Dean's Welcome

Welcome to the McLane College of Business at UMHB! Our mission is to provide high quality, innovative, and accessible business education with a distinctive commitment to business as calling, to prepare our graduates for purposeful service and leadership. Here is what you can expect:

High quality. We are committed to providing you with a rigorous, best-in-class business education that will make you competitive in the marketplace.

Innovative. We are committed to developing and offering programs that keep pace with the changing needs of the marketplace; we provide a strong business core and provide you the opportunity to experiment in emerging areas of business.

Accessible. We are committed to offering programs that you can complete in a timely fashion; we will work with full-time, part-time, dual enrollment, and transfer students to help you achieve your educational goals.

Business as calling. We are committed to the idea that God’s purpose for business is to help people—that it make people’s lives better; that while profit is a necessary return on investment, the goal of business is to glorify God and love our neighbor.

Purposeful. We are committed to dialogue with you about the various calls God places on all of us, and challenging you to live with intentionality in response.

Service. We are committed to developing students’ ability to think beyond themselves, to understand your work as serving others, with the goal of positive impact on others’ lives; expect opportunities to learn through service.

Leadership. We are committed to helping students learn that leadership comes through service—that great leaders serve those they lead; expect opportunities to develop your leadership abilities.

And what does this look like? You will join over 400 other students pursuing studies in business. Whether your interests run to numbers, new ideas and products, technology, people and their behaviors, international trade, or leadership, you will find a major to your liking. You will work with outstanding faculty members who bring years of business and organizational experience into the classroom. Our average class size is 20; you will get to know your faculty and be known by them.

A business education is not just about knowing things; it is about doing things. Our students all complete 300 hours of practical experience prior to graduation, most through internships or summer work. Many of our students participate in study abroad, required of all International Business majors and open to all. Recent trips have included China, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Lithuania, Panama, and Thailand, among others.

We want you to become excellent employees. We hope many of you will become excellent employers. We will teach you how to make money. But we really want you to make a difference. If you think God may be leading you to explore how business can generate wealth, serve people, and glorify God, the McLane College of Business is for you! Join us!

Ken A. Smith, Ph.D.
Dean, McLane College of Business