Menlo College embarks on long-term improvements

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Oct 13, 2007 | by Neil Gonzales

ATHERTON -- Menlo College plans to reinvent itself inside and out.

College officials have embarked on a long-term effort to improve campus buildings and revamp the curriculum to strengthen Menlo's business program.

"We want to be the premier undergraduate business school," college President Timothy Haight said Friday. "The gem of Menlo is going to be the business curriculum and an international focus."

Founded in 1927, Menlo is a small, private four-year college that has long been known for itsbusiness-management courses.

Now college officials believe Menlo needs to boost its business curriculum to better prepare students for a rapidly-evolving global marketplace.

Currently, the faculty and staff are re-evaluating the curriculum to see what areas can be improved and what skills Menlo needs to teach students that fit in today's corporate world, Haight said.

He said a revamped business program will feature instruction in entrepreneurship. It will include teaching students how to draw up a business plan and work with venture capital, he said.

Also, he is proposing that the college set up a system in which students can do real world investing.

It will reinforce what we're learning in the classroom, he said.

Haight said the college has already hired about 20 new faculty and staff members over the past several months as part of Menlo's planned revival.

He said the college seeks to hire eight more instructors, particularly in the area of business, over the next few months.

The new instructors will help improve Menlo's teacher-to-student ratio, he said.

Currently, the college serves about 700 students. The enrollment in the next few years will probably grow to no more than 750 students, Haight said.

But Haight wants to see a more diverse student body. The college plans to do recruitment and outreach work to increase the population of its international students from 10 percent to about 25 percent of the total enrollment, he said.

That will help Menlo students get a taste of the global marketplace and learn from various cultures, he said.

Haight assured the renewed focus on business will not draw attention away from Menlo's liberal-arts program.

We recognize that a successful business program is built upon a strong liberal arts base, he said.

He said the liberal arts help students develop critical-thinking and communication skills, which are vital in the business community.

DeAnna DeRosa, assistant professor of mass communication at Menlo, believes the college is trying to foster a more interdisciplinary approach.

We're trying to have a crossover with business, liberal arts and mass communication, DeRosa said. I think the faculty is very supportive of that. The students come out more well-rounded.

For instance, she said, a business student could take a mass- communication course that could count toward his or her degree.

DeRosa said the physical campus is already quite nice, but she looks forward to future building upgrades.

She said there have been talks about improving the library and dormitories.

Haight said the college has formed a group to start studying necessary building improvements and what the campus will look like the next 20 to 30 years.

He said the upgrades would occur in phases over the years. He did not know how much that capital campaign will cost but said, At some point, we're going to ask people to invest in Menlo.

Staff writer Neil Gonzales covers education. He can be reached at 650-348-4338 or ngonzales@sanmateocountytimes.com.