduates across the nation who plan to embark on business careers, will be launched early next summer by Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management.

The three-week program is designed to introduce students to the business world through courses in accounting, finance, marketing, strategy, entrepreneurship, communications and the business applications of information technology. Students will learn how to apply these skills in business situations that will make them more effective and productive to employers.

Once launched, the program will be only one of two of this type available in the nation and the only one operating in the Southwest.

“We’ve designed an exciting and intensive program that will equip college graduates and undergrads with basic business skills that they will be able to use immediately,” said Wil Uecker, associate dean for Executive Education at Rice’s graduate school. “Students will find the program demanding, but they’ll have fun, too.”

The first three-week session will run from June 13 to July 2. Classes will be held in the mornings and afternoons from Monday to Saturday of each week. There will be homework and team project meetings in the evenings and weekends. Several firms and companies will be invited to send representatives to speak on career opportunities. A special session will be devoted to planning for graduate business school.

Students will be housed in the nearby Houston Plaza Hilton Hotel. Classes will be held in Herring Hall on the Rice campus.

Tuition for the program, which includes all course materials, access to computers, lunches on class days and lodging, is $4,500. Although students are encouraged to stay at the Hilton to facilitate team project meetings, those who choose to commute will pay a reduced tuition of $3,950.

Some companies and firms are anticipated to cover the cost of their newly hired employees’ participation in the program. A limited number of need-based scholarships will be available.

Rice professor Stephen A. Zeff, who is currently completing 19 years as director of the undergraduate Managerial Studies program, will be director of Business Bound. He and professors Albert Napier, Deborah Barrett, Jeff Fleming, Piyush Kumar and Sundaresh Ramnath–members of the Jones School faculty–will constitute the core teaching faculty.

For more information about the Business Bound program contact Rice University Executive Education at (713) 527-6060.