YSU's business college is Ohio Center of Excellence

By Denise Dick | November 3, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Youngstown

Ohio Chancellor Jim Petro has named the Center of Excellence in International Business at Youngstown State University’s Williamson College of Business Administration an Ohio Center of Excellence in Cultural and Societal Transformation.

Petro announced the designation Wednesday in Williamson Hall on campus.

“This is the 50th designation in Ohio and third Center of Excellence designation for YSU which is, I think, a great accomplishment,” Petro said.

The Rich Center for Autism earned the designation and the materials science and engineering program was named an Emerging Center of Excellence, both in 2010.

It’s recognition of how competitive the college is around the world and of how it compares with other institutions, he said.

“This designation is a mark of distinction for the YSU Williamson College of Business Administration and a reflection of the hard work and dedication of the faculty, staff and administration of the college, as well as dozens upon dozens of supporters across the community,” YSU President Cynthia E. Anderson said.

Betty Jo Licata, dean of the business school, said the designation demonstrates the commitment of faculty, staff and students at the college.

The Williamson Center for International Business encompasses three components: the Williamson Center for International Business, the Emerging Markets Initiative and the Ohio Small Business Development Center at YSU.

Sarah Stafford of Boardman, a student in YSU’s master of business administration program, said that through her enrollment in the college she traveled to China in the summer of 2009 as part of China Study Abroad.

That experience as well as others she gained as an MBA student taught her firsthand about the importance of networking and global business.

Petro said that to earn the Center of Excellence designation, university programs must first be nominated by the broad community. In the case of Williamson, that nomination came from the business community.

Next, the nominations are reviewed by a committee of the Board of Regents before the full Board of Regents votes.