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RIC tunes up its business program

David Levesque

12/21/1998

Instructors at Rhode Island College’s Center for Management and
Technology often tell their students about how competition in the
marketplace can help a company improve its own product.
They need not look far for an example.
With the likes of Bryant College and the University of Rhode Island
nearby, RIC’s Center for Management and Technology has been beefing up
its business program to offer a more competitive education.
“We are doing everything we can to provide resources to help students
answer the needs of the business community here in Rhode Island,” said
James A. Schweikart, director of the center.
In July, Schweikart took over the eight-year-old center that administers
the majors in accounting, computer information systems, economics,
marketing, management and industrial technology.
Since then the center has overhauled its industrial technology major,
implemented an accounting minor, has proposed adding a finance major,
added an internship program and hired a staff member to do career
planning and placement.
“The first thing we did was build a new curriculum for the undergraduate
majors, because we thought is was important in responding to the needs
of today’s business world,” said Schweikart, a Warwick native, who most
recently had worked as a professor of accounting at the University of
Richmond in Virginia.
He said the most change was seen in the industrial technology major,
which he thought was in need of a better all-around education.
“Along with the traditional lessons, the more hands-on things, we added
more of a business background to the curriculum to go along with their
manufacturing skills,” Schweikart explained.
The school has also added additional faculty to the computer information
technology major, an area that has experienced the most growth in the
department.
“We get a lot of inquiries from the business community concerning that
major,” he said. “A lot of traditional business schools don’t know how
to handle computer information systems effectively. It could be because
they were set up prior to when computers played such a large role. We
had the luxury of being a new entity and organized things so computer
information systems are very prominent.”
Along with starting an accounting minor, RIC is waiting for approval
from the state’s Board of Governors of Higher Education to start a new
finance major.
Schweikart said there is also a lot of excitement for something that is
taking place outside the classroom.
The center has started requiring students to take part in at least one
semester-long internship with local companies.
Kristine M. Maletta was hired earlier in the year to coordinate the
internship program, which she said is vital in today’s competitive job
market.
“We are hoping that they will gain the professional experience that will
give them that leg up in the business world,” said Maletta.
Maletta said RIC has a pool of 70 to 80 companies to draw from, which
include companies like John Hancock Financial and Apex.
She said in talking with these companies it is clear what most recent
college graduates are missing.
“I think an overall maturity is something that may be lacking. An
internship is a great way to build that and give them a taste of
reality. Basically, they are realizing what the working world is all
about,” Maletta said.
Rhode Island companies should pay close attention to RIC graduates, says
Maletta, who believes RIC graduates generally are more likely to stay in
the state than the graduates of the state’s other colleges.
“Our students tend to be from Rhode Island and want to stay in Rhode
Island. It’s an important aspect for us in trying to find jobs for these
students,” she added.
Herb Cummings, a visiting business executive at the center, agreed that
RIC students are unique and vital to the local business community.
“All of our surveys and in talking with students and classes indicate
that so many of these students stay in Rhode Island. Their families are
in Rhode Island,” said Cummings, the former chief executive of Citizens
Bank.

Cummings said the business center is flourishing to meet the demands of
an intense financial industry in the region.
“We are really fortunate to have the presence in New England and this
region of many large banks. There’s all kinds of opportunities in that
field,” he said. “At Fidelity we have 110 students. There’s a company
that wasn’t here three years ago.”
The center recently hired Lori A. Martin to its staff to continue the
strong relationship between companies and RIC. Martin said it’s a matter
of educating people about what the school has to offer.
“We have always had a business major, but there has not been a lot of
public relations out there for us. My role is going out there and making
sure people know what is happening,” Martin said.
Part of Martin’s job is cold-calling businesses as well as staying in
touch with companies that have had internship programs with the school
in hopes of finding full-time positions for graduates.
“Part of any school’s goal is to help find students jobs. By no means
does it end with the education we provide,” Martin said.