CIBS awarded four-year federal grant

The Center for International Business Studies (CIBS) at Mays Business School has been awarded a four-year federal grant totaling $1.23 million. The U.S. Department of Education awards the funds as part of its Center for International Business Education (CIBE) program. The grant commences on Oct. 1 and will cover the 2018-22 period.

Mays was among the 15 high-impact business schools in the country – and the only one in Texas – to be awarded the grant out of some 50 applicants. CIBS has successfully competed nationally for the four-year award since 1990.

The national CIBE program’s objective is to enable a select group of top business schools in the country to internationalize business education through the design, development, and implementation of high impact international business education and research activities for students and faculty respectively that would lead to the enhancement of the country’s international business competitiveness. CIBE funding at Mays will be devoted primarily to infuse a global mindset in students through international business courses work and high-impact overseas study experiences like study abroad, exchange and international internship, as well as supporting international business research and outreach activities of Mays stellar faculty, said CIBS Executive Director Julian Gaspar.

Gaspar said he was thrilled to learn Mays was awarded the new grant, which he considers is an imprimatur of international business education and scholarship at Mays. “It provides us with the seed money to initiate innovative internationalization programs that enhance business globalization perspectives of Mays students and faculty,” he said. “More specifically, CIBE funding will impact Mays Business School in three ways. First, it enables us to provide a diverse set of stimulating overseas study opportunities for our students that integrate solid business, cultural and geopolitical issues of developed and emerging economies of the world. Second, the funding helps us pursue interdisciplinary degree and international business research programs with other colleges on campus as well as with institutions nationally and internationally. Finally, all initiatives made possible with this funding helps Mays Business School to achieve high education and research ranking both nationally and internationally – thereby aiding Texas A&M in attaining its Vision 2030 objectives.”

CIBE grants are intended to enhance America’s capacity for international understanding and economic enterprise and to promote educational and training activities that will contribute to the ability of the United States to advance the world’s prosperity, Gaspar explained. CIBEs serve as national resources for the teaching of improved global business techniques, strategies, and methodologies that emphasize the international context in which business is transacted. They provide instruction in critical foreign languages and international area studies to improve understanding of the business cultures of countries that trade with the United States. CIBEs also provide international business education, research, and training opportunities for minority-serving institutions (MSIs) in the state and the nation.

Contact Gaspar at jgaspar@mays.tamu.edu