PHOTO BY THOMAS LEYDE
BizEDUCATION
From left: Jim Click, president, Jim Click Automotive Team; first-year student Brittney Orozco; Keiran Roche, program director for CUA Tucson; and Gloria Valadez, bilingual recruiter for CUA Tucson. On the screen is Humberto S. Lopez, chair and co-founder of HSL Properties. Photo taken at the HS Lopez Family Foundation Center of Opportunity.
Catholic University of America Offers Business Management Degree in Tucson By Tom Leyde The prestigious Catholic University of America has launched a four-year business management degree program in Tucson that could be a template for similar programs elsewhere in the United States. CUA was established in 1887 and is based in Washington, D.C. The satellite program in Tucson began in the fall of 2020, in association with Pima Community College. It started with 12 students, known as “trailblazers.” This fall the program hopes to enroll 25 students. Tucson-area students were attracted to the program because of its size, affordability and connections to local employers, school officials said. Through local scholarships and grants, students have an opportunity to graduate with little or no student debt. CUA began working with more than 116 BizTucson
<<<
Summer 2021
300 members of the Tucson business community in 2017 to create the program from scratch. Its goal was to offer a high-quality, low-cost, career-oriented business degree to underserved students in the Southwest. CUA invested about $1.79 million in the Tucson program, including about $200,000 contributed by the Tucson business community, said Keiran Roche, CUA Tucson program director. The cost of the four-year program is about $35,000, compared to about $30,000 annually for Arizona residents attending the University of Arizona. Brittney Orozco, 25, of Tucson enrolled in the pilot program last fall as a freshman. She had attended the University of Arizona, but wasn’t sure what kind of career she wanted. “I am so glad I enrolled in the new
Tucson business program,” she said. “I can tell I am a part of something special that will set me up for a rewarding career.” Orozco said that after graduating she would like to find a job in resource development and marketing. She was attracted to CUA Tucson because of the low cost and the size of the classes, which are taught at the downtown campus of Pima Community College. Elaine Yee, 40, of Tucson has enrolled for this fall’s term. “I need a business background to do what I want to do here in Tucson,” she said. “I want to stay in Tucson.” The program is overseen by CUA’s Metropolitan School of Professional Studies in collaboration with the Busch School of Business. Roche said the procontinued on page 118 >>> www.BizTucson.com
