| Viriginia Tech Pamplin College of Business |
|
|---|---|
| Motto | Ut Prosim (That I may serve) |
| Established | 1969 |
| Type | Public |
| Dean | Richard E. Sorenson |
| Location | Blacksburg, Virginia |
| Website | http://www.pamplin.vt.edu/ |
The Pamplin College of Business is one of Virginia Tech’s eight colleges. The college is named after Robert B. Pamplin and his son Robert B. Pamplin, Jr., who have donated over $28 million to their alma mater.[1] The college is consistently ranked as one of the top business schools in the country.[2] In 2011-2012, the college consisted of 152 faculty members and 4,168 students. The college's degree programs are accredited by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International and the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration.
Contents |
In 1925, the first bachelor's degree in business administration was offered at the university followed by the first master's degree in 1931. In 1961, the school of business was created with 28 faculty members and 823 students. The school soon became an official college of the university in 1965. Then, on 1969, the building housing the college was named for Robert B. Pamplin, a 1933 business graduate who later became chairman and chief executive officer of Georgia-Pacific Corporation. In 1986, the college itself was renamed for Pamplin in recognition of a $20 million gift he gave to the college along with his son, Robert B. Pamplin Jr., another Virginia Tech graduate and the president of the R. B. Pamplin Corporation.[3]
The Pamplin College of Business is primarily located in Pamplin Hall on Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus, but it is also located in the National Capital Region. The college comprises 6 different departments. Five of the ten most recruited majors at Virginia Tech are in the Pamplin College of Business.[4] According to 2011 undergraduate profiles in Bloomberg Businessweek, the average undergraduate class size in required business classes (excluding online courses) was 147 students, and the average class size in business electives was 57 students.[5]
The Department of Accounting and Information Systems offers undergraduates bachelor’s degrees in business with options available in accounting, information systems audit, and information systems. The department also has a Master of Accounting and Information Systems (MACIS) program and a doctoral program. After graduation, 98 percent of students from this department secured a job or space in the graduate program that they wanted.[6]
Through the Department of Business Information and Technology, undergraduate students can earn bachelor’s degrees in business information technology. Majors can choose an option in decision support systems or operations and supply chain management. The department also offers a doctoral degree. In 2009-2010, the department had the fourth highest number of total on-campus interviews at the university. Students in the department had an average of 3.98 interviews, which is the highest at Virginia Tech.[7] In addition, 86 percent of the department’s majors were employed or had job offers at the time of graduation, which was the highest percentage of all the departments at Virginia Tech. TechRepublic also listed the department as having one of the top 10 college programs for IT in the U.S.[8]
The Department of Finance contains an undergraduate program in finance that results in a bachelor’s degree, a MBA program with a finance concentration, and a doctoral program. The department is associated with three student organizations for undergraduates: Student Endowment for Educational Development (SEED),[9] BASIS (Bond and Securities Investing by Students),[10] and The Finance Club. The former two organizations allow students to manage make actual investment decisions with funds from the Virginia Tech Foundation.
Students in the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management can earn a bachelor’s degree, a master of science, or a doctoral degree. The department also has a MBA program at the National Capital Region campus. On the Blacksburg campus, undergraduates can join three student organizations affiliated with the department: the Hospitality Management Association, a chapter of the Club Management Association of America, and a chapter of the housing and tourism management honorary society Eta Sigma Delta.[11]
The Department of Management offers undergraduates a management major with options in entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology management and human resource management. Minors are available in business leadership and business.
Undergraduate students can earn a bachelors degree through the Department of Marketing. They can also participate in any of the department’s three clubs: Prism, PSE, and the Marketing Club. The department also has a master’s program, a MBA program, and a Ph.D. program.
Kent Nakamoto, R.B. Pamplin Professor of Marketing and Department Head and Associate Dean for Research, is a two time winner of the American Marketing Association’s William F. O’Dell award, which recognizes the Journal of Marketing Research article that has made the most significant, long-term contribution to marketing theory, methodology, and/or practice.[12]
Richard Wokutch, the R. B. Pamplin Professor in Management, is a two time Fulbright fellowship winner, who has gained recognition for his research related to business ethics.[13]
Vijay Singal, the J. Gray Ferguson Professor of Finance, has had his research featured on television (CNNfn), on radio (National Public Radio, Bloomberg Radio), and in print media such as the Wall Street Journal, Barrons, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, New York Times, Investors Business Daily, SmartMoney, Fortune, and Money.
According to the U.S. News and World Reports’ “America’s Best Colleges 2011,” the Pamplin College of Business is ranked No. 42 overall, along with 15 other schools, and No. 10 among those at public universities.[14] The college’s overall ranking again keeps it among the top 10 percent of the 524 U.S. business schools with undergraduate programs accredited by AACSB International, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.