In 1989, Heidi Dziak, director of the University's Center for International Business Education, laid out a proposal identifying the center's resources to secure funding from the U.S. Department of Education.
Eight years later, CIBE has launched a program that includes international workshops, internship programs, language courses and trips to countries in southeast Asia, based on funding it has received.
The program educates potential managers on the global market and increasing competition in areas where the United States continues to lag behind.
At a workshop earlier this month on How to Develop an International Career, CIBE hosted two business professionals in an atttempt to make University students aware of the opportunities abroad.
The panel discussion was led by Ronald Ebelts, a marketing manager and worldwide strategic planner for Procter & Gamble, and Jeffrey Guyton, who earned a joint degree in business and Japanese studies and has worked for Ford in Japan.
"It's good to know that other people don't take such a traditinional path in attaining international careers," said LSA senior Katie Ryan.
CIBE Director Brad Farnsworth said he thought the program was very informative for the students interested in international business.
"Procter & Gamble and Ford both have very strong human international resources," Farnsworth said. "Companies are appreciative of language skills.
"They have recognized the value of language in countries like China, where there are vast cultural differences."
Guyton also emphasized the importance of fluency in a foreign language.
"Language is critical, as are leadership and business background," Guyton said. "Take a history or literature class that gives you additional depth in that region," he advised.
Students' concerns remained focused on how their pay scale would change as they moved to a job abroad.
"Compensation is more tied to the local pay scale than the U.S.'s, but it is subject to negotiations," Guyton said at the presentation.
Ebelts answered concerns about wages abroad. For the most part, the speakers emphasized the accomodating nature of businesses that attempt to make U.S. nationals feel comfortable abroad.
"Once the decision to move has been made, the company takes care of everything," Ebelts said.
CIBE continues to become an invaluable asset in helping students attain employment abroad.
With more than 30 foreign languages offered at the University, CIBE has funded programs like business French and business German that emphasize the interrelatedness of language and business.