The idea of a commerce minor has been around for the last few years, but has been more of a tease than anything else. Most recently, Economics Dept. Chairman David E. Mills mentioned last week that he would like to see the establishment of a commerce minor ("Department reconsiders logistics of double major," Oct. 24). But despite talk of the creation of the minor and interest among students, the idea of a commerce minor remains a pipe dream. This must change, and it should be created.
First off, many students would be enthusiastic about the creation of a commerce minor. According to Student Council Rep. Daniel Haspel, Chairman of the Academic Affairs Committee, "strong student support" has existed in past years for this initiative and still does so.
A commerce minor would be valuable for a number of reasons. No matter where someone eventually works, there is a good chance that it will have something to do with business. But this should not mean that everyone who wants to learn any business should enroll in the Commerce School. Many students decide to major in a subject in the College which they may be more passionate about than commerce. But this does not mean that they should be deprived of the opportunity to get a commerce minor.
Some could argue that certain Commerce School classes are open to students in the College, such as accounting and commercial law -- if there are any spots left after Commerce students register. But a minor would be a more structured educational experience.
Perhaps more importantly, a commerce minor would be something good for students to put on a resume. A commerce minor would indicate to employers that a student has taken business classes. This could make the student more attractive to potential employers, because of the importance of business in many jobs.
A commerce minor would also take pressure off of the financial disaster that is the economics department, which even last year before the budget cuts was in dire straits ("Wealth of Problems for Econ majors," Sept. 6, 2001).
Mills said in an e-mail interview, "One reason, among others, for the recent, sharp increase in the number of economics majors at U.Va is that economics sometimes is a second major for students looking for a way to improve their future job prospects."
Mills believes that a better solution for such students would be to minor in commerce.
In an interview, Commerce School Dean Carl P. Zeithaml said he was against a generic "commerce minor." Such a minor would not really meet the intellectual or career goals of serious students, and that any business-oriented minor should be tailored to fit the disciplinary interests and needs of College students.
Instead, he proposed the idea of collaborative courses, some of which are already under development, and eventually programs that involve both the College and the Commerce School.
This is all well and good, but such a cooperative effort must give students something to put on their resumes.
College Dean Edward Ayers said in an e-mail interview, "We understand that College students want to demonstrate their study of and interest in business. The Commerce School and the College agree that the best way to do that is with a set of courses specifically designed for that purpose. We would rather grant a certificate than add a new 'minor.'"
Ayers feels that a certificate would give students something to put on their resume for potential employers, yet makes more sense than the logistical problems of creating a series of new minors.
Like everything else at this school, the problem is money. The Commerce School, like the College, is suffering from the budget cuts. Zeithaml says, "the Commerce School faces all of the same financial and faculty resource issues as the College."
In order to form the collaborative programs that Zeithaml and Ayers envision, both the Commerce School and the College will need to raise a good deal of money, something which they already have begun. Obviously, with the current budget cuts this is difficult, but it's certainly something that should be done in the future.
The University is a top educational institute because of its excellence in a wide variety of areas. But this is of little comfort to students who are not given the opportunity to take advantage of them. A commerce minor or something like it, such as the collaborative courses envisioned by Zeithaml and Ayers, needs to be established.
(Harris Freier's column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at hfreier@cavalierdaily.com.)
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