October 17, 2001

Contact: Bill Beedles, (785) 864-7530, or Bill Fuerst, School of Business, (785) 864-7575; Rick Stilwell or Joe Rei, IMCG, (816) 753-6788.

KU School of Business affiliation targets ongoing management education

LAWRENCE -- The University of Kansas School of Business and Kansas City-based education and professional services firm IMCG have joined forces to establish the KU Center for Management Education (CME). The center will offer a unique array of corporate, university and open-enrollment programs for private and public sector organizations.

The business school's alliance with a private company is unusual in management education, says William L. Fuerst, dean of the KU School of Business. "It's a model that's being used in only two other parts of the country that I know of, Duke University and Babson College," says Fuerst. "This alliance will combine the best business expertise in the area with a resourceful delivery system. IMCG has established a reputation in working with businesses to assess needs, determining how to measure success and setting up a delivery system for specific business needs. KU's School of Business, on the other hand, can provide content and know-how that is up-to-date in every aspect of business today."

Bill Beedles, KU professor of finance and CME coordinator, says the center will provide a full portfolio of management education services. These will include general management certificate programs, longer courses focused on a single subject, intensive short courses and personalized programs for specific corporations.

"We plan to be a major provider of ongoing essential education for the business community," says Beedles. "Business education today is ongoing. To keep pace, businesses must constantly update management skills in finance, e-business, strategy, human resources, marketing and international business. Our faculty provide an excellent resource for the latest practices and research in today's business and economy."

CME's major market will be the Plains states region, concentrating first on mid-size companies in greater Kansas City, Lawrence, Topeka and Wichita. Fuerst says the center represents a key element in the school's long-term Plan for Excellence. The school's goal is to develop a national reputation as a thought leader and to provide an example of the best practices in university-provided corporation education. He said clients will be businesses, nonprofit agencies and government organizations.

The center's development and leadership will be in the hands of a combined KU-IMCG team. IMCG principals Rick Stilwell and Joe Rei will serve as managing directors of the center. Beedles, KU professor of finance, will serve as faculty coordinator.

Stilwell is an IMCG founding principal and former Deloitte & Touche management consulting partner. He spent five years at the University of Missouri-Kansas City's Bloch School of Business as director of executive education and assistant dean. Rei is an IMCG principal and former university administrator. His 20-plus years of experience include the design and management of innovative, technology-based educational delivery programs.

Prior to joining IMCG's corporate education practice, Rei served as executive director for the National Research Center for College and University Admissions.

Beedles has been a member of the KU School of Business finance faculty since 1978 and has served as the school's executive education faculty coordinator for the past decade. He has led KU's executive education with a number of companies throughout the United States and is recognized as a leader in the development of corporate management education programs.