University of Miami to Establish International Business Center with Key Federal Grant

CORAL GABLES, Fla., May 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Education has awarded a grant to the University of Miami (UM) to establish a Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), which will be housed at the School of Business Administration. The University will receive $355,000 in the first year of the four-year grant cycle, for which the University has requested $1.5 million. Each year the grant will be matched by the University, providing total funding of up to $3 million for the Center, which will be used to carry out programs that increase and promote the nation's capacity for international understanding and competitiveness, particularly in the service sector. The UM CIBER is among just three new CIBERs to be established this year and among 33 in total to receive a portion of the nearly $13 million in available funding for the first year.

"The University of Miami, centered in a remarkably dynamic gateway for international business, is an ideal location for a center of this nature and we are delighted to receive this award," said Barbara E. Kahn, dean of the University of Miami School of Business Administration. "The UM CIBER will provide leaders, citizens, students and faculty throughout the country with distinctive international business resources and expertise from the University, the School of Business, our partners, and the South Florida community."

Faculty and students from all 12 of the University's schools and colleges will work with the UM CIBER. The center will develop and promote research, education and outreach services designed to enhance international competitiveness in the service sector through dozens of programs unified under its overarching theme "Superior Sustainable Services to Strengthen U.S. Competitiveness." During the first funding cycle, the center will prioritize four international service sub-sectors including health care, financial reporting, infrastructure development, and environmental sustainability.

"The service sector is the largest sector of the U.S. economy and the fastest growing sector of international trade," said Joseph Ganitsky, a professor of management at the School of Business and the director of the UM CIBER. "This center will be an important gateway for business and government leaders, citizens, students and faculty to develop and strengthen their international competencies, particularly in the service sector, to create new initiatives that will enhance the international competitiveness of the U.S."

The UM CIBER will also sponsor faculty development programs that include research, academic conferences and field study trips; sponsor business-related student language and culture programs; develop programs that strengthen the University's international business curriculum and student services; and support new training programs for high school teachers and community college educators to enhance their international business expertise. An International Advisory Council, which includes representatives from the Office of the Governor, Miami-Dade College, business leaders, and the University, has been established for the center. The Council will assess the progress of the UM CIBER as well as provide counsel to the School of Business on other international business initiatives.

The CIBERs were created by Congress under the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. Administered by the U.S. Department of Education under Title VI, Part B of the Higher Education Act of 1965, the CIBER network links the manpower and technological needs of the United States business community with the international education, language training, and research capacities of universities across the country.  

About the University of Miami School of Business Administration

The University of Miami School of Business Administration is a comprehensive business school, offering undergraduate business, full-time MBA, Executive MBA, MS, PhD and non-degree executive education programs. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Miami, the School is located in a major hub of international trade and commerce and acclaimed for the global orientation and diversity of its faculty, students and curriculum. The School delivers its programs at its main campus in Coral Gables as well as at locations across Florida and abroad. More information about the University of Miami School of Business can be found at www.bus.miami.edu.

SOURCE University of Miami School of Business Administration