Welcome to the CIBRE at OU's SBA
An academic research center that integrates research experts, business leaders, industry, government and other key stakeholders, the Center for Business Research and Education at Oakland University’s School of Business Administration serves as a catalyst for transforming the region’s economic future, educating a workforce to find success in it and driving business success in a rapidly changing global marketplace.
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Experiential Learning
Equipping students for success
Since joining the SBA’s Applied Technology in Business program, Andrew Cloutier has devoted thought and planning to today, tomorrow and the months to come. “In the professional world, you have to make sure you meet deadlines, and you’re on time and organized,” says Cloutier, who worked on a project sponsored by Ancor Information Management Services.
“The biggest thing we’re seeing with employees coming out of college is it takes a little time to grasp real-world expectations,” says Ronald McGlinch, IT business manager for the Troy-based company. That’s exactly what the SBA works to accomplish by integrating experiential learning opportunities into the business curriculum, ensuring graduates are prepared to succeed on the job from day one. Read more
Global Understanding
Graduate students gain global marketing education in the renewable energy sector
Expert instruction is melding with hands-on experiences in the SBA to give students a strong foundation for success in today’s global marketplace. That approach was evident in Professor John Henke Jr.’s Strategic Marketing Class (MKT 608) last winter, a course that brought together the three pillars of the SBA vision: integrative thinking, experiential learning and global understanding. Participating graduate students conducted an extensive research project for Oakland County in cooperation with graduate students from the T.A. Pai Management Institute in India. Read more
Integrative Thinking
SurPriSe: Collaboration influences new research, enhances education
MIS Professor Thomas Lauer has been interested in privacy and security practices for years. But it wasn’t until a conversation with colleague Jay Meehan, sociology professor and chair, Department of Sociology and Anthropology in OU's College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), that he realized how greatly one’s chosen field shapes one’s perspectives of these areas. The professors agreed that privacy and surveillance, coupled with security, deserved a closer look and together formed the SurPriSe Learning Community, to explore surveillance, privacy and security. "The approach is brilliant," says Ken Janke, SBA MBA '85, senior vice president, Aflac. "This integrated approach is not only timely and necessary, but reflects very advanced thinking and will be critical in the future." Read more