Vanderbilt’s new undergraduate business minor will be named the Hoogland Undergraduate Business Program following a $5 million gift from the Hoogland family. The minor, which replaced the Corporate Strategy and Financial Economics minors, came about due to high demand from students.
“This generous gift from the Hooglands—one of the first at Vanderbilt to name an academic program—provides all of our undergraduates the opportunity to pursue business education,” Susan R. Wente, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, said in a press release. “Adding an undergraduate business minor to our curriculum signals the thirst for business education from our students—and the appetite for innovation and leadership on campus. We look forward to introducing this uniquely Vanderbilt program that is open to any of our undergraduates.”
Susan and Keith Hoogland graduated from Vanderbilt’s College of Arts and Sciences in 1982 and have remained involved with the school since, serving as reunion chairs for the 25th reunion and fundraising chairs for their 30th reunion. Three of the couple’s six children also attended Vanderbilt.
Following graduation, Keith Hoogland went to work for his family’s business, Highland Ventures Ltd., where he is now president. He said he felt behind when he first entered the business world because he did not have the exposure to the business classes that many other students had. The new business minor, he hopes, will help better prepare students entering business after graduation and will create an even more well rounded liberal arts education.
The business minor itself is the result of years of planning and trans-institutional collaboration between the undergraduate schools and the Owen Graduate School of Management. The new set of courses marks the first time that undergraduate students will have the opportunity to take core courses taught by primarily graduate school faculty. The program is part of the Vanderbilt Academic Strategic Plan’s growing effort to introduce more trans-institutional opportunities to both faculty and students.
