Perdue School of Business

Dr. Christy Weer, Dean
Perdue Hall Room 359H • 410-548-5391

Dr. Ani Mathers, Associate Dean
Perdue Hall Room 359C • 410-548-5391

Dr. Tammy L. Donaway
Applied Business Learning Experience
(ABLE) Director
Perdue Hall Room 360A • 410-548-5564

Dr. Yvonne Downie Hanley
M.B.A. Director
Perdue Hall Room 360F • 410-548-3983

School Information

The Franklin P. Perdue School of Business was established in 1986 through a multimillion dollar fund created by Franklin P. Perdue to ensure excellence within the academic programs of the school. Perdue, a lifelong resident of Salisbury, began working with his parents in their egg business at the age of 10. He attended what was then the State Teachers College in Salisbury for two years before returning to work full time with his father in 1939. He became a full partner in the business in 1944 and, in 1950, took over leadership of Perdue Farms Inc. Under his leadership, the firm grew to be one of the largest integrated poultry producers in the United States.

The Perdue School is the largest university-level center for business education and development in the region. It provides an academic program recognized for meeting the high-est standards of business education through its accreditation with AACSB International. The business school provides for student interaction with the business world and focuses on preparing graduates who can apply business knowledge to solve problems; make sound decisions using the most current technological resources available; communicate effectively verbally and in writing; demonstrate the interpersonal skills and ethical awareness to function as a successful business professional; and operate successfully in the diverse, global, team-based environments of business.

The Perdue School offers three degrees: Master of Business Administration, Bachelor of Arts in economics and Bachelor of Science. Students pursuing a Bachelor of Science can major in accounting, business economics, finance, information systems, international business, management or marketing. Each major has lower (pre-professional) and upper (professional) divisions and require successful completion of lower-division work to gain admission to the business school and eligibility to begin taking upper-division courses. The economics major requires a program of General Education courses integrated with a core in economics, business administration and mathematics.

The Perdue School offers six minors: entrepreneurship, professional sales, accounting, business administration, finance, information systems, marketing management and economics. The business administration and marketing management minors are not open to accounting, business, finance, information systems, management or marketing majors. Similarly, the business economics major and the economics minor are not open to economics majors.

A unique feature of the Perdue School of Business is the Applied Business Learning Experience (ABLE) program, successful completion of which is a graduation requirement for all students majoring in accounting, business, finance, information systems, management or marketing. Students must demonstrate that they can translate and effectively use classroom learning in business, government and nonprofit organizations. ABLE provides a variety of experiential learning options. Students can satisfy the ABLE requirement with an internship or through ABLE-qualifying courses. For details see the undergraduate programs coordinator.

Philosophic Commitments and Objectives

Consistent with the University mission and the convictions of its faculty, the Franklin P. Perdue School of Business objectives reflect a dedication to students’ maximum intellectual growth, active involvement in applied and practical research, and a commitment to community service.

Intellectual Growth

The primary objective of the school is to provide each of its students with an academic environment that fosters the development of a broad intellectual foundation. This foundation is the basis for effective service in professional positions and enables students to assume higher levels of responsibility as they gain experience and demonstrate ability. The faculty believe this objective is met by the development and maintenance of quality curricula, by effective teaching and by conscientious student advising.

Research

The school is committed to stimulating the intellectual growth of its faculty to the benefit of the broader academic and business community. The faculty actively pursue applied as well as more theoretical research that expands their knowledge of business and economic activities.

Global Competencies

In today’s global marketplace it is increasingly important that future managers have a good understanding of international business practices. There is no better way to gain this knowledge than to experience it first hand. The Perdue School and the University’s Center for International Education offer a variety of study abroad programs from two weeks to a semester. The Perdue School urges all students to take advantage of this opportunity. Up to nine credit hours can be applied toward a Perdue School major from an approved study abroad program.

Business, Economic and Community Outreach Network (BEACON)

The Business, Economic and Community Outreach Network (BEACON) of the Franklin P. Perdue School of Business combines applied business learning experiences for SU students with sponsored research and consulting services to non-profit, private and public-sector organizations throughout the Delmarva region.

Student teams, supervised by faculty and BEACON staff, work on projects such as market research; sales and demand forecasting; strategic planning; feasibility studies; economic impact assessments; scenario analysis and planning; program and project evaluation, and business policy research. In addition to giving students a variety of experiential learning opportunities, BEACON’s applied research projects have a significant impact on the practice of business and management in our region. BEACON, as part of its outreach and technology transfer mandates, is also involved with a variety of intellectual property commercialization projects.

Key BEACON initiatives include:

Bienvenidos â Delmarva - providing management, marketing and organizational development know-how to private-and public-sector organizations that interact frequently with the region’s rapidly growing non-native-born population.
GraySHORE - preparing the region’s private and public sector organizations for addressing the needs of seniors in the region.
ShoreTrends - tracking demographic, business, economic, workforce and community development trends throughout the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

For more information, contact Dr. Memo Diriker, director, or Dr. Sarah Guy, associate director, at 410-546-6001 or beacon@salisbury.edu.

Mid-Atlantic Sales and Marketing Institute (MASMI)

MASMI is the Mid-Atlantic Sales and Marketing Institute, a research and academic center for professional selling within the Perdue School of Business at Salisbury University.

MASMI regularly hosts five signature events: Professional Selling Thursdays speaker series, Internship and Job Fair, Etiquette Dinner, Elevator Pitch Competition, and the MASMI Sales Championship.

Small Business Development Center

The Maryland Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is dedicated to helping individuals establish or expand a business. A variety of management and technical assistance programs are designed and provided by the SBDC to help the aspiring and existing small business owner. Business students have opportunities to gain hands-on, real-world experience by providing consulting services for small business owners under the close supervision of faculty mentors.

The SBDC is part of a national network, founded in 1979, that helps over 500,000 businesses on an annual basis. Assistance provided by the SBDC is designed to strengthen firms and contribute to the growth of the local, state and national economies.

General Information

Non-Degree Seeking Students

The Perdue School serves non-degree-seeking students by allowing them to enroll directly in both lower- and upper-division courses. Students who do not meet specific course prerequisites must obtain approval from the associate dean of the Perdue School of Business or advising services coordinator before enrolling.

Students Seeking Degrees in Programs Other Than Accounting, Finance, Information Systems, International Business, Management or Marketing

The Perdue School welcomes students from other disciplines in lower-division classes and can accommodate a limited number of these students in upper-division (300/400-level) courses as the school’s professional-program students are given priority. Because the Perdue School cannot guarantee that non-majors will be able to enroll in upper-division business courses during any specific semester, students from other disciplines with programs that require upper-division Perdue School courses should plan ahead as far as possible and secure the permission of their advisors and the advising services coordinator of the Perdue School of Business for the business portion of their programs.

Transfer Credits

Students who wish to enroll in courses at other institutions and transfer credits to satisfy Perdue School requirements must first submit a properly completed Request to Study at Another Institution form to the Perdue School’s advising services coordinator. With the approval of the department chair, up to six hours of upper-division course credit will be accepted-providing that the minimum required grades are earned for the student’s major and that the courses are taken from another AACSB accredited institution. Approval forms will then be submitted to the Registrar’s Office for additional authorization and processing. (Students are further directed to the University’s transfer guidelines located in the “Registration and Student Records ” section.)

Repeating Courses

Courses repeated to fulfill a Perdue School major or minor requirement must be repeated at Salisbury University.

Applied Business Learning Experience (ABLE) Internship

ABLE is an Applied Business Learning Experience that is required of all students graduating with a major from the Perdue School of Business. The internship designed to allow students to participate in an approved work or course experience relevant to a chosen academic major and related to career objectives. ABLE internships are designed to give students on-the-job experience and includes a faculty-guided class that must be taken at the same time a student is completing a work site internship.

Perdue School Advising

Perdue School students are considered to be in the Pre-Professional Program until the admission requirements for the Professional Program have been met. Perdue School advisors are here to help you navigate this process and guide you on the path to earn your degree.

Undergraduate Programs

For Students Seeking a Bachelor of Arts In Economics, See the Economics, B.A. Major

What Follows Is For Students Seeking a Bachelor of Science With a Major in Accounting, Business Economics, Finance, Information Systems, International Business, Management or Marketing

Lower-Division Pre-Professional Program

For Freshmen And Sophomores Seeking a Major In Accounting, Business Economics, Finance, Information Systems, International Business, Management or Marketing

Freshmen and sophomores complete a pre-professional program, which consists of 33-34 hours of lower-division coursework designed to provide a broad knowledge base essential to success in the upper-division coursework.

Pre-professional Course Requirements

The following courses make up the pre-professional program. These courses should be completed during the freshman and sophomore years in preparation for entrance into the professional programs of the Franklin P. Perdue School of Business:

Upper-Division Professional Program

In order for students to take upper-division business courses, students must apply for and be admitted into the professional program. (Specific instructions for application to the Perdue School of Business follow.)

Juniors and seniors pursuing a major in the Perdue School of Business complete a professional program consisting of (1) an upper-division core, which must be taken by all accounting, business economics, finance, information systems, international business, management and marketing majors; (2) a set of special requirements for each major and concentration/track; and (3) a set of specific course requirements unique to the major that the student is pursuing. Coursework and other requirements are grouped according to accounting, business economics, finance, information systems, international business, management and marketing.

Professional Program Admission Requirements

A GPA of 2.5 or higher in the pre-professional core courses is required for admission into the Professional Program, including those courses taken at another institution. Additional students may be admitted by descending order of GPA (in pre-professional core courses) in numbers sufﬁcient to maintain a quality student/faculty ratio. A GPA calculator is available to assist you online.

Grades of C or higher must be earned in all pre-professional courses for the following majors: accounting and business economics.
Students may repeat each business course one time only. If students exceed repeats, they will not be admissible to the Professional Program.
Students must have completed 56 total credit hours of college courses to be admitted into the Professional Program.
Turn in applications by December 1 for Winter or Spring admission and May 1 for Fall admission.
Complete at least 9 out of 11 Pre-Professional Courses (26 credits), 5 of which must be MATH 155 , MATH 160 , ECON 211 or ECON 212 , ACCT 201 , and BUAD 200 . The remaining 2 courses must be completed in the ﬁrst semester after being admitted to the Professional Program.

Retention and Graduation Requirements

Once admitted to the Perdue School’s professional program, students must do the following:

Complete the pre-professional core within the next 15 credit hours of study or be disenrolled automatically from the professional program.
All upper-division coursework must be completed with a C or better for the following majors: accounting, business economics, international business, management and marketing.
Maintain a 2.0 grade point average. (Students whose cumulative grade point averages fall below 2.0 and do not return to 2.0 within the next consecutive 12 semester hours will be disenrolled from the professional program.)
Upper-division courses may be repeated only once.
A minimum 2.0 upper-division GPA is required for graduation.

Appeals for exceptions to this policy must be made in writing to the Undergraduate Exceptions Committee of the Perdue School.

Undergraduate & Graduate Catalog