Inside The Metrics

by Barbara Schleppenbach, PhD ’71

In retrospect, 1860 might not have been an auspicious year for new ventures. The German friars who ventured to Quincy to establish a college were confronted by a late frost, a spring drought, and a summer that was the hottest within memory.

According to Quincy University historian, Fr. Francis Jerome Gray, OFM, the weather was just one of the challenges to “bestowing the blessings of classical education on the reluctant youth of western America.”

AT LEAST 80% OF COLLEGES FOUNDED BEFORE 1861 HAD CEASED TO EXIST BY 1932, FR. GRAY NOTES IN HIS HISTORY OF QU.

But in 1862, the friars made two fateful and intertwined decisions: They would press on with their project, and they would include adding business courses to their ambitious curriculum. Within five years, the business program was a well known and popular course of study, and sources consider 1867 to be the birthday of business at QU.

From the beginning, QU president, Fr. Anselm Mueller, OFM, distinguished QU’s degree program from “the so-called Business College.” A graduate of QU’s program has mastered the liberal arts as well as professional studies. “Above all that, he has learned to think and act intelligently and preserve a disposition to improve his knowledge by future studies,” Fr. Anselm wrote in his memoir. “We prepare him to enter as an educated apprentice in any position in life.”

By 1904, Fr. Anslem observed that “the great majority of graduates are businessmen.” Then, as now, they benefited from an education that prepared them for versatility and flexibility in a rapidly changing professional environment. The founders would have proudly viewed the current curriculum as a continuation of their vision. According to the 2020 Academic Catalog, “the School of Business emphasizes education through critical thinking and decision-making skills, experiential learning, leadership development, and exposure to diverse academic theories and practical experiences.”

For many years, the artful blending of liberal arts and general preparation in business subjects prepared students for successful careers. In the 1960s, the Department of Business Administration, chaired by Georgetown University graduate Mr. Frank Naggi, laid the groundwork for specialization that would culminate in majors in accounting (1970), management (1975), and marketing (1977) and recognition as the Division of Business and Accounting (1976).

Throughout the 1970s, chair Fr. Melvin Grunloh, OFM, developed a plan for the school’s first graduate degree, the MBA (1984). Trained at the University of Chicago, Fr. Melvin was highly influential as a faculty member, chair, and member of the Board of Trustees. His dream of success for QU’s MBA program was nurtured by many but perhaps most memorably by Dr. Richard Magliari, who served as a faculty member and chair for 40 years of singular growth, (1971 – 2011).

Today’s MBA offers the signature blend of curricular rigor and preparation for an everchanging workplace. According to the School of Business dean Dr. Cynthia Haliemun, Ph.D., “MBA courses are offered on campus as well as online every 10 weeks including summer. QU offers four concentrations: General MBA, Organizational Leadership, Operations Management, and the newly added Health Care Administration (2019).”

Thanks to a $2.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education Title III program, QU is preparing to offer the first courses in a Business Analytics major. As in the 1860s, QU is responding to evolving challenges and preparing graduates to do the same. The skillful blending of the liberal arts and current technology is once again positioning QU and its alumni for enduring success.

PROGRAM TIMELINE

1867 BUSINESS PROGRAM IS BORN

1970 NEW! ACCOUNTING MAJOR

1975 NEW! MANAGEMENT MAJOR

1976 RECOGNITION AS DIVISION OF BUSINESS & ACCOUNTING

1977 NEW! MARKETING MAJOR

1984 MBA PLAN DEVELOPED