New school brings together all of Bethel's business degrees and will allow the University to work more closely with employers on internships and hiring.
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MCKENZIE, Tenn. — Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ is launching a School of Business, creating one home for every business degree the University offers. The new school opens with 12 degree programs, from two-year associate degrees through the Master of Business Administration.
Seven bachelor's degree programs currently taught on the McKenzie campus form the core of the school: Accounting, Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Human Resource Management, Information Technology, Management and Sport Management. They are joined by five programs from Bethel's online adult degree and graduate offerings: the Associate of Arts in Business, the Bachelor of Science in Business Management, the Associate of Arts in Customer Relationship Management, the Bachelor of Science in Customer Relationship Management and the Master of Business Administration. The school will be housed in the College of Arts & Sciences.
"This is about building something bigger than what we had," said Dr. Perry Moulds, president of Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ. "Our business programs are already excellent. Put them together as a school and they can do things none of them could do alone. That means more opportunities for our students and a better partner for the businesses in this region."
What the New School Can Do
As a school, Bethel can now go to an employer once instead of program by program. A single conversation with a manufacturer, a hospital, an accounting firm or an athletic organization can lead to internships, job shadowing and hiring for students across all 12 programs, not just one major.
The same is true for building new programs. New offerings can be designed once by the school's faculty and made available across every program, instead of being built one major at a time. If employers tell Bethel the region needs a skill it is not teaching, the school can respond faster.
"When a company calls us now, we can answer for all of our business programs at once," said Dr. Joseph R. Hames, Bethel's provost. "That sounds simple, but it changes what we are able to say yes to. It also makes it easier to hire good faculty, because we are asking them to join a school and not just teach a course list."
The Programs
The mix of degrees in the new school reflects how businesses actually run today. Accounting, Management and Human Resource Management sit alongside Information Technology, Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence, fields that now touch almost every business decision a company makes. Sport Management connects the school to one of the state's most visible industries.
Putting the programs together also makes it easier for students to combine them. An accounting student can pick up real skills in data and artificial intelligence. A management student can take cybersecurity coursework. A sport management student can study customer relationship strategy with classmates headed into corporate jobs.
Online and On Campus
Bethel's online adult degree and graduate business programs serve students who are already working and often raising families. Bethel offers business and customer relationship management degrees at both the associate and bachelor's level, so a student can finish one credential, go back to work, and return for the next when the timing is right. The MBA is the final step for Bethel graduates and for working professionals across the region.
Bringing those programs into the School of Business offers options not available before. The seven campus programs will still be taught in McKenzie classrooms. The online adult degree and graduate programs will still be offered in the flexible formats their students count on. What changes is that both now share the same faculty, the same academic standards and the same leadership.
"A working adult needs more than a schedule that fits," said Dr. Wayne Scott, Bethel's executive vice president, who leads the University's online programs. "These are people holding down a job and raising a family while they earn a degree. They need an advisor who knows their name and what they are working toward, and who is there when work and school start to collide. That support does not change under the School of Business. What changes is that the degree they earn now has a business school behind it. And when we start asking what else a working adult ought to be able to earn from Bethel, we will be asking that question together instead of separately."
Each program stays in the modality where it is taught best. But sharing one academic unit raises the possibility that a student could one day take some courses on campus and others online.
Dr. Ronald L. Deming Named Associate Dean
Dr. Ronald L. Deming has been named associate dean of the School of Business. He has taught at Bethel since 1996 as professor of business and computer information systems, and he comes to the role having worked on both sides of the school he will help lead.
Deming has served as Bethel's business division chair, associate dean of information systems, chief information officer, and vice president of the College of Liberal Arts and School of University Studies. He launched Bethel's online undergraduate school and ran the University's technology operations, supporting more than 1,000 campus users. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in management, leadership, information systems, cybersecurity, networking and strategic planning.
A retired Air Force veteran, Deming previously served in senior information management and recruiting leadership roles, including chief of the analysis branch, where he was responsible for computer procurement for Air Force Recruiting Service. He has more than three decades of experience across higher education, management, information technology and cybersecurity.
He holds a Ph.D. in organizational management from Capella University, a master's degree in management and computer information systems from Webster University and a bachelor's degree in vocational education from Southern Illinois University.
"I have spent almost 30 years teaching our business students, on campus and online, and they are not as different as people assume," said Deming. "They all want a degree that means something to an employer. Putting these programs into one school lets us do a better job of that for every one of them."
About Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ
Founded in 1842, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ has spent nearly 185 years helping students turn their talents into purpose. Located in McKenzie, Tennessee, within two hours of both Nashville and Memphis, Bethel is a Christian community of nearly 3,000 students from 33 states and 41 countries. The University's mission is to equip individuals for a life of service through academic, spiritual, social and experiential learning to go forth and transform the world. With 52 undergraduate programs and nine graduate programs, Bethel aims to be a leader in student-centered education through innovative academics, character formation and life skills development. For more information, visit bethelu.edu.