Exciting things are happening in the Craig School of Business at Fresno State, including opportunities for students and the community. New options in the graduate program are helping students earn their MBA completely online. They can take evening and weekend classes, or a mix of both.

 “We’re finding that students want that blended mix rather than all online or all face-to-face,” said Dr. Robert Harper, dean of the Craig School. “This helps serve students all over the Valley.”

Harper says community outreach is also a big part of the Craig School’s mission.

The Institute for Family Business provides resources to aid and promote families. There is a workshop every month on topics to support local businesses. The Gazarian Real Estate Center also helps facilitate and promote real estate in the area with two luncheon series per semester and a large symposium.

There is also a Business Advisory Council with high-level professionals, and the San Joaquin Valley Survey of Business Conditions is published each month, comparing local conditions to the national index.

Harper said he is thankful for the businesses and individuals who support the school. “We’ve had a lot of investment from alumni that helps us out, and we try to provide help to alumni, so it’s a two-way street.”

The Craig School also houses the University’s new stock trading room, thanks to the Wells Fargo Foundation. The Student Managed Investment Fund is about $3 million, and now students in the investment class have a high-tech facility for financial analysis with dedicated terminals, big screen TVs and a live ticker.

Students can also get critical exposure to international business through study-abroad programs, which have recently been tailored for Valley students.

“We discovered that as much as we encouraged it, for students to go away for a whole semester with an exchange program, not many students in this Valley can do that. They can’t go away for a whole semester,” Harper said.

Harper said most students can’t afford to leave their jobs or families, so the Craig School started the summer abroad program with four weeks of classes on campus, then two weeks in Barcelona. More than 140 students signed up for the summer program.

More than 30 MBA students are also headed to Europe this summer, going to Dijon, France, and Brussels, Belgium. “Business is global, it’s worldwide these days. To really experience it, leaving the Valley is very important,” Harper says.

To find out more about these opportunities, visit: