H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship
Less than two years ago, a perfect storm was brewing in Andrew Rosman’s world. Business schools at colleges and universities were faced with creating a new model to embrace the nontraditional student, especially in terms of how M.B.A. programs were structured.
A report revealed that the number of entering freshmen would decrease significantly by 2025—a statistic that made colleges sit up and take notice. And Rosman had reached a point in his career where he wanted to make a change and accomplish certain goals. At the same time, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) announced the search for the dean of the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship (HCBE).
That “perfect storm” was just right for Rosman. He joined NSU and took the time to learn about the inner workings and history of the university, and of the college he was tasked to lead. In addition to focusing on what was needed to help NSU receive accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), Rosman wanted to create a unique model that would give HCBE and its students the opportunity to thrive.
“NSU is referred to as an upside-down university where there are more graduate and professional students than undergraduate students, and it is dominated by the health professions,” Rosman said. “When I looked at the role of the business school in such a place, I focused on two things. First, the business school should do really well by its own students, accounting majors, marketing majors, M.B.A. students, etc. We should train them to be the best they can, so they are in tremendous demand. The second part is we’re here to support the rest of the university, and we are here to make every other major a little bit better.”
One way to do that is to provide business experience for every major. For example, the university has an M.B.A. concentration in complex health systems for students working toward a degree in the health professions. More recently, HCBE gained approval from the NSU Board of Trustees to launch an undergraduate degree program in the business of health. Students can earn a dual major in premed sciences and business.
“At the end of the four-year degree, students could go to medical school, and they could go into the health industry with a background of science and business. Or they can go on to another graduate degree program. It’s a unique way for us to support the health professions,” Rosman explained.
“NSU will be the number one producer of physicians in the country after the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine becomes fully accredited in a year,” he added. “The university is going to be setting the pathway in many ways, and I would like to be part of it in the role of what the business school can do to help NSU accomplish its goals.”
The AACSB accreditation is another university goal in which Rosman has invested new ideas and approaches. He didn’t have to look too far to find inspiration for these ideas—the college’s new vision—“best for our world”—came straight from the school’s namesake Wayne Huizenga. Rosman looked to a strategy Huizenga’s first successful company, Waste Management, still follows today—profit follows doing the right thing for people and planet.
“Its motto has always been to take care of your employees and your customers first and foremost and profit follows,” Rosman said. “That’s the value system Waste Management has—that’s Wayne’s company. And so, it becomes a beautiful thing, where we can reorient our vision and mission and strategic plan around our founder—the namesake of our college.”
Students will see the vision come to life in the curriculum. They will learn the principles of economics, for example, in the context of today’s world with topics such as poverty, war, climate change, and the health care system.
“When you can contextualize it that way, the business school becomes so much more relevant to majors outside of traditional business. For example, a political science major, a history major, or a sociology major will be able to understand basic sociology principles in economics,” Rosman said.
According to Rosman, the college is also in the process of designing new degree programs that integrate the ideas behind “best for our world.” “We’ll be able to differentiate ourselves in the marketplace because we’re focusing on the issues that are most important,” he said.
Another way Rosman feels HCBE graduates will stand out is because their education will also focus on building skill sets that will give them the edge of other business majors—innovation, entrepreneurship, and adaptability. Once again, the legacy of Huizenga fosters this plan because of his approach to the waste management industry, automobile sales, sports management, and entrepreneurship in general. Students will learn how to reinvent themselves to meet employers’ needs.
“Through class and experiential learning, we will be able to measure a student’s ability to modify or to adapt,” Rosman said. “When you leave the business school, you will be able to be adaptive. That’s what folks are looking for from almost any employee.”
Rosman hopes to continue to invest in the future of the business school throughout his time at NSU. He also wants to ensure that donors who enter a relationship with HCBE find their own benefit from their contribution. Whether that means connecting donors who could find business opportunities through a partnership of their organizations, or highlighting the talent pool of NSU graduates who could potentially fill a place in a company’s workforce, in Rosman’s words, one plus one equals three.
“What I mean by that is there should be value added to everybody in the equation,” he explained. “The outcome is bigger than the sum of the parts. My intent is to create value for our students, for our alums, for the rest of the university, and for the donor, too.”
Rosman also sees a benefit for himself as well.
“I view myself as being a work in process until I die,” he said. “Developing a relationship with me as an advocate, spokesperson, or representative of the university is developing a relationship that hopefully is mutually beneficial. I learn something from every single interaction and every single experience I have. I look at every opportunity to engage with somebody else as a chance to continuously improve.”
For more information on supporting the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship, please contact Robert Jensen, director of development, at (954) 817-2724 (office), (619) 402-0073 (cell), or via email at rjensen@nova.edu.