History
International Business Association (IBA) History (1988-2008)
The IBA was founded during the 1988/1989 academic year by Dr. Jim Catoline with support from then Charlton College of Business (CCB) acting-dean Dr. John (Jack) Chopoorian. Dr. Chopoorian was serving as acting-dean while Dean Richard Ward was on sabbatical in London, England. The IBA's first trip (1989) was to United States International University (USIU) London, where Dean Ward was spending his sabbatical. The purpose of the trip was to study the potential impact of the establishment of the European Community (1992) on regional businesses. Dr. Chopoorian took control of the IBA fall semester 1990 when Dr. Catoline left UMass-Dartmouth. Dr. D. Steven White was given control of the IBA fall semester 2000. Joined in 2003 by Dr. Godwin Ariguzo, the IBA is now guided by co-directors. Dr. Chopoorian (Chancellor Professor, Management & Marketing Department) continues to serve in an advisory capacity and is a major financial contributor to the IBA student travel foundation.
The IBA is a student-run senate-recognized organization (SRO) at UMass-Dartmouth. The IBA's purpose is to provide CCB students with overseas business experience through experiential learning and cultural immersion. Students register for Marketing 490: Special Topics: Overseas Taskforce at the undergraduate level or Marketing 690: Special Topics: Overseas Taskforce at the graduate level. Students registered for the class earn three credits for conducting research for regional businesses interested in operating internationally. In addition to registering (and paying) for the class, students pay for their own travel and hotel expenses associated with the class, historically between $1700 and $2400 each (depending upon the number of destinations) plus their own food and entertainment expenses. Students attend class for six weeks, travel for up to two weeks and spend the remaining seven weeks class time writing a summary report to present to their clients during the last week of spring semester. Whereas most college students spend spring break playing, IBA students spend spring break working.
Since its inception in 1988, the IBA has taken 335 students on 18 trips overseas visiting 29 cities in 18 countries (no trips in 1998 and 1999 - AACSB accreditation). Initially the focus of the class was to generate macro-level market research on topics of interest to the regional business community. Dr. Chopoorian shifted the focus of the class from conducting macro-level analyses to performing research as requested by regional companies (pro bono). To date, IBA students have conducted ten macro-level research projects and 52 client projects for 33 unique clients. Given its mission, the IBA's focus is on collecting market-specific data for clients (market research) with the exception of 2002 when two of the groups focused on making sales for their clients (Oberon and Yomega) and 2004 when the focus of the trip was on social entrepreneurship.
Last Updated On: 4/2/08
