Berry Center Mentioned in Business Week

The Berry Center made news in Business Week in February 2008 when it was mentioned in an article by Alison Damast for innovative programming in the undergraduate study of economics and business.

Here are the excerpts about Cornell College and the Berry Center:

• Meanwhile, liberal arts schools in the Midwest, such as Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, and Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill., are creating new centers in economics, business, and public policy -- the type of think tanks more likely to be found on a university business-school campus than at a small college.

• Colleges are answering demands for more course offerings in this area because they want to make their schools more appealing to students, says Leslie Garner, president of Cornell College and past president of the board of the National Association of Independent Colleges & Universities, which has about 1,000 member schools.
  
  "We're all concerned about our position in a marketplace that is increasingly competitive and where the demographics aren't necessarily encouraging," Garner says. "I think we're all trying to look and see if we are positioned with the strongest, most attractive, programs given the students we'd like to attract. And if you look at the marketing data for what programs students are interested in, business is always at the top of the list."

• In some instances, college are creating economics and business centers on campus to give students a stronger grounding in finance without requiring them to earn an additional degree.  This is the case at Cornell College, which created the Berry Center for Economics, Business and Public Policy in the fall of 2006. The center was a result of a $5 million gift from alumnus Jim McWethy, who wanted to create a place on campus where students could gather to talk about important business and finance topics, we well as find internships in the business field.
  
  It was a good compromise for the school, which didn't have the resources or desire to create a full-scale business department or degree program, says Garner, Cornell's president.  The center has so far been an unprecedented success on campus, Garner says.  Students use the center to help them find internships in Chicago and other nearby cities, while others sign up for economics and business classes held at the center.