With College of Business and Technology, Rockhurst University Looks to the Future

Rockhurst University’s business school will be renamed the College of Business and Technology, representing a renewed focus on the premiere AASCB-accredited Jesuit business programs the school has built its name on and growth opportunities in its burgeoning tech and analytics programs to serve the growing need in tech, health and analytics-focused sectors.

The Academic Affairs subcommittee of the Rockhurst University Board of Trustees recently reviewed and supported the creation of the College of Business and Technology at Rockhurst, consisting of two distinct but integrated schools — the Helzberg School of Management and the School of Technology. According to Myles Gartland, Ph.D., dean of the College of Business and Technology, this is a forward-looking academic unit that reflects the realities of the job market and the economic growth of a region that is already a leader in health care and STEM and boasts a growing tech sector.

“This is much more than a name change,” Gartland said. “This will be a different, more modern college for these subjects. Traditionally business and technology have been treated as separate in higher education, but most industry leaders will tell you that’s not the case in practice. To thrive in today’s technology space, you need an understanding of business. And vice-versa.”

Rockhurst established its standalone School of Management more than 40 years ago. In 2004, the school was renamed the Helzberg School of Management in honor of Kansas City business leader Barnett Helzberg. In 2017, Rockhurst reorganized the college, adding communication, computer science, mathematics, and public policy and political science under its umbrella. It was renamed the College of Business, Influence and Information Analysis, with the Helzberg School of Management existing as part of that renamed academic unit.

Sharing faculty, courses, and the rich Jesuit educational tradition that leaders in Kansas City and beyond have relied on for decades, the new approach will give students the best of both worlds — a firm grounding in management and leadership principles for those pursuing analytics, applied mathematics, computer science and other related degrees and certificates; and a strong dose of technology and data literacy for those pursuing any business degree. On top of that is a core curriculum that emphasizes communication — a critical skill for nearly every career.

“We believe strongly in the value of a Jesuit education — our values, focus on ethical leadership and development of the whole person set us and our graduates apart,” Gartland said. “It’s rare to find those characteristics in technology-focused education. But they are critically important alongside technical know-how in forming leaders of confidence and conscience.”

In making technology an integral part of its identity, Gartland said the college plans to lean into STEM and health care fields and explore new territory in areas such as cybersecurity, health informatics, artificial intelligence, social media and app and game development — all in-demand degree programs with business applications. It also opens doors to new industry partnerships — internships and apprenticeships and applied research and capstone projects.