College of Charleston School of Business and Economics

College of Charleston School of Business and Economics
President	Dr. Robert Pitts
Dean	Alan T. Shao
Admin. staff	70
Undergraduates	1549
Postgraduates	24
Location	Charleston, South Carolina, USA 32°46′59″N 79°56′9″W / 32.78306°N 79.93583°W / 32.78306; -79.93583Coordinates: 32°46′59″N 79°56′9″W / 32.78306°N 79.93583°W / 32.78306; -79.93583
Campus	Tate Center for Entrepreneurship and Beatty Leadership Center
Website	http://www.cofc.edu/sobe

The College of Charleston School of Business and Economics is an AACSB International accredited institution for business.

History

The business program at the College of Charleston was started when former College of Charleston president Theodore Stern declared that the college must teach business courses. At that time the College of Charleston was completely liberal arts with a focus on studying the classics. Stern realized the importance of a business program and hired Economics and Political Economics professors to begin the program. Dr. Howard Rudd was hired to be dean of the Business school in 1984, and he was charged with making it a nationally accredited school. In only four years, Dr. Rudd led the school to become AACSB certified. Dr. Rudd stepped down to become a full time professor and Dr. Clarence Condon became the second dean of the school in 1997. Under Dr. Condon's tenure, the Beatty Center for entrepreneurship was built. Dr. Robert Pitts, the current dean of the School of Business and Economics, came to the College in 2004.

Campus

The School of Business and Economics facilities include the Jack Tate Center for Entrepreneurship, with construction supported by Jack Tate's donation of 1.5 million dollars, and the William Beatty Leadership Center, partially funded by a 2 million dollar donation from Guy Beatty and the Beatty Family.

Programs

The School of Business and Economics offers Bachelor of Science degrees in International Business, Hospitality and Tourism Management, Accounting, Economics, and Business Administration. It also offers a Master of Science in Accounting. Interdisciplinary concentrations are also an important part of the program. The Entrepreneurship Concentration is the largest undergraduate entrepreneurship program in the country. Another concentration under the Business Administration major is Leadership, Change, and Social Responsibly.