CIBER gets major grant

The School of Business will receive $1.4 million to enhance international business education.

The U.S. Department of Education will renew funding for the business school’s Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER). The school will receive $355,000 per year for the next four years.

R.D. Nair, interim dean of the School of Business and executive director of its CIBER, says the new funding will enable the business school to enhance existing programs and create new ones. For example, the new grant will help establish a national network for universities that offer study-abroad programs. Another important step made possible by the new grant will be establishing a consortium with historically black colleges to help internationalize their faculty.

UW–Madison received its first CIBER funding in 1998, when it became one of 25 universities in the nation to be named a Center for International Business Education and Research. Congress created the CIBER program in 1988 to increase the nation’s capacity for international understanding and economic enterprise.

In receiving a CIBER grant, UW–Madison joined a select group of universities recognized for their strength in international business, such as Michigan, UCLA and Columbia University.

“The awarding of a CIBER grant for which competition is very keen, means the program has achieved national recognition,” Nair says. “We were thrilled to receive the first grant. Receiving a second grant, especially one of this size, the largest awarded this year, is particularly gratifying. It shows how much we and our colleagues across the UW–Madison campus have been able to accomplish during the past four years.”

Chancellor John Wiley adds: “Competing for and retaining significant grants such as this one speaks to the strength of our faculty and staff, and to our commitment to strengthen the university’s position as a leader in international education. UW–Madison also has significant and increasing international stature, which will be fostered and promoted through the efforts of CIBER.”

The School of Business received $220,000 a year for four years from the first CIBER grant. Business and other departments, including language and area studies programs, work jointly to support innovative teaching of international business issues.

CIBER grants support international efforts throughout the UW System and at technical colleges in the Midwest. International educational opportunities, such as study abroad programs for business students at UW–Madison, have expanded with CIBER assistance. CIBER also supports faculty research international business issues. CIBER programs for businesses in Wisconsin and the upper Midwest have helped improve their international competitiveness.

“In a post-9/11 environment, we’ve learned how the economy and world stability are crucially linked,” says Gilles Bousquet, dean of International Studies. “CIBER contributes to our knowledge and understanding of international affairs both on campus and in the community, preparing not just our students but Wisconsin for the challenges ahead. We are fortunate to have such a nationally recognized center at the UW–Madison. In just a few years, CIBER has established a reputation for excellence not just in the School of Business but also across the campus and the community. Our area and international studies programs and our language programs collaborate routinely with CIBER, and we greatly value this extremely productive and collegial relationship.”
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