By Colter Hettich, Features Editor

Three faculty members of the College of Business Administration returned from China after spending 10 days examining internship and career opportunities for students.

Dr. Rick Lytle, dean of the College of Business Administration; Dr. Jonathan Stewart, associate professor of finance; and Mike Winegeart, assistant professor of marketing and director of COBA’s global programs, met with Dr. Richard Chang, CEO, president and founder of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corps, SMIC, in Shanghai and discussed the potential for a working relationship.

“If we were to say we were missionaries, we’re not getting into the country,” Lytle said. “But as business people, the door is wide open.”

Their time with Chang was well spent: Chang, who has been featured in Forbes and Business Week and received China’s 2005 IT Person of the Year award, agreed to visit ACU and participate in COBA’s Distinguished Speaker Series. A date for his arrival has not been set.

Lytle traveled to China two-and-a-half years ago with the specific goal of learning how business in China compares to American business.

“For the last five years, I’ve known if we’re going to be in the business of training students for the world, we need to be in China,” Lytle said.

Throughout the 10-day-trip, Winegeart was awestruck by the omnipresence of visible growth.

“It was hard to look anywhere without seeing scaffolding or construction,” Winegeart said. “It’s easy to see how the next 100 years is going to be driven and led by what’s happening in China.”

Last summer, COBA’s administration attempted to organize a student trip as a working model of what they hope to create, but Lytle said their plans “fell through” due to a lack of planning and other factors. COBA has not scheduled their next visit to China, but Lytle said it will be soon.

“I can’t imagine us not being in China over the next year,” he said.